Canagliflozin reduces plasma uremic toxins and alters the intestinal microbiota composition in a chronic kidney disease mouse model.

Accumulation of uremic toxins, which exert deleterious effects in chronic kidney disease, is influenced by the intestinal environment; the microbiota contributes to the production of representative uremic toxins, including p-cresyl sulfate and indoxyl sulfate. Canagliflozin is a sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT) 2 inhibitor, and it also exerts a modest inhibitory effect on SGLT1. The inhibition of intestinal SGLT1 can influence the gastrointestinal environment.

Coexistence of Trunk or Lower Extremity Pain with Elbow and/or Shoulder Pain among Young Overhead Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Elbow or shoulder injuries are common in overhead sports. Because energy derived from the lower extremity passes through the trunk to the upper extremity in overhead motion, a break in such a kinetic chain could lead to arm injuries. However, there is only limited information about the role of the trunk and lower extremity support in preventing elbow or shoulder injuries.

Oesophageal mucosal blood flow changes after thoracic endovascular stent graft implantation using a novel sensor probe.

Objectives: Secondary aorto-oesophageal fistula is a rare, lethal complication occurring after thoracic endovascular aneurysmal repair. The cause of secondary aorto-oesophageal fistula is unknown, but a reduction in local oesophageal mucosal blood flow (OMBF) may be a basis for such a devastating sequela. Our study aims to develop a novel blood flow sensor probe to detect changes in OMBF after thoracic stent graft implantation in an experimental swine model.

Prefrontal cortex activation during a dual task in patients with stroke.

Dual tasks destabilize task performance as they involve competing demands for cognitive and physical resources. Several studies have reported that dual-task walking activates the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and recent studies have indicated a relationship between PFC and dual-task deterioration in healthy subjects. However, PFC activity during dual-task walking in stroke patients remains unclear.

Effects of protease-treated royal jelly on muscle strength in elderly nursing home residents: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response study.

Although we have found that protease-treated royal jelly (pRJ) benefit for the skeletal muscle mass and strength in the aged animals, the potential beneficial effects have not been evaluated in humans. The aim of this study was to determine whether pRJ intake had beneficial effects on muscle strength in elderly nursing home residents. One hundred and ninety-four subjects enrolled into this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Pouch functional outcomes after restorative proctocolectomy with ileal-pouch reconstruction in patients with ulcerative colitis: Japanese multi-center nationwide cohort study.

Background: Although several complications capable of causing pouch failure may develop after restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) for ulcerative colitis (UC), the incidences and causes are conflicting and vary according to country, race and institution. To avoid pouch failure, this study aimed to evaluate the rate of pouch failure and its risk factors in UC patients over the past decade via a nationwide cohort study.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational, multicenter study that included 13 institutions in Japan.

Low-frequency and low-intensity ultrasound irradiation to the forearm improves an index of arterial stiffness in subjects with type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Objectives: The arterial pressure-volume index (API) is a non-invasive assessment of arterial stiffness, and is suggested as a useful predictor of future cardiovascular events. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of low-frequency and low-intensity ultrasound applied to the forearm for 10 min on the API in Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Methods: We examined the effects of low-frequency and low-intensity ultrasound (800 kHz, 25 mW/cm) applied to the forearm for 10 min on the API, blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate in 40 Japanese subjects (13 men and 27 women; mean age ± SE, 70 ± 2 years) with type 2 diabetes and hypertension, who had the API > 30 and systolic BP > 140 mmHg at a clinic visit.

Clarithromycin decreases rhinovirus replication and cytokine production in nasal epithelial cells from subjects with bronchial asthma: effects on IL-6, IL-8 and IL-33.

Rhinoviral infection is associated with an increased risk of asthma attacks. The macrolide clarithromycin decreases cytokine production in nasopharyngeal aspirates from patients with wheezing, but the effects of macrolides on cytokine production in nasal epithelial cells obtained from asthmatic subjects remain unclear. Here, human nasal epithelial cells were infected with type-14 rhinovirus (RV14), a major RV group.

Inherited, not acquired, Gitelman syndrome in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome: importance of genetic testing to distinguish the two forms.

Gitelman syndrome (GS) is an autosomal recessive, salt-losing renal tubulopathy caused by mutations in the SLC12A3 gene; however, it can also be acquired in patients with autoimmune disease, especially in those with Sjögren's syndrome. Differentiating between the inherited and acquired forms of GS is clinically difficult. We report a case of inherited, not acquired, GS in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome.

Acute Kidney Injury from Excessive Potentiation of Calcium-channel Blocker via Synergistic CYP3A4 Inhibition by Clarithromycin Plus Voriconazole.

CYP3A4-inhibitors can potentiate the hypotensive effect of calcium-channel blockers. However, insufficient attention to such drug interactions may result in serious adverse reactions. A 71-year-old hypertensive man prescribed nifedipine was hospitalized for infectious endophthalmitis.

Late bedtimes, short sleeping time, and longtime video-game playing are associated with low back pain in school-aged athletes.

