Myringoplasty: A comparison of inlay and underlay techniques.

Purpose: Myringoplasty aims to improve hearing and prevent otorrhea, making graft uptake rates and hearing crucial considerations. This study analyzed the factors associated with unsuccessful graft uptake and hearing improvement to guide the selection of optimal surgical approaches for myringoplasty.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 56 ears with chronic otitis media.

Tumor-associated macrophages promote bladder cancer metastasis through the CCL20-CCR6 axis.

We investigated the mechanisms of interaction between bladder cancer (BC) cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Coculturing BC cell lines (UMUC3 and T24) with macrophage-like cells differentiated from THP-1 into M2-like TAMs revealed a decrease in Cluster of Differentiation (CD) 68 expression and an increase in CD206 expression. This differentiation enhanced BC cell migration and invasion.

Comprehensive Genetic Testing for Coexisting Marfan and Loeys-Dietz Syndromes in Hereditary Thoracic Aortic Disease.

Hereditary thoracic aortic disease (HTAD) is a rare heritable condition with several subtypes, including Marfan syndrome (MFS), vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS). Although MFS is the most common type of HTAD caused by mutations in , differentiation from other conditions such as LDS is crucial due to the varying clinical courses. We report the case of a family history of early-onset ascending aortic dissection initially diagnosed as MFS based on a pathogenic variant of .

Performance improvements of virtual monoenergetic images in photon-counting detector CT compared with dual source dual-energy CT: Fourier-based assessment.

To confirm the performance improvement of virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) for iodine contrast tasks in a clinical photon-counting detector CT (PCD CT) using Fourier-based assessment, compared with those in the latest-generation dual-source dual-energy CT (DECT). A water-filled bath with a diameter of 300 mm, which contains rod-shaped phantoms equivalent to diluted iodine (2 and 12 mg/mL), was scanned using PCD CT and DECT at 15, 7.5, and 3 mGy.

Impact of body mass index on mortality, limb amputation, and bleeding in patients with lower extremity artery disease undergoing endovascular therapy.

The relation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and adverse outcomes after endovascular therapy (EVT) for patients with lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) remains incompletely understood. From April 2010 to March 2020, 199 consecutive patients who underwent EVT for LEAD were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into three groups based on BMI; underweight < 18.

FIVE-YEAR CHANGES IN METAMORPHOPSIA AND THE ASSOCIATION OF OUTER RETINAL LAYERS AFTER VITRECTOMY FOR RHEGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENT INVOLVING THE MACULA.

Purpose: To evaluate the 5-year changes in metamorphopsia and outer retinal morphology after vitrectomy for macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Methods: The authors included 21 eyes from 21 patients with macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment who underwent pars plana vitrectomy. Metamorphopsia was quantified using M-CHARTS.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Can Improve a Biomarker of Liver Fibrosis in Hypogonadal Men: A Subanalysis of a Prospective Randomized Controlled Study in Japan (EARTH Study).

Purpose: We investigated the effects of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) on the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index among hypogonadal patients who were extracted from a randomized controlled study in Japan (the EARTH study).

Materials And Methods: Data of 186 patients (88 in the TRT group; 98 in the control group) were collected. The patients in the TRT group received intramuscular administration of testosterone enanthate (250 mg) every 4 weeks for 12 months.

Microsatellite Instability-High and High Tumor Mutation Burden Frequencies in Urologic Malignancies Off-Label for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Japan: A Retrospective Single-Institutional Cohort.

Objectives Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) and high tumor mutation burden (TMB-high) frequencies were investigated to determine the efficacy and adverse events of pembrolizumab in patients with urologic malignancies (or their equivalents) for which immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are not covered by Japanese insurance. Methods Between February 2019 and April 2024, patients with urologic malignancies (or their equivalents) treated in our department for whom ICIs were not approved by Japanese insurance were screened with an MSI companion diagnostic kit or comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP). The efficacy of pembrolizumab therapy, presence of adverse events, and outcomes were evaluated retrospectively in patients with MSI-H or TMB-high.

Dose modification in enzalutamide and abiraterone plus prednisolone for castration-resistant prostate cancer: A subanalysis from the ENABLE study for PCa.

Background: A head-to-head comparison between enzalutamide (ENZ) and abiraterone plus prednisolone (ABI) revealed similar survival benefits for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in the ENABLE study for PCa. Considering that a dose reduction of ENZ and ABI has demonstrated sufficient inhibitory ability of androgen receptor (AR) signaling, we analyzed the efficacy of modified doses of these agents in the ENABLE study for PCa.

