A high-throughput cigarette smoke-treated bronchosphere model for disease-relevant phenotypic compound screening.

Cigarette smoking (CS) is the leading cause of COPD, and identifying the pathways that are driving pathogenesis in the airway due to CS exposure can aid in the discovery of novel therapies for COPD. An additional barrier to the identification of key pathways that are involved in the CS-induced pathogenesis is the difficulty in building relevant and high throughput models that can recapitulate the phenotypic and transcriptomic changes associated with CS exposure. To identify these drivers, we have developed a cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-treated bronchosphere assay in 384-well plate format that exhibits CSE-induced decreases in size and increase in luminal secretion of MUC5AC.

Comparison of Radiologic Results after Lateral Meniscal Allograft Transplantation with or without Capsulodesis Using an All-Soft Suture Anchor.

Background and Objectives: Studies analyzing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after simultaneously performing lateral meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) and capsulodesis are currently rare. This study aimed to compare the MRI results between the group that performed lateral MAT alone and the group that performed both lateral MAT and capsulodesis simultaneously. Materials and Methods: A total of 55 patients who underwent lateral MAT with a 1-year follow-up MRI were included.

Aralar Sequesters GABA into Hyperactive Mitochondria, Causing Social Behavior Deficits.

Social impairment is frequently associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and altered neurotransmission. Although mitochondrial function is crucial for brain homeostasis, it remains unknown whether mitochondrial disruption contributes to social behavioral deficits. Here, we show that Drosophila mutants in the homolog of the human CYFIP1, a gene linked to autism and schizophrenia, exhibit mitochondrial hyperactivity and altered group behavior.

Comparison of brain connectomes by MRI and genomics and its implication in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The human brain is complex and interconnected structurally. Brain connectome change is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Genetics and genomics studies have identified molecular changes in AD; however, the results are often limited to isolated brain regions and are difficult to interpret its findings in respect to brain connectome.

Domain-Specific Cognitive Impairments in Humans and Flies With Reduced CYFIP1 Dosage.

Background: Deletions encompassing a four-gene region on chromosome 15 (BP1-BP2 at 15q11.2), seen at a population frequency of 1 in 500, are associated with increased risk for schizophrenia, epilepsy, and other common neurodevelopmental disorders. However, little is known in terms of how these common deletions impact cognition.

Effects of mesenchymal stem cell therapy on alopecia areata in cellular and hair follicle organ culture models.

Mesenchymal stem cell therapy (MSCT) has been suggested as a new therapeutic strategy for immunological disorders. There have been only a few attempts to treat alopecia areata (AA) with MSCT. MSCT efficacy and mechanism of action in treating AA are not known.

Incidence and characteristics of norovirus-associated benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis, in comparison with rotavirus ones.

Background And Purpose: Rotavirus was detected in 40-50% of patients with benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis (CwG) before the rotavirus vaccine was introduced in late 2000. However, the rate of rotavirus positivity has decreased since 2010 while the prevalence of norovirus has gradually increased. We investigated the incidence of norovirus-associated CwG during a recent 3-year period and additionally compared the characteristics of norovirus-associated CwG with those of rotavirus-associated CwG.

Prevalence of Ocular Hypertension and Glaucoma as Well as Associated Factors in Graves' Orbitopathy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of ocular hypertension (OHT) and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in patients with Graves' orbitopathy (GO) and to investigate the associations between clinical features of the disease and the prevalence of OHT and OAG.

Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted among a total of 1128 patients with GO. A complete ophthalmic examination was performed, including intraocular pressure, optic disc photography, visual field testing using a Humphrey visual field analyzer, and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measured by optical coherence tomography.

A Mild Form of COG5 Defect Showing Early-Childhood-Onset Friedreich's-Ataxia-Like Phenotypes with Isolated Cerebellar Atrophy.

Progressive cerebellar ataxias are rare diseases during childhood, especially under 6 years of age. In a single family, three affected siblings exhibited Friedreich's-ataxia-like phenotypes before 2 years of age. They had progressive cerebellar atrophy, intellectual disability, and scoliosis.

Wnt/β-catenin and ERK pathway activation: A possible mechanism of photobiomodulation therapy with light-emitting diodes that regulate the proliferation of human outer root sheath cells.

