Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in a Japanese Traveler with Pre-existing Japanese Encephalitis Virus Antibody.

An adult Japanese man who had just returned from Thailand developed dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). A primary infection of dengue virus (DENV) was confirmed, specifically DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2), on the basis of the detection of the virus genome, a significant increase in the neutralizing antibody and the isolation of DENV-2. DHF is often observed following a secondary infection from another serotype of dengue virus, particularly in children, but this case was a primary infection of DENV.

A resected case of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the stomach with unusual lymph node metastasis.

Gastric endocrine cell carcinoma is a relatively rare tumor. We experienced a case of early gastric cancer in which an endocrine cell carcinoma was identified within a differentiated adenocarcinoma, and a component of this endocrine cell carcinoma had metastasized to lymph nodes of the stomach. In its 2010 revision regarding digestive system tumors, WHO classified cancer cells with characteristics of both glandular system cells and neuroendocrine cells as mixed adeno neuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC) under the neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) category.

Branched-Chain Amino Acid-Rich Supplements Containing Microelements Have Antioxidant Effects on Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Mice.

Background: The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether the administration of antioxidant-rich nutrients, including branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), microelements, and vitamins, both alone and in combination, has a positive impact on liver function in a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) mouse model and identify the mechanisms underlying these effects.

Methods: Seven-week-old male KKAy mice fed a methionine- and choline-deficient diet (MCD) for 4 weeks were divided into 7 groups and fed the following planned diets for another 4 weeks: group A (normal diet), group B (MCD; control), group C (MCD with rich microelements), group D (MCD with rich BCAAs), group E (MCD with rich microelements and BCAAs), and group F (MCD with rich microelements, BCAAs, and vitamins). We then conducted biochemical assays, histological analyses, immunohistochemistry for 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 4-hydroxy-2'-nonenal (4-HNE), and Western blotting for insulin glucose signaling, lipid metabolism, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related signaling in liver specimens obtained from mice in each group.

Gordonia iterans sp. nov., isolated from a patient with pneumonia.

A second novel clinical actinobacterial strain, designated IFM 10348(T), was isolated from the sputum of the same Japanese patient with bacterial pneumonia from whom the type strain of Gordonia araii had been isolated. The strains differed in phylogenetic position and drug-resistance profiles. The taxonomic position of strain IFM 10348(T) was clarified by phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic studies.

[A case of tuberculous peritonitis accompanied by lymphadenitis in a patient with liver cirrhosis in which lymph node biopsy was useful for establishing the diagnosis].

A 62-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis developed ascites. She had been previously treated with a combination of interferon and ribavirin therapy. The ascites was bloody and of exudative nature.

Hepatitis C virus core protein upregulates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor via the nuclear factor-κB/hypoxia-inducible factor-1α axis under hypoxic conditions.

Aim:   Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein critically contributes to hepatocarcinogenesis, which is often observed in liver cirrhosis. Since the liver cirrhosis microenvironment is affected by hypoxia, we focused on the possible driving force of HCV core protein on signal relay from hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Methods:   Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells stably overexpressing HCV core (Core cells) and NS5A (NS5A cells) were established; empty vector-transfected (EV) cells were used as controls.

Development of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after a 14-year follow-up of a patient with primary sclerosing cholangitis and ulcerative colitis.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is one of the life-threatening complications of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). However, the incidence of ICC in Japanese PSC patients is low, and the association between the development of ICC and morbidity duration of PSC is largely unknown. Here, we describe a case of ICC that developed after a long-term follow-up of a patient with PSC and ulcerative colitis (UC).

Comparison of leukotriene receptor antagonists and anti-histamines as an add-on therapy in patients with asthma complicated by allergic rhinitis.

Patients with asthma are often complicated by allergic rhinitis, and the intimate pathophysiological association between allergic rhinitis and asthma often imposes a significant morbidity on affected individuals. The present study was conducted to assess the clinical efficacies of leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) and anti-histamines on asthma as an add-on therapy in patients with asthma complicated by allergic rhinitis. Consecutive patients with asthma were recruited to fill in systematic self-administered questionnaires concerning symptoms and conditions related to asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Evaluation of short-term clinical efficacy of 3-day therapy with azithromycin in comparison with 5-day cefcapene-pivoxyl for acute streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis in primary care.

Group A streptococcal (GAS) tonsillopharyngitis is one of the few conditions for which antibiotics are advocated among common upper respiratory infections. Although a 3-day course of azithromycin is attracting attention as a treatment of choice for the condition, it is not clear if the efficacy of the treatment is comparable with that of treatment with cephalosporins. A prospective, randomized, comparative multicenter study was conducted to compare the efficacy of azithromycin (AZM) given once daily for 3 days with that of cefcapene-pivoxyl (CFPN-PI) divided into three daily doses for 5 days.

Concurrent lung cancer in non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis: case report.

An 82-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital after multiple round opacities were detected in chest X-rays performed during a routine health screening. Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) was found in sputum cultures, and compatible pathological findings on biopsy confirmed pulmonary MAC infection, whereas biopsies from another opacity revealed adenocarcinoma of the lung.Curative surgery for the lung cancer confirmed a concurrence of lung cancer and pulmonary MAC infection.

Organizing pneumonia associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is known to produce infiltrative and/or nodular opacities that are often localized. A patient presented to us with diffuse centrilobular, peribronchovascular, and perilobular opacities after documented Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. A surgical biopsy proved the lung disease to be organizing pneumonia, which dramatically resolved in response to treatment with corticosteroid.

Cat scratch disease presenting with a retroperitoneal abscess in a patient without animal contacts.

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is usually diagnosed in patients presenting with regional lymphadenopathy and pyrexia that follow contacts with animals. We describe here a young adult male patient who presented with marked pyrexia and a retroperitoneal abscess without relevant medical histories, illustrating that CSD can be a diagnostic challenge on selected occasions.

[Usefulness of continuous arterial infusion chemotherapy for post operative multiple recurrence and residual hepatocellular carcinoma].

Twenty five patients with postoperative multiple recurrence and residual hepatocellular carcinoma received continuous arterial infusion of CDDP and 5-FU via implanted reservoir. For the next five days, 10 mg/body of CDDP and 250 mg/body of 5-FU using arterial infusion were administered. It was discontinued for two days as one course, and 4 courses were basally administered.

[The study of continuous arterial infusion chemotherapy with CDDP and 5-FU in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma].

Between Feb. 1992 and April in 1995, 22 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (10, recurrence; 12, unresectable) received continuous arterial infusion of CDDP and 5-FU via implanted reservoir. For the next five days, 10 mg/body of CDDP and 250 mg/body of 5-FU using arterial infusion were administered.

[The study of continuous arterial infusion chemotherapy with 5-FU and CDDP in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma].

Between Feb. 1992 and March in 1994, 14 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (7: recurrence, 7: unresectable) received continuous arterial infusion of 5-FU and CDDP via implanted reservoir. For the next five days, 10 mg/body of CDDP and 250 mg/body of 5-FU using arterial infusion were administered.