Dual blockade of MET and VEGFR2 signaling pathways as a potential therapeutic maneuver for peritoneal carcinomatosis in scirrhous gastric cancer.

Scirrhous gastric cancer frequently develops into peritoneal carcinomatosis with malignant ascites, leading to an extremely poor prognosis. We had demonstrated that paracrine hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-induced MET activation promotes peritoneal carcinomatosis with ascites formation. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor (VEGFR)/VEGF axis facilitates tumor progression and formation of malignant ascites.

Compromised Blood Flow in the Optic Nerve Head after Systemic Administration of Aldosterone in Rats: A Possible Rat Model of Retinal Ganglion Cell Loss.

Purpose: To investigate the optic nerve head (ONH) blood flow, retinal vessel diameters, and retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss after systemic administration of aldosterone in rats.

Methods: Aldosterone (80 µg/kg/day) or vehicle was administered using an osmotic minipump in Brown Norway rats. The mean blur rate in the vessel (MV) and tissue (MT) regions and retinal vessel diameters in the ONH were measured by laser speckle flowgraphy before and 1, 2, and 4 weeks after administration of aldosterone or vehicle.

Ultrasonic Wave Pericardiectomy for IgG4-Related Constrictive Pericarditis.

An 80-year-old woman presented with rare immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related constrictive pericarditis. She underwent pericardiectomy, pericardiotomy, and crosshatching incision of the epicardium using an ultrasonic wave scalpel suitable for the feature of IgG4-related disease. Thereafter, her cardiac function improved remarkably.

Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on the Associations of Cardiovascular Biomarkers With Adverse Outcomes in Patients With Suspected or Known Coronary Artery Disease: The EXCEED-J Study.

Background The impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on the prognostic utility of cardiovascular biomarkers in high-risk patients remains unclear. Methods and Results We performed a multicenter, prospective cohort study of 3255 patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD) to investigate whether CKD modifies the prognostic utility of cardiovascular biomarkers. Serum levels of cardiovascular and renal biomarkers, including soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-I (hs-cTnI), cystatin C, and placental growth factor, were measured in 1301 CKD and 1954 patients without CKD.

The Contribution of Deleterious Rare Alleles in ENPP1 and Osteomalacia Causative Genes to Atypical Femoral Fracture.

Context: Atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) are very rare atraumatic or mild trauma fractures in the subtrochanteric region or femoral shaft. Some unique genetic variants in Asian populations might confer susceptibility to AFF, since the incidence of AFFs is higher in Asian populations.

Objective: Because rare variants have been found to be causative in some diseases and the roles of osteomalacia causative genes have not been reported, we investigated rare variants in genes causing abnormal mineralization.

Surgeons have hesitated early cholecystectomy because of cardiovascular comorbidities during adoption of guidelines.

The introduction of the guidelines has resulted in an increase of laparoscopic surgeries performed, but the rate of early surgery was still low. Here, the initial effect of the introduction of the guideline was confirmed in single center, and factors disturbing early cholecystectomy were analyzed. This study included 141 patients who were treated for acute cholecystitis from January 2010 to October 2014 at Kanazawa Medical Center.

Prediction of post-radiotherapy survival for bone metastases: a comparison of the 3-variable number of risk factors model with the new Katagiri scoring system.

We investigated patient survival after palliative radiotherapy for bone metastases while comparing the prognostic accuracies of the 3-variable number of risk factors (NRF) model and the new Katagiri scoring system (Katagiri score). Overall, 485 patients who received radiotherapy for bone metastases were grouped as per the NRF model (groups I, II and III) and Katagiri score (low-, intermediate- and high-risk). Survival was compared using the log-rank or log-rank trend test.

Conjoined tendon preserving posterior approach in hemiarthroplasty for femoral neck fractures: A prospective multicenter clinical study of 322 patients.

Purpose: The posterior approach is widely used in femoral hemiarthroplasty. The major problem with this approach is the high risk of postoperative dislocation. A modified posterior approach, the conjoined tendon preserving posterior approach (CPP), was developed to reduce postoperative dislocations.

A High Risk of Missing Congenital Cytomegalovirus-Associated Hearing Loss through Newborn Hearing Screening in Japan.

It remains unclear to what extent newborn hearing screening (NHS) detects congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV)-associated sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in Japan. This study aimed to clarify the NHS results and audiological characteristics of patients with cCMV-associated SNHL. A total of 541 individuals with unilateral or bilateral hearing loss of unknown etiology were examined for cCMV infection.

A nationwide survey concerning the mortality and risk of progressing severity due to arterial and venous thromboembolism in inflammatory bowel disease in Japan.

