Short-term outcomes of mirogabalin in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain: a retrospective study

Background Mirogabalin, which is approved for the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain in Japan, is a ligand for the α2δ subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels. Both pregabalin and mirogabalin act as nonselective ligands at the α2δ-1 and α2δ-2 subunits. Mirogabalin has a unique binding profile and long duration of action. Pregabalin has been reported to produce intolerable adverse effects in some patients. This study investigated outcomes associated with mirogabalin administration in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain who ceased treatment with pregabalin. Methods We retrospectively assessed peripheral neuropathic pain using the neuropathic pain screening questionnaire (NeP score) in 187 patients (58 men, 129 women) who were treated with mirogabalin. All patients had switched from pregabalin to mirogabalin due to lack of efficacy or adverse events. Differences in the treatment course (i.e., numeric rating scale (NRS) scores) were compared using one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc tests. Results The mean age of the patients was 72.3 years (range, 30–94 years), and the mean duration of disease was 37 months (range, 3–252 months). After treatment with mirogabalin for 1 week, NRS scores significantly decreased compared with baseline and continued to decrease over time. After 8 weeks, NRS scores improved by ≥ 30% from baseline in 113 patients (69.3%). Twenty-four patients (12.8%) stopped mirogabalin treatment due to adverse events. Somnolence (26.7%), dizziness (12.3%), edema (5.9%), and weight gain (0.5%) were noted as adverse events of mirogabalin. Conclusions The results of this investigation indicate that mirogabalin is safe and effective for reducing peripheral neuropathic pain

Local Cooling Effectiveness Distribution of an Integrated Impingement and Pin-Fin Cooling Configuration”,

ABSTRACT An integrated impingement and pin-fin cooling configuration is investigated experimentally. Temperature measurements have been performed for several test pieces with various pin/hole arrangements to clarify an influence of pin/hole arrangements on cooling effectiveness. The experiment has been conducted with 673K combustion gas flow and room temperature cooling air. Reynolds number of combustion gas flow is 380000 and Reynolds number of cooling air flow is in the range from 5000 to 30000. An infrared camera is used to measure a temperature distribution on a specimen surface. The area-averaged cooling effectiveness and the local cooling effectiveness are evaluated for each specimen and compared each other. There are evidences of the existence of pins on the local cooling effectiveness at the exact location of those. But the local cooling effectiveness are independent of the hole arrangement

An analysis of intestinal morphology and incretin-producing cells using tissue optical clearing and 3-D imaging

Tissue optical clearing permits detailed evaluation of organ three-dimensional (3-D) structure as well as that of individual cells by tissue staining and autofluorescence. In this study, we evaluated intestinal morphology, intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), and enteroendocrine cells, such as incretin-producing cells, in reporter mice by intestinal 3-D imaging. 3-D intestinal imaging of reporter mice using optical tissue clearing enabled us to evaluate both detailed intestinal morphologies and cell numbers, villus length and crypt depth in the same samples. In disease mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-injected mice, the results of 3-D imaging using tissue optical clearing in this study was consistent with those of 2-D imaging in previous reports and could added the new data of intestinal morphology. In analysis of incretin-producing cells of reporter mice, we could elucidate the number, the percentage, and the localization of incretin-producing cells in intestine and the difference of those between L cells and K cells. Thus, we established a novel method of intestinal analysis using tissue optical clearing and 3-D imaging. 3-D evaluation of intestine enabled us to clarify not only detailed intestinal morphology but also the precise number and localization of IECs and incretin-producing cells in the same samples

Combination of Myogenic and Neurogenic Motor Evoked Potential Monitoring During Thoracoabdominal Aortic Surgery

A 64-year-old woman was evaluated for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs). Preoperative computed tomography showed a TAAA extending from the level of the diaphragm to the renal arteries. The Adamkiewicz artery (AKA) arose at the Th10 level, close to the aneurysm, and an abdominal aortic prosthesis and left iliac artery aneurysm were detected. Myogenic and neurogenic motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were monitored during the surgical repair of the TAAA, and there were differences between the two types of MEPs during surgery. Both MEPs fell below 50% of their baseline levels during surgery, which suggested critical ischemia, but the decrease in the myogenic MEP occurred at a different time from the decrease in the neurogenic MEP. A time-course analysis suggested that AKA reimplantation was unnecessary and all intercostal arteries were ligated. Both MEPs recovered completely by the end of surgery and there were no postoperative neurologic deficits. Our findings suggest that the combination of myogenic and neurogenic MEP monitoring is helpful in evaluating spinal cord injury during the surgical repair of TAAAs

Impact of relative dose intensity (RDI) in CHOP combined with rituximab (R-CHOP) on survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recently, maintaining higher relative dose intensity (RDI) of chemotherapeutic drugs has become a widespread practice in an attempt to achieve better outcomes in the treatment of aggressive lymphoma. The addition of rituximab to chemotherapy regimens has significantly improved outcome in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBL). However, it is unknown if higher RDI in chemotherapy when combined with rituximab leads to a better outcome in aggressive B-cell lymphoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively evaluated the impact of the RDI of initial chemotherapy (consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone with rituximab (R-CHOP) on outcome in 100 newly diagnosed DLBL patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A multivariate Cox regression model showed that RDI trended towards a significant association with mortality [hazard ratio per 0.1 of RDI = 0.8; 95% confidence interval 0.6–1.0; <it>P </it>= 0.08]. Additionally, on multivariate logistic analysis, advanced age was a significant factor for reduced RDI.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest that in DLBL patients, mortality was affected by RDI of R-CHOP as the initial treatment, and the retention of a high RDI could therefore be crucial.</p

Descending thoracic aortic repair outcomes for chronic aortic dissection: a single-centre experience

博士(医学)Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Science広島大学Hiroshima Universit

Li-Rich Li-Si Alloy As A Lithium-Containing Negative Electrode Material Towards High Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are generally constructed by lithium-including positive electrode materials, such as LiCoO2, and lithium-free negative electrode materials, such as graphite. Recently, lithium-free positive electrode materials, such as sulfur, are gathering great attention from their very high capacities, thereby significantly increasing the energy density of LIBs. Though the lithium-free materials need to be combined with lithium-containing negative electrode materials, the latter has not been well developed yet. In this work, the feasibility of Li-rich Li-Si alloy is examined as a lithium-containing negative electrode material. Li-rich Li-Si alloy is prepared by the melt-solidification of Li and Si metals with the composition of Li21Si5. By repeating delithiation/lithiation cycles, Li-Si particles turn into porous structure, whereas the original particle size remains unchanged. Since Li-Si is free from severe constriction/expansion upon delithiation/lithiation, it shows much better cyclability than Si. The feasibility of the Li-Si alloy is further examined by constructing a full-cell together with a lithium-free positive electrode. Though Li-Si alloy is too active to be mixed with binder polymers, the coating with carbon-black powder by physical mixing is found to prevent the undesirable reactions of Li-Si alloy with binder polymers, and thus enables the construction of a more practical electrochemical cell