Development and validation of an algorithm for identifying patients undergoing dialysis from patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.

Background: Identifying patients on dialysis among those with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 15 mL/min/1.73 m remains challenging. To facilitate clinical research in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) using electronic health records, we aimed to develop algorithms to identify dialysis patients using laboratory data obtained in routine practice.

Mito-kaede photoactivation and chase experiment for mitophagy: optimizing flux measurement via fluid exchange system.

Modulating autophagy and mitophagy, vital cellular quality control systems, offer therapeutic potential for critical illnesses. However, limited drug screening options hinder progress. We present a novel assay using the photoswitchable fluorescent reporter, mito-Kaede, to quantify mitophagy flux.

Limitations of Self-Report Tools in Pain Evaluation of Patients With Vertebral Fractures.

Few studies have evaluated the usefulness and limitations of pain assessment using verbal communication tools for acute orthopedic diseases in older patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of usage of the numerical rating scale (NRS), a verbal communication tool, and to identify the characteristics of patients in whom continuous assessment was impossible. We retrospectively examined electronic medical records of patients with acute vertebral fractures who had been admitted to our hospital between April 2018 and March 2020.

Availability of Observational Pain Assessment Tools in Hospitalized Patients with Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures.

: Osteoporotic vertebral fractures in older patients cause lower back pain and abnormal posture, resulting in impaired activities of daily living (ADLs). Assessing pain using self-reported assessment tools is difficult, especially in patients with moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment. Recently, observational assessment tools have been used when self-reported ones were difficult to administer.

Late-onset renal variant Fabry disease with R112H mutation and mild increase in plasma globotriaosylsphingosine: a case report.

Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked disorder resulting in a deficiency of α-galactosidase A (GLA) activity. The R112H mutation of GLA is relatively common in Japanese FD patients, characterized by a late-onset phenotype, almost normal to mild lyso-Gb3 elevation, and mild clinical symptoms, despite low GLA activity. This is due to the structural features of the R112H GLA protein.

Mobile genetic elements associated with utilization of dichloromethane and methanol as energy sources in Cupriavidus metallidurans.

Cupriavidus metallidurans strain PD11 isolated from laboratory waste drainage can use C1 compounds, such as dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol, as a sole carbon and energy source. However, strain CH34 (a type-strain) cannot grow in the medium supplemented with DCM. In the present study, we aimed to unravel the genetic elements underlying the utilization of C1 compounds by strain PD11.

Successful Treatment for Life Threatening Recurrent Non-traumatic Rectus Sheath Hematoma in a Case with Microscopic Polyangiitis with Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis.

A 68-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of a rapid progression of renal dysfunction with positive myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and was diagnosed with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis associated with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). Severe right rectus sheath hematoma (RSH) bleeding from the inferior epigastric artery developed after starting hemodialysis, which required 4 transarterial embolizations due to recurrent bleeding. After additional treatment with methylprednisolone pulse therapy and rituximab, no rebleeding occurred.

JTT-654, an 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 inhibitor, improves hypertension and diabetic kidney injury by suppressing angiotensinogen production.

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) plays an important role in regulating the expression of glucocorticoid actions in target tissues. Overexpression of 11β-HSD1 in mouse adipose tissue causes a metabolic syndrome-like phenotype, leading to hypertension. Although, many 11β-HSD1 inhibitors have been studied, few have shown a clear ameliorative effect against hypertension.

Ruptured Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm in a Patient with a Ventricular Septal Defect Who Dropped Out of Lifelong Medical Follow-up.

Ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (RSOVA) is a rare cardiac condition associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. We herein report a 35-year-old man with a history of ventricular septal defect (VSD). He had a history of interrupted hospital visits and presented to the emergency department with dyspnea, palpitations, and dizziness for a few days.

Effects of Agalsidase Alfa Enzyme Replacement Therapy on Left Ventricular Hypertrophy on Electrocardiogram in a Female Patient with Fabry Disease.

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by defective enzyme activity of α-galactosidase A and treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with recombinant α-galactosidase. ERT reduces left ventricular mass assessed by echocardiography or magnetic resonance imaging. However, electrocardiogram changes during ERT have not been fully elucidated.

The Effect of Medical Cooperation in the CKD Patients: 10-Year Multicenter Cohort Study.

Introduction: While chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most important contributors to mortality from non-communicable diseases, the number of nephrologists is limited worldwide. Medical cooperation is a system of cooperation between primary care physicians and nephrological institutions, consisting of nephrologists and multidisciplinary care teams. Although it has been reported that multidisciplinary care teams contribute to the prevention of worsening renal functions and cardiovascular events, there are few studies on the effect of a medical cooperation system.

