[Anesthetic management for laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication in a 18 trisomy patient with congestive heart disease].

A 21-month-old patient diagnosed as 18 trisomy, having large ventricular septal defect with pulmonary valve stenosis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, was admitted for laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication and gastrostomy. Anesthesia was induced with midazolam, fentanyl, and rocuronium, and maintained with sevoflurane and remifentanil. After induction of anesthesia, oxygenation became worse, possibly due to diminished pulmonary blood flow, which was partially resolved with vasopressor administration and fluid infusion.

The Gap Between Flare-Up Recognition and Judgment of Need for Physician Visit in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Although patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) recognize that their conditions are worsening, they do not always visit a doctor immediately. Our aim was to investigate how patients recognize a flare-up of UC and how significant a gap there is between symptoms recognized as a flare-up and symptoms judged to require physician visit.

Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 1,641 Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Japan members and returned by 426, with 260 UC patients subsequently analyzable (Crohn's disease patients were excluded).

Intermittent minodronic acid treatment with sufficient bone resorption inhibition prevents reduction in bone mass and strength in ovariectomized rats with established osteopenia comparable with daily treatment.

This study examined and compared the effects of four-week intermittent and daily administrations of minodronic acid, a highly potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate, on bone mineral density (BMD), bone strength, bone turnover, and histomorphometry on established osteopenia in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Fourteen-week-old female F344 rats were OVX or sham-operated. At 12 weeks post surgery, minodronic acid was orally administered once every 4 weeks at 0.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) signal intensity and distribution represent the amount of cancer cells and their distribution in primary lung cancer.

The aim of this study was to interpret diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) signals in lung cancers. They were converted into several three-dimensional DWI signals patterns, which represent the degree of DWI signal intensity by height and the degree of distribution by area: flat, low elevation, irregular elevation, single-peak elevation, multiple-peak elevation, and nodular elevation. There were 39 adenocarcinomas and 21 squamous cell carcinomas.

Impaired neural differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells generated from a mouse model of Sandhoff disease.

Sandhoff disease (SD) is a glycosphingolipid storage disease that arises from mutations in the Hexb gene and the resultant deficiency in β-hexosaminidase activity. This deficiency results in aberrant lysosomal accumulation of the ganglioside GM2 and related glycolipids, and progressive deterioration of the central nervous system. Dysfunctional glycolipid storage causes severe neurodegeneration through a poorly understood pathogenic mechanism.

[Glidescope performance in tracheal intubation by novice laryngoscopists: a manikin study].

Background: The Glidescope is a novel video laryngoscope designed for difficult airway management. It is expected to be a useful device for inexperienced users but published data have been limited. Using a manikin, we compared the performance of the Glidescope with those of the Airway scope and Macintosh laryngoscope in tracheal intubation by inexperienced and experienced operators.

[Group A streptococcus-induced toxic shock syndrome in pregnancy: a case report of cesarean section].

Group A streptococcus (GAS)-induced toxic shock syndrome (TSS) in pregnancy is rare, but its clinical course is fulminant. The mortality rates of mother and fetus are reported to be 58 and 66%, respectively. We report a case of GAS-TSS after cesarean section.

Effects of minodronic acid and alendronate on bone remodeling, microdamage accumulation, degree of mineralization and bone mechanical properties in ovariectomized cynomolgus monkeys.

Suppression of bone remodeling by bisphosphonates leads to accumulation of microdamage in bone. If this microdamage develops due to suppressed repair of remodeling only, more potent bisphosphonates should cause more damage. In this study, we evaluated the effects of reduced bone turnover produced by a potent bisphosphonate, minodronic acid, on microdamage accumulation, the degree of mineralization and mechanical properties of bone in ovariectomized cynomolgus monkeys, and compared these effects with those of alendronate.

Influence of acidosis on cardiotonic effects of colforsin and epinephrine: a dose-response study.

Objective: Acidosis produces a negative inotropic effect on cardiac muscle against which catecholamines and phosphodiesterase III inhibitors have limited therapeutic effects. This study evaluated the effects of colforsin, which directly activates adenylate cyclase without β-adrenergic receptor activation, in isolated Langendorff rat hearts in a pH- and concentration-dependent manner.

Design: Experimental animal study.

Advantages of diffusion-weighted imaging over positron emission tomography-computed tomography in assessment of hilar and mediastinal lymph node in lung cancer.

Background: The significance of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is uncertain for the diagnosis of nodal involvement. The purpose of this study was to examine diagnostic capability of DWI compared with PET-CT for nodal involvement of lung cancer.

Methods: A total of 160 lung cancers (114 adenocarcinomas, 36 squamous cell carcinomas, and 10 other cell types) were analyzed in this study.

Relationship between non-adherence to aminosalicylate medication and the risk of clinical relapse among Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis in clinical remission: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Thirty to forty-five percent of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients show non-adherence to aminosalicylates, and non-adherence has been reported to increase the risk of clinical relapse. Because Japan differs from Western countries in terms of health care and drugs administered, adherence to aminosalicylates in Japan may differ from that elsewhere. Therefore, we examined aminosalicylate adherence and its relationship to the risk of clinical relapse of UC in Japan.

[Anomalous systemic arterial supply to the basal segment of the right lung with patent ductus arteriosus; report of a case].

A 38-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because she presented with an abnormal shadow on a chest radiograph. A through examination showed an aberrant artery arising from the abdominal aorta and supplying the right basal segment and patent ductus arteriosus(PDA).Moreover the sequestrated lung was not recognized.

