Cancer as an independent mortality risk in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: The management of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has advanced significantly in recent years, thereby improving patient prognosis. However, the impact of cancer on the outcomes of patients with CTEPH under current treatment remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cancer in patients with CTEPH and determine how comorbid cancer affects their prognosis and clinical course.

Effects of Palliative Surgical Treatment for Spinal Metastases on the Patient's Quality of Life With a Focus on the Segment of the Metastasis: A Prospective Multicenter Study.

Study Design: Prospective multicenter study.

Objectives: Palliative surgery is crucial for maintaining the quality of life (QOL) in patients with spinal metastases. This study aimed to compare the short-term outcomes of QOL after palliative surgery between patients with metastatic spinal tumors at different segments.

Risk Factors for Postoperative Shoulder Imbalance in Patients With Lenke Type 1 and 2 Scoliosis Treated Using the Vertebral Coplanar Alignment Technique.

Study Design: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Objective: We investigated the incidence of postoperative shoulder imbalance (PSI) and its risk factors in patients with Lenke types 1 and 2 scoliosis corrected using vertebral coplanar alignment (VCA).

Summary Of Background Data: PSI in scoliosis affects patient quality of life.

Reliability of ABC/2 volumetric estimation in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage for hematoma expansion prediction scores.

Introduction: Prediction scores for hematoma expansion in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), such as the 9-point and BRAIN scores, were developed predominantly using planimetry to measure hematoma volume. In this study, we aim to investigate whether the ABC/2 formula, which is known to overestimate hematoma volume, can be reliably used as a substitute for planimetry in these prediction scores.

Patients And Methods: A total of 429 patients from four hospitals were retrospectively enrolled.

Prognostic significance of early and multiple recurrences after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), postoperative recurrence remains high. This study aimed to evaluate the recurrence patterns and prognosis of HCC after curative hepatectomy.

Methods: Among 352 patients with primary HCC who underwent initial hepatectomy between January 2002 and December 2022, 151 with recurrence were assessed for the relationship between recurrence pattern and prognosis.

Clinical characteristics in adolescents and young adults with polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia in Japan.

We report the first large-scale retrospective cohort study on adolescent and young adult (AYA) polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) in Japan, a subgroup analysis using Japanese multicenter registry data (JSH-MPN-R18). This study included patients with PV (n = 31) or ET (n = 141) aged 20 to 39 years at the initial visit. Hemorrhage-free survival (HFS) was better in AYA ET than in non-AYA ET (5-year HFS: 100% vs.

Effects of Goreisan in the Perioperative Period of Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease.

Introduction: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may benefit from deep brain stimulation (DBS). Perifocal brain edema sometimes occurs after DBS surgery, but it is transient and does not affect the final prognosis. Transient deterioration of cognitive function has been reported in patients with frontal edema in the first postoperative week.

Irisin promotes intestinal epithelial cell proliferation via Wnt/β-catenin and focal adhesion kinase signaling pathways.

The regeneration of epithelia is crucial for maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Irisin is an exercise-induced hormone originally found to be secreted by skeletal muscles, thereby regulating energy metabolism. Recent studies have revealed that irisin protected against gut inflammation.

The peripheral chemoreflex and fetal defenses against intrapartum hypoxic-ischemic brain injury at term gestation.

Fetal hypoxemia is ubiquitous during labor and, when severe, is associated with perinatal death and long-term neurodevelopmental disability. Adverse outcomes are highly associated with barriers to care, such that developing countries have a disproportionate burden of perinatal injury. The prevalence of hypoxemia and its link to injury can be obscure, simply because the healthy fetus has robust coordinated defense mechanisms, spearheaded by the peripheral chemoreflex, such that hypoxemia only becomes apparent in the minority of cases associated with stillbirth, severe metabolic acidemia or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.

My Short-Term Neurointerventional Training in Thailand Supported by a Women's Observership Program of the World Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology.

This short report describes my personal experience of 1-month neurointerventional training at Ramathibodi Hospital in Thailand, supported by a women's observership grant from the World Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology, in which many interventional neuroradiology (INR) fellows from various regions of Thailand also participated. The training program allowed me to experience numerous neurointerventional cases and to acquire skills on how to function as a member of the INR team. This experience prompts me to contemplate the significance of team-based medicine and the role of women in the field of neurosurgery and INR.

Internal carotid artery dissection in a patient with Parkinson's disease after COVID-19 infection.

Background: Internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection is a relatively rare cause of acute ischemic stroke. Stretching and compression of ICA due to sudden acceleration, deceleration, and rotational forces are risk factors for ICA dissection. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is believed to trigger an inflammatory response that exacerbates endothelial dysfunction and leads to arterial dissection.

Short-term surgical outcomes of open, laparoscopic, and robot-assisted pancreatoduodenectomy: A comparative, single-center, retrospective study.

Purpose: Although laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) and robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy (RPD) are gradually gaining popularity, their advantages over open pancreaticoduodenectomy (OPD) remain controversial. This study aimed to compare the short-term outcomes of OPD, LPD, and RPD to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of each procedure.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 16 LPD, 43 RPD, and 36 OPD procedures performed at a single center between April 2020 and May 2024.

Effect of the magnitude of abrupt change in sound pressure on the magnitude and phase synchrony of 40-Hz auditory steady state response.

A periodic sound with a fixed inter-stimulus interval elicits an auditory steady-state response (ASSR). An abrupt change in a continuous sound is known to affect the brain's ongoing neural oscillatory activity, but the underlying mechanism has not been fully clarified. We investigated whether and how an abrupt change in sound intensity affects the ASSR.

Relationship between microvascular status and diagnostic performance of stress dynamic CT perfusion imaging.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between microvascular status in the non-ischemic myocardium and the diagnostic performance of stress dynamic CT perfusion imaging (CTP) in detecting hemodynamically significant stenosis.

Materials And Methods: This study included 157 patients who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), CTP, and invasive coronary angiography (ICA), including fractional flow reserve (FFR). Hemodynamically significant stenosis was defined by FFR and ICA.

Buparlisib and ponatinib inhibit aggressiveness of cholangiocarcinoma cells via suppression of IRS1-related pathway by targeting oxidative stress resistance.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an oxidative stress-driven liver cancer with bile duct epithelial cell phenotypes and currently lacks effective treatments, making targeted drug therapy urgently needed. Oxidative stress plays a critical role in CCA carcinogenesis, involving cells with oxidative stress resistance via upregulation of the PI3K and MEKK3 signaling pathways. In this study, we investigated the antineoplastic efficacy of a PI3K inhibitor (buparlisib) and a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (ponatinib) on CCA.

Prognostic Significance of Psoas Muscle Index in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Comparative Analysis of Lenvatinib and Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab.

Skeletal muscle loss has been identified as a prognostic factor in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) undergoing treatment with lenvatinib (LEN). While atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (ATZ-BEV) is recommended as first-line therapy for uHCC, the impact of skeletal muscle loss in these patients remains unclear. We enrolled 97 patients treated with either LEN or ATZ-BEV as their first-line therapy and divided them into two groups based on the presence or absence of a low psoas muscle index (low PMI) before treatment.