Publications by authors named "Takahiro Tokunaga"

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  • The study investigates prognostic indicators in Japanese patients with early-stage systemic sclerosis (SSc) to predict disease progression, particularly focusing on those with diffuse cutaneous involvement and/or interstitial lung disease.
  • Researchers assessed clinical and laboratory parameters in a cohort of 115 patients followed for 4 years, analyzing correlations between baseline measurements and outcomes.
  • Key findings suggest that certain factors, such as finger-to-palm distance and the presence of anti-topoisomerase I antibodies, can help anticipate disease progression, but further research with larger samples is necessary for validation.
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  • Allergic rhinitis (AR) caused by house dust mites (AR-HDM) is a common issue in children, and this study investigates its prevalence and characteristics in elementary students in Japan after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A survey of 41,000 students revealed an AR-HDM prevalence of 18.8%, with many affected kids showing symptoms before starting school, and a significant number receiving treatment.
  • Factors linked to a higher risk of developing AR-HDM include being male, being the first-born child, and having other allergic conditions like asthma and food allergies.
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Background: Falls in older adults are a significant public health concern, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma have been identified as potential visual risk factors. This study was designed to assess equilibrium function, fall risk, and fall-related self-efficacy (an individual's belief in their capacity to act in ways necessary to reach specific goals) in patients with AMD and glaucoma.

Methods: This observational study was performed at the Otorhinolaryngology Department of Shinseikai Toyama Hospital.

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Background: Liquid-based cytology (LBC), now used globally for the head and neck region, has been used at our hospital since 2011. This study was designed to analyze the efficacy of LBC with immunocytochemical staining on preoperative diagnosis of salivary gland tumors.

Methods: This retrospective analysis of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) performance for salivary gland tumors was conducted at Fukui University Hospital.

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Early intervention for dementia patients is extremely important for the prevention of dementia. However, so far, it is not clear as to what kind of screening will be useful for the early detection of dementia. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the results of a short self-reporting yes/no survey selected in Kihon Checklist, developed by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to identify older adults who are at risk of requiring support/care, and other original items developed by Dementia Prevention Team, Fukui, Japan, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, and determine the diagnostic efficacy of the self-reporting yes/no survey.

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Dysphagia diets are recommended to prevent choking and aspiration in people with dysphagia; however, rice-porridge and mashed rice-porridge, which are used as staple foods for people with dysphagia in Japan, are time-consuming to prepare. The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization has found jelly-like food products made from high-amylose rice-flour (rice-flour jelly) to be easy to prepare with a texture suitable for dysphagia diets. To investigate the potential of rice-flour jelly for the dysphagia diet, we evaluated the amount of pharyngeal residue after swallowing rice-flour jelly using fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing and compared it with those of rice-porridge, mashed rice-porridge, and fruit jelly.

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Background: Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the paranasal sinuses characterized by intractable nasal polyps with prominent eosinophil infiltration. These eosinophils are presumably recruited from peripheral blood via vessels expressing peripheral lymph node addressin (PNAd), a set of glycoproteins decorated with 6-sulfo sialyl Lewis x (sLe) glycans that serve as L-selectin ligands. Based on the severity classification algorithm proposed by the Japanese Epidemiological Survey of Refractory Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis (JESREC) study group, ECRS is divided into mild, moderate and severe groups; however, as yet there are few reports comparing the clinicopathological differences among these groups.

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In older patients with facial basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), surgery should be aimed to reduce treatment-related sequelae and burden with achieving local tumor care. Therefore, we adopted a two-step surgery (TSS) involving the application of a dermal regeneration template onto the skin defect after tumor resection and subsequent reconstruction by full-thickness skin grafting. We performed a detailed comparison of conventional one-step surgery (OSS) and TSS, including evaluation of local tumor curability, postoperative cosmetic and/or functional impairments, and patient burden.

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  • The study investigates the impact of narrower surgical margins on recurrence and disease-specific mortality in patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).
  • A retrospective analysis included 1,000 patients divided into standard margin and narrower margin groups, assessing incomplete excision rates and recurrence.
  • Results indicated that margin size had a limited effect on recurrence and disease-specific death, particularly in high-risk cases where narrower margins did not significantly improve outcomes compared to standard margins.
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Background And Objectives: In cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), adherence to guideline-recommended fixed surgical margins is often difficult, and narrower margins are preferable. This study aimed to evaluate relapse and disease-specific death with narrower margins for high or very high-risk cSCC.

Patients/methods: We retrospectively investigated high or very high-risk cSCC patients who underwent tumor excision.

