Moderate-carbohydrate diet without caloric or lipid restriction for Japanese adult patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A prospective cohort study.

Aim: Although a low-calorie diet with lipid restriction is recommended in clinical practice guidelines for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), both compliance and adherence are poor. The present study aimed to evaluate the compliance, adherence, and effectiveness of a moderate-carbohydrate diet without caloric or lipid restrictions.

Methods: Participants comprised 300 patients with NAFLD with elevated ALT levels who received counseling in carbohydrate restriction (150-200 g/day).

Safety and efficacy of switching to pemafibrate from bezafibrate in patients with chronic liver disease.

Aim: Although fibrates were developed as lipid-lowering drugs, their efficacy against liver dysfunction in patients with cholestatic liver diseases, such as primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and fatty liver disease, has also been reported. Although fibrates act on some peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), pemafibrate is a novel selective PPAR-α modulator. The present study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of switching from bezafibrate to pemafibrate in patients with chronic liver disease.

An infant case of pseudohypoaldosteronism type1A caused by a novel NR3C2 variant.

Pseudohypoaldosteronism type1A (PHA1A) is the renal form of pseudohypoaldosteronism with autosomal dominant inheritance. PHA1A is caused by haploinsufficiency of the mineralocorticoid receptor, which is encoded by NR3C2. We encountered an infant who was diagnosed with PHA1A due to hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, and poor weight gain in the neonatal period.

New next-generation microwave thermosphere ablation for small hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/aims: In July 2017, the Emprint™ next-generation microwave ablation system using thermosphere technology (Covidien, Boulder, CO, USA) was approved for use in Japan. This system can produce a predictable spherical ablation zone at higher temperatures than radiofrequency ablation (RFA). The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether this new microwave thermosphere ablation (MTA) could safely improve outcome compared to RFA, which is the standard of care for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Differences in the neuronal correlation between the central and peripheral vision in the cat early visual cortex.

Significant surround modulation was reported in the cortical areas corresponding to the periphery of the visual field, whereas no clear surround modulation was reported in the center. To understand the neural bases underlying the differences of the functions between the cortical areas corresponding to the center and periphery of the visual field, responses of the cells in the cat early visual cortex with their receptive fields in the center and periphery of the visual field were recorded by using multichannel electrodes, and cross-correlations of the spikes in the responses to the full-field stimuli, and the center-surround stimuli, which contained a grating in a central patch and a surround grating, were analyzed. Percentages of the cell pairs showing significant cross-correlation were larger in the cortical areas corresponding to the periphery than the center.

Sarcopenia and obesity in long-term survivors of childhood leukemia/lymphoma: a report from a single institution.

Background: The incidence and background factors of sarcopenia and obesity in long-term survivors of childhood leukemia/lymphoma were not clear in Japan.

Methods: Between August 2018 and September 2019, we recruited adults aged ≥18 years who had childhood leukemia/lymphoma. Blood sampling, body composition measurement by bioelectrical impedance analysis and grip strength test were performed.

Successful treatment of bilateral empyema with bilateral fistulae using free intercostal muscle flap.

Background: Bilateral empyema is rare and can be life-threatening. Few cases have ever been reported about bilateral empyema with fistula on both sides. We herein report a case of bilateral empyema with bilateral fistulae that was treated with a 2-stage operation.

Relevance of level IIb neck dissection in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: Cervical nodal metastasis is a key prognostic factor in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. The role of lymph nodes in papillary thyroid carcinoma management and prognosis remains controversial.

Methods: Level IIb lymph nodes obtained from 44 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma were histopathologically examined retrospectively.

Combination with portosystemic shunt occlusion and antiviral therapy improves prognosis of decompensated cirrhosis.

Background And Aim: Portosystemic shunt occlusion using endovascular treatment can transiently improve liver function in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. In recent years, viral hepatitis can be easily controlled. The present study aimed to clarify the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment in decompensated cirrhotic patients, and to elucidate whether viral treatment improves the prognosis after shunt occlusion.

An intrinsic algorithm for viewing angle tolerance of object discrimination in human subjects.

Prevailing theories suggest that view-invariant object recognition is accomplished via spatiotemporal correlations of multiple views that bind different views to the same object. However, it is unknown how the exposure to multiple views without association affects view-invariant recognition generating. Behavioural studies have shown that monkeys acquired view-invariant object recognition capability in a range of the viewing angles of 30° to 60° after experiencing discrimination of similar objects at each of several viewing angles without associating different views, but the monkeys could not discriminate novel objects from similar distractors when the viewing angle changed.

Relevance of Level IIb Neck Dissection in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.

Background: Cervical nodal metastasis is the most important prognostic factor in patients with head and neck cancers. Unfortunately, nodal dissection at level IIb carries a risk of damage to the spinal accessory nerve. We aimed to determine the prevalence of level IIb metastasis and the relevance of nodal dissection at level IIb in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

Management of elderly patients with head and neck carcinoma: analysis of outcomes for radical versus palliative treatment.

Background: There are no universally accepted treatment recommendations for elderly patients with head and neck carcinomas. This study investigated whether radical treatment in elderly patients resulted in better survival compared with palliative treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 724 patients aged > 60 years who underwent treatment for primary head and neck carcinomas at Hamamatsu University Hospital.

Risk Factors and Prognostic Factors of Hearing Impairment in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit-Treated Infants.

Background: Infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) have a higher incidence of congenital hearing loss compared with the healthy newborn population.

Objectives: To clarify the relationship between risk factors for hearing impairment in NICU-treated infants and deterioration of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) threshold during childhood.

Method: We screened 1,071 high-risk infants admitted to the NICU for hearing impairment.

A multicenter phase I study of inebilizumab, a humanized anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody, in Japanese patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

This multicenter, phase I, open-label dose escalation study evaluated safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary anti-tumor activity of inebilizumab in Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), follicular lymphoma (FL), or multiple myeloma (MM) who were ineligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Patients received inebilizumab 2, 4, or 8 mg/kg intravenously on days 1 and 8 of the first 28-day cycle, and once every 28 days thereafter, with a 12 mg/kg cohort added. Twenty patients (11 FL, six DLBCL, two CLL, and one MM) received inebilizumab at four dose levels (2 mg/kg cohort, n = 3; 4 mg/kg cohort, n = 7; 8 mg/kg cohort, n = 4; 12 mg/kg cohort, n = 6).