Enhancing precision in vascular embolization: evaluating the effectiveness of the intentional early detachment technique with detachable coils in complex cases.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and versatility of an intentional early detachment technique with detachable coils in addressing challenging vascular embolization scenarios. This novel approach aims to provide an alternative method for achieving precise coil placement when standard methods of detachable coil placement are ineffective owing to vascular anatomy or limited available equipment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 11 patients (nine males and two females; median age, 77 years) who underwent embolization procedures between October 2021 and December 2023 using the intentional early detachment technique through 1.6-Fr or 1.3-Fr microcatheters. In this technique, detachable coils were intentionally detached within the microcatheter and placed through saline flushing. The technique's technical success, complications, and clinical success were evaluated. RESULTS: The technique was applied in three distinct scenarios: tortuous vascular anatomy (four cases), inadequate system backup (three cases), and 1.3-Fr microcatheter use (four cases). The technical and clinical success rates were 100%. No complications were observed, and no cases of coil migration or malpositioning. CONCLUSION: The intentional early detachment technique is valuable for interventional radiologists and offers a solution for challenging vascular embolization scenarios. Its application is limited to specific circumstances; however, it can significantly enhance coil placement in complex cases, thereby contributing to improved patient care.

Barriers to long-acting injectable atypical antipsychotic use in Japan: Insights from a comparative psychiatrist survey.

AIMS: To investigate the negative attitudes of Japanese psychiatrists toward atypical long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics, which are the current mainstream LAIs in Japan. METHODS: We surveyed 69 Japanese psychiatrists using a 5-point Likert scale to assess their attitudes toward atypical LAI antipsychotics. Our assessment referenced concerns identified in a study conducted in Japan a decade ago, which found significant differences when compared with a survey of German psychiatrists. We also identified the factors influencing these negative attitudes. Additionally, the results were compared with those of previous Japanese and German studies. RESULTS: More than 50% of Japanese psychiatrists expressed negative attitudes toward atypical LAI antipsychotics in various areas. These concerns included apprehensions about cost, reluctance to recommend them initially, pain from injections, complexity of switching to LAI, usage in first-episode cases, and sufficient medication adherence with oral drugs. In all three studies, cost and adequate adherence to oral medication were concerns that exceeded the average of the three negative comments. Age and experience in psychiatry influenced the psychiatrists' attitudes toward using these drugs in first-episode cases. CONCLUSIONS: These findings shed light on the reasons for the underutilization of atypical LAI antipsychotics and suggest opportunities to enhance their appropriate use in clinical settings.

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics as maintenance therapy for schizophrenia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A micro-narrative review.

The coronavirus disease pandemic has presented healthcare systems with unprecedented challenges globally and substantially impacted the management of chronic diseases such as schizophrenia. This narrative review highlights the usefulness of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) as maintenance therapy for patients with schizophrenia during the pandemic. The analysis of relevant literature and psychiatric survey data revealed diverse trends in LAIs prescription and patient adherence with oral antipsychotics. Although some studies have reported a decrease in LAIs prescriptions owing to pandemic-related disruptions, others have suggested stable patient adherence with oral antipsychotics. Approximately 70% of Japanese psychiatrists reported an increase in schizophrenia relapse rates in a survey, underscoring the critical role of LAIs in maintaining therapeutic stability. The potential benefits of LAIs with extended dosing intervals have been highlighted, including improving oral medication adherence and reducing the frequency of hospital visits. In conclusion, this review emphasizes the continued need for uninterrupted LAIs therapy in conjunction with community and home-based care despite the disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic. Further development of LAIs maintenance therapy strategies considering the ongoing pandemic and potential future public health emergencies are required.

