Fracture risk and healthcare resource utilization and costs among osteoporosis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and without diabetes mellitus in Japan: retrospective analysis of a hospital claims database.

Background: Osteoporosis, osteoporosis-related fractures, and diabetes are considerable health burdens in Japan. Diabetes in patients with osteoporosis has been reported to be associated with increased fracture risk. This retrospective analysis of a Japanese hospital claims database investigated the real-world effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on the incidence of clinical fractures, costs, and healthcare resource utilization in patients with osteoporosis and a subgroup of patients prescribed raloxifene.

Utility of virtual touch quantification in the diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

This study aimed to compare the tissue stiffness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with that of pancreatic parenchyma using virtual touch quantification (VTQ). SWV was measured in 34 PDAC lesions and in pancreatic parenchyma of both controls and patients. SWVs in PDAC lesions were significantly higher than in pancreatic parenchyma in both healthy controls and in patients with PDAC.

Simplified Disease Activity Index remission at month 6 is an independent predictor of functional and structural remissions at month 12 during abatacept treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A multi-center, prospective cohort study in Japan.

Objective: To evaluate association of clinical remission at month 6 with functional and structural remissions at month 12 during abatacept treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This 12-month prospective, multicenter cohort study enrolled 168 patients with RA who started abatacept. Outcomes were assessed using composite measures, quality of life indices, and the van der Heijde-modified total Sharp score (mTSS).

Real-world clinical and economic outcomes for daily teriparatide patients in Japan.

A large medical and pharmacy claims database was used to evaluate outcomes in daily teriparatide (D-TPD) patients in Japan. 445 patients were identified (April 2008-July 2013) with 6+ months' pre- and 18+ months' post-index observation. D-TPD 20 µg subcutaneous injection is indicated for individuals at high risk of fracture.

Sarcopenia as a Novel Preoperative Prognostic Predictor for Survival in Patients with Bladder Cancer Undergoing Radical Cystectomy.

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic significance of sarcopenia on long-term outcomes in patients with bladder cancer after radical cystectomy (RC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 136 patients undergoing RC for urothelial carcinoma at our institution. Prognostic impact of the preoperative clinical, laboratory, and radiologic parameters were evaluated by Cox proportional hazard model analyses, and a nomogram was developed to predict cancer-specific survival (CSS) after RC.

Antifibrotic effects of ambrisentan, an endothelin-A receptor antagonist, in a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis mouse model.

Aim: To examine the effects of the endothelin type A receptor antagonist ambrisentan on hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in a steatohepatitis mouse model.

Methods: Fatty liver shionogi (FLS) FLS-ob/ob mice (male, 12 wk old) received ambrisentan (2.5 mg/kg orally per day; n = 8) or water as a control (n = 5) for 4 wk.

Absorption Characteristics of Vertebrate Non-Visual Opsin, Opn3.

Most animals possess multiple opsins which sense light for visual and non-visual functions. Here, we show spectral characteristics of non-visual opsins, vertebrate Opn3s, which are widely distributed among vertebrates. We successfully expressed zebrafish Opn3 in mammalian cultured cells and measured its absorption spectrum spectroscopically.

Laparoscopic radical lymph node dissection for advanced colon cancer close to the hepatic flexure.

Introduction: Complete mesocolic excision is currently recognized as a standard procedure for colon cancer. Gastroepiploic, infrapyloric, and superficial pancreatic head lymph node metastases in the gastrocolic ligament have been reported for colon cancer close to the hepatic flexure. We sought to investigate metastases in the gastrocolic ligament in colon cancer close to the hepatic flexure.

Low neutrophil alkaline phosphatase score is a new aspect of calreticulin-mutated myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Calreticulin (CALR) and JAK2-V617F gene mutations, which are major genetic mutations in patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF) and essential thrombocythemia (ET), exert different effects on the clinical features and outcomes of these diseases. We analyzed 88 and 9 patients with ET and PMF, respectively, and determined the differences in the clinical characteristics of ET patients with JAK2-V617F compared with CALR mutations. The frequency of the JAK2-V617F and CALR mutations were 64 and 22 %, respectively.

Presence of Citrullinated Histone H3-Positive Neutrophils in Microscopic Polyangiitis from the Early Phase: An Autopsy Proven Case.

A 76-year-old man was admitted with general fatigue, weight loss, fever, headache, renal failure, and a high serum level of myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody. Biopsy revealed citrullinated histone H3 (citH3)-positive neutrophils adherent to the temporal artery endothelium. Three days after completing pulse steroid therapy, he suffered from a sudden disturbance of consciousness and died.

Synthesis of Piceatannol, an Oxygenated Analog of Resveratrol.

Piceatannol (3,3',4,5'-tetrahydroxy-trans-stilbene, 2), an oxygenated analog of resveratrol (1), was synthesized. It is one of the naturally occurring polyphenolic stilbenoids contained in red wine, and possesses many kinds of beneficial effects such as anticancer activity. The trans-stilbene skeleton of 2 was constructed by Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross coupling reaction of triflate 8 with (E)-alkenylboronoate 13.

