Early Endoscopic Outcomes After Risankizumab Are Associated With Fewer Hospitalizations and Surgeries in Crohn's Disease.

Background And Aims: We evaluated the association between endoscopic outcomes following risankizumab induction and subsequent rates of hospitalization and surgery through 52 weeks of risankizumab (both doses) maintenance therapy in patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: Patients with moderately to severely active CD and clinical response to 12-week risankizumab induction were rerandomized to continued therapy or drug withdrawal in the phase 3 FORTIFY maintenance trial. Incidence rates (events/100 person-years) of CD-related hospitalization and surgery, and the composite of both, through 52 weeks of maintenance were compared between patients achieving vs not achieving predefined endoscopic outcomes following induction.

Efficacy of tranilast in preventing exacerbating cardiac function and death from heart failure in muscular dystrophy patients with advanced-stage heart failure: a single-arm, open-label, multicenter study.

Background: Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 2 (TRPV2) functions as a stretch-sensitive calcium channel, with overexpression in the sarcolemma of skeletal and cardiac myocytes leading to detrimental calcium influx and triggering muscle degeneration. In our previous pilot study, we showed that tranilast, a TRPV2 inhibitor, reduced brain natriuretic peptide levels in two patients with muscular dystrophy and advanced heart failure. Building on this, we performed a single-arm, open-label, multicenter study herein to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tranilast in the treatment of advanced heart failure in patients with muscular dystrophy.

Successful Fertility Preservation in a Case of Low-Grade Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma: A Multidisciplinary Approach Through the Oncofertility Network.

Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LGESS) is a rare disease, accounting for less than 1% of all uterine malignancies. Standard treatment is total hysterectomy and bilateral tubal oophorectomy, although fertility preservation may be desirable because of the young age of onset. We document a case of fertility preservation in a 27-year-old nulligravida diagnosed with LGESS, which not only enabled the successful birth of two live infants but also underscores the efficacy of a multidisciplinary approach to patient treatment through the Hyogo Oncofertility Network (HOF-net).

Optimal Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Multivessel Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease.

There is a scarcity of data on clinical outcomes after intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with multivessel disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The Optimal Intravascular Ultrasound (OPTIVUS)-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter single-arm trial enrolling 1,015 patients who underwent multivessel IVUS-guided PCI including left anterior descending coronary artery target with an intention to meet the prespecified OPTIVUS criteria for optimal stent expansion. We compared the clinical outcomes between patients with and without CKD.

Significance of Targeted Antimicrobial Prophylaxis Using Rectal-culture Selective Screening Media Prior to Transrectal Prostate Biopsy: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To examine whether antimicrobial prophylaxis based on screening rectal cultures using selective media prevented acute bacterial prostatitis following transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB).

Methods: In this multicenter, randomized controlled trial, we enrolled 403 patients undergoing TRPB with low risks of infectious complications. Patients were randomized into a cultured group (CG) or no cultured group (NCG).

Carnitine Administration and I-BMIPP Washout Rate in Hemodialysis Patients with Triglyceride Deposit Cardiomyovasculopathy.

Triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy (TGCV) is an emerging rare heart disease with high mortality, characterized by defective intracellular lipolysis of triglycerides (TG). We developed diagnostic criteria for TGCV, in which low washout rate of BMIPP (BMIPP-WR) is a key factor. The working group of the Japan Society of Nuclear Cardiology recently published practice recommendations for measuring BMIPP-WR.

Developing competencies relating to information science and technology in Japanese undergraduate medical education.

In response to the growing expectation and recognized potential for integrating information and communication technology (ICT) into medicine, the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education in Japan incorporated 'the ability to use information science and technology' as a new competency in its 2022 revision. This study aimed to identify specific learning objectives that medical students should achieve to acquire this competency. The research team developed an initial list of 107 learning objectives through a literature survey.

Prolonged intracranial catheter dwell time exacerbates penumbral stress and worsens stroke thrombectomy outcomes.

Background: The duration of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is a negative predictor of outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS), yet the precise mechanisms are unclear. We investigated whether the placement of large-bore catheters intracranially reduces blood flow to the ischemic penumbra and diminishes the efficacy of MT.

Methods: We investigated the impact of different catheter sizes on flow through the intracranial circulation using an in vitro model.

Successful surgical treatment for primary cardiac angiosarcoma: a case report.

Background: Primary cardiac angiosarcomas are extremely rare and their prognosis is poor. Surgical resection is the first-line treatment; however, no clear standard of care has been clearly established because of the rarity of these tumors.

Case Presentation: A 61-year-old man who had presented with dyspnea on exertion was referred to our hospital.

Spontaneous high clonal expansion of Wilms' tumor gene 1-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes in patients with Wilms' tumor gene 1-expressing solid tumor.

Wilms' tumor protein 1 (WT1)-targeted immunotherapy has been used in patients with leukemia and solid tumors. However, the spontaneous WT1-specific immune response before WT1 peptide vaccination in patients with WT1-expressing tumors (PTs) remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated whether WT1-specific cytotoxic CD8 T-lymphocytes (CTLs) are clonally expanded in the peripheral blood outside of tumor sites.

Long-Term Survey of Japanese Children with Recurrent Nephroblastoma: A Report from Japan Children's Cancer Group.

In prospective Japanese studies of pediatric renal tumors, 5-year event-free survival and overall survival (OS) for patients with nephroblastoma ranges from 75-90% and 89-97%, respectively. However, treatments strategies for recurrent nephroblastoma in Japanese patients remain unclear. This retrospective study aimed to inform the development of treatment strategies by analyzing the long-term results and side effects of salvage therapies for recurrent nephroblastoma in Japan.

YAP regulates HER3 signaling-driven adaptive resistance to RET inhibitors in RET-aberrant cancer.

Purpose: Rearranged during transfection (RET) aberrations represent a targetable oncogene in several tumor types, with RET inhibitors displaying marked efficacy. However, some patients with RET-aberrant cancer are insensitive to RET tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Recently, drug-tolerant mechanisms have attracted attention as targets for initial therapies to overcome drug resistance.

Automatic setting optimization for robotic upper-extremity rehabilitation in patients with stroke using ReoGo-J: a cross-sectional clinical trial.

Stroke-induced upper-extremity paralysis affects a substantial portion of the population, necessitating effective rehabilitation strategies. This study aimed to develop an automated program, incorporating the item response theory, for rehabilitation in patients with post-stroke upper-extremity paralysis, focusing on the ReoGo-J device, and to identify suitable robot parameters for robotic rehabilitation. ReoGo-J, a training device for upper-extremity disorders including 71 items, was administered to over 300 patients with varying degrees of post-stroke upper-extremity paralysis.

Ruxolitinib for steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease: Japanese subgroup analysis of REACH3 study.

Ruxolitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK1-JAK2) inhibitor, has demonstrated safety and efficacy in patients with graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). This phase 3 randomized trial (REACH3) evaluated the efficacy and the safety of ruxolitinib 10 mg twice daily compared with investigator-selected best available therapy (BAT) in a subgroup of Japanese patients (n = 37) with steroid-refractory or dependent (SR/D) chronic GvHD. At data cut-off, treatment was ongoing in 17 patients and discontinued in 20.