A Nonrandomized Phase 2 Trial of EG-Mirotin, a Novel, First-in-Class, Subcutaneously Deliverable Peptide Drug for Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy.

EG-Mirotin (active ingredient EGT022) targets nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), the early stage of retinopathy. EG-Mirotin reverses capillary damage before NPDR progresses to an irreversible stage. EG-Mirotin safety and efficacy were investigated in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus and moderate to severe NPDR.

Ninety babies born after round spermatid injection into oocytes: survey of their development from fertilization to 2 years of age.

Objective: To compare physical and cognitive development of babies born after round spermatid injection (ROSI) with those born after natural conception.

Design: Comparison of efficiencies of ROSI and ICSI using testicular spermatozoa, performed in the St. Mother Clinic.

Intraductal neoplasms of the bile duct. A new challenge to biliary tract tumor pathology.

Invasive biliary tract carcinomas are usually tubular adenocaricnomas with abundant desmoplastic reactions and frequent ductal and periductal invasion at the time of the diagnosis. Recently, several intraductal neoplasms of the bile duct, particularly at a pre-invasive stage, have been recognized. They include intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB), biliary intraepithelial neoplasm (BilIN), and others, such as intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasm (ITPN) of the bile duct.

Brain metastasis in patients with metastatic breast cancer in the real world: a single-institution, retrospective review of 12-year follow-up.

Purpose: The data of 589 metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients in a single institution were reviewed to determine the outcomes of patients with brain metastasis (BM) and assess the efficacy of BM screening.

Methods: The patients with BM among the 589 MBC patients who underwent treatment at Shizuoka Cancer Center (Shizuoka, Japan) from 09/2002 to 03/2014 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: During the study period, BM developed in 187 (31.

Effects of Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2716 on Helicobacter pylori-Associated Dyspepsia: A Multicenter Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial.

Some Lactobacillus spp. suppress Helicobacter pylori in the stomach and have potential therapeutic applications for the treatment of gastrointestinal conditions. In this study, the effects of Lactobacillus strains on functional dyspepsia associated with H.

Factors affecting pregnancy outcomes in young women treated with fertility-preserving therapy for well-differentiated endometrial cancer or atypical endometrial hyperplasia.

Background: Patients hoping to preserve their fertility receive conservative treatment with high-dose medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) for well-differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EC) or atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) . Such treatment generally involves frequent intrauterine operations, including dilation and curettage (D&C) and endometrial biopsy (EMB), which could result in endometritis, endometrial thinning, or intrauterine adhesion. In turn, any of these outcomes could adversely affect implantation and pregnancy development.

Modified adult measles in outbreaks in Japan, 2007-2008.

Different genotypes of C1, D3, D5, and H1 were isolated in outbreaks of 1984, 1987-1988, 1991-1993, and 2001, respectively, when the previous circulating genotype was replaced successively by a new genotype, through molecular studies of measles since 1984 in Japan. In March 2007, several patients with measles were observed in outpatient clinics, who were all young adolescents in high school and university students. The outbreak expanded subsequently throughout Japanese districts in May and is still ongoing in 2008.

Evaluation of traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage on computed tomography.

Traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage (TSAH) is a computed tomography (CT) scan finding frequently found in the acute phase of brain injury. However, the clinical evaluation of TSAH is controversial. The subjects in the present series consisted of 46 patients in whom the initial CT scan within 6 h after injury revealed a high density area in the subarachnoid space.

[First 24 Japanese cases of robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy using the daVinci Surgical System].

In Japan, as of September 2007, prostatectomy is conducted with open surgical procedures in more than 90% of the cases. Following the first reported robotic prostatectomy by Binder, et al. in 2000, a robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) using the daVinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

Detection of respiratory syncytial virus genome by subgroups-A, B specific reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP).

Annual seasonal outbreaks of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection occur every winter. Most patients are diagnosed clinically by a rapid detection kit for RSV protein(s) from nasopharyngeal secretion (NPS), but some problems have been reported on the specificity and sensitivity of such rapid detection kits. To ratify these issues, a sensitive, specific, simple, and rapid molecular based diagnostic method is expected to be introduced and we have developed a method to detect the RSV genome of subgroups A and B independently by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP).

Molecular epidemiology of mumps virus in Japan and proposal of two new genotypes.

