Adjunctive effects of eltrombopag on immunosuppressive therapy for childhood aplastic anemia.

Eltrombopag is used with first-line immunosuppressive therapy for adult aplastic anemia, although its practical utility in childhood remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of pediatric patients who received eltrombopag in Japan. Of the 27 eligible patients, 23 (85%) were previously treated, and 15 (56%) had severe or very-severe disease.

[Change in intraperitoneal shunt after DAA treatment for hepatitis C].

Improvement and worsening of portal hypertension after direct acting antiviral agent (DAA) treatment for hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis have been reported, and a consensus remains elusive. In this study, we underscored on the intraperitoneal shunt formed via portal hypertension and examined how the shunt system confirmed by computed tomography (CT) changes before and after treatment in cases in which sustained virological response (SVR) was attained with DAAs. Of the cases in which we achieved an SVR of 24 with DAA treatment for hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis at our hospital, 83 cases in which CT images were taken before and after treatment were investigated.

Detraining after short-term exercise induces hyperphagia and obesity with fatty liver and brown adipose tissue whitening in young male OLETF rats.

This study examined the effects of exercise and detraining at a young age on fat accumulation in various organs. Four-week-old male Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats were assigned to either the non-exercise sedentary (OLETF Sed) or exercise groups. The exercise group was subdivided into two groups: exercise between 4 and 12 weeks of age (OLETF Ex) and exercise between 4 and 6 weeks of age followed by non-exercise between 6 and 12 weeks of age (OLETF DT).

Landscape of driver mutations and their clinical effects on Down syndrome-related myeloid neoplasms.

Transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM) is a common complication in newborns with Down syndrome (DS). It commonly progresses to myeloid leukemia (ML-DS) after spontaneous regression. In contrast to the favorable prognosis of primary ML-DS, patients with refractory/relapsed ML-DS have poor outcomes.

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.

Rituximab with standard LMB chemotherapy in pediatric high-risk mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A report from the JPLSG B-NHL14 trial.

Background: The benefit of adding rituximab to standard lymphomes malins B (LMB) chemotherapy for children with high-risk mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) has previously been demonstrated in an international randomized phase III trial, to which the Japanese Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group could not participate.

Methods: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab in combination with LMB chemotherapy in Japanese patients, we conducted a single-arm multicenter trial.

Results: In this study, 45 patients were enrolled between April 2016 and September 2018.

Enhanced anxiety-like behavior induced by chronic neuropathic pain and related parvalbumin-positive neurons in male rats.

Anxiety commonly co-occurs with and exacerbates pain, but the interaction between pain progression and anxiety, and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Inhibitory interneurons play a crucial role in maintaining normal central nervous system function and are suggested to be involved in pain-induced anxiety. This study aimed to elucidate the time-dependent effects of neuropathic pain on the developmental anxiety-like behaviors and related inhibitory interneurons; parvalbumin (PV)- and cholecystokinin (CCK)-positive neurons in corticolimbic regions.

Reduced-intensity allogenic transplantation for children and adolescents with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Survival rates of patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL (Ph+ALL) have improved considerably with the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI); however, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) continues to play an important role. Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens have been widely applied particularly for older patients, but their validity for children and adolescents with Ph+ALL has not been investigated. In this study, data from patients receiving HSCT for de novo Ph+ALL in first or second remission at ages younger than 25 years and with a history of pre-HSCT TKI therapy were retrospectively collected through the nationwide registry in Japan.

Regional activity and effective connectivity within the frontoparietal network during precision walking with visual cueing: an fNIRS study.

Precision walking (PW) incorporates precise step adjustments into regular walking patterns to navigate challenging surroundings. However, the brain processes involved in PW control, which encompass cortical regions and interregional interactions, are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the changes in regional activity and effective connectivity within the frontoparietal network associated with PW.

Numerical and Clinical Evaluation of the Robustness of Open-source Networks for Parallel MR Imaging Reconstruction.

Purpose: Deep neural networks (DNNs) for MRI reconstruction often require large datasets for training. Still, in clinical settings, the domains of datasets are diverse, and how robust DNNs are to domain differences between training and testing datasets has been an open question. Here, we numerically and clinically evaluate the generalization of the reconstruction networks across various domains under clinically practical conditions and provide practical guidance on what points to consider when selecting models for clinical application.

Hyperprogressive disease during atezolizumab plus bevacizumab treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma from Japanese real-world practice.

Background: Hyperprogressive disease (HPD) is a phenomenon with greatly accelerated tumor growth and clinical deterioration rates compared to pre-therapy, in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). The aim of this study is to clarify the reality of HPD in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atez/Bev) using tumor dynamics.

Methods: Medical records of consecutive patients with advanced HCC who were treated with Atez/Bev were retrospectively reviewed.

