Real-world outcomes and risk stratification in patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer treated with upfront abiraterone acetate and docetaxel.

Purpose: We assessed clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) treated with two upfront therapies.

Methods: The medical records of 301 patients with mCSPC treated with androgen deprivation therapy plus upfront abiraterone acetate (ABI) or docetaxel (DOC) between 2014 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to compare survival outcomes.

Diverse contributions of the visceral fat area to the etiology of two distinct subtypes of esophago-gastric junctional adenocarcinoma.

Background: There are two distinct etiologies of esophago-gastric junctional adenocarcinomas (EGJACs): one associated with extensive gastric mucosal atrophy (GA), resembling non-cardiac gastric cancers; and the other related to gastro-esophageal reflux disease, resembling esophageal adenocarcinoma. In this study, we investigated the associations between the visceral fat area (VFA) and EGJACs separately in the two subtypes of EGJACs, depending on the extent of background GA.

Methods: Sixty-four consecutive patients with EGJACs (Siewert type 2) were enrolled from a population-based database in Akita Prefecture, Japan, between 2014 and 2019.

A Pilot Survey: Oral Function as One of the Risk Factors for Physical Frailty.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the association of the multiple facets of oral, motor, and social functions in community-dwelling older adults, to identify factors that might influence the risk of frailty.

Methods: Of the 82 participants included in the study, 39 (5 males and 34 females) were young-old adults, with an average age of 70.5 ± 2.

Fibrin monomer complex on postoperative day 1 is correlated with the volume of deep vein thrombosis after knee surgery.

Purpose: Patients undergoing knee surgery are at high risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is infrequent but potentially life-threatening. It has not been identified how to efficiently detect high-risk DVT while minimizing bleeding complications from anticoagulation. We hypothesized that the degree of activation of thrombotic markers may correlate with the size of the thrombus.

Gait-related Self-efficacy is Low in Older Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Preliminary Study.

Objective: To investigate the differences in self-efficacy (SE) for walking tasks between older patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and older adults without knee OA.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed. Older patients with radiographic knee OA and community-dwelling older adults without knee OA as controls were enrolled in the study.

Prediction model of 3-year survival after endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer in elderly patients aged ≥ 85 years: EGC-2 model.

Purpose: Little is known about the prognostic factors for survival after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in elderly patients with early gastric cancer (EGC). The aim of this study is to determine prognostic factors and a prediction model of 3-year survival after ESD for EGC in patients aged ≥ 85 years.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical outcomes of 740 patients with EGC aged ≥ 85 years, who were treated by ESD at 30 institutions in Japan.

Usefulness of the CHAMPS score for risk stratification in lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

We have recently developed a simple prediction score, the CHAMPS score, to predict in-hospital mortality in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. In this study, the primary outcome of this study was the usefulness of the CHAMPS score for predicting in-hospital mortality with lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB). Consecutive adult patients who were hospitalized with LGIB at two tertiary academic medical centers from 2015 to 2020 were retrospectively enrolled.

Endoscopic Resection for Iliopectineal Bursitis Associated With Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.

Iliopectineal bursitis usually develops subsequent to other hip pathologies and can often be treated conservatively. However, when conservative treatment fails or the enlarged bursa causes pain or compression of the surrounding neurovascular structures, surgery may be required. Most previous studies have described open surgeries, and reports on endoscopy are very limited.

Comparison of Radiofrequency and Cryoballoon Pulmonary Vein Ablation for the Early and Late Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation.

Objective Early recurrence (ER) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation (AF) is expected to resolve within the recommended 3-month blanking period, irrespective of the ablation device used. To compare the occurrence and relationship of AF within the blanking period and subsequent late recurrence (LR) with radiofrequency (RF) and cryoballoon (CB) ablation. Methods A retrospective analysis of 294 patients (mean age=62±9, 70.

Evaluation of a newly proposed renal risk score for Japanese patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis.

Background: We determined the usefulness and prognostic ability of the renal risk score (RRS), proposed in Europe, for Japanese patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis (AAGN) and high myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA positivity; these aspects remain to be verified.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 86 Japanese patients with new, biopsy-confirmed AAGN. We calculated the RRS and analyzed the relationship between this classification, and clinicopathological features and prognosis.

Stepwise Treatment With Plant-Based Diet and Medication for Patient With Mild Ulcerative Colitis.

Introduction: We regard inflammatory bowel disease as a lifestyle disease mainly mediated by a westernized diet. We developed a plant-based diet (PBD) to counter the westernized diet. PBD can induce remission without medication in a subset of mild cases of ulcerative colitis.

Real-world survival outcomes of adding docetaxel or abiraterone in patients with high-volume metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer: historically controlled, propensity score matched comparison with androgen deprivation therapy.

