Publications by authors named "Tsunekazu Oikawa"

Article Synopsis
  • Sarcopenia and osteoporosis negatively affect patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), and this study compares two methods for assessing muscle mass: bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
  • The study included 173 patients and found strong correlation and agreement between ASMI values obtained from BIA and DXA for diagnosing sarcopenia and osteosarcopenia.
  • It concludes that DXA is a valuable tool for a thorough assessment of muscle and bone health in CLD patients, highlighting the need for effective diagnostics in managing these conditions.
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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) often experience malnutrition and increased risk of bone diseases, which can lead to worse health outcomes.
  • This study included 209 CLD patients and found that those in the "nutrition-related risk" group had a higher prevalence of osteoporosis compared to those without such risk.
  • The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) was determined to be a strong predictor for osteoporosis and fracture risk, indicating its potential use as an important tool for managing bone health in these patients.
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Aims: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral semaglutide for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Materials And Methods: This was a single-arm, multicentre, prospective study. Among 80 consecutive patients with MASLD and T2DM who newly received oral semaglutide, 70 completed 48-week oral semaglutide treatment as scheduled and were included in an efficacy analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study highlights the limitations of traditional liver cancer markers, α-fetoprotein (AFP) and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP), particularly in early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in patients with liver issues.
  • Researchers evaluated serum protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) as a potential new biomarker for HCC diagnosis and found it to have high sensitivity and specificity, even in early stages of the disease.
  • PKCδ levels remained consistent regardless of hepatitis C virus (HCV) status, liver injury, or warfarin treatment, making it a promising alternative to conventional markers for more accurate HCC detection.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examines how the combined score of C-reactive protein and albumin ratio (CAR) and modified albumin-bilirubin (mALBI) affects prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver surgery.
  • - Conducted on 214 patients who had liver resection for HCC between 2008 and 2018, the research categorizes patients based on their CAR and mALBI scores to assess their disease-free and overall survival rates.
  • - Results show that a higher CAR-mALBI score correlates with lower survival rates, highlighting its potential as a significant prognostic tool for evaluating both the liver's function and the patient's inflammatory state in HCC management.
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Aim: Malnutrition, which increases the risk of liver disease-related events and mortality, is a serious complication in cirrhosis. This study aimed to investigate whether the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) could predict the long-term prognosis in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 266 patients with cirrhosis and classified them into two groups based on baseline GNRI scores: risk (≤98,  = 104) and no-risk groups (>98,  = 162).

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Aim: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is primarily produced in hepatocytes and is associated with liver functional reserve, plays a crucial role in the pathological condition of cirrhosis. This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of serum IGF-1 levels for predicting the long-term prognosis and decompensation development in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 148 patients with cirrhosis and divided them into three groups according to baseline IGF-1 levels: low (L)-, intermediate (I)-, and high (H)-IGF-1 groups.

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Fibrolamellar carcinomas (FLCs), lethal tumors occurring in children to young adults, have genetic signatures implicating derivation from biliary tree stem cell (BTSC) subpopulations, co-hepato/pancreatic stem cells, involved in hepatic and pancreatic regeneration. FLCs and BTSCs express pluripotency genes, endodermal transcription factors, and stem cell surface, cytoplasmic and proliferation biomarkers. The FLC-PDX model, FLC-TD-2010, is driven ex vivo to express pancreatic acinar traits, hypothesized responsible for this model's propensity for enzymatic degradation of cultures.

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Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and has a poor prognosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying hepatocarcinogenesis and progression remain unknown. gain- and loss-of-function analyses in cell lines and xenografts revealed that dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) influences tumour growth in HCC.

