Effects of SGLT2 Inhibitors and DPP-4 Inhibitors on Advanced Glycation End Products.

Clinical trials have revealed that sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors suppress the onset of heart failure and cardiovascular death in diabetic patients. On the other hand, few reports have been published concerning such effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. We undertook the present study to evaluate the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors and DPP-4 inhibitors on the advanced glycation end products (AGEs), well known as a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disorders.

Estimating Patient Satisfaction Through a Language Processing Model: Model Development and Evaluation.

Background: Measuring patient satisfaction is a crucial aspect of medical care. Advanced natural language processing (NLP) techniques enable the extraction and analysis of high-level insights from textual data; nonetheless, data obtained from patients are often limited.

Objective: This study aimed to create a model that quantifies patient satisfaction based on diverse patient-written textual data.

Effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on the intestinal bacterial flora in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Selective inhibitors of sodium glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) suppress renal glucose reabsorption and promote urinary glucose excretion, thereby lowering blood glucose. SGLT2 inhibitors have been reported to reduce body weight. However, the mechanism underlying the reduction in the body weight induced by SGLT2 inhibitor treatment remains to be elucidated.

Transplantation of Fibroblast Sheets with Blood Mononuclear Cell Culture Exerts Cardioprotective Effects by Enhancing Anti-Inflammation and Vasculogenic Potential in Rat Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis Model.

Fulminant myocarditis causes impaired cardiac function, leading to poor prognosis and heart failure. Cell sheet engineering is an effective therapeutic option for improving cardiac function. Naïve blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) have been previously shown to enhance the quality and quantity of cellular fractions (QQMNCs) with anti-inflammatory and vasculogenic potential using the one culture system.

Incorporating Unstructured Patient Narratives and Health Insurance Claims Data in Pharmacovigilance: Natural Language Processing Analysis of Patient-Generated Texts About Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Background: Gaining insights that cannot be obtained from health care databases from patients has become an important topic in pharmacovigilance.

Objective: Our objective was to demonstrate a use case, in which patient-generated data were incorporated in pharmacovigilance, to understand the epidemiology and burden of illness in Japanese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Methods: We used data on systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease that substantially impairs quality of life, from 2 independent data sets.

Associations among smoking, MGMT hypermethylation, TP53-mutations, and relapse in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Epigenetic silencing of the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) DNA repair enzyme via promoter hypermethylation (hmMGMT) may increase mutations in the TP53 oncosuppressor gene and contribute to carcinogenesis. The effects of smoking, which is a risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), were investigated to determine whether they up- or down-regulate hmMGMT. Additionally, the impact of hmMGMT and disruptive TP53-mutations on relapse was investigated in patients with HNSCC.

Differences in Virus Detection and Cytokine Profiles between First Wheeze and Childhood Asthma.

Objective: To distinguish between first wheeze and asthma in early childhood, we investigated respiratory viruses and cytokine/chemokine profiles among patients with first wheeze and established asthma.

Methods: We enrolled children with acute exacerbations of wheezing (17 first wheeze and 32 asthma) and 11 controls (no wheezing) aged between 10 months and 6 years. Nasal aspirates were obtained, and virus detection was performed with antigenic assay kits and/or RT-PCR.

The Evaluation of Changes in the Breath Sound Spectrum with Bronchoconstriction and Bronchodilatation in Asthmatic Children.

Objective: Focusing on the relative-middle sound area of the breath sound spectrum, the relationship between airway changes and breath sounds in asthmatic children was investigated.

Methods: In Study 1, 77 children (6-16 years old) were included. The breath sound parameters, the ratio of the second area to the third area of the power spectrum (A/A) and the ratio of the third area to the fourth area (B/B) were evaluated 3 times, before and just after methacholine inhalation and after β agonist inhalation.

A Young Patient with Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy Treated with Endovascular Therapy for Cardioembolic Stroke: A Case Report.

We had a case of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) in an 18-year-old woman who underwent endovascular therapy for a cardioembolic stroke. At 5 years old, she showed a high creatine kinase level and atrial fibrillation on electrocardiography in our hospital. Finally, she was diagnosed as having EDMD by genetic screening that revealed mutations in the LMNA gene (c.

Association of Severity of Coronary Artery Aneurysms in Patients With Kawasaki Disease and Risk of Later Coronary Events.

Importance: Few studies with sufficient statistical power have shown the association of the z score of the coronary arterial internal diameter with coronary events (CE) in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) with coronary artery aneurysms (CAA).

Objective: To clarify the association of the z score with time-dependent CE occurrence in patients with KD with CAA.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter, collaborative retrospective cohort study of 44 participating institutions included 1006 patients with KD younger than 19 years who received a coronary angiography between 1992 and 2011.

Changes in the breath sound spectrum during methacholine inhalation in children with asthma.

Background And Objective: An effort-independent breath sound analysis is expected to be a safe and simple method for clinical assessment of changes in airway function. The effects of bronchoconstriction and bronchodilation on novel breath sound parameters in asthmatic children were investigated.

