Meconium is changed from defoliated intestinal villi with apoptosis. A meconium corpuscle is a limited architecture in the meconium at the light microscopic level. In histological and immunohistochemical sections of the abdomen from 40 fetuses at 20–31 weeks of gestation, we found 12 fetuses with meconium and examined the architecture.A solid or loose meconium was seen depending on sites. The solid meconium in the colon and rectum contained numerous spherical or rugby ball-like corpuscles comprising of a core with tightly-packed atrophied cells and a laminar fibrous sheath.The solid meconium surrounded and incorporated villi that maintained the original architecture. The loose meconium was seen not only in the stomach and duodenum but also, depending on specimens, in the colon and rectum. It was composed of a large mucosal fold, a single small villus and/or fragmented epithelia. Notably, these mucosal tissues still contained chromogranin-positive gastrointestinal cells and cytokeratin-positive epithelia. A large ring-like meconium was composed of the entirely circular mucosa or epithelia that seemed to be detached along the muscularis mucosae or the basal lamina.A sheath-like fibrous structure in meconium seemed to originate from the lamina propria and basal lamina of villi. A defoliation of villi with apoptosis seemed difficult to explain a detachment of the entirely circular mucosa or epithelia in large fetuses examined. The latter event might require a specific mechanism such as an in utero intussusception in which a proximal side of the colon was invaginated into the distal lumen.

Neck epaxial muscles, which are differentiated for suspending the head, occupy a large space posterior to the cervical lordosis. Limited information exists regarding developmental process that determines the muscle fiber direction and bony attachment of neck epaxial muscles. We examined histological sections of 28 human fetuses aged approximately 7–18 weeks (crown-rump length, 20–150 mm). In place of the underdeveloped lordosis, the transverse process of cervical vertebrae was shifted anteriorly at the cervicothoracic junction. The semispinalis and longissimus were distinguished by the direction of muscle fibers connecting between the surface aponeurosis and transverse process. The semispinalis capitis and splenius capitis had a bulky anterior margin without bony attachments. The obliquus capitis inferior continued to both the rectus capitis posterior major and the semispinalis cervicis, but the obliquus capitis superior was consistently independent. Muscle attachments to the scapula were quite different from the final morphology: 1) the levator and rhomboidei usually extended inferiorly along the developing scapula beyond the inferior angle and 2) the splenius capitis or semispinalis cervicis rarely issued an aberrant bundle attaching to the scapula. The scaleni, rhomboidei, levator scapulae, iliocostalis and longissimus were arranged in parallel from the anteromedial to the posterolateral planes and together formed a thick oblique muscle bundle originating from the cervical transverse process and running toward the upper thoracic vertebra and ribcage. The transient oblique muscle bundle seen in early fetuses seemed to provide the so-called intermediate axial muscle between the epaxial-hypaxial muscles: a concept postulated in recent molecular neurology and embryology.

Background: This study aimed to clarify the association between the co-existence of possible sarcopenia (PS) and dysphagia in patients with acute stroke and the functional outcomes 12 months after stroke. Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients with stroke admitted to two acute care hospitals in Japan between November 2020 and October 2023. PS was defined based on grip strength (males <28 kg, females <18 kg) and calf circumference (males <34 cm, females <33 cm) on admission. Dysphagia was defined as a Functional Oral Intake Scale score of less than 4. The outcome was defined as a composite of either poor functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score of 3–6) or failure to recover to the premorbid mRS at 12 months after stroke onset. Modified Poisson regression analysis was used to examine the association between the co-existence of PS and dysphagia and poor functional outcomes. Results: This study included 604 patients (median age 76 years; 367 men). Compared with the non-PS and non-dysphagia group, the PS and dysphagia group had a higher proportion of poor functional outcomes. Subsequently, modified Poisson regression analysis was performed. The interaction between PS and dysphagia was significantly associated with poor functional outcomes (risk ratio=4.348, 95% confidence interval 2.683–7.046). Conclusion In patients with acute stroke, the co-existence of PS and dysphagia was associated with poor functional outcomes 12 months after stroke. Future multicenter prospective interventional studies are required to clarify the effectiveness of multifaceted intervention programs in high-risk patients.

Background/Aims: To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of patients with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) before and after treatment. Methods: This study enrolled 50 adult patients diagnosed with CIPO at 4 institutions, of whom 42 underwent therapy.Patient background, body mass index, treatment, palliative care intervention, numerical rating scale for abdominal pain or bloating, the medical outcomes study 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) and summary scores (physical component summary, mental component summary, and role/social component summary), Japanese version of the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (JPAC-QOL) and subscales (physical discomfort, psychosocial discomfort, worries and concerns, and satisfaction), and Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptoms (PAC-SYM) and subscales (stool, rectal, and abdominal symptoms) were prospectively sampled and collected. Results: The patients (n = 50; 35 females and 15 males) had an average age of onset of 44.7 years and, body mass index of 17.3 kg/m², and 38 (76%) required palliative care intervention. Effective therapeutic interventions included intestinal sterilization (19/42), decompression therapy with percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy (PEG-J) (6/42), and dietary restriction (6/42). The numerical rating scale for abdominal distension and pain decreased significantly after treatment. All SF-36 summary scores showed improvements. The JPAC-QOL and PAC-SYM both showed improvement overall and in all subscales. Conclusions Patients with CIPO have a lower physical, psychological and social QOL, which is equivalent to or lower than that of adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease or psychiatric disorders. Sterilization of the intestinal tract and PEG-J decompression effectively improve the QOL of patients.