Mode of Imaging Study and Endovascular Therapy for a Large Ischemic Core: Insights From the RESCUE-Japan LIMIT.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Differences in measurement of the extent of acute ischemic stroke using the Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomographic Score (ASPECTS) by non-contrast computed tomography (CT-ASPECTS stratum) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI-ASPECTS stratum) may impact the efficacy of endovascular therapy (EVT) in patients with a large ischemic core. METHODS: The RESCUE-Japan LIMIT (Recovery by Endovascular Salvage for Cerebral Ultra-acute Embolism Japan-Large IscheMIc core Trial) was a multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial that evaluated the efficacy and safety of EVT in patients with ASPECTS of 3-5. CT-ASPECTS was prioritized when both CT-ASPECTS and DWI-ASPECTS were measured. The effects of EVT on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 90 days were assessed separately for each stratum. RESULTS: Among 183 patients, 112 (EVT group, 53; No-EVT group, 59) were in the CT-ASPECTS stratum and 71 (EVT group, 40; No-EVT group, 31) in the DWI-ASPECTS stratum. The common odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) of the EVT group for one scale shift of the mRS score toward 0 was 1.29 (0.65-2.54) compared to the No-EVT group in CT-ASPECTS stratum, and 6.15 (2.46-16.3) in DWI-ASPECTS stratum with significant interaction between treatment assignment and mode of imaging study (P=0.002). There were significant interactions in the improvement of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score at 48 hours (CT-ASPECTS stratum: OR, 1.95; DWIASPECTS stratum: OR, 14.5; interaction P=0.035) and mortality at 90 days (CT-ASPECTS stratum: OR, 2.07; DWI-ASPECTS stratum: OR, 0.23; interaction P=0.008). CONCLUSION: Patients with ASPECTS of 3-5 on MRI benefitted more from EVT than those with ASPECTS of 3-5 on CT.

Cervical cord lesions in Wernicke's encephalopathy.

A 30-year-old woman suffering from an eating disorder and alcoholism presented with a progressively worsening gait disturbance lasting 2 weeks. Her neurological findings included impaired ocular motility and trunk ataxia. Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging of the brain showed hyperintensity in the dorsal brainstem, aqueduct, thalamus, and cerebral cortex. A long hyperintense segment on T2-weighted imaging was visible in the central gray matter of the cervical spinal cord. No restricted diffusion was observed; thus, T2 elongation in the spine was suggested to be due to vasogenic edema. We diagnosed the patient with Wernicke's encephalopathy and initiated vitamin supplementation. Thereafter, her symptoms rapidly improved; magnetic resonance imaging on the 11th day of hospitalization showed normalization of the signals in her brain and spinal cord. As our case demonstrates, Wernicke's encephalopathy can induce vasogenic edema of the spinal cord, which can rapidly improve with early therapeutic intervention.

A New Case With Cortical Malformation Caused by Biallelic Variants in LAMC3.

Objective: In this study, we report the case of a 24-year-old man with intellectual disability and childhood-onset seizures. This patient had newly identified biallelic variants in the laminin subunit gamma 3 (LAMC3) gene with unreported cortical malformation. Methods: Exome sequencing. Results: Genetic analyses revealed new biallelic variants in the LAMC3 gene. An MRI examination of the brain revealed cortical malformations predominantly in the temporal lobes and mildly in the occipital, frontal, and parietal lobes. In addition, our patient also exhibited mild midline malformation in the ventral pons, which is unique to LAMC3 variants. Discussion: Patients with LAMC3 variants have been reported to exhibit cortical malformation predominantly in the occipital lobes, but this patient exhibited cortical malformation predominantly in the temporal lobes and mildly in the occipital, frontal, and parietal lobes. In addition, this patient also exhibited mild midline malformation in the ventral pons. These unique findings cast new light on the role of LAMC3 in brain development.

