Loss of Pax3 causes reduction of melanocytes in the developing mouse cochlea.

Cochlear melanocytes are intermediate cells in the stria vascularis that generate endocochlear potentials required for auditory function. Human PAX3 mutations cause Waardenburg syndrome and abnormalities of skin and retinal melanocytes, manifested as congenital hearing loss (~ 70%) and hypopigmentation of skin, hair and eyes. However, the underlying mechanism of hearing loss remains unclear.

Cytological features of oral malignant lymphoma in scraping liquid-based cytology: Cases of plasmablastic lymphoma and anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

The main purpose of cytological examination in the oral region is to screen for squamous cell carcinoma or intraepithelial neoplasms; thus, the background tends to be considered a deterrent for microscopy. From this perspective, liquid-based cytology (LBC) is favorable for preparing clear samples with few backgrounds. However, background hemocytes are sometimes of critical importance in the diagnosis.

Pax3 deficiency diminishes melanocytes in the developing mouse cochlea.

Cochlear melanocytes are intermediate cells in the stria vascularis that generate endocochlear potentials required for auditory function. Human PAX3 mutations cause Waardenburg syndrome and abnormalities of melanocytes, manifested as congenital hearing loss and hypopigmentation of skin, hair and eyes. However, the underlying mechanism of hearing loss remains unclear.

Accuracy of the Contour Next Link 2.4 blood glucose monitoring system in Japanese individuals: a single-center study.

Aims: Self-monitoring of blood glucose is a useful method for monitoring blood glucose. It is often a key role of a management plan to reduce glycemic variability and diabetic complications. Wireless monitoring systems to connect blood glucose and insulin pumps can facilitate glycemic control.

First dose-ranging study of remimazolam in Japanese patients undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopy: Phase II investigator-initiated clinical trial.

Objectives: Remimazolam, an ultra-short-acting benzodiazepine, has been used for procedural sedation in the United States. We conducted an investigator-initiated clinical trial to determine the appropriate dose of remimazolam required for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy in Japanese subjects.

Methods: In this single-center, open-label, uncontrolled, phase II trial, a three-stage cohort investigated the appropriate initial and additional doses of remimazolam required for gastrointestinal endoscopy.

TUBB3 immunostaining improves the diagnostic accuracy of oral liquid-based cytology in squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: Although class III beta-tubulin (TUBB3) is not expressed in normal epithelium, its expression in cancers of some organs has been reported. Herein, we investigated the expression pattern and expression levels of TUBB3 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and assessed whether TUBB3 immunostaining could improve the diagnostic accuracy of oral scraping liquid-based cytology (LBC).

Methods: Paraffin sections of biopsies from 107 patients with primary SCC and 30 patients with squamous papilloma of the tongue or gingiva were immunostained for TUBB3.

Cholesterol crystal embolism-related cerebral infarction: Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical characteristics.

Background And Aims: Cholesterol crystal embolism-related cerebral infarction (CCE-CI) is frequently misdiagnosed due to the lack of specific symptoms. To aid in differential diagnosis, this study comprehensively characterized the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical manifestations of CCE-CI and compared these features to those of atherothrombotic cerebral infarction (ACI).

Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted at Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan.

Anatomical Links between White Matter Hyperintensity and Medial Temporal Atrophy Reveal Impairment of Executive Functions.

Although several studies have demonstrated correlation between white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and impairment of executive functions, the underlying anatomical-functional relationships are not fully understood. The present study sought to investigate the correlations between the volume of WMH and medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) using quantitative magnetic resonance image (MRI) and a variety of executive function assessments. A total of 91 patients ranging in age from 58 to 90 years with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) or early phase AD were recruited from the outpatient clinic at the Department of Neurology of Nagoya City University Hospital.

Relationship between changes in regional cerebral blood volume and oxygenation and changes in cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance during spinal anesthesia in women undergoing cesarean section.

Purpose: The decrease in maternal regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and oxygenation (rCBO) during spinal anesthesia for cesarean section depends on the severity of hypotension. We examined the relationships between changes in the systemic circulatory parameters, cardiac output (CO) and systemic vascular resistance (SVR), and rCBV and rCBO after induction of spinal anesthesia, evaluated by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and an arterial pressure-based cardiac output monitoring system (APCOs).

Methods: Seventeen patients undergoing elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia were monitored every 1 min for mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO) and oxygen saturation (SpO), and at 20 s intervals for CO, SVR, concentrations of oxy-hemoglobin (Hb), deoxy-Hb, total-Hb, and tissue oxygenation index (TOI), until 15 min after the intrathecal injection of bupivacaine.

Evaluating the Accuracy of the Endoscopic ABC Classification System in Diagnosing Helicobacter pylori-Infected Gastritis.

Aims: Evaluating the accuracy of the modified Endoscopic ABC (Endo ABC) classification with an electronic endoscopy with narrow band imaging without magnification in diagnosing Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-infected gastritis.

Methods: A total of 576 patients were enrolled and they underwent modified Endo ABC.

Fulminant type 1 diabetes associated with Isolated ACTH deficiency induced by anti-programmed cell death 1 antibody-insight into the pathogenesis of autoimmune endocrinopathy.

Therapeutic blocking antibodies against programmed death 1 (PD1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) are applied for advanced cancer therapy, but induce a wide range of immune-related adverse events. In our recent case of a 52-year-old female doctor suffering from breast cancer having metastasized to the lung and liver, it was decided to use nivolumab to prevent the disease progressing after excisional surgeries and multiple chemotherapies. One month after completing the nivolumab course, fatigue, hypoglycemia and hypotension developed and isolated ACTH deficiency (IAD) was diagnosed.

