Neurosurgical Operative Cancellations in Canada: A Multicentre Retrospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Operative cancellations adversely affect patient health and impose resource strain on the healthcare system. Here, our objective was to describe neurosurgical cancellations at five Canadian academic institutions.

Methods: The Canadian Neurosurgery Research Collaborative performed a retrospective cohort study capturing neurosurgical procedure cancellation data at five Canadian academic centres, during the period between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018.

Optimal Management of Calvarial Lymphoma: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Calvarial lymphoma is an exceedingly rare phenomenon; the clinical presentation and imaging pattern mimic many diseases of the central nervous system. Several treatment approaches have been undertaken with variable use of surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation; an optimal treatment algorithm has yet to be defined. The aim of this study was to better characterize management strategies and patient outcomes.

Diagnostic Yield and Treatment Impact of Targeted Exome Sequencing in Early-Onset Epilepsy.

Targeted whole-exome sequencing (WES) is a powerful diagnostic tool for a broad spectrum of heterogeneous neurological disorders. Here, we aim to examine the impact on diagnosis, treatment and cost with early use of targeted WES in early-onset epilepsy. WES was performed on 180 patients with early-onset epilepsy (≤5 years) of unknown cause.

A systematic review of deep brain stimulation for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy in childhood.

OBJECTIVE Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) presents a therapeutic challenge in children, necessitating the consideration of multiple treatment options. Although deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been studied in adults with DRE, little evidence is available to guide clinicians regarding the application of this potentially valuable tool in children. Here, the authors present the first systematic review aimed at understanding the safety and efficacy of DBS for DRE in pediatric populations, emphasizing patient selection, device placement and programming, and seizure outcomes.

Assessing an Interactive Online Tool to Support Parents' Genomic Testing Decisions.

Clinical use of genome-wide sequencing (GWS) requires pre-test genetic counseling, but the availability of genetic counseling is limited. We developed an interactive online decision-support tool, DECIDE, to make genetic counseling, patient education, and decision support more readily available. We performed a non-inferiority trial comparing DECIDE to standard genetic counseling to assess the clinical value of DECIDE for pre-GWS counseling.

An Infant With Epilepsy and Recurrent Hemiplegia due to Compound Heterozygous Variants in ATP1A2.

Background: Pathogenic heterozygous variants in the ATP1A2 gene have most commonly been associated with familial hemiplegic migraine. However, a wide spectrum of phenotypes that include alternating hemiplegia of childhood and epilepsy have been described.

Patient Description: We describe a boy who presented at age three months with a complex phenotype that included epilepsy, nonepileptic paroxysmal events, and recurrent hemiplegia.

De Novo Mutations in YWHAG Cause Early-Onset Epilepsy.

Massively parallel sequencing has revealed many de novo mutations in the etiology of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (EEs), highlighting their genetic heterogeneity. Additional candidate genes have been prioritized in silico by their co-expression in the brain. Here, we evaluate rare coding variability in 20 candidates nominated with the use of a reference gene set of 51 established EE-associated genes.

De novo mutation in 2 patients with neonatal-onset epilepsy.

Objective: We describe 2 additional patients with early-onset epilepsy with a de novo mutation.

Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed in 2 unrelated patients with early-onset epilepsy and their unaffected parents. Genetic variants were assessed by comparative trio analysis.

Effect of the orthoquinone moiety in 9,10-phenanthrenequinone on its ability to induce apoptosis in HCT-116 and HL-60 cells.

9,10-Phenanthrenequinone (9,10-PQ) is one of the most abundant quinones among diesel exhaust particulates. Recent data have suggested that quinones induce apoptosis in immune, epithelial and tumor cells, leading to respirator illness; however, the mechanisms by which quinones induce apoptosis and the structure required for this remain unknown. We studied the antitumor activity of 9,10-PQ analogs against two human tumor cell lines, HCT-116 colon tumor cells and HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells.

Expression, purification, and refolding of active recombinant human E-selectin lectin and EGF domains in Escherichia coli.

Attempts to obtain active E-selectin from Escherichia coli (E. coli) have not yet been successful. In this study, we succeeded in expressing the recombinant lectin and epidermal growth factor domain fragments of human E-selectin (rh-ESLE) in E.

[Clinical evaluation of a line probe assay kit for the identification of Mycobacterium species and detection of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis].

Background: Multidrug resistance (MDR) involves resistance to both isoniazid and rifampicin, which makes the treatment of tuberculosis very difficult. Extensive drug resistance (XDR) occurs when, in addition to isoniazid and rifampicin resistance, the microorganisms are resistant to a fluoroquinolone and an injectable agent (e.g.

Doctor's delay in endobronchial tuberculosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the current status of doctor's delay in diagnosing endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB) and to elucidate the risk factors contributing to the delay.

Methods: Retrospective clinicopathological analysis.

Patients: Sixty-two patients with EBTB were admitted at our hospital between 1999 and 2010.

Disulfiram, a drug widely used to control alcoholism, suppresses the self-renewal of glioblastoma and over-rides resistance to temozolomide.

Glioblastomas (GBM) are associated with high rates of relapse. These brain tumors are often resistant to chemotherapies like temozolomide (TMZ) and there are very few treatment options available to patients. We recently reported that polo-like kinase-1 (PLK1) is associated with the proliferative subtype of GBM; which has the worst prognosis.

Superiority of nebulized corticosteroids over dry powder inhalers in certain patients with cough variant asthma or cough-predominant asthma.

