Relationship Between Oral Hypofunction and Nutritional Status in Patients Treated With Maxillofacial Prostheses.

Introduction Patients who have jaw or tongue defects owing to head and neck cancer or congenital disease suffer from oral dysfunction such as speech, swallowing, and mastication. Although maxillofacial prostheses are applied to improve oral functions, their oral functions remain compromised compared to those of patients without jaw or tongue defects. On the other hand, it has been reported that oral hypofunction could lead to malnutrition in the general elderly.

Usefulness and Safety of Gelatin-Thrombin Matrix Sealants in Minimally Invasive Microscopic Discectomy.

 This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness and safety of gelatin-thrombin matrix sealants (GTMSs) in minimally invasive microscopic discectomy, a surgical procedure commonly used to treat lumbar disc herniation.  Out of 484 patients who underwent minimally invasive microscopic discectomy between April 2018 and December 2022, 35 patients with a history of surgery at the same level were excluded, resulting in a total of 449 patients included in the study. Among them, 316 patients were treated using GTMS, whereas 133 were treated using collagen-based absorbable local hemostatic agents.

Aggressive Prostate Cancer After a 14-Year Gonadotropin Therapy: A Case Report.

A 40-year-old man with a four-year history of infertility was referred to our department. The semen analysis revealed low motility, and the blood test showed low luteinizing hormone levels. Gonadotropin therapy was initiated upon the diagnosis of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Effect of soft denture liners on complete denture treatments: A systematic review.

Purpose: This systematic review examined the effectiveness of soft denture relining (SDR) materials.

Study Selection: A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and ICHUSHI was conducted up to July 26, 2020. Target outcomes were patient satisfaction, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL), masticatory ability (MA), denture functional duration, residual ridge resorption (RRR), and microbial contamination.

Time-study research on maxillofacial prosthetic treatment.

Unreasonable medical fees can cause problems such as increased medical costs, greater medical disparities, decreased medical standards, and physician shortages. To prevent such problems, it is important to set appropriate medical fees, ensure their proper use, and improve the efficiency of medical care. The treatment of patients with maxillofacial defects is generally more expensive compared with general prosthodontic treatment because it involves more materials and requires more frequently follow-ups for longer period.

Three-Dimensional (3D) Microcatheter Shaping Using Touch Screen Devices for Cerebral Aneurysm Coil Embolization.

Objective: In cerebral aneurysm coil embolization, proper microcatheter shaping is crucial to reduce complications and achieve sufficient embolization. Shaping a microcatheter in 3 dimensions (3D) is often required but can be challenging. We assessed the usefulness of a novel shaping on screen (SOS) method that displays real-size 3D rotational angiography (RA) images on a touch screen device during cerebral aneurysm embolization to facilitate 3D microcatheter shaping.

Pituitary adenoma presenting as isolated oculomotor nerve palsy.

Background: Isolated oculomotor nerve palsy is a relatively uncommon symptom of pituitary adenoma that usually occurs in association with pituitary apoplexy or cavernous sinus (CS) invasion.

Case Description: We report two cases of relatively small pituitary adenomas with neither apoplexy nor CS invasion presenting as isolated oculomotor nerve palsy. Both patients presented with gradually worsening diplopia, without headache or visual field defects.

Lost Needle During Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Laparoscopic or robotic radical prostatectomy and partial nephrectomy require needle suturing and manipulation. Although uncommon, if a needle is lost during laparoscopy, locating and removing it is challenging. Here, we report a case of needle loss during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP).

Drug-induced interstitial pneumonia after intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin administration for bladder cancer with scleroderma.

Introduction: Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin administration is the standard therapy for high-risk nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer and is usually well tolerated. However, some patients experience severe, potentially fatal, complications including interstitial pneumonitis.

Case Presentation: A 72-year-old female with scleroderma was diagnosed with bladder carcinoma in situ.

Two differential cavities in syringomyelia of pediatric Chiari I malformation presenting with unilateral foot drop.

Introduction: Patients with Chiari I malformation (CM1) may have chronic symptoms of syringomyelia, including numbness and weakness of the upper limbs, typically during young adulthood. Acute or subacute presentation of unilateral foot drop has been rarely reported as a first symptom of CM1-associated syringomyelia exclusively in childhood or adolescence. Why these patients do not show any symptoms of the upper limbs although holocord syringomyelia is always observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is unclear.

Cervical Cord Compression by Aberrant Vertebral Artery Presenting with Neuralgic Pain: A Case Report.

The vertebral artery (VA) is often affected by anatomical variations; however, it is usually asymptomatic and is found incidentally. Herein, we report a case of cervical cord compression caused by bilateral aberrant VAs. A 65-year-old woman presented with paroxysmal lancinating pain in the neck that later extended to the shoulders and upper arms bilaterally.

