Changes of cancer diagnosis disclosure to children in Japan in the last 20 years

International Journal of Clinical Oncology - The practice of cancer diagnosis disclosure to children has been changed with the times. The regulations of clinical trials in the 2000s might change...     

Postoperative development of sarcopenia is a strong predictor of a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction and upper gastric cancer

Background

There were few studies assessed the postoperative sarcopenia in patients with cancers. The objective of present study was to assess whether postoperative development of sarcopenia could predict a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction, (AEG) and upper gastric cancer (UGC).

Validation of the Karolinska sleepiness scale against performance and EEG variables.

OBJECTIVE: The Karolinska sleepiness scale (KSS) is frequently used for evaluating subjective sleepiness. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the KSS with electroencephalographic, behavioral and other subjective indicators of sleepiness. METHODS: Participants were 16 healthy females aged 33-43 (38.1+/-2.68) years. The experiment involved 8 measurement sessions per day for 3 consecutive days. Each session contained the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), the Karolinska drowsiness test (KDT-EEG alpha & theta power), the alpha attenuation test (AAT-alpha power ratio open/closed eyes) and the KSS. RESULTS: Median reaction time, number of lapses, alpha and theta power density and the alpha attenuation coefficients (AAC) showed highly significant increase with increasing KSS. The same variables were also significantly correlated with KSS, with a mean value for lapses (r=0.56). CONCLUSIONS: The KSS was closely related to EEG and behavioral variables, indicating a high validity in measuring sleepiness. SIGNIFICANCE: KSS ratings may be a useful proxy for EEG or behavioral indicators of sleepiness.     

Mass Protection Program of Perinatal Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Japan and Impact of an Optional Booster Vaccination on Its Efficacy

We assessed the efficacy of a government-sponsored mass protection program in Osaka, Japan, for perinatal HBV infection in infants born to HBeAg positive HBV carrier mothers. We also evaluated the impact of optional follow-up procedures in such infants, including an evaluation of anti-HBs response and a booster dose of HBV vaccine for poor responders. The results demonstrated that this mass protection program protected 94.4% of the infants from perinatal HBV infection in the Osaka area. However, the proportion of infants with an unprotective level of anti-HBs was higher in the standard group than in the follow-up group both at 1.0 and 1.5 years of age, which was also the case for HBV events. Furthermore, the present study showed that a booster dose of vaccine in poor responders was very effective in promoting an anti-HBs response. In conclusion, we recommend that a follow-up blood test to confirm a response of anti-HBs to HBV vaccine should be performed at 4–8 weeks after the third injection of HBV vaccine in infants born to HBeAg positive HBV carrier mothers. We also recommend that a booster injection of HBV vaccine should be immediately given to poor responding infants who otherwise are at a considerable risk of developing HBV infection in late infancy.     

Extensively hydrolyzed formula (MA-mi) induced exacerbation of food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) in a male infant.

BACKGROUND: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) is a severe, cell-mediated food allergy in which digestive symptoms such as severe vomiting and diarrhea are induced by cow's milk and/or soy protein in infants. Generally, a food-specific IgE is not detected, and FPIES may be caused by inadvertent exposure to allergenic foods. CASE SUMMARY: The patient in our case was a male infant in whom vomiting had been induced by ingestion of a cow's milk-based formula and bloody diarrhea had been caused by ingestion of breast milk during the neonatal period. Accidental ingestion of a new and extensively hydrolyzed casein/whey formula, MA-mi, caused watery diarrhea at 8 months of age, and FPIES was diagnosed based on these symptoms. In antigen-specific lymphocyte stimulation tests, New MA-1 was negative, but MA-mi and cow's milk antigens were positive. The only causative antigens were derived from cow's milk, and the symptoms were not induced by another extensively hydrolyzed casein formula, New MA-1. The patient grew and developed normally thereafter, and no symptoms were induced by solid food during the course of the condition. DISCUSSION: MA-mi is likely to be used increasingly for allergic infants, but it is not necessarily a substitute for other hydrolyzed milk formulae in all cases, and care should be taken regarding its use and possible misuse.     

Immunopathologic study of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome

We studied an enucleated eye from a patient with a 30-year history of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome using both conventional and immunohistochemical techniques. Clinically, the eye was in the end stage of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome, and was characterized by the absence of inflammation, large areas of chorioretinal scarring, and pigmentary changes. Histopathologic examination showed marked retinal gliosis, extensive chorioretinal adhesion and scar formation, migration of pigment into the retina, and severe retinal pigment epithelial changes. However, foci of mild to moderate nongranulomatous inflammation of the uvea were observed. These foci contained infiltrating cells that were mainly T lymphocytes with B lymphocyte aggregates at the center. Scattered macrophages were also noted in the uvea and retina. These findings suggest that both the cell-mediated and humoral immune arms may play roles in the pathogenesis of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.