Impact of Janus kinase inhibitors and methotrexate on interstitial lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Objectives: Little is known about how various treatments impact the progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Here, we compared ILD progression in RA patients treated with Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) or biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). experiments were also performed to evaluate the potential effects of the drugs on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key event in pulmonary fibrosis.

Impact of intravascular ultrasound on limb events in endovascular therapy for patients with peripheral arterial disease: insights from the TOMA-CODE registry.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has become a standard procedure for performing coronary intervention, but its impact on peripheral endovascular therapy (EVT) remains unclear. To assess the usefulness of IVUS during EVT, this study analyzed over 2000 consecutive patients from the TOkyo-taMA peripheral vascular intervention research COmraDE (TOMA-CODE) registry with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in Japan. The primary outcome was chronic limb events (a composite of clinically driven target lesion revascularization (cTLR) and major amputation) during a two-year follow-up period.

Comparison of Plasma p-tau217 and [F]FDG-PET for Identifying Alzheimer Disease in People With Early-Onset or Atypical Dementia.

Background And Objectives: To compare the diagnostic performance of an immunoassay for plasma concentrations of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) 217 with visual assessments of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose [F]FDG-PET in individuals who meet appropriate use criteria for Alzheimer dementia (AD) biomarker assessments.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of individuals with early-onset (age <65 years at onset) and/or atypical dementia (features other than memory at onset), who were evaluated at a tertiary care memory clinic. All participants underwent measurements of CSF biomarkers (Aβ42, p-tau181, and total tau levels), as well as [F]FDG-PET scans, amyloid-PET scans, and plasma p-tau217 quantifications.

Modified Centralization Technique of Tibial Side Capsulodesis for Radial Tear of Incomplete Discoid Lateral Meniscus.

An incomplete discoid lateral meniscus is often associated with radial tears, which cause meniscal extrusion and result in poor healing outcomes. Centralization has recently been used as a surgical method to reduce extrusion. However, various repair techniques use single point of fixation sutures exclusively on the femoral side, potentially hindering healing.

Whole exome sequencing analysis of a patient with myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia and tyrosine kinase gene fusions with ETV6::LYN fusion gene.

ETV6::LYN fusion gene is recognized as one of the genetic alterations responsible for myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with eosinophilia and tyrosine kinase gene fusions (MLN-TK) according to the 2022 WHO classification. However, the clinical features and pathogenesis of MLN-TK with ETV6::LYN are not well defined because of the rarity of the disease. Here, we report an MLN-TK patient with ETV6::LYN that manifested as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) with eosinophilia, myelofibrosis, and T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL), which eventually led to acute myeloid leukemia.

Relationship Between Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Vulnerability of Culprit Plaque Assessed by OCT in Patients With Established Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is widely used for risk stratification. However, in patients with established coronary artery disease, its clinical implication and relationship with plaque vulnerability are unclear. We sought to correlate the CACS and plaque vulnerability assessed by optical coherence tomography.

Poor prognostic factors for relapse of interstitial lung disease in microscopic polyangiitis: the Japanese multicentre REVEAL cohort study.

Background: This study investigated poor prognostic factors for the relapse of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) after remission induction therapy.

Methods: We enrolled patients diagnosed with MPA complicated by ILD according to the Chapel Hill Consensus definition from 2001 to 2023 in multiple institutions in the REVEAL cohort. All patients who were treated with immunosuppressive therapy were followed up, and those who relapsed with ILD were extracted in this study.

Designing strong inducible synthetic promoters in yeasts.

Inducible promoters are essential for precise control of target gene expression in synthetic biological systems. However, engineering eukaryotic promoters is often more challenging than engineering prokaryotic promoters due to their greater mechanistic complexity. In this study, we describe a simple and reliable approach for constructing strongly inducible synthetic promoters with minimum leakiness in yeasts.

Clinical practice for migraine treatment and characteristics of medical facilities and physicians treating migraine: Insights from a retrospective cohort study using a Japanese claims database.

The real-world treatment patterns at medical facilities and their physicians' specialties treating migraine have not been fully investigated in Japan. Therefore, a retrospective cohort study aimed to describe real-world clinical practice and treatment patterns in Japanese patients with migraine according to medical facilities and physicians' specialties. Anonymized claims data of patients with migraine was obtained from JMDC Inc (January 2018-June 2023).

Comparing moderate-severe and severe mitral regurgitation in transcatheter aortic valve replacement on 1-year survival: insights from a Japanese Nationwide Registry.

This study aims to compare 1-year outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) between patients with moderate-severe MR and severe MR preoperatively using the Japan Transcatheter Valve Therapy (J-TVT) registry. Patients undergoing TAVR for aortic stenosis between August 2013 and December 2019 with preoperative mitral regurgitation of moderate-severe (group MR3) or severe (group MR4) were included. Patients with a history of valve surgery and dialysis patients were excluded.

Course and treatment of severe osteoporosis complicated by calciphylaxis: a case report.

Calciphylaxis, also known as calcific uremic arteriolopathy (CUA), is a rare disorder with many unknown treatment and diagnostic aspects. It is characterized by calcification and thrombosis of small blood vessels. This disease leads to progressive skin calcification, necrotizing ulcers, and infections and is associated with a high mortality rate.

New soft tissue data of pterosaur tail vane reveals sophisticated, dynamic tensioning usage and expands its evolutionary origins.

Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight. Early pterosaurs had long stiff tails with a mobile base that could shift their center of mass, potentially benefiting flight control. These tails ended in a tall, thin soft tissue vane that would compromise aerodynamic control and efficiency if it fluttered excessively during flight.

Effect of thymidine kinase-deficiency (∆ORF38) on neuropathogenicity of equine herpesvirus-1 in the mouse model and expression of neighboring genes.

Previous studies showed that deletion of the viral thymidine kinase (TK) gene in several alphaherpesviruses including EHV-1 reduced their virulence. Previously, we found that deletion of ORF37, which is located head-to-head with TK, decreased EHV-1 virulence in mice but did not affect the expression of TK mRNA. Therefore, deletion of ORF38 might also affect virulence by partially deleting the ORF37 promoter.

Evaluation of the digestion protocol of mouse neonatal epidermis for single-cell RNA sequencing.

The skin is primarily composed of keratinocytes and forms an effective barrier between the organism and external environment. Neonatal skin analysis is essential for understanding developmental processes and rare skin diseases. However, efficient single-cell dissociation methods for the neonatal mouse epidermis remain underexplored.

Generation of chimeric antigen receptor-macrophages by using human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Cancer immunotherapy using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) cells shows high therapeutic efficacy against several types of leukemia. Among acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALLs), B cell-derived ALL can be cured by CAR-expressing T cells (CAR-Ts); however, CAR-T cells cannot be simply applied for T cell-derived ALL (T-ALL) because antigens expressed by T-ALL cells, but not by CAR-T cells, have not yet been identified. To apply CAR-T therapy for T-ALL, gene editing of CAR-T cells is required to avoid attacking CAR-T cells themselves.

Diets and leisure activities are associated with curiosity.

Social connections are essential for human health. While curiosity and empathy are crucial psychological factors for a fulfilling life connected with others, it is unclear if acquired environmental factors influence them. In this cross-sectional observational study, 1,311 men and women aged 20-79 years living in Japan were observed to explore how lifestyle factors such as diet, sleep, and leisure activities (such as exercise and hobbies) impact curiosity and empathy.

Association between pulse pressure and risk of acute kidney injury after intracerebral hemorrhage.

The aim of this study was to determine whether pulse pressure (PP), an indicator of arterial stiffness, was independently associated with the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We enrolled patients with acute ICH from a multicenter stroke registry in Fukuoka, Japan, from June 2007 to September 2019. The mean PP, measured three times on the third day after admission, was categorized into three groups based on tertiles: G1 < 54 mmHg, G2 54-64 mmHg, and G3 ≥ 65 mmHg.

Comparison between DSQIID total / sub-item scores and plasma p-tau elevation in adults with Down's syndrome.

The Dementia Screening Questionnaire for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (DSQIID) is an appropriate screening tool for detecting dementia in Down's syndrome patients. However, whether this questionnaire reflects the neuropsychiatric signs of biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer's disease in DS (DS-AD) remains unknown. To address this issue, we compared the plasma phosphorylated tau (P181tau: p-tau) level of a representative AD biomarker with the total score and each sub-score of the DSQIID.

Evaluation of RMES, an Automated Software Tool Utilizing AI, for Literature Screening with Reference to Published Systematic Reviews as Case-Studies: Development and Usability Study.

Background: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are important to evidence-based medicine, but the information retrieval and literature screening procedures are burdensome tasks. Rapid Medical Evidence Synthesis (RMES; Deloitte Tohmatsu Risk Advisory LLC) is a software designed to support information retrieval, literature screening, and data extraction for evidence-based medicine.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of RMES for literature screening with reference to published systematic reviews.

Efficacy and safety of mosunetuzumab monotherapy for Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma: FLMOON-1.

Background: In a global phase I/II study (GO29781; NCT02500407), single-agent mosunetuzumab had a manageable safety profile and induced durable complete responses in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including in patients with R/R follicular lymphoma (FL). In this analysis, the efficacy and safety of mosunetuzumab monotherapy were evaluated in an expansion cohort, FLMOON-1, in Japanese patients with R/R FL who had received  ≥ 2 prior lines of therapy in a phase I study (JO40295, jRCT2080223801).

Methods: Mosunetuzumab was administered intravenously at the recommended phase II dose (with cycle 1 step-up dosing) for eight cycles or up to 17 cycles, or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.