Microsurgical Approach for True Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms: Literature Review and Illustrative Case.

True posterior communicating artery (PCoA) aneurysms are rare. Although true PCoA aneurysms have been reported to be located close to the internal carotid artery, at the middle part of PCoA, or close to the posterior cerebral artery; the best surgical approach to treat true PCoA aneurysms in each location remains unclear. We conducted a literature review using data from PubMed.

A Tumor Suppressor Gene, N-myc Downstream-Regulated Gene 1 (NDRG1), in Gliomas and Glioblastomas.

The development of potent and selective therapeutic approaches to glioblastoma (GBM) requires the identification of molecular pathways that critically regulate the survival and proliferation of GBM. Glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) possess stem-cell-like properties, self-renewal, and differentiation into multiple neural cell lineages. From a clinical point of view, GSCs have been reported to resist radiation and chemotherapy.

Telomere length and telomerase activity of leukocytes as biomarkers of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor responses in patients with major depressive disorder.

We analyze the leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and telomerase activity in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) before and after treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Before treatment, there was a reduction in the LTLs and expression levels of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) in the patients with MDD compared with controls. However, after 24 weeks of treatment with SSRIs, there was a significant increase in the LTLs and the expression levels of hTERT, with values approaching those observed in the controls.

Case of cerebral microbleeds in ischemic-type pediatric moyamoya disease.

Background: Studies on pediatric patients with moyamoya disease who presented with cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are extremely rare.

Case Description: Herein, we report a 7-year-old boy with moyamoya disease who had CMBs during treatment. He presented with transient left-side motor weakness and was diagnosed with moyamoya disease.

Lower bone mineral density and higher bone resorption marker levels in premenopausal women with type 1 diabetes in Japan.

Aims/introduction: Type 1 diabetes is associated with poorer bone quality. Quantitative ultrasound provides an estimate of bone mineral density (BMD) and can also be used to evaluate bone quality, which is associated with an increased fracture risk in people with type 1 diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between menopausal status and a bone turnover marker with heel BMD using quantitative ultrasound in women with type 1 diabetes and age- and body mass index-matched controls.

Elimination of the check-valve mechanism of the sacral Tarlov cyst using a rotation flap technique in a pediatric patient: technical note.

Objective: Symptomatic Tarlov cysts in children are not sufficiently reported and treatment methods for Tarlov cysts are still controversial. The goal of this manuscript is to introduce a new variation of the surgical technique.

Methods: We performed surgery to eliminate the one-way check valve mechanism of the Tarlov cyst in a 7-year-old female who presented with urinary and fecal incontinence.

Fabricating nasal prostheses using four-dimensional facial expression models.

Purpose Patients with facial prostheses face challenges such as maintenance of the prosthesis in place, especially around the margins, because of movement of surrounding facial skin. Conventional facial prostheses are fabricated on stationary models based on two points: neutral expression and smiling expression. We developed four-dimensional (4D) facial expression models which shape facial expressions that change over several points in time using a morphing technique.

Hemorrhagic stroke associated with essential thrombocythemia: Case report and literature review.

Hemorrhagic stroke associated with essential thrombocythemia (ET) is very infrequent. Herein, we report a case of a 33-year-old woman with a 2-year history of ET who developed intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Angiography demonstrated severe vessel irregularity in the bilateral cerebral arteries.

Prenatal clinical manifestations in individuals with variants.

Background: Variants in the type IV collagen gene () cause early-onset cerebrovascular diseases. Most individuals are diagnosed postnatally, and the prenatal features of individuals with variants remain unclear.

Methods: We examined in 218 individuals with suspected /2-related brain defects.

A case of pediatric moyamoya disease with severe cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral infarction following an intraventricular hemorrhage.

Reports on patients with moyamoya disease presenting cerebral ischemic complications after the onset of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and/or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are limited. Herein, we report a case of a 7-year-old girl with moyamoya disease with severe cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral infarction following an IVH. Although the case is rare, the potential for vasospasm-induced cerebral infarction should be carefully considered and thus, intensive treatment should be immediately initiated.

New insights on intercontinental origins of paternal lineages in Northeast Brazil.

Background: The current Brazilian population is the product of centuries of admixture between intercontinental founding groups. Although previous results have revealed a heterogeneous distribution of mitochondrial lineages in the Northeast region, the most targeted by foreign settlers during the sixteenth century, little is known about the paternal ancestry of this particular population. Considering historical records have documented a series of territorial invasions in the Northeast by various European populations, we aimed to characterize the male lineages found in Brazilian individuals in order to discover to what extent these migrations have influenced the present-day gene pool.

BMP4 induces asymmetric cell division in human glioma stem-like cells.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a malignant tumor with a high recurrence rate and has very poor prognosis in humans. The median survival is still <2 years. Therefore, a new treatment strategy should be established.