Publications by authors named "T Ohkusa"

Article Synopsis
  • * Among 31 patients treated, 16 achieved complete remission and 8 partial remission, with significant microbiota changes noted just two weeks into treatment.
  • * Findings highlight that after treatment, beneficial bacteria like bifidobacterium and lactobacilli increased, while harmful bacteria like bacteroides decreased, suggesting that changes in gut microbiota are linked to clinical remission in UC patients.
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Article Synopsis
  • A study aimed to create a new treatment for unresectable advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (UR-PDAC) using a combination of a WT1 peptide vaccine and multiagent chemotherapy, focusing on patient safety and immune responses.
  • Nine patients with various stages of UR-PDAC participated in the trial, receiving chemotherapy followed by a dendritic cell vaccine designed to enhance immune response against the cancer.
  • Results showed that those with long-term immune responses from the vaccine had significantly better clinical outcomes, with several patients eligible for successful surgeries, and those responding positively were alive for at least 4.5 years post-treatment.
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Background: The situation of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy has been changing over time, owing to increases in antimicrobial-resistant strains, lifestyle improvements, and changes in indications for eradication. In Japan, eradication therapy is now available to all H. pylori-positive patients under the medical insurance system, and the potassium-competitive acid blocker vonoprazan has been used for eradication from 2015.

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Background: Thiopurines continue to play an important role in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is well known that thiopurines can cause several adverse reactions. Especially, hematopoietic toxicity may lead to severe agranulocytosis.

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Intestinal bacteria coexist with humans and play a role in suppressing the invasion of pathogens, producing short-chain fatty acids, producing vitamins, and controlling the immune system. Studies have been carried out on culturable bacterial species using bacterial culture methods for many years. However, as metagenomic analysis of bacterial genes has been developed since the 1990s, it has recently revealed that many bacteria in the intestine cannot be cultured and that approximately 1,000 species and 40 trillion bacteria are present in the gut microbiota.

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