Role of Polymorphonuclear Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and Neutrophils in Ischemic Stroke.

Background Immune cells play a vital role in the pathology of ischemic stroke. Neutrophils and polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells share a similar phenotype and have attracted increasing attention in immune regulation research, yet their dynamics in ischemic stroke remain elusive. Methods and Results Mice were randomly divided into 2 groups and intraperitoneally treated with anti-Ly6G (lymphocyte antigen 6 complex locus G) monoclonal antibody or saline.

Effect of a Community-Based Program to Accelerate Referral to Physicians for Individuals at High-Risk of Lifestyle-Related Diseases: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Aim: A cluster randomized trial was conducted within 43 Japanese municipalities (21 intervention and 22 usual care) to examine whether the standardized health counseling for individuals at high cardiovascular risk screened at community sites accelerates clinic visits to strengthen the primary health care system.

Methods: Among high-risk individuals aged 40-74 years screened by health checkups, 8,977 and 6,733 were allocated to the intervention and usual care groups, respectively, who were not under medical treatment but had high levels of blood pressure (systolic/diastolic ≥ 160/100 mmHg), hemoglobin A1c or glucose (≥ 7.0% or corresponding glucose levels), LDL-cholesterol (≥ 180 mg/dL for men), and/or proteinuria of ≥ 2+.

Reduced gamma oscillation during visual processing of the mother's face in children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate gamma oscillations related to face processing of children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developed children using magnetoencephalography.

Methods: We developed stimuli that included naturalistic real-time eye-gaze situations between participants and their mothers. Eighteen young children with autism spectrum disorders (62-97 months) and 24 typically developed children (61-79 months) were included.

Changes in Eating Behaviors and Their Associations with Weight Loss in Japanese Patients Who Underwent Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Background: Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) has been established to provide long-term weight loss in severe obesity. In this study, we investigated the factors that affect post-operative weight loss, with a particular focus on changes in eating behaviors.

Methods: Time-course changes in body weight and eating behaviors were examined in 49 Japanese patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy from the first visit to 12 months after surgery.

A phase II study of neoadjuvant capecitabine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan (XELOXIRI) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Purpose: Addition of perioperative multi-agent chemotherapy to the treatment strategy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) may be a promising option. We conducted a phase II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of capecitabine combined with oxaliplatin and irinotecan (XELOXIRI) as triplet neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with LARC.

Methods: Patients received neoadjuvant irinotecan and oxaliplatin and capecitabine and then underwent total mesorectal excision.

A case of massive refractory diarrhea in a patient with COVID-19.

Background: The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) causes gastrointestinal symptoms as well as respiratory symptoms.

Case Presentation: A 60-year-old man was transferred with respiratory difficulty. He was diagnosed as having COVID-19 and was intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation.

Identification of CUL4A-DDB1-WDFY1 as an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex involved in initiation of lysophagy.

Macroautophagy is a bulk degradation system in which double membrane-bound structures called autophagosomes to deliver cytosolic materials to lysosomes. Autophagy promotes cellular homeostasis by selectively recognizing and sequestering specific targets, such as damaged organelles, protein aggregates, and invading bacteria, termed selective autophagy. We previously reported a type of selective autophagy, lysophagy, which helps clear damaged lysosomes.

Survival following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Japan in 2020 versus 2019 according to the cause.

Aim: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to an increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) and mortality. However, there has been no reports in Japan using nationwide registry data. We compared survival among patients with OHCAs and detailed information on the cause during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), and during the pre-pandemic period (2019).

Factors reducing psychological satisfaction after the Nuss procedure in pediatric patients.

Purpose: We examined patient satisfaction with postoperative chest appearance after Nuss procedure and analyzed the factors for postoperative low satisfaction.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data of 133 patients who underwent the Nuss procedure from 2000 to 2016. Their medical records, X-rays, and computed tomography scans were evaluated.

Depressive Symptoms in Mothers With Infants: The Quantitative Evidence of the Association of COVID-19 Crisis-Related Factors in Japan.

Objective: This study explores the depressive symptoms in postpartum women during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in Japan.

Methods: An online survey conducted from May 31 to June 6, 2020 resulted in 3073 responses obtained from mothers with infants < 12 mo.

Results: The point prevalence of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of ≥ 9 was 28.

Pregnant women's migration patterns before childbirth after large-scale earthquakes and the added impact of concerns regarding radiation exposure in Fukushima and five prefectures.

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (within Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi prefectures) was a complex disaster; it caused a tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, resulting in radiation exposure. This study investigated the earthquake's effects on the migration patterns of pregnant women and their concerns regarding radiation exposure. We also considered the following large-scale earthquakes without radiation exposure: Great Hanshin-Awaji (Hyogo prefecture), Niigata-Chuetsu, and Kumamoto.

A novel, simple, and dedicated device for endoscopic mucosal defect closure.

Objectives: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has become popular, but complications such as postoperative bleeding remain an issue. Although some methods of closing a mucosal defect with a snare and clips have been reported to be effective and safe, the snare is not a dedicated device, and the procedure is difficult and time-consuming. We aimed to find an alternative method for defect closure after ESD by developing a dedicated device.

Micrometastasis in lymph nodes of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for node-positive stage III patients. A systematic meta-analysis reported that the presence of micrometastases in regional lymph nodes (LNs) was associated with poor survival in patients with node-negative CRC.

Clinical features and outcomes of duodenal-type follicular lymphoma: A single-center retrospective study.

Duodenal-type follicular lymphoma (FL) is a rare and newly recognized disease. Few data are available on the outcomes and treatment strategies for patients with duodenal-type FL. We aimed to investigate the clinical features and outcomes of duodenal-type FL.

Clustering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with non-shockable rhythm by machine learning latent class analysis.

Aim: We aimed to identify subphenotypes among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with initial non-shockable rhythm by applying machine learning latent class analysis and examining the associations between subphenotypes and neurological outcomes.

Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis within a multi-institutional prospective observational cohort study of OHCA patients in Osaka, Japan (the CRITICAL study). The data of adult OHCA patients with medical causes and initial non-shockable rhythm presenting with OHCA between 2012 and 2016 were included in machine learning latent class analysis models, which identified subphenotypes, and patients who presented in 2017 were included in a dataset validating the subphenotypes.

Enzalutamide + androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) versus flutamide + ADT in Japanese men with castration-resistant prostate cancer: AFTERCAB study.

Objectives: The objective of the study is to compare the efficacy and safety of alternative androgen therapy (AAT) with enzalutamide + androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and flutamide + ADT in the treatment of Japanese men with metastatic or nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who progressed despite combined androgen blockade (CAB) with bicalutamide + ADT. AAT treatment sequence was also investigated.

Materials And Methods: The open-label, Phase 4 AFTERCAB study (NCT02918968) was conducted from November 2016 to March 2020 in Japanese men aged ≥20 years with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic CRPC.

Genetic assessment using whole-exome sequencing for a young hypertriglyceridemic patient with repeated acute pancreatitis.

Hypertriglyceridemia is caused not only by environmental factors but also by genetic factors. Severe hypertriglyceridemia is prone to complications of acute pancreatitis. Here, we report a whole-exome sequencing (WES) analysis for a young hypertriglyceridemic patient with recurrent acute pancreatitis and the patient's mother.

Clinical relevance of a newly developed endometrial receptivity test for patients with recurrent implantation failure in Japan.

Purpose: To assess the clinical efficacy of personalized embryo transfer (pET) guided by a new endometrial receptivity test, ERPeak, in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF).

Methods: Recurrent implantation failure patients of all ages at two private Japanese clinics from April 2019 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The intervention group ( = 244) received pET in accordance with endometrial receptivity testing results and was compared to control group ( = 306) receiving standardized timing, non-personalized embryo transfer (npET).

Heparinized swine models for better surgical/endoscopic training.

Introduction: Animal experiments with large living animals are essential for the development of medical devices and the training of surgical procedures. Swine are frequently used in animal experiments due to their similar size and anatomy compared to humans. However, it is well known that swine has less local bleeding than humans.

Endoscopic application of novel, infection-free, advanced hemostatic material: Its usefulness to upper gastrointestinal oozing.

Background: Self-assembling peptides (TDMs) comprise synthetic amphipathic peptides that immediately react to changes in pH and/or inorganic salts to transform into a gelatinous state. The first generation of these peptides (TDM-621) is currently used as a hemostatic agent in Europe. However, TDM-621 exhibits slow gel-formation and low retention capabilities on tissue surfaces.

Adiponectin accumulation in the retinal vascular endothelium and its possible role in preventing early diabetic microvascular damage.

Adiponectin (APN), a protein abundantly secreted from adipocytes, has been reported to possess beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases in association with its accumulation on target organs and cells by binding to T-cadherin. However, little is known about the role of APN in the development of diabetic microvascular complications, such as diabetic retinopathy (DR). Here we investigated the impact of APN on the progression of early retinal vascular damage using a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mouse model.

Grip strength as a predictor of postoperative delirium in patients with colorectal cancers.

Background: The population is aging rapidly, and the population of patients who undergo surgeries is aging, too. Elderly patients have much risk of postoperative delirium, which increases the number of adverse events. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors of postoperative delirium in elderly patients with colorectal cancer.