Appropriate Color Enhancement Settings for Blue Laser Imaging Facilitates the Diagnosis of Early Gastric Cancer with High Color Contrast

Purpose@#Screening image-enhanced endoscopy for gastrointestinal malignant lesions has progressed. However, the influence of the color enhancement settings for the laser endoscopic system on the visibility of lesions with higher color contrast than their surrounding mucosa has not been established. @*Materials and Methods@#Forty early gastric cancers were retrospectively evaluated using color enhancement settings C1 and C2 for laser endoscopic systems with blue laser imaging (BLI), BLI-bright, and linked color imaging (LCI). The visibilities of the malignant lesions in the stomach with the C1 and C2 color enhancements were scored by expert and non-expert endoscopists and compared, and the color differences between the malignant lesions and the surrounding mucosa were assessed. @*Results@#Early gastric cancers mainly appeared orange-red on LCI and brown on BLI-bright or BLI. The surrounding mucosae were purple on LCI regardless of the color enhancement but brown or pale green with C1 enhancement and dark green with C2 enhancement on BLIbright or BLI. The mean visibility scores for BLI-bright, BLI, and LCI with C2 enhancement were significantly higher than those with C1 enhancement. The superiority of the C2 enhancement was not demonstrated in the assessments by non-experts, but it was significant for experts using all modes. The C2 color enhancement produced a significantly greater color difference between the malignant lesions and the surrounding mucosa, especially with the use of BLI-bright (P=0.033) and BLI (P<0.001). C2 enhancement tended to be superior regardless of the morphological type, Helicobacter pylori status, or the extension of intestinal metaplasia around the cancer. @*Conclusions@#Appropriate color enhancement settings improve the visibility of malignant lesions in the stomach and color contrast between the malignant lesions and the surrounding mucosa.

An updated data portal for fungal allergens with curated information.

Allergens originating from fungal components abundantly exist in and around human life. We constructed a data portal specific for fungal allergens that includes genomic data from four Aspergillus species used by beverage industries. The fungal database contains the information of nucleotide sequences, which are similar to the coding region of already known allergens in the public database. The database will accelerate allergen identification and prediction in the fungal research field.

Blue Laser Imaging with a Small-Caliber Endoscope Facilitates Detection of Early Gastric Cancer

Conventional endoscopy often misses early gastric cancers with minimal red discoloration because they cannot be distinguished from inflamed mucosa. We treated a patient with a small early gastric cancer that was difficult to diagnose using conventional endoscopy. Conventional endoscopy using a small-caliber endoscope showed only subtle red discoloration of the gastric mucosa. However, blue laser imaging showed a clearly discolored area measuring 10 mm in diameter around the red lesion, which was distinct from the surrounding inflamed mucosa. Irregular vessels on the tumor surface (suspicious for early gastric cancer) were observed even with small-caliber endoscopy. Biopsy revealed a well-moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, and endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed. Histopathological examination of the specimen confirmed well-moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma localized to the mucosa with slight depression compared to the surrounding mucosa, consistent with the endoscopic findings. This small early gastric cancer became clearly visible with blue laser imaging using small-caliber endoscopy.

The Usefulness of Reconstructed 3D Images in Surgical Planning for Cochlear Implantation in a Malformed Ear with an Abnormal Course of the Facial Nerve

OBJECTIVES: It is not unusual for a cochlear implantation (CI) candidate to have some type of ear malformation, in particular an abnormal course of the facial nerve (FN). In this study, we attempted to reconstruct a three-dimensional (3D) image of temporal bone structures with malformation using computed tomography (CT) imaging and examined its usefulness in the surgical planning of CI in a malformed ear. METHODS: We prepared 3D images for 6 separate CI cases before surgery. First, we manually colored preoperative CT images using Photoshop CS Extended. We then converted the colored CT images to 3D images using Delta Viewer, free-ware for Macintosh. Before surgery, we discussed any problems anticipated based on the 3D images and plans for surgery with those who would be performing the CI. RESULTS: Case 1: The subject was a 3-year-old boy with malformed ossicles, semicircular canal (SC) hypoplasia, internal auditory canal stenosis, and an abnormal course of the FN. 3D image indicated that the stapes were absent, and the FN was more anteriorly displaced, so that it was difficult to perform cochleostomy. The surgical findings were similar to those depicted on the 3D image, so we could insert an electrode based on the preoperative image simulation without complications. Case 2: The subject was a 7-year-old boy with malformed stapes, atresia of the round window, cochlear and SC aplasia, and an abnormal course of the FN with bifurcation. CI was performed with no problems, in the same manner as in Case 1. CONCLUSION: We were able to successfully depict the structures of the inner ear, ossicles, and FN as 3D images, which are very easy to understand visually and intuitively. These 3D images of the malformed ear are useful in preoperative image simulation and in surgical planning for those performing a CI procedure.

What Factors Are Associated with Good Performance in Children with Cochlear Implants? From the Outcome of Various Language Development Tests, Research on Sensory and Communicative Disorders Project in Japan: Nagasaki Experience

OBJECTIVES: We conducted multi-directional language development tests as a part of the Research on Sensory and Communicative Disorders (RSVD) in Japan. This report discusses findings as well as factors that led to better results in children with severe-profound hearing loss. METHODS: We evaluated multiple language development tests in 33 Japanese children with cochlear implants (32 patients) and hearing aid (1 patient), including 1) Test for question and answer interaction development, 2) Word fluency test, 3) Japanese version of the Peabody picture vocabulary test-revised, 4) The standardized comprehension test of abstract words, 5) The screening test of reading and writing for Japanese primary school children, 6) The syntactic processing test of aphasia, 7) Criterion-referenced testing (CRT) for Japanese language and mathematics, 8) Pervasive development disorders ASJ rating scales, and 9) Raven's colored progressive matrices. Furthermore, we investigated the factors believed to account for the better performances in these tests. The first group, group A, consisted of 14 children with higher scores in all tests than the national average for children with hearing difficulty. The second group, group B, included 19 children that scored below the national average in any of the tests. RESULTS: Overall, the results show that 76.2% of the scores obtained by the children in these tests exceeded the national average scores of children with hearing difficulty. The children who finished above average on all tests had undergone a longer period of regular habilitation in our rehabilitation center, had their implants earlier in life, were exposed to more auditory verbal/oral communication in their education at affiliated institutions, and were more likely to have been integrated in a regular kindergarten before moving on to elementary school. CONCLUSION: In this study, we suggest that taking the above four factors into consideration will have an affect on the language development of children with severe-profound hearing loss.

Bilateral Cochlear Implantation for Children in Nagasaki, Japan

OBJECTIVES: The number of patients with bilateral cochlear implant (CI) has gradually increased as patients and/or parents recognize its effectiveness. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the efficacy of 29 bilateral CI out of 169 pediatric CI users, who received auditory-verbal/oral habilitation at our hearing center. METHODS: We evaluated the audiological abilities 29 Japanese children with bilateral CIs including wearing threshold, word recognition score, speech discrimination score at 1 m from front speaker (SP), 1 m from second CI side SP, speech discrimination score under the noise (S/N ratio=80 dB sound pressure level [SPL]/70 dB SPL, 10 dB) at 1 m from front SP, word recognition score under the noise (S/N ratio=80 dB SPL/70 dB SPL, 10 dB) at 1 m from front SP. RESULTS: Binaural hearing using bilateral CI is better than first CI in all speech understanding tests. Especially, there were significant differences between the results of first CI and bilateral CI on SDS at 70 dB SPL (P=0.02), SDS at 1 m from second CI side SP at 60 dB SPL (P=0.02), word recognition score (WRS) at 1 m from second CI side SP at 60 dB SPL (P=0.02), speech discrimination score (SDS) at 1 m from front SP under the noise (S/N=80/70; P=0.01) and WRS at 1 m from front SP under the noise (S/N=80/70; P=0.002). At every age, a second CI is very effective. However, the results of under 9 years old were better than of over 9 years old on the mean SDS under the noise (S/N=80/70) on second CI (P=0.04). About use of a hearing aid (HA) in their opposite side of first CI, on the WRS and SDS under the noise, there were significant differences between the group of over 3 years and the group of under 10 months of HA non user before second CI. CONCLUSION: These results may show important binaural effectiveness such as binaural summation and head shadow effect. Bilateral CI is very useful medical intervention for many children with severe-to-profound hearing loss in Japan as well as elsewhere.

From the Position of Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) / 薬剤疫学

Since the reexamination system of new drugs has been in place for about thirty years, it is necessary to reconsider its management. The time from the reexamination application of new drugs until issuance of the results takes several years recently. General drugs are applied during the reexamination application and are approved before reconfirmation of the efficacy and safety of new drugs. Therefore, the reexamination system is not effectively operated. Although the informations for proper use collected from post-marketing investigations and clinical trials, and spontaneous adverse reaction reports of new drugs, etc. during the reexamination period are utilized for its safety measures, the plan for effective use is not systematically managed. We propose an improved plan for a future reexamination system. Further, we propose the introduction of a risk management plan in Japan; the current one of which lags behind EU and US.

The actual condition of patients treated by acupuncture in Ibaragi Prefecture / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

We investigated the actual condition of patients treated by acupuncture and moxibution in Ibaragi Prefecture.<br>Subjects were 1823 patients (846 men, 977 women) under the treatment of 14 acupuncture clinics in September to November, 1985.<br>We prepared the evaluated list that consisted of 11 levels of activities of daily life and 8 degrees of pain.<br>In every treatment, we wrote down the patient's clinical progress in relation with the list.<br>The following results were obtained<br>1. There were many patients in thier forties and fifties.<br>2. There were many patients who received only one treatment.<br>3. The chief complaints were low back pains (509 patients), shoulder discomfort (273) knee joint pain (132), etc.<br>4. Most of the patients could still go on with thier daily lives in spite of the pains.<br>5. The effects of treatment were rated as follows; better 69.5%, no change 23.9%, worse 5.9%.