Disturbances in mineral and bone metabolism play a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The term "renal osteodystrophy" has recently been replaced with "CKD-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD)", which includes vascular calcification as well as bone abnormalities. Following this paradigm shift, the Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy released guidelines for the management of secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic dialysis patients, which prioritized improvement in survival, but not in bone abnormalities. According to these guidelines, parathyroid intervention, such as parathyroidectomy and percutaneous ethanol injection therapy, should be indicated if mineral disorders cannot be managed by pharmacological means. Recently, several novel therapeutic tools, including sevelamer hydrochloride, calcitriol analogs, and cinacalcet hydrochloride have been introduced in the clinical setting in Japan. Harmonizing these therapeutic modalities, we should expect more effective management of CKD-MBD, leading to the improvement of morbidity and mortality in this patient population.

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Objective The central nervous system involvement of Brucellosis causes a hard to treat infection with multiple sequelae. The aim of this paper is to discuss the course of neurobrucellosis in response to therapy.
Patients and Methods Patients with neurobrucellosis were evaluated. The diagnosis was established by the isolation of bacteria, abnormal CSF findings and positive serology. Ceftriaxone, rifampicin, doxycycline and trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole were the antibiotic choices for these cases.
Results We present 11 cases with neurobrucellosis. None of our patients died, albeit one case has a critical situation due to subarachnoid hemorrhage and its' concordant sequelae. Only one of four patients with walking difficulty and two with hearing loss were normalized with therapy. Imaging techniques did not provide any specific contribution regarding the Brucella infection.
Conclusions Parenteral ceftriaxone should be used as an initial alternative in the management of neurobrucellosis. Although the therapy should be individualized, the duration of therapy should be a minimum of six months with suitable antibiotics.

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Type 1 (distal) and type 2 (proximal) renal tubular acidosis (RTA) are uncommon disorders, particularly in adults. HDR syndrome (hypoparathyroidism, sensorineural deafness and renal disease) is an autosomal dominant condition, defined by the triad hypoparathyroidism, renal dysplasia and hearing loss. Here, we describe a 19-year-old man with HDR syndrome accompanied by renal tubular acidosis and endocrinopathic changes.

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Patients with thymoma are likely to present with associated autoimmunologic disorders. The occurrence of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) attributable to thymoma is extremely rare. We herein present an extremely rare case of a 59-year-old man patient who was discovered to have malignant thymoma associated with myasthenia gravis, Graves' disease, and SIADH. He was admitted for evaluation and treatment of hyponatremia (Na 125 mEq/l). SIADH was diagnosed, and thymoma was identified as its cause. The patient was also found to have both Graves' disease and myasthenia gravis. The hyponatremia was normalized with water restriction and 3% saline therapy before thymectomy. The thymic tumor was a Masaoka stage III thymoma that resulted in direct invasion to the wall of the innominate vein, but there was no finding of invasion to other mediastinal organs. Complete thymectomy with innominate vein graft was performed. Microscopic histopathology findings corresponded to those of a mixed-type thymoma and type B2. However, immunohistochemical stain for antidiuretic hormone was negative in the tumor cells. Adjuvant radiation therapy was employed postoperatively, and the patient's postoperative recovery was uneventful. He subsequently reached a euthyroid state. And the reversal to normal sodium and osmolality levels was continued after the tumor removal without any further management for hyponatremia. The observation of this interesting case and a literature review provided us with the opportunity to explore the pathogenesis and clinical aspects of thymoma-related autoimmune and/or endocrine disorders which must be suspected in patients with thymoma.

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We report a 35-year-old man who was referred to our hospital with generalized convulsion and mixed acidosis presumably caused by abuse of SS-BRON^TM tablets, an over-the-counter (OTC) antitussive medication sold in Japan. These tablets contain dihydrocodeine phosphate, methylephedrine, chlorpheniramine, and caffeine. Although it is difficult to discern which component caused these symptoms, it seems that dihydrocodeine phosphate or methylephedrine was involved in the addiction to SS-BRON^TM and chlorpheniramine may have caused the generalized convulsion. It should be recognized that an OTC antitussive, which is quite easy to obtain, can be abused and subsequently induce serious intoxication.

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Fibric acid derivatives and statins have been increasingly recognized as causes of rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure. We report severe rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure associated to combination treatment with statin and fenofibrate in two patients with underlying coronary artery disease. Both patients developed rhabdomyolysis-induced acute renal failure after their hyperlipidemia treatment was changed from statin to statin plus fenofibrate. Both patients experienced intense muscle symptoms, hemoglobinuria, oliguria, and elevation of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. Their serum creatine kinase levels were markedly elevated (case 1; 97,392 IU/l and case 2; 96,639 IU/l). Rhabdomyolysis induced acute renal failure was diagnosed in both patients. Both patients were managed with cessation of the statin-fibrate combination, adequate fluid resuscitation and forced alkaline-mannitol diuresis. Although both patients required hemodialysis, their renal function recovered. Fenofibrate initiation is associated with an increased risk for rhabdomyolysis in patients receiving statin therapy. To prevent future events, it is crucial that clinicians recognize the interaction risk associated with concurrent use of statin and fenofibrate. We recommend careful monitoring when fenofibrate is given to patients receiving statin therapy.