Serial Radiological Findings in Meningovascular Neurosyphilis Presenting as Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Meningovascular neurosyphilis, a form of early neurosyphilis, can cause infectious arteritis, which can be complicated by cerebral infarction. High-resolution vessel wall imaging (HR-VWI) is one of the techniques used to directly visualize the vessel wall. Herein, we present a rare case of meningovascular neurosyphilis, in which intracranial arterial vasculitis was evaluated using HR-VWI. CASE PRESENTATION: A 22-year-old man with no medical history of any condition was brought to the emergency room with one day history of right upper and lower extremity weakness. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed a high signal from the left putamen to the corona radiata, and MR angiography showed stenosis of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) and the bilateral middle cerebral arteries (MCAs). HR-VWI showed thickening, along with smooth, intense, and concentric enhancement of the right ICA and the bilateral MCAs. The patient was diagnosed with neurosyphilis based on the findings of the blood tests and cerebrospinal fluid examination. The patient's symptoms gradually improved after treatment with intravenous penicillin G and oral antiplatelet agents. HR-VWI, performed approximately 6 months after the treatment, revealed improvement in the contrast enhancement of the vessel wall and the vascular stenosis. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of meningovascular neurosyphilis that evaluated the course of treatment using HR-VWI. Our report highlights the effectiveness of HR-VWI to determine the effects of treatment on meningovascular neurosyphilis.

Dentatorubrothalamic tract reduction using fixel-based analysis in corticobasal syndrome.

PURPOSE: The word "fixel" refers to the specific fiber population within each voxel, and fixel-based analysis (FBA) is a recently developed technique that facilitates fiber tract-specific statistical analysis. The aim of the paper is to apply FBA to detect impaired fibers for corticobasal syndrome (CBS) especially in regions that contain multiple crossed fibers. METHODS: FBA was performed in cohorts of participants clinically diagnosed with CBS (n = 10) and Parkinson's disease (n = 15) or in healthy controls (n = 9). The parameters of the diffusion weighted image were echo time, 83 ms; time, 8123.6 ms; flip angle, 90°; section thickness, 2 mm; b = 1000 s/mm2; and 32 axes. Diffusion tensor analysis was conducted using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), and white matter volume was estimated via voxel-based morphometry. RESULTS: A comparison of PD or HC to CBS revealed a significant difference in the dentatorubrothalamic tract of the brainstem in FBA in addition to the affected regions in voxel-based morphometry and TBSS (family-wise error-corrected p < 0.05). Reduction of the white matter fibers crossing the brainstem could not be detected via microstructural changes identified using TBSS, but it was detected using FBA. CONCLUSION: FBA has some advantages in determining the distribution of corticobasal syndrome lesions.

Association Among Age-Related Tongue Muscle Abnormality, Tongue Pressure, and Presbyphagia: A 3D MRI Study.

Muscle aging such as sarcopenia adversely affects motor activities. However, few studies have elucidated the aging physiological mechanism of tongue concerted with the changes muscle composition. The present study aimed to examine the tongue composition changes to detect the effect of tongue fat mass on tongue pressure and swallowing function with aging. Twenty community-dwelling elderly without head and neck cancer, stroke, or neuromuscular disease and 20 healthy young were included. Tongue volume, tongue fat mass, tongue lean muscle mass, and tongue fat percentage were evaluated with 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Dixon MRI. Tongue pressure was also measured. Swallowing function among elderly individuals was assessed via videofluorography, which was evaluated using the penetration-aspiration scale (PAS) and normalized residue ratio scale (NRRS). Tongue fat mass and tongue fat percentage significantly increased with aging. The tongue fat percentage of elderly participants was 20%, which was two times greater than that of young participants. No significant difference was observed in tongue volume and tongue lean muscle mass. A significantly negative correlation was observed between tongue fat mass and tongue fat percentage as well as tongue pressure. Conversely, tongue volume was not significantly correlated with tongue pressure. Tongue muscle composition exhibited no effect in the PAS and NRRS. Increase of fat mass is a major change in tongue composition with aging, which is associated with low tongue pressure. Thus, attention must be paid not only to tongue quantity but also to the quality of tongue muscles.