Use of ramucirumab for various treatment lines in real-world practice of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: Ramucirumab was shown to be effective as a second-line treatment after sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with alpha-fetoprotein levels > 400 ng/mL in a worldwide phase 3 trial. Ramucirumab is used in patients pretreated with various systemic therapies in clinical practice. We retrospectively examined the treatment outcomes of ramucirumab administered to advanced HCC patients after diverse systemic therapies.

Phlegmonous duodenitis in an immunocompromised patient.

Phlegmonous duodenitis is an extremely rare condition, and only a few cases have been previously reported. Here, we report a case of phlegmonous duodenitis caused by and in a 78-year-old immunocompromised patient with diabetes mellitus and immunosuppressive drugs. Abdominal computed tomography showed diffuse thickening of the duodenum and gastric antrum, and esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed some erosions with purulent discharge and reddish and edematous mucosa in the duodenal bulb.

Miglustat, a glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor, mitigates liver fibrosis through TGF-β/Smad pathway suppression in hepatic stellate cells.

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/Smad pathway is implicated in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis, a condition characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins such as collagen in response to chronic inflammation. It has been reported that ceramide regulates collagen production through TGF-β/Smad pathway activation. In this study, we examined whether miglustat, an inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase, can suppress liver fibrosis by reducing TGF-β/Smad pathway activity.

The efficacy of contrast-enhanced computed tomography on the management of gastroesophageal varices in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The screening of gastroesophageal varices (GEV) is critical in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) management. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) is often performed in patients with HCC. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the use of CECT in screening for GEV and predicting GEV bleeding.

Clinical effects and emerging issues of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma from Japanese real-world practice.

Background: Although the efficacy of atezolizumab has been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials, its long-term efficacy and association with adverse events in real-world practice are unknown. This study was designed to shed light on these issues.

Methods: In this multicenter retrospective study, data were collected from patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in seven institutions in Japan.

Hiatal Hernia with Prolapse of the Pancreas Causing Bile Duct Stricture and Liver Function Disorders: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Hiatal hernia is a common condition in elderly patients, but the additional presence of prolapse of the pancreas is extremely rare. We herein report an 89-year-old woman who presented with liver function disorders and abdominal pain. Her laboratory tests revealed cholestasis, and imaging examinations showed stenosis of the common bile duct pulled toward the hernia sac.

Impact of human leukocyte antigen mismatch on outcomes after unrelated bone marrow transplantation in paediatric patients: A retrospective analysis by the JSTCT HLA working group.

The impact of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatching at the HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 loci after unrelated bone marrow transplantation in paediatric patients with haematological malignancies has not been fully examined. Here, we analysed patients with haematological malignancies (all aged ≤15 years; n = 1330) who underwent a first unrelated bone marrow transplantation between 1993 and 2017 in Japan. The results show that although an HLA mismatch was significantly associated with a low relapse rate, it was also associated with higher non-relapse mortality.

Carbon-ion radiotherapy versus radiofrequency ablation as initial treatment for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Carbon-ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) has shown potential as a curative treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, no reports have compared the effectiveness of C-ion RT and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). This study aimed to compare clinical outcomes between C-ion RT and RFA for patients with early-stage HCC.

Effects of long-term childhood exercise and detraining on lipid accumulation in metabolic-related organs.

The preventive effects of regular exercise on obesity-related health problems are carried over to the non-exercise detraining period, even when physical activity decreases with aging. However, it remains unknown whether regular childhood exercises can be carried over to adulthood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of long-term childhood exercise and detraining on lipid accumulation in organs to prevent obesity in adulthood.

Effect of Atezolizumab plus Bevacizumab in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Harboring Mutation in Early Clinical Experience.

Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (ATZ/BV) treatment is a combined immunotherapy consisting of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor monoclonal antibody, which has brought a major paradigm shift in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Gain-of-function mutation of contributes to resistance of ICI monotherapy through the framework of non-T-cell-inflamed tumor microenvironment. However, whether mutation renders resistance to ATZ/BV similar to ICI monotherapy remains to be elucidated.

Coupled versus decoupled visuomotor feedback: Differential frontoparietal activity during curved reach planning on simultaneous functional near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography.

Introduction: Interacting with the environment requires the planning and execution of reach-to-target movements along given reach trajectory paths. Human neural mechanisms for the motor planning of linear, or point-to-point, reaching movements are relatively well studied. However, the corresponding representations for curved and more complex reaching movements require further investigation.

A diet-induced murine model for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with obesity and insulin resistance that rapidly develops steatohepatitis and fibrosis.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Patients with NAFLD often suffer steatohepatitis, which can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The presence of visceral obesity or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major risk factor and potential therapeutic target for NAFLD.