Publications by authors named "Takahiro Shimizu"

Aims: Atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD) is regarded as a residual risk of cardiovascular diseases characterized by low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high triglyceride (TG) levels and related to the intracranial stenosis of atheromatous thrombotic brain infarction (ATBI). Further, atherosclerosis is possibly related to another stroke subtype, including cryptogenic stroke (CS). In particular, an aortic complicated lesion (ACL) is a notable embolic source of CS, since recurrence of aortogenic brain embolism is not rare.

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Ultrasound neuromodulation has become an innovative technology that enables noninvasive intervention in mammalian brain circuits with high spatiotemporal precision. Despite the expanding utility of ultrasound neuromodulation in the neuroscience research field and clinical applications, the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which ultrasound impacts neural activity in the brain are still largely unknown. Here, we report that transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6), a mechanosensitive nonselective cation channel, is essential for ultrasound neuromodulation of mammalian neurons in vitro and in vivo.

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Background: Although health insurance claims data can address questions that clinical trials cannot answer, the uncertainty of disease names and the absence of stage information hinder their use in gastric cancer (GC) research. This study aimed to develop and validate a claims-based algorithm to identify and determine the progression phases of incident GC cases in Japan.

Methods: The gold standard for validation in this retrospective observational study was medical records of patients with incident GC who underwent specific treatments, defined by the claim codes associated with GC treatment.

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  • This study investigates if elective neck dissection can enhance outcomes for patients with early-stage tongue and floor squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) by examining biopsy data related to cervical lymph node metastasis (CLM).
  • A total of 103 patients with cT1-T2 cancer were analyzed, revealing that a budding score (BS) of 5 or higher and a pathological depth of invasion (pDOI) of 5 mm or more are significant risk factors for developing CLM.
  • The findings suggest that for early-stage cancers with a tumor diameter of 20 mm or less, patients may need additional treatment for hidden CLM if they meet specific preoperative criteria related to BS and pDOI.
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  • Over 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases show aberrations in the TERT gene, which plays a crucial role in cellular immortality by stabilizing telomere length, although its exact role in liver cancer development is not fully understood.
  • Researchers created a mouse model with elevated TERT expression in the liver to study its effects during chronic inflammation and found that TERT overexpression accelerates liver tumor development, particularly when the p53 tumor suppressor is inactive.
  • TERT enhances NFκB activity and promotes cell cycle progression by degrading the p21 protein, leading to increased expression of cell cycle-related molecules in HCC tissues, suggesting a direct link between TERT dysregulation and the progression of liver cancer
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Femoral neck fractures are considered exclusion criteria for atypical femoral fractures; however, femoral neck fractures with atypical femoral fractures have also been reported. Here, we report a case of a femoral neck fracture with features of atypical femoral fractures and a review of the related literature. A 76-year-old woman had been treated with denosumab for five years.

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Objective: To evaluate hemostatic efficacy, complications, and subsequent pregnancy outcomes in women with placenta previa who underwent combined vertical compression sutures in the lower uterine segment and intrauterine balloon tamponade (Hot-Dog method) to achieve hemostasis after cesarean section.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data for 117 women with singleton pregnancy diagnosed with placenta previa who underwent cesarean section between 29 and 38 weeks' gestation. Treatments were as follows: (1) conventional-intravenous oxytocin administration after placental detachment and suturing of bleeding points at the detachment site as needed (conventional group) (n = 47).

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Oligodendrocytes continue to differentiate from their precursor cells even in adulthood, a process that can be modulated by neuronal activity and experience. Previous work has indicated that conditional ablation of oligodendrogenesis in adult mice leads to learning and memory deficits in a range of behavioral tasks. The current study replicated and re-evaluated evidence for a role of oligodendrogenesis in motor learning, using a complex running wheel task.

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Objectives: To investigate roles of brain carbon monoxide (CO), an endogenous gasotransmitter, in regulation of the rat micturition reflex.

Methods: In urethane-anesthetized (0.8 g/kg, ip) male rats, evaluation of urodynamic parameters was started 1 h before intracerebroventricular administration of CORM-3 (CO donor) or ZnPP (non-selective inhibitor of heme oxygenase, a CO producing enzyme) and continued for 2 h after the administration.

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  • Ischemic stroke in young adults can result from various causes, including genetic disorders, and this study investigates a case involving a 17-year-old male with ischemic stroke and visceral heterotaxy.
  • Neurological, radiological, and genetic evaluations were performed, revealing embolic stroke through MRI, visceral heterotaxy via CT, and a cardiac anomaly with right-to-left shunt (RLS) through echocardiogram.
  • Whole genome sequencing identified a mutation in the NODAL gene, essential for left-right body axis determination, marking the first genetically-confirmed case of this condition linked to young embolic stroke.
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Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global health concern, with advanced-stage diagnoses contributing to poor prognoses. The efficacy of CRC screening has been well-established; nevertheless, a significant proportion of patients remain unscreened, with > 70% of cases diagnosed outside screening. Although identifying specific subgroups for whom CRC screening should be particularly recommended is crucial owing to limited resources, the association between the diagnostic routes and identification of these subgroups has been less appreciated.