Purpose: Low back pain is a significant problem for school-aged athletes. Although some risk factors relating to sports activities have been reported, the effect of lifestyles on low back pain in school-aged athletes is not clear. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the association between lifestyles, such as wake-up time, bedtime, sleeping time, and TV-viewing or video-game-playing time per day and low back pain of school-aged athletes.

Mitochonic Acid 5 (MA-5) Facilitates ATP Synthase Oligomerization and Cell Survival in Various Mitochondrial Diseases.

Mitochondrial dysfunction increases oxidative stress and depletes ATP in a variety of disorders. Several antioxidant therapies and drugs affecting mitochondrial biogenesis are undergoing investigation, although not all of them have demonstrated favorable effects in the clinic. We recently reported a therapeutic mitochondrial drug mitochonic acid MA-5 (Tohoku J.

Selective embolization therapy for intrarenal artery stenosis causing renovascular hypertension: Efficacy and follow-up renal imaging.

We report the case of a young woman treated with selective renal embolization for renovascular hypertension caused by intrarenal artery stenosis and show follow-up imaging of the treated kidney. An 18-year-old woman had renin-dependent hypertension with intrarenal artery stenosis caused by fibromuscular dysplasia. A middle branch artery was nearly occluded, resulting in segmental renal ischemia with excessive renin secretion.

A novel indole compound MA-35 attenuates renal fibrosis by inhibiting both TNF-α and TGF-β pathways.

Renal fibrosis is closely related to chronic inflammation and is under the control of epigenetic regulations. Because the signaling of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) play key roles in progression of renal fibrosis, dual blockade of TGF-β and TNF-α is desired as its therapeutic approach. Here we screened small molecules showing anti-TNF-α activity in the compound library of indole derivatives.

Consistently High Level of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes.

Purpose: Although the benefit of high cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) for the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is widely accepted, whether consistently high CRF is necessary or transiently high CRF is sufficient is unclear. The present study was conducted to examine the hypothesis that consistently high level of CRF is more beneficial than transiently high CRF for the prevention of T2DM.

Methods: This cohort study was conducted in nondiabetic 7158 men age 20 to 60 yr, enrolled from 1986 to 1987.

Duplicated internal auditory canal with inner ear malformation: Case report and literature review.

Internal auditory canal anomalies are rare. Narrow internal auditory canal is believed to occur as a result of aplasia or hypoplasia of the vestibulocochlear nerve. Narrow duplication of the internal auditory canal is considered to be very rare.

Sonotubometric Assessment for Severity of Patulous Eustachian Tube.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the morphological patency of the eustachian tube (ET) and sound transmission via the ET.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review and model experiment.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Evaluation of the impact of gut microbiota on uremic solute accumulation by a CE-TOFMS-based metabolomics approach.

Gut microbiota is involved in the metabolism of uremic solutes. However, the precise influence of microbiota to the retention of uremic solutes in CKD is obscure. To clarify this, we compared adenine-induced renal failure and control mice under germ-free or specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions, examining the metabolite profiles of plasma, feces, and urine using a capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based approach.

Somatosensory Electrical Stimulation Does Not Augment Motor Skill Acquisition and Intermanual Transfer in Healthy Young Adults-A Pilot Study.

Sensory input can modify motor function and magnify interlimb transfer. We examined the effects of low-intensity somatosensory electrical stimulation (SES) on motor practice-induced skill acquisition and intermanual transfer. Participants practiced a visuomotor skill for 25 min and received SES to the practice or the transfer arm.

The Effectiveness of Specific Exercise Approach or Modifiable Heel Lift in the Treatment of Functional Leg Length Discrepancy in Early Post-surgery Inpatients after Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial with a PROBE design.

Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness of a specific exercise approach (SEA) or modifiable heel lift (MHL) to improve functional leg length discrepancy (LLD) after total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Methods: The study was a randomized controlled trial with a PROBE (prospective, randomized, open, blinded-endpoint) design trial. Patients (n=33) with both functional and perceived LLDs, 1 week after THA, were randomized to the SEA, MHL, or control groups.

Consensus Statement Immunonutrition and Exercise.

In this consensus statement on immunonutrition and exercise, a panel of knowledgeable contributors from across the globe provides a consensus of updated science, including the background, the aspects for which a consensus actually exists, the controversies and, when possible, suggested directions for future research.

Effects of Visual Speech on Early Auditory Evoked Fields - From the Viewpoint of Individual Variance.

The effects of visual speech (the moving image of the speaker's face uttering speech sound) on early auditory evoked fields (AEFs) were examined using a helmet-shaped magnetoencephalography system in 12 healthy volunteers (9 males, mean age 35.5 years). AEFs (N100m) in response to the monosyllabic sound /be/ were recorded and analyzed under three different visual stimulus conditions, the moving image of the same speaker's face uttering /be/ (congruent visual stimuli) or uttering /ge/ (incongruent visual stimuli), and visual noise (still image processed from speaker's face using a strong Gaussian filter: control condition).

Independent and combined relationship of habitual unhealthy eating behaviors with depressive symptoms: A prospective study.

Background: Unhealthy eating has been found to be associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms. However, prospective evidence of the combined effects of unhealthy eating and depressive symptoms has not been reported. This study aimed to elucidate the prospective relationship between habitual unhealthy eating habits and depressive symptoms.