Methods: The study population included 49 children with atopic asthma (male = 33; mean age: 10.

Prodromal signs and symptoms of serious infections with tocilizumab treatment for rheumatoid arthritis: Text mining of the Japanese postmarketing adverse event-reporting database.

Objective: To search for signs and symptoms before serious infection (SI) occurs in tocilizumab (TCZ)-treated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: Individual case safety reports, including structured (age, sex, adverse event [AE]) and unstructured (clinical narratives) data, were analyzed by automated text mining from a Japanese post-marketing AE-reporting database (16 April 2008-10 April 2015) assuming the following: treated in Japan; TCZ RA treatment; ≥1 SI; unable to exclude causality between TCZ and SIs.

Results: The database included 7653 RA patients; 1221 reports met four criteria, encompassing 1591 SIs.

A clinical method for detecting bronchial reversibility using a breath sound spectrum analysis in infants.

Background: Using a breath sound analyzer, we investigated clinical parameters for detecting bronchial reversibility in infants.

Methods: A total of 59 infants (4-39 months, mean age 7.8 months) were included.

A Practical Cryogen-Free CO Purification and Freezing Technique for Stable Isotope Analysis.

Since isotopic analysis by mass spectrometry began in the early 1900s, sample gas for light-element isotopic measurements has been purified by the use of cryogens and vacuum-line systems. However, this conventional purification technique can achieve only certain temperatures that depend on the cryogens and can be sustained only as long as there is a continuous cryogen supply. Here, we demonstrate a practical cryogen-free CO purification technique using an electrical operated cryocooler for stable isotope analysis.

Analysis of Patient Narratives in Disease Blogs on the Internet: An Exploratory Study of Social Pharmacovigilance.

Background: Although several reports have suggested that patient-generated data from Internet sources could be used to improve drug safety and pharmacovigilance, few studies have identified such data sources in Japan. We introduce a unique Japanese data source: tōbyōki, which translates literally as "an account of a struggle with disease."

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the basic characteristics of the TOBYO database, a collection of tōbyōki blogs on the Internet, and discuss potential applications for pharmacovigilance.

Losartan attenuates the coronary perivasculitis through its local and systemic anti-inflammatory properties in a murine model of Kawasaki disease.

Background: Kawasaki disease is a common systemic vasculitis that leads to coronary artery lesions. Besides its antihypertensive effects, losartan can modulate inflammation in cardiovascular disease. We examined whether losartan can attenuate coronary inflammation in a murine model of Kawasaki disease.

IP-10 Is Elevated in Virus-Induced Acute Exacerbations in Childhood Asthma.

Objective: Viral infections and sensitization to aeroallergens are major factors in the exacerbation of asthma and its development during early childhood. However, the cytokine profiles and eosinophil activation status linked to the association between viral infections and sensitization to aeroallergens are incompletely understood. Here we investigated respiratory viruses, serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and various cytokines/chemokines in acute exacerbation of childhood asthma.

Postmarketing Benefit-Risk Assessment for Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents Using a Health Care Database.

Background: While benefit-risk (B-R) assessment in the real-world setting is an important challenge for pharmacovigilance, few studies have explored this approach. To investigate the utility and limitations of B-R assessment using a health care database by applying the Benefit Risk Action Team (BRAT) framework, we have conducted a case study with erythropoietin agents.

Methods: Postmarketing data from the Medical Data Vision health care database were used in a B-R comparison between methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (continuous erythropoietin receptor activator; C.

Risk for cardiovascular disease in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a large-scale epidemiological study using a healthcare database.

Objectives: To study risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We used a Medical Data Vision database mainly composed of health insurance claim data and diagnosis-procedure combination data from Japan. Patients with RA diagnosed from April 2011 to March 2014 at 71 hospitals were identified with the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD-10) and history of anti-RA drug prescription.

Objective measurement of frequency and pattern of nocturnal cough in children with asthma exacerbation.

Background: Although a number of patients with asthma report experiencing persistent cough during sleep, it has not yet been objectively investigated.

Objective: To classify cough severity and evaluate a characteristic pattern of cough frequency in children with asthma using an objective cough monitoring system.

Methods: An objective cough monitoring system that specialized in children was used to measure cough frequency and nocturnal cough patterns.

[A child case of surfer's myelopathy].

We report a case of so-called "surfer's myelopathy" involving a 15-year-old girl. Preceding episodes of vaccination and infection were absent. She experienced back pain during a surfing class for beginners, followed by weakness in both legs, which progressed to paraperesis.

Lip Repair Surgery for Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate in a Patient Diagnosed with Trisomy 13 and Holoprosencephaly.

We report a case of lip repair surgery performed for bilateral cleft lip and palate in a patient diagnosed with trisomy 13 and holoprosencephaly. At the age of 2 years and 7 months, the surgery was performed using a modified De Hann design under general anesthesia. The operation was completed in 1 h and 21 min without large fluctuations in the child's general condition.