Abnormal Temporal Window of Integration in Auditory Sensory Memory in Schizophrenia.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is automatically elicited by incoming sound deviation compared to the neural representation of preceding homogenous sounds stored in the brain's auditory sensory memory. This study aimed to assess time-functional deviation sensitivity in auditory sensory memory associated with a temporal window of integration (TWI) of 160-170 msec in patients with schizophrenia. To this end, we measured the magnetic counterpart of the MMN (MMNm) in 20 patients with schizophrenia on medication and 20 healthy age-matched adults as a control group responding to an omitted tone segment incorporated into a complex sound of 176 ms duration corresponding to the TWI duration.

Daratumumab plus bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone in Asian patients with newly diagnosed AL amyloidosis: subgroup analysis of ANDROMEDA.

Subcutaneous daratumumab plus bortezomib/cyclophosphamide/dexamethasone (VCd; D-VCd) improved outcomes versus VCd for patients with newly diagnosed immunoglobulin light-chain (AL) amyloidosis in the phase 3 ANDROMEDA study. We report a subgroup analysis of Asian patients (Japan; Korea; China) from ANDROMEDA. Among 388 randomized patients, 60 were Asian (D-VCd, n = 29; VCd, n = 31).

[Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration: A Historical Overview of the Concept].

Arnold Pick described a focal cortical syndrome caused by focal temporal and/or frontal cortical atrophy, later reffered to as Pick's disease (PiD), a prototype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). In contrast to the current concept of PiD, the presence of Pick bodies (tau-positive inclusions) was not thought to be necessary for the diagnosis of PiD. Four out of the seven patients in his original paper had predominant left temporal atrophy and language related symptoms corresponding to semantic dementia.

Treatment-free remission after first-line dasatinib discontinuation in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (first-line DADI trial): a single-arm, multicentre, phase 2 trial.

Background: A previous dasatinib discontinuation (DADI) trial showed that 31 (49%) of 63 patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia who were treated with second-line or subsequent dasatinib could discontinue the drug safely. However, the safety and efficacy of discontinuing first-line dasatinib remains unclear. In this trial (the first-line DADI trial) we aimed to assess molecular relapse-free survival at 6 months after discontinuation of dasatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia who had been treated with first-line dasatinib and had maintained deep molecular response for at least 1 year.

Clinical effects of recombinant thrombomodulin and defibrotide on sinusoidal obstruction syndrome after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is a lethal complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Defibrotide (DF) is the only drug internationally recommended for SOS treatment in Western countries. Recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rhTM), which is promising for the treatment of patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation, is also reported to be potentially effective for SOS.

In vitro studies on the role of recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin in the context of retinoic acid mediated APL differentiation syndrome.

Recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rTM) is a newly developed anti-coagulant approved for treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in Japan. rTM exerts anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective functions via its lectin-like and epidermal growth factor-like domains, respectively. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed the treatment of 21 consecutive patients with coagulopathy, complicated by acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) with or without combination with rTM.

Comparison of Emla cream and topical lidocaine tape for pain relief of V-beam laser treatment.

The authors compared the analgesic effects of two topical applications; Emla cream (Sato Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) and 60% lidocaine tape (Penles tape; Maruho, Osaka, Japan).

Characterization of pediatric Philadelphia-negative B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with kinase fusions in Japan.

Recent studies revealed that a substantial proportion of patients with high-risk B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) harbor fusions involving tyrosine kinase and cytokine receptors, such as ABL1, PDGFRB, JAK2 and CRLF2, which are targeted by tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). In the present study, transcriptome analysis or multiplex reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis of 373 BCP-ALL patients without recurrent genetic abnormalities identified 29 patients with kinase fusions. Clinically, male predominance (male/female: 22/7), older age at onset (mean age at onset: 8.

The Association between Sleep Duration and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease among Japanese Men and Women.

Objective: To examine the relationship between sleep duration and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Methods: We evaluated 3,968 subjects who underwent health check-ups from June 2012 to May 2013 at the Watari Hospital Health Center in Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. Fatty liver was detected by ultrasonography.

Serum levels of GRO-α are elevated in association with disease activity in patients with Behçet's disease.

Background: Although the etiology of Behçet's disease (BD) is still unknown, neutrophils are implicated in its pathogenesis. Growth-related oncogene-α (GRO-α) is a potent chemoattractant and activator for neutrophils.

Objective: To determine the role of GRO-α in the pathogenesis of BD, we investigated serum GRO-α levels in patients with BD.

[A case of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor resected after chemotherapy with imatinib].

We report a case of a residual stomach gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) successfully treated with resection. We were able to curatively resect after treatment with imatinib. A 33-year-old man underwent distal gastrectomy for duodenal ulcer perforation at the age of 18.

Repair of a huge vesicocutaneous fistula with the rectus femoris musculocutaneous flap and VAC.