Development of a Nomogram for Predicting Severe Neutropenia Associated With Docetaxel-Based Chemotherapy in Patients With Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Background: Neutropenia is a major adverse event of docetaxel-based chemotherapy. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the incidence of neutropenia and to develop a nomogram for predicting Grade 4 neutropenia during the first cycle of docetaxel-based chemotherapy in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Patients And Methods: This study included 112 patients with CRPC treated with docetaxel-based systemic chemotherapy.

A Series of microRNA in the Chromosome 14q32.2 Maternally Imprinted Region Related to Progression of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Mouse Model.

Background & Aims: Simple steatosis (SS) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are subtypes of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and the pathogenic differences between SS and NASH remain unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, non-coding, short RNAs that regulate gene expression. The aim of this study was to use animal models and human samples to examine the relationship between miRNA expression profiles and each type of NAFLD (SS and NASH).

Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for patients with primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a potent lipid mediator that is produced during the metabolism of sphingolipid by sphingosine kinase. S1P has been implicated in the migration and trafficking of lymphocytes and several lymphoid malignancies through S1P receptors. Moreover, the overexpression of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) has been correlated with the constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 and poor prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Primary colorectal lymphoma comprising both components of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma combined with cytomegalovirus colitis.

A 16-year-old girl presented to our hospital with diarrhea and abdominal pain. The macroscopic findings of colonoscopy revealed multiple submucosal tumors and multiple ulcers, which were localized in the sigmoid colon, and diffuse granular mucosa which extended to the total colon. The pathological diagnosis was malignant lymphoma comprising both components of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, because the large lymphoma cells were CD20+, CD10-, and CD5-.

Loss of the cell polarity determinant human Discs-large is a novel molecular marker of nodal involvement and poor prognosis in endometrial cancer.

Background: Recent Drosophila studies showed that Discs-large (Dlg) is critical for regulation of cell polarity and tissue architecture. We investigated the possibility that loss of the human homologue of Drosophila Dlg (DLG1) is involved in endometrial carcinogenesis.

Methods: We analysed DLG1 expression in 160 endometrial cancers by immunohistochemical staining.

PIEZO1 gene mutation in a Japanese family with hereditary high phosphatidylcholine hemolytic anemia and hemochromatosis-induced diabetes mellitus.

Hereditary xerocytosis (HX) or dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis (DHS) [OMIM 194380], in which PIEZO1 gene mutation has recently been identified, is difficult to diagnose. We report here the discovery of a PIEZO1 gene mutation in a Japanese family (father, daughter, and son) who were previously diagnosed with hereditary high phosphatidylcholine hemolytic anemia (HPCHA). All of the affected family members had non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia associated with severe hemochromatosis-related diabetes mellitus.

[Correlation between serum L-carnitine concentration and neutrophil engraftment in patients treated with cord blood transplantation].

In cord blood transplantation (CBT), the amount of time elapsing until hematological engraftment has effects on the transplantation results. Carnitine deficiency has been reported to cause erythropoietin refractory anemia in chronic hemodialysis patients and thrombocytopenia or leukopenia of cirrhosis, and carnitine supplementation can improve hematopoiesis in patients with hepatic or renal failure. Patients who receive CBT may suffer from carnitine deficiency, but no studies have investigated the carnitine status of such patients.

Comparison of severity classification in Japanese patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis in a nationwide, prospective, inception cohort study.

Objective: To compare disease severity classification systems for six-month outcome prediction in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV).

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed AAV from 53 tertiary institutions were enrolled. Six-month remission, overall survival, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD)-free survival were evaluated.

Targeting Low Disease Activity in Elderly-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis: Current and Future Roles of Biological Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs.

Elderly rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is classified into two clinical subsets, elderly-onset RA (EORA) and younger-onset elderly RA. With the improvement of life expectancy in the general population and advent of the super-aging society, the number of patients with EORA is anticipated to increase. Both large and small joints are affected initially at onset, and individuals with early EORA have higher scores of disease activity and levels of acute-phase reactants than those with early younger-onset RA.

[Performance Assessment of a Newly Developed Rapid Diagnostic Reagent for Human Immunodeficiency Virus].

Extremely early diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been considered highly important for its treatment. We conducted a performance assessment of a newly developed rapid diagnostic reagent for HIV by using a fourth-generation immunochromatographic assay (Alere HIV Combo). We used whole-blood, plasma, and serum samples obtained from 250 Japanese adults who visited the Kawasaki Medical School Hospital and underwent HIV screening tests.

Myeloperoxidase-Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Positive Otitis Media and Rhinosinusitis With Pathological Features of Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease: A Case Report.

Background: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) have different clinical and pathological features. However, differentiation between these 2 disorders is sometimes difficult.

Objective: To report a case involving a patient with characteristics of both IgG4-RD and AAV.