Maternal Separation as Early-Life Stress Causes Enhanced Allergic Airway Responses by Inhibiting Respiratory Tolerance in Mice.

Epidemiologic studies indicate that exposure to psychosocial stress in early childhood is a risk factor of adult-onset asthma, but the mechanisms of this relationship are poorly understood. Therefore, we examined whether early-life stress increases susceptibility to adult-onset asthma by inhibiting the development of respiratory tolerance. Neonatal BALB/c female mice were aerosolized with ovalbumin (OVA) to induce immune tolerance prior to immune sensitization with an intraperitoneal injection of OVA and the adjuvant aluminum hydroxide.

Increased Susceptibility to Allergic Asthma with the Impairment of Respiratory Tolerance Caused by Psychological Stress.

Background: Bronchial asthma is characterized by type 2 T helper (Th2) cell inflammation, essentially due to a breakdown of immune tolerance to harmless environmental allergens. Etiologically, experiences of psychological stress can be associated with a heightened prevalence of asthma. However, the mechanisms underlying stress-related asthma development are unclear.

The involvement of central nervous system histamine receptors in psychological stress-induced exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation in mice.

Background: Psychological stress is one of the major risk factors for asthma exacerbation. Although histamine in the brain acts as an excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter associated with psychological stress, the contribution of brain histamine to psychological stress-induced exacerbation of asthma remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of histamine receptors in the CNS on stress induced asthma aggravation.

[An Attempt to Measure Presentation Skill Acquisition Using Peer and Self-evaluation].

In six-year pharmacy education programs, humanistic education is now regarded as more important than ever, and we are working to incorporate active learning methods into a variety of subjects. Because performance evaluations are by their nature subjective, it is difficult to ensure the validity of any given assessment. Fifth-year students at Tohoku Pharmaceutical University learn case and prescription analysis in problem-based learning tutorials.

CD8+ T Cells Mediate Female-Dominant IL-4 Production and Airway Inflammation in Allergic Asthma.

The prevalence and severity of bronchial asthma are higher in females than in males after puberty. Although antigen-specific CD8+ T cells play an important role in the development of asthma through their suppressive effect on cytokine production, the contribution of CD8+ T cells to sex differences in asthmatic responses remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the sex-specific effect of CD8+ T cells in the suppression of asthma using an ovalbumin mouse model of asthma.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia with eosinophilia lacking peripheral blood leukemic cell: a rare entity.

We describe a 57-year-old woman who was diagnosed as precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with marked eosinophilia (ALL-eo). She presented with low grade fever and eosinophilia (absolute count 16.5 × 10(9)/l).

Inversion of chromosome 7q22 and q36 as a sole abnormality presenting in myelodysplastic syndrome: a case report.

Introduction: Deletions of chromosome 7 are often detected in myelodysplastic syndrome. The most commonly deleted segments are clustered at band 7q22. A critical gene is therefore suggested to be located in this region.

Contribution of CD4+ T cells and dendritic cells to female-dominant antigen-induced T helper type 2 cytokine production by bronchial lymph node cells.

Background: After puberty, asthma severity is higher in women than in men. The underlying mechanisms of this gender difference are not fully understood. In murine models of allergic asthma, more severe airway inflammation in female mice is associated with higher levels of T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines.

Case of autoimmune hepatitis with markedly enlarged hepatoduodenal ligament lymph nodes.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a necroinflammatory liver disease of unknown etiology. The disease is characterized histologically by interface hepatitis, biochemically by increased aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, and serologically by increased autoantibodies and immunoglobulin G levels. Here we discuss AIH in a previously healthy 37-year-old male with highly elevated serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor and markedly enlarged hepatoduodenal ligament lymph nodes (HLLNs, diameter, 50 mm).

A case of cilioretinal artery occlusion resembling hemicentral retinal artery occlusion.

A 77-year-old man presented with an inferior hemivisual field defect in the left eye. Funduscopy revealed well demarcated retinal edema of the superior quadrant resembling hemicentral retinal artery occlusion. Further, the upper and inferior retinal arteries emerged separately from the optic disc.

Adenoendocrine cell carcinoma of the gallbladder producing a high level of alpha-fetoprotein.

We present the case of a 78-year-old Japanese woman with adenoendocrine cell carcinoma of the gallbladder accompanied by a high serum alpha-fetoprotein level. The patient visited our hospital with a complaint of a large mass in the right hypochondrium. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed multiple large hepatic tumors, swelling of lymph nodes in the hepatic hilum and para-aortic regions, and a slightly irregular gallbladder wall.

Higher sensitivity of male CD4+ T cells to suppressive effects of CD8+ T cells on IL-5 production compared to female CD4+ T cells.

Background: Asthma prevalence and severity are higher in females than in males after puberty. The underlying mechanisms of this gender difference are not fully understood. More severe airway inflammation in female mice has been reported to be associated with higher levels of T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines in asthma models.

Factors associated with the overall survival of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: To identify the factors associated with overall survival of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: A total of 286 patients with HCC (male/female: 178/108, age: 46-100 years), who were diagnosed and treated by appropriate therapeutic procedures between January 2000 and December 2010, were enrolled in this study. Patients were stratified into two groups on the basis of age: Elderly (≥ 75 years old) and non-elderly (< 75 years old).

Cytogenetic analysis of de novo CD5-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Aims: De novo CD5-positive diffuse large B cell lymphoma (CD5+DLBL) is a subtype of DLBL with poor clinical outcome. To investigate the cytogenetic pathogenesis of CD5+DLBL, we analyzed the chromosomal findings of 18 patients with CD5+DLBL.

Methods: Tumor cells were cultured and metaphase was captured by colchicine exposure.

T cell subsets related with a sex difference in IL-5 production.

Background: Before puberty, the prevalence and severity of asthma are higher in boys than in girls, but this pattern is reversed after puberty. The underlying mechanisms of these gender differences in asthma are not fully understood. Using murine models of allergic asthma, a sex difference in Th2 cytokine production has been suggested to contribute to the gender differences in asthma.

Headache in late pregnancy: a symptom for Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease.

Headache in late pregnancy is warning of the presence of severe and/or lethal disorders. Here, we present a case of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH), in which headache was the preceding and predominant symptom. At 37 weeks of pregnancy, a Japanese 1-para woman with an uneventful pregnancy complained of severe headache and then blurred vision.

Pure red cell aplasia caused by parvovirus B19 in two patients without chronic hemolysis.

Infection with human parvovirus B19 (PVB19) induces acquired pure red cell aplasia (PRCA). Chronic hemolytic anemia is well known as an underlying condition. However, additional factors have been recognized to accompany parvoviral PRCA; however, there are only limited reports on iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) and rituximab-induced B-cell dysfunction.

Relapse of hepatitis C in a pegylated-interferon-alpha-2b plus ribavirin-treated sustained virological responder.

A 41-year-old woman with chronic hepatitis C was treated with pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN)-alpha-2b plus ribavirin for 24 weeks. She had hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2a (1600 KIU/mL), and her liver histology showed mild inflammation and fibrosis. Four weeks after the start of the therapy, she achieved a rapid virological response (RVR) and then a sustained virological response (SVR).

Gender differences in transcriptional regulation of IL-5 expression by bronchial lymph node cells in a mouse model of asthma.

Background And Objective: The severity of asthma after puberty is higher in women than in men. Increased numbers of eosinophils in the airways of female mice after antigen challenge was associated with increased levels of T helper (Th)2 cytokines at the site of inflammation, and in human and mouse studies, the profile of cytokines produced by immune cells from women showed greater Th2 predominance. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the development of Th2 immune responses.

The involvement of micro-opioid receptors in the central nervous system in the worsening of allergic airway inflammation by psychological stress in mice.

Background: Psychological stress has a recognized association with asthma symptoms. However, the mechanisms linking stress to the exacerbation of asthma are not well defined. mu-Opioid receptors (MOR) have been shown to be involved in the shift of the immune system toward a Th2-predominant response caused by psychological stress.

Protein-losing enteropathy in a case of nodal follicular lymphoma without a gastrointestinal mucosal lesion.

Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is characterized by gastrointestinal loss of serum protein. It is usually caused by hypersecretion from a tumor, ulcer, or long standing lymphangiectasia. However, we report a 47-year-old man of peritoneal nodal follicular lymphoma who developed PLE with none of them.

Clinicopathological analysis of a case with mesenteric solitary Castleman's disease: diagnostic value of radiological findings.

We report a case with rare solitary mesenteric Castleman's disease (CD). A 45-year-old woman complaining of nausea was presented. A round-shaped, smooth margin, and hypoechoic mass was seen on screening abdominal ultrasonography.

Non-prescription supplement-induced hepatitis with hyperferritinemia and mutation (H63D) in the HFE gene.

A 55-year-old Japanese woman was hospitalized because liver function tests showed an abnormality. Transaminases and biliary enzymes were markedly elevated with hyperferritinemia. Her imaging tests revealed no significant abnormality.