Long-term efficacy of intravenously administered immunoglobulin in a case of polymyositis with limited application of steroid therapy.

A 72-year-old man who had been diagnosed with polymyositis (PM) was admitted to our hospital for pneumonia with exacerbation of muscle weakness, elevation of muscle enzymes, and positive magnetic resonance imaging findings. The patient had been refractory to cyclosporine A or azathioprine and hoped to avoid administration of high-dose steroids; IV immunoglobulin (IVIG) was therefore administered after improvement of the pneumonia. Two weeks after the IVIG therapy, muscle test scores, activities of daily living, and muscle enzymes were drastically improved. Twenty months after IVIG, no relapse of PM was observed

Effect of baseline self-efficacy on physical activity and psychological stress after a one-week pedometer intervention

Physical activity and psychological stress were hypothesized to improve more in participants with high self-efficacy than in those with low and medium self-efficacy, after a one-week intervention. 39 female university students participated. The intervention had two steps: a lecture on self-monitoring and goal setting (160 min.) and a one-week pedometer intervention. Analyses were conducted on tertile groups according to self-efficacy at baseline. Pedometer step counts were higher in the high self-efficacy group than in the low self-efficacy group after intervention. Helplessness decreased time dependently after intervention only in the high-self-efficacy group. Because physical activity improved more in the high self-efficacy group after a one-week intervention, one hypothesis was supported

Circulating CD34+ cells and active arterial wall thickening among elderly men: A prospective study

Age-related physical changes, such as low-grade inflammation and increased oxidative stress, induce endothelial repair and cause active arterial wall thickening by stimulating the production of CD34+ cells (the principal mediators of atherosclerosis). Despite this, aggressive endothelial repair (progressing atherosclerosis) might cause a wasting reduction in CD34+ cells, which could result in a lower capacity of endothelial repair and hypertension. As yet, no prospective study has clarified the association of circulating CD34+ cells with active arterial wall thickening. We conducted a prospective study of 363 men aged 60?69 years who participated in a general health check-up at least twice from 2014?2017. The circulating CD34+ cell count was significantly positively associated with active arterial wall thickening among subjects without hypertension (n = 236), but not among subjects with hypertension (n = 127). The fully adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of active arterial wall thickening for the logarithmic circulating CD34+ cell count were 1.83 (1.19, 2.84) and 0.69 (0.36, 1.32) for subjects without and with hypertension, respectively. Circulating CD34+ cells are positively associated with active arterial wall thickening in subjects without hypertension. This study demonstrates a means to clarify the mechanisms of endothelial repair in elderly subjects

Short stature-related single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) activates endothelial repair activity in elderly Japanese

Background: Hypertension and atherosclerosis are bidirectionally related, while platelet count could serve as an indicator of endothelial repair. Therefore, high platelet counts could be associated with hypertension by indicating more intense endothelial repair activity. Furthermore, short stature has been shown to constitute a risk of atherosclerosis. Since inflammation-related single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP(rs3782886)) is reportedly associated with myocardial infarction and short stature, rs3782886 could be associated with a high platelet count and thus more intense endothelial repair activity. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 988 elderly Japanese who participated in a general health check-up. Short stature was defined as a height of at or under the 25th percentile of the study population, and high platelet count as the highest tertiles of the platelet levels. Results: High platelet counts were found to be independently and positively associated with hypertension while rs3782886 was independently associated with high platelet levels and short stature. The classical cardiovascular risk factor-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of high platelet count for hypertension was 1.34 (1.02, 1.77). With non-minor homo of the rs3782886 as the reference group, the adjusted OR and 95% CI for high platelet count and short stature of minor home were 2.40 (1.30, 4.42) and 2.21 (1.16, 4.21), respectively. Conclusion: SNP (rs3782886) was shown to be associated with high platelet count and short stature. This result partly explains how a genetic factor can influence the impact of height on endothelial repair

Association between circulating CD34‑positive cell count and height loss among older men

Height loss starting in middle age is reportedly signifcantly associated with death due to cardiovascular disease. Impaired blood fow is the main pathology in cardiovascular disease. Hematopoietic stem cells such as CD34-positive cells play an important role in maintaining the microcirculation and preventing impaired blood fow by activating endothelial repair and angiogenesis. Therefore, circulating CD34-positive cell count could be associated with height loss. To clarify the association between circulating CD34-positive cell count and height loss, we conducted a follow-up study of 363 Japanese men aged 60–69 years over 2 years. Height loss was defned as being in the highest quartile of height decrease per year. Independent of known cardiovascular risk factors, circulating CD34-positive cell count was signifcantly inversely associated with height loss. The fully adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confdence interval (CI) of height loss for circulating CD34-positive cell count (logarithmic values) was 0.49 (0.32, 0.74). This study suggests that a lower capacity to maintain the microcirculation due to a fewer CD34-positive cells might afect height loss

Methotrexate Alters the Expression of microRNA in Fibroblast-like Synovial Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis

We aimed to investigate the effect of methotrexate (MTX) on microRNA modulation in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synovial cells (RA-FLS). RA-FLS were treated with MTX for 48 h. We then performed miRNA array analysis to investigate differentially expressed miRNAs. Transfection with miR-877-3p precursor and inhibitor were used to investigate the functional role of miR-877-3p in RA-FLS. Gene ontology analysis was used to investigate the cellular processes involving miR-877-3p. The production of cytokines/chemokines was screened by multiplex cytokine/chemokine bead assay and confirmed by ELISA and quantitative real-time PCR. The migratory and proliferative activities of RA-FLS were analyzed by wound healing assay and MKI-67 expression. MTX treatment altered the expression of 13 miRNAs (seven were upregulated and six were downregulated). Among them, quantitative real-time PCR confirmed that miR-877-3p was upregulated in response to MTX (1.79 ± 0.46-fold, p < 0.05). The possible target genes of miR-877-3p in RA-FLS revealed by the microarray analysis were correlated with biological processes. The overexpression of miR-877-3p decreased the production of GM-CSF and CCL3, and the overexpression of miR-877-3p inhibited migratory and proliferative activity. MTX altered the miR-877-3p expression on RA-FLS, and this alteration of miR-877-3p attenuated the abundant production of cytokines/chemokines and proliferative property of RA-FLS

Association between Epstein-Barr virus serological reactivation and psychological distress: a cross-sectional study of Japanese community-dwelling older adults

Reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with the etiopathogenesis of a broad spectrum of diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between psychological distress and EBV serological reactivation among community-dwelling older people and assess the role of sex differences in this association. This population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among individuals who underwent annual health checkups (N = 2,821; median age 72.4 years). EBV serological reactivation was defined as elevation of EBV early antigen immunoglobulin G titers, and psychological distress was defined as Kessler 6 scores ≥5. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for EBV serological reactivation and psychological distress. EBV serological reactivation and psychological distress were detected in 16.4% and 8.7% of participants, respectively. Women accounted for 71% (328/463) of those with EBV serological reactivation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed psychological distress was not significantly associated with EBV serological reactivation among all participants (OR 1.31, 95% CI: 0.95, 1.82; P = 0.102). A sex-stratified multivariable analysis showed a positive association among women (OR 1.45, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.08; P = 0.043), but no association among men. EBV serological reactivation was independently associated with psychological distress in community-dwelling older women. The sex difference in our results warrants further investigation to clarify the physiological mechanisms underlying the association