Fish Oil for Attenuating Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Rescue Workers after the Great East Japan Earthquake: A Randomized Controlled Trial

No abstract available.     

Comparison between famciclovir and valacyclovir for acute pain in adult Japanese immunocompetent patients with herpes zoster

Famciclovir is a guanine analog antiviral drug used commonly for herpes zoster. Efficacy of famciclovir treatment has been reported to be comparable to valacyclovir treatment. Both of these medications reduce the time to complete cessation of zoster‐associated pain including post‐herpetic neuralgia, as compared to acyclovir. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, open clinical trial in order to evaluate the extent of pain relief afforded by these two antiviral drugs during the acute disease phase of herpes zoster. The study group comprised 86 immunocompetent adult patients suffering from herpes zoster, who were treated with either famciclovir or valacyclovir for 7 days. Of these, 55 patients enrolled in this study within 72 h of the onset of the rash and 31 patients after 72 h of the onset. There was a significant reduction in acute herpes zoster pain with famciclovir on day 7 and at 2–3 weeks in both of these patient groups, while with valacyclovir, there was not significant reduction in pain on day 7. Of patients aged 50 years or older, there was a significantly earlier reduction in pain with famciclovir than with valacyclovir. In addition, a significant reduction in the number of patients with pain was observed as early as days 3–4 with famciclovir treatment as compared with valacyclovir treatment. We conclude that famciclovir was superior to valacyclovir in the relief of acute pain of herpes zoster. Accordingly, famciclovir is recommended for herpes zoster patients with moderate symptoms and a visual analog scale score of under 50 mm.     

Mutations in the fifth immunoglobulin-like domain of kit are common and potentially sensitive to imatinib mesylate in feline mast cell tumours

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the mutation status of KIT in feline mast cell tumours (MCTs) and to examine the effects of tyrosine kinase inhibition on the phosphorylation of mutant kit in vitro and in clinical cases of cats. Sequence analysis of KIT identified mutations in 42/62 MCTs (67·7%). The vast majority of the mutations were distributed in exons 8 and 9, both of which encode the fifth immunoglobulin-like domain (IgD) of kit. All five types of kit with a mutation in the fifth IgD were then expressed in 293 cells and examined for phosphorylation status. The mutant kit proteins showed ligand-independent phosphorylation. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate suppressed the phosphorylation of these mutant kit proteins in transfectant cells. In a clinical study of 10 cats with MCTs, beneficial response to imatinib mesylate was observed in 7/8 cats that had a mutation in the fifth IgD of kit in tumour cells. Mutations in the fifth IgD of kit thus appear to be common and potentially sensitive to imatinib mesylate in feline MCTs. These data provide an in vivo model for paediatric mastocytosis where mutations in the fifth IgD of kit also occur.     

Successful pregnancy after gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue and hysteroscopic myomectomy in a woman with diffuse uterine leiomyomatosis

We report a patient with diffuse uterine leiomyomatosis, who wished to become pregnant. We performed hysteroscopic myomectomy after treatment with nafarelin acetate for 6 months. The patient conceived spontaneously soon after hysteroscopic myomectomy, and delivered a 2,798-g healthy baby.     

A case of Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense infection possibly linked to salmon consumption in New Zealand

Global increases in salmon consumption and changes in fish-eating habits have meant that Diphyllobothrium infections now occur in regions where they were previously absent. In the present paper, a case of diphyllobothriasis through the likely ingestion of raw salmon in New Zealand in a Japanese patient is reported. The causative tapeworm species was identified as Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense based on mitochondrial DNA analysis of proglottid expelled from the patient. Nucleotide sequence datum reported in the present paper is available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number AB364645.     

Utility of computed tomography in identifying an ectopic thyroid in infants and pre-school children

In purpose of identifying thyroid tissue in patients with congenital hypothyroidism during childhood, ultrasonography is usually used as a screening examination, and scintigraphy is performed secondarily. Though these methods are useful, it is not easy to identify the accurate location of thyroid tissue by these methods. We previously reported the utility of computed tomography (CT) in identifying thyroid tissue in four cases of congenital hypothyroidism. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether CT is useful in identifying thyroid tissue, compared to ultrasonography or scintigraphy. Nineteen cases (0 month to 18 years of age) that were suspected to have ectopic thyroid tissue or thyroid agenesis on ultrasonography were examined by CT. CT was useful in diagnosing ectopic thyroid tissue or thyroid agenesis in all the cases, whereas ultrasonography or scintigraphy was less accurate in this purpose in seven cases. Plain CT had a difficulty in identifying thyroid tissue in two cases, in which contrasted image was required. This study showed that CT, especially an enhanced CT, is useful in identifying thyroid tissue, when the gland is not identified in the normal position by ultrasonography.