Publications by authors named "Toshiaki Kikuchi"
Article Synopsis
- * The present study validated the score's effectiveness by comparing 116 patients with L. pneumophila CAP to 947 patients with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron CAP, finding that L. pneumophila scores were significantly higher (4 vs 1).
- * Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for L. pneumophila CAP were notably high (90.5% sensitivity and 90.8% specificity) when using a cutoff score of ≥3 points, emphasizing the score's reliable diagnostic potential during
Objective: To ascertain whether psychotherapies combined with medication are more efficacious than those without medication and determine which combinations yield the best results.
Methods: We conducted a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing behavioural activation (BA), psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy (DYN), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), individual face-to-face cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT (ftf)), group cognitive behavioural therapy (gCBT), and computerised or internet cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) with each other, or with treatment-as-usual (TAU) and wait list control (WLC) among adults formally diagnosed with depression. The psychotherapy arms were categorised as either psychotherapy alone or psychotherapy combined with medication (+ ).
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease characterized by widespread fibrosis affecting various organs. This disorder has two main subtypes based on the extent of cutaneous fibrosis (limited and diffuse cutaneous SSc). Interstitial lung disease (ILD) occurs in approximately 50% and 25% of patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc and limited cutaneous SSc, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has received considerable attention as a method for allergen immunotherapy (AIT). However, the mechanism of SLIT, especially its timing, has not been thoroughly investigated. We evaluated therapeutic and prophylactic SLIT in an allergic airway inflammation model and evaluated their efficacies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRationale And Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved lung cancer prognosis; however, ICI-related interstitial lung disease (ILD) is fatal and difficult to predict. Herein, we hypothesized that pre-existing lung inflammation on radiological imaging can be a potential risk factor for ILD onset. Therefore, we investigated the association between high uptake in noncancerous lung (NCL) on F- FDG-PET/CT and ICI-ILD in lung cancer.
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- Aspergillus-specific antibodies are used to diagnose allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), but tests for these were not commonly used in Japan.
- A study evaluated 64 patients with suspected ABPA and CPA using two different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to measure serum Aspergillus IgG levels.
- Results showed that both the Bordier and Bio-Rad kits had high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing CPA and ABPA, making them good alternatives to the discontinued precipitin test in clinical settings in Japan.
Article Synopsis
- - Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is a commonly overlooked issue in asthma patients in Japan, prompting a study to understand its clinical characteristics through a questionnaire survey conducted in three regions (Niigata, Kumamoto, and Tokyo) between September and November 2021.
- - The survey involved 2,087 asthma patients, with 217 classified as having DB based on their Nijmegen questionnaire scores; significant differences emerged between DB and non-DB groups concerning factors like sex, disease duration, asthma control, and mental health.
- - Results indicated that asthma patients with DB often experienced symptoms of depression and had poorly controlled asthma, highlighting a need for larger studies to further explore these findings and potential interventions.
Does Autoimmune Response Against Surfactant Protein Cause Interstitial Lung Disease?
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- * After starting treatment with oral prednisolone and tacrolimus, she developed a severe headache and was found to have posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) based on brain imaging.
- * Tacrolimus was stopped, and mycophenolate mofetil was introduced, leading to a positive outcome, suggesting it as an alternative for treating anti-MDA-5-positive interstitial lung disease when calcineurin inhibitors are unsuitable.
Purpose: Auto-antibodies (auto-abs) to type I interferons (IFNs) have been identified in patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), suggesting that the presence of auto-abs may be a risk factor for disease severity. We therefore investigated the mechanism underlying COVID-19 exacerbation induced by auto-abs to type I IFNs.
Methods: We evaluated plasma from 123 patients with COVID-19 to measure auto-abs to type I IFNs.
Article Synopsis
- * The study investigated producing Mycobacterial DNA-binding protein 1 (MDP1) using two methods, recombinant proteins from E. coli and Mycolicibacterium smegmatis, to test their ability to boost the immune response in BCG-vaccinated individuals.
