Background: Intrathecal baclofen therapy can substantially improve symptoms in patients with severe spasticity owing to traumatic spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral paresis, or tethered cord syndrome. Problems associated with intrathecal catheters include migration, laceration, occlusion, or disconnection. Several case reports have described the management of catheter fragments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiac-output response to exercise was evaluated over a 2-year period in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients treated with cardiotoxic drugs. During the study period, resting cardiac function was normal; however, the cardiac output response to exercise decreased, and an association with exercise tolerance was observed. Regular assessments of cardiopulmonary function and exercise guidance are vital for patients at high risk of cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction, in line with the principles of cardiac oncology rehabilitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Increased levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in tumors have been found to correlate with poor clinical outcomes in patients with cancer. Although abundant data support the involvement of PAI-1 in cancer progression, whether PAI-1 contributes to tumor immune surveillance remains unclear. The purposes of this study are to determine whether PAI-1 regulates the expression of immune checkpoint molecules to suppresses the immune response to cancer and demonstrate the potential of PAI-1 inhibition for cancer therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotoluminescence (PL) spectra arising from 4f-4f dipole transitions of Eu doped at both the and sites of perovskite-type alkaline earth zirconates obtained at various excitation wavelengths were evaluated. Changes in the excitation wavelength caused obvious differences in the PL intensity ratio of the induced electric dipole (ED) D → F transition to the magnetic dipole (MD) D → F transition for Eu-doped SrZrO and CaZrO, in which only the B site had a center of symmetry. Two charge transfer (CT) bands associated with the excitation of Eu were observed in the spectra of these oxide samples, which arose from the difference in the electronic structure of the Eu-O coordination at the A and B sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In patients with conjoined nerve roots, hemilaminectomy with sufficient exposure of the intervertebral foramen or lateral recess is required to prevent destabilization and ensure correct mobility of the lumbosacral spine. To the best of our knowledge, no case reports have detailed the long-term course of conjoined nerve roots after surgery.
Case Presentation: We report the case of a 51-year-old Japanese man with a conjoined nerve root.
Blunt vertebral artery injuries (BVAI) associated with cervical spine fractures are often problematic due to symptoms of occlusion. Denver grade V cases, in which the vertebral artery is transected, are rare but often fatal, and treatment has rarely been reported. We encountered a case of hemorrhagic shock due to an injury to a branch of the vertebral artery associated with an upper cervical spine fracture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Design: Retrospective study.
Purpose: This research aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of patients with traumatic cervical spine dislocation who underwent closed reduction employing our approach.
Overview Of Literature: Bedside closed reduction is the quickest procedure for repairing traumatic cervical spine dislocations; nevertheless, it also possesses the risk of neurological deterioration.
Background: Intrathecal baclofen therapy can substantially improve symptoms in most patients with severe spasticity due to traumatic spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, or cerebral paresis. To the best of our knowledge, decompression surgeries at the intrathecal catheter insertion site in patients with a preexisting intrathecal pump for drug delivery have not been reported.
Case Presentation: We report the case of a 61-year-old Japanese man with lumbar spinal stenosis who underwent intrathecal baclofen therapy.
The obturator nerve originates from the lumbar plexus and innervates sensation in the thigh and movement of the adductor muscle group of the hip. Reports on physical therapy for patients with obturator nerve injuries have been limited due to insufficient injuries, and there have been no reports on rehabilitation after neurotmesis. Furthermore, there are no reports on the status of activities of daily living (ADL) and details of physical therapy in patients with paralysis of the adductor muscle group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmRNAs produced in a cell are almost always translated within the same cell. Some mRNAs are transported to other cells of the organism through processes involving membrane nanotubes or extracellular vesicles. A recent report describes a surprising new phenomenon of encapsulating mRNAs inside virus-like particles (VLPs) to deliver them to other cells in a process that was named SEND (Selective Endogenous eNcapsidation for cellular Delivery).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Early decompressive surgery within 24 hours improves the functional outcome of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury; however, little is known about the effect of early surgery for spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH). In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ultraearly hematoma evacuation (<12 hours) for SSEH.