Methods: This investigator-initiated, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that was conducted in Japan analyzed the prespecified survival endpoints, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate ( ≥50% decline from baseline), and safety profile in patients treated with modified doses (ENZ ≤ 120 mg/day, ABI ≤ 750 mg/day) compared with those treated with a standard dose (ENZ 160 mg/day, ABI 1000 mg/day) as a starting dose.

A comparison of the efficacy of dutasteride on reducing lower urinary tract symptoms among patients with small versus large benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Background: Only a few reports have currently studied the efficacy of dutasteride in patients with small benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We investigated the efficacy of dutasteride on reducing lower urinary tract symptoms among them.

Materials And Methods: A total of 81 patients with BPH who completed 52weeks of 0.

Endothelial cell-specific LAT1 ablation normalizes tumor vasculature.

Some endothelial cells in the tumor vasculature express a system L amino acid transporter, LAT1. To elucidate the role of LAT1 in tumor-related endothelial cells, tumor cells were injected into endothelial cell-specific LAT1 conditional knockout mice (Slc7a5flox/flox; Cdh5-Cre-ERT2), and we found that the shape of the tumor vasculature was normalized and the size and numbers of lung metastasis was reduced. TNF-α-induced expression of VCAM1 and E-selectin at the surface of HUVEC, both of which are responsible for enhanced monocyte attachment and premetastatic niche formation, was reduced in the presence of LAT1 inhibitor, nanvuranlat.

Lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated DOCK11-siRNA efficiently reduces hepatitis B virus cccDNA level in infected mice.

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) infects many people worldwide. As HBV infection frequently leads to liver fibrosis and carcinogenesis, developing anti-HBV therapeutic drugs is urgent. Therapeutic drugs for preventing covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) production, which can eliminate HBV infection, are unavailable.

The 2023 revised diagnostic criteria for IgG4-related ophthalmic disease.

Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disease is a clinical entity characterized by elevated serum IgG4 concentrations and infiltration of IgG4-immunopositive plasmacytes in various organs, including ophthalmic lesions. Diagnostic criteria for IgG4-related ophthalmic disease (IgG4-ROD) were established in 2014 and describe the most affected ocular adnexal tissues such as lacrimal glands, trigeminal nerves and extraocular muscles, but do not mention optic neuropathy, the most severe indication of ophthalmic lesions. We reviewed published case reports of optic neuropathy in IgG4-related disease (n = 44), and in many cases, decreased visual acuities recovered well following treatment such as systemic corticosteroids, rituximab, and orbital surgery.

Impact of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index on In-hospital Thrombosis and Mortality in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19.

Objective To determine whether nutritional status is related to the incidence of thrombosis and mortality in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods A total of 496 consecutive patients who were admitted and diagnosed with COVID-19 between April 2020 and March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) on admission was calculated as follows: 14.

Histopathological growth pattern and vessel co-option in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) exhibits different blood imaging features and prognosis depending on histology. To clarity histopathological growth patterns (HGPs) and vascularization processes of iCCA, we collected 145 surgical specimens and histologically classified them into large bile duct (LBD) (20 cases), small bile duct (SBD) (54), cholangiolocarcinoma (CLC) (35), combined SBD-CLC (cSBD-CLC) (26), and ductal plate malformation (DPM) (10) (sub)types. According to the invasive pattern at the interface between tumor and adjacent background liver, HGPs were classified into desmoplastic, pushing, and replacing HGPs.

Three-dimensional analysis of partial restoration of spermatogenesis in vitamin A-deficient mice.

Background: An animal model of the partial restoration of spermatogenesis may be useful in the field of reproductive biology and medicine. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) induces the restorable arrest of spermatogenesis at the level of spermatogonia and is used as a mouse model of spermatogenesis disorder.

Objective: We aimed to establish an animal model in which spermatogenesis is partially restored by switching a vitamin A deficiency diet to a normal vitamin A-containing diet and conduct a comprehensive analysis to identify vulnerable sites in the seminiferous tubules that affect the efficient restoration of spermatogenesis in this model.

Preclose Versus Postclose Using Suture-Mediated Vascular Closure System for Catheter Ablation With Femoral Vein Access.

Background: Differences in the efficacy and safety between the preclose and postclose suture-mediated vascular closure systems for femoral vein access have not been adequately studied.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these 2 suturing techniques in femoral vein access.

Methods: Patients subjected to elective catheter ablation via the femoral vein using a sheath of 8- to 13-F inner diameter (n = 282) were randomized to the preclose or postclose groups for the single-suture technique using ProGlide/ProStyle (Abbott Vascular).