- * Results indicated that mMDP1, derived from the avirulent Mycolicibacterium smegmatis, was most effective in stimulating IFN-gamma production when combined with a novel CpG DNA called G9.1
Aims: To determine the prevalence and impact of emotional blunting (EB) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in Japan, and identify treatment needs for EB using patients' perceptions and attitudes.
Methods: Eligible patients in Japan (aged 18-59 years) who reported a diagnosis of MDD and antidepressant medication use for >3 months were eligible to complete an online survey. The primary outcome was the prevalence of EB, self-reported using a validated screening question.
Article Synopsis
- * Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common bacterium found, present in 29.2% of cases, followed by MRSA (12.0%) and Klebsiella spp. (9.5%).
- * The analysis revealed a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, with 57.8% detected, emphasizing the importance of this data for choosing effective treatment options.
Purpose: Goal attainment scaling (GAS) has been proposed as a person-centric, semi-quantitative measure that assimilates achievement of individually set goals into a single standardized "goal attainment score" that can be compared at the population level. We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the GAS for depression (GAS-D) tool in assessing goal attainment in people living with major depressive disorder (MDD).
Patients And Methods: This was a prespecified analysis of a prospective, 24-week, multicenter, observational cohort study of employed Japanese outpatients with MDD initiating treatment with vortioxetine according to the Japanese label (JRCT1031210200).
Aim: Live two-way video, easily accessible from home via smartphones and other devices, is becoming a new way of providing psychiatric treatment. However, lack of evidence for real-world clinical setting effectiveness hampers its approval by medical insurance in some countries. Here, we conducted the first large-scale pragmatic, randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of long-term treatment for multiple psychiatric disorders via two-way video using smartphones and other devices, which are currently the primary means of telecommunication.
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- Bipolar disorder is associated with social challenges, increased divorce rates, and family support loss, but there is limited evidence on divorce predictors in real-life scenarios.
- The study analyzed data from 1071 bipolar disorder outpatients over two years, finding a 2.8% divorce rate, notably higher than the general population in Japan.
- Factors influencing divorce included younger age and lower BMI for both genders, with men showing younger age and bipolar I as significant, while women had lower BMI and anxiolytic use as key predictors.
Article Synopsis
- The study explored the effectiveness of a treatment regimen called ABCP (atezolizumab, bevacizumab, carboplatin, and paclitaxel) for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after failure of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).
- Results from 60 patients showed a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 7.4 months and median overall survival (OS) of 23.1 months, with an overall response rate (ORR) of 55.9%.
- However, the study did not reach its primary endpoint and indicated that PFS was notably shorter for patients with previous TKI treatment and those with brain or
Purpose: Originally developed in English, the Oxford Depression Questionnaire (ODQ) is a patient-reported scale specifically developed for assessing emotional blunting in people with major depressive disorder (MDD). We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the ODQ.
Patients And Methods: This was a prespecified analysis of a prospective, 24-week, multicenter, observational cohort study of employed Japanese outpatients with MDD initiating treatment with vortioxetine according to the Japanese label (JRCT1031210200).
Article Synopsis
- The study explores the connection between iron metabolism and infectious diseases, particularly in adult patients with bloodstream infections, to improve diagnosis and treatment amid rising antibiotic resistance.
- It analyzed blood samples from 48 patients, noting that during acute infections, levels of hepcidin and lipocalin-2 (LCN2) surged, while iron levels dropped significantly in 95.8% of cases.
- Findings revealed that elevated hepcidin contributes to low iron availability, potentially hindering pathogens' ability to acquire iron, while LCN2 also plays a role in blocking this process during the acute phase of sepsis.
Article Synopsis
- Rapid antigen testing (RAT) results can be difficult to interpret visually, leading to potential errors, especially in detecting weak results.
- A study created a computer-based feedback training program to enhance test result reading skills among medical technologists by providing immediate corrections to their responses.
- The feedback training significantly improved detection accuracy compared to traditional test experience methods, particularly in recognizing weak lines in RAT results.