Publications by authors named "Yasuhiro Watanabe"

Objective: The easy Z-score imaging system (eZIS) objectively interprets brain perfusion. Using eZIS-processed images, we observed decreased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the left putamen of several patients with forgetfulness. This study aimed to examine this decrease using statistical image analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We herein report a case of concurrent immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and ulcerative colitis (UC) that achieved remission following mesalazine treatment. A 16-year-old girl presented with severe thrombocytopenia, abdominal pain, and bloody stool. She was initially diagnosed with ITP and then was treated with prednisolone, resulting in an immediate improvement of symptoms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious neurodegenerative disease, and recent research reveals the Src/c-Abl inhibitor, bosutinib, as a promising candidate for treatment after a phase 1 study showed it to be safe for ALS patients.
  • The ongoing phase 2 study aims to assess bosutinib's efficacy and long-term safety over a 24-week treatment period, with 25 ALS patients participating and receiving either 200 mg or 300 mg doses.
  • The study has ethical approval from multiple universities and plans to share its findings in peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how vitamin D levels after bariatric surgery affect skeletal muscle health, focusing on 83 patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy.
  • Patients were divided into two groups: one receiving vitamin D supplementation and dietary guidance, while the other did not receive guidance, allowing for comparison.
  • Results showed that those who received supplementation had significantly higher vitamin D levels post-surgery, which correlated with better preservation of lower limb muscle mass, suggesting supplementation may help prevent muscle loss.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - A patient with GATA2 deficiency experienced a lung disease that formed granulomas but responded to corticosteroids, even though they had low levels of monocytes.
  • - The patient also showed low B-lymphocyte levels and signs of autoimmunity, alongside high amounts of serum B-cell-activating factor.
  • - These findings indicated a possible connection to combined variable immunodeficiency lung disease, highlighting a complex immune dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Although the percentage of the population with a high degree of obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 35 kg/m) is low in Japan, the prevalence of obesity-related diseases in patients with high-degree obesity is greater than that in patients with a BMI < 35 kg/m. Therefore, treatment for high-degree obesity is important. However, clinical studies have reported that 20-50% of patients with obesity discontinue weight-loss treatment in other countries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Isolated prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) has various causes including inheritable bleeding disorders, and has medical significance as it can lead to the cancelation of surgery. However, even an emergency surgery can be conducted in a patient presenting with severe APTT prolongation, provided careful evaluation and appropriate measures are taken. Hence, the identification of the underlying etiology of the prolonged APTT is crucial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is an arterial stiffness index that correlates inversely with body mass index (BMI) and subcutaneous fat area. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) that catalyzes the hydrolysis of serum triglycerides is produced mainly in adipocytes. Serum LPL mass reflects LPL expression in adipose tissue, and its changes correlate inversely with changes in CAVI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

DPP-4 inhibitors are frequently used as first-line agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Japan. This study aimed to examine the effects of vildagliptin on glucose metabolism and arterial stiffness. Twenty treatment-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes (8 males and 12 females) received vildagliptin 50 mg twice daily for 6 months.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hyperuricemia is associated with kidney function decline (KFD), although whether hyperuricemia directly causes nephrotoxicity or is indirectly mediated by systemic arterial stiffening remains unclear. We examined the detailed relationship of serum uric acid (SUA) with KFD and potential mediation by arterial stiffness. Study population was 27,648 urban residents with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of ≥60 mL/min/1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 analogue may be useful for controlling weight recurrence and diabetes relapse after bariatric surgery, but may also adversely affect the measured nutritional metrics. This study aimed to investigate the effect of treatment with once-weekly semaglutide after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We also examined the effects of combined use with a low-energy, high-protein formula diet (FD).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Dyslipidemia is associated with kidney function decline (KFD), although the non-linear relationship of lipid parameters to KFD has not been fully elucidated. We aimed to determine the detailed relationship of baseline lipid parameters with KFD, considering the mediation of arterial stiffness.

