Assessment of cancer cell-expressed HLA class I molecules and their immunopathological implications.

Immunotherapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has shown superior efficacy compared with conventional chemotherapy in certain cancer types, establishing immunotherapy as the fourth standard treatment alongside surgical intervention, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. In cancer immunotherapy employing ICIs, CD8-positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes are recognized as the primary effector cells. For effective clinical outcomes, it is essential that the targeted cancer cells express HLA class I molecules to present antigenic peptides derived from the tumor. However, cancer cells utilize various mechanisms to downregulate or lose HLA class I molecules from their surface, resulting in evasion from immune surveillance. Correlations between prognosis and the integrity of HLA class I molecules expressed by cancer cells have been consistently found across different types of cancer. This paper provides an overview of the regulatory mechanisms of HLA class I molecules and their role in cancer immunotherapy, with a particular emphasis on the significance of utilizing pathological tissues to evaluate HLA class I molecules expressed in cancer cells.

Seen by a Glance, But Not by a Stare-A Case Study of a Patient With Simultanagnosia.

OBJECTIVE: Simultanagnosia is a rare neuropsychological symptom characterized by difficulty recognizing global structures while preserving perception of local detail. The condition is classified into ventral and dorsal types. Clinical presentation of ventral simultanagnosia includes a reduced ability to recognize multiple visual stimuli rapidly, that is, part-by-part recognition. Here, we report a case of ventral simultanagnosia with a unique presentation; when short-duration visual stimuli were presented, the patient could perform global recognition by improving his part-by-part approach. To investigate the relationship between local and global perception bias and the duration of the present stimulus, we conducted a visual perception test using hierarchically organized Navon figures. METHODS/RESULTS: The patient was a 62-year-old right-handed man who suffered from cerebral infarction in the right occipitotemporal lobe. He had no language dysfunction but exhibited left unilateral neglect, prosopagnosia, and ventral-type simultanagnosia. We conducted a visual perception test using the Navon figures and control figures as a visual stimulus. We randomly presented the figures for intervals of 0.2 or 20 s and let the patient report all the letters (global and/or local element) that he recognized. Global elements of the Navon letter were recognized a rate of 0% and 78.3% at intervals of 20 and 0.2 s, respectively, indicating that shorter presentation made the part-by-part approach less likely to manifest. CONCLUSIONS: We assumed that the simultanagnosia in this case was caused by failure to maintain the initially perceived global information for a long period of time during visual presentation, due to right occipitotemporal damage.

[Diffuse cerebral atrophy and reversible polyneuropathy in a patient with chronic Bromvalerylurea intoxication: a case report].

A 37-year-old man who had been on bromvalerylurea (BU) medication for 11 years at a maximum dose of 2,400 mg per day for headache therapy was admitted to our hospital due to gait disturbance. He had weight loss and exanthema all over his body. Cognitive dysfunction, intellectual deterioration, attention disturbance, decreased muscle strength, and decreased vibratory sense in the lower limbs were observed. Brain MRI showed diffuse brain atrophy, and a peripheral nerve conduction examination revealed decreased nerve conduction velocity and action potential amplitude in the extremities. We diagnosed him with chronic BU intoxication based on pseudohyperchloremia, BU detected in the blood, and bromide elevation. By discontinuing BU and performing intravenous infusion, neurological symptoms and exanthema were improved, and peripheral nerve conduction examination findings also improved. There are few reports of peripheral neuropathy cases of chronic BU intoxication; herein we report one such case along with previously reported cases.

Integrated volitional control electrical stimulation for the paretic hand: a case report.

[Purpose] Integrated volitional control electrical stimulation (IVES) is a type of electrical stimulation therapy that promotes agonist muscle contraction in limbs with motion paralysis. This case study describes the improvement in the paretic hand with stroke hemiplegia, eight years after the onset, with IVES for one month in the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles, including change of mode of stimulation based on the degree of improvement. [Participant and Methods] A 76 year-old male with hemiplegia for eight years. The patient was evaluated for two weeks and performed IVES in the right flexor pollicis brevis, abductor pollicis brevis, and extensor carpi ulnaris with the change of mode of IVES. [Results] The upper limb function improved in a short period of time. The hemiplegia test showed Brunnstrom stages II-III and II-IV for the right upper limb and right hand and fingers, respectively, 28 days after IVES initiation. [Conclusion] After one month of undergoing IVES, the patient showed improvement in hand and finger motor function, which was maintained even after IVES was completed. In this case, there was improvement with a short-term intervention using appropriately combined IVES modes.

[A case of Crohn's disease complicated by Guillain-Barrè syndrome during ustekinumab therapy].

We herein report a case involving a 23-year-old male patient with active Crohn's disease complicated by Guillain-Barrè syndrome during ustekinumab therapy. At age 11, the patient developed an anal fistula and was found to have multiple aphthae on the rectosigmoid colon, for which he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. At age 12, he underwent gastrojejunal anastomosis for pyrolic stenosis. At age 20, a longitudinal ulcer was found on the ascending colon, and at age 21, aphthae were found on the stomach and efferent jejunum. At age 22, adalimumab was started, but the patient noted abdominal pain and diarrhea 4 months later. Hence, adalimumab was switched to ustekinumab (2017 June). Though ustekinumab was effective, the patient noted anorexia, weakness, and bilateral lower extremity numbness 1 year later (2018 June) and was admitted to the hospital. He was then diagnosed with Guillain-Barrè syndrome after spinal tap, neurological, and hematological examinations. Immunoglobulin therapy was provided but was less effective. The patient has since been receiving physical therapy. This has been the first report regarding Guillain-Barrè syndrome as a complication during ustekinumab therapy.