Adequate drainage is a prerequisite for closing a vesicocutaneous fistula, but the continued exposure to urine makes this impossible. Here, VAC was successfully used as a preoperative therapy before flap transplantation.

Evolution in the hypervariable region of the hepatitis C virus in two infants infected by mother-to-infant transmission.

Background: There is little data on the evolution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) quasispecies in infants infected by mother-to-infant transmission during long-term follow up. The hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of the HCV genome was investigated in two mother-infant pairs from birth to 7.6 and 10.

Cricoid regeneration using in situ tissue engineering in canine larynx for the treatment of subglottic stenosis.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of cricoid regeneration via in situ tissue engineering in a canine larynx for the treatment of subglottic stenosis. As the tissue scaffold, a Marlex mesh tube coated by collagen sponge was used for a rigid airway framework and for tissue regrowth around the tube. On 5 dogs, the larynx was exposed and the anterior third of the cricoid cartilage was resected.

Functional and anatomical effects of hormonally induced experimental prostate growth: a urodynamic model of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in the beagle.

Background: Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) produces a variety of changes in the urodynamic pattern of micturition and is usually associated with high detrusor voiding pressure and poor urine flow-rate. In most previous experimental models, designed to simulate this condition, some degree of obstruction is immediately imposed by the technique employed to produce urethral occlusion. Consequently these models cannot reproduce the gradual onset of obstruction.

Three-dimensional computerized tomography angiography-guided surgery of acutely ruptured cerebral aneurysms.

Object: The aim of this study was to assess whether aneurysm surgery can be performed in patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms by using three-dimensional computerized tomography (3D-CT) angiography alone, without conventional catheter angiography.

Methods: In a previous study, 60 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from ruptured aneurysms were prospectively evaluated using both 3D-CT and conventional angiography, which resulted in a 100% accuracy for 3D-CT angiography in the diagnosis of ruptured aneurysms, and a 96% accuracy in the identification of associated unruptured aneurysms. The results led the authors to consider replacing conventional angiography with 3D-CT angiography for use in diagnosing ruptured aneurysms, and to perform surgery aided by 3D-CT angiography alone without conventional angiography.

Experimental study of medullary trigeminal evoked potentials: development of a new method of intraoperative monitoring of the medulla oblongata.

Object: The goal of this study was to develop a new method of intraoperative monitoring of functions located in the lateral portion of the medulla oblongata. Based on the fact that the spinal trigeminal nucleus and tract are located in the lateral portion of the medulla oblongata, the authors intended to investigate the efficacy of trigeminal evoked potentials (TEPs) in intraoperative monitoring for assessing functions of the medulla oblongata.

Methods: Trigeminal evoked potentials induced by electrical stimulation of the infraorbital nerve were recorded from the dorsolateral portion of the medulla oblongata (M-TEP) and the cerebral sensory cortex (C-TEP) in dogs.

Urokinase cisternal irrigation therapy for prevention of symptomatic vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a study of urokinase concentration and the fibrinolytic system.

Background And Purpose: Cisternal irrigation therapy with urokinase (UK) was performed in multiple institutions to prevent symptomatic vasospasm. The efficacy and safety of this therapy were evaluated, and the optimal concentration of UK was estimated.

Methods: This therapy was performed in 28 patients who underwent surgery within 72 hours of the onset of severe subarachnoid hemorrhage (Fisher's group 3, CT number [Hounsfield units] >60).

Cisternal irrigation therapy with urokinase and ascorbic acid for prevention of vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Outcome in 217 patients.

Background: Cisternal irrigation therapy with urokinase and ascorbic acid was introduced to prevent symptomatic vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). To dissolve and wash out the subarachnoid clot, cisternal irrigation with urokinase is used. Ascorbic acid is added to degenerate oxy-hemoglobin, one of the strongest spasmogenic substances, into verdohemelike products, which are nonspasmogenic.

Aneurysms arising from the cortical segment of the superior cerebellar artery--two case reports.

Two unusual cases of partially thrombosed or fusiform type aneurysm on the cortical segment of the superior cerebellar artery (SCA) with subarachnoid hemorrhage are described. A 71-year-old female had a partially thrombosed, multi-lobular aneurysm located at the marginal branch of the SCA. This aneurysm was successfully clipped and wrapped via a subtemporal transtentorial approach in the acute stage.

Post-traumatic brain stem distortion: a case report.

Background: Primary traumatic brain stem injury (BSI) lesions are found most frequently in the dorsal or dorsolateral midbrain, whereas distortion of the brain stem itself is exceedingly rare.

Case Report: We present a 20-year-old woman with a rare brain stem injury caused by a violent motor vehicle collision. Magnetic resonance imaging at 2 months after injury revealed marked brain stem distortion with loss of the normal shape at the midbrain and pons, which were displaced anteriorly in association with the fracture of the clivus.