Factors Associated with Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Kinetics and Responses in Pegylated Interferon Alpha-2a Monotherapy for Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

Objective Pegylated-interferon monotherapy is the standard treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis B; however, the factors associated with its therapeutic effects remain unclear. Methods Patients with chronic hepatitis B were treated with pegylated interferon α-2a for 48 weeks. We evaluated the kinetics of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) during treatment and follow-up periods and the factors associated with an HBsAg response (defined as a change in HBsAg of ≥-1 log IU/mL from baseline). Results The study population comprised 50 patients. The median baseline levels of hepatitis B virus DNA and HBsAg were 5.00 and 3.40 log IU/mL. The median values of HBsAg reduction from baseline were -0.44 (n=48), -0.41 (n=40), and -0.68 (n=11) log IU/mL at the end of treatment and at 48 and 144 weeks post-treatment, respectively. The rates of HBsAg response were 24.0% and 22.5% at the end of treatment and at 48 weeks post-treatment, respectively. A multivariate analysis identified HBsAg <3.00 log IU/mL as an independent baseline factor contributing to the HBsAg response at the end of treatment and 48 weeks post-treatment (p=1.07×10^-2 and 4.42×10^-2, respectively). There were significant differences in the reduction of the HBsAg levels at 12 weeks of treatment and in the incidence of serum ALT increase during treatment between patients with and without an HBsAg response. Conclusion These findings suggest that the baseline HBsAg level, HBsAg kinetics at 12 weeks of treatment, and ALT increase during treatment are important factors contributing to the HBsAg response in pegylated interferon α-2a monotherapy for patients with chronic hepatitis B.     

The combination of oral-recombinant methioninase and azacitidine arrests a chemotherapy-resistant osteosarcoma patient-derived orthotopic xenograft mouse model

Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology - Cancers are methionine (MET) and methylation addicted, causing them to be highly sensitive to MET restriction. The present study determined the efficacy of...     

Higher melatonin secretion is associated with lower leukocyte and platelet counts in the general elderly population: the HEIJO‐KYO cohort

Circulating white blood cell (WBC) and platelet (PLT) counts are widely available and inexpensive cellular biomarkers of systemic inflammation and have been associated with a risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality. Melatonin may reduce systemic inflammation through its direct and indirect antioxidative effect; however, the associations of melatonin secretion with systemic inflammation remain unclear. In this cross‐sectional study on 1088 elderly individuals (mean age, 71.8 years), we measured overnight urinary 6‐sulfatoxymelatonin excretion (UME) and WBC and PLT counts as indices of melatonin secretion and systemic inflammation, respectively. UME was naturally log‐transformed for linear regression models because of skewed distribution (median, 6.8 μg; interquartile range, 4.1–10.6 μg). Univariate models revealed that higher log‐transformed UME levels were significantly associated with lower WBC and PLT counts (P = 0.046 and 0.018). After adjusting for potential confounding factors significantly associated with WBC or PLT counts, higher log‐transformed UME levels were significantly associated with lower WBC and PLT counts (WBC: β, ?0.143; 95% confidence interval, ?0.267 to ?0.020; P = 0.023; PLT: β, ?6.786; 95% confidence interval, ?12.047 to ?1.525; P = 0.012). Furthermore, the adjusted mean differences in WBC and PLT counts between the lowest and highest UME tertile groups were 0.225 × 10⁹/L and 9.480 × 10⁹/L, respectively. In conclusion, melatonin secretion was significantly and inversely associated with WBC and PLT counts in the general elderly population. The associations were independent of several major causes of systemic inflammation, including aging, obesity, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and physical inactivity.     

Fork injuries with the tines inserted bilaterally between the mandibular interdental spaces

In this paper, we report two rare cases of foreign body oral injuries caused by forks inserted tightly into both sides of the lingual interdental spaces between the mandibular deciduous canines and first deciduous molars (FDMs). These pediatric cases of foreign body insertion caused not only soft tissue injuries but also the potential luxation of affected deciduous teeth, i.e., the FDMs in the present cases, during the removal of the object by force.     

Effect of electrical stimulation of the internal capsule on nociceptive neurons responding to orofacial stimuli in the medullary dorsal horn of the rat

Internal capsule (IC) stimulation has been used clinically to alleviate central pain. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying pain relief by IC stimulation are poorly understood. In order to elucidate the analgesic mechanism, the effect of IC conditioning stimulation on nociceptive neurons in the rat medullary dorsal horn was investigated in the present study. Rats were anaesthetized with N(2)O-O(2) (2:1) and 0.5% halothane and were immobilized with pancuronium bromide. Two kinds of nociceptive neurons, wide dynamic range (WDR) and nociceptive specific (NS) neurons, responding to noxious stimulations of the face and oral structures were recorded in the trigeminal caudal nucleus and the medial reticular subnuclei. A test stimulus with a single rectangular pulse (2ms in duration, 5-70V) was applied to the centre of the receptive field. Responses in 55.9% of the WDR neurons and in 60% of the NS neurons were inhibited by conditioning stimuli to the ipsilateral IC with trains of 33 pulses (100-300microA) at 330Hz. The percents of peak inhibitory effects on WDR neurons and NS neurons were 78.1+/-25.0% (n=19) and 89.0+/-13.6% (n=3), respectively. The inhibitory effect continued for conditioning-test intervals of up to 500ms. Effective sites for conditioning stimulation were concentrated in the lateral side of the IC. These findings suggest that modulation of nociceptive transmission by IC stimulation occurs at second-order neurons via a presynaptic phenomenon by corticofugal fibers in the IC.     

Usefulness of CT images for diagnosis of odontogenic maxillary sinusitis

To assess the usefulness of CT images for the diagnosis of suspected odontogenic maxillary sinusitis, 52 patients with maxillary sinusitis who had received CT examination were retrospectively analyzed. maxillary sinus ostium was established on coronal CT image in 20 out of 55 lesions in those 52 patients. However, a considerable number of patients who had inflammatory disease not only in the maxillary sinus but also in other paranasal sinuses (38/55) or in the nasal meatus (34/55) were included in those 52 patients. Concerning the opening of the ostium, the clinical diagnosis is frequently different from the diagnosis made using CT. The CT findings of the maxillary sinus ostium, nasal meatus and other paranasal sinuses were thus important in planning the treatment for patients with maxillary sinusitis in dentistry, as in otorhinolaryngology.