Publications by authors named "Tomoko Kawanishi"

Introduction: This study elucidates factors affecting the severity and mortality in pre-Omicron and Omicron strains of SARS-CoV-2 and vaccination impact.

Methods: This single-center retrospective observational study included 1598 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Patients were grouped into "pre-Omicron" and "Omicron" periods.

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Background: Maintenance haemodialysis (HD) patients are at higher risk for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Because of a limited number of facilities that can provide inpatient treatment for COVID-19 and HD, it is important to identify HD patients who are at high risk for severe COVID-19. For mild to moderate COVID-19 patients, chemokine CC-motif ligand 17 (CCL17) was reported to be a predictive marker for severe COVID-19; however, the validity of CCL17 among HD patients is unknown.

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Background: Hematuria is the essential symptom of IgA nephropathy that has been suggested to be associated with long-term renal prognosis, Tonsillectomy and steroid pulse therapy (TSP), which is widely practiced in Japan, is effective for achieving hematuria remission. However, some cases are refractory to TSP, and additional steroid pulse therapy (SP) administered to these cases to achieve remission of hematuria. Nonetheless, the clinical significance of additional SP is unknown.

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Hemodialysis patients are vulnerable to severe and lethal COVID-19, and their protective immunity against COVID-19 is not yet fully understood. Therefore, we report a case of COVID-19 reinfection in a hemodialysis patient 81 days after the first episode and discuss the role of antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 infection. A hemodialysis patient developed asymptomatic COVID-19 due to an outbreak in a hospital on October 29th, 2020.

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Article Synopsis
  • Patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) have a weakened immune system, making them more susceptible to severe COVID-19 and showing lower antibody production post-infection.
  • A study assessed SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG levels in HD patients compared to non-HD patients within a month after COVID-19 symptoms began, using a matching technique to ensure unbiased results.
  • Results indicated that HD patients, particularly those with severe disease, had significantly lower IgG-S1 antibody levels compared to non-HD patients, suggesting a slower antibody response may contribute to their higher risk of severe COVID-19.
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An 87-year-old man with diabetes mellitus was admitted to control recurrent bleeding from hemodialysis puncture sites. He was a smoker and had been diagnosed with arteriosclerosis obliterans. His PT and APTT were markedly prolonged, and all coagulation factors were markedly decreased (factor V [FV] activity < 1%) or below the measurement threshold, with the exception of fibrinogen and factor XIII.

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  • NGAL (LCN2) is an iron carrier protein linked to increased levels in kidney injury, infection, and obesity, with unclear metabolic effects.
  • Female mice lacking LCN2 (KO) showed better responses to a high-fat diet, including increased brown fat tissue, higher oxygen consumption, and less weight gain compared to wild-type mice.
  • During cold exposure, KO mice maintained higher body temperatures and BAT activity, indicating that LCN2 may promote obesity and hinder thermogenesis by inhibiting brown fat function in an iron-dependent way.
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Natriuretic peptides produced by the heart in response to cardiac overload exert cardioprotective and renoprotective effects by eliciting natriuresis, reducing BP, and inhibiting cell proliferation and fibrosis. These peptides also antagonize the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, but whether this mechanism contributes to their renoprotective effect is unknown. Here, we examined the kidneys of mice lacking the guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A) receptor for natriuretic peptides under conditions of high aldosterone and high dietary salt.

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Long-term peritoneal dialysis induces peritoneal fibrosis with submesothelial fibrotic tissue. Although angiogenesis and inflammatory mediators are involved in peritoneal fibrosis, precise molecular mechanisms are undefined. To study this, we used microarray analysis and compared gene expression profiles of the peritoneum in control and chlorhexidine gluconate (CG)-induced peritoneal fibrosis mice.

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Glomerular filtration rate(GFR) can be estimated from serum (s-) creatinine using the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD). However, its calculation is sometimes cumbersome in clinical use. Cystatin C is less influenced by age, gender and muscle mass than serum creatinine, and it has been proposed as an alternative marker for estimating GFR (eGFR).

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