Oral infectious bacteria in dental plaque and saliva as risk factors in patients with esophageal cancer.

Background: High levels of periodontopathic bacteria as well as Streptococcus anginosus were detected in cancer tissue from patients with esophageal cancer. An association between oral infectious bacteria and esophageal cancer has been reported.

Methods: Characteristics of the oral microbiota and periodontal conditions were studied as clinicopathologic factors in patients with esophageal cancer.

PET findings in lymphomatosis and gliomatosis of the brain: a comparison of C-11 methionine PET/CT and F-18 FDG PET/CT.

Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) findings for gliomatosis and lymphomatosis have been rarely reported.

Purpose: To compare PET/computed tomography (CT) findings using C-methionine (MET) from PET/CT findings using F-fluorodeoxy glucose (FDG) for patients with lymphomatosis or gliomatosis of the brain.

Material And Methods: Participants comprised all 10 patients with lymphomatosis or gliomatosis of the brain treated at our institution in the past 12 years.

Clinical comparison of an electric-powered ionic toothbrush and a manual toothbrush in plaque reduction: A randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the plaque removal efficacy of a newly developed electric-powered ionic toothbrush vs. a manual toothbrush.

Materials And Methods: Manual or electric-powered ionic toothbrushes were randomly assigned to 30 healthy volunteers divided into two groups (Phase I).

The effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy using yellow-green LED and rose bengal on Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a new antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) system using yellow-green light-emitting diode (YGL) and rose bengal (RB) on Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) in vitro.

Materials And Methods: Pg suspension mixed with RB was irradiated with YGL (565 nm) or blue light-emitting diode (BL, 470 nm) at 428 mW/cm in comparison with chlorhexidine (CHG) treatment. The cells were cultured anaerobically on agar plates, and the number of colony-forming units (CFU) was determined.

Synthesis and evaluation of N-isopropyl-p-[C]methylamphetamine as a novel cerebral blood flow tracer for positron emission tomography.

Introduction: Increases in fasting plasma glucose (PG) levels lead to a decrease in 2-deoxy-2-[F]fluoro-D-glucose ([F]FDG) uptake in the normal brain, especially in the precuneus, resulting in an Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like uptake pattern. Therefore, patients with higher PG levels, such as those with diabetes, can be erroneously diagnosed with AD when positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is done using [F]FDG, due to reduced uptake of [F]FDG in the precuneus. To help avoid an erroneous diagnosis of AD due to differences in glucose metabolism, evaluating cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the brain is useful.

Pattern analysis of glucose metabolic brain data for lateralization of MRI-negative temporal lobe epilepsy.

In this paper, we assessed the reliability of glucose metabolic brain data for identifying lateralization of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-negative temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients. We designed and developed an efficacious and automatic metabolic-wise lateralization framework. The proposed lateralization framework comprises three main systematic levels.

Phylogenetic diversity in and gene clusters between and , as a potential cause of host specificity.

Background: Periodontopathic bacteria in humans and in animals are phylogenetically close and commonly have FimA and Mfa1 fimbriae. However, little is known about how and are phylogenetically different between and . Here, we examined phylogenetic diversity in their and gene clusters.

Age as a decisive factor in general anaesthesia use in paediatric proton beam therapy.

Proton therapy for paediatric cancer patients is an effective treatment; however, young children have may have difficulties staying still during irradiation. This study investigated the indication of general anaesthesia in paediatric proton therapy. Background information and anaesthesia/treatment protocols were retrospectively extracted from the medical records of cancer patients under 15 years who underwent proton therapy at Southern TOHOKU General Hospital, Fukushima, Japan between April 2016 and December 2018.

Interleukin-6 in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder pathophysiology.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare autoimmune disorder that preferentially affects the spinal cord and optic nerve. Most patients with NMOSD experience severe relapses that lead to permanent neurologic disability; therefore, limiting frequency and severity of these attacks is the primary goal of disease management. Currently, patients are treated with immunosuppressants.

Spatiotemporal regulation of GABA concentration in extracellular space by gliotransmission crucial for extrasynaptic receptor-mediated improvement of sensory tuning performance in schizophrenia.

In schizophrenic patients, sensory tuning performance tends to be deteriorated (i.e., flattened sensory tuning), for which impaired intracortical tonic inhibition arising from a reduction in GABA concentration in extracellular space might be responsible.

Epidemiology of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder and Its Prevalence and Incidence Worldwide.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an uncommon inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, manifesting clinically as optic neuritis, myelitis, and certain brain and brainstem syndromes. Cases clinically diagnosed as NMOSD may include aquaporin 4 (AQP4)-antibody-seropositive autoimmune astrocytopathic disease, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-antibody-seropositive inflammatory demyelinating disease, and double-seronegative disease. AQP4-antibody disease has a high female-to-male ratio (up to 9:1), and its mean age at onset of ~40 years is later than that seen in multiple sclerosis.

Measurements of the corpus callosum index and fractional anisotropy of the corpus callosum and their cutoff values are useful to assess global brain volume loss in multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: Recent studies suggest that parameters of the corpus callosum (CC), such as the CC index (CCI) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the CC, may be related to the degree of brain volume loss (BVL) in MS patients; however, cutoff values that determine the degree of BVL have not been set.

Methods: Seventy-five MS patients and 21 healthy controls (HCs) underwent volumetric MRI examinations. MS patients were also evaluated for T2 lesion load, the CCI, and FA of the CC.

