Anti-mumps IgM antibody positive rate with sudden sensorineural hearing loss using second-generation enzyme immunoassay: A retrospective, multi-institutional investigation in Hokkaido, Japan.

OBJECTIVE: Although elevated anti-mumps IgM antibody levels were reported in 5.7%-7.2% of Japanese patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), there were several reports of false-positive cases, such as the continually IgM positive case and the IgM positive case in normal adults. To improve specificity, the new enzyme immuno assay (EIA) anti-mumps IgM antibody measurement kit was introduced in December 2009. This study re-examined the frequency of anti-mumps IgM antibody test positivity with SSNHL using the new measurement kit and compared the results with those from a previous report that used old kit. METHODS: This is a retrospective multi-institutional study involving patients diagnosed with SSNHL who exhibited the anti-mumps IgM antibody. We compared the positive rate of anti-mumps IgM antibody and the annual average number of mumps cases per sentinel in Hokkaido between the patients in the present study and patients previously evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, 100 patients with SSNHL were enrolled. One case (1.0%) was positive for anti-mumps IgM antibody. Of the 69 patients evaluated in the previous study, 5 cases (7.2%) were positive for anti-mumps IgM antibody. The positive rate of the anti-mumps IgM antibody in the present cases was significantly lower than that previously reported (p=0.042). The annual average number of mumps cases per sentinel in Hokkaido of the present and previous surveillance period was 34.47 and 42.77, respectively; no significant difference was seen in these data (p=0.4519). CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that 1.0% of SSNHL was positive for the anti-mumps IgM antibody using the new EIA-IgM measurement kit. After the introduction of the new EIA-IgM measurement kit, anti-mumps IgM antibody positive rate with SSNHL significantly decreased, indicating that the proportion of asymptomatic mumps among etiology of SSNHL may be lower than those previously reported.

Efficacy of disulfiram for the treatment of alcohol dependence assessed with a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of disulfiram in preventing an alcoholic relapse has been controversial. The aim of our study was to assess the efficacy of supervised disulfiram for the treatment of alcohol dependence with a multi-institutional study in Japan. METHODS: In a single-blinded, randomized placebo-controlled study, we recruited 109 patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence under ICD-10 criteria. The patients were randomly allocated to 4 treatment groups, depending on whether they took disulfiram (200 mg daily) or a placebo or whether they received adjunctive therapy consisting of mailed letters which delineated and emphasized the harmful effect of alcohol and the management of alcohol craving. The proportion of abstinence among the 4 groups at 26 weeks after discharge was the primary outcome measure. The proportion of abstinence was compared with the severity of alcohol dependence and craving. Furthermore, we examined the proportion of abstinence in patients with inactive aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2). RESULTS: There were no significant differences among the 4 groups in terms of abstinent patients or study dropouts. The ratio of abstinence was not related to the severity of alcohol dependence or the degree of alcohol craving. Patients with inactive ALDH2 significantly sustained abstinence with the use of disulfiram (p = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: Supervised oral disulfiram use followed by intervention via letters seems to be ineffective for increasing abstinence. Further studies are necessary to prove the efficacy of disulfiram for the pharmacological treatment of alcohol dependence. We indicated the effectiveness of disulfiram for the maintenance of abstinence in patients with inactive ALDH2.

Nasal manifestations of immunoglobulin G4-related disease.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Immunoglobulin (Ig)G4-related disease is a systemic syndrome, characterized by sclerosing lesions that mainly affect the exocrine tissue. Although some patients with IgG4-related disease complain of nasal symptoms, there are few reports concerning the nasal manifestations of this disease. We investigated the clinical and pathological features of the nasal manifestations of IgG4-related disease. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review in a tertiary referral hospital. METHODS: Twenty-three consecutive patients with IgG4-related disease, six allergic rhinitis (AR) patients, and eight healthy subjects (HS) were evaluated. Nasal symptoms, local findings of the nasal cavity, and laboratory data were examined. Mucosal tissues from the inferior turbinate were obtained from all subjects before treatment. The level of IgG4-positive plasma cells and other infiltrating cells, and the number of nasal glands in the nasal subjects were compared among the three groups. RESULTS: Ten (43.4%) of 23 cases had some nasal symptoms, such as nasal obstruction and nasal crusting. Thirteen cases (56.5%) had numerous IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltration in the nasal mucosa. IgG4-positive plasma cells, CD3, and CD4 were significantly higher in the IgG4-related disease group than in the HS and AR groups, whereas the number of nasal glands in the IgG4-related disease group was significantly lower than in the HS and AR groups. CONCLUSIONS: The inflammatory lesions associated with IgG4-related disease exist on the nasal membrane. Thus, the nasal manifestations of IgG4-related disease were thought to be different from AR.

Self-administered electroconvulsive treatment with a homemade device.

Two patients with personality disorder and depression attempted to self-administer electroconvulsive therapy with a homemade device. The patients showed no proper psychopathological improvement after these attempts. Both of the patients' temples were seriously burned, and one of them required skin grafting. Both patients rejected to have reasonable psychosocial support, and followed a cult mental health manual in attempting to self-administer electroconvulsive therapy. To our knowledge, this is only the second report of its kind. The intractable psychopathology, poor interpersonal skills, and misleading information seemed to lead to the self-harm behaviors of our 2 patients.