Mental Workload and Prefrontal Brain Activity During Silent Reading Task in University Students with Problematic Smartphone Use.

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) is common among young people and linked to poor academic performance. However, how PSU affects learning processes remains unclear. This study investigated the influence of auditory cue stimulation during a reading task on the mental workload and prefrontal brain activity of young individuals with PSU.

Relationship Between Medical Therapy, Long-Term Care Insurance, and Comorbidity in Elderly Patients With Heart Failure With Systolic Dysfunction.

Background: Although guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), including β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), improves survival and quality of life, most patients with heart failure with reduced (HFrEF) and mildly reduced (HFmrEF) ejection fraction are treated with inadequate medications. We investigated the prescription patterns of GDMT in elderly patients with HFrEF and HFmrEF and their characteristics, including the certification of long-term care insurance (LTCI), which represents frailty and disability.

Methods and results: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed 1,296 elderly patients with symptomatic HFrEF and HFmrEF with diuretic use (median age 78 years; 63.

Predictive biomarkers of ossification progression and bone metabolism dynamics in patients with cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Purpose: This study aimed to establish biomarkers to predict the progression of ossification by examining ossification volume and bone metabolism dynamics in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL).

Methods: We assessed OPLL progression using computed tomography-based three-dimensional (3D) image analysis and examined bone metabolism dynamics in 107 patients with OPLL (men, 72; women, 35; mean age, 63.6 years).

Overlapping states of AWGS muscle dysfunction and inverse feasibility of ADL recovery by rehabilitation in older inpatients.

Rehabilitation based on guided walking is effective to recover activity of daily living (ADL) in frail older adults, even octogenarians. However, muscle dysfunction obviously reflects disability, and few studies have focused on ADL recovery by rehabilitation. We employed the state of muscle dysfunctions proposed by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) in 2019 and attempted to clarify the relation between the overlapping dysfunctions and the feasibility of ADL recovery after rehabilitation.

Significance of PSA Screening in Niigata, Japan: Survey of Actual Status of New Cases of Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the utility of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening by conducting an all-case survey of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients at Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

Patients And Methods: Depending on whether patients were subjected to screening, information was prospectively collected on all prostate cancer patients newly diagnosed between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020, at all institutions in Niigata Prefecture where urologists performing prostate biopsy routinely work and differences in clinical parameters were investigated.

Results: PSA was measured in 478 out of 1332 patients (35.

Incidence and Risk Factors of Future Need for Long-Term Care Insurance in Japanese Elderly Patients With Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction.

Background: Heart failure in elderly people causes physical and cognitive dysfunction and often requires long-term care insurance (LTCI); however, among patients with left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction, the incidence and risk factors of future LTCI requirements need to be elucidated.

Methods and results: The study included 1,852 patients aged ≥65 years with an echocardiographic LV ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤50%; we referred to their LTCI data and those of 113,038 community-dwelling elderly people. During a mean 1.

Detailed features and prognostic factors of twenty-three patients with drop finger caused by cervical radiculopathy: a retrospective multicentre study.

Purpose: It has been reported that C7 and C8 nerve root impairment can cause drop finger; however, the clinical characteristics of each injured nerve root and post-operative outcomes remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the detailed features and surgery-related prognostic factors of drop finger caused by cervical radiculopathy.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics, paralysis patterns and surgery-related prognostic factors of 23 patients with drop finger caused by cervical radiculopathy who underwent posterior cervical foraminotomy.

Relationships Between Survival and Oral Status, Swallowing Function, and Oral Intake Level in Older Patients with Aspiration Pneumonia.

The factors affecting the survival of patients with aspiration pneumonia (AP) remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether factors, including oral status, swallowing function, and oral intake level, were related to survival outcomes in older patients hospitalized for AP. The study enrolled patients with AP who were admitted to our hospital between February 2017 and November 2019.

WT1-specific CD8 + cytotoxic T cells with the capacity for antigen-specific expansion accumulate in the bone marrow in MDS.

Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1) is a tumor-associated antigen and immunotherapy target in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Further information is needed on the characteristics of WT1-specific CD8 + T cells to develop immunotherapeutic strategies for MDS. To clarify the frequency, distribution, and phenotype of WT1-specific CD8 + T cells, which occur innately in MDS patients, we analyzed paired peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) samples from 39 patients with MDS or acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes.

Effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination in young Japanese women: a retrospective multi-municipality study.

