Medical Journal Club with Dr. Takuji Shirasawa

 The aim of the study was to explore the clinical significance of school refusal behavior, its negative impact on psychological well-being of children and adolescents and its relationship with the most common psychopathological conditions during childhood and adolescence (e.g. neurodevelopmental disorders, psychiatric disorders). School refusal behavior refers to a distressing condition experience...

Glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent trophic factoressential for neuronal survival and function. Encoded by the GDNF gene,its mature protein arises from specific post-translational modifications andis secreted through distinct isoform-dependent pathways. Once released,GDNF binds to its receptors, GFRα1 and RET, activating downstream signalingcascades that regulate cell gr...

Background: the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be challenging, especially in the early stages, albeit its updated and validated clinical criteria. Recent developments on neuroimaging in PD, altogether with its consolidated role of excluding secondary and other neurodegenerative causes of parkinsonism, provide more confidence in the diagnosis across the different stages of the disease. T...

Background:  Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a multifactorial, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. In addition to hallmark motor symptoms, it manifests a wide range of nonmotor complications, including cognitive decline, neuropsychiatric symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, and comorbid metabolic and infectious diseases. Objectives: ...

Sjogren syndrome is traditionally considered an autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the salivary and lacrimal glands, autoantibody production, progressive glandular dysfunction, and systemic immune activation. Current therapies are primarily directed toward symptom control and immunosuppression. Although these approaches may reduce inflammatory activity, they generally...

 Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder predominantly affecting middle-aged and elderly women, characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands—particularly the salivary and lacrimal glands—resulting in xerophthalmia and xerostomia. Osteoporosis (OP), sharing similar age of onset and gender predilection, is a skeletal disorder defined by reduced bone mineral density...

 Sj¨ogren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by immune-mediated injury of exocrine glands. Extensive lymphocytic infiltrates may contribute to the destruction and loss of secretory function of glands. B-cell hyperactivity is a key feature of the disease resulting in the production of a diverse array of autoantibodies in these patients. Although not specific for SS, anti...

 Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) is a prevalent global health issue, contributing to significant mortality and encompassing a spectrum of liver damage from steatosis to decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This review summarizes the current state of ALD, emphasizing both early and advanced stages, including alcohol-related hepatitis (AH). The epidemiology, diagnostic tools, na...

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease with glandular and extraglandular manifestations. Pleural and pericardial effusions in association with SS are rare. Similarly, ascites is rare and it can occur in SS when combined with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Inflammatory Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm together with SS has been described only in one case. We report herein the case of a 70-year-...

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most common lung manifestation in patients with Sjögren syndrome (SJS) and is associated with poor outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the longterm clinical course and prognostic factors in patients with SJS-ILD. Clinical data and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images of 62 patients with primary SJS-ILD were retrospectively analyzed (biopsy-...

The  CORAGEN may be understood as a complex biological preparation enriched withregenerative growth factors (GFs), cytokines (CKs), extracellularvesicles/exosomes, and regulatory microRNAs (miRs) that collectivelyexert  cardiovascular, endothelial, anti-inflammatory, reparative, andpotentially indirect antithrombotic effects .

 Primary Sj¨ogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease characterized by the dryness of exocrine glands. Recent studies emphasizes the significant role of B cells in its pathogenesis. This review provides an overview of the functions of B cells in Sj¨ogren's syndrome and their impact on the nervous system. Current studies on the association between B cell-mediated immune responses and neurol...

Glucocorticoid drivwn neural Rewiring

Glucocorticoid driven Neural Rewiring

Considering the problems associated with school attendance, school refusal is an adjustment problem that tends to become increasingly prevalent. The present study identifies the patterns reported in the literature on school refusal and outlines the structure and sub-components of school refusal. Therefore, the systematic review method was selected as the research method for this study. The data so...

ABSTRACT The dentate gyrus, a “gate” that controls the flow of information into the hippocampus, is critical for learning, memory, spatial navigation, and mood regulation. Several lines of evidence have demonstrated that deficits in dentate granule cells (DGCs) (e.g., loss of DGCs or genetic mutations in DGCs) contribute to the development of various psychiatric disorders, such as depression and a...

Adult-born granule cells (abGCs) have been implicated in memory discrimination through a neural computation known as pattern separation. Here, using in vivo Ca2+ imaging, we examined how chronic ablation or acute chemogenetic silencing of abGCs affects the activity of mature granule cells (mGCs). In both cases, we observed altered remapping of mGCs. Rather than broadly modulating the activity of a...

Adult neurogenesis is the creation of new neurons which integrate into the existing neural circuit of the adult brain. Recent evidence suggests that adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) persists throughout life in mammals, including humans. These newborn neurons have been implicated to have a crucial role in brain functions such as learning and memory. Importantly, studies have also found that hip...

Abstract Alcoholic liver cirrhosis is a chronic, progressive liver disease characterized by the formation of scar tissue, ultimately resulting in liver failure. This condition is prevalent, affecting millions of individuals worldwide. In this case report, we present a case study of a 63-year-old male patient diagnosed with decompensated alcoholic liver cirrhosis, accompanied by significant complic...

Prioritize autoimmune diseases and genetic factors. Provide the clinical indicators necessary for differentiation from secondary adrenal insufficiency. Clearly explain the precautions for patients currently undergoing steroid therapy. Describe the emergency signs that suggest an adrenal crisis and the appropriate responses. Briefly explain the differences in pathophysiology between primary and sec...

1. The importance of digitizing theknowledge of Japanese experts The biggest bottleneck in raising premium beefcattle in China is the severe shortage of human experts who systematicallyunderstand the entire lifecycle of breeds like Angus and Wagyu. By digitizingthe tacit knowledge and 50 years of experience of Japanese experts like Mr. Kinjo, the system creates a computable, replicable, and scalab...

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy is one of the most common neuromuscular disorders. Despite the identification of more than 100 causative genes, there are few therapeuticoptions are still missing. We present the case of a 66-yeayear-old man carrying a CMT mutation in the connexin 32 gene andwith the APOE genotype ε4/ε3, has symptom who hadhad exhibited symptoms of slowly progressive muscle wea...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease for which no curative treatment has yet been established. We applied cytokine-induced neurogenesis treatment to a 69-year-old female AD patient carrying APOE ε4/ε4 alleles to regenerate residual neuronal stem cells, resulting in the successful regeneration of the atrophied cerebral cortex and hippocampus associated with improved c...

Background. Observational studies suggesting that immunizations strongly decrease the risk of dementia had several methodological limitations. We assessed whether common vaccines are associated with the risk of dementia. Methods. We assembled a population-based cohort of dementia-free individuals aged ≥50 years in the United Kingdom’s Clinical Practice Research Datalink between 1988 and 2018. Usin...

ABSTRACT Bipolar disorder (BPD), formally called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings for which specific brain pathology has not yet been precisely defined. We administered cytokine-induced neurogenesis treatment to a 60-year-old male BPD patient to regenerate GABAergic neurons as well as glutamatergic neurons, which resulted in a successful regeneration o...