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  • Cardiac glycosides, which inhibit Na,K-ATPase, show potential anti-cancer effects by reducing cancer cell growth and promoting cell death.
  • In human liver and skin cancer cells, these compounds (ouabain, oleandrin, digoxin) inhibit cell proliferation and lower thyroid adenoma-associated protein (THADA) levels.
  • Lowering THADA expression reduces cancer cell growth and also decreases the expression of LAT1, a transporter related to cell proliferation; cardiac glycosides similarly reduce LAT1 levels, highlighting their role in negatively regulating the THADA-LAT1 pathway in cancer cells.
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Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) are lymphoproliferative diseases that occur after solid organ transplantation or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The development of PTLD is often associated with reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). A 26-year-old woman with a history of HSCT and total-body irradiation developed spinal cord hemorrhage from a radiation-induced cavernous hemangioma (RICH) shortly after the development of classical Hodgkin lymphoma PTLD with EBV reactivation.

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  • The study aimed to understand how the cerebellum and basal ganglia contribute to temporal integration by analyzing 39 patients with different types of spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) and 13 control subjects.
  • Patients tapped in sync with tones, and researchers measured their tapping performance through various metrics like inter-tap interval and synchronizing tapping error.
  • Results indicated that while SCD patients generally showed more variability in tapping (particularly in MSA and SCA6), SCA31 patients surprisingly performed normally, highlighting the complex interaction between these brain regions in timing tasks.
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  • This study introduces a new cost-effective method called the Flongle SCA repeat panel sequencing (FLO-SCAp) that uses a smaller long-read sequencing device to analyze these repeat expansions efficiently.
  • FLO-SCAp successfully detected various genetic features in SCA patients, showing a high correlation with more expensive whole-genome sequencing methods, making it a promising first-line diagnostic tool for SCA.
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Na,K-ATPases are essential for maintaining the membrane potential in almost all cells, and their catalytic subunits have four isoforms (α1-α4). Volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) plays an important role in the cell death signaling pathway in addition to its fundamental role in cell volume maintenance. First, we introduce that disruption of actin filaments cause the dysfunction of VRAC, which elicits resistance to cisplatin in the cancer cells.

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Previous work has shown that motor skill learning stimulates and requires generation of myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs) from their precursor cells (OLPs) in the brains of adult mice. In the present study we ask whether OL production is also required for non-motor learning and cognition, using T-maze and radial-arm-maze tasks that tax spatial working memory. We find that maze training stimulates OLP proliferation and OL production in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior corpus callosum (genu), dorsal thalamus and hippocampal formation of adult male mice; myelin sheath formation is also stimulated in the genu.

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Background: High-risk patent foramen ovale (PFO) could be pathological in cryptogenic stroke (CS), but its clinical characteristics have not been fully studied, especially in elderly patients.

Methods: Patients with CS were enrolled in the CHALLENGE ESUS/CS registry, a multicenter registry of CS patients undergoing transesophageal echocardiography. Clinical characteristics were compared among three groups: high-risk PFO group, large shunt PFO (≥25 microbubbles) or PFO with atrial septal aneurysm (ASA); right-to-left shunt (RLS) group, RLS including PFO with <25 microbubbles or without ASA; and no-RLS group.

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  • The study aimed to explore how long-term potentiation (LTP) affects the primary motor cortex in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and its connection to clinical symptoms.
  • Participants included 18 PSP patients and 17 healthy controls, with researchers using quadripulse stimulation to gauge LTP-like effects and other measures of cortical excitability.
  • Results showed that PSP patients had a reduced LTP response compared to healthy controls, which correlated negatively with the severity of bradykinesia, suggesting a link between motor symptoms and cortical dysfunction.
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β-propellers that bind polyphosphoinositides (PROPPINs) are an autophagy-related protein family conserved throughout eukaryotes. The PROPPIN family includes Atg18, Atg21 and Hsv2 in yeast and WD-repeat protein interacting with phosphoinositides (WIPI)1-4 in mammals. Mutations in the WIPI genes are associated with human neuronal diseases, including β-propeller associated neurodegeneration (BPAN) caused by mutations in WDR45 (encoding WIPI4).

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We previously reported that brain α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors inhibited the rat micturition reflex. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying this inhibition, we focused on the relationship between α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and hydrogen sulphide (HS) because we found that HS also inhibits the rat micturition reflex in the brain. Therefore, we investigated whether HS is involved in the inhibition of the micturition reflex induced by the activation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain.

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The aim of this clinical report was to describe the improvement of masticatory disorders with the use of digital technology to simultaneously perform prosthodontic treatment of natural teeth and edentulous areas. Computer-guided implant surgery was performed, and crown prostheses and implant superstructures were fabricated simultaneously using digital technology.

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