In Japan, government support for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination began in November 2010. However, the mass media repeatedly reported on severe adverse events. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare suspended proactive recommendations for HPV vaccines in June 2013.

Diabetes mellitus and risk of new-onset and recurrent heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Despite mounting evidence of the positive relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and heart failure (HF), the entire context of the magnitude of risk for HF in relation to DM remains insufficiently understood. The principal reason is because new-onset HF (HF occurring in participants without a history of HF) and recurrent HF (HF re-occurring in patients with a history of HF) are not discriminated. This meta-analysis aims to comprehensively and separately assess the risk of new-onset and recurrent HF depending on the presence or absence of DM.

Three-dimensional morphological analysis of cervical foraminal stenosis using dynamic flexion-extension computed tomography images.

Background: Morphological features of foraminal stenosis in cervical spondylotic radiculopathy and the adequate extent of facet resection in posterior cervical foraminotomy remain uncertain. Herein, we evaluated quantitatively foraminal widths in cervical spondylotic radiculopathy on dynamic flexion-extension computed tomography using a novel three-dimensional analysis method and determined the extent of facet resection in posterior cervical foraminotomy.

Methods: Seventeen patients undergoing posterior cervical foraminotomy for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were evaluated.

Thermolabile polymorphism of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2: A genetic risk factor of overall acute encephalopathy.

Objectives: Acute encephalopathy is an acute brain dysfunction after preceding infection, consisting of multiple syndromes. Some syndromes, such as acute encephalopathy with biphasic seizures and late reduced diffusion (AESD), are severe with poor outcome, whereas others, such as clinically mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with reversible splenial lesion (MERS), are mild with favorable outcome. Previous study reported the association of the thermolabile polymorphism in Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 2 (CPT2) gene and severe syndromes of acute encephalopathy.

Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Group G Infection.

Immune-mediated central nervous system manifestations of group A -hemolytic (GABHS) infection include Sydenham's chorea, pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection (PANDAS)-which includes tic and obsessive compulsive disorders-and a variety of neurobehavioral disorders. We report a case of subspecies (group G ) (GGS) infection associated with involuntary movements, complex tics, and emotional lability in an 11-year-old Japanese girl. Serum IgM and IgG antibodies to lysoganglioside were positive, and she responded rapidly to intravenous immunoglobulin treatment.

Different diuretic properties between tolvaptan and furosemide in congestive heart failure patients with diuretic resistance and renal impairment: a subanalysis of the K-STAR.

We attempted to identify the difference in diuretic properties between tolvaptan (TLV) and furosemide (FUR) in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients with loop diuretic resistance and renal impairment. We investigated 81 CHF patients with loop diuretic treatment and renal impairment included in t he Kanagawa Aquaresis Investigators Trial of Tolvaptan on Heart Failure Patients with Renal Impairment (K-STAR). Predictive baseline factors and their changes during treatment periods were analyzed for correlation with percentage change in urine volume (%ΔUV) after additive introduction of TLV or increasing doses of FUR.

Pupillary Light Reflex as a New Prognostic Marker in Patients With Heart Failure.

Background: Autonomic function can be evaluated based on the pupillary light reflex (PLR). However, the relationship between PLR and prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF) remains unclear. This study was performed to examine whether PLR could be used as a prognostic indicator in patients with HF.

The baseline speed of 10-m gait predicts ambulatory discharge for hospitalized frail elderly after DOPPO rehabilitation.

The discharge of elderly patients from hospital on the basis of their independent gait program (DOPPO) is a new rehabilitation strategy for physically frail hospitalized elderly that aims to recover independent gait and to achieve ambulatory discharge. We retrospectively investigated baseline determinants of physical measures associated closely with the 6-min walking distance (6MWD) after DOPPO. Participants were 137 consecutive elderly inpatients, irrespective of the causative disease (mean age: 82±7 years; 76 women), who had a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score of less than 12 and low independent walking capacity.

Usefulness of a pleuroperitoneal shunt for treatment of refractory pleural effusion in a patient receiving maintenance hemodialysis.

Refractory pleural effusion can be a life-threatening complication in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis. We report successful treatment of refractory pleural effusion using a Denver® pleuroperitoneal shunt in one such patient. A 54-year-old Japanese man, who had previously undergone left nephrectomy, was admitted urgently to our department because of a high C-reactive protein (CRP) level, right pleural effusion, and right renal abscess.