Serum sCD40L and IL-31 in Association with Early Phase of IgA Nephropathy.

Background: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a major cause of chronic glomerulonephritis worldwide. T cell dysregulation has been reported to contribute to the pathogenesis of IgAN. Methods We measured a broad range of Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokines in the serum of IgAN patients.

Effects of Different Isometric Training Programs on Muscle Size and Function in the Elbow Flexors.

It remains unknown whether a regimen of a combination of high- and low-intensity resistance training increases muscle size and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) simultaneously. This study aimed to clarify the effect of the combination of high- and low-intensity resistance training on muscle size and neuromuscular function in the elbow flexors. Sixteen male adults participated in a 9-week isometric training regimen in elbow joint flexion of each arm.

Intracrine activity involving NAD-dependent circadian steroidogenic activity governs age-associated meibomian gland dysfunction.

Canonically, hormones are produced in the endocrine organs and delivered to target tissues. However, for steroids, the concept of tissue intracrinology, whereby hormones are produced in the tissues where they exert their effect without release into circulation, has been proposed, but its role in physiology/disease remains unclear. The meibomian glands in the eyelids produce oil to prevent tear evaporation, which reduces with aging.

Dynamic stem cell selection safeguards the genomic integrity of the epidermis.

Maintaining genomic integrity and stability is crucial for life; yet, no tissue-driven mechanism that robustly safeguards the epithelial genome has been discovered. Epidermal stem cells (EpiSCs) continuously replenish the stratified layers of keratinocytes that protect organisms against various environmental stresses. To study the dynamics of DNA-damaged cells in tissues, we devised an in vivo fate tracing system for EpiSCs with DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and demonstrated that those cells exit from their niches.

Presence of decoy cells for 6 months on urine cytology efficiently predicts BK virus nephropathy in renal transplant recipients.

Objectives: To investigate the association between duration of consecutive presence of decoy cells on urine cytology and BK virus nephropathy after kidney transplantation.

Methods: In total, 121 kidney transplant recipients were retrospectively evaluated. The best duration of consecutive presence of decoy cells that could be used to predict BK virus nephropathy was analyzed using the area under the curve for each duration, and recipients were divided into two groups based on the best predictive performance.

Stem cell spreading dynamics intrinsically differentiate acral melanomas from nevi.

Early differential diagnosis between malignant and benign tumors and their underlying intrinsic differences are the most critical issues for life-threatening cancers. To study whether human acral melanomas, deadly cancers that occur on non-hair-bearing skin, have distinct origins that underlie their invasive capability, we develop fate-tracing technologies of melanocyte stem cells in sweat glands (glandular McSCs) and in melanoma models in mice and compare the cellular dynamics with human melanoma. Herein, we report that glandular McSCs self-renew to expand their migratory progeny in response to genotoxic stress and trauma to generate invasive melanomas in mice that mimic human acral melanomas.

Obesity accelerates hair thinning by stem cell-centric converging mechanisms.

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that predisposes individuals to many age-associated diseases, but its exact effects on organ dysfunction are largely unknown. Hair follicles-mini-epithelial organs that grow hair-are miniaturized by ageing to cause hair loss through the depletion of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). Here we report that obesity-induced stress, such as that induced by a high-fat diet (HFD), targets HFSCs to accelerate hair thinning.

ABO Blood Incompatibility Positively Affects Early Graft Function: Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: We investigated the association between ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) kidney transplantation and early graft function.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 95 patients who underwent living donor kidney transplantation between May 2009 and July 2019. It included 61 ABO-compatible (ABO-C) and 34 ABO-I transplantations.

High-mobility group box 2 protein is essential for the early phase of adipogenesis.

Understanding of the mechanism of adipogenesis is essential for the control of obesity, which predisposes toward numerous health problems. High-mobility group box protein 2 (HMGB2) is a non-histone chromosomal protein that facilitates DNA replication, transcription, recombination, and repair. Here, we studied the role of HMGB2 in adipogenic differentiation.

Mutant ASXL1 induces age-related expansion of phenotypic hematopoietic stem cells through activation of Akt/mTOR pathway.

Somatic mutations of ASXL1 are frequently detected in age-related clonal hematopoiesis (CH). However, how ASXL1 mutations drive CH remains elusive. Using knockin (KI) mice expressing a C-terminally truncated form of ASXL1-mutant (ASXL1-MT), we examined the influence of ASXL1-MT on physiological aging in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).