BACKGROUND

Hemodialysis access is the lifeline of patients with end-stage renal disease. Factors that can affect access patency needs to be understood further to improve their longevity.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that aims to describe the demographic, clinical and duplex scan profiles among patients who have undergone arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or graft duplex scan in a tertiary institution from 2017 to 2023.

There were 133 patients with 139 accesses studied. There were 86 AVFs and 53 arteriovenous grafts. Eighty-one studies were on males and 48 on females. Forty-seven were studies on the young (ageCONCLUSION

Age, gender, type of access and comorbidities can be related to the presence of access flow dysfunction. Larger prospective research is recommended to establish such associations.

BACKGROUND

Hemodialysis access is the lifeline of patients with end-stage renal disease. Factors that can affect access patency needs to be understood further to improve their longevity.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that aims to describe the demographic, clinical and duplex scan profiles among patients who have undergone arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or graft duplex scan in a tertiary institution from 2017 to 2023.

There were 133 patients with 139 accesses studied. There were 86 AVFs and 53 arteriovenous grafts. Eighty-one studies were on males and 48 on females. Forty-seven were studies on the young (ageCONCLUSION

Age, gender, type of access and comorbidities can be related to the presence of access flow dysfunction. Larger prospective research is recommended to establish such associations.

Objectives: This study investigated the associations between gait velocity and kinematic variables in the first half of the gait cycle according to stroke severity. We performed gait analysis in individuals with stroke, focusing on changes in the center-of-gravity (COG) position on the paretic side in the first half of stance phase.Methods: Gait data of 80 individuals (20 each in Brunnstrom recovery stage: III, IV, V and VI) with stroke acquired using a 3D motion analysis system was retrospectively analyzed. Associations of gait velocity with the COG positions in the anteroposterior directions and vertical increases in the first half of stance phase on the paretic side were compared according to stroke severity, using correlation analysis.Results: Gait velocity showed strong positive correlations with step length on the paretic side at initial contact, the rate of vertical increase in the COG during single-leg stance, and the proportion of single-leg stance time in the gait cycle. The associations between velocity and each kinematic variable differed according to stroke severity. Gait velocity was strongly correlated with the rate of vertical increase in the COG during single-leg stance and the proportion of single-leg stance in severe hemiplegia, while a strong correlation was observed with step length on the paretic side in mild hemiplegia.Conclusion: An upward shift of the COG during single-leg stance was an important factor in gait velocity, and the correlation between gait velocity and the rate of vertical increase in the COG during single-leg stance was stronger when hemiplegia was more severe.

We have experienced a surgeon who had a previous left putaminal hemorrhage and presented with higher brain dysfunctions due to a new right frontal lobe infarction. The patient was a right-handed man in his 50s with inattention, constructive disorder, left hemispatial neglect, and executive dysfunction. The lesions were localized not only in the right inferior and middle frontal gyri but also in deep white matter including the right frontal aslant tract and superior longitudinal fasciculus. The patient gradually resumed work early on with multidisciplinary support and returned to work within 3 months after the onset of the disease. In this case, direct attention training, metacognitive strategy training including time pressure management, and visual search training from the acute stage were successful. Even after the completion of cognitive rehabilitation, an improvement in attention and processing speed was confirmed, suggesting that highly personalized cognitive rehabilitation tailored to higher brain dysfunctions have a lasting effect. However, the improvement of higher brain functions and the resumption of work increased self-awareness and anxiety, leading to a decrease in self-efficacy. Cognitive rehabilitation including metacognitive strategy training, together with psychological support, is important for step-by-step return to work.

Rehabilitation for ocular motility disorder and diplopia after acute cerebral infarction has not been established. In the present case, we describe the course of oculomotor rehabilitation in a patient with left-sided gaze palsy and diplopia due to a stroke in the paramedian part of the left pontine tegmentum. The patient was a right-handed man in his 40s. Cerebral infarction occurred after coil embolization with stenting for an unruptured dissecting aneurysm. He presented with eye movement difficulty resulting from conjugate deviation of the eyes to the right at onset. No other motor-sensory abnormalities were present. Processing speed of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition was decreased. We performed oculomotor rehabilitation from the acute phase, including fixation, smooth pursuit, saccadic and convergent movements. Visual attention tasks such as visual search and cancellation tasks were applied from 10 days after onset. The oculomotor disorders gradually improved and disappeared by 65 days after onset. The responsible lesion was localized in left paramedian pontine reticular formation and abducens nucleus. Medial longitudinal fasciculus was not involved, which was consistent with the clinical oculomotor findings. The neuropsychological assessments showed that processing speed was improved. Based on the neuropsychological assessments and actual vehicle evaluation, our multidisciplinary team determined that the patient should not refrain from automobile driving. The patient returned to work and resumed driving 86 days after onset. The results suggest that visual attention tasks together with basic oculomotor trainings for ocular motility disorder and diplopia are useful for early return to automobile driving and society.