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Dermatofibroma is a common benign skin lesion with a contested etiology: some believe it is a neoplasm while others propose minor injuries initiate it. Many dermatofibroma variants have been described, including keloidal dermatofibroma, which is unusual by bearing keloidal collagen. Keloidal dermatofibroma was first described in 1998 and only 15 cases have been reported. Since keloids are driven by skin injuries, the existence of keloidal dermatofibroma has been suggested to support the injury hypothesis of dermatofibroma etiology. To better understand keloidal dermatofibroma characteristics and gain clues regarding dermatofibroma etiology, consecutive keloidal dermatofibroma cases (n = 52) and dermatofibroma without keloidal collagen (n = 2077) that were histopathologically diagnosed in 2016-2019 were identified from the records of a Japanese dermatopathology laboratory and compared in terms of demographic, clinical, and histopathological characteristics by univariate analyses. Compared to other dermatofibromas, keloidal dermatofibromas occurred more frequently on the forearm and hand (P 0.0001 and 0.0019), especially the wrist dorsum, and in the superficial skin layer (P 0.0001). Keloidal dermatofibromas also demonstrated more cellularity and hemorrhage (both P 0.0001). Correlation analyses between keloidal collagen amount and keloidal dermatofibroma size (a proxy of time-since-onset) did not support the notion that keloidal collagen deposition and keloidal dermatofibroma formation are triggered simultaneously. Recent injury, as indicated by fresh hemorrhage, was equally common in putatively older and younger keloidal dermatofibromas. Thus, keloidal collagen in keloidal dermatofibromas could be due to injury to preexisting dermatofibromas, which suggests that the keloidal dermatofibroma entity does not prove the injury hypothesis. Commonalities between keloids and keloidal dermatofibromas suggest a link between genetics, provocative events that induce myofibroblast differentiation, and keloidal collagen production.

A 66‐year‐old man with a 2‐year history of suspected scalp eczema with excessive dandruff developed painful swollen joints in the extremities. Four months after developing polyarthritis and polydactylitis, eczema gradually spread to the face. He was referred to our hospital for intractable scalp and facial eczema and polyarthritis. Based on the appearance of the head and facial skin lesions, psoriasis was suspected. Treatment with apremilast (a phosphodiesterase‐4‐inhibitor) was initiated, which swiftly alleviated the skin lesions. The joint deformities persisted, but the pain in the joints disappeared. This case implies that psoriatic arthritis should be suspected even if psoriatic skin lesions are localized to the scalp., Psoriatic arthritis was observed in a middle‐aged man with the skin lesions localized to scalp area. Because a delayed diagnosis may result in irreversible joint deformity, close collaboration with dermatologists is essential for early diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis in patients with localized skin lesions remote from the site of arthritis or dactylitis.

Background A recent investigation reported that 92.7% Japanese family physicians have prescribed Kampo medicine (KM). KM can treat a wide variety of conditions from mental disorders to physical weaknesses. However, the characteristics and course of patients treated with KM at the Department of General Medicine remain unclear. Aims To investigate the characteristics and course of patients treated with KM in our hospital. Methods Data on medical history, complaints, course after Kampo treatment, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM‐D) scores were retrogradely collected. The background of patients who received Kampo treatment was compared to that of patients who did not. Result Of 362 patients, 51 were treated with KM. Symptoms for which KM was prescribed included pain, general malaise, or sensory disturbance of extremities. All patients treated with KM were screened and initially diagnosed with a functional disorder or noncritical condition. KM including a crude drug of saiko such as hochuekkito, shigyakusan, shosaikoto, and yokukansan, was frequently prescribed for patients. Subjective symptoms showed improvement (53%) and no change (47%), while worsening was not observed in any patient. HAM‐D scores showed that patients treated with KM had higher anxiety levels and related symptoms as well as a higher frequency of mental disorders prior to presenting at the hospital. Conclusion Most complaints of the patients treated with KM were pain, general malaise, and sensory disturbance. KM is more likely to be prescribed in patients with health‐related anxiety or a history of mental disorders., Kampo medicine is more likely to be prescribed in patients with health‐related anxiety or a history of mental disorders who visit the Department of General Medicine.

A 51-year-old afebrile man visited the hospital with acute severe neck pain with stiff neck, but cervical CT showed no calcification around the odontoid process. Cervical MRI revealed prevertebral hyperintense area of edema at the C1-C5 vertebral bodies, providing the diagnosis of retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis. The patient was spared for lumbar puncture, and his symptoms swiftly disappeared only with oral NSAIDs.

A 30‐year‐old man with severe hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin: 0.9 g/dL) was admitted with severe bilateral leg edema and unilateral pleural effusion. Serum anti‐SS‐A and SS‐B antibody levels were abnormally elevated, and his symptoms fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for Sjögren's syndrome. Technetium‐99m albumin scintigraphy revealed protein leakage from a large area of the small intestine. Immunohistochemistry revealed perivascular deposition of C1q, C3d, and immunoglobulin G in the duodenal mucosa. The patient was diagnosed with protein‐losing gastroenteropathy associated with Sjögren's syndrome. Within 2 months of treatment with oral prednisolone and mycophenolate mofetil, the clinical symptoms of hypoalbuminemia and Sjögren's syndrome disappeared completely., A middle‐age man with severe hypoalbuminemia and severe edema. The patient was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome associated with protein‐losing enteropathy by protein scintigraphy and pathological examination of colon. After treatment of immunosuppressant, the clinical symptoms disappeared completely.

