Chimerism analysis by ABO blood group genotyping with digital droplet PCR.

Objective: Chimerism analysis is an important post-transplant assessment for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients. Although various chimerism analysis techniques are already established, they are limited in terms of sensitivity, versatility, and turnaround time. Our objective was to develop a digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) assay for chimerism analysis using ABO gene polymorphisms as markers.

JCCG ALL-B12: Evaluation of Intensified Therapies With Vincristine/Dexamethasone Pulses and Asparaginase and Augmented High-Dose Methotrexate for Pediatric B-ALL.

Purpose: The JCCG ALL-B12 clinical trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of unvalidated treatment phases for pediatric ALL and develop a safety-focused treatment framework.

Patients And Methods: Patients age 1-19 years with newly diagnosed B-ALL were enrolled in this study. These patients were stratified into standard-risk (SR), intermediate-risk (IR), and high-risk (HR) groups.

Simultaneous Occurrence of Hyponatremia and Hypokalemia in a Patient with Herpes Zoster: A Case Report with a Review of the Literature.

We herein report a patient with herpes zoster (HZ), severe hyponatremia, and hypokalemia. Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) leads to euvolemic hyponatremia and hypoosmotic plasma due to inadequate diuresis. Hyponatremia in the current patient was caused by SIAD and associated with HZ of the trigeminal facial nerve (V1).

Localized anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive histiocytosis in a cerebellar hemisphere with long-term treatment: illustrative case.

Background: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive histiocytosis (ALK-H) is an emerging entity in the category of histiocytic neoplasms that was first reported as a multisystemic disease in three infants in 2008. The clinicopathological spectrum of ALK-H has been expanded to include localized disorders in specific organs, but the features of this subtype are not well known. The authors report a case of ALK-H localized in the central nervous system that was difficult to treat and review the relevant literature.

Allogeneic Hematopoietic cell Transplantation Using Alemtuzumab in Asian Patients with Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Alemtuzumab is used with reduced-toxicity conditioning (RTC) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), demonstrating efficacy and feasibility for patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) in Western countries; however, the clinical experience in Asian patients with IEI is limited. We retrospectively analyzed patients with IEI who underwent the first allogeneic HCT with alemtuzumab combined with RTC regimens in Japan. A total of 19 patients were included and followed up for a median of 18 months.

Metronomic Chemotherapy for Pediatric Refractory Solid Tumors: A Retrospective Single-center Study.

Metronomic chemotherapy (MC) is based on chronic administration of chemotherapeutic agents at minimally toxic doses without prolonged drug-free breaks, that inhibits tumor angiogenesis and induces tumor dormancy. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of MC for pediatric refractory solid tumors. We retrospectively analyzed the data of pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors who received treatment, including low-dose continuous administration of anticancer drugs, at our institute.

Assessment of the Physical Invasiveness of Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy during the Perioperative Period Based on Changes in Energy Metabolism.

A novel treatment method for achalasia of the esophagus and related disorders is known as peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM). This study aimed to calculate the resting energy expenditure (REE) and evaluated the degree of physical invasiveness based on metabolic changes during the perioperative period of POEM. Fifty-eight patients who underwent POEM were prospectively enrolled; REE, body weight (BW), and basal energy expenditure were measured on the day of POEM, postoperative day 1 (POD 1), and three days after POEM (POD 3).

A short-term three dimensional culture-based drug sensitivity test is feasible for malignant bone tumors.

The feasibility of a short-term, three-dimensional (3D) culture-based drug sensitivity test (DST) for surgically resected malignant bone tumors, including osteosarcoma (OS), was evaluated utilizing two OS cell line (KCS8 or KCS9)-derived xenograft (CDX) models. Twenty-three (KCS8) or 39 (KCS9) of 60 tested drugs were likely effective in OS cells derived from a cell line before xenografting. Fewer drugs (19: KCS8, 26: KCS9) were selected as effective drugs in cells derived from a CDX tumor, although the drug sensitivities of 60 drugs significantly correlated between both types of samples.

