Publications by authors named "Takashi Kono"

Craniopharyngiomas, including adamantinomatous (ACP) and squamous papillary (PCP) types, are challenging to treat because of their proximity to crucial pituitary structures. This study aimed to characterize the cellular composition, tumor tissue diversity, and cell-cell interactions in ACPs and PCPs using single-cell RNA sequencing. Single-cell clustering revealed diverse cell types, further classified into developing epithelial, calcification, and immune response for ACP and developing epithelial, cell cycle, and immune response for PCP, based on gene expression patterns.

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  • * It involved 312 PAC samples and 315 renin samples, finding that PAC values from CLEIA and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were highly correlated, while RIA showed more false positives.
  • * The results indicate that using PAC from CLEIA improves PA detection rates and that weak mineralocorticoids affect PAC measurements, notably in the traditional RIA method.
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Purpose: Several studies have found associations between periodontitis and various types of cancer. Since the site of head and neck cancer (HNC) has contiguity or proximity to the oral cavity, it may be particularly influenced by oral inflammation. This study aimed to determine whether HNC patients have poor oral health as compared to those with other types of cancer.

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Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) deficiency, caused by an FBP1 mutation, is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by hypoglycemic lactic acidosis. Due to the rarity of FBPase deficiency, the mechanism by which the mutations cause enzyme activity loss still remains unclear. Here we identify compound heterozygous missense mutations of FBP1, c.

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Instantaneous input dynamic range (IIDR), as defined by Cochlear Ltd. (Sydney, Australia), refers to the acoustic level of short-term input dynamic range (IDR). Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of expanding IIDR to improve speech understanding.

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Objectives: To examine the clinical usefulness of transoral ultrasonography (US) in determining the invasion depth of superficial pharyngeal carcinoma (SPC). Determining the invasion depth of SPC is crucial for transoral surgery including determining treatment strategy. This study aimed to examine the usefulness of transoral US in determining the invasion depth of SPC.

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  • The study investigates the genetic and protein profiles of growth hormone-producing pituitary tumors (GHomas) to find links with acromegaly characteristics.
  • It revealed GNAS as a primary driver gene and showed parallels between protein and gene expression data while identifying important GPCR pathways related to GNAS mutations.
  • Additionally, specific proteins were correlated with changes in growth hormone levels and tumor size in response to treatment, highlighting their potential role in improving medical intervention outcomes for acromegaly.
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Purpose: Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is a reliable method for lateralization of adrenal hormone secretion, which is important for discriminating between aldosterone-producing adenoma and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, both of which cause primary aldosteronism (PA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the maximum and mean standardized uptake values (SUV and SUV, respectively) of I-6β-iodomethyl-19-norcholesterol (NP-59) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for PA and its correspondence with AVS.

Methods: Adrenal NP-59 scintigraphy was performed in 14 patients with suspected PA, and AVS was also performed in 7 of them.

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  • Transglutaminase (TGM) isoforms are enzymes that help proteins link together, and the study focuses on their role in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), particularly related to tissue eosinophils.* -
  • Researchers analyzed tissue samples from CRSwNP patients and controls to examine the expression of specific TGM isoforms, particularly TGM 1, and its correlation with tissue eosinophil counts and localization in nasal polyps.* -
  • TGM 1 was found to significantly correlate with tissue eosinophils, primarily expressed in submucosal layers of nasal polyps, and its fibrin polymerization activity suggests it may play a crucial role in the formation
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Transoral surgery (TOS) has been widely used to treat laryngopharyngeal cancers. Although TOS is a minimally invasive procedure, postoperative complications, such as postoperative dysphagia, may occur, which can lead to a poor quality of life for patients undergoing TOS. This study aimed to investigate factors that may affect swallowing function in patients who underwent TOS for laryngopharyngeal cancers.

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Early recurrence detection of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is important for improving prognosis. Recently, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has been reported to be useful in early detection or treatment response determination in various carcinomas. This study aimed to identify the utility of ctDNA for predicting recurrent metastasis in patients with HNSCC.

