Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity Reflects Regional Arterial Stiffness and Distensibility in Patients with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

We investigated the association between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV) and arterial stiffness and distensibility in the aneurysmal sac of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Data from 49 patients with AAA from June 2020 to November 2022 at Tokyo Medical University Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Brachial-ankle PWV (cm/s) was obtained via an automated oscillometric method.

The Effectiveness of Surgical Thrombectomy via Below-Knee Popliteal Artery for the Treatment of Acute Limb Ischemia.

Surgical thrombectomy has been established as an effective treatment for acute limb ischemia (ALI). Nevertheless, manipulation via the common femoral artery (CFA) to retrieve thrombus in the infra-popliteal artery sometimes proves less effective. We retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing surgical thrombectomy for infra-inguinal ALI from January 2010 to December 2022.

Metagenomic Analysis of Gut Microbiota for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

The pathophysiological mechanism of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains unclear. We previously reported that levels were reduced in the feces of patients with AAA by 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA) gene sequencing. In this study, we increased the number of cases and conducted metagenomic analyses to examine bacterial genes associated with the pathophysiology of AAA.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm with Primary Cold Agglutinin Disease Treated with Endovascular Aortic Repair.

Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is a rare and autoimmune hemolytic disorder caused by the presence of cold-reacting autoantibodies against red blood cells. An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially life-threatening condition. This report describes an 83-year-old man with AAA who was diagnosed with primary CAD 9 years before undergoing AAA surgery.

A quantitative amplitude of vagus nerve obtained by intraoperative neuromonitoring predicts postoperative vocal cord paralysis among patients in thyroid/parathyroid surgery as a second option.

Background: The advantage of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) has been widely accepted in thyroid/parathyroid surgery. However, there are discrepancies of amplitudes on recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy and vocal cord paralysis (VCP) because of amplitude variations among individuals. Accordingly, the universal usefulness of quantitative amplitude value among patients were assessed.

Impact of tumor position displacement during end-exhalation breath-hold condition on tumor dose in lung stereotactic body radiation therapy using volumetric modulated arc therapy.

Background And Purpose: In lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) using a breath-holding technique, displacement of tumor during breath-holding is rarely considered. This study used four-dimensional (4D) dose calculation with cine computed tomography (CT) to evaluate the impact of unexpected tumor position displacement during breath-holding on the target dose of lung volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT)-SBRT.

Materials And Methods: This study included 20 cases for which tumor position displacement during end-exhalation breath-holding (range: 0.

Global and Indian Scenarios of Fatal and Non-fatal Occupational Injuries: A Secondary Data Analysis.

Introduction: Fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries are one of the most important public health problems all over the world. Its number greatly varies from country to country over the years. Worldwide approximately 4% of global gross domestic product (GDP) is lost due to occupational injuries.

Increasing robustness of assay for immnosuppressive effect of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells: The role of inflammatory cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Introduction: The Quality by Design (QbD) approach for developing cell therapy products using mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) is a promising method for designing manufacturing processes to improve the quality of MSC products. It is crucial to ensure the reproducibility and robustness of the test system for evaluating critical quality attributes (CQAs) in the QbD approach for manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. In this study, we explored the key factors involved in establishing a robust evaluation system for the immunosuppressive effect of MSCs, which can be an example of a CQA in developing and manufacturing therapeutic MSCs for treating graft-versus-host disease, , and we have identified method attributes to increase the robustness of a simple assay to assess the immunosuppressive effects of MSCs.

Development of a novel instrument to measure Japanese psychiatric nurses' technological competency as caring in nursing.

Background: To effectively advance person-centered care (PCC) practice, it is important to equip healthcare providers with person-centered values and beliefs while simultaneously transforming their work environment to align with PCC. Thus, instruments to measure caring practice status in nursing competency for psychiatric-specific behavioral limitations, ethico-moral behavior, technology use, and PCC need to be developed.

Objective: This study developed the Technological Competency as Caring in Psychiatric Nursing Instrument (TCCNPNI) to measure practice status and test its content and construct validity.

Characteristics associated with career self-reliance behaviors of nurses working in nursing homes in Japan: A cross-sectional study.

Background: With an aging global population, establishing integrated systems for long-term care is challenging in several countries. Adequate and quality service for older adults in nursing homes can improve their quality of life. The career self-reliance of nurses working in nursing homes may affect the quality of life of older adults; this suggests a need for educational support for career self-reliance behavior.

Cerebral blood flow following successful living kidney transplantation: the VINTAGE study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant risk factor for cerebrovascular disease. However, there is limited research on how successful living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) affects cerebral blood flow (CBF). This study aims to comprehensively investigate how LDKT influences CBF across various brain levels and regions.

Achieving myoblast engraftment into intact skeletal muscle via extracellular matrix.

Cell therapy of skeletal muscles is a promising approach for the prevention of muscular diseases and age-related muscle atrophy. However, cell transplantation to treat muscle atrophy that does not involve disease, such as sarcopenia, is considered impossible because externally injected cells rarely engraft into non-injured muscle tissue. Additionally, skeletal muscle-specific somatic stem cells, called satellite cells, lose their ability to adhere to tissue after being cultured and transforming into myoblasts.

Prognostic value of liver metastasis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab.

Nivolumab has been approved for unresectable recurrent advanced esophageal cancer. The present study aimed to provide real-world data on diverse patient profiles, including the elderly and those with poor performance status, while exploring therapeutic efficacy biomarkers. This retrospective study included 42 patients with esophageal cancer who received nivolumab after second- or later-line treatment at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (Kyoto, Japan) from February 2020 to December 2021.

Second-line treatment patterns and outcomes in advanced HCC after progression on atezolizumab/bevacizumab.

Background & Aims: Atezolizumab/bevacizumab (A/B) is now a standard first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the optimal second-line regimen is not known. We evaluated real-world treatment patterns and outcomes to investigate factors associated with post-progression survival (PPS).

Methods: In this multicenter, international, retrospective study, we examined clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with advanced HCC who progressed on first-line A/B.

Impact of comorbid constipation on the survival of patients with heart failure: a multicenter, prospective cohort study conducted in Japan.

Background: Constipation frequently affects heart failure patients because of medication side effects and physiological effects of the condition. Although recent speculation suggests that comorbid constipation may affect cardiovascular disease onset and survival rates, this relationship remains unclear. We examined the effect of comorbid constipation on the survival of patients with heart failure.

Development of novel nucleic acid therapy aimed at directly controlling liver fibrosis.

Currently, no drugs directly treat liver fibrosis. Previously, we have shown that treatment with miR-29a-3p improved liver fibrosis in a mouse model. To investigate the effectiveness of nucleic acid therapy at a lower dose, a modified nucleic acid was prepared based on miR-29a-3p.

Achievement of guideline-based lipid goals among very-high-risk patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes: results in 213,380 individuals from the cvMOBIUS2 registry.

Objective: Lowering lipid to reach guideline-indicated goals significantly reduces cardiovascular outcomes in very-high-risk (VHR) patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and type 2 diabetes (DM2). How well VHR patients currently achieve these goals in community practice is unknown.

Methods: VHR patients with ASCVD and DM2 were identified across 14 US healthcare systems using electronic health records between 1/1/2021-12/31/2022.

Clinical results of carpal tunnel Re-release revision surgery and synovial wrap for recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome.

Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a challenging condition when conventional carpal tunnel revision surgery fails to alleviate symptoms. This study aims to assess the outcomes of combining carpal tunnel revision surgery with a synovial wrap for cases of recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome in patients who had adhered median nerve, with a minimum 1-year follow-up.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 10 patients (mean age: 73.

Pancreatic β cell-secreted factor FGF23 attenuates Alzheimer's disease-related amyloid β-induced neuronal death.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline and memory impairment. The pathophysiology of AD may involve aggregated amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation, which may underlie the disease mechanism. Patients with diabetes exhibit an elevated risk of developing AD, indicating potential therapeutic implications upon elucidating the underlying mechanisms.

Early diagnosis of cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in HIV-negative patients: Integration of brain MRI and clinical findings.

Purpose: Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patients are often diagnosed later than in HIV-infected patients, which increases mortality rates concerning the former. Consequently, early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for improving clinical prognosis in HIV-negative patients. This study investigated the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in combination with clinical and laboratory findings for early diagnosis of CM in HIV-negative patients.

Examination of Sensory Recovery of Breasts Reconstructed With Silicone Breast Implants After Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy.

Reconstructed breast with silicone breast implants (SBIs) after nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) provides high patient satisfaction from a cosmetic point of view, but low patient satisfaction with respect to hypoesthesia of the reconstructed breast, and reinnervation is required. Currently, few reports are available on reinnervation in breast reconstruction with implants, and detailed data on desensitization of reconstructed breasts are lacking. Therefore, we examined perceptual data after NSM with respect to reinnervation.

Clinicopathological Features of Mixed Connective Tissue Disease-Related Myositis: A Case Series.

Introduction: Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) patients often have myositis, however, myopathological and clinical data for MCTD are limited. Recent reports have shown that the pathology of MCTD myositis resembles that of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), whereas earlier reports described perifascicular atrophy or inflammatory infiltrates predominantly in the perivascular region in MCTD myositis. We aim to describe the clinical and myopathological features of MCTD myositis.

Regional brain iron correlates with transcriptional and cellular signatures in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The link between overload brain iron and transcriptional/cellular signatures in Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains inconclusive.

Methods: Iron deposition in 41 cortical and subcortical regions of 30 AD patients and 26 healthy controls (HCs) was measured using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). The expression of 15,633 genes was estimated in the same regions using transcriptomic data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA).