Background: A bipartite atlas is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by incomplete fusion of the anterior and posterior arches of the first cervical vertebra (C1). While typically asymptomatic, this condition can result in cervical myelopathy when accompanied by degenerative changes. This report presents a rare case of cervical myelopathy caused by a bipartite atlas in an older patient that required surgical intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are preferred for stroke prevention in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF); however, warfarin is still used. This study examined why physicians may choose warfarin over DOACs and the associated safety outcomes in patients with NVAF.
Methods: We conducted a new-user, active-comparator cohort study in newly diagnosed patients with NVAF to assess safety outcomes after the introduction of DOACs in Japan.
Purpose: Omalizumab, the anti-IgE monoclonal antibody used to treat severe asthma, reduces asthma exacerbations, hospitalizations, and corticosteroid use. Although allergic asthma is a therapeutic target of omalizumab, omalizumab is not effective in all patients with severe allergic asthma and is not always available for long-term use. We retrospectively investigated factors related to long-term (≥2 years) use of omalizumab for severe asthma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study measured the atmospheric concentration and deposition flux of radiocesium in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, from November 2011 to October 2014. The results show synchronous seasonal change in atmospheric concentration and deposition flux of radiocesium, which is high during winter to early spring and low during summer to autumn. These seasonal variations are similar to those observed in Fukushima City but differ from those in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, comprising a larger contaminated forest area.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe commercial spent-nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Japan, is scheduled for completion in 2024. Its fuel rods were cut into segments and chemically processed between 2006 and 2008, as part of the plant's test operations. During the test, 14C (4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Examining human coding and non-coding RNAs present in skin surface lipids (SSL-RNAs) offers a promising approach to understanding the physiological state of the skin. Benralizumab treatment can reduce exacerbations and improve symptom control and quality of life in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Although this treatment effectively depletes peripheral blood eosinophils, the impact of benralizumab on SSL-RNA remains completely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the age-related development of five major oral functions-tongue pressure, lip pressure, masticatory efficiency, bite force, and occlusal contact area-in subjects aged 5-20 years.
Material And Methods: Ninety-two subjects were divided into four age groups: 5-8, 9-12, 13-16, and 17-20 years. Oral functions were evaluated using standardized methods, including Chew Check Gum for assessing masticatory efficiency, Dental Prescale II for measuring occlusal force and contact area, JMS tongue pressure measuring device for evaluating tongue pressure, and Ripple-Kun for measuring lip pressure.
Steroid-resistant asthma is a common cause of refractory asthma. Type 2 inflammation is the main inflammatory response in asthma, and the mechanism underlying the steroid-resistance of type 2 inflammation has not been completely elucidated. Tumor-necrosis-factor-like apoptosis-inducing factor (TWEAK) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 are involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the production of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we aimed to clarify the effects of breakfast intervention on autonomic nerve function in healthcare workers who skip breakfast. This cross-sectional, interventional study was conducted between January 2020 and December 2021. All participants were full-time healthcare workers who completed a self-administered questionnaire on fatigue and subjective symptoms and underwent noninvasive autonomic nerve function tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The immunostimulatory actions of innate and adaptive immune responses play a crucial role in the cancer-immunity cycle. Although cervical cancer (CC) exhibits a high recurrence rate, the relation with lymphocytes in the tumor tissue have not been analyzed.
Methods: We analyzed NKT, NK, and T cells, not only in peripheral blood (PB), but also tumor tissue through histological analysis from 23 patients with CC collected before treatment.
Curr Issues Mol Biol
October 2024
The analysis of skin surface lipid-RNAs (SSL-RNAs) provides a non-invasive method for understanding the molecular pathology of atopic dermatitis (AD), but its relevance to asthma remains uncertain. Although dupilumab, a biologic drug approved for both asthma and AD, has shown efficacy in improving symptoms for both conditions, its impact on SSL-RNAs is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impact of dupilumab treatment on SSL-RNA profiles in patients with severe asthma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Although immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) had been discovered more than 50 years ago, 30-40% of IgAN patients still have primary glomerular disease that progresses to end-stage renal disease. However, various treatment strategies for IgAN have rapidly expanded in recent years to include endothelin (ET) receptor antagonists.
Areas Covered: In this review, we discuss the role of the ET-1/ET receptor axis in the development of IgAN, especially focusing on the potential of sparsentan, a dual ET and angiotensin receptor antagonist as a novel therapy for IgAN.
Pathological gait in patients with Hakim's disease (HD, synonymous with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus; iNPH), Parkinson's disease (PD), and cervical myelopathy (CM) has been subjectively evaluated in this study. We quantified the characteristics of upper and lower limb movements in patients with pathological gait. We analyzed 1491 measurements of 1 m diameter circular walking from 122, 12, and 93 patients with HD, PD, and CM, respectively, and 200 healthy volunteers using the Three-Dimensional Pose Tracker for Gait Test.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMainland Japanese have been recognized as having dual ancestry, originating from indigenous Jomon people and immigrants from continental East Eurasia. Although migration from the continent to the Japanese Archipelago continued from the Yayoi to the Kofun period, our understanding of these immigrants, particularly their origins, remains insufficient due to the lack of high-quality genome samples from the Yayoi period, complicating predictions about the admixture process. To address this, we sequenced the whole nuclear genome of a Yayoi individual from the Doigahama site in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan.
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