nasal colonization increases the risk of cedar pollinosis.

Background: One-third of the people in Japan are colonized with (.) and suffer from virulence factor-mediated subclinical inflammation of the nares. We investigated whether subclinical inflammation contributed to cedar pollinosis affecting 20 million people annually.

Validation of the "My Headache Checker" that includes osmophobia in the diagnosis of migraine.

Background: Migraine is a common headache disorder, with a 1 year prevalence rate of 6.0 %. However, less than 10% of patients with migraine receive medication in hospital.

Impact of repeated yearly vaccination on immune responses to influenza vaccine in an elderly population.

Background: The effectiveness of repeated vaccination for seasonal influenza remains controversial. Here, we measured antibody responses to the influenza virus (A/H1N1, A/H3N2 and B) in a closed cohort of older participants vaccinated against influenza virus in each of 5 consecutive years.

Methods: One hundred and 11 volunteers aged >61 years were vaccinated subcutaneously with 1 dose (0.

Association between serum calcium levels and prognosis, hematoma volume, and onset of cerebral hemorrhage in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Background: High serum calcium levels should be avoided in patients on hemodialysis (HD) because they can induce cardiovascular diseases and worsen the patient's prognosis. In contrast, low serum calcium levels worsen the prognosis of patients with cerebral hemorrhage in the general population. So far, whether serum calcium levels in patients on HD are associated with cerebral hemorrhage remains unknown.

Prediction of Nonadherence and Renal Prognosis by Pre-Transplantation Serum Phosphate Levels.

BACKGROUND Identifying characteristics of patients at high risk of poor adherence before transplantation would be advantageous. However, the optimal approach for characterizing such patients remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate the association between factors for hemodialysis nonadherence and post-transplant renal prognosis.

Long-term follow-up of transvenous defibrillation leads: high incidence of fracture in coaxial polyurethane lead.

Background: As a result of longer follow-up after implantation of cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), fatigue of the leads has become a concern. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and clinical presentation of ICD lead failures.

Methods And Results: The study population consisted of 241 patients with 249 ICD leads who underwent implantation of an ICD with a transvenous lead system.

Thermolabile variant, PHOX-S, of prophenol oxidase in Drosophila melanogaster.

The Phox(S) strain of Drosophila melanogaster is an electrophoretically slow variant found in a wild population at Victoria, Australia. Prophenol oxidase isoform A(1) from PHOX-S was purified and characterized biochemically and genetically. The purified fraction of A(1) from PHOX-S showed a homodimer with a molecular weight of the subunit of approximately 77 kDa.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in a male patient with early stage (stage I) primary biliary cirrhosis.

The true incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) remains undetermined due to limited epidemiological studies and some conflicting results. Some studies indicated that in PBC, male gender, cirrhosis, hepatitis C virus (HCV) superinfection, and history of blood transfusion are associated with the development of HCC, and the occurrence of HCC in the early stage of PBC is rare. We present herein a 75-year-old male patient with stage I PBC who developed oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, followed by HCC and duodenal adenocarcinoma without hepatitis B or C virus infection.