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Objective: The Japanese Psycho-Oncology Society and the Japanese Association of Supportive Care in Cancer have recently revised the clinical practice guidelines for delirium in adult cancer patients. This article reports the process of developing the revised guidelines and summarizes the recommendations made., Methods: The guidelines were developed in accordance with the Medical Information Network Distribution Service creation procedures. The guideline development group, consisting of multi-disciplinary members, created three new clinical questions: non-pharmacological intervention and antipsychotics for the prevention of delirium and trazodone for the management of delirium. In addition, systematic reviews of nine existing clinical questions have been updated. Two independent reviewers reviewed the proposed articles. The certainty of evidence and the strength of the recommendations were graded using the grading system developed by the Medical Information Network Distribution Service, following the concept of The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. The modified Delphi method was used to validate the recommended statements., Results: This article provides a compendium of the recommendations along with their rationales, as well as a short summary., Conclusions: These revised guidelines will be useful for the prevention, assessment and management of delirium in adult cancer patients in Japan., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Background: Hallux rigidus (HR) is a common osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. However, the epidemiology and risk factors of this pathology have yet to be clarified., Methods: We have been conducting cohort studies among individuals over 50 years old every 2 years since 1997. This study analyzed data from the 7th to 10th checkups in 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015. We investigated the prevalence of HR and its risk factors in a total of 604 individuals (mean age, 67.1 ± 6.4 years; 208 men, 396 women). Radiographic HR was defined as Hattrup and Johnson classification grade 1 or higher. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) was scored according to the Kellgren-Lawrence grading system. Radiographic KOA was defined as grade 2 or higher. Cases with a hallux valgus (HV) angle of 20° or higher were defined as showing HV. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, Fisher's exact test, logistic regression modeling, and the Cochran-Armitage trend test. All p-values presented are two-sided and values of p < .05 were considered statistically significant., Results: The prevalence of HR was 26.7% (161/604). Rates of grade 0, 1, 2, and 3 HR according to the Hattrup and Johnson classification were 73.3% (443/604), 16.4% (99/604), 8.0% (48/604), and 2.3% (14/604), respectively. Overall ratio of symptomatic HR was 8.1%. Univariate analysis revealed KOA, gout attack (GA), and HV as significantly associated with HR. The same factors were confirmed as independent risk factors for HR in multivariate analysis. All parameters were significantly associated with HR. Odds ratios of KOA, HV, and GA for HR were 1.73, 3.98, and 3.86, respectively. The presence or absence of KOA was significantly associated with severity of HR., Conclusions: This study revealed that the prevalence of HR in the elderly (≥50 years) was 26.7%. KOA, HV, and GA were independent risk factors for HR. KOA was associated with severity of HR., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Insulin resistance leads to the onset of medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, and its development is associated with the alteration in the gut microbiota. Although it has been demonstrated that supplementation with prebiotics modulates the gut microbiota, limited evidence is available for effects of prebiotics on insulin resistance, especially for humans. We investigated the prebiotic effect of 1-kestose supplementation on fasting insulin concentration in obesity-prone humans and rats. In the preliminary study using rats, the hyperinsulinemia induced by high-fat diet was suppressed by intake of water with 2% ( w / v ) 1-kestose. In the clinical study using obese-prone volunteers, the fasting serum insulin level was significantly reduced from 6.5 µU/mL (95% CI, 5.5-7.6) to 5.3 (4.6-6.0) by the 12-week intervention with supplementation of 10 g 1-kestose/day, whereas it was not changed by the intervention with placebo (6.2 µU/mL (5.4-7.1) and 6.5 (5.5-7.6) before and after intervention, respectively). The relative abundance of fecal Bifidobacterium was significantly increased to 0.3244 (SD, 0.1526) in 1-kestose-supplemented participants compared to that in control participants (0.1971 (0.1158)). These results suggest that prebiotic intervention using 1-kestose may potentially ameliorate insulin resistance in overweight humans via the modulation of the gut microbiota. UMIN 000028824.

The ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome system (UPS) is an important proteolytic mechanism for selecting and digesting cytotoxic proteins. The aim of this study is to elucidate expression and in situ localization of the UPS in the myocardium from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with refractory heart failure. The expression profile of the oxidative stress-induced cytotoxic proteins was also examined. Myocardium was obtained from 26 patients with DCM at the left ventriculoplasty. Ten normal autopsied hearts served as controls. Myocardial expressions of Ub and proteasomes were studied immunohistochemically. Oxidative stresses were examined in point of localization of the oxidation-induced modifier molecules (OMM). The relationship between immunohistochemical results and clinical parameters was also evaluated. Both Ub and proteasomes were stained positive in granular structures accumulating between the myofibrils and adjacent to nuclei in cardiomyocytes. The OMMs were also positive in the same Ub-positive granular structures. The area fraction of Ub, proteasomes and OMM was significantly higher in DCM hearts than in normal controls. Significant positive correlation was observed between the area fractions of Ub and plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (p = 0.046) in DCM hearts. In conclusion, enhanced expression of the UPS colocalized with OMM in cardiomyocytes may be involved in the pathophysiology of DCM hearts.

Mice are one of the most important model organisms for studying biological phenomena and diseases processes in life sciences. The biomedical research community has succeeded in launching large scale strategic knockout mouse projects around the world. RIKEN BRC, a comprehensive government funded biological resource center was established in 2001. RIKEN BRC has been acting as the core facility for the mouse resources of the National BioResource Project (NBRP) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan since 2002. RIKEN BRC is a founding member of the Federation of International Mouse Resources (FIMRe) together with the Jackson Laboratory, the European Mouse Mutant Archive, and other centers, and has participated in the International Mouse Strain Resource (IMSR) to distribute mouse strains worldwide. With the support of the scientific community, RIKEN BRC has collected over 3,800 strains including inbred, transgenic, knockout, wild-derived, and ENU-induced mutant strains. Excellent mouse models for human diseases and gene functions from academic organizations and private companies are distributed through RIKEN BRC. To meet research and social needs, our mice will be rederived to a specific pathogen-free state, strictly monitored for their health, and accurately tested for their genetic modifications and backgrounds. Users can easily access our mouse resources through the internet and obtain the mouse strains for a minimal fee. Cryopreservation of embryos and sperm is used for efficient preservation of the increasing number of mouse resources. RIKEN BRC collaborates with FIMRe members to support Japanese scientists in the use of valuable mouse resources from around the world.

Background: The sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) is currently the sole drug-coated stent approved for use in Japan, but there are few reports on its safety and outcomes in Japan., Methods and Results: From May 2004 to February 2005, a total of 297 patients with 402 lesions were treated with SES at 6 hospitals in the Kansai district. Follow-up angiography was performed in 82% of the patients and 80% of the lesions at 182+/-35 days after stenting. Coronary stenosis was evaluated using quantitative coronary angiography. Clinical and angiographic data were analyzed. Minimum lesion diameter was 0.75+/-0.52 mm and the reference diameter was 2.81+/-0.47 mm before stenting. The SES successfully dilated 99.5% of the lesions with few major adverse cardiac events. Restenosis occurred in 4.0% and the target lesion revascularization rate was 3.7%. Restenosis correlated with chronic hemodialysis, calcification, occlusion, ostial lesions, lesions kinked>45 degrees, right coronary artery (RCA) lesions and lesions at the ostium of the RCA., Conclusion: SES demonstrated a high rate of successful implantation with few complications, and mid-term outcomes were excellent. Patients with lesions at the ostium of the RCA or under chronic hemodialysis developed restenosis.

Although blood pressure (BP) is a major determinant of pulse wave velocity (PWV), some treatments have independent effects on BP and arterial stiffness. Although both ambulatory BP (ABP) and self-measured BP at home (HBP) have become important measures for the diagnosis and management of hypertension, single day recordings may be insufficient for a proper diagnosis of hypertension or the evaluation of treatment efficacy. To evaluate weekly variations in BP using 7-day HBP and 7-day ABP monitoring and to determine the relation between arterial stiffness and BP measurements in community-dwelling patients with hypertension. We enrolled 68 community-dwelling hypertensive subjects in this study. Significant weekly variations in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were found in the awake ABP data (p < .01, respectively), while no significant weekly variations in the asleep ABP or the morning and evening HBP data were observed. In untreated subjects, significant correlations were obtained between the brachial-ankle PWV and the average awake SBP, the average asleep SBP and the average SBP measured by HBP in the evening. In treated subjects, only the average SBP measured by HBP in the morning was significantly correlated with the baPWV. Differences in the weekly variations in BP were observed between HBP and ABP monitoring. In addition, the morning systolic HBP was not correlated with arterial stiffness in untreated subjects with hypertension but was correlated in treated subjects. Relations between the morning HBP and arterial stiffness might be attributed to morning surges in BP and/or trough levels of antihypertensive drugs.

Background: Although weekly variations with a peak on Monday have been reported in the incidence of cardiovascular events, few studies have investigated weekly variations in blood pressure (BP)., Methods: One hundred and thirty-five community-dwelling subjects had 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring for 7 days. We calculated the mean awake, asleep, morning (during the first 3 h after awaking) BP, and morning BP surge (mean morning systolic BP minus mean asleep systolic BP) for each day., Results: Monday surge in BP was found in the awake and morning BP (awake BP: 128.8 +/- 15.4/79.1 +/- 9.2 v 131.5 +/- 16.3/80.7 +/- 10.0 mm Hg, P < 0.01, respectively; morning BP: 127.3 +/- 17.8/78.8 +/- 11.4 v 132.5 +/- 18.2/81.2 +/- 10.0 mm Hg, P < 0.01, respectively) but was not found in the asleep BP (112.7 +/- 18.3/68.4 +/- 10.7 v 113.1 +/- 17.6/68.7 +/- 10.5 mm Hg, P = NS, respectively). The morning BP surge on Monday was higher than on the other days of the week except for Tuesday (Monday: 19.7 +/- 13.3 mm Hg v Friday: 16.4 +/- 12.9 mm Hg, P < 0.05; v Saturday: 14.7 +/- 13.3 mm Hg, P < 0.01 v Sunday: 13.7 +/- 12.0 mm Hg, P < 0.01; v Wednesday: 15.5 +/- 14.3 mm Hg, P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Morning BP surge was the greatest on Monday in a community-dwelling population. This may be in accord with clinical evidence that cardiovascular events more frequently occur in the morning on Monday.

Enteroviruses have been implicated in the pathogenesis of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). Recently, the association of adenovirus or parvovirus with IDC has been reported. Viral infection in the myocardium of American and Japanese patients with end-stage IDC was evaluated. Myocardial specimens from 30 American patients with IDC and 47 Japanese patients with IDC were analyzed for the presence of cardiotropic viruses. The strand-specific detection of enteroviral ribonucleic acid (RNA) was performed to determine viral activity in hearts with IDC. Established reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or PCR techniques were used to detect genomic sequences of influenza viruses, mumps virus, adenovirus, parvovirus, herpes simplex viruses, varicella-zoster virus, and Epstein-Barr virus. Enteroviral RNA was detected in 7 of the 30 American patients (23%) and in 15 of the 47 Japanese patients (32%). Minus-strand enteroviral RNA, an indicator of active enteroviral RNA replication, was demonstrated in 5 of 7 plus-strand-positive American patients (71%) and in 12 of 15 plus-strand-positive Japanese patients (80%). Sequence analysis revealed that the viruses detected were Coxsackie B viruses. No genomic sequences of other viruses were detected in the myocardium of either American or Japanese patients with IDC. Therefore, active group B Coxsackie virus RNA replication in the myocardium was demonstrated in a significant proportion of American and Japanese patients with end-stage IDC. There was no evidence of persistent infection by other viruses in hearts with IDC. Specific therapy should be designed for Coxsackie virus positive patients with IDC., (Copyright 2004 Excerpta Medica, Inc.)

Although fulminant myocarditis is known as a fatal disease, patients have been able to recover and return to normal life with the help of mechanical cardiopulmonary support. However, therapeutic guidelines for using percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) for fulminant myocarditis have not been established, and the clinical course and long-term prognosis of such patients are still controversial issues. The present national survey considered the current situation of patients as the basis for proposing therapeutic guidelines. Thirty of 52 patients (57.7%) survived and returned to social life. Important factors concerning the prognosis were the severity and grade of cardiac and renal dysfunction, the adjusted support flow rate to enable recovery from circulatory failure, and prevention of circulatory disturbances of the legs and multiple organ failure directly associated with PCPS. With regard to the long-term prognosis of patients treated with PCPS, the readmission rate was 10%, the exacerbation rate was 3.3%, and mortality was 10% during the average follow-up period of 962 days. Optimal management of the mechanical cardiopulmonary support and curative treatment for the myocarditis further improve the outcome of this disease.

A result of mass-screening for uterine cervical cancer conducted by Hyogo Cancer Hospital performed using mobilunit from 1965 to 1978 was analyzed and presented in this paper. The total number of women taking our initial screening examination was 188, 183.5% women screened or 9,447 were transferred for the further accurate examination. The rate of participants for this 2nd examination was 93.8% on the average. In this initial screening examination, a result of cytological examination on Papanicolaou's classification was as follows; 94.87% for class I and II, 4.81% for class III, and 0.21% for class IV and V. In the 2nd examination, the rate of the negative, suspected positive were 70.6%, 22.5% and 6.9% respectively. 759 cervical cancers were detected in our screening. The detecting rate of cervical cancer was 0.4% among initially screened women and 8.6% among women who appeared for the accurate examination. As the detecting rate among women for the 2nd examination became higher year by year (20% increase during recent 3 years), the accuracy of our screening methodology appeared to be improving. The incidence rate of cervical cancer in our screening was classified as stage 0; 49.0%, Ia; 36.4%, Ib; 9.1%, II; 3.9% an III; 1.6%. The most of detected cancer was occupied by cancer in situ and early invasive cancer. Annual review showed there is a gradual and steady increase in incidence rate to stage 0 in our screening.

In order to study the current clinical status of viral and idiopathic myocarditis in Japan, we conducted a questionnaire survey and collected data for 218 cases from 62 institutions. The diagnosis was based on clinical and laboratory findings alone in 45% of the cases, and it included endomyocardial biopsy in 24% and autopsy in 9% of the patients. Endomyocardial biopsies were available in 40% of the patients; definite cellular infiltrations were identified in half the cases. Regardless of the biopsy findings or availability of biopsy, males predominated in the patient population; the mean age range was 30-39 years for both sexes. Cardiac symptoms and signs were common in addition to "common cold" symptoms; ECG abnormalities, leukocytosis, accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, positive CRP, and increased cardiac enzyme levels were also very common in the acute phase of the disease. Serologic tests for virus titers, performed in 80% of the cases, were positive in 21%. There was no apparent correlation between serologic results and endomyocardial biopsy findings. In this survey, complete recovery occurred in 43%, cure with sequelae in 40%, recurrences in 3%, and death in 13% of the total patient population.