Relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and CYLD expression in patients with cholesteatoma.

Middle ear cholesteatoma is a destructive disease in which inflammation plays an important role in development and progression, and there are currently no biomarkers predicting prognosis or recurrence. Cylindromatosis (CYLD), a tumor suppressor deubiquitinase, serves as a negative regulator of inflammation expressed in tissues including the middle ear. To determine the clinical significance of CYLD in acquired cholesteatoma, we evaluated CYLD expression in acquired cholesteatoma tissue by immunostaining and analyzed its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics.

Does an impaired lexicon produce legitimate alternative reading of components (LARC) errors in reading Japanese Kanji? Evidence from two-Kanji compound word reading in a Japanese-speaking patient with aphasia.

Several studies have reported a strong association between semantic system impairment and LARC error production. However, our patient with a left temporal lobe contusion, including the fusiform gyrus, showed LARC errors even in two-Kanji compound words, the meanings of which the patient understood. Also, the poor results of lexical decision and picture naming suggested problems in orthographic and phonological retrieval.

Novel dot-blot assay for detection of vascular Notch3 aggregates in patients with CADASIL.

To detect vascular Notch3 extracellular domain aggregates in CADASIL, we developed a novel dot-blot assay with both autopsy and biopsy skin samples. We obtained samples from 11 patients with CADASIL and 12 control patients, and we performed dot-blot analyses by using sequential biochemical tissue extractions with three different antibodies against specific regions of the Notch3 extracellular domain. We also analyzed clinical features and vascular accumulations of Notch3 by immunohistochemistry.

Effects of Statin Plus Ezetimibe on Coronary Plaques in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Sub-Analysis of PRECISE-IVUS Trial.

Aim: Coronary plaque regression is weak in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). We evaluated whether dual lipid-lowering therapy (DLLT) with ezetimibe and atorvastatin attenuates coronary plaques in ACS patients with DM.

Methods: The prospective, randomized controlled, multicenter PRECISE-IVUS (Plaque Regression with Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitor or Synthesis Inhibitor Evaluated by Intravascular Ultrasound) trial assigned 246 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention to DLLT or atorvastatin monotherapy and evaluated IVUS-derived changes in percent atheroma volume (ΔPAV), at baseline and 9-12-month follow-up, in 126 ACS cases, including 25 DM patients.

Tsukushi is essential for the development of the inner ear.

Tsukushi (TSK)-a small, secreted, leucine-rich-repeat proteoglycan-interacts with and regulates essential cellular signaling cascades. However, its functions in the mouse inner ear are unknown. In this study, measurement of auditory brainstem responses, fluorescence microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy revealed that TSK deficiency in mice resulted in the formation of abnormal stereocilia in the inner hair cells and hearing loss but not in the loss of these cells.

Imaging-guided PCI for event suppression in Japanese acute coronary syndrome patients: community-based observational cohort registry.

Although there is accumulating evidence for the usefulness of imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), there are few studies for acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and the impact of the frequency of use has not been well addressed. From the Kumamoto Intervention Conference Study; a Japanese registry comprising 17 institutions, consecutive patients undergoing successful PCI from April 2008 through March 2014 were enrolled. Subjects were divided into two groups: imaging-guided PCI and angiography-guided PCI.

Prenatal electroporation-mediated gene transfer restores Slc26a4 knock-out mouse hearing and vestibular function.

The otocyst, an anlage of the inner ear, presents an attractive target to study treatment strategies for genetic hearing loss and inner ear development. We have previously reported that electroporation-mediated transuterine gene transfer of Connexin30, utilizing a monophasic pulse into Connexin30 mouse otocysts at embryonic day 11.5, is able to prevent putative hearing deterioration.

A rare anastomosis between the root of common hepatic artery and proper hepatic artery: implications for pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Background: Hepatic artery anomalies are often observed, and the variations are wide-ranging. We herein report a case of pancreatic cancer involving the common hepatic artery (CHA) that was successfully treated with pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) without arterial reconstruction, thanks to anastomosis between the root of CHA and proper hepatic artery (PHA), which is a very rare anastomotic site.

Case Presentation: A 78-year-old woman was referred to our department for the examination of a tumor in the pancreatic head.

CT texture analysis for the prediction of KRAS mutation status in colorectal cancer via a machine learning approach.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether a machine learning-based computed tomography (CT) texture analysis could predict the mutation status of V-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) in colorectal cancer.

Method: This retrospective study comprised 40 patients with pathologically confirmed colorectal cancer who underwent KRAS mutation testing, contrast-enhancement CT, and F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) before treatment. Of the 40 patients, 20 had mutated KRAS genes, whereas 20 had wild-type KRAS genes.

Role of Dach1 revealed using a novel inner ear-specific Dach1-knockdown mouse model.

The gene is expressed in the inner ear of normal mouse embryos in the area that differentiates into the cochlear stria vascularis (SV). We hypothesised that downregulation in the inner ear would lead to SV dysplasia. However, because knockout is embryonic lethal in mice, the role of in the inner ear is unclear.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of once-daily insulin degludec/insulin aspart (IDegAsp) and long-acting second-generation basal insulin (insulin degludec and insulin glargine 300 units/mL) in insulin-naïve Japanese adults with type 2 diabetes: a pilot, randomized, controlled study.

To examine the efficacy and safety of once-daily insulin degludec/insulin aspart (IDegAsp) or once-daily second-generation basal insulin analogs (insulin degludec and insulin glargine 300 units/mL) in insulin-naïve Japanese adults with type 2 diabetes in routine clinical practice. A 12-week multicenter, open-label, randomized, pilot study was performed in 52 subjects with type 2 diabetes treated with oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs). Subjects were randomized to once-daily IDegAsp (n = 26) or basal insulin (n = 26).

