Antibiotic Prescription Trends in Dentistry: A Descriptive Study Using Japan's National Database.

Objectives: Antibiotic prescription trends in dentistry in Japan remain underexplored. This study aimed to describe these trends and evaluate the impact of the national antimicrobial stewardship program launched in 2016.

Methods: Using Japan's national administrative claims database from fiscal year (FY) 2015 to FY 2020, this cross-sectional study comprehensively analyzed trends in antibiotic prescription by dentists.

Perceptions of Orthopedic and Musculoskeletal Practice Among Primary Care Physicians in Japan: A Questionnaire Survey Analysis of Jichi Medical University Graduates.

Background Primary care physicians (PCPs) are expected to engage in comprehensive medical care, including orthopedic and musculoskeletal problems. This study aimed to assess perceptions and current status regarding orthopedic and musculoskeletal practice among PCPs in Japan. Methodology A cross-sectional survey was conducted among PCPs who graduated from Jichi Medical University (JMU) with opportunities to treat orthopedic and musculoskeletal problems.

Isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia and three-year neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Background: To retrospectively investigate the developmental outcomes at 3 years of age in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) using a multicenter collaborative research approach.

Methods: We evaluated patients with CDH and no other malformations born between 2010 and 2016 in seven facilities in the Japanese CDH Research Group. The developmental quotient (DQ) at 3 years of age was evaluated using the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001, the most standardized scale in Japan.

Phage therapy could be key to conquering persistent bacterial lung infections in children.

Persistent bacterial lung infections in children lead to significant morbidity and mortality due to antibiotic resistance. In this paper, we describe how phage therapy has shown remarkable efficacy in preclinical and clinical studies, demonstrating significant therapeutic benefits through various administration routes. Ongoing trials are evaluating its safety and effectiveness against different pathogens.

Frequency of anti-IgLON5 disease in patients with a typical clinical presentation of progressive supranuclear palsy/corticobasal syndrome.

Serum anti-IgLON5 antibodies, which were tested in 223 patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for progressive supranuclear palsy/corticobasal syndrome (PSP/CBS), were negative in all patients. Our study suggests that the frequency of anti-IgLON5 disease is extremely rare in patients with typical presentation of PSP/CBS.

Impaired myocardial perfusion and myocardial inflammation of acute myopericarditis associated with COVID-19.

Unlabelled: Myocarditis and pericarditis, or myopericarditis, is a rare, albeit life-threatening, cardiac complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although most patients recover from myocardial inflammation within weeks of the acute infection, there are concerns about acute and long-term myocardial injury. Coronary microvascular dysfunction and myocardial inflammation in the affected myocardium might be key factors in developing acute COVID-19-associated myopericarditis.

Endometrial cancer with para-aortic lymph node metastasis following medroxyprogesterone acetate therapy: A case report.

Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) is a promising fertility-sparing treatment for early stage endometrial cancer; however, it has a high recurrence rate and is inferior to surgery. Although the site of recurrence is mostly the endometrium, we here report a case of metastatic recurrence to the para-aortic lymph node with endometrial recurrence despite a careful follow-up. A 31-year-old woman was diagnosed with grade 1 endometrioid carcinoma, stage IA without myometrial invasion.

Inherited metabolic diseases are a potent risk factor for cytomegalovirus infection in pediatric living donor liver transplantation.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major infectious complication in solid-organ transplant recipients, particularly in the context of pediatric liver transplantation. CMV serostatus is a well-established risk factor for postoperative CMV infection, with CMV seronegative recipients who receive organs from seropositive donors (D+/R-) being at the highest risk. Our previous research indicated a higher incidence of CMV infection in recipients with inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) compared with those with biliary atresia (BA).

Possible involvement of vitamin K insufficiency in the progression of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the vertebral column (OPLL) is a disease characterised by ectopic bone formation in the spinal ligament that causes progressive neurological impairment. However, there are no suitable treatments for OPLL. Here, we compared the general characteristics and haemostasis of patients with OPLL and those with cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of stromal p16 and p53 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

The tumor microenvironment is highly heterogeneous and consists of neoplastic cells and diverse stromal components, including fibroblasts, endothelial cells, pericytes, immune cells, local and bone marrow-derived stromal stem and progenitor cells, and the surrounding extracellular matrix. Although the significance of p16 and p53 has been reported in various tumor types, their involvement in the stromal cells of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains unclear. We performed immunohistochemical analyses of p16 and p53 expression in OSCC samples, Of the 116 samples, 74 showed p16-positive stromal cells, and 33 showed p53-positive stromal cells.

MicroRNA-3145 as a potential therapeutic target for hepatitis B virus: inhibition of viral replication via downregulation of HBS and HBX.

Current treatments for hepatitis B virus (HBV), such as interferons and nucleic acid analogs, have limitations due to side effects like depression and the development of drug-resistant mutants, highlighting the need for new therapeutic approaches. In this study, we identified microRNA-3145 (miR-3145) as a host-derived miRNA with antiviral activity that is upregulated in primary hepatocytes during HBV infection. The expression of its precursor, pri-miR-3145, increased in response to the the virus infection, and miR-3145 downregulated the hepatitis B virus S (HBS) antigen and hepatitis B virus X (HBX), thereby inhibiting viral replication.

