Investigation of stratum corneum cell morphology and content using novel machine-learning image analysis.

BACKGROUND: The morphology and content of stratum corneum (SC) cells provide information on the physiological condition of the skin. Although the morphological and biochemical properties of the SC are known, no method is available to fully access and interpret this information. This study aimed to develop a method to comprehensively decode the physiological information of the skin, based on the SC. Therefore, we established a novel image analysis technique based on artificial intelligence (AI) and multivariate analysis to predict skin conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SC samples were collected from participants, imaged, and annotated. Nine biomarkers were measured in the samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The data were then used to teach machine-learning models to recognize individual SC cell regions and estimate the levels of the nine biomarkers from the images. Skin physiological indicators (e.g., skin barrier function, facial analysis, and questionnaires) were measured or obtained from the participants. Multivariate analysis, including biomarker levels ​​and structural parameters of the SC as variables, was used to estimate these physiological indicators. RESULTS: We established two machine-learning models. The accuracy of recognition was assessed according to the average intersection over union (0.613), precision (0.953), recall (0.640), and F-value (0.766). The predicted biomarker levels significantly correlated with the measured levels. Skin physiological indicators and questionnaire answers were predicted with strong correlations and correct answer rates. CONCLUSION: Various physiological skin conditions can be predicted from images of the SC using AI models and multivariate analysis. Our method is expected to be useful for dermatological treatment optimization.

Association between COVID-19 vaccination and relapse of glomerulonephritis.

BACKGROUND: Vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been developed and are recommended for patients with chronic kidney disease; however, it has been reported that glomerulonephritis worsens after vaccination. We aimed to elucidate the incidence and association between COVID-19 vaccination and glomerulonephritis relapse. METHODS: We investigated the onset of renal events and adverse reactions after COVID-19 vaccination in 111 patients diagnosed with glomerulonephritis. Renal events were defined as worsening hematuria, increased proteinuria, and an increased creatine level over 1.5-fold from baseline. RESULTS: Patients were 57 ± 18 years old (55.9% female) and had an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 57.0 ± 25.0 ml/min/1.73 m2. A pathological diagnosis of IgA nephropathy was confirmed in 55.0%, minimal change disease in 22.5%, and membranous nephropathy in 10.8% of the patients. The BNT162b2 (Pfizer) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccines were administered in 88.2% and 11.7% of the cases, respectively. Renal events were observed in 22.5% of patients, 10.8% had increased proteinuria, 12.6% had worsening hematuria, and 1.8% received additional immunosuppressive treatment. Only 0.9% required temporary hemodialysis from exacerbation of renal dysfunction. Renal events were higher in younger patients (P = 0.02), being highest in those with IgA nephropathy, but there was no difference in the incidence between pathological diagnoses. There was a significantly higher incidence of renal events in patients with fever (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 vaccination and glomerulonephritis relapse may be related, but further research is needed.

Dapagliflozin-induced drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) Followed By Acute Interstitial Nephritis (AIN): A Case Report.

A 78-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with acute renal failure and generalized erythema after starting dapagliflozin 10 mg/day for chronic kidney disease (CKD). A skin biopsy revealed superficial perivascular dermatitis with eosinophils. A renal biopsy revealed lymphocytic and eosinophilic infiltration of the interstitium, and focal tubulitis. The patient was diagnosed with a dapagliflozin-induced drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), followed by acute interstitial nephritis (AIN), and prednisolone therapy was therefore initiated. The patient's renal function improved, and erythema disappeared. To our knowledge, this is the first report of DRESS caused by dapagliflozin, and the patient was successfully treated with prednisolone.

[Metastatic micropapillary variant of urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder responding to gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy].

A 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a chief complaint of lymphatic edema of left arm. He had a past history of transurethral resection of the bladder tumor 5 years ago, and pathological diagnosis was urothelial carcinoma with micropapillary variant, G3 = G2, pT1. CT scan revealed bladder tumor with invasion of the rectum, and multiple lymph nodes swelling in the axilla, retroperitoneum and pelvis (cT4bN3M1). The patient underwent biopsies of the bladder wall and the left axillary lymph nodes, and pathologic examination revealed micropapillary carcinoma. Five courses of gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC therapy) were perfomed, and bladder tumor and lymph node metastases reduced remarkably, with serum CA19-9 level decreasing from 172,000 U/ml to 106 U/ml. However, the patient died from recurrence 23 months after the start of GC therapy.

