Photodynamic Therapy With YAG-OPO Laser for Early Stage Lung Cancer

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) utilizing Photofrin is proving to be effective for the treatment of early stage lung cancers. The effect of PDT utilizing YAG-OPO laser as new light source was evaluated in 26 patients (29 lesions) with early stage lung cancers. YAG-OPO laser is solid state tunable laser which is easy to change wavelength between 620 and 670 nm exciting various kinds of photosensitizers. Moreover, YAG-OPO laser is more reliable, smaller and has less consumables than argon-dye laser or excimer-dye laser. As the result of PDT with YAG-OPO laser, complete remission (CR) was obtained in 82.6% of the 29 lesions, partial remission (PR) in 13.8% and no change (NC) was obtained in 3.4%. We conclude that PDT utilizing YAG-OPO laser is efficacious in the treatment of early stage lung cancers and can achieve complete remission

Relationship between physique and food avoidance in infants : A study conducted in a community setting in Japan

The relationship between food avoidance during infancy and the growth of Japanese infants in a community health setting has not been well evaluated. In order to assess the growth of infants who avoided either of the three major allergen foods in Japan, eggs, milk or wheat, we employed the results of 4 physical checkups recorded in maternity passbooks and administrated a questionnaire on allergic diseases, height and weight at birth to the guardians of 1,132 infants at the age of 3.5 years. Data was obtained from 890 subjects (78.6%) and 662 subjects (58.5%) who met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The height, weight and body mass index percentile scores of each subject were calculated. Subjects who avoided either of the three foods at 3.5 years had lower weight percentile scores at 1.5 years, lower height and weight percentile scores at 3.5 years, and lower weight growth rates, compared with the subjects who did not avoid any of the three foods at 3.5 years (P=0.02, 0.03, 0.03, 0.01). The results suggested that there was a negative relationship between physique and food avoidance in infants, and that physical and nutritional assessments are important for food avoiders

Intravenous immunoglobulin for maintenance treatment of multifocal motor neuropathy: A multi-center, open-label, 52-week phase 3 trial

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapy is currently the only established treatment in patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), and many patients have an IVIg‐dependent fluctuation. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of every 3 week IVIg (1.0 g/kg) for 52 weeks. This study was an open‐label phase 3 clinical trial, enrolling 13 MMN patients. After an induction IVIg therapy (0.4 g/kg/d for 5 consecutive days), maintenance dose (1.0 g/kg) was given every 3 weeks for 52 weeks. The major outcome measures were the Medical Research Council (MRC) sum score and hand‐grip strength at week 52. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01827072. At week 52, 11 of the 13 patients completed the study, and all 11 had a sustained improvement. The mean (SD) MRC sum score was 85.6 (8.7) at the baseline, and 90.6 (12.8) at week 52. The mean grip strength was 39.2 (30.0) kPa at the baseline and 45.2 (32.8) kPa at week 52. Two patients dropped out because of adverse event (dysphagia) and decision of an investigator, respectively. Three patients developed coronary spasm, dysphagia, or inguinal herniation, reported as the serious adverse events, but considered not related with the study drug. The other adverse effects were mild and resolved by the end of the study period. Our results show that maintenance treatment with 1.0 g/kg IVIg every 3 week is safe and efficacious for MMN patients up to 52 weeks. Further studies are required to investigate optimal dose and duration of maintenance IVIg for MMN

髄液サイトカインプロファイルによる多巣性運動ニューロパチーと進行性筋萎縮症の鑑別

Objective: We aimed to compare the cytokine and chemokine profiles of patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) with those of patients with progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to investigate immunologic differences in the CNS. Methods: CSF from 12 patients with MMN, 8 with PMA, 26 with sporadic ALS, and 10 with other noninflammatory neurologic disorders was analyzed for 27 cytokines and chemokines using the multiplex bead array assay. Cytokine titers of the 4 groups were compared, and correlations between the titers of relevant cytokines and clinical parameters were evaluated. Results: There were no obvious intrathecal changes except for interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist in patients with MMN. In contrast, IL-4, IL-7, IL-17, eotaxin/CCL11, fibroblast growth factor- 2 (FGF-2), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and platelet-derived growth factor BB titers were significantly elevated in patients with PMA and ALS; of these, FGF-2 and G-CSF titers were elevated compared with those in patients with MMN. IL-4 and IL-10 titers were high in patients with ALS, particularly patients with possible ALS presenting with a slowly progressive course or mild symptoms. Conclusions: The CSF cytokine profile of patients with MMN is distinct from that of patients with PMA and ALS. The similarity of the cytokine profiles between patients with PMA and ALS suggests that PMA shares common immunologic features with ALS in the CNS, even without clinical evidence of upper motor neuron involvement