Severe Hepatitis-associated Aplastic Anemia Following COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination.

We herein report a case of hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia (HAAA) that occurred after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination. In this patient, progressive pancytopenia observed two months after acute hepatitis following the second dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine indicated the development of HAAA. Although some reports have suggested that SARS-CoV-2 vaccination may be involved in the development of autoimmune diseases, no cases of HAAA developing after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination have been reported.

Two Distinct Groups Are Shown to Be at Risk of Diabetes by Means of a Cluster Analysis of Four Variables.

Recent attempts to classify adult-onset diabetes using only six diabetes-related variables (GAD antibody, age at diagnosis, BMI, HbA1c, and homeostatic model assessment 2 estimates of b-cell function and insulin resistance (HOMA2-B and HOMA2-IR)) showed that diabetes can be classified into five clusters, of which four correspond to type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Here, we classified nondiabetic individuals to identify risk clusters for incident T2DM to facilitate the refinement of prevention strategies. Of the 1167 participants in the population-based Iwaki Health Promotion Project in 2014 (baseline), 868 nondiabetic individuals who attended at least once during 2015-2019 were included in a prospective study.

Correction: Tamura et al. Interrelations between Gut Microbiota Composition, Nutrient Intake and Diabetes Status in an Adult Japanese Population. 2022, , 3216.

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The Relationship between Serum Adiponectin, Urinary Albumin/Creatinine Ratio and Type 2 Diabetes: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

The relationship between serum adiponectin concentration (S-Adipo) and various diseases, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) is conflicting. We hypothesized that the extent of kidney damage in patients with T2D may be responsible for this inconsistency and, thus, examined association between S-Adipo and T2D after consideration for the extent of kidney damage present. Of the 1816 participants in the population-based Iwaki study of Japanese people, 1751 participants with a complete dataset were included.

YM155 and chrysin cooperatively suppress survivin expression in SMARCB1/INI1-deficient tumor cells.

SMARCB1/INI1 deficiency is seen in several malignant tumors including malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT), a highly aggressive pediatric malignancy. Loss of SMARCB1/INI1 function alters diverse oncogenic cellular signals, making it difficult to discover effective targeting therapy. By utilizing an in vitro drug screening system, effective therapeutic agents against SMARCB1/INI1-deficient tumors were explored in this study.

Impact of human leukocyte antigen mismatch on outcomes after unrelated bone marrow transplantation in paediatric patients: A retrospective analysis by the JSTCT HLA working group.

The impact of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatching at the HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 loci after unrelated bone marrow transplantation in paediatric patients with haematological malignancies has not been fully examined. Here, we analysed patients with haematological malignancies (all aged ≤15 years; n = 1330) who underwent a first unrelated bone marrow transplantation between 1993 and 2017 in Japan. The results show that although an HLA mismatch was significantly associated with a low relapse rate, it was also associated with higher non-relapse mortality.

Prominence of NUDT15 genetic variation associated with 6-mercaptopurine tolerance in a genome-wide association study of Japanese children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Inherited genetic variation is associated with 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) dose reduction and frequent toxicities induced by 6-MP. However, the tolerable dose for 6-MP is not fully predicted by the known variation in NUDT15 and TPMT among Asian children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) related to 6-MP dose among Japanese children with ALL.

Interrelations between Gut Microbiota Composition, Nutrient Intake and Diabetes Status in an Adult Japanese Population.

Upon food digestion, the gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in energy metabolism, thus affecting the development of type 2 diabetes (DM). We aimed to examine the influence of the composition of selected nutrients consumed on the association between the gut microbiota and DM. This cross-sectional study of a general population was conducted on 1019 Japanese volunteers.

Influence of Esophageal Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection on the Changes of Energy Metabolism during the Perioperative Period.

Esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is considered to be more complex than gastric ESD. This study aimed to assess the physical invasiveness of esophageal ESD during perioperative periods by measuring resting energy expenditure (REE). The factors affecting REE that could be used to identify patients requiring perioperative management were also investigated.