Publications by authors named "Nana Nakada"
Article Synopsis
- Invasive aspergillosis (IA) and mucormycosis are severe infections predominantly affecting immunocompromised individuals, and drug-resistant strains present a significant clinical challenge.* -
- This research explores the potential of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells, a unique subset of T cells, in fighting these infections, showing strong antifungal properties against resistant strains by direct interaction with fungal hyphae.* -
- The study highlights the promising role of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells as a new therapy for treating IA and mucormycosis, which could offer an effective alternative to traditional antifungal treatments that often have harmful side effects.*
Article Synopsis
- * Out of 672 patients analyzed, only 9 (1.3%) developed complicated NTM infections, leading to a higher mortality rate in those patients compared to others.
- * The findings suggest that while NTM complications are rare among those on biologics, they can be severe, especially in patients taking higher doses of corticosteroids, necessitating vigilant monitoring even in the absence of positive MAC antibody tests.
Background: Nursing- and healthcare-associated pneumonia (NHCAP) constitutes most of the pneumonia in elderly patients including aspiration pneumonia in Japan. Lascufloxacin (LSFX) possesses broad antibacterial activity against respiratory pathogens, such as Streptococcus spp. And anaerobes inside the oral cavity.
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- Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) are related diseases caused by Aspergillus infection, with CPA sometimes developing from ABPA.
- A case study reported on a patient experiencing both conditions concurrently and monitored serum cytokine levels at various stages of treatment.
- The study found that IL-13 levels decreased with glucocorticoid treatment, while IL-25 and IL-33 levels dropped quickly after starting antifungal medications, suggesting early antifungal treatment is crucial for managing disease progression and preventing overlap of CPA.
Background: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is an invasive fungal infection with a poor prognosis that often occurs in both healthy individuals and compromised hosts, such as patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Unlike CM in HIV patients, evidence regarding CM in non-HIV patients is limited to small retrospective studies.
Objective: To identify the pretreatment prognostic factors for CM in non-HIV patients.
Data on antifungal susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans are limited in Japan. A total of 89 C. neoformans strains isolated from 83 non-human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with cryptococcosis between 1997 and 2021 in Nagasaki, Japan, were investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCryptococcosis has become a major health problem worldwide and caused morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, especially those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Despite the global distribution of cryptococcosis, the number and types of the available antifungals are limited, and the treatment outcomes in HIV patients are generally poor. In this study, we screened a compound library and identified one tetrazole derivative as an efficient inhibitor of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOutbreaks of invasive infections, with high mortality rates, caused by multidrug-resistant have been reported worldwide. Although hotspot mutations in are an established cause of echinocandin resistance, the actual contribution of these mutations to echinocandin resistance remains unknown. Here, we sequenced the gene of a caspofungin-resistant clinical isolate (clade I) and identified a novel resistance mutation (G4061A inducing R1354H).
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- Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) and Japanese spotted fever (JSF) are tick-borne diseases posing rising public health challenges in Japan and East Asia.
- A study analyzed data from 23 SFTS and 38 JSF patients to identify clinical characteristics useful for differentiating the two diseases, focusing on symptoms, exams, and lab findings.
- Key indicators to differentiate SFTS from JSF included leukopenia (WBC < 4000/μL) and altered mental status, while absence of skin rash also supported the diagnosis in suspected cases.
Article Synopsis
- * Traditional methods of removal using forceps were unsuccessful, but a cryoprobe, which uses cold to help adhere to the foreign body, ultimately succeeded in extracting the molar.
- * While cryoprobes are usually not ideal for dental materials, they can effectively remove long-term aspirated objects that have retained moisture or mucus.