First-line biologics as a treatment for ulcerative colitis: a multicenter randomized control study.

Background: Despite the availability of several biologics for ulcerative colitis (UC), there remains a critical need to identify first-line treatment biologics. The superiority of infliximab (IFX) over vedolizumab (VED) and ustekinumab (UST) was evaluated as initial UC treatments in patients with biologic-naïve UC.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized control trial was conducted across 20 Japanese medical institutions.

Gender Differences in the Effects of Trust on Substance Abuse Severity Among Incarcerated Stimulant Offenders in Japan.

Background: Treatment of stimulant offenders in Japan is an urgent issue. One of the more recent support approaches for stimulant offenders in Japan is to understand and support them based on a self-medication hypothesis; however, the effect of trust on substance abuse severity among incarcerated stimulant offenders has not been examined. Additionally, while accounting for gender differences is essential when providing support for them, these differences have not also been examined.

Kir6.1, a component of an ATP-sensitive potassium channel, regulates natural killer cell development.

Introduction: Involved in immunity and reproduction, natural killer (NK) cells offer opportunities to develop new immunotherapies to treat infections and cancer or to alleviate pregnancy complications. Most current strategies use cytokines or antibodies to enhance NK-cell function, but none use ion channel modulators, which are widely used in clinical practice to treat hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, and other conditions. Little is known about ion channels in NK cells.

Estimation of population affinity using cranial measurements acquired in multidetector computed tomography images of Japanese and Malay individuals.

It is imperative in a forensic investigation to determine the identity of an unidentified corpse, for which a crucial starting point is to establish population affinity as part of the biological profile supplied by the forensic anthropologist. The present study investigates the feasibility of using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images to quantify craniometric variation between Japanese and Malay populations relative to the estimation of population affinity in a forensic context. The Japanese and Malay samples comprise MDCT scans of 252 (122 female; 130 male) and 182 (84 female; 98 male) adult individuals, respectively.

Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy on weight and lipid metabolism in patients with treatment-resistant depression: A preliminary single-center retrospective cohort study.

Aim: This study aimed to elucidate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on weight, body mass index (BMI), and lipid metabolism in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients with TRD who received rTMS treatment at the Jikei University Hospital from September 2018 to August 2021. The patients were diagnosed based on the DSM-5 and ICD-10 criteria and treated using the NeuroStar TMS System.

Kir6.1, a component of an ATP-sensitive potassium channel, regulates natural killer cell development.

Involved in immunity and reproduction, natural killer (NK) cells offer opportunities to develop new immunotherapies to treat infections and cancer or to alleviate pregnancy complications. Most current strategies use cytokines or antibodies to enhance NK-cell function, but none use ion channel modulators, which are widely used in clinical practice to treat hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, and other conditions. Little is known about ion channels in NK cells.

Results of the JRS-I LRA0401 and LRB0402 Japan Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group trials for low-risk embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.

Background: Failure-free survival (FFS) rates of low-risk patients with rhabdomyosarcoma improved in Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study IV after the escalation of cyclophosphamide total dose to 26.4 g/m. However, this dose may increase the risk of adverse events, including infertility, in some patients.

Ruptured large hepatic cyst with elevated serum and ascites CA19-9 level.

Tumor markers such as carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) are generally useful in ruling out malignancy of hepatic cysts. The patient was a 72-year-old man who had a ruptured liver cyst in the right liver, which had been noted since he was 67 years old at another hospital. The initial laboratory tests demonstrated elevated CA19-9 (193 784.

A case of sialadenitis observed as an irAE of atezolizumab: A case report.

Various symptoms emerge as immune-related adverse events of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). A 73-year-old woman, a non-smoker, receiving chemotherapy including atezolizumab for lung adenocarcinoma, presented with fever, bilateral parotid swelling and sicca syndrome after four courses of chemotherapy. Because the lesions were not localized, the diagnosis was ICI-related sialadenitis rather than infectious.

Impact of gallbladder hypoplasia on hilar hepatic ducts in biliary atresia.

Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is an intractable disease of unknown cause that develops in the neonatal period. It causes jaundice and liver damage due to the destruction of extrahepatic biliary tracts,. We have found that heterozygous knockout mice of the SRY related HMG-box 17 (Sox17) gene, a master regulator of stem/progenitor cells in the gallbladder wall, exhibit a condition like BA.

Estimation of population affinity using proximal femoral measurements based on computed tomographic images in the Japanese and western Australian populations.

The present study analyzes morphological differences femora of contemporary Japanese and Western Australian individuals and investigates the feasibility of population affinity estimation based on computed tomographic (CT) data. The latter is deemed to be of practical importance because most anthropological methods rely on the assessment of aspects of skull morphology, which when damaged and/or unavailable, often hampers attempts to estimate population affinity. The study sample comprised CT scans of 297 (146 females; 151 males) Japanese and 330 (145 females; 185 males) Western Australian adult individuals.

Efficacy of Dose Escalation of Oral 5-Aminosalicylic Acid for Ulcerative Colitis With a Mayo Endoscopic Subscore of 1: An Open Label Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Endoscopic healing is generally defined as Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) ≤1 in ulcerative colitis (UC). However, patients with an MES of 1 are at higher relapse risk than those with an MES of 0. This study evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of proactive dose escalation of oral 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) in UC patients with an MES of 1.

Prognostic value of electroneurography using the midline method for predicting the development of synkinesis after peripheral facial palsy.

Objective: The prognostic value of electroneurography (ENoG) for predicting the incidence of synkinesis is reportedly about 40 % using the formal standard method (ENoG-SM). However, the prognostic value of ENoG using the newly developed midline method (ENoG-MM) has not been determined. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the optimal prognostic value and advantages of ENoG-MM for predicting the incidence of synkinesis.

Rituximab-combined anthracycline-free chemotherapy in newly diagnosed paediatric and adolescent patients with non-high-risk aggressive mature B cell lymphoma: protocol for a single-arm, open-label, multicentre, phase II study (the Japan Children's Cancer Group Multicentre Trial, JPLSG B-NHL-20).

Introduction: Children and adolescents with mature B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) are treated with short-intensive chemotherapy. The burden of short-term and long-term toxicity is highly relative to its high cure rate in good-risk patients. Although the addition of rituximab to standard lymphome Malin B (LMB) chemotherapy markedly prolongs event-free survival and overall survival in high-risk patients, the benefit of rituximab in good-risk patients remains to be elucidated.

Renal Replacement Therapy in Idiopathic Systemic Capillary Leak Syndrome: A Case Report.

Idiopathic systemic capillary leak syndrome (ISCLS) is a rare disease characterized by hypotensive shock, anasarca, hemoconcentration, and hypoalbuminemia. Despite the life-threatening course of the disease, no treatment strategy has been established. A 68-year-old man presented with hypotensive shock following a prodrome.

Clinical symptoms, biochemistry, and liver histology during the native liver period of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 2.

Background: Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 2 (PFIC2) is an ultra-rare disease caused by mutations in the ABCB11 gene. This study aimed to understand the course of PFIC2 during the native liver period.

Methods: From November 2014 to October 2015, a survey to identify PFIC2 patients was conducted in 207 hospitals registered with the Japanese Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.

Population affinity estimation using pelvic measurements based on computed tomographic data acquired from Japanese and Western Australian populations.

The present study analyzes morphological differences in the pelvis of Japanese and Western Australian individuals and investigates the feasibility of population affinity classification based on computed tomography (CT) data. The Japanese and Western Australian samples comprise CT scans of 207 (103 females; 104 males) and 158 (78 females; 80 males) adult individuals, respectively. Following volumetric reconstruction, a total of 19 pelvic landmarks were obtained on each sample, and 11 measurements, including two angles, were calculated.

Medical treatment selection and outcomes for hospitalized patients with severe ulcerative colitis as defined by the Japanese criteria.

Background: Hospitalization for ulcerative colitis (UC) is potentially life-threatening. Severe disease in the Japanese criteria which modifies the Truelove-Witts' criteria might encompass more fulminant cases than the definition for acute severe UC. However, few studies have investigated the predictive factors for clinical remission (CR) after medical treatments for severe hospitalized patients by Japanese criteria.