Background: Outer root sheath cells (ORSCs) play important roles in maintaining hair follicle structure and provide support for the bulge area. The hair growth promoting effects of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) have been reported, but the mechanisms for this in human ORCs (hORSCs) have rarely been studied.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various wavelengths of light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation on human ORSCs (hORSCs).

Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Associated With Periocular Radiotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of periocular radiotherapy on meibomian glands.

Methods: We evaluated 28 patients (40 eyes) who received radiotherapy (RT group) for conjunctival or orbital lymphoma and 30 age-matched control subjects (60 eyes). Subjects underwent slit-lamp examination of the eyelids, Schirmer test, meibography, and evaluation of tear film breakup time (TBUT), Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores, meibomian glands evaluation (meiboscore, meibum expressibility, and lid margin abnormality scores), and tear film lipid layer thickness using an ocular surface interferometer.

Common variation in the autism risk gene CNTNAP2, brain structural connectivity and multisensory speech integration.

Three lines of evidence motivated this study. 1) CNTNAP2 variation is associated with autism risk and speech-language development. 2) CNTNAP2 variations are associated with differences in white matter (WM) tracts comprising the speech-language circuitry.

Serum CYR61 Is Associated with Disease Activity in Graves' Orbitopathy.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical implications of cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (CYR61) in Graves' orbitopathy (GO).

Methods: Sera from 52 GO patients, 23 Graves' disease (GD) patients, and 20 healthy controls, and orbital fat tissue samples from 12 of 52 GO patients and 8 control subjects were included for analysis. Concentrations of CYR61 were measured from sera with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and CYR61 mRNA expression levels were evaluated from orbital fat tissue with polymerase chain reaction.

Orbital Lymphangioma: Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of 12 Cases.

Purpose: To report the patient characteristics and treatment outcomes in 12 cases of orbital lymphangioma.

Methods: In this study, orbital lymphangioma was diagnosed based on clinical, radiologic (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging), and histologic findings when possible. Patients whose vision was not compromised by orbital lymphangioma, or that did not have increased intraocular pressure (IOP), received oral corticosteroids.

Changes in pupillary distance after fat versus bony orbital decompression in Graves' orbitopathy.

Objective: To report changes in pupillary distance (PD) after orbital decompression in patients with Graves' orbitopathy (GO).

Design: Retrospective comparative case series.

Participants: A total of 59 cases who underwent the same type of orbital decompression on both eyes.

Surgical Outcomes of Porcine Acellular Dermis Graft in Anophthalmic Socket: Comparison with Oral Mucosa Graft.

Purpose: We describe our experience with the Permacol graft in anophthalmic socket reconstruction, and compare it to the autologous buccal mucosal graft, emphasizing the postoperative vascularization and contraction of each graft.

Methods: This was a retrospective comparative study. We measured the time necessary for the graft surface to be completely vascularized, as well as the fornix depth of the conjunctival sac in anophthalmic patients.

A Clinicoimmunohistopathologic Study of Anetoderma: Is Protruding Type More Advanced in Stage Than Indented Type?

. The clinical and histopathologic classification of anetoderma are not well characterized. .

Repeated Microneedle Stimulation Induces Enhanced Hair Growth in a Murine Model.

Background: Microneedle is a method that creates transdermal microchannels across the stratum corneum barrier layer of skin. No previous study showed a therapeutic effect of microneedle itself on hair growth by wounding.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of repeated microwound formed by microneedle on hair growth and hair growth-related genes in a murine model.

Is modified clinical activity score an accurate indicator of diplopia progression in Graves' orbitopathy patients?

The aim of this study is to describe characteristics of Graves' orbitopathy (GO) patients with progressive diplopia and to consider whether modified clinical activity score (CAS) is a useful indicator for prediction of diplopia progression. Medical records and images of GO patients with progressive diplopia were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical parameters (e.

Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis of Cholinergic Neurons in the Arcuate Nucleus of the Hypothalamus.

The cholinoceptive system in the hypothalamus, in particular in the arcuate nucleus (ARC), plays a role in regulating food intake. Neurons in the ARC contain multiple neuropeptides, amines, and neurotransmitters. To study molecular and neurochemical heterogeneity of ARC neurons, we combine single-cell qRT-PCR and single-cell whole transcriptome amplification methods to analyze expression patterns of our hand-picked 60 genes in individual neurons in the ARC.