Delayed appearance of transient hyperintensity foci on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the frequency, characteristics, and clinical significance of transient hyperintensity foci on T1-weighted images (T1WI) in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with ADEM underwent MR studies at the time of disease onset and every 3 months or more often thereafter. The frequency and appearance timing of abnormal signals including T1WI and their morphological characteristics were evaluated. Relations between patient symptoms and abnormal signals on MRI were also evaluated. RESULTS: Five ADEM patients were included in this study. Linear (n = 2) or nodular (n = 1) T1-hyperintensity foci appeared in 3 patients (60%, 3/5). Locations of T1-hyperintensity foci were both cortical/subcortical region and basal ganglia (n = 1), subcortical region alone (n = 1), and internal capsule (n = 1). Those T1-hyperintensity foci were located within the T2-weighted image (T2WI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyperintensity foci on initial MRI. Some T1-hyperintensity foci also showed hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted image (DWI) and contrast enhancement. T1-hyperintensity appeared at 14-43 days (median, 28 days), and disappeared in 2 patients at 91 days and 627 days after disease onset. There were no neurological sequelae remained in any patients. CONCLUSION: T1-hyperintensity foci is not a rare finding (60%) and it can be observed after improvement in symptoms in ADEM.

Grading of astrocytomas using the PRESTO (principles of echo-shifting with a train of observations) magnetic resonance imaging sequence.

OBJECTIVE: Changes in brain tissue can be detected sensitively using PRESTO (principles of echo-shifting with a train of observations) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the proliferative ability of astrocytoma and intratumoral spotty signal voids seen as hypo-intense dots on PRESTO MRI. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-seven astrocytic tumors, comprising 14 astrocytomas, 12 anaplastic astrocytomas, and 31 glioblastomas, were included in this retrospective study. The tumors were classified independently by blinded radiologists according to the number of spotty signal voids detected on PRESTO-MRI as follows: spot-free (grade 0), less than 3 spots (grade 1), or more than 3 spots or a large spot (grade 2). RESULTS: Thirteen patients (92.9%) with astrocytoma were classified as PRESTO grade 0 and 1 patient (7.1%) was classified as grade 1. Seven patients (58.3%) with anaplastic astrocytoma were classified as PRESTO grade 0, 1 (8.3%) as grade 1, and 4 as grade 2 (33.3%). Three patients (9.7%) with glioblastoma were classified as grade 0, 6 (19.4%) as grade 1, and 22 (70.9%) as grade 2. There was a strong correlation between PRESTO tumor grade and the mean MIB-1 index. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that a grading system based on the number of spotty signal voids detected on PRESTO images would be useful for the diagnosis of astrocytic tumors and predicting their proliferative ability.

[Congenital leukemia showing lineage switch following induction chemotherapy and attaining long-term remission after HLA-haploidentical stem cell transplantation].

Congenital leukemia is a rare subgroup of childhood leukemia. Lineage switches in leukemic cells are relatively rare events, which have been occasionally reported in congenital leukemia. To the best of our knowledge, the survival of congenital leukemia patients with lineage switch has not been previously documented. This lack of documentation may be attributable to extremely poor prognosis of these patients. We describe a case of a newborn female with initial diagnosis of MLL-AF4 positive B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, who developed lineage switch to acute monocytic leukemia following the induction therapy. Although morphological remission was temporary, she received an HLA-haploidentical bone marrow transplant from her father with non-remission status because of an early relapse at the age of 4 months. Despite many difficulties such as graft-versus-host disease, growth impairment, and psychomotor retardation, she remained in remission for 3 years and 7 months after the transplant. This successful outcome suggests that the graft-versus-leukemia effect was potentially accomplished in the patient. Taken together, early HLA-haploidentical stem cell transplant following remission is required for congenital leukemia patients with lineage switch, and it may be an effective alternative for refractory patients.

Positions of Hydroxyl Groups in Chrysin are Critical for Inhibiting Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Release from Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells.

