Exploration of tumor size measurement methods in preoperative breast cancer assessment using whole-body silicon photomultiplier PET: feasibility and first results.

Purpose: Whole-body silicon photomultiplier positron emission tomography (WB SiPM PET) could be used to diagnose breast cancer spread before lumpectomy. We aimed to investigate the method of measuring the tumor size by WB SiPM PET as a basis for diagnosing breast cancer spread in the breast.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 35 breast cancer lesions in 32 patients who underwent WB SiPM PET/CT in the prone position as preoperative breast cancer examinations from September 2020 to March 2022.

Recurrent missense variant identified in two unrelated families with MPZL2-related hearing loss, expanding the variant spectrum associated with DFNB111.

MPZL2-related hearing loss is a rare form of autosomal recessive hearing loss characterized by progressive, mild sloping to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Thirty-five previously reported patients had biallelic truncating variants in MPZL2, with the exception of one patient with a missense variant of uncertain significance and a truncating variant. Here, we describe the clinical characteristics and genotypes of five patients from four families with confirmed MPZL2-related hearing loss.

The real-world data of lipid-lowering treatment in patients with peripheral artery disease and its association with severity of disease.

Background: The risk of coronary artery disease in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is high, life prognosis is poor, and lipid-lowering treatment with statins has been reported to improve prognosis. In clinical practice, however, hypolipidemia is more common in patients with severe PAD and statin prescription rates appear to be low, but specific data are scarce in Japan. Therefore, we conducted this cross-sectional study in collaboration with other centers of vascular surgery to determine the rate of statin prescriptions for PAD patients in real-world practice, the rate of achievement of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol control targets, and whether statin non-use is a determinant factor of critical limb ischemia (CLI).

Comprehensive Gene Panel Testing for Hearing Loss in Children: Understanding Factors Influencing Diagnostic Yield.

Objective: To evaluate factors influencing the diagnostic yield of comprehensive gene panel testing (CGPT) for hearing loss (HL) in children and to understand the characteristics of undiagnosed probands.

Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of 474 probands with childhood-onset HL who underwent CGPT between 2016 and 2020 at a single center. Main outcomes and measures included the association between clinical variables and diagnostic yield and the genetic and clinical characteristics of undiagnosed probands.

A case of breast cancer: Suppression of lactation-related FDG uptake 2 days after cabergoline administration.

We present a case of a 35-year-old woman with breast cancer in lactation 3 months after childbirth, in which a lactation inhibitor was useful for 18F-FDG PET/CT examination. Via ultrasonography and biopsy with histopathology, we diagnosed the lesion in the upper region of the left breast as invasive ductal carcinoma. She stopped breastfeeding and was administered cabergoline to suppress lactation.

Novel combination therapy of pedal arch angioplasty and dual distal bypass as an alternative treatment option for vasculitis in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia.

A 68-year-old man with chronic limb-threatening ischemia caused by atypical vasculitis was successfully treated by the combination of pedal arch angioplasty and dual distal bypass. Angioplasty alone failed; therefore, we performed pedal arch angioplasty followed by distal bypass revascularized to the newly created dorsalis pedis artery and posterior tibial artery anastomosis sites. Restenosis occurred twice, and both cases were successfully treated by immediate angioplasty.

Evaluation of Perfusion Index as a Screening Tool for Developing Critical Limb Ischemia.

: The perfusion index (PI) is a physiological marker for evaluating the peripheral circulation. We explored the possibility of using PI as a screening tool for development of critical limb ischemia in peripheral artery disease (PAD). : We measured the PI in 79 limbs of 70 PAD patients.

Cochlear Implantation in Cases of Inner Ear Malformation: A Novel and Simple Grading, Intracochlear EABR, and Outcomes of Hearing.

Objective: To propose a simple grading of inner ear malformation (IEM) and investigate intracochlear electrical auditory brainstem response (EABR) and outcomes for hearing in terms of the novel grading system.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Clinical Profiles of DFNA11 at Diverse Stages of Development and Aging in a Large Family Identified by Linkage Analysis.

Hypothesis: The phenotype of DFNA11 consists of specific features at diverse developmental and age stages.

Background: Only eight mutations have been identified for autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing loss related to MYO7A (DFNA11), and the onset and progression of DFNA11 are poorly understood.

Methods: After linkage analysis and following Sanger sequencing in a family suspected to have autosomal dominant hereditary hearing loss, we analyzed the audiometric and vestibular functions and their long-term changes in the subjects carrying the variant.

Usefulness of digital breast tomosynthesis for non-calcified benign breast masses.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a new modality that assists in detection of breast cancer. However, benign masses are also detected more easily by DBT and may require further workup. This article reviews typical imaging features of non-calcified benign masses on DBT.

Vocal Hygiene Education Program Reduces Surgical Interventions for Benign Vocal Fold Lesions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives/hypothesis: Vocal fold polyps and nodules are common benign laryngeal lesions. Currently, the Japanese health insurance system covers surgical interventions. However, the establishment of more cost-effective conservative methods is required, because healthcare costs are viewed as a major concern, and the government and taxpayers are demanding more economical, effective treatments.

A rare case of bilateral vagus nerve schwanomatosis.

Schwanomatosis is the third most common form of neurofibromatosis. Schwanomatosis affecting the vagus nerve is particularly rare. In this report, we describe an extremely rare case bilateral vagus nerve schwanomatosis in a 45-year-old male patient.

Prevalence of TECTA mutation in patients with mid-frequency sensorineural hearing loss.

Background: To date, 102 genes have been reported as responsible for non-syndromic hearing loss, some of which are associated with specific audiogram features. Four genes have been reported as causative for mid-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (MFSNHL), among which TECTA is the most frequently reported; however, the prevalence of TECTA mutations is unknown. To elucidate the prevalence of TECTA mutation in MFSNHL and clarify genotype-phenotype correlations, we analyzed the genetic and clinical features of patients with MFSNHL.

Effects of vestibular rehabilitation combined with transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation in patients with chronic dizziness: An exploratory study.

Background: Vestibular rehabilitation is useful to alleviate chronic dizziness in patients with vestibular dysfunction. It aims to induce neuronal plasticity in the central nervous system (especially in the cerebellum) to promote vestibular compensation. Transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation (tcDCS) reportedly enhances cerebellar function.

Effect of the forward-projected model-based iterative reconstruction solution algorithm on image quality and radiation dose in pediatric cardiac computed tomography.

Background: Some iterative reconstruction algorithms are useful for reducing the radiation dose in pediatric cardiac CT. A new iterative reconstruction algorithm (forward-projected model-based iterative reconstruction solution) has been developed, but its usefulness for radiation dose reduction in pediatric cardiac CT is unknown.

Objective: To investigate the effect of the new algorithm on CT image quality and on radiation dose in pediatric cardiac CT.

Graft flow assessment using a transit time flow meter in fractional flow reserve-guided coronary artery bypass surgery.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between preoperative severity of coronary stenosis occurring with fractional flow reserve (FFR), and the intraoperative bypass graft flow pattern.

Methods: In all, 72 patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. The FFR value of the left anterior descending artery was evaluated, and data on "in situ" bypass grafting from the internal thoracic artery to the left anterior descending artery were assessed.

A set of external reference controls/probes that enable quality assurance between different microarray platforms.

RNA external standards, although important to ensure equivalence across many microarray platforms, have yet to be fully implemented in the research community. In this article, a set of unique RNA external standards (or RNA standards) and probe pairs that were added to total RNA in the samples before amplification and labeling are described. Concentration-response curves of RNA external standards were used across multiple commercial DNA microarray platforms and/or quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and next-generation sequencing to identify problematic assays and potential sources of variation in the analytical process.

Clinicopathologic study of salivary duct carcinoma and the efficacy of androgen deprivation therapy.

Objective: Salivary duct carcinoma is a rare and aggressive tumor of the salivary glands. The objectives of this study were to investigate the clinicopathological features of salivary duct carcinoma and to determine whether androgen deprivation therapy should be recommended.

Study Design And Methods: The clinical records of seven patients diagnosed with salivary duct carcinoma between 2002 and 2012 were retrospectively assessed.

Breast 3 T-MR imaging: indication for stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess indications for stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (SVAB) evaluated by breast 3 T-magnetic resonance (3 T-MR) imaging in patients showing suspicious microcalcifications on mammography and negative ultrasound (US) findings.

Methods And Materials: Fifty-five patients with 55 breast lesions showing suspicious microcalcifications on mammography and negative US findings underwent preoperative 3 T-MR examination including dynamic MR imaging. All patients underwent SVAB within 1 month of MR imaging.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the submandibular gland: case report and literature review.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the salivary gland is extremely rare. We report on a case of LCNEC in the submandibular gland. A 58-year-old male had a four-month history of an enlarging mass in his left submandibular region.

A case with sacrococcygeal primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy: a case report and review of the literature.

A girl, aged 19 months, presented with a sacrococcygeal tumor that developed at 5 months after birth and gradually enlarged. Serum tumor marker levels were negative. Ultrasound imaging showed abundant blood flow in the tumor.

The phenology of cherry blossom (Prunus yedoensis "Somei-yoshino") and the geographic features contributing to its flowering.

We investigated relationships between the flowering phenology of Prunus yedoensis "Somei-yoshino" (cherry blossom) and the local temperatures in Japan. Our observations were carried out across the Okayama Plain, which included Okayama City (about 700,000 inhabitants), from the winter of 2008 to the spring of 2009. Local air temperature (AT) and the globe temperature (GT) were recorded at the tree height.

Potential hippocampal region atrophy in diabetes mellitus type 2: a voxel-based morphometry VSRAD study.

Purpose: Among diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) patients, the frequency of cognitive dysfunction is higher and the relative risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is approximately twice that of nondiabetics. Cognitive impairment symptoms of AD are induced by limbic system dysfunction, and an early-stage AD brain without dementia has the potential for atrophy in the hippocampal region. In this study, we estimated potential hippocampal region atrophy in DM2 and pursued the association between DM2 and cognitive impairment/AD.