Vascular endothelial growth factor in degenerating intervertebral discs of rat caudal vertebrae.

Introduction: Discogenic back pain remains poorly understood with respect to etiopathogenesis, despite being a considerable burden. We sought to examine the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in injured intervertebral discs in rat caudal vertebrae.

Methods: Forty-eight male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned to 2 groups according to disc puncture injury: puncture (n = 32) or non-puncture (n = 16).

Cytogenetic risk stratification may predict allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation outcomes for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only curative treatment for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML); however, factors predicting allo-HSCT outcomes for CMML have not been well defined. This study assessed whether the existing five scoring systems for CMML prognosis could be applied for predicting allo-HSCT outcomes. We retrospectively evaluated 38 patients who underwent allo-HSCT for CMML from 2000 to 2014.

CD20 positivity and white blood cell count predict treatment outcomes in Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients ineligible for pediatric-inspired chemotherapy.

Background: The efficacy of conventional chemotherapy and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) has been controversial as post-remission therapies for adult Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 96 adolescent and adult cases of Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia to evaluate whether allo-HSCT should be performed after first complete remission (1CR).

Results: In total, 34 patients received chemotherapy followed by allo-HSCT (HSCT group) and 62 received chemotherapy alone (chemotherapy group).

Inhibiting Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Injured Intervertebral Discs Attenuates Pain-Related Neuropeptide Expression in Dorsal Root Ganglia in Rats.

Study Design: An experimental animal study.

Purpose: To evaluate effects of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on the content and distribution of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the dorsal ganglia in a rat model.

Overview Of Literature: Increased expression of VEGF in degenerative disc disease increases the levels of inflammatory cytokines and nerve ingrowth into the damaged discs.

D816 mutation of the KIT gene in core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia is associated with poorer prognosis than other KIT gene mutations.

The clinical impact of KIT mutations in core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) is still unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the prognostic significance of each KIT mutation (D816, N822K, and other mutations) in Japanese patients with CBF-AML. We retrospectively analyzed 136 cases of CBF-AML that had gone into complete remission (CR).

Radical Surgery of Only the Anterior Elements of the Spine at the Posterior Element Fusion Level due to Metastatic Thyroid Cancer.

Spinal metastasis of differentiated thyroid cancer can have a favorable prognosis if radical surgery is performed. We encountered a case of spinal metastasis involving three anterior vertebral bodies at the posterior element fusion level and successfully achieved adequate stability by radical surgery involving only the anterior elements. A 67-year-old woman who had numbness and muscle weakness in the lower limbs caused by metastatic spinal tumor at the posterior element fusion level of L1-L3 vertebrae was treated with radical surgery of only the anterior element to gain stability.

Platelet-rich plasma enhances bone union in posterolateral lumbar fusion: A prospective randomized controlled trial.

Background Context: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) accelerates bone union in vivo in a rodent model of spinal fusion surgery. However, PRP's effect on bone union after spinal surgery remains unclear.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of PRP after posterolateral lumbar fusion (PLF) surgery.

Pulmonary Nocardiosis: A Clinical Analysis of 30 Cases.

Objective Pulmonary nocardiosis frequently develops as an opportunistic infection in patients with malignant tumor and is treated with steroids. This study was performed to clarify the clinical features of pulmonary nocardiosis in Japan. Methods The patients definitively diagnosed with pulmonary nocardiosis at our hospital between January 1995 and December 2015 were retrospectively investigated.

[Octreotide LAR was useful for avoiding hypoglycemia in an elderly patient with insulinoma].

An 80-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a hypoglycemia attack. She was diagnosed with insulinoma based on her high insulin level at the time of the hypoglycemia attack and the presence of a hypervascular tumor in her pancreas. The patient refused surgical treatment and octreotide was used to prevent hypoglycemia.

Evaluation of Bone Atrophy After Treatment of Forearm Fracture Using Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis: A Comparative Study of Locking Plates and Conventional Plates.

Purpose: Forearm diaphysis fractures are usually managed by open reduction internal fixation. Recently, locking plates have been used for treatment. In the long-term period after surgery, some patients present with bone atrophy adjacent to the plate.

Efficacy and safety of ipragliflozin and metformin for visceral fat reduction in patients with type 2 diabetes receiving treatment with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in Japan: a study protocol for a prospective, multicentre, blinded-endpoint phase IV randomised controlled trial (PRIME-V study).

Introduction: In Japan, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are frequently used as the treatment of choice for patients with type 2 diabetes. In some cases, however, poor glycaemic and body weight control issues persist despite treatment with DPP-4 inhibitors. Previous researchers have revealed that sodium-dependent glucose transporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors reduce both plasma glucose levels and body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome after hematopoietic cell transplantation for lymphoma.

Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (t-AML/MDS) represent severe late effects in patients receiving hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for lymphoma. The choice between high-dose therapy with autologous HCT and allogeneic HCT with reduced-intensity conditioning remains controversial in patients with relapsed lymphoma. We retrospectively analyzed incidence and risk factors for the development of t-AML/MDS in lymphoma patients treated with autologous or allogeneic HCT.

Smith's fracture generally occurs after falling on the palm of the hand.

Orthopedic trauma surgeons often encounter Smith's fracture in patients who report that they have fallen on the palms of their hands. The aim of this study was to clarify the pathogenesis of Smith's fracture in basic clinical aspects. First, a survey was conducted for investigating the mechanism of injury and arm position at the time of injury among patients with Smith's fractures who consulted at our outpatient clinic.

Baastrup's Disease Is Associated with Recurrent of Sciatica after Posterior Lumbar Spinal Decompressions Utilizing Floating Spinous Process Procedures.

Study Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Purpose: To determine whether kissing spine is a risk factor for recurrence of sciatica after lumbar posterior decompression using a spinous process floating approach.

Overview Of Literature: Kissing spine is defined by apposition and sclerotic change of the facing spinous processes as shown in X-ray images, and is often accompanied by marked disc degeneration and decrement of disc height.

Severity and Diurnal Improvement of Morning Stiffness Independently Associate with Tenosynovitis in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background And Objectives: Although morning stiffness has long been recognized as a characteristic feature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), it is no more included in the 2010 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria or in the current major instruments for evaluating disease activity of RA. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to determine the independent value and the optimal measurement of morning stiffness by clarifying the associations between morning stiffness and synovial inflammation.

Patients And Methods: We enrolled 76 consecutive RA patients who underwent musculoskeletal ultrasound examination and agreed to participate in the study.

Prognostic impact of serum soluble LR11 in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: A multicenter prospective analysis.

Background: LR11 (also called SorLA or SORL1) is a type I membrane protein, originally identified as a biomarker for atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. We recently found that LR11 was specifically expressed in Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cells, and high serum sLR11 concentrations in retrospective cohort indicated inferior survival. In this study, we prospectively validated the clinical impact of serum sLR11 in 97 patients with newly-diagnosed, untreated DLBCL.

Drop finger caused by 8th cervical nerve root impairment: a clinical case series.

Purpose: Recently, it has been reported that impairment by an 8th cervical nerve root lesion can cause drop finger, namely C8 drop finger. Here, we report a clinical case series of C8 drop finger to reveal the clinical outcome of surgical treatments to allow for a better choice of treatment.

Methods: The present study included 17 consecutive patients who were diagnosed as having C8 drop finger, in which muscle strength of the extensor digitorum communis (EDC) showed a manual muscle testing (MMT) grade of 3 or less.

MYC/BCL2 Double-hit Lymphoma in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis Associated with Methotrexate Treatment.

Several reports have suggested an increased risk of malignant lymphoma in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate (MTX). We herein describe the case of a 71-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who developed MYC/BCL2 double-hit lymphoma associated with MTX therapy. She developed a fever and lymphadenopathies over a 2-week period and had elevated levels of soluble IL-2 receptor.

The prognosis of hepatitis B inactive carriers in Japan: a multicenter prospective study.

Background: Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative inactive carriers, the majority of hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers, are considered to have a good prognosis. The definition of the inactive HBV carrier state has been based on HBV DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Here we conducted a prospective study involving 18 hospitals to clarify the prognosis of HBeAg-negative inactive carriers.

Perioperative Complications in 155 Patients Who Underwent Oblique Lateral Interbody Fusion Surgery: Perspectives and Indications From a Retrospective, Multicenter Survey.

Study Design: A retrospective multicenter survey.

Objective: To investigate the perioperative complications of oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: OLIF has been widely performed to achieve minimally invasive, rigid lumbar lateral interbody fusion.

Closed mallet thumb injury: Our experience of 10 patients treated with surgery and a systematic review.

Objective: This retrospective study reports 10 patients with closed mallet thumb injury treated with surgery and compares the clinical outcomes achieved with those of previously described patients who were treated with either conservative therapy or surgery.

Methods: We report the outcomes of a series of 10 patients who received surgical treatment at our institutions. Due to the rarity of closed mallet thumb, a systematic review was conducted, and the results of a literature search were compared with our case series to strengthen our conclusions.

Comparison of clinical outcomes between laminoplasty, posterior decompression with instrumented fusion, and anterior decompression with fusion for K-line (-) cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Purpose: The K-line, which is a virtual line that connects the midpoints of the anteroposterior diameter of the spinal canal at C2 and C7 in a plain lateral radiogram, is a useful preoperative predictive indicator for sufficient decompression by laminoplasty (LMP) for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). K-line is defined as (+) when the peak of OPLL does not exceed the K-line, and is defined as (-) when the peak of OPLL exceeds the K-line. For patients with K-line (-) OPLL, LMP often results in poor outcome.