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Background: Osteosarcopenia, defined as the coexistence of sarcopenia and osteoporosis, is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The present study investigated the prognostic significance of osteosarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 126 patients with cirrhosis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined how the combination of Child-Pugh class B/C cirrhosis, sarcopenia, and severe vitamin D deficiency affects the survival prognosis of cirrhosis patients.
  • The researchers evaluated 104 patients and found that those with both high-risk cirrhosis and either sarcopenia or severe vitamin D deficiency had significantly lower survival rates compared to those without these complications.
  • The findings suggest that assessing nutritional issues like sarcopenia and vitamin D levels is crucial for understanding and improving the prognosis of patients with cirrhosis.
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Extended-synaptotagmin 1 (E-Syt1) is an endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein that is involved in cellular lipid transport. Our previous study identified E-Syt1 as a key factor for the unconventional protein secretion of cytoplasmic proteins in liver cancer, such as protein kinase C delta (PKCδ); however, it is unclear whether E-Syt1 is involved in tumorigenesis. Here, we showed that E-Syt1 contributes to the tumorigenic potential of liver cancer cells.

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Patients with cirrhosis are at high risk for sarcopenia and malnutrition, which are associated with reduced quality of life and increased mortality. We investigated the relationship between the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) and sarcopenia/gait speed and assessed the usefulness of the GNRI for predicting sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis. We evaluated 202 patients with cirrhosis and divided them into three groups based on baseline GNRI values: low (L)-GNRI (< 94.

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Protein secretion in cancer cells defines tumor survival and progression by orchestrating the microenvironment. Studies suggest the occurrence of active secretion of cytosolic proteins in liver cancer and their involvement in tumorigenesis. Here, we investigated the identification of extended-synaptotagmin 1 (E-Syt1), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-bound protein, as a key mediator for cytosolic protein secretion at the ER-plasma membrane (PM) contact sites.

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Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) plays an important role in bone growth and maintenance, and its decreased levels are associated with bone disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the association of serum IGF-1 levels with osteoporosis, prevalent fractures and fracture risk based on the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). This study included 127 consecutive patients with PBC.

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Background And Aim: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) therapy is frequently used as first-line treatment for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). RFA is often associated with pain; however, no definitive solution has been established for its relief. We retrospectively analyzed the safety and efficacy of the combination of pentazocine and midazolam to relieve pain experienced by HCC patients undergoing RFA.

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Backgrounds And Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cancer with a poor prognosis. Identification of an alternative biomarker that can detect early-stage and conventional tumor marker-negative HCC is urgently needed. We found that protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) is specifically secreted from HCC cell lines into extracellular space and contributes to tumor development and that its serum levels were elevated in HCC patients.

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Backgrounds: Centrilobular zonal necrosis (CZN) is described as a histological feature present in a small number of autoimmune hepatitis (CZN-AIH) patients. CZN may be detected in the absence of significant interface hepatitis, which is the most important histological finding of AIH. The clinical and histopathological spectra of CZN-AIH were not homogeneous, and the concept of CZN-AIH as a distinctive subtype of AIH remains controversial, due to the rarity of CZN-AIH and the ambiguous definition of CZN.

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Introduction: With the increase in the number of patients with sustained virologic response (SVR) in whom hepatitis C virus (HCV) was eradicated by the anti-HCV therapy, there are now many individuals in whom serum HCV RNA is absent despite positive serum HCV antibodies. However, in general clinical practice, HCV infection remains usually screened by measurement of serum HCV antibodies and patients with SVR can be misunderstood regarding HCV infection status.

Methods: In the multicenter study, we conducted interviews with administered questionnaires to SVR individuals who had regular hospital visits after SVR.

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Protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) is a multifunctional PKC family member and has been implicated in many types of cancers, including liver cancer. Recently, we have reported that PKCδ is secreted from liver cancer cells, and involved in cell proliferation and tumor growth. However, it remains unclear whether the extracellular PKCδ directly regulates cell surface growth factor receptors.

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Backgrounds And Aims: Cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are potentially fatal complications of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We investigated how compensated cirrhosis and a history of curatively treated HCC influenced patient mortality after HCV eradication, that is, sustained virologic response (SVR).

Methods: We studied 5458 patients with confirmed SVR who were prospectively followed up for more than 1 year after SVR achieved with direct-acting antivirals.

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Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and could be biomarkers of disease activity. This study aimed to identify highly expressed circulating miRNAs in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and to evaluate their association with clinical characteristics.

Methods: Microarray analyses were performed, and miRNA expression profiling for AIH, primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and overlap syndrome (OS) using the serum of patients and healthy individuals was done.

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