Unresolved Palliative Care Needs of Elderly Non-Cancer Patients at Home: A Multicenter Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES: There is growing consensus on the benefits of initiating palliative care early in the disease trajectory; however, palliative care needs for non-cancer patients remain to be elucidated. We investigated the trajectory of unresolved palliative care needs of non-cancer patients at home and explored associated factors. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter prospective cohort study of elderly non-cancer patients at home in Japan between Jan 2020 and Dec 2020. Physicians assessed their palliative care needs using the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS). Unresolved palliative care needs were defined as IPOS symptoms above 2 (moderate). RESULTS: In total, 785 patients were enrolled. The most frequent unresolved palliative care needs at enrollment were poor mobility (n = 438, 55.8%), followed by weakness/lack of energy (n = 181, 23.1%) and poor appetite (n = 160, 20.4%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that female and musculoskeletal disease were significantly positively associated with pain at starting home visits (OR = 1.89, P = .015; OR = 2.69, P = .005). In addition, neurological diseases were significantly positively associated with constipation and poor mobility 3 months after starting home visits (OR = 3.75, P = .047; OR = 3.04, P = .009). CONCLUSIONS: The order of the prevalence of unresolved palliative care needs may remain relatively stable over time, even for those receiving home-based palliative care services. We identified several specific diseases and conditions that were significantly associated with unresolved palliative care needs.

Adrenal Hemorrhage in a Cortisol-Secreting Adenoma Caused by Antiphospholipid Syndrome Revealed by Clinical and Pathological Investigations: A Case Report.

Due to its rarity, adrenal hemorrhage is difficult to diagnose, and its precise etiology has remained unknown. One of the pivotal mechanisms of adrenal hemorrhage is the thrombosis of the adrenal vein, which could be due to thrombophilia. However, detailed pathological evaluation of resected adrenal glands is usually required for definitive diagnosis. Here, we report a case of a cortisol-secreting adenoma with concomitant foci of hemorrhage due to antiphospholipid syndrome diagnosed both clinically and pathologically. In addition, the tumor in this case was pathologically diagnosed as cortisol-secreting adenoma, although the patient did not necessarily fulfill the clinical diagnostic criteria of full-blown Cushing or sub-clinical Cushing syndrome during the clinical course, which also did highlight the importance of detailed histopathological investigations of resected adrenocortical lesions.

[COMPLETE RESPONSE OF BULKY LYMPH NODE METASTASES TREATED WITH ENZALUTAMIDE AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY WITH DOCETAXEL IN CASTRATION-RESISTANT PROSTATE CANCER: A CASE REPORT].

A 74-year-old man was initially diagnosed as having cT4N0M0 and Gleason score 5+4 prostate adenocarcinoma in 2012. Systemic therapy was initiated with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) agonist and bicalutamide, and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels fell to a nadir of 0.02 ng/ml from 25.55 ng/ml.After 3 years of initial treatment, the patient presented with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with extensive bulky lymphadenopathy and a serum PSA of 4.81 ng/ml. Open biopsy of the left supraclavicular lymph node revealed metastasis by poorly-differentiated adenocarcinoma of prostatic origin. He continued to receive LH-RH agonist and bicalutamide and underwent seven courses of docetaxel (DOC) chemotherapy plus prednisolone. Computed tomography showed partial response in all but one metastatic pelvic lymph node, which gradually increased in size. The mCRPC response to DOC was heterogeneous, and DOC chemotherapy was stopped because of toxicity and progressive disease.Second-line hormonal therapy with enzalutamide and LH-RH agonist was started and after 6 months, computed tomography revealed complete response in the metastatic lymph nodes based on response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST); PSA levels decreased to 0.01 ng/ml. The patient has been in complete remission for 28 months.

Skin flap technique for the reconstruction of a deep ureteral stomal obstruction.

Cutaneous ureterostomy is a minimally invasive urinary diversion procedure but postoperative stomal stenosis is a major problem. We describe a simple stomal reconstruction technique using a skin flap for the correction of deep ureteral stomal obstruction after cutaneous ureterostomy.

Clinical Investigation of Adrenal Incidentalomas in Japanese Patients of the Fukuoka Region with Updated Diagnostic Criteria for Sub-clinical Cushing's Syndrome.

Objectives We retrospectively investigated the clinical and endocrinological characteristics of adrenal incidentalomas. Methods We studied 61 patients who had been diagnosed with adrenal incidentalomas and had undergone detailed clinical and endocrinological evaluations while hospitalized. We used common criteria to diagnose the functional tumors, but for sub-clinical Cushing's syndrome, we used an updated set of diagnosis criteria: serum cortisol ≥1.8 µg/dL after a positive response to a 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test if the patient has a low morning adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level (<10 pg/mL) and a loss of the diurnal serum cortisol rhythm. Results Of the 61 patients, none (0%) had malignant tumors, 8 (13.1%) had pheochromocytoma, and 15 (24.6%) had primary aldosteronism; when diagnosed by our revised criteria, 13 (21.3%) had cortisol-secreting adenomas (Cushing's syndrome and sub-clinical Cushing's syndrome), and 25 (41.0%) had non-functional tumors. Compared with the non-functional tumor group, the primary aldosteronism group and the cortisol-secreting adenoma group were significantly younger and had significantly higher rates of hypokalemia, whereas the pheochromocytoma group had significantly larger tumors and a significantly lower body mass index. Conclusion Our study found a larger percentage of functional tumors among adrenal incidentalomas than past reports, partly because we used a lower serum cortisol level after a dexamethasone suppression test to diagnose sub-clinical Cushing's syndrome and because all of the patients were hospitalized and could therefore receive more detailed examinations. Young patients with hypokalemia or lean patients with large adrenal tumors warrant particularly careful investigation.

