FADS2 and ELOVL6 mutation frequencies in Japanese Crohn's disease patients.

Crohn's disease (CD) development is thought to involve genetic factors related to immune response as well as environmental factors, such as intestinal bacteria and diet, though no clear cause has yet been identified. In our previous study, we found that the concentrations of linoleic acid, stearic acid, and metabolites in erythrocytes differed between CD patients and healthy subjects. These factors related to lipid metabolism are controlled by Δ6 desaturase (fatty acid desaturase 2, FADS2) and elongase 6 (ELOVL6), respectively.

Elevated eosinophil level predicted long time to next treatment in relapsed or refractory myeloma patients treated with lenalidomide.

Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug that is administered commonly in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Eosinophils have immunological functions, for instance, in allergic diseases and asthma. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of elevated eosinophil levels in patients with RRMM treated with lenalidomide.

Prognostic Factors in Patients With Recurrent Pancreatic Cancer: A Multicenter Database Analysis.

Background/aim: The prognosis of pancreatic cancer remains poor with a high incidence of recurrence even after curative resection. The aim of this study was to investigate prognostic factors in patients with recurrent pancreatic cancer using the multicenter database.

Patients And Methods: The subjects were 196 patients with recurrent pancreatic cancer who underwent resection between 2008 and 2015.

The Diagnostic Criteria 2020 for Triglyceride Deposit Cardiomyovasculopathy.

Triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy (TGCV) is a newly identified disease that was discovered in individuals who required cardiac transplantation in Japan in 2008. Defective intracellular lipolysis causes triglyceride (TG) accumulation in the myocardium and coronary artery vascular smooth muscle cells, which results in severe heart failure and coronary artery disease with poor prognosis. A known cause of TGCV is a genetic deficiency of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), a rate-limiting enzyme in the intracellular hydrolysis of TG.

Multicenter Prospective Analysis of Stroke Patients Taking Oral Anticoagulants: The PASTA Registry - Study Design and Characteristics.

Objectives: The management of atrial fibrillation and deep venous thrombosis has evolved with the development of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC), and oral anticoagulant (OAC) might influence the development or clinical course in both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. However, detailed data on the differences between the effects of the prior prescription of warfarin and DOAC on the clinical characteristics, neuroradiologic findings, and outcome of stroke are limited.

Design: The prospective analysis of stroke patients taking anticoagulants (PASTA) registry study is an observational, multicenter, prospective registry of stroke (ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, and intracerebral hemorrhage) patients receiving OAC in Japan.

Bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients: a multicenter retrospective comparative analysis.

The combination of bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRD) is used as induction treatment in multiple myeloma; however, the optimum schedule for this regimen remains controversial. In this retrospective study, we compared the efficacy and tolerability of twice-weekly VRD (twVRD) and modified VRD-lite in transplant-eligible myeloma patients. Fifty-five patients (median age 61 years) were included; 22 received twVRD (bortezomib [1.

Diabetic dyslipidemia: evaluation and mechanism.

Diabetes is one of the well-established independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes induces dyslipidemia which is characterized by elevated fasting triglyceride (TG) and reduced high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and such diabetic dyslipidemia is a crucial determinant for atherogenesis and atherosclerotic progression in patients with diabetes. Previous measurement methods of lipoproteins have problems including time-consuming (ultracentrifugation) and inaccurate and impossible measurements of TG-rich lipoproteins such as chylomicron, intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL).

A multi-center retrospective study of neuroendocrine tumors of the uterine cervix: Prognosis according to the new 2018 staging system, comparing outcomes for different chemotherapeutic regimens and histopathological subtypes.

Objective: To analyze the clinical behavior of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the uterine cervix, we conducted a multicenter, retrospective study of 193 patients.

Methods: We evaluated the prognosis of NETs according to the new International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system, compared the clinical response to different chemotherapy regimens, and compared different histological subtypes of NETS.

Results: Diagnoses of the subjects were atypical carcinoid tumor (ACT, n = 37), small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SCNEC, n = 126), large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC, n = 22), and NET, not elsewhere classified (n = 8), according to central pathological review.

Concurrent immunoglobulin G-lambda type multiple myeloma and mixed cellularity classical Hodgkin lymphoma: A case report.

