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.

End-of-season outbreaks of nosocomial influenza caused by waning vaccine immunity.

The waning of vaccine protection may be responsible for outbreaks toward the end of the influenza season. Three of five outbreaks occurred at the beginning of April following an interval of >100 days from the date of vaccination; the reported index case was a nurse or office worker, and >50% of those affected were healthcare workers. The results are consistent with intra-seasonal waning of vaccine immunity that resulted in outbreaks at the end of season.

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.

Prevalence and characteristics of methicillin-resistant colonization among healthcare professionals in a university hospital in Japan.

Background: Asymptomatic carriers of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) are important sources of nosocomial transmission. MRSA may be transmitted from hospitalized patients to healthcare professionals and vice versa.

Methods: The prevalence of MRSA colonization among forty-five healthcare professionals in a Japanese hospital was determined by performing surveillance cultures to identify unrecognized carriers of MRSA.

Large abscess formed in the abdominal wall by complex: A case of unmasking immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is a clinical entity with a broad presentation that is complicated in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome after initiating antiretroviral therapy. A 51-year-old Japanese man was diagnosed with disseminated complex (MAC) infection presenting as unmasking IRIS, which formed a large abscess in the patient's abdominal wall. MAC-IRIS commonly involves the lymph nodes, bone marrow, and gastrointestinal tract.

Transmission of methicillin-resistant in an acute care hospital in Japan.

Background: Asymptomatic carriers of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) are important sources of nosocomial transmission. However, the route of transmission of MRSA is not completely understood. The purpose of this study was to calculate MRSA transmission rates in a hospital with a high MRSA infection/colonization density and inadequate hand hygiene compliance.

Consecutive hypoglycemia attacks induced by co-trimoxazole followed by pentamidine in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Both co-trimoxazole and pentamidine are used for the treatment of pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) and are known to cause hypoglycemia as an adverse drug reaction. Here, we describe a rare case of a late-diagnosed female patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who developed the first hypoglycemic attack as an adverse effect of co-trimoxazole, followed by a second hypoglycemic attack as an adverse effect of pentamidine. Physicians caring for patients with AIDS and PCP should be aware of possible hypoglycemia in patients with many risk factors.

Prevalence and characteristics of methicillin-resistant in community residents of Japan.

Background: To implement effective precautions to avoid methicillin-resistant (MRSA) nosocomial infections, it is important to clarify when, how, and from whom MRSA was transmitted to the patients. However, MRSA strains obtained from outpatient population were not analyzed, and the transmission routes of MRSA in the community are not completely understood. The purpose of this study was to clarify whether MRSA is spreading in community settings or whether MRSA transmission still occurs only in healthcare institutions.

Sequential occurrence of Graves' disease and immune thrombocytopenic purpura as manifestations of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in an HIV-infected patient.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in HIV-infected patients after initiating antiretroviral therapy usually involves worsening manifestations of overt infectious disease. Here, we describe a sporadic case of a late-diagnosed HIV-positive man who developed Graves' disease as the first noninfectious IRIS followed by immune thrombocytopenic purpura as the second noninfectious IRIS.

Booster influenza vaccination confers additional immune responses in an elderly, rural community-dwelling population.

This study aimed to examine the effects of a booster vaccination in elderly people using 2 doses of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine during the 2012-2013 influenza epidemic. Seroprotection rates against the A(H1N1)pdm09 strain in younger elderly people (aged 61-75 years) and the A(H3N2) and B strains in both younger elderly people (aged 61-75 years) as well as very elderly people (aged 76-102 years) did not decrease at 22 weeks after vaccination. This approach confers long-lasting antibody responses and may be useful in clinical practice.

Continued direct observation and feedback of hand hygiene adherence can result in long-term improvement.

Background: Hospital-wide multifaceted approaches can improve hand hygiene compliance in health care workers. However, the true effects of monitoring and feedback interventions are not clear.

Methods: Hand hygiene compliance was evaluated by applying direct observation techniques over 5 years (2005-2009) in a tertiary care general hospital in Japan.

Aberrant methylation in promoter-associated CpG islands of multiple genes in chronic myelogenous leukemia blast crisis.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has a typical progressive course with transition from a chronic phase to a terminal blast crisis phase. The mechanisms that lead to disease progression remain to be elucidated. To understand the role of aberrant methylation in the progression of CML, DNA methylation patterns in 16 patients with CML blast crisis were analyzed.

Prevaccination antibody titers can estimate the immune response to influenza vaccine in a rural community-dwelling elderly population.

Influenza and its complications are related to increased morbidity and mortality in elderly persons. Influenza vaccination is an important strategy to minimize the excess morbidity and mortality caused by influenza infection. Influenza epidemics start in November and continue to March in the next year, but it is not clear if the immunization-induced antibody titer lasts throughout the influenza season.

Clinical significance of aberrant DNA methylation in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Methylation profile was analyzed in ninety-five patients with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methylation of both MGMT and p16 genes were associated with higher age (p=0.01 and p=0.

MS-275, a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor with selectivity against HDAC1, induces degradation of FLT3 via inhibition of chaperone function of heat shock protein 90 in AML cells.

This study explored the effect of MS-275, a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI), against a variety of human leukemia cells with defined genetic alterations. MS-275 profoundly induced growth arrest of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) MOLM13 and biphenotypic leukemia MV4-11 cells, which possess internal tandem duplication mutation in the fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) gene (FLT3-ITD), with IC50s less than 1 microM, as measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay on day two of culture. Exposure of these cells to MS-275 decreased levels of total, as well as, phosphorylated forms of FLT3, resulting in inactivation of its downstream signal pathways, including Akt, ERK, and STAT5.

HIV-1 protease inhibitor ritonavir potentiates the effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 to induce growth arrest and differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cells via down-regulation of CYP24.

HIV-1 protease inhibitor, ritonavir (RTV) is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome p450 (CYPs) enzymes. This study explored the effects of RTV on CYP24 which converts 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)] to its inactive form 1,24,25,(OH)(3). Real-time RT-PCR showed that exposure of HL-60 cells to 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) induced expression of CYP24, and pre-incubation of these cells with RTV decreased this transcripts, resulting in increased intracellular levels of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and potentiation of the ability of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) to induce growth arrest and differentiation of these cells.

SAHA, a HDAC inhibitor, has profound anti-growth activity against non-small cell lung cancer cells.

Current chemotherapy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) produces only a modest increase in survival time. New approaches are needed for this disease. The development of lung cancer is associated with silencing tumor suppressor genes that can occur not only by deletion or mutation, but also by epigenetic changes including histone deacetylation of key lysines.

HIV-1 protease inhibitor induces growth arrest and apoptosis of human prostate cancer LNCaP cells in vitro and in vivo in conjunction with blockade of androgen receptor STAT3 and AKT signaling.

This study found that the HIV-1 protease inhibitor nelfinavir (NFV) induced growth arrest and apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells (LNCaP, DU145 and PC-3 cells), as measured by MTT and terminal deoxyribonucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays, respectively, on the third day of culture. In addition, NFV blocked androgen receptor (AR) signaling in association with downregulation of nuclear levels of AR in LNCaP cells as measured by reporter assay and western blot analysis. As expected, NFV downregulated the level of the AR target molecule prostate specific antigen in these cells.

Aberrant methylation in promoter-associated CpG islands of multiple genes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Methylation profile was analyzed in 10 childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and nine adult ALL cases. Four genes (p15, p16, RARbeta, FHIT) had methylation in both diseases, four genes (p14, Rb, MLH1, DAPK) showed no methylation in both diseases, and the two genes (APC, RIZ) demonstrated methylation only in adult ALL. Methylation of the RARbeta was more frequent in adult ALL than that in childhood ALL (p=0.

Methylation of the MLH1 gene in hematological malignancies.

Hypermethylation of the MLH1 gene has been described in many kinds of human cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI). However, it is not clear whether the same mechanism occurs in hematological malignancies. Genomic DNA was extracted from 31 patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), 9 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who had MSI, and 12 leukemia and lymphoma cell lines with MSI.

Methylation analysis of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.

We investigated methylation status of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). APC methylation was found in 15 of 31 (48%) primary samples, and 2 of 4 (50%) ATL cell lines. Methylation of the APC gene occurred more frequently in acute ATL (12/21) (57%) than chronic ATL (1/8) (13%) (P = 0.