Nationwide prospective registry database of patients with newly diagnosed untreated pleural mesothelioma in Japan.

Due to the scarcity of large-sized prospective databases, the Japanese Joint Committee for Lung Cancer Registry conducted a nationwide prospective registry for newly diagnosed and untreated pleural mesothelioma. All new cases diagnosed pathologically as any subtype of pleural mesothelioma in Japan during the period between April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2019, were included before treatment. Data on survival were collected in April 2021.

Low-dose metronomic cisplatin as an antiangiogenic and anti-inflammatory strategy for cancer.

Background: Conventional chemotherapy is based on the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and requires treatment-free intervals to restore normal host cells. MTD chemotherapy may induce angiogenesis or immunosuppressive cell infiltration during treatment-free intervals. Low-dose metronomic (LDM) chemotherapy is defined as frequent administration at lower doses and causes less inflammatory change, whereas MTD chemotherapy induces an inflammatory change.

GP2-expressing cells: a new guardian with divergent functions in the intestine, eyes, and nose.

GP (glycoprotein)-2, originally identified as a predominant membranous component of pancreatic acinar cells, has attracted the interest of researchers in mucosal immunology for its role as a functional molecule specific for antigen-sampling cells in the intestinal Peyer's patches. GP2 is involved in the detection of pathological bacteria and is also histologically useful for the identification of the M cell lineage and their differentiation in lymphoid tissues. Subsequent immunohistochemistry for GP2 has revealed a broad distribution of M cells and related cells in the nasopharyngeal lymphoid tissues, conjunctiva, tear duct, and airway.

Shorter survival time of adolescents and young adult patients than older adults with spinal cord glioblastoma: a multicenter study.

Objective: Cancers in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) (age 15-39 years) often present with unique characteristics and poor outcomes. To date, spinal cord glioblastoma, a rare tumor, remains poorly understood across all age groups, including AYAs. This comparative study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of spinal cord glioblastoma in AYAs and older adults (age 40-74 years), given the limited availability of studies focusing on AYAs.

The impact of second transurethral resection on survival outcomes in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy.

Objective: Several guidelines recommended that second transurethral resection should be performed in patients with diagnosis of high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, therapeutic benefits of second transurethral resection before bacillus Calmette-Guérin intravesical instillation were conflicting amongst previous studies. We investigated the prognostic impact of second transurethral resection before bacillus Calmette-Guérin instillation in high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients.

Predictors indicating the continuous need for a knee-ankle-foot orthosis in stroke patients at 1 month after onset.

Objectives: To investigate predictors indicating the continuous need for a knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) at 1 month after stroke onset in patients who cannot walk without a KAFO in the acute period.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled patients with severe hemiplegia (n = 139) who were unable to walk without a KAFO on day 10 from stroke onset. The patients were divided into two groups depending on the need for a KAFO at 1 month after the onset: the KAFO group and non-KAFO group.

Comparative study of physiological FDG uptake in small structures between silicon photomultiplier-based PET and conventional PET.

Objective: Silicon photomultiplier-based positron emission tomography/computed tomography (SiPM-PET/CT) has the superior spatial resolution to conventional PET/CT (cPET/CT). This head-to-head comparison study compared the images of physiological F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) accumulation in small-volume structures between SiPM-PET/CT and cPET/CT in patients scanned with both modalities, and we investigated whether the thresholds that are reported to be useful for differentiating physiological accumulations from malignant lesions can also be applied to SiPM-PET/CT.

Methods: We enrolled 21 consecutive patients with head and neck malignancies who underwent whole-body FDG-PET/CT for initial staging or a follow-up evaluation (October 2020 to March 2022).

Carotid Endarterectomy for a Case with an Extremely Twisted Internal Carotid Artery.

The internal carotid artery (ICA) typically runs posterolaterally to the external carotid artery (ECA) at the level of the common carotid artery (CCA) bifurcation in the neck. The "twisted ICA" is an anatomical variation, wherein the ICA is medial to the ECA. Several studies on the twisted ICA have discussed its anatomical definition, incidence, clinical features, and surgical results in patients with luminal stenosis.

Telemedicine for Pregnant Women on a Japanese Remote Island: A Two-year Report.

Introduction: Remote antenatal checkups were conducted on the northernmost island of Japan to reduce the burden of hospital visits among pregnant women. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of remote antenatal checkups for pregnant women living on a remote island.

Methods: This observational study included singleton pregnancies on Rebun Island between October 2020 and September 2022.

A Study of risk factors of postoperative ileus after laparoscopic colorectal resection.

Aim: Postoperative ileus (POI) is a common complication after abdominal surgery. However, the risk factors for POI after laparoscopic colorectal resection are unclear. We therefore investigated the risk factors for POI after laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

SGLT2 is upregulated to acquire cisplatin resistance and SGLT2 inhibition reduces cisplatin resistance in hepatoblastoma.

Background: Cancer cells can alter glucose metabolism and regulate the expression of glucose transporters. Hepatoblastoma patients undergo cisplatin-based chemotherapy; however, 22.3% of patients develop cisplatin resistance and thus face a poor prognosis.

COVID‑19 antibody production by vaccination in chemotherapy with CD20 antibody for B‑cell lymphoma.

Most hematologic diseases are immunosuppressed, either by the disease itself or by treatment. As such, the implementation of vaccination is largely at the discretion of the attending physician. In this context, an objective measure is needed, therefore the index of vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in B-cell lymphomas treated with antibody therapy against CD20 (including after the completion of therapy) was examined.

Risk factors for abnormal glucose metabolism during antipsychotic treatment: A prospective cohort study.

Antipsychotic medications increase the risk of abnormal glucose metabolism. However, in clinical practice, it is difficult to predict this risk because it is affected by medication-related and background factors. This study aimed to identify the risk factors for abnormal glucose metabolism during antipsychotic treatment.

Intranasal administration of stem cell-derived exosomes for central nervous system diseases.

Exosomes, lipid bilayer-enclosed small cellular vesicles, are actively secreted by various cells and play crucial roles in intercellular communication. These nanosized vesicles transport internalized proteins, mRNA, miRNA, and other bioactive molecules. Recent findings have provided compelling evidence that exosomes derived from stem cells hold great promise as a therapeutic modality for central nervous system disorders.

Low b-value Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Analyze the Dynamics of Cerebrospinal Fluid: Resolving Intravoxel Pseudorandom Motion into Ordered and Disordered Motions.

Purpose: Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics may be beneficial for understanding the mechanisms and diagnosis of several neurological diseases. Low b-value diffusion tensor imaging (low-b DTI) is useful for observing the slow and complex motion of the CSF. Theoretically, a mathematical framework suggests that low-b DTI provides the variance of the pseudorandom motion of the CSF.

Lithium Response in Bipolar Disorder is Associated with Focal Adhesion and PI3K-Akt Networks: A Multi-omics Replication Study.

Lithium is the gold standard treatment for bipolar disorder (BD). However, its mechanism of action is incompletely understood, and prediction of treatment outcomes is limited. In our previous multi-omics study of the Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder (PGBD) sample combining transcriptomic and genomic data, we found that focal adhesion, the extracellular matrix (ECM), and PI3K-Akt signaling networks were associated with response to lithium.

Successful treatment of frequent premature ventricular contractions and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia with verapamil and flecainide in -related myopathy: a case report.

Background: Ryanodine receptor 1 ()-related myopathies are a group of congenital muscle diseases caused by mutations. These mutations may cause centronuclear myopathy, a congenital neuromuscular disorder characterized by clinical muscle weakness and pathological presence of centrally placed nuclei on muscle biopsy. Mutations in cause ventricular arrhythmias that can be treated with flecainide; however, reports of ventricular arrhythmias in -related myopathies are rare.

Tumor-to-thoracic height ratio as an easy method to predict the feasibility of reduced-port video-assisted thoracic surgery for mediastinal lesions in children: a single-center experience.

In the last few decades, reduced-port video-assisted thoracic surgery (RP-VATS) has been developed to minimize surgical invasiveness. Nevertheless, VATS in children can occasionally be difficult because the lesion occupies a small thoracic cavity, limiting the working space. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of RP-VATS for the resection of mediastinal lesions in children in association with the tumor-to-thoracic height ratio (TTH ratio).

Two oscillatory components detected by forced splitting of the sleep-wake cycle in humans.

The sleep-wake cycle of human subjects was artificially split into two episodes by imposing an 8-h light and 4-h dark cycle (LD 8:4) twice a day for 7 days, which was followed by a 3-day free-running session. Sleep was permitted only in the dark period. The subjects in the ordinary group were exposed to ordinary light (ca.

Prenatal metal concentrations and physical abnormalities in the Japan Environment and Children's Study.

Background: The association between prenatal metal exposure and congenital anomalies is unclear. We aimed to examine the association between exposure to cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium, and manganese and physical abnormalities.

Methods: Data from 89,887 pregnant women with singleton pregnancies who participated in the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) were used.

Therapeutic effects of KRM-II-81, positive allosteric modulator for α2/3 subunit containing GABA receptors, in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome.

Dravet syndrome (DS) is an intractable epilepsy syndrome concomitant with neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in infancy. DS is dominantly caused by mutations in the gene, which encodes the α subunit of a voltage-gated Na channel. Pre-synaptic inhibitory dysfunction is regarded as the pathophysiological mechanism, but an effective strategy for ameliorating seizures and behavioral problems is still under development.