[A case report of complication liked jejunal conduit syndrome induced by reconstruction of ileal conduit].

The patient was a 77-year-old man who underwent radical cystectomy and ileal conduit urinary diversion due to bladder cancer in 1989. A stenosis of the right uretero-ileal anastomosis occurred in 1992, and of the left uretero-ileal anastomosis in 1999. These were treated with indwelling of a ureteral stent and percutaneous nephrostomy, respectively. He was admitted to our hospital for progressive renal dysfunction due to frequent pyelonephritis. We performed a reconstruction of the ileal conduit urinary diversion and after the removal of the bilateral ureteral stent he complained of nausea and general malaise. The laboratory data showed hyponatremia, hyperkalemia and azotemia, which were diagnosed as complication liked jejunal conduit syndrome. He was treated with hydration and salt supplementation. With regard to this case, we considered that a long ileal conduit close to the jejunum and renal dysfunction caused the complication liked jejunal conduit syndrome. Careful observation and follow-up laboratory examination should be performed if the patient has renal dysfunction and a long conduit near the jejunum is used for the ileal conduit.

Solitary psoas muscle metastasis after radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma.

Skeletal muscle is a very rare location for the metastasis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and only one case of solitary metastasis to the psoas muscle has been reported. We present a 63-year-old male patient with late recurrence (14 years) after left side radical nephrectomy for RCC. He first visited Chikushi Hospital, Fukuoka University, Japan in January 2000 for a postoperative follow-up because he had shifted residence to the area. Follow-up was by abdominal computed tomography (CT) and chest X-ray. In December 2001, a CT scan showed a 1.5 cm enhanced mass in the right psoas muscle without any other metastasis. The mass was resected that month and histological study showed RCC metastasis.

Quantitative estimation of renal blood flow by power Doppler ultrasonography in renovascular hypertensive dogs.

BACKGROUND: We estimated the value of power Doppler (PD) imaging analysis for the quantitative assessment of renal cortical blood flow (RCBF) in chronic two-kidney, one-clip (2K-1C) hypertensive dogs. METHODS: To evaluate the correlation between RCBF and PD signals, RCBF and the mean pixel intensity (MPI) of PD signals were simultaneously obtained at same region in renal cortex under progressive constriction of left main renal artery in five mongrel dogs. RCBF was measured by electrolytic hydrogen gas clearance method, and PD images were transferred to computer and analyzed by the image-analysis software Openlab. To assess the value of quantitative PD imaging analysis on RCBF in renovascular hypertension, in six mongrel dogs with chronic 2K-1C hypertension, PD images in both of clipped kidneys (CK) and non-clipped kidneys (NK) were obtained and analyzed before and 60 minutes after the intravenous infusion of captopril or sodium nitroprusside at 10-minute intervals. RESULTS: There was a linear correlation between RCBF and MPI (r= 0.878, P < 0.0001). MPI in both CK and NK significantly increased after the infusion of captopril, while no significant change was observed in both CK and NK after the infusion of sodium nitroprusside, despite similar reduction of mean arterial blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the acute inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme increased RCBF in both CK and NK of chronic 2K-1C dogs. The quantitative analysis of PD flow signals in kidney is noninvasive and a useful method to evaluate regional changes of renal tissue blood flow in various renal diseases.

Simple correction of ureteral stomal stenosis for cutaneous ureterostomy.

Cutaneous ureterostomy is a simple procedure to perform, but has some morbidity owing to stomal stenosis. We describe a new and simple technique applied to the stomal stenosis for cutaneous ureterostomy.

Risk of elevated creatine kinase and myoglobulinemia due to incised muscles in patients who underwent urological surgery.

PURPOSE: We clarified the risk of elevated creatine kinase (CK) and myoglobulinemia during incised muscle urological operations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 58 consecutive cases of radical nephrectomy with muscle incision and 89 consecutive radical prostatectomies or radical cystectomies without muscle incision. Operations with or without muscle incision were divided into 2 groups depending on operative time (200 minutes or less and 201 to 400). Increases in CK and myoglobin were compared between the 2 groups, and between muscle incision and no muscle incision at each operative time. RESULTS: CK and myoglobin were proportionally increased according to operative time in operations without muscle incision but not in muscle incision operations, in which high CK and myoglobin were seen even with short operative times. CK and myoglobin were more increased in muscle incision operations than in those without incision with significance at each operative time. However, maximum CK and myoglobin were 2,220 IU/L and 3,600 ng/ml, respectively, in muscle incision operations. CONCLUSIONS: Even with short operative times surgeries with muscle incision are associated with a marked increase in CK and myoglobulinemia. However, CK and myoglobin are not sufficiently high for rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure to develop.