Post-intervention minimal stent area as a predictor of target lesion revascularization after everolimus-eluting stent implantation for in-stent restenosis: a single-center observational study.

Background: Everolimus-eluting stent (EES) is effective for treating in-stent restenosis (ISR). However, the long-term incidence of target lesion revascularization (TLR) is unknown. Further, the role of post-intervention minimal stent area (MSA) measured by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in TLR is unknown in this setting.

Leg Muscle Strength After Lateral Interbody Fusion Surgery Recovers Over Time After Temporary Muscle Weakness.

Study Design: Case-control study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to reveal the changes of leg muscle strength after lateral interbody fusion (LIF).

Summary Of Background Data: Muscle trauma and damage to intermuscular nerves due to dissection of the psoas are recognized perioperative complications of LIF.

Characteristics of gout patients according to the laterality of nephrolithiasis: A cross-sectional study using helical computed tomography.

Objective: To clarify the clinical and laboratory characteristics of nephrolithiasis in gout by computed tomography (CT).

Methods: In 350 gout patients, unenhanced CT was performed at the 1st visit to hospital. Calculus density spots exceeding 1 mm in diameter with a CT value >120 Hounsfield units in the kidneys were defined as kidney stones.

Predictive factors for hyperglycaemic progression in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Background: Patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Aims: To identify predictive factors for hyperglycaemic progression in individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and to determine whether hyperglycaemic progression rates differ among antipsychotics in regular clinical practice.

Method: We recruited 1166 patients who initially had normal or prediabetic glucose levels for a nationwide, multisite, l-year prospective cohort study to determine predictive factors for hyperglycaemic progression.

When to switch from bilateral to unilateral electroconvulsive therapy: A simple way to elicit seizures in high seizure threshold cases.

Aims: Although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective for various psychiatric disorders, its therapeutic effect depends on the occurrence of adequate seizures. Thus, the management of inadequate seizures remains a clinical problem. Here, we aimed to develop a simple method to elicit adequate seizures in high seizure threshold patients during ECT sessions.

Bereavement risk assessment of family caregivers of patients with cancer: Japanese version of the Bereavement Risk Assessment Tool.

Objectives: The Bereavement Risk Assessment Tool (BRAT) seems to be useful in identifying those who are likely to suffer from the more severe consequences of bereavement. To date, however, only a few studies have examined bereavement risk using the BRAT. This study investigated bereavement risk in family caregivers of patients with cancer using the Japanese version of the Bereavement Risk Assessment Tool (BRAT-J).

Factors related to difficult self-expandable metallic stent placement for malignant colonic obstruction: A post-hoc analysis of a multicenter study across Japan.

Background And Aim: Colorectal cancer patients often present with large bowel obstruction. Elective placement of a self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) can relieve obstruction, but can be challenging. Previous studies have compared cases by outcomes only, but the present study investigated successful cases only to identify factors related to prolonged and difficult SEMS placement in patients with malignant colonic obstruction.

Self-expandable metallic stenting as a bridge to surgery for malignant colorectal obstruction: pooled analysis of 426 patients from two prospective multicenter series.

Background: Self-expandable metallic stenting (SEMS) for malignant colorectal obstruction (MCO) as a bridge to elective surgery (BTS) is a widely used procedure. The aim of this study was to assess short-term outcomes of SEMS for MCO as BTS.

Methods: This study analyzed pooled data from BTS patients who were enrolled in two multicenter prospective single-arm observational clinical studies that used different stent types.

Antithyroid Drugs Inactivate TSH Binding to the TSH Receptor by their Reducing Action.

Unlabelled: Backgroud and Objective: Antithyroid drugs (ATDs) [methylmercaptoimidazole (MMI) and propylthiouracil (PTU) ] are used to treat hyperthyroidism in Graves' disease. The effect of ATDs and reducing agents (mercaptoethanol, dithiothreitol and cysteine) on bovine (b) TSH binding to human (h) and porcine (p) TSH receptor (R) was examined.

Methods And Results: (1) ATDs was pre-incubated with hTSHR coated tube for 1- 4 h, washed free of ATDs, and then 125I-bTSH binding to hTSHR after 1 h incubation was examined.

Effect of three-dimensional rotational deformity correction in surgery for adult degenerative scoliosis using lumbar lateral interbody fusion and posterior pedicle screw fixation.

Introduction: Corrective surgery for adult degenerative scoliosis using lateral interbody fusion (LIF) and additional posterior fixation is an efficient procedure. However, it is unclear how this procedure affects rotational deformity correction. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to use three-dimensional (3D) images, taken during surgery, to investigate rotational deformity correction in the treatment of adult degenerative scoliosis using LIF and posterior fixation using a pedicle screw system.

Improvement of Upper Extremity Deficit after Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Combined with and without Preconditioning Stimulation Using Dual-hemisphere Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Peripheral Neuromuscular Stimulation in Chronic Stroke Patients: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

In this study, we investigated the effects of dual-hemisphere transcranial direct current stimulation (dual-tDCS) of both the affected (anodal tDCS) and non-affected (cathodal tDCS) primary motor cortex, combined with peripheral neuromuscular electrical stimulation (PNMES), on the effectiveness of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) as a neurorehabilitation intervention in chronic stroke. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of feasibility, with a single blind assessor, with patients recruited from three outpatient clinics. Twenty chronic stroke patients were randomly allocated to the control group, receiving conventional CIMT, or the intervention group receiving dual-tDCS combined with PNMES before CIMT.