Background: The particle distribution might differ between nebulizer therapy and metered-dose inhaler (MDI) or dry powder inhaler (DPI) therapy because the particles repeatedly enter/re-enter the airways with the nebulizer. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) were administered with a nebulizer to assess the benefit of changes in the distribution of particles in patients with cough variant asthma (CVA) and cough-predominant asthma (CPA).

Methods: Patients whose symptoms were not controlled by their current therapy were enrolled.

Association of SLC11A1 (NRAMP1) polymorphisms with pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex infection.

Although genetic variants in SLC11A1 (NRAMP1) have been associated with mycobacterial diseases, these findings have not been extensively validated in pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection. This study investigated the genomic structure of SLC11A1 and its association with MAC infection. Nineteen polymorphic loci were genotyped in European descendents and the Japanese population.

Inter-rater agreement in the assessment of abnormal chest X-ray findings for tuberculosis between two Asian countries.

Background: Inter-rater agreement in the interpretation of chest X-ray (CXR) films is crucial for clinical and epidemiological studies of tuberculosis. We compared the readings of CXR films used for a survey of tuberculosis between raters from two Asian countries.

Methods: Of the 11,624 people enrolled in a prevalence survey in Hanoi, Viet Nam, in 2003, we studied 258 individuals whose CXR films did not exclude the possibility of active tuberculosis.

Comprehensive multicenter evaluation of a new line probe assay kit for identification of Mycobacterium species and detection of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We evaluated a new line probe assay (LiPA) kit to identify Mycobacterium species and to detect mutations related to drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A total of 554 clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (n = 316), Mycobacterium avium (n = 71), Mycobacterium intracellulare (n = 51), Mycobacterium kansasii (n = 54), and other Mycobacterium species (n = 62) were tested with the LiPA kit in six hospitals. The LiPA kit was also used to directly test 163 sputum specimens.

[Evaluation of tuberculosis treatment including levofloxacin (LVFX) in cases who could not continue standard regimen].

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate tuberculosis treatment including levofloxacin (LVFX) and to investigate the effectiveness of changing drug regimens at our hospital.

Subjects And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 331 patients with tuberculosis admitted to Tokyo National Hospital in 2005. Out of these 331 patients, LVFX was used in 48 (14.

Evaluation of a simple loop-mediated isothermal amplification test kit for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Objective: A new loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test kit, including a simple DNA extraction device for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, was developed for commercial use and evaluated for its usefulness in diagnosing tuberculosis (TB).

Design: The LAMP test was performed using untreated and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NALC) NaOH-treated sputum specimen. The efficiency of the kit was compared with other conventional laboratory examinations, including other nucleic acid amplification (NAA) tests.

[A case of tuberculous pleurisy developing contralateral effusion during anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy].

A 55-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of chest pain, fever, and right pleural effusion that was exudative and lymphocyte-dominant with a high level of adenosine deaminase (ADA). Since her blood QuantiFERON-TB 3G test (QFT) was positive, she was diagnosed with tuberculous pleurisy. After initiation of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy with isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide, her symptoms improved.

[Tuberculosis screening of foreigners in European, North-American, and Oceanian countries].

Purpose: To plan a tuberculosis control program of foreign-born people in Japan, we reviewed the policies of tuberculosis screening on entrance for immigrants and non-immigrant visitors other than refugees and asylum-seekers in European, North American and Oceanic countries.

Methods: Medical literature review and Internet search for the official governmental web sites.

Results: In most countries, the main targets of tuberculosis screening programs for foreign-born people are refugees and asylum-seekers.

Identification of a novel carbohydrate-mimicking octapeptide from chemical peptide library and characterization as selectin inhibitor.

We found a novel octapeptide (H-YRNWFGRW-NH₂) mimicking sialyl Lewis X (sLe(X)) carbohydrate from a chemical peptide library with anti-sLe(X) monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2H5. The peptide libraries were constructed by Fmoc-based solid-phase methodology using the mix-split method. The octapeptide sequence was determined by the iterative deconvolution method using anti-sLe(X) MAb 2H5.

[A case of cold abscess of the chest wall due to thoracic drainage for tuberculous pleuritis].

A 56-year-old man underwent thoracic drainage for two weeks for tuberculous pleuritis. He was put on antituberculosis chemotherapy with INH (400 mg), RFP (450 mg), and EB (750 mg). Two months later, he developed an elastic hard subcutaneous mass in the area of the previous thoracic drainage.

[Clinical investigation among elderly patients with tuberculosis].

Objectives: We discussed the factors which may confuse diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in elderly patients, in order to improve the situation.

Subjects And Methods: 414 patients who were hospitalized for active tuberculosis in Tokyo National Hospital were divided into three groups according to their ages (in years): less than 65, 65 to 74, and greater than 75. The three groups were compared in terms of performance status (PS), serum albumin level (whether over 3 g/dl or not), underlying diseases, symptoms at onset, sputum smear findings for acid-fast bacilli, presence or absence of cavitary lesion, regimen of treatment, adverse reaction to medications, and treatment outcome.

[Review of pulmonary Mycobacterium xenopi infection cases: 11 cases of our own and 18 other cases reported in Japan].

Objective: To investigate clinical features of patients with pulmonary Mycobacterium xenopi infection treated at our hospital.

Subjects And Methods: We diagnosed 11 cases of M. xenopi infection at Tokyo National Hospital between 2000 and 2008 and recorded the drug susceptibility, patient characteristics, radiographic findings, treatments given and clinical courses.