Publications by authors named "Morooka M"

Background: The efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in treating tremor symptoms in cerebellar disorders remains unclear.

Case Presentation: A 47-year-old woman presented with neck and arm tremor and ataxic speech/gait after four days of >40 °C fever due to septic shock attributed to lithiasis-pyelonephritis. Left ventral intermediate nucleus thalamus DBS alleviated contralateral postural arm tremor, although the action tremor and terminal oscillation remained unchanged.

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Background: The association between the clinical significance and prognostic impact of catheter-based micro-axial ventricular assist device Impella (Abiomed, Danvers, MA, USA) support and age has not been sufficiently investigated.

Methods And Results: A total of 5282 patients treated with Impella were analyzed from the Japanese registry for Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device (J-PVAD). Patients were categorized into four age groups: <50 years old (Group A, n = 670), 50-69 years old (Group B, n = 2009), 70-79 years old (Group C, n = 1716), and ≥80 years old (Group D, n = 887).

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  • A nationwide survey in Japan assessed multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), determining its prevalence at 0.40 per 100,000 individuals and identifying 507 estimated patients.
  • Most patients were male (2.3:1 ratio), with a median age of onset at 42 and an average diagnosis delay of 25 months.
  • Immunoglobulin therapy was administered to 98% of patients, with 91% showing improvement, though slight neurological progression was noted over time.
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Late kidney injury (LKI) in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) requiring intensive care is poorly understood.We analyzed 821 patients with AHF who required intensive care. We defined LKI based on the ratio of the creatinine level 1 year after admission for AHF to the baseline creatinine level.

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Background: Increased 'cortical' and 'peripheral' excitability are reportedly associated with shorter survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, suggesting that hyperexcitability contributes to motor neuron death. However, whether upper or lower motor function has a greater impact on survival is unclear. We aimed to investigate the component that strongly impacts the prognosis of ALS.

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  • A nationwide survey in Japan revealed an estimated 4,180 patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), showing a prevalence of 3.3 per 100,000 people.
  • The survey highlighted that the typical form of CIDP was most common (52%), with significant treatments being immunoglobulin therapy (72%) and corticosteroids (15%).
  • Findings indicated that clinical subtypes of CIDP affect treatment outcomes, with younger patients and those with fewer complications showing better chances of walking independently.
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  • - The study aimed to assess how common anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) neuropathy is in Japan and to learn more about the current status of affected patients.
  • - Researchers sent surveys to neurology departments nationwide in 2021, discovering that there are approximately 353 patients with an incidence rate of 0.05 per 100,000 people; most patients experienced symptoms like neuropathic pain and had a peak age of onset around 67 years.
  • - Treatments included intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab, with the latter showing improvement in 64% of patients; however, 27% of patients were still unable to walk independently by the last evaluation, indicating a need for more effective
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  • The study evaluates how effective the Gold Coast (GC) criteria are for diagnosing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Japanese patients, compared to the revised El Escorial (R-EE) and Awaji criteria.
  • Researchers analyzed 639 patients, including 529 with ALS and 110 with ALS mimics, to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic criteria.
  • Results showed that GC criteria had higher sensitivity (96.8%) and specificity (77.3%) than both Awaji and R-EE criteria, although it did lead to some false positives and missed certain upper motor neuron signs.
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Background: Diagnostic strategies depend on non-standardized workup, and the causes of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries remain unclear for some patients. Intracoronary imaging is recommended for detecting the missed causes by coronary angiography. Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries is a heterogeneous entity; a meta-analysis of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary artery studies demonstrated that all-cause mortality rate at 1 year is 4.

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Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an autoimmune disorder sometimes accompanied by ovarian teratoma. However, the concept of encephalitis without anti-NMDAR antibodies successfully treated with ovarian teratoma resection and immunotherapy has not been established. We herein report two such cases.

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Edgeworthianins A-E (-) were isolated from as a class of macrocyclic daphnane orthoesters with an unusual macrocyclic ring formed from a C14 aliphatic chain. Their structures were elucidated by extensive physicochemical and spectroscopic analyses. Compounds , , and exhibited potent anti-HIV activity against HIV-1 infection of MT4 cells with EC values of 29.

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Objective Immunomodulatory drugs and proteasome inhibitors are therapeutic options for polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of ixazomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (IRd) for POEMS syndrome. Methods Six consecutive patients with POEMS syndrome who were treated with the IRd regimen at Chiba University Hospital between April 2018 and August 2021 were included.

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Background: Previous studies have shown that patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have hyperexcitability in both the motor cortex and peripheral motor axons, but the relationship between central and peripheral excitability has not been fully disclosed.

