The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device has emerged as a promising alternative to endovascular coiling. This case report demonstrates the use of stent-assisted WEB deployment for the embolization of multiple wide-neck posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysms. A middle-aged patient was diagnosed with 3 unruptured aneurysms in the P3 and P4 segments of the right PCA, with sizes ranging from 2.5 mm to 6.6 mm. Given the small vessel diameter and distal location of the aneurysms, a combined approach was adopted. Coil embolization was performed for the most distal aneurysm, while stent-assisted WEB deployment was used for the proximal and middle aneurysms. The “flower bud” technique facilitated the safe positioning of the WEB device in challenging anatomical conditions. The procedure was successfully completed without complications, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 7 with no neurological deficits. Follow-up at 3 months confirmed adequate embolization of all aneurysms, with in-stent stenosis managed conservatively.

The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device has emerged as a promising alternative to endovascular coiling. This case report demonstrates the use of stent-assisted WEB deployment for the embolization of multiple wide-neck posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysms. A middle-aged patient was diagnosed with 3 unruptured aneurysms in the P3 and P4 segments of the right PCA, with sizes ranging from 2.5 mm to 6.6 mm. Given the small vessel diameter and distal location of the aneurysms, a combined approach was adopted. Coil embolization was performed for the most distal aneurysm, while stent-assisted WEB deployment was used for the proximal and middle aneurysms. The “flower bud” technique facilitated the safe positioning of the WEB device in challenging anatomical conditions. The procedure was successfully completed without complications, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 7 with no neurological deficits. Follow-up at 3 months confirmed adequate embolization of all aneurysms, with in-stent stenosis managed conservatively.

BACKGROUND: Growing up with a sibling with a chronic health problem or a disability requiring assistance can affect the lives of the family members in various ways. Previous studies documented health problems among siblings of children with a chronic health problem or a disability. However, these studies are limited in that they tend to rely on small convenience samples of children with specific illnesses/disabilities. This study aims to investigate mental health and self-rated health status of siblings of such children using data from a population study in Japan. METHODS: We used data from the 2016 wave of Japan's Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions. The analytic sample included 16,510 adolescents aged 15-19 years who were living with a sibling with or without care needs. The outcomes were psychological distress as defined by K6 score of 13 or higher and poor self-rated health. We examined these health outcomes of adolescents who have a sibling with care needs to relative to adolescents with a sibling without such needs via logistic regression. RESULTS: Adolescents who live with a sibling with care needs were more likely to have psychological distress (Odds Ratio (OR) 2.47; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.46-4.17) and poor self-rated health (OR 2.21; 95% CI, 1.30-3.75). These associations were more pronounced in post-high school age (18-19 years old) group than in high school age (15-18 years old) group. CONCLUSION The presence of a child with care needs in the household was associated with spillover psychological distress and poorer subjective health among siblings. Providing support for children/adolescents with care needs may have additional benefits in terms of well-being of their siblings.
Humans ; Adolescent ; Male ; Female ; Siblings/psychology* ; Young Adult ; Psychological Distress ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Health Status

Saiseikai Yokohama-shi Nanbu Hospital has been charging an additional fee for enhanced collaboration for surgical patients concerning outpatient cancer drug chemotherapy since March 2022. In this survey, we compared the number of consultations and pharmacological interventions performed by pharmacists for target and non-target departments from September 2021 to February 2022 before the calculation began, and from March to August 2022 after the calculation started. In the target department, the number of consultations was 1.5±1.3 and 8.1±4.8 per day for before and after the calculation began, respectively, showing a significant increase (P<0.001). The number of pharmacological interventions increased from 35 preoperatively to 66 postoperatively. However, in the non-target departments, there was no change in the number of consultations and pharmacological interventions between before and after the calculation started. The results suggest that the additional fee for enhanced collaboration effectively enables pharmacists to continuously intervene in pharmacological problems.

The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device has emerged as a promising alternative to endovascular coiling. This case report demonstrates the use of stent-assisted WEB deployment for the embolization of multiple wide-neck posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysms. A middle-aged patient was diagnosed with 3 unruptured aneurysms in the P3 and P4 segments of the right PCA, with sizes ranging from 2.5 mm to 6.6 mm. Given the small vessel diameter and distal location of the aneurysms, a combined approach was adopted. Coil embolization was performed for the most distal aneurysm, while stent-assisted WEB deployment was used for the proximal and middle aneurysms. The “flower bud” technique facilitated the safe positioning of the WEB device in challenging anatomical conditions. The procedure was successfully completed without complications, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 7 with no neurological deficits. Follow-up at 3 months confirmed adequate embolization of all aneurysms, with in-stent stenosis managed conservatively.

The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device has emerged as a promising alternative to endovascular coiling. This case report demonstrates the use of stent-assisted WEB deployment for the embolization of multiple wide-neck posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysms. A middle-aged patient was diagnosed with 3 unruptured aneurysms in the P3 and P4 segments of the right PCA, with sizes ranging from 2.5 mm to 6.6 mm. Given the small vessel diameter and distal location of the aneurysms, a combined approach was adopted. Coil embolization was performed for the most distal aneurysm, while stent-assisted WEB deployment was used for the proximal and middle aneurysms. The “flower bud” technique facilitated the safe positioning of the WEB device in challenging anatomical conditions. The procedure was successfully completed without complications, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 7 with no neurological deficits. Follow-up at 3 months confirmed adequate embolization of all aneurysms, with in-stent stenosis managed conservatively.

