[MINISTRY OF HEALTH "2015 PENULTIMATE YEAR CHILDREN AND SURVEY AND RESEARCH PROJECT PROMOTING THE PARENTING SUPPORT" ACTUAL CONDITIONS REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION ON ALLERGY CONTROL IN DAY-CARE CENTERS ADMISSIONS CHILDREN OF ALLERGIC DISEASES SITUATION AND DAY-CARE CENTERS].

Background: There are no reports on the prevalence and social acceptance of food allergies (FAs) and FAinduced symptoms in nursery schools in Japan.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to clarify the current status of FA among children in nurseries.

Methods: Investigations were conducted in childcare facilities nationwide through survey request forms found on the Web page or sent via post.

Characteristics of PPT1 and TPP1 enzymes in neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) 1 and 2 by dried blood spots (DBS) and leukocytes and their application to newborn screening.

We first characterized PPT1 and TPP1 enzymes in dried blood spots (DBS), plasma/serum, and leukocytes/lymphocytes using neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) 1 and 2 patients and control subjects. PPT1 enzyme had only one acid form in control DBS, plasma/serum, and leukocytes/lymphocytes and showed deficient activities in these samples from NCL 1 patients. Conversely, TPP1 enzymes in control DBS and leukocytes/lymphocytes consisted of two forms, an acidic form and a neutral form, whereas serum TPP1 enzyme had only a neutral form.

Novel haemodialysis (HD) treatment employing molecular hydrogen (H)-enriched dialysis solution improves prognosis of chronic dialysis patients: A prospective observational study.

Recent studies have revealed unique biological characteristics of molecular hydrogen (H) as an anti-inflammatory agent. We developed a novel haemodialysis (E-HD) system delivering an H (30-80 ppb)-enriched dialysis solution by water electrolysis, and conducted a non-randomized, non-blinded, prospective observational study exploring its clinical impact. Prevalent chronic HD patients were allocated to either the E-HD (n = 161) group or the conventional HD (C-HD: n = 148) group, and received the respective HD treatments during the study.

Planned Safety Analysis of the ACTS-CC 02 Trial: A Randomized Phase III Trial of S-1 With Oxaliplatin Versus Tegafur and Uracil With Leucovorin as Adjuvant Chemotherapy for High-Risk Stage III Colon Cancer.

Background: This trial was designed to verify the superiority of 6 months of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with SOX (S-1 with oxaliplatin) with UFT (tegafur and uracil) with LV (leucovorin) in terms of disease-free survival in patients with high-risk stage III colon cancer. We report the results of a planned safety analysis.

Patients And Methods: Patients who underwent curative resection for high-risk stage III colon cancer (any T, N2, or positive nodes around the origin of the feeding arteries) were randomly assigned to receive either UFT/LV (300-600 mg/d UFT with 75 mg/d LV on days 1-28, every 35 days, for 5 cycles) or SOX (100 mg/m of oxaliplatin on day 1 with 80-120 mg/d S-1 on days 1-14, every 21 days, for 8 cycles).

Dissolved molecular hydrogen (H) in Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) solutions preserves mesothelial cells and peritoneal membrane integrity.

Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is used as renal replacement therapy in patients with end-stage kidney disease. However, peritoneal membrane failure remains problematic and constitutes a critical cause of PD discontinuation. Recent studies have revealed the unique biological action of molecular hydrogen (H) as an anti-oxidant, which ameliorates tissue injury.

Possible clinical effects of molecular hydrogen (H2) delivery during hemodialysis in chronic dialysis patients: Interim analysis in a 12 month observation.

Background And Aim: It is supposed that enhanced oxidative stress and inflammation are involved with the poor clinical outcomes in patients on chronic dialysis treatment. Recent studies have shown that molecular hydrogen (H2) is biologically active as an anti-inflammatory agent. Thus, we developed a novel hemodialysis (E-HD) system which delivers H2 (30 to 80 ppb)-enriched dialysis solution, to conduct a prospective observational study (UMIN000004857) in order to compare the long-term outcomes between E-HD and conventional-HD (C-HD) in Japan.

Genome-wide association studies identify PRKCB as a novel genetic susceptibility locus for primary biliary cholangitis in the Japanese population.

A previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) performed in 963 Japanese individuals (487 primary biliary cholangitis [PBC] cases and 476 healthy controls) identified TNFSF15 (rs4979462) and POU2AF1 (rs4938534) as strong susceptibility loci for PBC. In this study, we performed GWAS in additional 1,923 Japanese individuals (894 PBC cases and 1,029 healthy controls), and combined the results with the previous data. This GWAS, together with a subsequent replication study in an independent set of 7,024 Japanese individuals (512 PBC cases and 6,512 healthy controls), identified PRKCB (rs7404928) as a novel susceptibility locus for PBC (odds ratio [OR] = 1.

Imaging of Triglycerides in Human Coronary Plaques by Color Fluorescent Angioscopy and Microscopy.

Native triglycerides (TG) deposited in the human vascular wall is not measurable or visible in vivo to date. We discovered that by exciting fluorescence at 345 nm and emitting at 420 nm, 3-amino-4-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzene sulfonic acid monohydrate (3-ANA) elicits a brown fluorescence that is characteristic of just TG. Therefore, localization of TG in coronary plaques and normal segments that were obtained from 19 human autopsy cases was examined by color fluorescent angioscopy (CFA) and microscopy using 3-ANA as a biomarker of TG.

Human pericoronary adipose tissue as storage and possible supply site for oxidized low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein in coronary artery.

Background: Thickening of the pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) is a proven risk factor for coronary artery disease, but it is poorly understood whether PCAT stores pro-atherogenic substances with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and an anti-atherogenic substance with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and supply them to the coronary intima.

Methods: Using immunohistochemical techniques, the localization of oxLDL, LDL and HDL in PCAT and its adjacent coronary segments was examined in 30 epicardial coronary arteries excised from 11 human autopsy cases.

Results: PCAT stored oxLDL and HDL in all, but LDL rarely, in 77 specimens examined, irrespective of the presence or absence of coronary plaques and underlying disease.

Pericoronary Adipose Tissue as Storage and Supply Site for Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein in Human Coronary Plaques.

Objectives: It is generally believed that low-density lipoprotein enters the vascular wall from its lumen and oxidized (oxLDL), after which it plays an important role in atherosclerosis. Because voluminous epicardial adipose tissue is a risk factor for coronary events, there is a possibility that the pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT), which is a part of epicardial adipose tissue, acts as a risk factor by supplying oxLDL to the coronary arterial wall. The present study was performed whether PCAT stores and supplies oxLDL to the coronary wall.

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is less controlled at delayed phase in patients with esophageal cancer: a prospective registration study by the CINV Study Group of Japan.

Chemotherapy is an indispensable therapeutic approach for esophageal cancer. Although chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is one of the most crucial adverse events, the current state of CINV in patients with esophageal cancer remains unclear. This multicenter prospective observational study analyzed data for 192 patents with esophageal cancer who underwent moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC) or highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC).

Early initiation of steroid pulse therapy for neuromyelitis optica in an emergency room setting.

Case: A 40-year-old man presented to the emergency room with visual impairment, dysesthesia of lower legs, and urinary retention. Two days before admission, he was consulted to the neurology department due to bilateral optic neuritis and scheduled the magnetic resonance imaging of spine. However, the urinary retention deteriorated acutely and he came to the emergency room.

[Advance of salvage chemotherapy for colorectal cancer].

Oxaliplatin, irinotecan, and 5-fluorouracil in combination with or without targeted therapies are now well-documented treatment options for first- and second-line treatments of metastatic colorectal cancer. Furthermore, many guidelines regard these treatment options as the standard of care of the disease. However, there is much less data on the beneficial effect of salvage systemic therapy.

Evaluation of the clinical efficacy of colon capsule endoscopy in the detection of lesions of the colon: prospective, multicenter, open study.

Background: Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) is a new procedure for colon imaging. Limited information is available regarding visualization of flat colon lesions and patient acceptability in Japan.

Objective: The aims of this study were to evaluate the sensitivity of CCE in detecting polyps and other lesions compared with optical colonoscopy (OC) and to evaluate its safety and acceptability in a cohort of Japanese patients.

Human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells suppress spinal inflammation in mice with contribution of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP).

Background: Adult human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs) from bone marrow have been reported to exhibit beneficial effects on spinal cord injury (SCI). A neuropeptide, pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is known to decrease neuronal cell death and inflammatory response after ischemia, SCI, and other neuronal disorders. Recently, we found that expression of the gene for mouse PACAP (Adcyap1) was greater in animals receiving hMSCs with neural injury such as ischemia.

Social functioning and socioeconomic changes after introduction of regular dialysis treatment and impact of dialysis modality: a multi-centre survey of Japanese patients.

Aim: Patient socialization and preservation of socioeconomic status are important patient-centred outcomes for those who start dialysis, and retention of employment is a key enabler. This study examined the influence of dialysis inception and modality upon these outcomes in a contemporary Japanese cohort.

Methods: We conducted a survey of prevalent chronic dialysis patients from 5 dialysis centres in Japan.

Autoantibody status and histological variables influence biochemical response to treatment and long-term outcomes in Japanese patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Aim: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the factors influencing biochemical response to treatment and the value of biochemical response for predicting long-term outcomes in Japanese patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Methods: Biochemical response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) or UDCA plus bezafibrate was defined as good (≤upper limit of normal [ULN]), fair (≤1.5 × ULN) or poor (>1.

Development of the PHASES score for prediction of risk of rupture of intracranial aneurysms: a pooled analysis of six prospective cohort studies.

Background: The decision of whether to treat incidental intracranial saccular aneurysms is complicated by limitations in current knowledge of their natural history. We combined individual patient data from prospective cohort studies to determine predictors of aneurysm rupture and to construct a risk prediction chart to estimate 5-year aneurysm rupture risk by risk factor status.

Methods: We did a systematic review and pooled analysis of individual patient data from 8382 participants in six prospective cohort studies with subarachnoid haemorrhage as outcome.

Usefulness of ultrasonography and MRI for diagnosis of fetal pulmonary agenesis: case report and review of the literature.

A pregnant Japanese female was referred to our hospital due to intrauterine fetal growth restriction. A prenatal diagnosis of right pulmonary agenesis could be made using ultrasonography and fetal magnetic resonance imaging, and a Caesarian section was performed at 34 weeks of gestation. The infant developed a respiratory disorder immediately, received systemic management in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and was discharged at age of 103 days without any severe sequelae.

Predisposition for borderline personality disorder with comorbid major depression is associated with that for polycystic ovary syndrome in female Japanese population.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common lifestyle-related endocrinopathy in women of reproductive age and is associated with several mental health problems. We examined the genotypic distributions of IRS-1 Gly972Arg and CYP11B2 -344T/C, which were previously described as influencing PCOS, and assayed the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), in a set of female patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 50) and age-matched control subjects (n = 100), to investigate the predisposition for BPD with MDD. The results showed that the patients were more frequently IRS-1 972Arg variant allele carriers (P = 0.

What is the association between depression and Alzheimer's disease?

Depression and dementia, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD), are critically important issues in the mental health of old age. Both conditions apparently reduce quality of life and increase the impairment of activities of daily living for elderly persons. AD usually shows poor prognosis owing to progressive neuronal degeneration, while depression is basically reversible.

Anomalous systemic arterial supply to separate lingular and basal segments of the lung: an anatomic consideration.

A 22-year-old man was referred for hemoptysis and general fatigue after exercise. Arteriography demonstrated an anomalous artery arising from the descending aorta supplying the lingular and all of the basal segments of the left lung. The feeding areas of the pulmonary and anomalous arteries were mutually exclusive.

[Genome research in pediatric field].

Present article concerns about the recent advances of genomic research in pediatrics such as chromosomal aberrations, congenital anomaly syndrome (Noonan syndrome, brain malformation, etc), autism and Kawasaki disease. Furthermore, novel treatment of genetic disease is also described.