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  • Decision-making to stop cancer treatment in patients with advanced cancer is stressful, impacting their subsequent palliative care and end-of-life experience.
  • A study of 167 patients at the University of Fukui Hospital revealed that those who made the self-decision to stop treatment had significantly longer survival (145.5 days) compared to those whose families decided for them (23.0 days).
  • The place of death also varied, as more patients in the family decision group died in the hospital (62.7%) compared to those who self-decided (42.0%), indicating differences in care environments based on decision-making.
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Rationale: Although single organ vasculitis (SOV) is a rare occurrence and it is difficult to diagnose, its possibility as a cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO) must be considered. Recently, the usefulness of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) in the diagnosis of unknown fevers due to vasculitis, especially in cases of small and medium-sized vasculitis, has begun to be pointed out.

Patient Concerns: We report the case of an 84-year-old woman with persisting fever for more than 2 weeks.

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Background: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) is increasing worldwide, mainly due to an increase in antigen exposure. We conducted an epidemiological study involving the staff of the University of Fukui Hospital and its associated hospital in 2006. There were 1540 participants aged ≥20 years, and the rates of Japanese cedar (JC) pollinosis and mite-induced perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) were 36.

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Hemotropic mycoplasmas are common pathogens in animals, but it remains unclear what role these pathogens play in human infections. We report clinical and biologic characterization of Candidatus Mycoplasma haemohominis infection in a 42-year-old man in Japan. The patient had severe hemophagocytic syndrome 1 month after an accidental needlestick injury.

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Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) is a subgroup of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), which is associated with severe eosinophilic infiltration and intractable. Its symptoms include dysosmia, nasal obstruction, and visous nasal discharge. The cause of ECRS is not clear, although it is thought that Staphylococcus aureus and its enterotoxins are involved in stimulating the Th2 system to promote IgE production and eosinophil infiltration through various pathways.

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  • * The disease is linked to worse pregnancy outcomes, including higher chances of eclampsia, preterm deliveries, and fetal deaths.
  • * This case report highlights a patient successfully treated with a combination of cyclosporine and steroids for polymyositis-dermatomyositis during pregnancy, leading to a complication-free childbirth.
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Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps exhibits marked eosinophilic infiltration and its mucosal eosinophilia is associated with more severe symptoms. The Japanese epidemiological survey of refractory eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis found that patients with nasal polyps required multiple surgeries when there were higher infiltrating eosinophils in the mucosa. In order to identify plasma biomarkers for local eosinophil infiltration in rhinosinusitis for surgery, we examined the levels of molecules in the plasma of patients and compared the number of infiltrating eosinophils in the nasal mucosa.

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Introduction: Cisplatin is used as a standard chemotherapeutic agent for head and neck cancer treatment. However, some head and neck cancers have cisplatin resistance, leading to difficulty in treatment and poor prognosis. Overcoming cisplatin resistance remains an important strategy to improve prognoses for head and neck cancer patients.

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Protein crystallization in human tissue rarely occurs. Charcot-Leyden crystals (CLCs) were described in various eosinophilic diseases >150 years ago, but our understanding of CLC formation still remains limited. In this study, we demonstrate that CLCs observed in varied inflamed human tissues are closely associated with eosinophil cell-free granules and nuclear envelope/plasma membrane disintegration with release of filamentous chromatin (extracellular traps), typical morphologies of a regulated pathway of extracellular trap cell death (ETosis).

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  • The study analyzes chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) using the JESREC scoring system to subdivide it into four subtypes.
  • Researchers conducted RNA-sequencing to identify gene expression differences between nasal polyps and healthy tissue, focusing on periostin (POSTN) as a key finding.
  • The results indicate that higher levels of POSTN are linked to more severe CRSwNP and suggest that serum POSTN levels could serve as a new biomarker for predicting postoperative recurrence.
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In this study, we found Cystatin SN (CST1), a type 2 cystatin subfamily member, to be highly expressed in nasal polyps from patients with intractable chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps, using a whole-transcript analysis with next-generation sequencing. Eosinophilic CRS (ECRS) involves nasal polyps that are refractory and recur immediately after endoscopic sinus surgery. We hypothesized that CST1 may contribute to the pathogenesis of ECRS.

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The original version of this article, unfortunately, contained errors. Figure citation, caption, image and updated sentence in the Result section are now presented correctly in this article.

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The "A disintegrin and metalloprotease" (ADAM) family is thought to play an important role in tissue destruction and inflammatory reactions. ADAM-17 was first described as the protease responsible for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α shedding. Here, we have shown the expression of ADAM-17 in inflammatory myopathy and demonstrated the role of inflammation in interstitial lung diseases (ILD).

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