Clipping on Crossed Wrapping Method for Ruptured Blood Blister-Like Aneurysm of the Internal Carotid Artery: Technical Note and Long-Term Results.

Background: We have been performing the clipping on crossed wrapping (COCW) method using 2 strips of cotton on patients with an internal carotid artery blood blister-like aneurysm (IC-BLA). This method is reliable in preventing the clips from slipping off and the aneurysm walls from being damaged during clipping, and it enables more appropriate and safer clipping. Here we report the technical details of this method and the long-term outcomes of patients receiving this procedure.

Non-microscopic Middle Ear Cholesteatoma Surgery: A Case Report of a Novel Head-Up Approach.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of a postauricular transcortical mastoidectomy utilizing an exoscope, which offers 3D stereoscopic visualization.

Study Design: Clinical capsule report.

Patients: Two consecutive patients with cholesteatoma involvement in the mastoid cavity were included in the study.

TIAM1 promotes chemoresistance and tumor invasiveness in colorectal cancer.

Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer cells with stem cell-like features have higher resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Herein, we identified T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis-inducing protein-1 (TIAM1) as one of the Wnt-signaling associated genes which drives self-renewal and its expression is upregulated by cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs). TIAM1 expression was assessed in resected colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues from 300 patients who did or did not respond to chemotherapy.

Pharyngocutaneous fistula caused by dried 'Kombu' (edible seaweed) after total laryngectomy.

The most common early complication after total laryngectomy is pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF). However, there are no reports of PCF after total laryngectomy caused by 'Kombu' (edible seaweed) as a foreign body in the digestive tract. A 68-year-old Japanese man had undergone total laryngectomy 5 years previously.

A genomewide transcriptomic approach identifies a novel gene expression signature for the detection of lymph node metastasis in patients with early stage gastric cancer.

Background: Although identification of lymph node (LN) metastasis is a well-recognized strategy for improving outcomes in patients with gastric cancer (GC), currently there is lack of availability of adequate molecular biomarkers that can identify such metastasis. Herein we have developed a robust gene-expression signature for detecting LN metastasis in early stage GC by using a transcriptome-wide biomarker discovery and subsequent validation in multiple clinical cohorts.

Methods: A total of 532 patients with pathological T1 and T2 GC from 4 different cohorts were analyzed.

Long-term changes in vocal function after supracricoid partial laryngectomy with cricohyoidoepiglottopexy for laryngeal cancer.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess changes in vocal function over time following supracricoid partial laryngectomy with cricohyoidoepiglottopexy (SCL-CHEP).

Methods: A total of 17 patients who underwent SCL-CHEP for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma between 2007 and 2015 were reviewed. We examined maximum phonation time (MPT), mean airflow rate (MFR), voice intensity, the grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain (GRBAS) scale, Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10), and voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) scores.

Dual-energy computed tomography colonography using dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography: Utility of virtual monochromatic imaging for electronic cleansing.

Objective: To assess the utility of virtual monochromatic imaging (VMI) using a dual-layer spectral detector CT for electronic cleansing in fecal-tagging CT colonography (CTC).

Methods: This study included 35 patients who underwent fecal-tagging CTC with a dual-layer detector spectral CT scanner. Conventional images at 120 kVp and VMI at 40, 50, and 60 keV were reconstructed.

The effect of cochlear implants on vestibular-evoked myogenic potential responses and postural stability.

Objective: Current spread by electrical stimulation via inserted cochlear implant (CI) electrodes and the consequential increase in sound input can affect the equilibrium of patients. The aim of the present study was to clarify the effect of CIs on the equilibrium of patients through cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) testing and static stabilometry performed with the CIs turned on (CI-on) and off (CI-off).

Methods: This prospective study included nine adult patients who underwent unilateral cochlear implantation surgery at our institution.

Impact of statin-ezetimibe combination on coronary atheroma plaque in patients with and without chronic kidney disease - Sub-analysis of PRECISE-IVUS trial.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) deteriorates the prognosis of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Because coronary artery disease (CAD) is the major cause of death in CKD patients, cardiovascular risk reduction has been clinically important in CKD. We hypothesized intensive lipid-lowering with statin/ezetimibe attenuated coronary atherosclerotic development even in patients with CKD.

Serum Prolactin Contributes to Enhancing Prolactin Receptor and pJAK2 in Type I Endometrial Cancer Cells in Young Women Without Insulin Resistance.

Elevated levels of serum prolactin and a high expression of prolactin receptor (PRLR) in cancer cells was recently identified in patients with endometrial cancer (EC). However, the impact of prolactin on EC remains unknown. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical and immunohistochemical characteristics of hyperprolactinemic patients with EC according to the pathogenetic types, type I and type II.

Dose-dependent INhibitory effect of rosuVastatin In Japanese patienTs with Acute myocardial infarcTION on serum concentration of matrix metalloproteinases - INVITATION trial.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is mainly characterized by the rupture of lipid-rich vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been shown to play a critical role in inflammatory processes underlying plaque rupture. Some reports suggested statins inhibit the increased MMP levels after AMI.

Data on two- and three-dimensional optical coherence tomography guidance for the treatment for the bifurcation lesion.

This article comprised the data related to the research article entitled "Feasibility and usefulness of three-dimensional optical coherence tomography guidance for optimal side branch treatment in coronary bifurcation stenting" (Nagoshi et al., In press) [1]. In this article we reports details about two patterns of guide wire (GW) recrossing position after crossover stenting in bifurcation lesion classified with three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT) (Okamura et al.