The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · May 2020
Case ReportsCholesterol Emboli Co-Existing with Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis in a 76-Year-Old Woman.
Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis injures small vessels and causes severe systemic organ injury. Main target antigens of ANCA are myeloperoxidase and proteinase 3. ANCA strongly associates with the development and progression of the vasculitis. ⋯ Thereafter, the renal function and other symptoms improved and stabilized. The representative symptoms of ANCA-associated vasculitis and cholesterol emboli are closely similar, and it is difficult to distinguish between these diseases when they coexist. Because the background characteristics of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis and risk factors of cholesterol emboli overlap, at the time of diagnosing ANCA-associated vasculitis, clinicians should consider the possibility of cholesterol emboli coexistence.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · May 2020
Association between Adult Height and Risk of Lung Cancer Incidence among Japanese Men: The Miyagi Cohort Study.
It is already known that adult height is a factor associated with an increased risk of colon cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, premenopausal breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. However, the association between adult height and lung cancer incidence remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between adult height and the risk of lung cancer incidence in the Japanese population. ⋯ Furthermore, the association between adult height and the incidence of lung cancer was found the significant increased risk among ever smokers in men, but not never smokers. We also observed that adult height tend to be associated with an increased risk of small cell lung cancer and squamous cell carcinoma. This prospective cohort study has demonstrated a positive association between adult height and the risk of lung cancer incidence among men, especially those who have ever smoked.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · May 2020
Higher Incidence of Syphilis among Patients with HIV Infection: Population Study using Surveillance Data of Tokyo, Japan.
In Japan, the reported cases of syphilis have been increasing since 2011 especially in large cities such as Tokyo. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of HIV infection for syphilis co-infection on the population of Tokyo, Japan. We analyzed data of syphilis cases obtained from additional surveillance by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2018, including those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection as well as data of HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases during 1985-2017. ⋯ The relative risk of HIV infection for syphilis was estimated as 423.29 if asymptomatic syphilis cases were included, and 372.37 if they were excluded. These results showed an extremely high risk of HIV infection. Since many syphilis cases have unknown or unreported HIV infection status, reduction of these cases might contribute to more reliable estimation of HIV infection risk.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · May 2020
Physician Distribution by Specialty and Practice Setting: Findings in Japan in 2000, 2010 and 2016.
As the medical demand is projected to increase along with the population aging in Japan, the geographical distribution of physicians is a significant concern for society and policymakers. To implement effective measures on geographical physician distribution, this study aimed to describe and compare the distribution of physicians by specialty in 2000, 2010 and 2016 in Japan, and examine whether practice setting was associated with distribution. To quantify the geographical physician distribution by specialty, we calculated the Gini coefficients of physicians working at clinics or hospitals in 2000, 2010, and 2016. ⋯ Those in specialties, where at least 90% of physicians work in hospitals such as anesthesiologists and radiologists, were more clustered, as shown by the Lorenz curves and the Gini coefficients. Similar distributional differences were also found even when we excluded physicians working in clinics, meaning that the distributional variation could be explained by other factors than the distribution of hospitals. These results suggest that the nature of practice in each specialty strongly affects the geographical distribution of specialists.