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of treatment intensification with upfront docetaxel (DOC) or abiraterone (ABI) plus prednisolone on survival outcomes in patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) by comparing it with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) monotherapy or combined androgen blockade (CAB) using propensity score matching (PSM).

Methods: Outcomes from 278 CHAARTED high-volume patients receiving upfront DOC (92 patients) or upfront ABI (186 patients) were compared to those from 354 patients receiving ADT or CAB. PSM was conducted to assess castration-resistant prostate cancer-free survival (CRPCFS) and overall survival (OS).

Visceral obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing esophago-gastric junctional adenocarcinoma in Japan: a population-based case-control study in Akita Prefecture.

Background: While an association between esophago-gastric junctional adenocarcinomas (EGJACs) and obesity, especially visceral obesity, has been suggested in Western countries, the association remains unclear in Asia, including Japan. In this population-based case-control study, we investigated the association between EGJACs and obesity.

Methods: To perform near-population-based data collection for all early-stage EGJACs occurring in Akita Prefecture from 2014 to 2019, clinical data, including endoscopic and computed tomography (CT) findings, were collected from 11 cancer treatment base hospitals in the area.

Guideline-based Treatment of Glucocorticoid-induced Osteoporosis in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Retrospective Study with the AORA Registry.

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) is one of the side effects associated with glucocorticoid (GC) therapy. In 2014, the Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research (JSBMR) provided new guidelines for the management and treatment of GIOP. The aim of the present study was to clarify the prevalence of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) requiring treatment according to the new guidelines and to identify risk factors associated with lack of treatment in these patients.

Increased Incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Association with Dietary Transition (Westernization) in Japan.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease has become a global disease, but its key environmental factors still remain unrecognized. This study aimed to clarify the role of dietary transition (westernization) in the increased incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in Japan.

Methods: Annual numbers of new cases of inflammatory bowel disease in Japan over the period from 1965 to 2000 found in a nationwide database compiled by the government and the daily amount of food and nutrient intake per capita for the same period revealed by the National Nutrition Survey have been used to analyze their interrelation.

Functionally relevant threshold of inspiratory muscle strength in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: We aimed to identify the inspiratory muscle strength thresholds below which exercise capacity is compromised in men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: We measured the maximum static inspiratory mouth pressure (PImax) and the percentage of predicted values (%PImax) in 113 patients with COPD. Six-minute walk distance (6-MWD) was measured as an indicator of functional exercise capacity, and a 6-MWD of <350 m was defined as functional exercise intolerance.

Hyperechoic and Low Morphological Changes in the Prefemoral Fat Pad in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis Based on Ultrasonographic Findings.

Background: To clarify the changes in the echo intensity (EI) in the prefemoral fat pad (PFP) and identify the relationship between the PFP and clinical features of knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: Twenty-six women with knee OA (mean age: 76 years) and 17 healthy women (mean age: 73 years) were enrolled. The Kellgren and Lawrence grading scale was used for the radiographic evaluation of knee OA.

Elasticity of the Flexor Carpi Ulnaris Muscle After an Increased Number of Pitches Correlates With Increased Medial Elbow Joint Space Suppression.

Saito, A, Namiki, Y, and Okada, K. Elasticity of the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle after an increased number of pitches correlates with increased medial elbow joint space suppression. J Strength Cond Res 35(9): 2564-2571, 2021-This study aimed to measure the medial elbow joint space and elasticity of the forearm flexor-pronator muscles in repetitive pitching and to determine which of the forearm flexor-pronator muscles contribute to elbow valgus stability during pitching.

High elasticity of the flexor carpi ulnaris and pronator teres muscles is associated with medial elbow injuries in youth baseball players.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to measure the elasticities of the forearm flexor-pronator muscles in youth baseball players and examine their relationships with medial elbow injuries.

Methods: We examined the strain ratios (SR) of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU), and pronator teres (PT) in 89 youth baseball players with medial epicondylar fragmentation (injury group) and in 142 healthy baseball players (control group). An index of muscle elasticity was determined using ultrasound strain elastography.

A simple prediction score for in-hospital mortality in patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Background: No prediction scores for the mortality of both inpatients and outpatients who developed nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) without endoscopic findings have been established. We aimed to derive and validate a novel prediction score for in-hospital mortality.

Methods: We conducted a three-stage, multicenter retrospective study.

The Usefulness of the Combination of D-Dimer and Soluble Fibrin Monomer Complex for Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolism in Psychiatric Practice: A Prospective Study.

Purpose: D-dimer has the advantage of excluding venous thromboembolism (VTE) due to its high sensitivity but is disadvantageous for diagnosing VTE due to its low specificity. A method to increase the usefulness of D-dimer in the diagnosis of VTE is warranted. This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of the combination of D-dimer and soluble fibrin monomer complex (SFMC), which has been suggested as a new candidate marker for VTE, in VTE diagnosis.