The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device has emerged as a promising alternative to endovascular coiling. This case report demonstrates the use of stent-assisted WEB deployment for the embolization of multiple wide-neck posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysms. A middle-aged patient was diagnosed with 3 unruptured aneurysms in the P3 and P4 segments of the right PCA, with sizes ranging from 2.5 mm to 6.6 mm. Given the small vessel diameter and distal location of the aneurysms, a combined approach was adopted. Coil embolization was performed for the most distal aneurysm, while stent-assisted WEB deployment was used for the proximal and middle aneurysms. The “flower bud” technique facilitated the safe positioning of the WEB device in challenging anatomical conditions. The procedure was successfully completed without complications, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 7 with no neurological deficits. Follow-up at 3 months confirmed adequate embolization of all aneurysms, with in-stent stenosis managed conservatively.

Well water could be a stable source of drinking water. Recently, the use of well water as drinking water has been encouraged in developing countries. However, many kinds of disorders caused by toxic elements in well drinking water have been reported. It is our urgent task to resolve the global issue of element-originating diseases. In this review article, our multidisciplinary approaches focusing on oncogenic toxicities and disturbances of sensory organs (skin and ear) induced by arsenic and barium are introduced. First, our environmental monitoring in developing countries in Asia showed elevated concentrations of arsenic and barium in well drinking water. Then our experimental studies in mice and our epidemiological studies in humans showed arsenic-mediated increased risks of hyperpigmented skin and hearing loss with partial elucidation of their mechanisms. Our experimental studies using cultured cells with focus on the expression and activity levels of intracellular signal transduction molecules such as c-SRC, c-RET, and oncogenic RET showed risks for malignant transformation and/or progression arose from arsenic and barium. Finally, our original hydrotalcite-like compound was proposed as a novel remediation system to effectively remove arsenic and barium from well drinking water. Hopefully, comprehensive studies consisting of (1) environmental monitoring, (2) health risk assessments, and (3) remediation will be expanded in the field of environmental health to prevent various disorders caused by environmental factors including toxic elements in drinking water.
Animals ; Arsenic ; toxicity ; Barium ; toxicity ; Drinking Water ; analysis ; Environmental Exposure ; Environmental Health ; Environmental Monitoring ; Humans ; Mice ; Water Pollutants, Chemical ; toxicity ; Water Wells

Background/Aims: There are few published registry studies from Asia on pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Registry network data enable comparisons among ethnic groups. This study examined the characteristics of IBD in Japanese children and compared them with those in European children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional multicenter registry study of newly diagnosed Japanese pediatric IBD patients. The Paris classification was used to categorize IBD features, and results were compared with published EUROKIDS data. Results: A total of 265 pediatric IBD patients were initially registered, with 22 later excluded for having incomplete demographic data. For the analysis, 91 Crohn’s disease (CD), 146 ulcerative colitis (UC), and 6 IBD-unclassified cases were eligible. For age at diagnosis, 20.9% of CD, 21.9% of UC, and 83.3% of IBD-unclassified cases were diagnosed before age 10 years. For CD location, 18.7%, 13.2%, 64.8%, 47.3%, and 20.9% were classified as involving L1 (ileocecum), L2 (colon), L3 (ileocolon), L4a (esophagus/stomach/duodenum), and L4b (jejunum/proximal ileum), respectively. For UC extent, 76% were classified as E4 (pancolitis). For CD behavior, B1 (non-stricturingon-penetrating), B2 (stricturing), B3 (penetrating), and B2B3 were seen in 83.5%, 11.0%, 3.3%, and 2.2%, respectively. A comparison between Japanese and European children showed less L2 involvement (13.2% vs. 27.3%, P< 0.01) but more L4a (47.3% vs. 29.6%, P< 0.01) and L3 (64.8% vs. 52.7%, P< 0.05) involvement in Japanese CD children. Pediatric perianal CD was more prevalent in Japanese children (34.1% vs. 9.7%, P< 0.01). Conclusions Upper gastrointestinal and perianal CD lesions are more common in Japanese children than in European children.

Genome-wide association studies have identified various genetic variants associated with complex disorders. However, these studies have commonly been conducted in a cross-sectional manner. Therefore, we performed a longitudinal exome-wide association study (EWAS) in a Japanese cohort. We aimed to identify genetic variants that confer susceptibility to hypertension using ~244 000 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and physiological data from 6026 Japanese individuals who underwent annual health check-ups for several years. After quality control, the association of hypertension with SNVs was tested using a generalized estimating equation model. Finally, our longitudinal EWAS detected seven hypertension-related SNVs that passed strict criteria. Among these variants, six SNVs were densely located at 12q24.1, and an East Asian-specific motif (haplotype) ‘CAAAA’ comprising five derived alleles was identified. Statistical analyses showed that the prevalence of hypertension in individuals with the East Asian-specific haplotype was significantly lower than that in individuals with the common haplotype ‘TGGGT’. Furthermore, individuals with the East Asian haplotype may be less susceptible to the adverse effects of smoking on hypertension. The longitudinal EWAS for the recessive model showed that a novel SNV, rs11917356 of COL6A5, was significantly associated with systolic blood pressure, and the derived allele at the SNV may have spread throughout East Asia in recent evolutionary time.