Association between equivalized annual household income and regular medical visits for hypertensive patients since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Previous studies have shown an increase in blood pressure during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic even among patients receiving antihypertensive treatment. This study aims to evaluate the association between equivalized annual household income and refraining from regular medical visits for hypertensive patients since the COVID-19 outbreak. We analyzed data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey (JACSIS), including 2832 hypertensive patients aged 20-79 years from the 2020 survey and at least one survey between 2021 and 2023.

Associations Between Anticipatory Grief and Post-Bereavement Depression and Post-Loss Grief of Family Members of Dying Patients With Cancer in Palliative Care Units: A Cohort Study.

Anticipatory grief is associated with post-bereavement grief; however, reports on the influence of pre-loss depression are limited. Therefore, we investigated the association between the anticipatory grief of family members and post-loss and post-depression grief adjusted for pre-loss depression. This cohort study included the family members of dying patients with cancer.

Prevention and Management of Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Palsy in Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy: Current Status and Future Perspectives.

Recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy remains a significant complication following minimally invasive esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Despite advancements in surgical techniques and lymphadenectomy precision, the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy has not been improved. Recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy predominantly affects the left side and may lead to unilateral or bilateral vocal cord paralysis, resulting in hoarseness, dysphagia, and an increased risk of aspiration pneumonia.

Enhanced Effect of Patient Room Disinfection Against Carbapenem-Resistant and Methicillin-Resistant Using UV-C Irradiation in Conjunction with UV-C Containment Unit.

: In environments with high-frequency contact surfaces, drug-resistant bacteria, such as carbapenem-resistant and methicillin-resistant (MRSA), can survive for extended periods, contributing to healthcare-associated infections. Ultraviolet (UV)-C irradiation often fails to adequately disinfect shadowed areas, leading to a persistent contamination risk. We evaluated the effectiveness of using a UV-C containment unit (UVCCU) in conjunction with UV-C irradiation to improve the sterilization effects on both direct and indirect surfaces, including shadowed areas, and to assess the leakage of UV radiation to the surroundings.

Discoidin Domain Receptor 2 Contributes to Breast Cancer Progression and Chemoresistance by Interacting with Collagen Type I.

: Chemoresistance is an important issue to be solved in breast cancer. It is well known that the content and morphology of collagens in tumor tissues are drastically altered following chemotherapy, and discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) is a unique type of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). This RTK is activated by collagens, playing important roles in human malignancies.

The Focal Induction of Reactive Oxygen Species in Rats as a Trigger of Aortic Valve Degeneration.

Background: Degenerative aortic valve disease (DAVD) is a multifactorial process. We developed an animal model to analyze the isolated, local effect of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on its pathophysiology.

Methods: We utilized a photodynamic reaction (PDR) as a source of ROS in the aortic valve by aiming a laser at the aortic valve for 60 min after the administration of a photosensitizer 24 h prior.

Cutoffs on severity metrics for minimal manifestations or better status in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis.

International consensus guidance and Japanese clinical guidelines for myasthenia gravis (MG) recommend achieving minimal manifestations or better status (MM-or-better) as the severity component of the treatment goal. However, the subjective nature of determining MM can result in ambiguity regarding this category in clinical practice and clinical trials. This study analyzed severity metrics in a large number of MG patients to propose criteria for MM-or-better.

Histopathological study of the localization/distribution of Fusobacterium nucleatum in esophageal cancer.

Fusobacterium nucleatum is implicated in esophageal cancer; however, its distribution in esophageal cancer tissues remains unknown. This study aimed to clarify the presence and distribution of F. nucleatum in esophageal cancer tissues using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Availability of, Barriers to Performing, and Educational Practices of Interventional Procedures for Refractory Pain in Cancer Patients: A Nationwide Survey of Designated Cancer Hospitals in Japan.

Background: Because of the limitations of pharmacological therapy, nonpharmacological therapies including intervention procedures are also important for quality of cancer pain management.

Objective: To clarify the availability of, number performed, barriers to performing, and educational practices of four interventional procedures (celiac plexus neurolysis/splanchnic nerve neurolysis, phenol saddle block, epidural analgesia, and intrathecal analgesia) in designated cancer hospitals.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Heme regulates protein interactions and phosphorylation of BACH2 intrinsically disordered region in humoral response.

Heme is known to bind to the intrinsically disordered region (IDR) to regulate protein function. The binding of heme to the IDR of transcription factor BACH2 promotes plasma cell differentiation, but the molecular basis is unknown. Heme was found to increase BACH2 IDR interaction with TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1).