Autoimmune Encephalitis as an Extra-articular Manifestation of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is an immune-mediated encephalitis characterized by the subacute onset of memory deficits, altered mental status, or psychiatric symptoms. Limbic encephalitis associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has not been reported yet. A 57-year-old man presented with the subacute onset of headache, depression, and anorexia 7 months before the onset of RA.

Mechanistic insights from sequential combination therapy with a sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor and a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor: Results from the CANARIS Trial using canagliflozin and teneligliptin.

Aim: To elucidate the mechanisms involved in the sequential use of SGLT2 and DPP4 inhibitors (SGLT2i and DPP-4i).

Methods: Twenty-six type-2 diabetes mellitus patients were recruited into a stepped regimen of 100 mg of canagliflozin daily from day 1, supplemented with 20 mg of teneligliptin daily from day 4. Glucose (Glu), insulin and glucagon were measured at fasting and after ingesting a mixed meal on days 1, 4 and 6.

[Analysis of the gray-zone cutoff values of new serum Helicobacter pylori antibody kits using latex immunoassay].

The serum Helicobacter pylori titers are good markers for population-based H. pylori screening and treatment programs because the tests used to estimate these titers are noninvasive, inexpensive, and convenient. However, the reference range of 3-10U/mL, which is used as a standard in commercially available serum H.

Utility of T1- and T2-Weighted High-Resolution Vessel Wall Imaging for the Diagnosis and Follow Up of Isolated Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Dissection with Ischemic Stroke: Report of 4 Cases and Review of the Literature.

Background: An accurate diagnosis of isolated posterior inferior cerebellar artery dissection (iPICA-D) is difficult due to the limitation of spatial resolution on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to detect subtle vessel wall abnormalities. The recent development of MRI techniques, including high-resolution vessel wall imaging (HRVWI), has resulted in the improved diagnostic accuracy and efficiency of iPICA-D. In fact, T1-weighted HRVWI, which can reveal intramural hematomas in the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA), is useful for the diagnosis of iPICA-D.

Relationship between regional cerebral blood volume and oxygenation and blood pressure during spinal anesthesia in women undergoing cesarean section.

Purpose: During spinal anesthesia for cesarean section, cerebral oxygenation decreases may be related to an abrupt drop in cerebral blood flow due to hypotension. We measured the changes in maternal regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and oxygenation (rCBO) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to evaluate whether a decrease in arterial blood pressure during spinal anesthesia diminishes rCBV and rCBO.

Methods: Forty patients scheduled for elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia were monitored for mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and concentrations of oxy-hemoglobin (Hb), deoxy-Hb, total-Hb, and tissue oxygenation index (TOI), before spinal anesthesia (baseline) and for 20 min after intrathecal injection of bupivacaine.

Galectin-1 is a useful marker for detecting neoplastic squamous cells in oral cytology smears.

Cytologic diagnoses in the oral region are very difficult due to the small amount of cells in smears, which are also exposed to many stimulating factors and often show atypical changes. Galectin-1 (Gal1) is a β-galactoside binding protein that modulates tumor progression. Gal1 is very weakly expressed in normal cells, but is often overexpressed in neoplastic lesions.

Changes in Cerebral Blood Flow and Oxygenation During Induction of General Anesthesia with Sevoflurane Versus Propofol.

Sevoflurane and propofol are widely used for induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. Although the effects of sevoflurane and propofol on cerebral hemodynamics during maintenance of general anesthesia have been demonstrated, the effects during induction of general anesthesia have still not been clarified. We therefore compared changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygenation (CBO) during induction of anesthesia using sevoflurane (group S: n=9) or propofol (group P: n=9).

Oxygen Supplementation is Effective in Attenuating Maternal Cerebral Blood Deoxygenation After Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean Section.

The purpose of this study was to measure changes in maternal cerebral blood oxygenation using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for 15 min after spinal anesthesia performed for cesarean section, and to determine the efficacy of supplemental oxygen in maintaining maternal cerebral blood oxygenation. Thirty patients were randomly assigned to either receive 100% oxygen via a facemask at a constant flow rate of 3 l/min throughout the study (O2 group), or were evaluated without supplemental oxygen (Air group). Changes in cerebral blood oxygenation were evaluated using the following parameters: oxy-hemoglobin (Hb), deoxy-Hb, and total-Hb concentrations, as well as tissue oxygen index (TOI), measured over the forehead by NIRS.

[Comparison of postoperative pain relief by continuous femoral nerve block and that by epidural block during physiotherapy after minimally invasive surgery of total knee arthroplasty and uni-condylar knee arthroplasty].

Background: We compared postoperative pain relief during physiotherapy after minimally invasive surgery (MIS) of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and unicondylar arthroplasty (UKA).

Methods: Ninety-five patients scheduled for TKA or UKA under spinal anesthesia were divided into continuous femoral nerve block (0.1-0.

Effect of spinal anesthesia for elective cesarean section on cerebral blood oxygenation changes: comparison of hyperbaric and isobaric bupivacaine.

We used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to evaluate cerebral blood oxygenation changes in subjects undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia (SP) with hyperbaric bupivacaine (group H, 27 subjects) or isobaric bupivacaine (group I, 15 subjects). In group H, total-Hb, oxy-Hb, and mean blood pressure (MBP) within 20 min after SP were significantly lower than the baseline values. In contrast, there was no significant change from baseline in total-Hb, oxy-Hb, or MBP in group I after SP.

Rocuronium and sugammadex used effectively for electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with Brugada syndrome.

We report the successful anesthetic management of a patient with Brugada syndrome who underwent electroconvulsive therapy to treat bipolar disorder. Suxamethonium and neostigmine were contraindicated to avoid the vagotonic effects that can precipitate ventricular fibrillation during anesthesia in patients with Brugada syndrome. The combination of 1.