Publications by authors named "Obata K"

Elastofibromatous changes of the oral mucosa, such as an elastofibroma (EF) or an elastofibromatous lesion (EFL), are not well recognized, and the second such case in Japan is reported. A 72-year-old man wearing a complete maxillary denture presented with a small nodule on the hard palate. Histopathological examination showed abundant fibrous tissue with numerous elastic fibers on Elastica van Gieson (EvG) staining.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • In Japan, comprehensive genome profiling (CGP) as a diagnostic tool has been available through public insurance since June 2019, but only a small percentage of cancer patients are actually receiving treatments based on this data.
  • A study analyzed 219 patients with various cancers from Iwate Medical University Hospital, finding that only 6.4% acted on drug recommendations made by the Molecular Tumor Board after CGP analysis.
  • Despite low drug adoption rates, CGP proved useful for monitoring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), helping predict early relapses and evaluate treatment responses in a significant number of cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Ampicillin/sulbactam (ABPC/ SBT) is one of the most common β-lactam antibiotics for patients with status epilepticus complicated with aspiration pneumonia. It is known that β-lactam antibiotics such as penicillin aggravate epileptic seizures or status epilepticus. Here, we investigated whether ABPC/SBT aggravates seizures using electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Lipolysis-stimulated lipoprotein receptor (LSR), a lipid metabolism-related factor localized in tricellular tight junctions (tTJs), plays an important role in maintaining the epithelial homeostasis. LSR is highly expressed in well-differentiated cancers, and its expression decreases during malignancy. The LSR antibody inhibits cell growth and promotes apoptosis in some cancers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is a notifiable disease under Japan's Infectious Disease Control Law and has become a pandemic following COVID-19. STSS often leads to necrotizing fasciitis, with a mortality rate exceeding 30%. Even in surviving patients, limb amputations are common.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Lemierre's syndrome is a rare disease characterized by thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein and metastasis to distant organs. It occurs after an anaerobic infection of the larynx or dental region; the central nervous system involvement is infrequent. A 50-year-old woman presented with impaired consciousness.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Amyloidosis is a disease in which amyloid protein is deposited in organs and tissues, resulting in functional impairment. Amyloidosis occurs in 12%-30% of patients with multiple myeloma, but in rare cases, amyloidosis may precede the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Our patient was a 76-year-old Japanese male on dialysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Postoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis is one of the complications of thyroid surgery, and the prevention and management of paralysis is an important issue for surgeons. In this study, in order to gain further understanding of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis after thyroid surgery, we analyzed and examined the usefulness of nerve stimulators for recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis and the factors that may cause recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. Furthermore, in cases where transient recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis occurred, we analyzed and examined the timing of improvement in vocal cord movement for each intraoperative finding and intraoperative operation that caused the paralysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/aim: Malignant melanoma is a tumor with a poor prognosis that can metastasize distally at an early stage. Terrein, a metabolite produced by Aspergillus terreus, suppresses the expression of angiogenin, an angiogenic factor. However, the pharmacological effects of natural terrein have not been elucidated, because only a small amount of terrein can be extracted from large fungal cultures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Le Fort I osteotomy is a surgical procedure aimed at improving maxillary mobility but carries the risk of bad fractures that can lead to complications.
  • The study used 2D and 3D CT images to find anatomical factors related to these bad fractures, specifically noting important measurements from key anatomical points.
  • Two main risk factors on the pterygoid side and six on the maxillary side were identified, suggesting that certain anatomical distances contribute significantly to the occurrence of fractures during this procedure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The lingual nerve (LN) is a branch of the trigeminal nerve that supplies sensation to the mouth and the front part of the tongue.
  • While it is not commonly involved in basic dental surgeries, its anatomical position can pose a risk of accidental damage during procedures.
  • This section aims to raise awareness about the risks of LN injury, explain its anatomy, and provide guidance on treatment in case of injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the utility of narrow-band imaging (NBI) for improving intraneural dissection during gross total resection of head and neck schwannoma. Specifically, we aimed to quantitatively evaluate whether NBI can enhance the identification of pseudocapsule and true capsule within the tumor.