Increased Non-Relapse Mortality in Older People With Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Using Fludarabine and Myeloablative Dose of Busulfan-Based Regimen.

Fludarabine and myeloablative busulfan (FluBu4) in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for older people have not been adequately examined. This retrospective study analyzed data from a large-scale, nationwide database in Japan. Adult patients (> 15 years old, y/o) who received their first HSCT with FluBu4 for hematological malignancies were included.

Validation of the A&D BP UA-1100NFC/UA-1100NFC-W, hoseless upper arm-type home blood pressure devices, according to the ISO81060-2:2018/Amd 1:2020 protocol.

The aim of this study was to validate the performance of the A&D UA-1100NFC hoseless devices of two cuff sizes in monitoring blood pressure (BP) in the upper arm according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 81060-2:2018/amendment (Amd) 1:2020 protocol. The accuracy of the UA-1100NFC (for arm circumferences of 22.0-32.

Preoperative vascular dysfunction is associated with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery.

Background: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) results in poor prognosis. Several risk factors for CSA-AKI have been reported, including preoperative creatinine level, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and perioperative blood pressure management. Only few studies have reported the effect of vascular stiffness on the incidence of CSA-AKI, and there are is no study reporting on endothelial function and its association with CSA-AKI.

A novel bioassay reflecting response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in non-small cell lung cancer with malignant pleural effusion.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has prolonged the survival of a proportion of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Histological quantification of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in tumors is a widely adopted marker for predicting the efficacy of ICI treatment. However, its use in patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is occasionally challenging because of the difficulty of tissue sampling.

Inflammasome Activation and Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Atherosclerosis.

The deposition of cholesterol containing cholesterol crystals and the infiltration of immune cells are features of atherosclerosis. Although the role of cholesterol crystals in the progression of atherosclerosis have long remained unclear, recent studies have clarified the involvement of cholesterol crystals in inflammatory responses. Cholesterol crystals activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, a molecular complex involved in the innate immune system.

Risk-adapted letermovir prophylaxis based on a scoring system predicting a higher burden of cytomegalovirus exposure after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

We previously reported that the area under the curve of log-transformed cytomegalovirus antigenemia (CMV-AUC) until 100 days after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) was associated with an increased risk of non-relapse mortality. We applied a risk-adapted letermovir (LTV) prophylaxis strategy guided by a risk score that predicts a higher CMV-AUC. First, we retrospectively analyzed 278 allo-HCT recipients between 2007 and 2017 (Period 1).

Low survival due to higher risk of relapse and non-relapse mortality after allogeneic HSCT in ATL compared with AML and ALL.

Background: Patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) are considered to have worse outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) than patients with other hematological malignancies, owing to high risk of relapse and immunocompromised status. However, no studies have compared transplant outcomes between patients with ATL and those with other hematological malignancies using a large-scale database.

Objectives: To compare transplant outcomes between patients with ATL and those with other leukemias and to identify factors contributing to worse transplant outcomes in ATL patients.

Betagenin ameliorates diabetes by inducing insulin secretion and β-cell proliferation.

Recent success with the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor analogs and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors for the treatment of patients with diabetes has highlighted the role of the intestine as an endocrine organ. Gut-derived hormones, including GLP-1, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), and ghrelin, have important roles in the control of energy metabolism and food intake, and are associated with the metabolic syndrome. In this study, we isolated and identified a new intestine-derived hormone, betagenin, and showed that it stimulates insulin secretion and β-cell proliferation and suppresses β-cell apoptosis.

Effectiveness and cytokine profile of combined anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and corticosteroid therapy for chronic retinal vein occlusion.

Purpose: To investigate whether sub-Tenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide (STTA) combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) prolongs the recurrence intervals of macular edema (ME) for chronic retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and to investigate the differences in intraocular inflammatory cytokines between good responders (GRs) and non-responders (NRs).

Methods: This retrospective, observational study involved 42 eyes of 42 patients with ME due to chronic RVO who had received only anti-VEGF for ≥ 1 year and were transitioned to combination therapy. GRs were defined as patients whose recurrence intervals were prolonged by ≥ 2 weeks compared with patients receiving anti-VEGF alone.

Association of clinical knowledge with patient care ownership among resident physicians: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan.

Purpose: Both clinical knowledge and patient care ownership (PCO) are crucial to the provision of quality patient care and should be acquired during training. However, the association between these two concepts is under-examined. Here, we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study to investigate the association between clinical knowledge and PCO among resident physicians in Japan.

Effectiveness of single-energy metal artifact reduction algorithm in CT: application to contrast-enhanced CT with EVAR and coil embolization.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the single-energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR) algorithm in reducing metal artifacts and enhancing image quality in contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) for patients undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) with coil embolization. Thirty-eight patients (mean age 81.0 ± 6 years; 31 men, 7 women) who underwent contrast-enhanced CT following EVAR and internal iliac artery coil embolization between September 2022 and May 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.