Magnesium sulfate attenuates tourniquet pain in healthy volunteers.

Purpose: Preoperative administration of an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist has been shown to attenuate tourniquet-induced blood pressure increase under general anesthesia, suggesting that the mechanism of this blood pressure increase includes NMDA receptor activation. The attenuation of this increase may be associated with the pain relief induced by NMDA receptor antagonism. We tested the hypothesis that magnesium sulfate, an NMDA receptor antagonist, attenuates tourniquet pain.

Effects of age-related dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra on the circadian rhythms of locomotor activity in mice.

Elderly people often develop sleep and autonomic dysfunctions, which are regulated by circadian rhythm. Recently, we reported on the degradation of neural output from the central circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) with aging. However, it is likely that many other factors contribute to the age-related decline in the functioning of the circadian system.

A randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of thoracic CT screening for lung cancer in non-smokers and smokers of <30 pack-years aged 50-64 years (JECS study): research design.

In order to assess the efficacy of lung cancer screening using low-dose thoracic computed tomography, compared with chest roentgenography, in people aged 50-64 years with a smoking history of <30 pack-years, a randomized controlled trial is being conducted in Japan. The screening methods are randomly assigned individually. The duration of this trial is 10 years.

[Case of ulnar nerve palsy in a patient with a history of total elbow arthroplasty after abdominal surgery under general anesthesia].

Ulnar nerve palsy is a well recognized complication of the general anesthesia. We experienced a case of ulnar nerve palsy after abdominal surgery under general anesthesia in a patient with a history of total elbow arthroplasty and ulnar nerve translocation. It appears that pressure on medial epicondyle caused the palsy and that the position of the ulnar nerve has to be carefully examined before surgery in a patient with a history of total elbow arthroplasty and ulnar nerve translocation.

Prevalence and incidence of pressure ulcers in Japanese long-term-care hospitals.

In Japan, long-term-care hospitals and facilities face the problem of quality of care, and providing adequate pressure ulcer care is one of the most urgent quality issues. Purpose of the present study was to explore the prevalence and incidence of pressure ulcers in long-term-care hospitals in Japan, and to identify factors associated with them. An anonymous questionnaire was sent to 720 randomly sampled, long-term-care hospitals all over Japan.

Validation of the Japanese version of the EORTC hepatocellular carcinoma-specific quality of life questionnaire module (QLQ-HCC18).

Background: This Study Examined The Measurement Properties Of The Japanese Version Of The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Hepatocellular Carcinoma-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-HCC18).

Methods: EORTC quality of life (QOL) translation guidelines were followed to create a Japanese version of the EORTC QLQ-HCC18. This was then administered to 192 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma along with the EORTC QLQ-C30 and FACT-Hep questionnaires.

[The efficacy of the "BURP" maneuver during laryngoscopy and training period necessary for residents in anesthesiology].

Background: The "BURP" maneuver (back, upward, right lateral, pressure) improves the visualization of the larynx for experienced anesthesiologists during orotracheal intubation in patients with difficult airway. We investigated whether this maneuver has same efficacy for inexperienced residents in anesthesiology.

Methods: We compared the visual condition of the larynx using "BURP" maneuver, back pressure or no maneuver between 37 residents and 16 staff anesthesiologists in 132 patients receiving general anesthesia.

Prospective longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in patients with permanent colostomy after curative resection for rectal cancer: a preliminary study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate health-related quality of life in patients with a colostomy immediately before and during the first year after surgery.

Subjects And Setting: Patients (aged ≥20 years) who were diagnosed with rectal cancer and scheduled to undergo curative surgery with a permanent colostomy were recruited for this study. Data were collected at 2 university hospitals in Tokyo.

[Anesthetic management of a patient with stiff-person syndrome undergoing thymectomy].

Stiff-person syndrome is an uncommon disease characterized by muscular rigidity and painful spasms in the axial and limb muscles. We report a 58-year-old woman with stiff-person syndrome undergoing thymectomy under general anesthesia. Before surgery, her medications were 25 mg of diazepam, 2 mg of clonazepam, and 15 mg of gabapentin per day.

Evaluation of dislocation position in patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation.

Background: The usual mechanism of anterior shoulder dislocation is widely believed to be a combination of glenohumeral joint abduction, extension, and external rotation forces, even though no published reports to date have investigated the arm position of anterior shoulder dislocation in detail. Understanding the exact position of anterior shoulder dislocations is important for the management of anterior shoulder instability.

Materials And Methods: The study included 40 shoulders of 38 patients (32 males, 6 females), aged 28.

Difficulties in taking aminosalicylates for patients with ulcerative colitis.

Aminosalicylates are effective in inducing remission and are also useful in preventing relapse of ulcerative colitis (UC); however, previous studies have reported a 30%-45% rate of nonadherence to prescribed medication among UC patients. Enumerating and conceptualizing the difficulties in taking aminosalicylates enable us to assess and support patients more effectively. The aim of this study was to investigate the difficulties in taking aminosalicylates among Japanese UC patients and explore factors related to these difficulties.

Characteristic retear patterns assessed by magnetic resonance imaging after arthroscopic double-row rotator cuff repair.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and elucidate retear pattern and its characteristics after surgical repair of the rotator cuff using an arthroscopic double-row suture anchor (DRSA) method.

Methods: Forty-seven patients with complete rotator cuff tears treated by the DRSA method under arthroscopy whose repair condition was assessed by MRI approximately 12 months after the procedure were included in the study. The mean age at treatment was 65 years (range, 42 to 82 years).