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Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a chronic inflammatory disease with a high symptom burden, including nasal congestion and smell disorders. This study performed a detailed transcriptomic analysis in CRSwNP classified as eosinophilic CRS (ECRS), nonECRS according to the Japanese Epidemiological Survey of Refractory Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis (JESREC) criteria, and a group of ECRS with comorbid aspirin intolerant asthma (Asp). Gene expression profiles of nasal polyps and the uncinate process in CRSwNP patients and normal subjects (controls) were generated by bulk RNA barcoding and sequencing (BRB-seq).

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We report a case of mandibular osteosarcoma in a Japanese woman in her 70s who was p16-positive. Despite the rapid growth of the tumor, the patient responded well to chemotherapy and was then able to undergo surgery. Head and neck osteosarcoma (HNOS) is a very rare cancer, and although the importance of surgery has been pointed out, the effectiveness of chemotherapy is unclear.

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Nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) against the programmed death-1 pathway, has been used for the treatment of recurrent metastatic head and neck cancer. However, the management of immune-related adverse events (irAEs), a unique side effect of ICI therapy, can be problematic. Although severe irAEs have been reported to result from multi-ICI therapy, we report a case of multiple severe irAEs caused by single-agent nivolumab treatment.

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Recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/MHNSCC) has a poor prognosis. Although nivolumab is approved in Japan for treating R/MHNSCC, the response rate is low. Therefore, identifying pretreatment prognostic factors is necessary.

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Objective: Eyes absent 4 (EYA4) is the causative gene of autosomal dominant non-syndromic hereditary hearing loss, DFNA10. We aimed to identify a copy number variation of EYA4 in a non-syndromic sensory neural hearing loss pedigree.

Family And Clinical Evaluation: A Japanese family showing late-onset and progressive hearing loss was evaluated.

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Using a well-focused soft x-ray synchrotron radiation beam, angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy was applied to a full-Heusler-type Co_{2}MnGe alloy to elucidate its bulk band structure. A large parabolic band at the Brillouin zone center and several bands that cross the Fermi level near the Brillouin zone boundary were identified in line with the results from first-principles calculations. These Fermi-level crossings are ascribed to majority spin bands that are responsible for electron transport with extremely high spin polarization especially along the direction perpendicular to the interface of magnetoresistive devices.

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Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) accounts for 1-2% of all malignant thyroid tumors. There are only a small number of patients with ATC and most of them die within 6 months after diagnosis, making it difficult to establish a standard treatment strategy. Although multimodal therapy, including radical surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, has been introduced, the survival rate remains poor.

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Background: Pressure sores are sometimes refractory to treatment, often due to malnutrition. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) obstructs absorption in the digestive tract and causes malnutrition. However, little is known about the association between pressure sore wound healing and SIBO.

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Nivolumab has been approved for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (R/M HNC) on March 2017 in Japan. Recently, many researchers have been actively studying the prognostic and predictive markers. However, they have not been clarified.

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Objective: Accurate assessment and localization of aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) are essential for the treatment of primary aldosteronism (PA). Although adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is the standard method of reference for subtype diagnosis in PA, controversy exists concerning the criteria for its interpretation. This study aims to determine better indicators that can reliably predict subtypes of PA.

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Objective: It remains controversial whether nasal nitric oxide (NO) serves as a reliable parameter to evaluate treatment efficacy in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR). The measurement of local nasal NO levels has been shown to be a sensitive marker for the diagnosis of symptomatic AR patients. Here we assessed the applicability of nasal NO to evaluations of the efficacy of intranasal steroids (INS) in a prospective design.

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Objective: To determine if a lower dose of dexamethasone can be used in combination with fosaprepitant and palonosetron for cisplatin-induced nausea and vomiting in head and neck cancer patients, we conducted a single-center, two-arm, cross-over comparison study.

Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to either standard dose dexamethasone group: intravenous 9.9 mg on day 1 and 6.

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Context: Necrolytic migratory erythema (NME) occurs in approximately 70% of patients with glucagonoma syndrome. Excessive stimulation of metabolic pathways by hyperglucagonemia, which leads to hypoaminoacidemia, contributes to NME pathogenesis. However, the molecular pathogenesis of glucagonoma and relationships between metabolic abnormalities and clinical symptoms remain unclear.

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