Current research of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: Pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is caused by impaired cerebrospinal fluid absorption in the elderly; it is a surgically treatable form of dementia. Gait disturbance, dementia, and urinary incontinence are the triad of signs for iNPH. In addition to these clinical findings, imaging studies show characteristic ventricular enlargement.

A case report of an alcoholic with delirium tremens diagnosed with hypopharyngeal cancer: Psychiatrists played important roles in the smooth diagnosis and treatments.

Background: Alcohol use increases the risk of developing several types of cancer. Of these, hypopharyngeal cancer has one of the worst prognoses. Moreover, treating an alcoholic patient with hypopharyngeal cancer is often difficult.

A case report of nonsurgical idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus differentiated from Alzheimer's dementia: Levetiracetam was effective in symptomatic epilepsy.

Background: Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a common form of dementia that causes gait disturbance, cognitive impairment, and urinary incontinence. iNPH is a "treatable dementia" that can be treated with shunt surgery, but this can be ineffective in some cases and can be accompanied by complications. As a result, many patients with iNPH do not undergo surgery.

Associations Between Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Psychiatric Symptoms in Dementia With Lewy Bodies Without Parkinsonism.

Because dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) has various psychiatric symptoms, early diagnosis in patients without parkinsonism is difficult. To reveal associations between regional brain perfusion and psychiatric symptoms in DLB patients without parkinsonism, we quantified brain perfusion using an automated brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography analysis program, FineSRT. We statistically analyzed the differences in brain perfusion between groups, divided by the presence or absence of psychiatric symptoms.

Effectiveness of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients With Advanced Parkinson Disease.

Objectives: In addition to motor symptoms, patients with Parkinson disease (PD) experience various psychiatric comorbidities, including impulse control disorders (ICDs). Moreover, antiparkinsonian drugs sometimes cause psychiatric symptoms. Antiparkinsonian and antipsychotic drugs are competitive in pharmacodynamics, and psychotropic drugs, including antidepressants, may worsen motor symptoms or induce adverse reactions.

Longitudinal observation of ten family members with idiopathic basal ganglia calcification: A case report.

Background: Familial idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (FIBGC) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder that causes bilateral calcification of the basal ganglia and/or cerebellar dentate nucleus, among other locations.

Case Summary: The aim of this study is to report 10 cases of FIBGC observed in a single family. Seven patients showed calcification on their computed tomography scan, and all of these patients carried the mutation.

Concepts and techniques: how to determine and identify the appropriate target segment in anatomical pulmonary segmentectomy?

Anatomical segmentectomy is gathering increasing interest among thoracic surgeons because of increased detection of pulmonary nodules with ground-glass opacity (GGO) as well as an increase in the number of compromised patients. Accurate determination of intersegmental planes is a challenge in anatomical segmentectomy, and multiple methods have been proposed including developing inflation/deflation lines and injecting indocyanine green either intravenously or intrabronchially. Considering resection margins, adding a localization technique to conventional methods, or conducting virtual-assisted lung mapping (bronchoscopic multi-spot dye marking) may be an optional approach for optimal anatomical segmentectomy to identify intersegmental planes and obtain adequate resection margins.

The AMAGAMI technique: an easy technique to achieve precise stapling in thoracoscopic segmentectomy.

The "AMAGAMI" or "incomplete grasping" technique is used to adjust the location of the lung while gently grasping the lung tissue with a stapler. Thoracoscopic segmentectomy requires precise but complex stapling, while the surgical view and the number of available instruments are limited. In the AMAGAMI technique, instead of moving the stapler to the targeted position of the lung tissue, an unlocked stapler is used to hold the lung tissue at an easily accessible position, and the lung tissue can then be slid to the ideal resection line using forceps.

Thoracoscopic stapler-based "bidirectional" segmentectomy for posterior basal segment (S10) and its variants.

Thoracoscopic segmentectomy for the posterior basal segment (S10) and its variant (e.g., S9+10 and S10b+c combined subsegmentectomy) is one of the most challenging anatomical segmentectomies.

The usefulness of combined brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography, Dopamine-transporter single-photon emission computed tomography, and I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy for the diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies.

Background: Current diagnostic criteria recommend neuroimaging as a diagnostic support tool for the clinical diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Because DLB causes characteristic impairments and disabilities, such as neuroleptic hypersensitivity, which may significantly increase morbidity and mortality, its prompt and correct diagnosis is very important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which diagnostic accuracy can be increased by using different combinations of brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (bp-SPECT), I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy (MIBG scintigraphy), and DAT-SPECT.

Techniques of stapler-based navigational thoracoscopic segmentectomy using virtual assisted lung mapping (VAL-MAP).

Anatomical segmentectomies play an important role in oncological lung resection, particularly for ground-glass types of primary lung cancers. This operation can also be applied to metastatic lung tumors deep in the lung. Virtual assisted lung mapping (VAL-MAP) is a novel technique that allows for bronchoscopic multi-spot dye markings to provide "geometric information" to the lung surface, using three-dimensional virtual images.

Identification of Individual Cancer-Specific Somatic Mutations for Neoantigen-Based Immunotherapy of Lung Cancer.

Introduction: Two strategies for selecting neoantigens as targets for non-small cell lung cancer vaccines were compared: (1) an "off-the-shelf" approach starting with shared mutations extracted from global databases and (2) a personalized pipeline using whole-exome sequencing data on each patient's tumor.

Methods: The Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer database was used to create a list of shared missense mutations occurring in more than 1% of patients. These mutations were then assessed for predicted binding affinity to HLA alleles of 15 lung cancer patients, and potential neoantigens (pNeoAgs) for each patient were selected on this basis.

Gender Differences in Long-Term Survival after Surgery for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background This retrospective study examined gender differences in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by analyzing surgical cases at a single institution. Patients and Methods In this study, 735 NSCLC patients who underwent surgery from 1995 to 2010 were included. Clinical and pathological characteristics were retrieved by reviewing charts retrospectively, and variables between genders were compared.

Significance of the Glasgow Prognostic Score as a prognostic indicator for lung cancer surgery.

Objectives: The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), which is calculated with C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin (Alb) values, is a prognostic indicator for various types of cancers. However, its role in lung cancer still remains unclear, and its optimal cut-off values are controversial. Here, we evaluated the significance of the GPS and adjusted GPS (a-GPS) using our institution's cut-off values in patients undergoing resection for primary lung cancer.

[Tracheal Resection and Reconstruction for a Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Trachea;Report of a Case].

We report a case of tracheal resection and reconstruction for a squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea that was found in an 82-year-old male patient who had underwent right lower lobectomy for an adenosquamous cell carcinoma 3.5 years before. He noticed bloody sputum.

Validation of 7th TNM staging system for lung cancer, based on surgical outcomes.

Background: Validation of the clinical classification for lung cancer of the 7th edition of the TNM staging system among surgical cases has not been reported previously.

Methods: Data of 489 males and 246 females, with a mean age of 67.6 years, who underwent surgical resection for non-small-cell lung cancer were analyzed retrospectively.

Outcomes of combined modality therapy for patients with stage III or IV mediastinal malignant germ cell tumors.

Purpose: The treatment of primary mediastinal germ cell tumors with cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by surgery is an established practice; however, the prognosis has remained poor. This study reviews the survival outcomes of patients with primary mediastinal germ cell tumors to evaluate the efficacy of our treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 11 consecutive patients with primary mediastinal germ cell tumors.

Lung lobectomy in a patient with an implantable left ventricular assist device.

Non-cardiac surgical procedures in patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) pose a special challenge given the hemodynamic and hematologic considerations in these patients. During pulmonary procedures in patients with LVADs, special attention should be paid to hemodynamics because lung resection surgery requires a lateral decubitus position, single-lung ventilation and postoperative decrease in the pulmonary vascular bed, all of which may lead to inadequate preload to the LVAD. We present a case of lower lobectomy of the left lung for an adenocarcinoma found in a patient with an implantable continuous-flow LVAD.

Outcome and survival analysis of pulmonary metastasectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: The lung is the most common site for extrahepatic metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We previously reported in a series of 20 patients that pulmonary metastasectomy for HCC is feasible in selected patients. The objective of this study was to re-evaluate the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors with an additional 25 patients.

Adoptive immunotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer using zoledronate-expanded γδTcells: a phase I clinical study.

Human γδ T cells can recognize and kill non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells using the Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell receptor and/or NKG2D. We have established clinical grade large-scale ex vivo expansion of γδ T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells by culturing with zoledronate and interleukin-2 (IL-2). A phase I study was conducted to evaluate safety and potential antitumor effects of re-infusing ex vivo expanded γδ T cells in patients with recurrent or advanced NSCLC.

Resection of solitary pulmonary lesion is beneficial to patients with a history of malignancy.

Background: Solitary pulmonary lesion poses a diagnostic challenge, especially in patients with a history of malignancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of solitary pulmonary lesions and the outcome of surgical resection.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 243 patients with a history of cancer who underwent surgery for new-found solitary pulmonary lesion between January 1998 and December 2007.