Background: The mortality and risk factors of severe disease and death due to arterial and venous thromboembolism (ATE and VTE, respectively) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remain unclear, especially in Asia.

Aims: This study aimed to reveal the mortality and risk factors of TE in IBD patients in Japan.

Methods: In the primary surveillance, responses to questionnaires regarding the number of cases of severe TE and TE-associated death in IBD patients in a span of over the past 10 years were obtained from 32 institutions in Japan.

Impact of the relationship between hemoglobin levels and renal interstitial fibrosis on long-term outcomes in type 2 diabetes with biopsy-proven diabetic nephropathy.

Background: Progression of renal anemia has been shown to be associated with advanced renal tubulointerstitial lesions. This retrospective study investigated the impact of lower hemoglobin (Hb) levels and renal interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) on long-term outcomes in type 2 diabetes with biopsy-proven diabetic nephropathy.

Methods: A total of 233 patients were enrolled.

Clinical Features and Resistance to Entecavir Monotherapy of Patients with Hepatitis B.

Aim: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health concern worldwide. Entecavir (ETV), a first-line nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) for HBV, has a low risk of resistance. We evaluated the efficacy of ETV monotherapy, ratio of ETV-resistant, and the clinical features of patients with ETV resistance.

Regional disturbance of the distribution of T regulatory cells and T helper cells associated with irregular-shaped germinal centers in immunoglobulin G4-related sialadenitis.

Although many germinal centers (GCs) have been reported in immunoglobulin (Ig) G4-related disease, the significance of GCs in IgG4-related disease has not received attention. Both T follicular regulatory cells (Tfr), which are regulatory T cells (Treg) in GCs, and T follicular helper cells (Tfh) produce the cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 and regulate GC development. In whole-slide image analysis in surgical specimens using immunohistochemistry, IgG4-related sclerosing sialadenitis (IgG4-SS, n = 17) was characterized by markedly numerous, large, and irregular-shaped GCs with increased IL-10 + cells and Tfr and Tfh in the total area of the salivary gland compared with controls, including patients with chronic sialadenitis (n = 17) and Sjögren syndrome (n = 15).

Soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 and prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure.

Aims: Endothelial cell vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) plays a pivotal role in angiogenesis, which induces physiological cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via paracrine signalling between endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes. We investigated whether a decrease in circulating soluble VEGFR-2 (sVEGFR-2) levels is associated with poor prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: We performed a multicentre prospective cohort study of 1024 consecutive patients with HF, who were admitted to hospitals due to acute decompensated HF and were stabilized after initial management.

Suitability of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration versus Paired Transbronchial Biopsy Specimens for Evaluating Programmed Death Ligand-1 Expression in Stage III and IV Lung Cancer: A Comparative Retrospective Study.

Cancer cells usually escape tumor-reactive T-cell responses using immune checkpoint proteins, such as programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) and its ligand, programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1). These proteins can be blocked by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs); the decision on ICI-based first-line treatment for advanced lung cancers depends on the PD-L1 levels in tumor specimens. Determining the PD-L1 expression conventionally requires histological specimens from resected tumors and core biopsy specimens.

Restorative effect of adipose tissue-derived stem cells on impaired hepatocytes through Notch signaling in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis mice.

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have been suggested as a novel treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); however, the mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effect remain poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of Notch signaling, which is crucial for cellular proliferation and differentiation in ADSC-mediated treatment of NASH. Flow cytometry analysis of ADSCs showed that they expressed the Notch ligands JAG1, DLL1, and DLL4.

Low free testosterone level as a predictor of cardiovascular events in Japanese men with coronary risk factors.

We investigated whether low plasma free testosterone (FT) levels could predict cardiovascular events (CVE) in Japanese men with coronary risk factors. Male patients with classical coronary risk factors who had undergone serum FT testing were enrolled. New incidences of CVE were retrospectively investigated among all eligible participants based on their medical records.

Nivolumab-Induced Polymyalgia Rheumatica in a Patient with Lung Adenocarcinoma.

A 79-year-old woman was diagnosed with stage IV (cT1aN1M1, OSS) lung adenocarcinoma with bone metastasis of the right femur. She received nivolumab as a third-line treatment. She developed pain in the right shoulder, left wrist, right knee, and waist as well as a low-grade fever and morning stiffness, after five courses of nivolumab.

Late-onset programmed cell death protein-1 inhibitor-induced pneumonitis after cessation of nivolumab or pembrolizumab in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a case series.

Awareness of the immune-related adverse event of programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor-induced pneumonitis is important. Herein, we report the clinical course of 3 patients suspected to have PD-1 inhibitor-induced pneumonitis after cessation of PD-1 inhibitor treatment. In case 1, a 62-year-old man was diagnosed with stage IVA adenocarcinoma.