Chrysin suppresses the TNFα-induced increase in the secretion of plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAl-1), a risk factor for thrombotic diseases, from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The present study aimed to determine the association between the location of the hydroxyl groups in chrysin.to levels of-PAI-1. in the medium of HUVEC stimulated with TNFα. We cultured HUVEC for 3 h in medium containing chrysin or various flavonoids and then stimulated them with TNFα (10 ng/mL) for 12 h. Levels of PAI-1 antigen measured using ELISA showed that chrysin significantly inhibited the PAl- I increase with an IC50 of 15.6 µM. The flavones, galangin, baicalein, 5-hydroxyflavone, 6-hydroxyflavone, 7-hydroxyflavone and quercetin did not significantly inhibit the PAI- increase. Apigenin and luteolin were cytotoxic and thus their ability to inhibit PAI production could not be evaluated. Chrysin also inhibited PAI- mRNA expression whereas the other compounds did not. Hydroxyl groups located in the A-5 and A-7 positions were essential for the inhibitoryactivity, which along with cytotoxicity, was significantly influenced by adding a third hydroxyl group.

Risk Factors for Problematic Behaviors among Forensic Outpatients under the Medical Treatment and Supervision Act in Japan.

The Medical Treatment and Supervision Act (MTSA) was enacted in 2005 in Japan to promote the reintegration of clinical offenders with mental disorders into society. Under the MTSA, individuals who committed serious crimes in a state of insanity or diminished responsibility are diverted from the criminal justice system to the mental health system. Based on court decisions about MTSA-based treatment, clinical offenders have an obligation to engage in rehabilitation within their local community under the guidance of mental health professionals. However, patients under MTSA-based clinical treatments have faced various problems in the course of treatment, because of psychiatric as well as other static or dynamic factors, and sometimes have committed problematic behaviors, such as violence and medical non-compliance. Hence, this study aimed to clarify factors related to patients' inclusion in MTSA-based outpatient treatment and additionally, their commitment of problematic behaviors, based on confidential data acquired during a four-year government survey period (National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry) from MTSA enactment (July 15, 2005) to December 31, 2009. In total, we recruited 441 clinical offenders receiving MTSA-based outpatient treatment from 158 nationwide facilities. To evaluate related factors, we collected demographic, psychiatric, forensic, clinical treatment, and social service information. Statistical analyses demonstrated that predominant profiles of patients included male gender, younger age, low school history, psychiatric diagnoses (F1, F2, and F3), and no correctional or outpatient history before MTSA-based treatment. F1 or substance use diagnosis, in particular, was increasingly correlated with other factors, such as male gender, older age, and correctional history before MTSA treatment. Among the 441 patients, 189 (43%) committed problematic behaviors in the course of the MTSA-based outpatient treatment. Risk factors for patients' commitment of problematic behaviors comprised F1 diagnosis and inpatient history before MTSA-based treatment inclusion. In summary, reduction of overall problematic behaviors under the MTSA outpatient likely makes progress by focal attention to patients with psychiatric disorders caused by substance use and/or a past inpatient history for more severe psychiatric symptoms. This work is of ongoing and future importance in the domain of forensic community treatment, to connect risk-enhancing factors with risk management.

Neurophysiological modulation of rapid emotional face processing is associated with impulsivity traits.