Methods: Nine schwannoma surgery cases conducted between February 2018 and October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A dentinogenic ghost cell tumor (DGCT) is a rare benign odontogenic tumor that commonly shows characteristics of solid proliferation and has a relatively high risk of recurrence after surgical treatment. We herein report a case of a central DGCT that occurred in the maxilla and resulted in bone expansion. This study highlights new imaging findings (particularly magnetic resonance imaging) along with histopathological observations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Odontomas, often found adjacent to impacted teeth, are tumors of abnormal tissue morphology arising from the tooth germ and are usually asymptomatic. They are often found by accident on X-ray images, and the eruption of permanent teeth is often caused by odontomas. In most cases, the tooth is extracted with the permanent tooth or orthodontic treatment is performed after extraction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the dorsum of the tongue is extremely rare, and it clinically resembles various benign lesions. Somatic mutations in TP53 and some driver genes were implicated in the development of SCC; however, the somatic genetic characteristics of dorsal tongue SCC remain unknown. With a detailed analysis of gene mutations in dorsal tongue SCC, we aimed to better understand its biology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Superconductivity is caused by electron pairs that are canonically isotropic, whereas some exotic superconductors are known to exhibit non-trivial anisotropy stemming from unconventional pairings. However, superconductors with hexagonal symmetry, the highest rotational symmetry allowed in crystals, exceptionally have strong constraint that is called emergent rotational symmetry (ERS): anisotropic properties should be very weak especially near the critical temperature T even for unconventional pairings such as d-wave states. Here, we investigate superconducting anisotropy of the recently-found hexagonal Kagome superconductor CsVSb, which is known to exhibit various intriguing phenomena originating from its undistorted Kagome lattice formed by vanadium atoms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD) has close endoscopic and pathological similarities to ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. Clinical data on SCAD are limited in Japan. We examined the endoscopic and clinicopathological features of patients with SCAD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Aqueous formic acid dehydrogenation (FAD) is important for producing hydrogen, a clean energy source, using Pd-based catalysts that convert formic acid to hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
  • Researchers conducted experiments varying reactant concentrations and modifying Pd with Ag to study the FAD rates and their correlation with the catalyst's open-circuit potential (OCP).
  • Findings revealed that lower OCP values corresponded with higher FAD rates, while catalyst performance decreased over time, showing a linear relationship between FAD rate and OCP during decay, linking thermal and electrocatalytic processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cisplatin (CDDP) plays a central role in chemotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but drug resistance in HNSCC chemotherapy remains a problem, and the mechanism of CDDP resistance is unclear. We investigated CDDP-resistance mechanisms mediated by extracellular vesicles (EVs) and ATPase copper transporting beta (ATP7B) in HNSCC.

Methods: We established CDDP-resistant sublines of HNSCC cells and verified their ATP7B expression.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Hospitalization often leads to a decline in activities of daily living (ADL) in older patients with heart failure. Although cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improves ADL, it can be difficult to perform CR due to the deconditioning of these patients. This study aimed to examine the factors associated with ADL at discharge in older patients with heart failure who underwent CR.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The mylohyoid is one of the suprahyoid muscles along with the geniohyoid, digastric, and stylohyoid muscles that lies between the anterior belly of the digastric muscle inferiorly and the geniohyoid superiorly. In Part II, the radiology and clinical/surgical importance of the mylohyoid muscle will be discussed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The mylohyoid is one of the suprahyoid muscles, along with the geniohyoid, digastric, and stylohyoid muscles. It lies between the anterior belly of the digastric muscle inferiorly and the geniohyoid superiorly. In Part I, the anatomy and embryology of the mylohyoid muscle will be reviewed in preparation for the clinical discussion in Part II.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Plasminogen serves as the precursor to plasmin, an essential element in the fibrinolytic process, and is synthesized primarily in the liver. Plasminogen activation occurs through the action of plasminogen activator, converting it into plasmin. This conversion greatly enhances the fibrinolytic system within tissues and blood vessels, facilitating the dissolution of fibrin clots.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to address the challenges of assessing post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) in ICU survivors by identifying effective assessment instruments through a scoping review and consensus process.
  • A total of 6972 records were reviewed, leading to 20 recommended instruments spanning various domains, including physical health, cognition, and mental health.
  • The findings provide a structured approach to evaluating PICS, highlighting tools like the 6-min walk test and MoCA, ensuring comprehensive assessment for ICU survivors and their families.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Providing standardized, high-quality rehabilitation for critically ill patients is a crucial issue. In 2017, the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine (JSICM) promulgated the "Evidence-Based Expert Consensus for Early Rehabilitation in the Intensive Care Unit" to advocate for the early initiation of rehabilitations in Japanese intensive care settings. Building upon this seminal work, JSICM has recently conducted a rigorous systematic review utilizing the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF