Process of parenting a child with RB

Background : Retinoblastoma（RB） occurs at a very young age. Since the disease is diagnosed at an early age, the family is responsible for the care of the childʼs disease acceptance. Objective : This study aims to explore the parenting process of children with RB toward disease acceptance. Methods : Parents of eleven children with RB living in Japan were interviewed, and the data were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach of Kinoshita（M-GTA）. Results : There were twenty-one concepts representing the process of parenting a child with RB while guiding him or her toward disease acceptance, and nineteen of them were classified into ten categories based on semantic similarities. The two other concepts showed similar interpretability to categories. These categories and concepts were summarized into two core categories : “Helping the child develop a positive mindset to define the disease as a part of him/herself ” and “Paving the way in advance for the child to live comfortably when his or her living space expands”. Conclusions : In a cyclical framework of parenting, consisting of two core categories described in Results, the parents coordinated these two approaches while maintaining balance by “Avoiding saying anything that does not need to be said” and established their process of parenting a child with RB while guiding him or her toward disease acceptance, according to their household situation. The results suggest the necessity of recognizing that in childhood-onset cancers, such as RB, and diseases involving genetic issues, problems tend to occur not only during the treatment period but also at the time of life events and providing support from a comprehensive perspective

Long-term follow-up of production of IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among patients with COVID-19

The patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19） produce IgM and IgG antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 （SARS-CoV-2）. However, the frequency and duration of antibody production still need to be fully understood. In the present study, we investigated the duration of antibody production after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were monitored over twelve months for the production of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies, and the characteristics of these patients were examined. Forty-five patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were enrolled, and thirty-four patients were followed up until they tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies or up to twelve months after the date of a negative SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction （PCR） result. The positivity rates of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies were 27.3％ and 68.2％ when SARS-CoV-2 PCR was negative, 20.6％ and 70.6％ after one month, 8.8％ and 52.9％ after three months, and 0.0％ and 14.7％ after six months, respectively. Moreover, we compared patients with milder conditions who did not require oxygen administration with those with severe conditions which required oxygen administration. The positivity rate of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies was significantly higher in patients with severe conditions than in those with milder conditions on the date of a negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR result and after one month and three months, but not after six months. Patients with more severe COVID-19 produced more SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Moreover, it is suggested that the duration of IgG antibody production is independent of COVID-19 severity

Proteomic Identification of Protein Targets for 15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-Prostaglandin J2 in Neuronal Plasma Membrane

15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) is one of factors contributed to the neurotoxicity of amyloid β (Aβ), a causative protein of Alzheimer's disease. Type 2 receptor for prostaglandin D2 (DP2) and peroxysome-proliferator activated receptorγ (PPARγ) are identified as the membrane receptor and the nuclear receptor for 15d-PGJ2, respectively. Previously, we reported that the cytotoxicity of 15d-PGJ2 was independent of DP2 and PPARγ, and suggested that 15d-PGJ2 induced apoptosis through the novel specific binding sites of 15d-PGJ2 different from DP2 and PPARγ. To relate the cytotoxicity of 15d-PGJ2 to amyloidoses, we performed binding assay [3H]15d-PGJ2 and specified targets for 15d-PGJ2 associated with cytotoxicity. In the various cell lines, there was a close correlation between the susceptibilities to 15d-PGJ2 and fibrillar Aβ. Specific binding sites of [3H]15d-PGJ2 were detected in rat cortical neurons and human bronchial smooth muscle cells. When the binding assay was performed in subcellular fractions of neurons, the specific binding sites of [3H]15d-PGJ2 were detected in plasma membrane, nuclear and cytosol, but not in microsome. A proteomic approach was used to identify protein targets for 15d-PGJ2 in the plasma membrane. By using biotinylated 15d-PGJ2, eleven proteins were identified as biotin-positive spots and classified into three different functional proteins: glycolytic enzymes (Enolase2, pyruvate kinase M1 (PKM1) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH)), molecular chaperones (heat shock protein 8 and T-complex protein 1 subunit α), cytoskeletal proteins (Actin β, F-actin-capping protein, Tubulin β and Internexin α). GAPDH, PKM1 and Tubulin β are Aβ-interacting proteins. Thus, the present study suggested that 15d-PGJ2 plays an important role in amyloidoses not only in the central nervous system but also in the peripheral tissues

Complexity and function of family involvement in advance care planning:A qualitative study of perspectives from people living with advanced cancer, family members and healthcare professionals

Background: Family members can support advance care planning conversations. However, how family involvement in advance care planning operates to achieve goal-concordant care remains unclear. Aim: To explore how family involvement impacts the process of advance care planning for advanced cancer patients and their family members to achieve goal-concordant care in Japan. Design: Qualitative study incorporating semi-structured in-depth interviews with thematic analysis informed by Family Systems Theory. Setting/participants: Medical oncology departments at two tertiary hospitals in Japan. A purposive sample of 13 advanced cancer patients, 10 family members and 9 healthcare professionals who cared for them. Results: Twenty-five interviews were conducted, comprising 7 dyads of patients and their family members and 18 individual interviews. Four themes were identified: characteristics of patients and family members and their views on illness and advance care planning; family context and communication; interactions with healthcare professionals and societal and cultural influences; and family members’ acceptance, preparation and confidence. Family involvement was observed as being variable at an individual level and also across generations. Family members provided patients with the instrumental and emotional support that facilitated the advance care planning process. Family involvement enabled family members to better prepare for realising patients’ wishes. It increased family members’ confidence in surrogate decision-making. Conclusions: Two mechanisms of how family involvement may enable goal-concordant care were identified: family members’ support provision and their preparation for realising patients’ wishes. Healthcare professionals should assess family’s readiness to engage in advance care planning, and the time required to prepare them for the process.</p

Supplementary_file_AJHPM-2017-12-241_(Kanno_Y)_(1) - Validity and Reliability of the Dying Care Process and Outcome Scales Before and After Death From the Bereaved Family Members’ Perspective

<p>Supplementary_file_AJHPM-2017-12-241_(Kanno_Y)_(1) for Validity and Reliability of the Dying Care Process and Outcome Scales Before and After Death From the Bereaved Family Members’ Perspective by Yusuke Kanno, Kazuki Sato, Megumi Shimizu, Yuko Funamizu, Hideaki Andoh, Megumi Kishino, Tomomi Senaga, Tetsu Takahashi, and Mitsunori Miyashita in American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®</p

Whole-brain imaging with single-cell resolution using chemical cocktails and computational analysis

Systems-level identification and analysis of cellular circuits in the brain will require the development of whole-brain imaging with single-cell resolution. To this end, we performed comprehensive chemical screening to develop a whole-brain clearing and imaging method, termed CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis). CUBIC is a simple and efficient method involving the immersion of brain samples in chemical mixtures containing aminoalcohols, which enables rapid whole-brain imaging with single-photon excitation microscopy. CUBIC is applicable to multicolor imaging of fluorescent proteins or immunostained samples in adult brains and is scalable from a primate brain to subcellular structures. We also developed a whole-brain cell-nuclear counterstaining protocol and a computational image analysis pipeline that, together with CUBIC reagents, enable the visualization and quantification of neural activities induced by environmental stimulation. CUBIC enables time-course expression profiling of whole adult brains with single-cell resolution