PETREL: Platform for Extra and Terrestrial Remote Examination with LCTF

A small satellite ”PETREL” for UV astronomy and remote sensing with ”tunable” multi-spectral cameras conducted by an academia-industrial collaboration is presented. This project was originally proposed by an astronomer who desired a satellite for exploration of explosive objects in ultraviolet. To avoid the earthshine the astronomical observations are scheduled only in the nighttime. To utilize the daytime more electively we conceived a plan of ”satellite sharing” with the industrial collaborators, that can also reduce the developing cost drastically. The daytime mission is spectroscopy that is one of the potential fields in terms of data business, because that can provide chemical and biological information on the surface of the earth. We employ multi-spectral cameras making use of liquid crystal tunable filters (LCTFs) that enable adaptive observations at the optimized wave-bands for each targets. In 2020, this remote-sensing project and ultraviolet astronomy mission were accepted as a small satellite project of JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration program and as an ISAS/JAXA’s small-scale program, respectively. This satellit

PETREL for Astrophysics and Carbon Business

A multi-purpose 50kg class microsatellite hosting astrophysical mission and earth remote sensing, PETREL , will be launched in 2023. In the night side, PETREL observe the ultra-violet sky with a wide-field telescope covering 50 deg^2 for surveying transient objects related to supernovae, tidal disruption events, and gravitational wave events. Our UV telescope can detect the early phase UV emission from a neutron star merger occurred within 150 Mpc. In addition to the satellite observation, PETREL sends a detection alert including the coordinate and brightness of the UV transient to the ground via the real time communication network within several minutes after detection to conduct follow-up observations with the collaborating ground based observatories over the world. In the day side, PETREL observes the surface of the earth by using the tunable multi-spectral cameras and a ultra-compact hyperspectral camera. Our potential targets are the tropical forests (Green Carbon) and coastal zones (Blue Carbon) in the tropical areas to evaluating the global biological carbon strages. For this purpose PETREL will conduct multiple scale mapping collaborating with drones and small aircraft not only satellite. The obtained data will be used for academical research and for business applications. The technical difficulty of this satellite is that carries out multi-purpose with different requirements, such as astronomical observations which requires a quite high attitude stability and the earth observations requiring a high pointing accuracy, with limited resources. If it is possible, a novel small satellite system or a business style can be realized that can share the payload with academia and industry. PETREL has been adopted as Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program No.3 led by JAXA, and development is underway with the aim of launching in FY2023

Endotoxin receptor CD14 in PiZ α-1-antitrypsin deficiency individuals

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Prevention of hypoglycemia by intermittent-scanning continuous glucose monitoring device combined with structured education in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus : A randomized, crossover trial

Aims: We conducted a randomized, crossover trial to compare intermittent-scanning continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) device with structured education (Intervention) to self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) (Control) in the reduction of time below range. Methods: This crossover trial involved 104 adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) using multiple daily injections. Participants were randomly allocated to either sequence Intervention/Control or sequence Control/Intervention. During the Intervention period which lasted 84 days, participants used the first-generation FreeStyle Libre (Abbott Diabetes Care, Alameda, CA, USA) and received structured education on how to prevent hypoglycemia based on the trend arrow and by frequent sensor scanning (≥10 times a day). Confirmatory SMBG was conducted before dosing insulin. The Control period lasted 84 days. The primary endpoint was the decrease in the time below range (TBR; <70 mg/dL). Results: The time below range was significantly reduced in the Intervention arm compared to the Control arm (2.42 ± 1.68 h/day [10.1 %±7.0 %] vs 3.10 ± 2.28 h/day [12.9 %±9.5 %], P = 0.012). The ratio of high-risk participants with low blood glucose index >5 was significantly reduced (8.6 % vs 23.7 %, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The use of isCGM combined with structured education significantly reduced the time below range in patients with T1DM