Association Between Peripheral Blood Monocyte Count and Mucosal Healing in Japanese Patients With Ulcerative Colitis.

Introduction: Monocytes play an important role in innate immunity. Some epidemiological evidence indicates an association between peripheral blood monocytes and ulcerative colitis (UC). The association between peripheral blood monocytes and mucosal healing (MH), however, remains unclear.

Diagnostic Performance of Dynamic Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Using Dual-Source Computed Tomography.

Background: Single-center studies indicated a high diagnostic accuracy of dynamic computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD).

Objectives: This prospective multicenter study determined the diagnostic performance of combined coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and CTP for detecting hemodynamically significant CAD defined by invasive coronary angiography (ICA) with fractional flow reserve (FFR).

Methods: Seven centers enrolled 174 patients with suspected or known CAD who were clinically referred for ICA.

Fasting state is one of the factors associated with plasma levodopa fluctuations during levodopa‒carbidopa intestinal gel treatment.

Introduction: Some patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) undergoing levodopa‒carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) treatment experience motor fluctuations in the afternoon. The migrating motor complex, a specific periodic migrating contraction pattern occurring in the stomach and small intestine during the fasting state, can affect drug absorption. We aimed to compare the pharmacokinetic parameters between two conditions (with and without lunch) and assessed the influence of the fasting state on the levodopa pharmacokinetics in LCIG treatment.

The impact of tube replacement timing during LCIG therapy on PEG-J associated adverse events: a retrospective multicenter observational study.

Background: Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) treatment, a unique drug delivery system for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), is covered by health insurance in Japan since September 2016. Various LCIG procedure/device-associated adverse events (AEs) have been reported; however, reports on their treatment have been limited. This is the first multicenter study to clarify the frequency and timing of device-related AEs.

AFP and eGFR are related to early and late recurrence of HCC following antiviral therapy.

Background: An unexpected recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) sometimes occurs in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) after treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). However, the characteristics of patients with HCC recurrence may differ depending on time after DAA treatment. We aimed to identify risk factors related to HCC recurrence according to time after DAA treatment.

Effect of disease duration on the association between serum albumin and mucosal healing in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Objective: Serum albumin is used as a marker of acute inflammation. Several studies have addressed the association between serum albumin and clinical outcome in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). While mucosal healing (MH) has been indicated as the therapeutic goal for UC, the association between serum albumin and MH remains unclear.

Pancreas stiffness in liver cirrhosis is an indicator of insulin secretion caused by portal hypertension and pancreatic congestion.

Aim: Portal hypertension induces pancreatic congestion and impaired insulin secretion in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). However, its mechanism is unclear, with no established noninvasive imaging method for the evaluation of its pathogeneses. The present study focused on pancreas stiffness, as assessed by shear wave elastography (SWE), and examined its association with portal hypertension and insulin secretion.

Successful Management of Parkinson's Disease Dyskinesia During Local Anesthesia With Dexmedetomidine.

Dyskinesia is among the most problematic issues for local anaesthesia management in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. We present a case of a patient with PD who underwent spinal anaesthesia while utilizing dexmedetomidine (DEX) to reduce dyskinesia during urological surgery. DEX stimulates α₂-adrenergic receptors, which works to reduce the dyskinesia in PD patients.

The inverse association between unhealthy eating habit and mucosal healing among patients with ulcerative colitis.

Background: Although the association between eating habits which can be modified and digestive diseases has been reported, to date, no research has evaluated the association between eating habits and ulcerative colitis (UC). Thus, we investigate the association between eating behavior and clinical outcome in Japanese patients with UC.

Methods: Eating quickly, eating until full, and skipping breakfast data was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire.

Comparison between conventional and compressed sensing cine cardiovascular magnetic resonance for feature tracking global circumferential strain assessment.

Background: Feature tracking (FT) has become an established tool for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-based strain analysis. Recently, the compressed sensing (CS) technique has been applied to cine CMR, which has drastically reduced its acquisition time. However, the effects of CS imaging on FT strain analysis need to be carefully studied.

Serum Globulin Is Associated with Endoscopic Findings and Mucosal Healing in Japanese Patients with Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Serum globulin is an inflammation marker. To date, no evidence regarding the association between serum globulin and disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis has been reported.

Aims: We evaluated the association between serum globulin and endoscopic activity in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Association between platelet count and mucosal healing in Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Mucosal healing (MH) has been indicated as the therapeutic goal for ulcerative colitis (UC). Platelet count is known as an inflammation evaluation. However, the association between platelet count and MH among patients with UC is still scarce.

Association between serum bilirubin and mucosal healing among Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Bilirubin is known to have antioxidant effects. Several pieces of evidence regarding association between serum bilirubin and UC exist. Three studies found that serum bilirubin was inversely associated with severity of ulcerative colitis (UC), but no evidence regarding an association between serum bilirubin and mucosal healing (MH) has yet been shown.

Three cases of rheumatoid meningitis with elevated CSF neopterin levels.

Rheumatoid meningitis (RM) is a rare but treatable central nervous system (CNS) manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with various clinical presentations and atypical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings. There are no established biomarkers for RM, making diagnosis a challenge. Herein, we present three cases of RM: two patients with RA diagnosis and one without.

Comparison of compressed sensing and conventional coronary magnetic resonance angiography for detection of coronary artery stenosis.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of compressed sensing (CS) and conventional coronary magnetic resonance angiography (CMRA) in detecting coronary artery stenosis.

Method: Twenty-eight patients underwent 3 T contrast-enhanced CS and conventional CMRA; for late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging, 0.1 mmol/kg gadolinium medium was infused.

Sex difference in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma after direct-acting antiviral therapy in patients with HCV infection.

Sex differences in the predictors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy was investigated. DAA therapy was given to 1438 (663 male, 775 female) patients. Sex differences in the HCC development rate and the factors contributing to HCC development after DAA therapy were investigated.

Changes of Visual Symptoms and Functions in Patients with and without Dry Eye after Lacrimal Passage Obstruction Treatment.

: To determine the quality of life (QOL) and quality of vision (QOV) of patients who developed and did not develop dry eye disease (DED) after nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO) treatment. : This was a retrospective nonrandomized observational study of 91 patients diagnosed with unilateral NLDO. The subjects underwent lacrimal stent insertion, and the stent was removed after 10-12 weeks.

A novel MRGPRX2-targeting antagonistic DNA aptamer inhibits histamine release and prevents mast cell-mediated anaphylaxis.

Anaphylaxis during general anaesthesia is a significant clinical challenge for anaesthesiologists. Approximately 50% of perioperative anaphylaxis cases lack the presence of specific IgE antibodies. Mas-related G-protein coupled receptor X2 (MRGPRX2) in humans and its mouse orthologue Mas-related G-protein coupled receptor B2 (Mrgprb2) are crucial receptors in non-IgE-dependent histamine release.

A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of duloxetine for pain in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Duloxetine proved effective for treating pain in people with Parkinson's disease in a single-arm, open-label study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of duloxetine in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: We randomly assigned 46 patients with Parkinson's disease with pain to either the duloxetine 40 mg/day arm or the placebo arm.

Feasibility of contrast-enhanced coronary artery magnetic resonance angiography using compressed sensing.

Background: Coronary magnetic resonance angiography (CMRA) is a promising technique for assessing the coronary arteries. However, a disadvantage of CMRA is the comparatively long acquisition time. Compressed sensing (CS) can considerably reduce the scan time.