Evaluation of Fluoro-Jade C Staining: Specificity and Application to Damaged Immature Neuronal Cells in the Normal and Injured Mouse Brain.

Fluoro-Jade C (FJC) staining is widely used for the specific detection of all degenerating mature neurons, including apoptotic, necrotic, and autophagic cells. However, whether FJC staining can detect degenerating immature neurons and neural stem/precursor cells remains unclear. In addition, some conflicting studies have shown that FJC and its ancestral dyes, Fluoro-Jade (FJ) and FJB, can label resting/activated astrocytes and microglia.

Developing a mouse model of acute encephalopathy using low-dose lipopolysaccharide injection and hyperthermia treatment.

Acute encephalopathy (AE), mainly reported in East Asia, is classified into four categories based on clinical and neuropathological findings. Among them, AE caused by cytokine storm is known as the severest clinical entity that causes cerebral edema with poor prognosis. Because suitable and convenient model animal of AE had not been developed, the treatment of patients with AE is not established.

Multiple Skin Abscesses Caused by Rhizopus sp. Infection after Candida albicans Infection in an Immunocompromised Patient.

A 66-year-old woman with diabetes who was treated with prednisolone (15 mg/day) for autoimmune hepatitis developed multiple erythematous nodules with retention of purulent fluid on her lower right limb. Candida albicans was cultured from the nodules. She was started on oral fluconazole, and the lesions subsided.

Impact of major earthquakes on Parkinson's disease.

In April of 2016, major earthquakes occurred in Kumamoto, Japan. There is limited information on how major earthquakes affect patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This study investigates the effect of major earthquakes on patients with PD.

Risk factors for delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting with low-emetic-risk chemotherapy: a prospective, observational, multicenter study.

Purpose: Improvement in the control of delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is needed. There is limited information on antiemetic prophylaxis for patients undergoing low-emetic-risk chemotherapy (LEC), and the optimal antiemetic treatment is not well understood. Therefore, we analyzed the risk factors for delayed CINV to aid in the development of individualized treatments.

Muscle-dominant wild-type TDP-43 expression induces myopathological changes featuring tubular aggregates and TDP-43-positive inclusions.

Muscle histology of sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) demonstrates inflammatory findings and degenerative features including accumulation of TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43). However, whether sarcoplasmic accumulation of TDP-43 is a primary trigger of muscle degeneration or a secondary event resulting from muscle degeneration in the pathophysiology of sIBM remained unclear. Our study aimed to discover whether muscle-dominant expression of TDP-43 is a primary cause of muscle degeneration.

Long-term effects of edaravone on survival of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Edaravone, a free radical scavenger, was approved as a therapeutic drug for ALS in 2015 in Japan. A phase 3 clinical trial demonstrated a smaller decline in ALS functional scale scores compared with placebo.

Splice-site mutation causing partial retention of intron in the FLCN gene in Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome: a case report.

Background: Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by germline mutations in the folliculin gene (FLCN). Nearly 150 pathogenic mutations have been identified in FLCN. The most frequent pattern is a frameshift mutation within a coding exon.

Medical Attitudes Survey for Female Dystrophinopathy Carriers in Japan.

Objective This study attempted to clarify the current status of female dystrophinopathy carriers, including the numbers of patients, the status of genetic screening, the status of counseling, physicians' understanding, and barriers to registration. Methods We sent out questionnaires to 402 physicians registered in the Remudy dystrophinopathy registry. The total number of responses received was 130 (response rate: 32%).

[A case of myasthenia-like symptoms induced by cibenzoline overdosage].

The present patient was an 87-year-old man who had been taking cibenzoline for tachyarrhythmia. Five years after initiation of administration, he was referred to our hospital for ptosis that worsened from midday, as well as weakness of the facial and limb muscles. He tested negative for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody but positive in the edrophonium test, suggesting that he had myasthenia gravis.

[Investigation of the Efficacy of an Administration Plan for Tazobactam/Piperacillin (TAZ/PIPC) and the Incidence of Kidney and Hepatic Disorders].

Tazobactam/piperacillin (TAZ/PIPC) is widely used in the treatment of infectious disease. In this study, three hundred and sixty-three patients who were treated with the recommended dose of TAZ/PIPC were investigated for the proportion of time above the minimum inhibitory concentration (%TAM) and the frequency of renal and liver dysfunction. Of the whole patient population, 5.

CXCL12 and osteopontin from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells improve muscle regeneration.

Muscle satellite cells are essential for muscle regeneration. However, efficient regeneration does not occur without muscle-resident mesenchymal progenitor cells. We show here that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (Bm-MSCs) also facilitate muscle regeneration in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) model mice.

A prospective, observational, multicenter study on risk factors and prophylaxis for low emetic risk chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Purpose: The incidence of and the risk factors for nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing low emetic risk chemotherapy (LEC) are unclear. The aim of the study was to provide information on these topics by performing a multicenter, observational, prospective study.

Methods: The study consisted of patients who were administered first-time LEC that was consistent or inconsistent with current guidelines.

Prenatal diagnosis of Gaucher disease using next-generation sequencing.