Periodontal Care Is Associated With a Lower Risk of Dialysis Initiation in Middle-Aged Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A 6-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study Based on a Nationwide Healthcare Database.

Objective: To investigate the association between dental attendance with periodontal care and the risk of dialysis initiation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from the Japan Medical Data Center (JMDC) claims database (January 2015 to August 2022). Patients with T2D, aged 40-74, were included.

Patient-reported outcomes following ciltacabtagene autoleucel or standard of care in patients with lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma (CARTITUDE-4): results from a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Background: In CARTITUDE-4, ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) significantly improved progression-free survival (primary endpoint; previously reported) versus standard of care in patients with relapsed, lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma. We report here patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: In the ongoing, phase 3, open-label CARTITUDE-4 study, patients were recruited from 81 sites in the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and were randomly assigned 1:1 to cilta-cel (target, 0·75 × 10 CAR-T cells/kg) or standard of care (daratumumab, pomalidomide, and dexamethasone; pomalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone).

Blood DNA virome associates with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.

Aberrant immune responses to viral pathogens contribute to pathogenesis, but our understanding of pathological immune responses caused by viruses within the human virome, especially at a population scale, remains limited. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing datasets of 6,321 Japanese individuals, including patients with autoimmune diseases (psoriasis vulgaris, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) or multiple sclerosis) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or healthy controls. We systematically quantified two constituents of the blood DNA virome, endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and anellovirus.

ZIC1 is a context-dependent medulloblastoma driver in the rhombic lip.

Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma).

Oral applause sign in progressive supranuclear palsy.

The applause sign (AS) is a recognized phenomenon observed in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and other neurological conditions where individuals produce over three claps following a request to clap only thrice after a demonstration. In this study, we introduced a novel linguistic phenomenon termed the oral applause sign (OAS) associated with the AS. The OAS is characterized by increased repetition counts of Japanese repetitive onomatopoeic words, such as uttering "pata-pata-pata" instead of the expected "pata-pata.

A Case of Acute Epidural Hematoma Caused by Mandibular Fossa Fracture.

Acute epidural hematoma is one of the most serious traumatic conditions in neurosurgery, for which emergency surgery may be indicated. Injury to the middle meningeal artery (MMA) is generally the cause of hemorrhage, often accompanied by convexity fractures resulting from head trauma. However, an epidural hematoma by a contusion of the jaw is very rare.

Population Using Tobacco for Pain Relief: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study in Japan.

Background: There is a complex relationship between tobacco use and pain. Nicotine provides temporary pain relief but increases the risk of chronic pain. This study aimed to investigate use of tobacco for pain relief and its association with demographic and medical characteristics in Japan.

Laparoscopic Anatomical Liver Resection for the Patients With Constitutional Indocyanine Green Excretory Defect: A Case Report.

Constitutional indocyanine green (ICG) excretion defect (CIED) is a rare clinical condition characterized by markedly delayed ICG disappearance with other normal liver function tests. Here, we report a case of CIED in which laparoscopic anatomical liver resection was successfully performed using ICG fluorescence staining. A 64-year-old man with a 4-cm tumor located in the liver segment 5 was referred to our hospital.

Ultrasound irradiation in the presence of microbubbles may enhance the antitumor effect of chemotherapeutic agents against bladder cancer.

Intravesical instillation of chemotherapy has been performed to reduce the risk of intravesical recurrence of bladder cancer. However, its antitumor effect is not necessarily sufficient, which may be partially due to inadequate delivery of intravesically administered chemotherapeutic agents to bladder tumors. Ultrasound irradiation to target tissues in the presence of microbubbles is a technique to transiently enhance cell membrane permeability and achieve efficient drug delivery to the desired sites without damage to non-target areas; this technique has been used in chemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, and radiotherapy for the treatment of various cancers.

Long-term remission following CAR-T therapy in a patient with transformed follicular lymphoma relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) may undergo histological transformation (HT) into a more aggressive lymphoma. Although rituximab for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL) has greatly improved the overall survival (OS) of patients with transformed FL (tFL), relapse after anthracycline-based chemoimmunotherapy has a poor prognosis. CD19-targeting chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is a promising treatment for relapsed or refractory (r/r) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), including tFL.

Current perspectives on the dynamic culture of mesenchymal stromal/stem cell spheroids.

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for regenerative medicine owing to their self-renewal properties, multilineage differentiation, immunomodulatory effects, and angiogenic potential. MSC spheroids fabricated by 3D culture have recently shown enhanced therapeutic potential. MSC spheroids create a specialized niche with tight cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions, optimizing their cellular function by mimicking the in vivo environment.