The Clinical Significance of Interstitial Pneumonia with Autoimmune Features in Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia: A Prospective Multicenter Observational Study.

There are cases of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) that do not meet the diagnostic criteria for connective tissue disease but have clinical features suggestive of autoimmune process. Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) was recently proposed as a research concept for these patients. Although several prospective studies on IPAF have been conducted, its clinical significance in cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP) remains unclear.

A quantitative analysis of progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease on computed tomography for the assessment of decreased vital capacity.

Background: The results of a quantitative analysis of computed tomography (CT) of interstitial lung disease (ILD) using a computer-aided detection (CAD) technique were correlated with the results of pulmonary function tests.

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between a quantitative analysis of CT of progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease (PF-ILD) including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and non-IPF, which can manifest progressive pulmonary fibrosis and the vital capacity (VC), and to identify indicators for the assessment of a decreased VC.

Material And Methods: A total of 73 patients (46 patients with IPF and 27 patients with non-IPF) were included in this study.

The Roles of Neuropeptide Y in Respiratory Disease Pathogenesis via the Airway Immune Response.

The lungs are very complex organs, and the respiratory system performs the dual roles of repairing tissue while protecting against infection from various environmental stimuli. Persistent external irritation disrupts the immune responses of tissues and cells in the respiratory system, ultimately leading to respiratory disease. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-amino-acid polypeptide and a neurotransmitter that regulates homeostasis.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia mortality risk associated with preceding long-term steroid use for the underlying disease: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Long-term steroid use increases the risk of developing Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP), but there are limited reports on the relation of long-term steroid and PcP mortality.

Methods: Retrospective multicenter study to identify risk factors for PcP mortality, including average steroid dose before the first visit for PcP in non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-PcP patients. We generated receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for 90-day all-cause mortality and the mean daily steroid dose per unit body weight in the preceding 10 to 90 days in 10-day increments.

An immunocompetent case of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis caused by Aspergillusviridinutans.

We encountered an extremely rare immunocompetent case of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) caused by Aspergillus viridinutans. A 74-year-old woman was admitted with fever and hemoptysis. Chest computed tomography revealed a nodule in the left upper lobe.

Nontuberculous mycobacterial abscess of lacrimal sac and eyelid debridement: Case report.

Key Clinical Message: It is important to stain acid-fact bacilli on the smear of abscess puncture in addition to Gram stain to detect nontuberculous and tuberculous mycobacteria in the early phase since both can cause rare and challenging extrapulmonary manifestations.

Abstract: A 56-year-old otherwise healthy woman developed abscess from dacryocystitis in the right lower eyelid. The smear of puncture fluid showed acid-fast bacilli and was identified after a month.

A randomized controlled trial of teprenone in terms of preventing worsening of COVID-19 infection.

Background: Some COVID-19 patients develop life-threatening disease accompanied by severe pneumonitis. Teprenone induces expression of heat-shock proteins (HSPs) that protect against interstitial pneumonia in preclinical models. We explored whether teprenone prevented worsening of COVID-19 infections.

Radiation-Induced Lung Injury With Lung Cancer Treated With the Combination Therapy of Nintedanib and Dexamethasone.

Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) associated with lung cancer becomes refractory. Nintedanib is a multi-kinase inhibitor that suppresses the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Herein, we report a case of RILI with progressive pulmonary fibrosis after stereotactic body radiation therapy in a 70-year-old man with lung cancer.

Assessment of the long-term efficacy and safety of adjunctive perampanel in adolescent patients with epilepsy: Post hoc analysis of open-label extension studies.

Objective: This post hoc analysis of four open-label extension (OLEx) studies evaluated the long-term efficacy and safety of adjunctive perampanel in adolescent patients (aged 12 to ≤17 years) with focal-onset seizures (FOS), with/without focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FBTCS), or generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS).

Methods: Patients who completed one of six double-blind, placebo-controlled studies could enter one of four OLEx studies comprising a blinded Conversion Period (6-16 weeks) followed by a Maintenance Phase (27 to ≤256 weeks; perampanel dose: ≤12 mg/day). Exposure, retention, seizure outcomes, and treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were analyzed.

[Steroid resistance of severe asthma - mechanisms and therapeutic targets].

Asthma therapy in general has improved a lot in recent years, but it is still a major problem that severe asthma, which accounts for 10 to 20%, still suffers from strong symptoms on a daily basis despite all therapeutic agents used in combination. American SARP and European ENFUMOSA started in 2000 to advance pathophysiological insights of severe asthma. Clinical usage of antibodies and inhibitors against IgE, TNF, IL-5, IL-4, IL-13, and TSLP are also accumulating.

Pneumonia Caused by Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Positive for Exfoliative Toxin A and Secondary to Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant  (CA-MRSA) causes severe pneumonia. Previous reports found that CA-MRSA producing the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) or toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) triggered severe necrotizing pneumonia. However, other toxins and genetic factors responsible for CA-MRSA pneumonia are rarely analyzed in Japan.

Four-repeat tauopathies and late-onset psychiatric disorders: Etiological relevance or incidental findings?

Argyrophilic grain disease (AGD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration are four-repeat (4R) tauopathies that develop in the presenium or later. Whether these diseases are associated with the occurrence of late-onset psychiatric disorders remains unclear. To facilitate the accumulation of clinicopathological findings regarding this issue, we here present a selected series of 11 cases that clinically developed psychotic disorder (n = 7; age at onset: 41-75 years), depressive disorder (n = 1; 49 years), bipolar disorder (n = 2; 32 and 37 years) and somatoform disorder (n = 1; 88 years), and had at least one pathological hallmark of these tauopathies.

A case of nonmucinous pulmonary micropapillary adenocarcinoma mimicking pulmonary tuberculosis.

We report a rare case of nonmucinous pulmonary micropapillary adenocarcinoma mimicking pulmonary tuberculosis. A 68-year-old woman was hospitalized with hemoptysis. Her computed tomography revealed cavities and tree-in-bud appearance similar to the extensive form of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Molecular Epidemiology of Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Japan.

Clinical isolates of drug-resistant (isoniazid and/or rifampicin-resistant) Mycobacterium tuberculosis were obtained from 254 patients diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis in Japan from April 2015 to March 2017 in National Hospital Organization hospitals. The 254 patients were approximately 32% of all 795 patients who were diagnosed with culture-confirmed drug-resistant tuberculosis from 2015 to 2016 nationwide in Japan. The whole-genome sequences of all the isolates from the 254 patients and the lineages of these isolates were determined, and phylogenetic trees were constructed based on single nucleotide polymorphism concatemers.

A Phase 3 open-label study of the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of buccally administered midazolam hydrochloride for the treatment of status epilepticus in pediatric Japanese subjects.

Background: In Japan, intravenous (IV) administration of antiepileptic drugs in a healthcare setting is the preferred treatment option that is both licensed and recommended for initial treatment of status epilepticus (SE). However, prompt conveyance to a healthcare institution and IV access may be difficult in patients experiencing a seizure and so delay treatment. Thus, there is an unmet need for an alternative effective antiepileptic drug with an easier and more rapid mode of administration.