Treatment of MOG antibody associated disorders: results of an international survey.

Introduction: While monophasic and relapsing forms of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody associated disorders (MOGAD) are increasingly diagnosed world-wide, consensus on management is yet to be developed.

Objective: To survey the current global clinical practice of clinicians treating MOGAD.

Method: Neurologists worldwide with expertise in treating MOGAD participated in an online survey (February-April 2019).

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound ablation of hypothalamic hamartoma as a disconnection surgery: a case report.

We report the case of a patient with hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) who was successfully treated with magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for ablation as a disconnection surgery. A 26-year-old man with gelastic epilepsy had been diagnosed with HH at 3 years of age, and antiepileptic drugs were administered due to worsening episodes. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a sessile parahypothalamic hamartoma and MRgFUS ablation was performed, creating an oval-shaped lesion at the boundary area of the HH.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease: current topics.

Purpose Of Review: We reviewed present topics on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-antibody-associated disease (MOGAD).

Recent Findings: The number of NMOSD-related publications have increased year by year after the discovery of aquaporin 4 (AQP4)-antibody, and those on MOGAD started to surge since 2012-2013. Recent clinic-epidemiological surveys in NMOSD suggest that some racial differences in the prevalence and the clinical course.

Integrative treatment of paralytic small intestine following acute cervical cord injury: A case report.

Background: A patient developed paralysis of the small intestine following an acute traumatic hyperextension cervical spinal cord injury attributed to the ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) C3-C6. The persistent ileus finally resolved utilizing Kampo medications (traditional Chinese therapy) consisting of both bukuryoin (TJ-69) and hangekobokuto (TJ-16).

Case Description: A 63-year-old male became acutely quadriplegic secondary to a hyperextension injury incurred during a fall.

A case of complete remission of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with type III portal vein tumor thrombosis treated using transarterial chemoembolization with microspheres and radiation therapy.

Portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) is an extremely locally advanced form of hepatocellular carcinoma. The natural median survival time of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with PVTT is 2.7 to 4.

Enhanced new bone formation in canine maxilla by a graft of electrically polarized β-tricalcium phosphate.

We succeeded in the electrical polarization of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) granules and performed an unprecedented attempt to implant them into maxillary bone defects in canines to confirm their ability to facilitate new bone formation. Two holes were drilled into each maxilla half of a canine and filled with electrically polarized and nonpolarized β-TCP granules (grouping assignment was decided randomly). The implanted specimens were dissected en bloc and used for microcomputed tomography (μCT) observations and histological analyses 4 and 8 weeks after the operation.

Characterization of the signature of peripheral innate immunity in women with later-life major depressive disorder.

The prevalence of depression in later life is higher in women than in men. However, the sex difference in the pathophysiology of depression in elderly patients is not fully understood. Here, we performed gene expression profiling in leukocytes of middle-aged and elderly patients with major depressive disorder, termed later-life depression (LLD) in this context, and we characterized the sex-dependent pathophysiology of LLD.

Characterization of proliferation, differentiation potential, and gene expression among clonal cultures of human dental pulp cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells are a highly promising source of cells for regeneration therapy because of their multilineage differentiation potential. However, distinct markers for mesenchymal stem cells are not well-established. To identify new candidate marker genes for multipotent human dental pulp stem cells, we analyzed the characteristics and gene expression profiles of cell clones obtained from a single dental pulp specimen derived from an 11-year-old female patient.

Evaluation of Gingival Ablation with Various Laser Systems and Electroscalpel.

The aim of this study was to perform a systematic and multifaceted comparison of thermal effects during soft tissue ablation with various lasers and an electroscalpel (ES). Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, CO, Diode, Nd:YAG lasers (1 W, pulsed or continuous wave), an ES, and a scalpel (Sc; control), were employed for porcine gingival tissue ablation. Temperature changes during ablation were measured by using an infrared thermal imaging camera and a thermocouple.

Salivary and serum interleukin-17A and interleukin-18 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with and without periodontitis.

Objective: Interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-18 have been proposed to play important roles in periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), but human data are conflicting. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of IL-17A and IL-18 in periodontitis and DM by measuring salivary and serum levels, respectively.

Materials And Methods: A total of 49 participants with type 2 DM and 25 control subjects without type 2 DM were recruited.

Ridge reconstruction in damaged extraction sockets using tunnel β-tricalcium phosphate blocks: A 6-month histological study in beagle dogs.

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the histological outcome of tunnel β-TCP blocks grafting in extraction sockets missing the buccal bone wall, after 6 months of healing.

Background: Tunnel β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) blocks made of randomly organized tunnel-shaped β-TCP ceramics appeared promising for alveolar ridge preservation in tooth extraction sockets missing the buccal bone, in a previous study in dogs, with a 2-month healing time.

Methods: In six beagle dogs, the maxillary first premolars were extracted and the buccal bone was surgically removed to create bone defects of 4 mm (mesio-distal) × 5 mm (apico-coronal) × 4 mm (bucco-palatal).

Salvage gamma knife radiosurgery for active brain metastases from small-cell lung cancer after whole-brain radiation therapy: a retrospective multi-institutional study (JLGK1701).

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) for brain metastases (BMs) from small-cell lung cancer after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the usefulness and safety of GKS in 163 patients from 15 institutions with 1-10 active BMs after WBRT. The usefulness and safety of GKS were evaluated using statistical methods.