Background: Elderly living kidney donors (LKDs) are becoming increasingly important in countries with a high prevalence of living-donor kidney transplants and an aging society. This study explored the features of elderly LKDs, focusing on their subsequent outcomes.
Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational study included eligible LKDs who donated their kidneys between April 2008 and July 2022.
Under the strict quarantine policy imposed to combat the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic in Japan, the prevalence of respiratory infections by viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) has been largely unknown. However, such information on viral circulation is important in order to develop better management policies that are based on scientific data. Here, we retrospectively investigated respiratory virus infections in individuals who visited a community hospital with respiratory symptoms between June of 2020 and September of 2021 with the use of the BioFire FilmArray Respiratory Panel 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 73-year-old man receiving hemodialysis and antiplatelets was admitted with a mild case of COVID-19. Heparin was added, and iliopsoas hemorrhage developed. He was successfully treated by interventional radiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypouricemia in kidney transplant (KT) recipients is rare since they usually have subnormal kidney function which raises serum uric acid level. Recently, interests in pathogenesis of hypouricemia have been increasing due to the understanding of the role of uric acid transporter in renal hypouricemia (RHUC). We herein report the case of RHUC consequently developed in a KT recipient from a living donor with RHUC diagnosed by the detailed urinary and genetic test.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSplenectomy is a risk factor for serious pneumococcal disease like overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI). In healthy individuals with small spleen, fulminant pneumococcal infection similar to OPSI has been reported. Furthermore, it is reported that small spleen was associated with severe pneumococcal infection patients treated in an intensive care unit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It has been reported that 20% of lung cancer patients have renal impairment caused by chronic kidney disease (CKD). Since docetaxel is predominantly excreted by the hepatobiliary system, it is administered to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with renal impairment. However, few clinical data are available on the toxicity and efficacy of docetaxel for patients with nondialysis renal impairment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVitamin A and its derivatives contribute to many physiological processes, including vision, neural differentiation, and reproduction. Vitamin A deficiency causes early cessation of spermatogenesis, characterized by a marked depletion of germ cells. However, there has been no clear understanding about the role of chronic intake of vitamin A excess (VAE) in spermatogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common infectious pathogen in kidney transplant patients. Here, we present a case of CMV esophagitis with antigenemia, that developed within 3 days of kidney transplantation, a timeline generally considered to be too early for development of a CMV infection. Intense immunosuppressive therapy for desensitization in ABO-incompatibility or in the presence of donor-specific antibody can increase the risk for significant opportunistic infection immediately after or even before transplantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe accumulation of intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) is recognized as an important determinant of insulin resistance, and is increased by a high-fat diet (HFD). However, the effects of HFD on IMCL and insulin sensitivity are highly variable. The aim of this study was to identify the genes in muscle that are related to this inter-individual variation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) accumulation is observed in both insulin-resistant subjects and insulin-sensitive endurance athletes (athlete's paradox). We hypothesized that the expression pattern of fatty acid transporters may influence oxidative capacity and determine the association between IMCL and insulin resistance.
Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the muscle expression of fatty acid transporters and their function related to insulin sensitivity in IMCL-accumulated subjects.
Objective: Mounting evidence indicates that the gut microbiota are an important modifier of obesity and diabetes. However, so far there is no information on gut microbiota and "live gut bacteria" in the systemic circulation of Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.
Research Design And Methods: Using a sensitive reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) method, we determined the composition of fecal gut microbiota in 50 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes and 50 control subjects, and its association with various clinical parameters, including inflammatory markers.
Background: Reticulated platelets (RPs) are newly synthesized platelets. Recently, an automatic method was established to detect RPs as a percentage of the immature platelet fraction (IPF%). Although, neonates often develop thrombocytopenia at some time during their hospitalization, the details of IPF% in neonates remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreatic agenesis is a rare disease that causes neonatal diabetes mellitus and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. We report the case of a very low birth weight infant with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and congenital heart disease (ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus). Failure to gain weight, despite well-managed respiratory and heart failure, was improved by infusion of subcutaneous insulin, administration of pancreatic enzyme, and nutrition of medium-chain-triglyceride -enriched formula.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTelaprevir-based triple therapy is highly effective for chronic hepatitis C. However, concern has been expressed over the high frequency and severity of its dermatological side-effects compared with those associated with peginterferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) therapy. Thus, here, we evaluated the dermatological adverse reactions of telaprevir-based triple therapy in Japanese multicenter phase III clinical trials in an attempt to characterize the dermatological side-effects and establish appropriate management plans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies reported that both cilnidipine and azelnidipine have a renoprotective effect compared with amlodipine. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of cilnidipine and azelnidipine on blood pressure, heart rate and albuminuria. An open-label prospective crossover trial was carried out.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We evaluated the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on the presence and severity of aortic stenosis (AS) in patients at high risk for coronary artery disease (CAD).
Methods: One hundred and twenty consecutive patients who underwent invasive coronary angiography were enrolled. Aortic valve area (AVA) was calculated by the continuity equation using transthoracic echocardiography, and was normalized by body surface area (AVA index).
The level of intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) is a physiological marker of skeletal muscle function. (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an established method to measure IMCL contents in vivo. However, all of the MR systems do not always contain measurement instruments for (1)H-MRS, thus in a clinical setting, alternative methods for estimation of IMCL content are needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Aims/Introduction: Accumulation of intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) is associated with insulin resistance. However, the factors affecting the change in IMCL remain to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to determine the factors that influence the change in IMCL level after high-fat loading.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of acute right ventricular pressure overload (RVPO) on left ventricular (LV) function and regional uniformity using speckle-tracking displacement and strain analyses in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).
Methods: Twenty-five patients with acute PE (mean age, 59 ± 16 years) and 25 normal subjects were enrolled. Radial, longitudinal, and circumferential LV wall motion and myocardial deformation were analyzed using speckle-tracking displacement and strain imaging echocardiography, respectively, from the mid-LV short-axis and apical four-chamber views.
This study was conducted to determine the correlation between reproductive hormones and musth in a male African elephant. Changes in circulating luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone and immunoreactive (ir-) inhibin and the degree of musth were evaluated for 4 years. LH increased 4 weeks before musth began.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReproduction of captive elephants in zoos has shown a low fecundity and requires improvement. One of the reasons for low fecundity is ovarian dysfunction in many female elephants. To investigate whether prolactin has a correlation with ovarian function in female elephants, the serum concentrations of prolactin, progesterone and estradiol-17beta in four African female elephants (one cycling female and three non-cycling female elephants) were measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo assess and compare the efficacy and safety of insulin glargine as intensive replacement of basal insulin in Japanese patients with type 1 (n = 72) and type 2 (n = 46) diabetes, we switched their intensive insulin regimen from NPH plus regular or rapid-acting insulin to glargine plus bolus insulin, which included regular and rapid-acting insulin, and recorded changes in glycemic control and frequency of hypoglycemia for 18 months. The dose titration of basal and bolus insulin was based on home self-monitored blood glucose measurements and monthly HbA(1C). Mean HbA(1C) level was improved significantly at 3 months after switching to glargine plus bolus insulin regimen and these effects continued for 18 months in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients (HbA(1C) level: type 1: baseline 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitiglinide is novel class of rapid-acting insulin secretagogues, which have been widely used alone or in combination with other oral hypoglycemic drugs to improve postprandial hyperglycemia in early type 2 diabetes. While mitiglinide enhances postprandial requirement of insulin, the efficacy of mitiglinide combined with insulin has yet to be established. We investigated the efficacy of mitiglinide combined with insulin glargine, the first soluble insulin analog that has a flat and prolonged effect.
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