We isolated 872 strains of mumps virus from naso-pharyngeal secretions in seven different districts of Japan from January 2000 to July 2001. Among them, 57 strains were geno-typed by nucleotide sequencing in part of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and small hydrophobic (SH) protein regions. Four different genotypes (B, G, K, and L) of mumps virus were co-circulating in Japan and the distribution of genotypes varied in geographically different districts.

Recombinant measles AIK-C strain expressing current wild-type hemagglutinin protein.

We constructed a recombinant measles virus cDNA, pIC-MVAIK-H/87-K, in which the hemagglutinin (H) gene of the AIK-C vaccine strain was replaced by the wild-type (MVi/Tokyo.JPN/87-K: genotype D3) H gene and the remaining genes were the same as the AIK-C vaccine strain. To investigate the feasibility of the recombinant vaccine strain expressing wild-type H protein instead of the AIK-C H protein, we constructed two recombinant measles cDNA, having Leu (small plaque-type) and Phe (large plaque-type) at position 278 of the F protein.

Detection of apoptosis in keloids and a comparative study on apoptosis between keloids, hypertrophic scars, normal healed flat scars, and dermatofibroma.

Recent studies have suggested that the regulation of apoptosis during wound healing is important in scar establishment and the development of pathological scarring. In this study, we demonstrate that keloid fibroblasts can be identified as apoptotic cells because of their highly condensed chromatin and discrete nuclear fragments. To further reveal the phenomenon of apoptosis, we quantified the number of terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells in surgically resected tissues of keloids (N = 10), hypertrophic scars (N = 10), normal healed flat scars (N = 10), and dermatofibroma (N = 10).

BCG inoculation and corticosteroid sensitivity.

Purpose: This study was conducted to clarify the relationship between Bacille de Calmette-Guérin (BCG) inoculation and corticosteroid sensitivity.

Methods: Lewis and WKAH rats were inoculated with BCG vaccine weekly beginning at six weeks of age. At 15 weeks, spleen cells were cultured with PHA and betamethasone for 24 hours.

[Subacute cor pulmonale due to microscopic pulmonary tumor embolism].

We report a case of subacute pulmonary hypertension caused by microscopic pulmonary tumor embolism due to the dissemination of gastric cancer cells. The patient, a 61-year-old man with no history of malignant diseases, was admitted to our hospital on October 14 in 1998 because of cough and dyspnea on effort, that had developed since the previous month. On admission, chest radiography including CT scans showed slight cardiomegaly and disseminated reticulonodular shadows predominating in the lower lung fields of both lungs, and arterial blood gas analysis disclosed severe hypoxemia.

[Recurrent breast cancer successfully treated with a weekly dose of paclitaxel--a case report].

The patient was a 46-year-old women who was treated for axillary lymph node recurrence of breast cancer by a variety of methods, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, but who experienced recurrences in the cervical and mediastinal lymph nodes and skin, and developed hydrothorax and ascites. Although the recurrent foci responded to 4 cycles of CAF chemotherapy, there was concern that the foci would become refractory or resistant to chemotherapy. The administration of paclitaxel was therefore initiated.

Progressive cardiac dysfunction in adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy rats.

Cardiotoxicity is a limiting factor in the treatment of cancer with adriamycin. We administered adriamycin by a method which minimizes the risk of peritonitis in an adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy rat model. Sixty male Wistar rats were given 1 mg/kg of adriamycin intraperitoneally 15 times over a 3-week period (total dose, 15 mg/kg) to induce the cardiomyopathy model.

[Sarcoidosis in a man and his identical twin sons].

Sarcoidosis is known to be a disease characterized by high familial aggregations. We reported on the genealogy of sarcoidosis in a man and his identical twin sons. The patient we encountered was a 49-year-old man admitted to our hospital because of abnormal chest X-ray findings observed during a medical checkup.

A novel kappa-opioid receptor agonist, TRK-820, blocks the development of physical dependence on morphine in mice.

The effects of a novel kappa-opioid receptor agonist, TRK-820, on the development of physical dependence on morphine were investigated in mice in comparison with those of U-50,488H. A marked body weight loss and several withdrawal signs were observed following naloxone challenge in morphine-dependent mice. Co-injection of TRK-820 (0.