Methods: A total of 27 864 urban residents with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 mL/min/1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy lysosome pathway (ALP) are crucial in the control of protein quality. However, data regarding the relative significance of UPS and ALP in the central nervous system (CNS) are limited. In the present study, using publicly available data, we computed the quantitative expression status of UPS- and ALP-related genes and their products in the CNS as compared with that in other tissues and cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Eyes provide valuable information for neurological diagnosis. So far, the use of diagnostic devices to analyze eye movement is limited. We explored whether the analysis of eye movements can be efficacious.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: High soluble (pro)renin receptor (s[P]RR) level in circulation is reported in obese patients; however, it is unclear which body composition components are responsible for it. In this study, the authors examined blood s(P)RR levels and ATP6AP2 gene expression levels in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT, SAT) in severely obese patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), with the aim of clarifying the relationship with body composition and metabolic factors.

Methods: Seventy five cases who underwent LSG between 2011 and 2015 and were postoperatively followed-up for 12 months at the Toho University Sakura Medical Center were included in the analysis of the cross-sectional survey at baseline, and 33 cases were included in the analysis of the longitudinal survey during the 12 months after LSG.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To elucidate the mechanism by which cigarette smoking causes vascular damage, we examined the relationship between cumulative cigarette consumption and abdominal obesity, and the possible mediating effect of smoking on arterial stiffness.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from 19499 never smokers and 5406 current smokers receiving health screening was analyzed. Abdominal obesity was assessed by ABSI, and arterial stiffness by CAVI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is potentially life-threatening adverse reaction associated with blood transfusion and can induce perioperative pulmonary secretion. TRALI that develops during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) may be difficult to detect; however, the pathophysiology might manifest as derangements in CPB operations. A 79-year-old man was scheduled to undergo partial replacement of the aortic arch with CPB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) for morbidly obese patients often results in remission of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), but diabetes relapses in some of those patients. The frequency of T2DM relapse in Asians and the factors involved have not been adequately investigated.

Methods: The J-SMART study was conducted on 322 Japanese subjects with body mass index (BMI) ≥32 kg/m2 who underwent LSG at 10 accredited centers in Japan between 2011 and 2014.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A body shape index (ABSI) is an abdominal obesity index developed based on epidemiological statistics and designed to correlate minimally with body mass index (BMI). We examined the approximation between ABSI and other abdominal obesity indices based on biophysical concepts. The cross-sectional data from 62,514 Japanese urban residents were analyzed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by the loss of motor neurons, and development of effective medicines is urgently required. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based drug repurposing identified the Src/c-Abl inhibitor bosutinib, which is approved for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), as a candidate for the molecular targeted therapy of ALS.

Methods: An open-label, multicentre, dose-escalation phase 1 study using a 3 + 3 design was conducted in 4 hospitals in Japan to evaluate the safety and tolerability of bosutinib in patients with ALS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We previously established a human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) line that was modified to express trophic factors. Transplanting a cell sheet produced from this line in an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mouse model showed a beneficial trend for mouse life spans. However, the sheet survived for less than 14 days, and numerous microglia and macrophages were observed within and adjacent to the sheet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The psychosocial background of subjects with severe obesity developed from childhood onset obesity (CO) and their outcomes after bariatric surgery have not been fully investigated.

Methods: 305 subjects were enrolled in the J-SMART study, which examined the effects of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in Japan, and categorized into two groups: CO defined as onset up to 13 years of age (CO group) and post-puberty onset obesity defined as onset after 13 years of age (PPO group). The subjects were followed up for at least 2 years and up to 5 years after LSG.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: Physiological tests to assess systemic vascular function are not included in the risk score for atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to examine whether cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a systemic arterial stiffness parameter, is associated with the presence of AF in Japanese general population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study (N = 47,687) and a cohort study (N = 5418, four consecutive years) in Japanese urban residents who participated in annual health screening were conducted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF