Publications by authors named "Nakamura-Uchiyama F"
Infectious virus shedding from individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is used to estimate human-to-human transmission risk. Control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission requires identifying the immune correlates that protect infectious virus shedding. Mucosal immunity prevents infection by SARS-CoV-2, which replicates in the respiratory epithelium and spreads rapidly to other hosts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSystemic Capillary Leak Syndrome (SCLS) is a rare disease that causes severe distributive shock provoked by infection or vaccination. SCLS is clinically diagnosed by a triad of distributive shock, paradoxical hemoconcentration, and hypoalbuminemia. SCLS associated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in adults has not been reported yet in Japan.
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- SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants have developed the ability to evade detection by certain antibodies that target their receptor-binding sites (RBS).
- Researchers identified a key area, Y489, that is vulnerable to broadly neutralizing antibodies and revealed how multiple antibodies interact with both Y489 and F486, linking this to the emergence of resistant subvariants.
- A newly designed antibody (NIV-10/FD03) effectively neutralized the XBB variant and shows promise for developing therapies resistant to viral evolution and escape mechanisms.
Article Synopsis
- A case-control study was conducted to assess COVID-19 infection risk among healthcare workers, collecting data on demographics, contact behaviors, and protective equipment usage.
- Out of 1,899 participants, 161 (8.5%) were found to be seropositive, with physical contact and aerosol-generating procedures significantly increasing risk.
- The use of goggles and N95 masks effectively reduced the risk of infection, and seroprevalence was notably higher in outbreak wards compared to COVID-19 dedicated wards.
Background: Non-serogroupable () the most common type of in asymptomatic carriers, rarely causes infections. Most reported cases of infection are in patients with immunodeficiency, primarily complement deficiencies.
Case Presentation: A 54-year-old immunocompetent man was transferred to our hospital to treat severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Disseminated toxoplasmosis associated with haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (DT-HLH) is rare and difficult to diagnose compared to disseminated toxoplasmosis or HLH presenting alone. Because of the limited number of reported cases, the clinical characteristics and outcomes of DT-HLH are unknown. We report a case of DT-HLH in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patient who was successfully treated with early anti-toxoplasmic therapy and performed a comprehensive literature review.
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- The study focused on COVID-19 infection rates in individuals evacuated from Wuhan, China to Japan, finding 12 out of 14 returnees tested positive for the virus.
- Interestingly, most returnees adhered to IPC measures like wearing masks and practicing hand hygiene, but asymptomatic cases were present among them.
- The research suggests that stricter IPC protocols and enforced social distancing during the evacuation might have helped lower infection rates in later flights compared to earlier ones.
Article Synopsis
- Several cases of COVID-19-associated leukoencephalopathy have been reported, often linked to hypoxia, but the exact mechanisms and outcomes are still not fully understood.
- A case study of a 65-year-old woman illustrates that leukoencephalopathy can occur without severe hypoxia, as she experienced altered consciousness and abnormal behavior after developing COVID-19 pneumonia following treatment for pyelonephritis.
- The study emphasizes the need for clinicians to consider leukoencephalopathy when diagnosing consciousness issues in COVID-19 patients, even in the absence of significant hypoxia, and notes that gradual neurological recovery is possible.
Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in China and subsequently spread worldwide. In Japan, many clusters occurred during the first wave in 2020. We describe the investigation of an early outbreak in a Tokyo hospital.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Several randomized controlled trials have compared the effectiveness of favipiravir with that of placebo. However, evidence regarding its effect on nonsevere, early-stage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains insufficient.
Methods: We used the COVID-19 Registry Japan, a nationwide registry of inpatients with COVID-19, for evaluating the effectiveness of favipiravir on patients with nonsevere, early-stage COVID-19.
Background: Before widespread coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations, Japan experienced three COVID-19 epidemic waves. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and reveal temporal changes.
Methods: This study included 33,554 hospitalised patients with COVID-19 from 553 healthcare facilities.
Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of remdesivir in the early stage of nonsevere COVID-19. Although several randomized controlled trials have compared the effectiveness of remdesivir with that of a placebo, there is limited evidence regarding its effect in the early stage of nonsevere COVID-19 cases.
Methods: We evaluated the effectiveness of remdesivir in the early stage of nonsevere COVID-19 using the COVID-19 Registry Japan, a nationwide registry of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Japan.
Multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants have mutations in the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) with potential to evade neutralizing antibody. In particular, the Beta and Omicron variants escape from antibody neutralizing activity in those who received two doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Nonetheless, boosting with a third vaccine dose or by breakthrough infection improves the overall breadth of the neutralizing antibodies, but the mechanism remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction And Importance: Immunocompromised patients are at high risk of unexpectedly serious infections caused by uncommon bacteria or fungi. We experienced a case of Cryptococcus neoformans-induced necrotizing fasciitis (NF) of the lower extremities. The progress so far has been reported by the urology department [1].
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- Japan lacks comprehensive data on the epidemiology of imported infectious diseases, prompting the creation of J-RIDA (Japan Registry for Infectious Diseases from Abroad) to gather detailed clinical information.
- From October 2017 to September 2019, J-RIDA collected data from 15 medical institutions, documenting 3,046 cases with details like patient demographics, travel history, and final diagnosis.
- The study found that most cases were linked to travel in Southeast Asia, with common issues including fever, gastrointestinal, respiratory symptoms, and diseases like travelers' diarrhea and dengue fever.
Article Synopsis
- - The study examined the clinical outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients in Tokyo, noting that prior literature on this topic is scarce.
- - Fourteen patients on mechanical ventilation were analyzed; most were male with pre-existing health issues like hypertension and diabetes, showing a 28-day mortality rate of 35.7% due to respiratory failure.
- - The findings indicate a high mortality rate in intensive care settings for COVID-19 and suggest the need for further research on optimal treatment strategies and timing for mechanical ventilation.
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was found to be the causative microorganism of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which started to spread in Wuhan, China. This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of questionnaire, symptoms-based screening, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening of returnees from COVID-19-endemic areas on a chartered flight, to examine the proportion of infected persons and the proportion of asymptomatic persons among infected persons who returned from Wuhan.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was done in 7 tertiary medical institutions in Japan.
Background: Thus far, studies on Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing organisms have only been reported in those with a history of foreign travel, and a specific Japanese KPC-producing isolate has not yet been reported.
Case Presentation: We describe a Japanese patient, with no history of travel to foreign countries, admitted due to aspiration pneumonia, and a KPC-producing isolate detected in his sputum. Fortunately, his pneumonia resolved.
Background: Countries in the Southeast Asia region have a high prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth, such as roundworm, whipworm, and hookworms [, , ]. Recent molecular-based surveys have revealed that . , a zoonotic hookworm, is likely the second most prevalent hookworm species infecting humans in that part of the world, while others have noted that this infection is an emerging public health risk not only for indigenous people but also for visitors from other countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFew studies have analyzed the characteristics of patients who develop physical disorders after overseas travel. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 183 patients who visited Nara Medical University Hospital from 2008 to 2016 because of physical problems after traveling abroad. The main travel destinations were Southeast Asia (n = 100), Africa (n = 27), and South Asia (n = 23).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Research Group on Chemotherapy of Tropical Diseases, Japan, introduced artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in late 2002, mainly for treating uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Because AL was on the market in Japan in March 2017, the effectiveness and safety of AL were analyzed to help medical personnel use AL optimally.
Methods: Case report forms submitted by the attending physicians were analyzed.
Article Synopsis
- Recent reports indicate that treatment with artemisinin and its derivatives, like artemether-lumefantrine (AL), can lead to delayed hemolytic anemia in patients with severe falciparum malaria.
- Two case studies are presented: one involved a 20-year-old male who developed hemolytic anemia after an initial response to treatment, and the other a 27-year-old female who relapsed with anemia post-treatment but showed gradual improvement.
- The study highlights the importance of monitoring patients for up to 4 weeks after AL treatment to identify any signs of hemolysis and ensure proper management.
Background: Paragonimiasis is one of the foodborn trematodiases and number of the patients was estimated to be about 23 million around the world. To obtain good compliance of people for the surveillance of paragonimiasis, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of paragonimiasis with unconcentrated urine samples was developed.
Results: Paragonimus westermani antigen specific IgG and IgG4 were detected in urine samples from paragonimiasis patients and the levels correlated well with those detected in the paired serum samples.