Recent trends in anti-vascular endothelial growth factor intravitreal injections: a large claims database study in Japan.

Purpose: To clarify recent trends in the use of intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in Japan.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: We used the DeSC database, a large-scale claims database for Japan, for entries between April 2014 and March 2021.

Association of cardiovascular health metrics with annual incidence of prediabetes or diabetes: Analysis of a nationwide real-world database.

Aims/introduction: Little is known about the relationship between cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics and the risk of developing prediabetes or diabetes. We examined the association of CVH metrics with the annual risk of developing prediabetes or diabetes.

Materials And Methods: We carried out this study including 403,857 participants aged 18-71 years with available data on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) data for five consecutive years and with normal FPG (<100 mg/dL) at the initial health checkup.

Impact of body mass index on in-hospital mortality in older patients hospitalized for bacterial pneumonia with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease.

Background: Low body mass index (BMI) in older individuals with decreased kidney function is important because of its association with poor prognosis and frailty. Herein, we aimed to clarify the association between BMI and in-hospital mortality among older patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD) stratified by kidney function.

Methods: Using data from the Medical Vision Database, this multicentre cohort study included people aged ≥ 60 years with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of < 60 ml/min/1.

Inhibition of bone erosion, determined by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving a conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARD) plus denosumab vs csDMARD therapy alone: an open-label, randomized, parallel-group study.

Background: This exploratory study compared the inhibition of bone erosion progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with a conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARD) plus denosumab versus csDMARD therapy alone and investigated the effects of denosumab on bone micro-architecture and other bone-related parameters using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT).

Methods: In this open-label, randomized, parallel-group study, patients with RA undergoing treatment with a csDMARD were randomly assigned (1:1) to continue csDMARD therapy alone or to continue csDMARDs with denosumab (60-mg subcutaneous injection once every 6 months) for 12 months. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline in the depth of bone erosion, measured by HR-pQCT, in the second and third metacarpal heads at 6 months after starting treatment.

Clinical Outcomes of Radiologic Relapse in Patients With Cardiac Sarcoidosis Under Immunosuppressive Therapies.

Although nuclear imaging can detect cardiac involvement of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS), including subclinical states, little is known about the prevalence and outcomes of radiologic relapse under prednisolone (PSL) therapy. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with radiologic relapse. A total of 80 consecutive patients with CS whose disease activity on nuclear imaging decreased at least once after initiation of immunosuppressive therapy were identified through a retrospective chart review.

Reduction in blood pressure for people with isolated diastolic hypertension and cardiovascular outcomes.

Aims: Isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) is a largely underrated risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is currently unclear whether a reduction in blood pressure (BP) is associated with CVD events among adults with IDH. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between BP reduction and incident CVD in individuals with IDH.

A sense of distance and movement characteristics of golfers tested without visual feedback of outcomes: Is a putt that feels subjectively good also physically good?

For motor tasks that require fine-tuning, such as adjusting the applied force according to the distance to the target, as required for driving and putting in golf, it is important to develop a high degree of sensitivity of one's movement-produced feedback. In previous research focusing on mental representation in golf, this ability to control distance has been called "a sense of distance". In particular, this study focused on three skills: motor control of the putter head, perception of the impact force, and prediction of the ball's travel distance.

Endothelial cell malfunction in unruptured intracranial aneurysm lesions revealed using a 3D-casted mold.

Intracranial aneurysms (IA) are major causes of devastating subarachnoid hemorrhages. They are characterized by a chronic inflammatory process in the intracranial arterial walls triggered and modified by hemodynamic force loading. Because IA lesion morphology is complex, the blood flow conditions loaded on endothelial cells in each portion of the lesion in situ vary greatly.

Self-Assembled Structure of α-Isostearyl Glyceryl Ether Affects Skin Permeability-a Lamellar with 70-nm Spaces and L3 Phase Enhanced the Transdermal Delivery of a Hydrophilic Model Drug.

Self-assembled surfactant structures, such as liquid crystals, have the potential to enhance transdermal drug delivery. In the present study, the pseudo-ternary system of GET (composed of α-Isostearyl glyceryl ether (GEIS) and polysorbate 60)/1,3 butanediol (BG)/water) was shown to exhibit a complex phase diagram. Small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS) and freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy (FF-TEM) revealed that GET6BG60 (6%GET/60%BG/34%Water) formed a lamellar phase with a repeated distance of approximately 72 nm.

Automated Quantitative Analysis of Anterior Segment Inflammation Using Swept-Source Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography: A Pilot Study.

Background: The aim of this study is to develop an automated evaluation of anterior chamber (AC) cells in uveitis using anterior segment (AS) optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. Methods: We analyzed AS swept-source (SS)-OCT (CASIA 2) images of 31 patients (51 eyes) with uveitis using image analysis software (Python). An automated algorithm was developed to detect cellular spots corresponding to hyper-reflective spots in the AC, and the correlation with Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) grading AC cells score was evaluated.

Incidence of stroke, systemic embolism and bleeding events in patients without anticoagulation based on real-world data in Japan: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To examine the incidence of stroke or systemic embolic events (SSEs) and bleeding events in untreated patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) after widespread use of direct oral anticoagulant agents (DOACs).

Design: Multicentre, non-interventional, observational, retrospective cohort study using real-world data in Japan (2016-2018).

Setting: The Mie, Musashino University study of NVAF, which used the Mie-Life Innovation Promotion Center Database.

Multimodality assessments of wild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis with no ventricular hypertrophy.