BACKGROUND: Sensori-perceptual processing of emotional stimuli under attentive conditions effectively prevents response disinhibition. This is observed saliently in low-impulsive people, because of their high sensitivity to warning signals, such as emotional faces. Results from human neurophysiological studies have been used to develop a dual detector model for early sensori-perceptual processing. A transient detector mechanism is related to automatic neurophysiological arousal in response to warning signals, which is reflected by early frontal event-related potential effects. The memory-based detector mechanism is associated with subsequent mismatch negativity (MMN), which reflects a short-term memory trace of signals. Based on previous findings, we predicted that impulsivity affects functional associations among the dual detector mechanisms, and modulates early frontal and/or MMN activities. In the present study, we recorded electroencephalograms for twenty-one healthy adults using a visual oddball paradigm with neutral faces as frequent stimuli, and angry and happy faces as infrequent stimuli. We measured the impulsivity traits by a self-report scale (the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, 11th version). RESULTS: Main findings were that only happy faces increased early frontal negativity and subsequent occipital visual MMN (vMMN) for emotional change, and these neurophysiological effects positively correlated with each other in a temporally causal manner. However, an impulsivity sub-trait positively correlated selectively with vMMN for the happy faces. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that higher impulsivity is associated with attenuated vMMN for emotional change detection in healthy populations, potentially because of weakened fronto-occipital functional connection that is responsible for the dual detector mechanism.

Impulsivity is Associated with Early Sensory Inhibition in Neurophysiological Processing of Affective Sounds.

Impulsivity is widely related to socially problematic behaviors and psychiatric illness. Previous studies have investigated the relationship between response inhibition and impulsivity. However, no study has intensively examined how impulsivity correlates with automatic sensory processing before the drive for response inhibition to sensory inputs. Sensory gating (SG) is an automatic inhibitory function that attenuates the neural response to redundant sensory information and protects higher cognitive functions from the burst of information processing. Although SG functions abnormally in several clinical populations, there is very little evidence supporting SG changes in conjunction with impulsivity traits in non-clinical populations. The present study recruited healthy adults (n = 23) to conduct a neurophysiological experiment using a paired-click paradigm and self-report scales assessing impulsive behavioral traits. Auditory stimuli included not only a pure tone but also white noise to explore the differences in auditory-evoked potential (AEP) responses between the two stimuli. White noise is more affective than pure tones; therefore, we predicted that the SG of AEPs (P50, N100, and P200) for white noise would correlate more with self-reported impulsivity than with those for pure tones. Our main findings showed that SG of the P50 and P200 amplitudes significantly correlated with self-reported reward responsiveness and fun-seeking, respectively, only for white noise stimuli, demonstrating that higher-scoring impulsivity subcomponents were related to greater SG. Frequency-domain analyses also revealed that greater desynchronization of the beta band for the second white noise stimulus was associated with higher motor impulsivity scores, suggesting that an impulsivity-related change of SG was associated with attentional modulation. These findings indicate that the measurement of SG of white noise may be an efficient tool to evaluate impulsivity in non-clinical populations, and should also be applied to clinical populations.

Histological features of primary tumors after induction or high-dose chemotherapy in high-risk neuroblastoma.

PURPOSE: In the recent years in Japan, an increasing number of patients with neuroblastoma (NB) are being treated by the "delayed local treatment (DL)" policy, undergoing surgery after the completion of high-dose chemotherapy with hematopoietic stem cell rescue (HDC). We reviewed the histopathological findings of second-look operations, including those of patients treated with DL. PATIENTS: From 1998 to 2013, 26 patients with high-risk NB underwent radical operation following chemotherapy. Surgery was performed after induction chemotherapy in 17 cases (standard; STD), whereas 9 cases completed induction chemotherapy and HDC before undergoing tumor resection (DL). The amount of necrosis and the degree of differentiation within the post-treatment tumor were assessed. RESULTS: Eighty-eight percent of the tumors showed necrosis in more than 1/3 of the specimen. Two DL cases showed complete disappearance of viable tumor cells. Amount of necrosis did not affect the prognosis of the patient. Tumors with immature, poorly differentiated phenotypes showed an extremely aggressive thereafter. Though not statistically proven, (123)I-MIBG (metaiodobenzylguanidine) uptake may be correlated with the amount of viable cells remaining within the tumor, but not with the degree of differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the previous reports advocating that tumors that sustain unfavorable histology after chemotherapy behave aggressively thereafter.