The Showa University Journal of Medical Sciences
924 registered articles
(updated on April 23, 2019)
Online ISSN : 2185-0968
Print ISSN : 0915-6380
ISSN-L : 0915-6380
JOURNALS PEER REVIEWED FREE ACCESS
The Showa University Society Incentive Award 2018
Volume 29 (2017) Issue 2 Pages 107-117
Higher Adiponectin Expression Suppresses Neointimal Hyperplasia by Attenuating the Inflammatory Response Following Acceleration of Endothelialization in Damaged Areas in Adiponectin Transgenic Mice
Yasutoshi OMORI, Hiroshi SUZUKI, Kiyomi SAITO, Makoto SHOJI, Yoshitaka ISO, Takaharu NEGORO, Shinji KOBA, Yasuko NAKANO, Youichi KOBAYASHI
Adiponectin prevents inflammation and atherosclerosis, but it is unclear whether overexpression of adiponectin protects the vasculature. The aim of the present study was to determine whether adiponectin overexpression promotes vascular repair after mechanical injury using adiponectin transgenic (Tg) mice. Studies were performed in 7–8-week-old C57/BL6 (wild-type; WT; n=50) and adiponectin Tg (n=46) mice. A damaged endothelium model was created by inserting a large wire into the femoral artery. Von Willebrand factor-positive cells were observed on the surface of the damaged area from 1 week after wire injury in Tg mice, and from 2 weeks in WT mice. At 1 week, both α-smooth muscle embryonic myosin heavy chain-positive cells and intercellular adhesion molecule-positive cells were observed in the neointima in WT but not Tg mice. The intima/media ratio was significantly smaller in Tg than WT mice. Adiponectin and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α mRNA expression was observed in non-injured Tg and WT mice, but serum and mesenteric adipose tissue adiponectin concentrations were significantly higher in Tg than WT mice. Higher adiponectin and lower TNF-α levels, brought about by adiponectin transgene expression, suppressed neointimal hyperplasia by attenuating the inflammatory response following the acceleration of endothelialization in damaged areas in adiponectin Tg mice.
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The Showa University Society Incentive Award 2018

Volume 29 (2017) Issue 2 Pages 181-192
Histological Evaluation of Therapeutic Effect and RCB (Residual Cancer Burden) Index in Primary Breast Cancer Operated after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: Retrospective Study of the Clinicopathological Findings and Prognosis
Seiya HAJIKANO, Yuko HIROTA, Nobukazu SHIMA, Reika SUZUKI, Terumasa SAWADA, Seigo NAKAMURA, Nobuyuki OIKE, Haruhiro INOUE, Masafumi TAKIMOTO
The therapeutic effect found histologically after surgery following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) correlates with patient prognosis. Such correlations must consider the remaining invasive lesions as well as intra-ductal components and lymph node metastasis. To this end, we compared the residual cancer burden (RCB) index with the conventional method of judging the histopathological therapeutic effect. We also took into account the clinicopathological features of patients related to recurrence and prognosis by the RCB index. We studied 244 cases of primary breast cancer in 238 patients who had undergone surgery after NAC in Showa University Hospital from 2005 to 2014. We classified the cases into groups based on the Japanese Breast Cancer Society's criteria for evaluating the histological therapeutic effect and the RCB index. The cases were also analyzed in regard to various clinicopathological factors. The prognosis was evaluated by drawing recurrence-free survival curves using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log rank test was used to test statistical significance. The RCB index was evaluated for cases of Grade 0–1b that had a certain degree of residual tumor tissue. Comparison of the recurrence-free survival rates in each of the RCB index groups indicated a significant correlation, although only for patients with some degree of residual malignancy even after chemotherapy. We conclude that the RCB index can be used for providing a more precise prediction of recurrence.
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The Showa University Society Incentive Award 2018

Volume 29 (2017) Issue 1 Pages 1-7
A New Regenerative Approach to Fetal Myelomeningocele by Cell Sheet Transplantation
Rie IRIE, Ubaidus SOBHAN, Tatsuzo HEBIGUCHI, Hiromasa YAMASHITA, Yasuhiko TABATA, Toshio CHIBA, Akira TOKI
Myelomeningocele (MMC) is the most common form of congenital neural tube defect. Current fetal surgical repair performed to prevent the exposed spinal cord from being injured until delivery cannot reverse those injuries already inflicted in utero. “Cell sheet” technology has been adopted successfully for the regeneration of diverse organs and tissues, although this promising modality has not yet been used for fetal therapy. This study thus tested our hypothesis that fetal MMC tissue histologically injured in utero could be regenerated using cell sheet technology. We used the L6 myoblast cell line derived from rat skeletal muscle for the cell sheet engineering. A fetal MMC model was also obtained from pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed orally with retinoic acid (60mg/kg, embryonic day 10). Cell sheets were then transplanted onto the fetal MMC lesion (embryonic day 19) following maternal anesthesia, laparotomy, and hysterotomy. The incisional wound of the uterus was kept open for 4 hours under anesthesia with the MMC lesion maintained outside the body with the transplanted cell sheet. Subsequently, the experimental fetuses were sacrificed for histological (HE stain) and immunohistochemical studies to evaluate viability and differentiation potential based on cell markers of the transplanted L6 myoblasts. Immunohistochemical studies clearly demonstrated cell-sheet markers specific to neurons, skeletal muscle, and myoblasts within the treated MMC lesions, confirming that the cell sheet was biologically implanted within 4 hours after the procedure. Cell sheet technology could be useful for intrauterine regeneration of the fetal rat spinal cord injured by an associated MMC.
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The Showa University Society Incentive Award 2018

Volume 29 (2017) Issue 1 Pages 27-36
Prediction of Aspiration by Perceptual Evaluation of Pre-swallow Wet Voice and Wet Expiratory Sounds in Adults Diagnosed with Head and Neck Cancer
Michiyo YAMAKAWA, Kaoru YOKOYAMA, Yoshiko TAKEI, Kazuyoshi KAWABATA, Koji TAKAHASHI, Michael E. GROHER
This study investigated the relationships between the perceptual evaluation of “wetness” of both pre-swallow voice and expiratory sound and video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) findings. Pre-swallow phonation of the vowel “a” and expiratory sounds were recorded immediately before VFSS in 51 patients with head and neck cancer. During VFSS, subjects were requested to swallow 3 ml of a jelly-like, radiopaque test food. A total of 61 samples of “a” phonations and expiratory sounds were investigated in this study. These sound samples were randomized and presented to 12 examiners with various years of experience in dysphagia management. The examiners perceptually evaluated the wetness of sound samples using a 5-point “wetness” grade. VFSS findings were evaluated using the 8-point penetration aspiration (PA) scale. The relationships between the wetness of sound samples and VFSS findings were analyzed. Penetration/aspiration without materials ejected out of the airway can be predicted by the wetness of sound samples. In this study, both the pre-swallow wet voice and wet expiratory sounds were suitable for predicting penetration/aspiration after swallowing. High inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities were verified in the high – and low-experience examiners, with no significant difference evident between these groups. These findings suggest that clinicians could predict penetration/aspiration in head and neck cancer patients by perceptually evaluating the wetness of pre-swallow voice and expiratory sounds regardless of clinical experience.
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The Showa University Society Incentive Award 2018

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