The Capsule Endoscopy Findings in S-1-induced Enteritis with Severe Diarrhea during Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Gastric Cancer (with Video).

Although S-1 chemotherapy is used widely as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer, some patients experience diarrhea during treatment. The patient was a 39-year-old woman who underwent distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer and who had started S-1 chemotherapy as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy 1 week before her presentation. She experienced severe diarrhea immediately after starting the course of S-1 tablets.

Prolonged Dysphagia due to a Combination of Cerebral Hemorrhage and Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis: A Case Report.

A 79-year-old man was diagnosed with left thalamic hemorrhage. On admission, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor score was 13 points, and the Food Intake Level Scale (FILS) was Level 2, with the patient needing enteral nutrition. Six months after stroke onset, the FIM motor score had improved to 38 points and the dysphagia to FILS Level 7.

The effects of object height and visual information on the control of obstacle crossing during locomotion in healthy older adults.

In order to safely avoid obstacles, humans must rely on visual information regarding the position and shape of the object obtained in advance. The present study aimed to reveal the duration of obstacle visibility necessary for appropriate visuomotor control during obstacle avoidance in healthy older adults. Participants included 13 healthy young women (mean age: 21.

GWAS of clinically defined gout and subtypes identifies multiple susceptibility loci that include urate transporter genes.

Objective: A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of gout and its subtypes was performed to identify novel gout loci, including those that are subtype-specific.

Methods: Putative causal association signals from a GWAS of 945 clinically defined gout cases and 1213 controls from Japanese males were replicated with 1396 cases and 1268 controls using a custom chip of 1961 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We also first conducted GWASs of gout subtypes.

The effects of URAT1/SLC22A12 nonfunctional variants, R90H and W258X, on serum uric acid levels and gout/hyperuricemia progression.

Urate transporter 1 (URAT1/SLC22A12), a urate transporter gene, is a causative gene for renal hypouricemia type 1. Among several reported nonsynonymous URAT1 variants, R90H (rs121907896) and W258X (rs121907892) are frequent causative mutations for renal hypouricemia. However, no case-control study has evaluated the relationship between gout and these two variants.

ABCG2 variant has opposing effects on onset ages of Parkinson's disease and gout.

Uric acid (urate) has been suggested to play a protective role in Parkinson's disease onset through its antioxidant activity. Dysfunction of ABCG2, a high-capacity urate exporter, is a major cause for early-onset gout based on hyperuricemia. In this study, the effects of a dysfunctional ABCG2 variant (Q141K, rs2231142) were analyzed on the ages at onset of gout patients (N = 507) and Parkinson's disease patients (N = 1015).

Genome-wide association study of clinically defined gout identifies multiple risk loci and its association with clinical subtypes.

Objective: Gout, caused by hyperuricaemia, is a multifactorial disease. Although genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of gout have been reported, they included self-reported gout cases in which clinical information was insufficient. Therefore, the relationship between genetic variation and clinical subtypes of gout remains unclear.

Common variants of cGKII/PRKG2 are not associated with gout susceptibility.

Objective: Recently, genetic analyses indicated the association between gout and cGMP-dependent protein kinase 2 (cGKII/PRKG2) gene in a Fukien-Taiwanese heritage population. However, no replication study has been reported in other ancestries. Therefore, we investigated this association in a Japanese population.

ABCG2 dysfunction causes hyperuricemia due to both renal urate underexcretion and renal urate overload.

Gout is a common disease which results from hyperuricemia. We have reported that the dysfunction of urate exporter ABCG2 is the major cause of renal overload (ROL) hyperuricemia, but its involvement in renal underexcretion (RUE) hyperuricemia, the most prevalent subtype, is not clearly explained so far. In this study, the association analysis with 644 hyperuricemia patients and 1,623 controls in male Japanese revealed that ABCG2 dysfunction significantly increased the risk of RUE hyperuricemia as well as overall and ROL hyperuricemia, according to the severity of impairment.

The prevalence of nephrolithiasis in patients with primary gout: a cross-sectional study using helical computed tomography.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of nephrolithiasis in gouty patients by computed tomography (CT) imaging and to compare it with the "prevalence" of urolithiasis calculated from histories of urinary tract calculus.

Methods: The kidneys of 383 male patients with primary gout were examined using an unenhanced 2-row helical CT detector, imaging at 2 mm collimation and a helical pitch of 3. The urolithiasis history of the 383 patients was investigated by inquiry.

[Urolithiasis and nephropathy complicated with gout].

Urolithiasis is a clinically important complication of gout. For effective prevention of this complication, it is necessary to comprehend the factors known to be important in its development. Our analysis of stones in gout patients revealed that the incidence of common calcium salt stones was over 60%, while that of uric acid stones was only about 30%.