Methods: Threshold tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and motor nerve excitability testing were prospectively performed in 53 patients with ALS and 50 healthy subjects, and their relations to compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude and revised ALS Functional Rating Scale were cross-sectionally analysed.

Results: Compared with controls, patients with ALS showed both cortical and peripheral hyperexcitability; TMS showed reduced short-interval intracortical inhibition (interstimulus interval 1-7 ms) (p<0.

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Introduction/aims: Among subtypes of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), different immune pathophysiologies have been proposed. In this study, sensory nerve conduction studies were compared among clinical subtypes to attempt to better understand the underlying pathophysiology.

Methods: A total of 138 patients with CIDP was classified into clinical subtypes: typical CIDP (N = 68), multifocal CIDP (N = 27), or other (N = 2).

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Durable nanostructured cathode materials for efficient all-solid-state Li-S batteries were prepared using a conductive single-walled 3D graphene with a large pore volume as the cathode support material. At high loadings of the active material (50-60 wt %), microscale phase segregation was observed with a conventional cathode support material during the charging/discharging processes but this was suppressed by the confinement of insulating sulfur into the mesopores of the elastic and flexible nanoporous graphene with a large pore volume of 5.3 mL g.

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Background: Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) is a treatment option in patients with drug-refractory symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). In many patients, right bundle branch block (RBBB) develops during ASA because septal branches supply the right bundle branch. However, the clinical significance of procedural RBBB is uncertain.

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  • The study aimed to establish objective cutoffs for interpreting amyloid PET scans in patients with cognitive impairment and suspected Alzheimer's disease (AD).
  • Ninety-three patients were assessed using both visual interpretation and quantitative analysis of PET scans to improve diagnostic accuracy.
  • Findings showed a high level of agreement between quantitative and visual methods, suggesting that PET imaging can significantly impact AD diagnosis and treatment decisions.
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Cassini's Grand Finale orbits provided for the first time in-situ measurements of Saturn's topside ionosphere. We present the Pedersen and Hall conductivities of the top near-equatorial dayside ionosphere, derived from the in-situ measurements by the Cassini Radio and Wave Plasma Science Langmuir Probe, the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer and the fluxgate magnetometer. The Pedersen and Hall conductivities are constrained to at least 10-10 S/m at (or close to) the ionospheric peak, a factor 10-100 higher than estimated previously.

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The Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft made close-up measurements of Saturn's ionosphere and upper atmosphere in the 1970s and 1980s that suggested a chemical interaction between the rings and atmosphere. Exploring this interaction provides information on ring composition and the influence on Saturn's atmosphere from infalling material. The Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer sampled in situ the region between the D ring and Saturn during the spacecraft's Grand Finale phase.

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The sizes of Saturn's ring particles range from meters (boulders) to nanometers (dust). Determination of the rings' ages depends on loss processes, including the transport of dust into Saturn's atmosphere. During the Grand Finale orbits of the Cassini spacecraft, its instruments measured tiny dust grains that compose the innermost D-ring of Saturn.

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Understanding how auroral radio emissions are produced by magnetized bodies requires in situ measurements within their source region. Saturn's kilometric radiation (SKR) has been widely used as a remote proxy of Saturn's magnetosphere. We present wave and plasma measurements from the Cassini spacecraft during its ring-grazing high-inclination orbits, which passed three times through the high-altitude SKR emission region.

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Objective: In Japan, the Southampton method for dopamine transporter (DAT) SPECT is widely used to quantitatively evaluate striatal radioactivity. The specific binding ratio (SBR) is the ratio of specific to non-specific binding observed after placing pentagonal striatal voxels of interest (VOIs) as references. Although the method can reduce the partial volume effect, the SBR may fluctuate due to the presence of low-count areas of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), caused by brain atrophy, in the striatal VOIs.

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BTB and CNC homology 2 (Bach2) is a transcriptional repressor that is required for the formation of the germinal center (GC) and reactions, including class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation of Ig genes in B cells, within the GC. Although BCR-induced proliferation is essential for GC reactions, the function of Bach2 in regulating B cell proliferation has not been elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that Bach2 is required to sustain high levels of B cell proliferation in response to BCR signaling.

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The ionized upper layer of Saturn's atmosphere, its ionosphere, provides a closure of currents mediated by the magnetic field to other electrically charged regions (for example, rings) and hosts ion-molecule chemistry. In 2017, the Cassini spacecraft passed inside the planet's rings, allowing in situ measurements of the ionosphere. The Radio and Plasma Wave Science instrument detected a cold, dense, and dynamic ionosphere at Saturn that interacts with the rings.

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