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This report describes a 65-year-old woman who developed granulomatous lesions consistent with sarcoidosis during etanercept therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and multiple nodules in both lung fields developed 21 months after administration of etanercept. Noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas consistent with sarcoidosis were detected in a lung biopsy specimen and in the parietal pleura obtained via thoracotomy. Diseases showing similar histologic changes were excluded, and a diagnosis of sarcoidosis was made. Etanercept was discontinued, which resulted in symptomatic relief, improvement of oxygenation and radiologic findings. There is substantial evidence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha involvement in the induction and maintenance of granuloma formation; however, we should keep in mind that granulomatous disease, such as sarcoidosis, can develop during treatment with a tumor necrosis factor-alpha blocking agent, such as etanercept.

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A 72-year-old man patient was referred to our institution for evaluation and treatment of right pleural effusion. Eosinophilic pleural effusion and peripheral eosinophilia were identified during the course of hospitalization. Pulmonary paragonimiasis was confirmed by the presence of paragonimus-specific IgG antibodies for Paragonimus (P.) westermani and P. miyazakii in his serum. Although Praziquantel, a highly effective agent for the treatment of lung flukes was repeatedly administered, the pleural effusion did not subside and the patient's condition gradually deteriorated until his death due to circulatory insufficiency. Postmortem examination revealed malignant mesothelioma of the sarcomatous type encasing the right lung and heart. Cardiac involvement accompanied with old and recent-onset myocardial ischemic changes resulted in death of this patient. Here, we report a very rare case of malignant mesothelioma with a concomitant infection of parasitic lung fluke.

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We report the second patient diagnosed with autoimmune pancreatitis complicated with autoimmune thrombocytopenia and interstitial pneumonia. The patient was treated with prednisolone and responded favorably. We demonstrated that anti-platelet (PLT) antibody of the patient was IgG4 and that it may react with HLA, not specific antigen, on both pancreas and PLT.

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Duodenal diverticula generally occur in 2.5% of upper gastrointestinal examinations and are usually asymptomatic, but can cause hemorrhage on rare occasions. The frequency of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients with MDS or hematologic neoplasm caused by duodenal diverticulum is not known. Therefore, the correct diagnosis of intestinal hemorrhage is important, as severe enterocolitis may cause a patient with MDS to bleed from the diverticulum.

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Brucellosis can mimic several primary hematological diseases. Mild anemia and leukopenia have been frequently associated with acute brucellosis, but pancytopenia, thrombocytopenia, and hemolysis are less frequently seen. To our knowledge, brucellosis has not previously been described in association with coombs-positive autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Here, we report a case of acute brucellosis presenting with coombs-positive autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The patient responded well to short-term pulse corticosteroid therapy followed by antibrucellosis treatment. We suggest that Brucella infection may be the probable cause of the immune hemolytic anemia in this patient. Therefore, the differential diagnosis of coombs-positive autoimmune hemolytic anemia should include brucellosis, especially in areas where the disease is endemic.

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We present two patients with primary lateral sclerosis-like upper motor neuron disease accompanying subclinical Sjögren's syndrome. Both patients showed progressive spastic quadriparesis, but neither sensory involvement nor detrusor dysfunction was noted. Lower motor neuron signs were detected only in their late follow-up period. Although sicca symptom was nearly absent, salivary labial gland biopsy revealed marked sialoadenitis in both patients. They also displayed a constellation of findings that suggested an autoimmune etiology closely related to Sjögren's syndrome, including germinal center formation in one patient, and markedly elevated levels of anti-nuclear antibody with abnormal sialography in the other. Both patients showed significant neurological improvement after the initial course of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. We suggest that the evidence for subclinical Sjögren's syndrome should be sought in patients presenting with selective upper motor neuron involvement.

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We report a 28-year-old woman patient suffering from refractory subcutaneous abscess. Stimuli-induced microbicidal reactive oxygen metabolites formation test of the patient's neutrophils revealed that only 9.6% of the neutrophils produced H₂O₂. DNA analysis of the CYBB that encodes gp91^phox demonstrated that she was heterozygous for a nonsense mutation, ²⁰⁶Trp(TGG)/stop(TGA) and therefore, a diagnosis of adult onset X-linked chronic granulomatous disease was made. Our molecular biological study revealed that her disease was caused by a de novo mutation in the CYBB gene on the paternal-origin X-chromosome and a skewed inactivation of the normal maternal X-chromosome.

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An 81-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with a severe sore throat and a low grade fever. A chest radiograph showed bilateral diffuse reticulonodular shadows. By fluorescent stain for mycobacteria, his sputum smear showed acid-fast bacteria. The initial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of his sputum revealed Mycobacterium intracellulare (M. intracellulare), but not Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). However, a repeat PCR was performed because M. tuberculosis could not be ruled out due to his clinical symptoms and chest imaging. The second PCR detected both M. intracellulare and M. tuberculosis. From the standpoint of infection control, this case illustrates the possibility that M. tuberculosis could be a threat if a second PCR is not done. While PCR is a useful exam for diagnosing M. tuberculosis, it can produce false negative results. Therefore, for diagnosing tuberculosis, particularly in a case such as the present case, a second PCR, which is not normally necessary, should be done.

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"Received for publication March 3, 2008; Accepted for publication December 29, 2008", should have been "Received for publication December 29, 2007; Accepted for publication March 3, 2008". The editors apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

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