While patients with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) typically present with concentric or asymmetric hypertrophy, a small percentage of ATTR-CA is known to present with 'atypical' cardiac morphologies such as eccentric hypertrophy or even no hypertrophy. However, detailed report of multimodality assessments of ATTR-CA with no ventricular hypertrophy is lacking. Herein, we report detailed multimodality assessments of an 81-year-old Japanese woman with heart failure and history of carpal tunnel syndrome and lumbar canal stenosis, presenting no ventricular hypertrophy and negative technetium-pyrophosphate scintigraphy, who was eventually diagnosed as having wild-type ATTR-CA.

Identification of The Unique Subtype of Macrophages in Aneurysm Lesions at the Growth Phase.

Objectives: Recent experimental studies have defined intracranial aneurysms as a macrophage-mediated chronic inflammatory disease affecting intracranial arteries. Although there are various subtypes in macrophages, what type of macrophages is present in lesions during the disease development remains to be elucidated.

Methods: The previously-established aneurysm model of rats was used.

Microdamage analysis of single-use flexible ureteroscope immediately after lithotripsy use.

This prospective ex vivo study investigated microdamage to single-use flexible ureteroscopes (fURS) after ureteroscopy and endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery (ECIRS). The performance of 30 WiScope devices (OTU Medical, San Jose, CA, USA) was examined immediately after use, dividing them into three equal groups: ureteroscopy and ECIRS in the prone and supine positions. The overall scope of microdamage assessment included the scope deflection, bending radius, resolution, and water flow rate.

Real-World Data Analysis of Pembrolizumab Monotherapy for NSCLC Using Japanese Postmarketing All-Case Surveillance Data.

Introduction: Pembrolizumab is a programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitor that was initially indicated for monotherapy in patients with advanced lung cancer. The Japanese Lung Cancer Society conducted an observational study on pembrolizumab using confirmative data obtained through postmarketing all-case surveillance (PMACS), which was performed by a pharmaceutical company under the Japanese law in 2017.

Methods: This multicenter observational study was conducted by the Japanese Lung Cancer Society using PMACS data with the newly created central registration system regarding patients with NSCLC who received pembrolizumab monotherapy between February 1, 2017 and June 30, 2017; a new database was created by adding the clinical information regarding prognosis for 3 years after therapy to the existing data collected by PMACS.

Efficacy of lidocaine injection method for esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection: single-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Intraoperative body movements are one of the causes of difficulty in performing esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) under conscious sedation. The use of local anesthetics as local injection materials during ESD may overcome this difficulty. We clinically evaluated the lidocaine injection method (LIM) in the submucosa during esophageal ESD.

A thermoresponsive cationic block copolymer brush-grafted silica bead interface for temperature-modulated separation of adipose-derived stem cells.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) have beneficial effects in cell transplantation therapy; these cells are collected from adipose tissue using low-invasive methods. However, to prepare ADSCs for cell therapy, a cell separation method that neither involves modification of the cell surface nor causes loss of cell activity is needed. Here, we aimed to develop ADSC separation columns using thermoresponsive cationic block copolymer brush-grafted beads as packing materials.

Population Pharmacokinetic Model and Dosing Simulation of Meropenem Using Measured Creatinine Clearance for Patients with Sepsis.

Purpose: Creatinine clearance (CCr) and pharmacokinetic parameters are markedly affected by pathophysiological changes in patients with sepsis. However, only a few reports have assessed renal function in patients with sepsis using the measured CCr. Furthermore, the administration regimen has not been sufficiently evaluated using a population PK (PPK) model across renal function broad ranges.

Molecular and functional characterization of an evolutionarily conserved CREB-binding protein in the Lymnaea CNS.

In eukaryotes, CREB-binding protein (CBP), a coactivator of CREB, functions both as a platform for recruiting other components of the transcriptional machinery and as a histone acetyltransferase (HAT) that alters chromatin structure. We previously showed that the transcriptional activity of cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) plays a crucial role in neuronal plasticity in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. However, there is no information on the molecular structure and HAT activity of CBP in the Lymnaea central nervous system (CNS), hindering an investigation of its postulated role in long-term memory (LTM).

The Lack of Alterations in Metabolites in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Amygdala, but Their Associations with Autistic Traits, Empathy, and Personality Traits in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Preliminary Study.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) has shown inconsistent alterations in brain metabolites of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We investigated brain metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala of 24 drug-naive adults with ASD and no intellectual disability and 24 non-ASD control subjects, using 3 T H-MRS. Adults with ASD showed no significant differences from control in glutamate, glutamate plus glutamine, N-acetylaspartate, glycerophosphorylcholine plus phosphorylcholine, creatine plus phosphocreatine, or myo-inositol in either region.

Clinical impact of amrubicin monotherapy in patients with relapsed small cell lung cancer: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background: Topoisomerase is an essential enzyme for deoxyribonucleic acid replication, and its inhibitors suppress tumor progression. Amrubicin, a topoisomerase II inhibitor, is mainly used in the second-line treatment of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). However, the impact of different types of topoisomerase inhibitors for first-line chemotherapy on the efficacy of amrubicin remains unclear.

Predicting the growth of middle cerebral artery bifurcation aneurysms using differences in the bifurcation angle and inflow coefficient.

Objective: Growing intracranial aneurysms (IAs) are prone to rupture. Previous cross-sectional studies using postrupture morphology have shown the morphological or hemodynamic features related to IA rupture. Yet, which morphological or hemodynamic differences of the prerupture status can predict the growth and rupture of smaller IAs remains unknown.