Methods: Patients with SSEH treated with surgical hematoma evacuation at our institution between January 2000 and July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.
Mitochondria are indispensable in maintaining hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), and mitochondrial complex II (MCII) has been recognized as a key component of HSCs. However, the physiological role of MCII on long-term hematopoiesis and hematopoietic reconstitution capacity remains unknown. Hence, this study evaluated the impact of MCII dysfunctions on long-term HSC maintenance and hematopoietic homeostasis among conditional transgenic mice with a missense mutation in the succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit C gene (SdhcV69E).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the longitudinal changes in nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) in patients expressing myositis-specific autoantibodies [anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (ARS), anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 (TIF1), and anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5)].
Methods: This study was performed retrospectively, at a single site, on an observational cohort. Seventy-one idiopathic inflammatory myopathy patients were included (25 patients expressed anti-MDA5 Abs, 24 patients expressed anti-TIF1 Abs, and 22 patients expressed anti-ARS Abs).
Background: The purpose of the current study was to investigate factors related to morphological changes in the masseter muscle after preoperative orthodontic treatment in patients with skeletal class III dentofacial deformities for analysis of muscle changes and malocclusions.
Methods: Twenty female patients with dentofacial deformities were included in the study. Computed tomography was performed before and after preoperative orthodontic treatment, and the lengths, widths, and cross-sectional areas of the masseter muscles were measured.
Background: Simultaneous bilateral hip fractures without major trauma in the elderly are rare and usually symmetrical. To the best of our knowledge, only two cases of bilateral simultaneous asymmetric hip fracture in the elderly without major trauma have been reported.
Case Presentation: We present the case of a 90-year-old Japanese man with simultaneous bilateral asymmetric hip fractures with trochanteric fracture on the right side and greater trochanteric fracture on the left side.
A 70-year-old woman was brought to our hospital by ambulance due to syncope and hemiparalysis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and an electrocardiogram (ECG) showed the cerebral infarction and ST elevation without chest pain. The neurological findings were improved at the emergency outpatient service, therefore an emergency coronary angiography and aspiration for the thrombus was performed for acute myocardial infarction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis clinical image presents a report on the diagnosis and treatment of anti-NMDAR encephalitis, a rare disease. This report emphasizes the importance of a differential diagnosis for acute psychiatric symptoms. Accurate and timely diagnosis is critical for the selection and implementation of treatment and for optimal patient outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: We investigated the prevalence of locomotive syndrome (LS) and related musculoskeletal diseases [osteoarthritis (OA), lumbar spondylosis, and spinal alignment] in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients.
Methods: Clinical data were collected from 101 patients (55 males; 46 females) admitted to our hospital for diabetes education from October 2018 to April 2021. Patients underwent full-spine and whole-legs standing radiography and physical measurements (10-m walking and grip strength tests and three LS risk tests).
Background: This study aimed to investigate the effect of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with an ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block (FNB) on knee extensor strength weakness 3 and 6 months, and graft rupture in the 1 year following ACL reconstruction.
Methods: One hundred and seven patients who underwent ACL reconstruction were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups stratified by the method of postoperative pain management.
In this study, we examined the antileukemic effects of pterostilbene, a natural methylated polyphenol analog of resveratrol that is predominantly found in berries and nuts, using various human and murine leukemic cells, as well as bone marrow samples obtained from patients with leukemia. Pterostilbene administration significantly induced apoptosis of leukemic cells, but not of non-malignant hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Interestingly, pterostilbene was highly effective in inducing apoptosis of leukemic cells harboring the BCR/ABL fusion gene, including ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-resistant cells with the T315I mutation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is relatively high for a gynecologic disease. Laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) is currently the main surgical option for managing POP. The priority of the surgical treatment is preventing recurrence after the surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: The optimal management for acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is unknown.
Objective: To determine whether early surgical decompression results in better motor recovery than delayed surgical treatment in patients with acute traumatic incomplete cervical SCI associated with preexisting canal stenosis but without bone injury.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter randomized clinical trial was conducted in 43 tertiary referral centers in Japan from December 2011 through November 2019.