A 66-year-old man with a swollen right inguinal lymph node (LN) had pain on the lower side of the back. Computed tomography revealed bone disease in the back and swollen right inguinal LNs. Laboratory studies showed anemia and serum immunoglobulin G-lambda (IgG-λ) type monoclonal protein.

Innovatively Established Analysis Method for Lipoprotein Profiles Based on High-Performance Anion-Exchange Liquid Chromatography.

Separation analysis of lipoprotein classes have various methods, including ultracentrifugation, electrophoresis, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). All major lipoprotein classes can be separated via ultracentrifugation, but performing the analysis takes a long time. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) in patient samples cannot be sufficiently separated via electrophoresis or GPC.

Augmented Renal Clearance of Vancomycin in Hematologic Malignancy Patients.

The pharmacokinetics of vancomycin (VAN) was retrospectively examined based on trough concentrations at large scale to identify pharmacokinetic differences between Japanese hematologic malignancy and non-malignancy patients. Data from 261 hematologic malignancy patients and 261 non-malignancy patients, including the patient's background, VAN dose, and pharmacokinetics of VAN estimated by an empirical Bayesian method, were collected and analyzed. Our results showed significantly higher values for VAN clearance and shorter elimination half-lives in patients with hematologic malignancies than non-malignancy patients.

Reference Intervals of Serum Non-Cholesterol Sterols by Gender in Healthy Japanese Individuals.

Aims: The present study was conducted to establish a practical method for measuring non-cholesterol sterols and reference intervals of serum levels.

Methods: Healthy subjects (109 men and 151 women), four patients with sitosterolemia, and 10 heterozygous mutation carriers of ABCG5/ABCG8 genes were investigated. Then, three non-cholesterol sterols (sitosterol, campesterol, and lathosterol) of fasting serum samples were measured via a practical and highly sensitive gas chromatography (GC) method with 0.

A new method for measuring cholesterol efflux capacity uses stable isotope-labeled, not radioactive-labeled, cholesterol.

The incidence of cardiovascular events correlates inversely with cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) more than with HDL-cholesterol level. The measurement of CEC is used to qualify cardiovascular disease risk and is conventionally performed with radioisotope (RI)-labeled cholesterol. Here, we established a CEC measurement technique using stable isotope-labeled cholesterol as an alternative, and we compared the new method with RI and fluorescence (boron dipyrromethene difluoride-cholesterol) methods in cells and in patient serum.

Characterisation of blood microbiota in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Background And Aims: Bacterial infections arising in patients with liver cirrhosis are associated with life-threatening complications such as hepatic encephalopathy and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in relation to bacterial translocation. To investigate the state of bacterial translocation, we surveyed the peripheral blood microbiota by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and analysed the blood microbial profiles.

Methods: Sixty-six patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled in this study, whereas 14 healthy individuals were also analysed as controls.

Postural Abnormality in Parkinson's Disease: A Large Comparative Study With General Population.

Background: Postural abnormalities in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and unimpaired elderly are not well differentiated. Factors related to postural abnormality associated with PD are controversial.

Objective: We assessed differences in postural change between PD patients and unimpaired elderly and elucidated factors related to abnormal posture in PD patients.

Gut Microbiota and Chronic Constipation: A Review and Update.

Chronic constipation, including functional constipation and constipation-type irritable bowel syndrome, is a prevalent, multifactorial gastrointestinal disorder, and its etiology and pathophysiology remain poorly understood. Recently studies using 16S rRNA-based microbiota profiling have demonstrated dysbiosis of gut microbiota in chronic constipation. To provide an overview of recent studies for microbiota in chronic constipation and treatments for chronic constipation using probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, antibiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).

Initial results of thoracic endovascular repair for uncomplicated type B aortic dissection involving the arch vessels using a semicustom-made thoracic fenestrated stent graft.

Objective: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for selected type B aortic dissection (TBAD) is a standard treatment; however, TBAD involving the aortic arch is difficult to treat because of the need for arch vessel reconstruction. We report our initial results of TEVAR for uncomplicated TBAD involving the arch vessels using a semicustom-made fenestrated stent graft.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 24 patients treated by fenestrated (F group) or debranching (D group) TEVAR from August 2011 to July 2017.