In the prenatal diagnosis of Gaucher disease (GD), glucocerebrosidase (GBA) activity is measured with fetal cells, and gene analysis is performed when pathogenic mutations in GBA are identified in advance. Herein is described prenatal diagnosis in a family in which two children had GD. Although prior genetic information for this GD family was not obtained, next-generation sequencing (NGS) was carried out for this family because immediate prenatal diagnosis was necessary.

An Invasive Lepidic Predominant Adenocarcinoma Extensively Involving the Lung with Areas of Sarcomatoid Carcinoma Containing Osteoclast-like Giant Cells.

Primary lung tumor tissue exhibiting numerous multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells (OGCs) is an extremely rare histological type. In this study, we describe the case of an 82-year-old woman. Chest CT demonstrated an extensive crazy-paving appearance in both of the lung fields and a solid round mass in the right lower lobe.

Determination of the Optimal Concentration of Valproic Acid in Patients with Epilepsy: A Population Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Analysis.

Valproic acid (VPA) is one of the most widely prescribed antiepileptic drugs for the treatment of epileptic seizures. Although it is well known that the doses of VPA and its plasma concentrations are highly correlated, the plasma concentrations do not correlate well with the therapeutic effects of the VPA. In this study, we developed a population-based pharmacokinetic (PK)-pharmacodynamic (PD) model to determine the optimal concentration of VPA according to the clinical characteristics of each patient.

Cytochrome P450 2C19 polymorphisms and valproic acid-induced weight gain.

Objectives: Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 plays a role in the biotransformation of clinically relevant drugs as well as endogenous compounds, including sex hormones, which are known to be modulators of food intake and energy balance in humans. We attempted to investigate the influence of CYP2C19 polymorphisms on valproic acid (VPA)-induced weight gain.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective longitudinal study included 85 VPA-treated and 93 carbamazepine (CBZ)-treated (as a reference) young patients with epilepsy.

Recombinant soluble thrombomodulin for postoperative disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Background: Thrombomodulin is a thrombin receptor on the endothelial cell surface that plays an important role in the regulation of intravascular coagulation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment with recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rhTM) for patients with septic-disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) associated with gastroenterological surgery.

Materials And Methods: From April 2011-September 2013, 201 patients with DIC associated with gastroenterological surgery were treated in 16 institutions in Kumamoto, Japan.

Possible association between moderate intellectual disability and weight gain in valproic acid-treated patients with epilepsy.

Background: Although patients with moderate intellectual disability (ID) are known to have higher rates of being overweight and obese than those without ID, there are no current data regarding the relationship between ID and weight gain in epilepsy patients treated with valproic acid (VPA).

Patients And Methods: The possible association between moderate ID and an overweight status at the time of initiation of VPA therapy (baseline) was investigated using a logistic regression analysis in 143 patients with epilepsy. Among the 119 nonoverweight patients at baseline, the longitudinal association between moderate ID and the weight status during VPA therapy was retrospectively examined using a Cox hazards regression analysis and the generalized estimating equations approach, while also paying careful attention to associations with other patient characteristics.

Impact of the superoxide dismutase 2 Val16Ala polymorphism on the relationship between valproic acid exposure and elevation of γ-glutamyltransferase in patients with epilepsy: a population pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic analysis.

Background: There has been accumulating evidence that there are associations among γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) elevation and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the most common and potentially functional polymorphisms of antioxidant enzyme genes, i.e.

Effects of CYP2C19 and P450 oxidoreductase polymorphisms on the population pharmacokinetics of clobazam and N-desmethylclobazam in japanese patients with epilepsy.

Background: Clobazam (CLB) is a 1,5-benzodiazepine with antiepileptic properties. More than 70% of administered CLB is dealkylated to yield N-desmethylclobazam (N-CLB), a pharmacologically active metabolite, by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 and CYP2C19. The subsequent inactivation of N-CLB is primarily catalyzed by CYP2C19.

[An elderly case of anomalous systemic arterial supply to the normal basal segment of the left lower lobe and summary of reports of the disease in Japan].

A 69-year-old asymptomatic woman was admitted because of an abnormal chest shadow. Chest X-ray films showed a tumorous shadow behind the heart. Chest CT scans showed an aberrant artery branching from the thoracic aorta and supplying the left basal segment, but the bronchial tree was normal.

Update on the Genetic Polymorphisms of Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes in Antiepileptic Drug Therapy.

Genetic polymorphisms in the genes that encode drug-metabolizing enzymes are implicated in the inter-individual variability in the pharmacokinetics and pharmaco-dynamics of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). However, the clinical impact of these polymorphisms on AED therapy still remains controversial. The defective alleles of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 and/or CYP2C19 could affect not only the pharmacokinetics, but also the pharmacodynamics of phenytoin therapy.

[A case of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteriosis aggravated during treatment with etanercept for rheumatoid arthritis].

A 81-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was admitted to our hospital because of a productive cough and bloody sputum. She had been treated with etanercept, a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist, for 9 months before admission. A chest CT scan on admission showed small nodules, bronchiectasis and consolidations in bilateral lung fields.