In this report, we present the successful treatment of five consecutive cases of premenopausal women suffering from severe menstrual migraine with tokishakuyakusan (TSS). Two patients were complicated by tension‐type headache (TTH), and another patient was by medication overuse headache (MOH). The effects of triptans were limited in all of them. After starting TSS, they showed dramatic improvement in the severity and frequency of their attacks. The patients with TTH and MOH also showed dramatic improvement in their symptoms. TSS could be a promising alternative choice for patients with intractable menstruation–related headaches that are refractory to conventional treatments, including triptans.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is localized at the outermost layer of the myelin sheath and is accessible for autoantibodies. Although experimental autoimmune encephalitis induced with MOG immunization has been studied for 30 years, the results of previous reports on MOG immunoglobulin G (IgG) detection with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot are confusing. However, after the development of human MOG-transfected cell-based assay to detect conformational-sensitive MOG-IgG, unique groups of patients have been found seropositive, and MOG-IgG-associated disease has become a hot topic in clinical neuroimmunology. Currently, the clinical spectrum of MOG-IgG-associated disease includes idiopathic optic neuritis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, encephalitides (brainstem and cerebral cortical), idiopathic myelitis, atypical multiple sclerosis, aquaporin-4 IgG-negative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and others. MOG-IgG-associated disease occurs in both children and adults, and the female:male ratio is almost 1:1. Pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluids during acute exacerbation is often seen, but oligoclonal IgG bands are usually negative. T helper cell 17, B cells and neutrophil-related cytokines appear to be upregulated intrathecally. The pathology of acute lesions is characterized by active inflammation demyelination with deposition of immunoglobulins and complements. Just like aquaporin 4 IgG-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, some disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis seem to be inefficacious in MOG-IgG-associated disease, and chronic immunosuppression is required to prevent relapse, especially in patients persistently positive for MOG-IgG. Our understanding of this newly recognized disease remains insufficient, and the progress of research is much expected.

Keloids grow and do not regress. They are characterised histologically by hyalinised keloidal collagen (HKC). HKC amounts vary, and the mechanism by which they form is unclear. To clarify how HKCs form and whether their formation associates with specific clinical features, we studied the histological findings of earlobe keloids and compared them with respective clinical features. A total of 50 earlobe keloids from 43 patients were used for histological analysis of keloid size (mm2 ), HKC area (mm2 ) and HKC area ratio (%). As a result, keloid durations ranged from 3 months to >13 years. Early-stage keloids exhibited little HKC and a tendency for the HKCs to locate in perivascular regions. In later-stage keloids, the HKCs were extremely interconnected and formed a thick bitten donut-shaped region. HKC area ratios correlated positively with keloid duration (r2 = 0·58, P

Aim: Hyperfiltration is a cause of podocyturia and occurs physiologically in the kidney of pregnant women. Podocyturia is increased in preeclamptic pregnancies, but it is unclear whether there is also any increase in uncomplicated pregnancies. This study was performed to examine whether podocyturia and urine aquaporin 2 mRNA expression are increased in healthy pregnant women (PW) compared to healthy non-pregnant women (NPW). Methods: Eleven urines obtained from 11 NPW and longitudinal 76 urines from 40 PW with uncomplicated pregnancies (median number [range] of urine samples/person, 2 [1 - 3]) were studied. Determination of protein and creatinine concentrations and number of cells in urine other than blood cells, and quantitative analyses of the mRNA expression of aquaporin 2 (AQP2-mRNA), podocin (Pod-mRNA), and nephrin (Nep-mRNA) were performed using RT-PCR in pelleted urine samples. Podocyturia was monitored with urine Pod- and Nep-mRNA expression levels normalized relative to creatinine. Results: Urine cell density and urine AQP2-, Pod-, and Nep-mRNA expression normalized relative to creatinine were significantly higher in PW than NPW. The number of cells per milligram of creatinine was significantly positively correlated with expression of all three mRNAs with correlation coefficients (R-value) of 0.442, 0.481, and 0.561 for Pod-, Nep-, and AQP2-mRNA, respectively. AQP2-mRNA expression was strongly (R > 0.8) positively correlated with both Pod- and Nep-mRNA expression. Conclusion: Podocyturia monitored by Pod- and Nep-mRNA expression and urine cells expressing AQP2-mRNA were increased in uncomplicated pregnancies compared to healthy non-pregnant women. Urine cells expressing AQP2-mRNA increased with increasing podocyturia in healthy women.

AIM Hyperfiltration is a cause of podocyturia and occurs physiologically in the kidney of pregnant women. Podocyturia is increased in preeclamptic pregnancies, but it is unclear whether there is also any increase in uncomplicated pregnancies. This study was performed to examine whether podocyturia and urine aquaporin 2 mRNA expression are increased in healthy pregnant women (PW) compared to healthy non-pregnant women (NPW). METHODS Eleven urines obtained from 11 NPW and longitudinal 76 urines from 40 PW with uncomplicated pregnancies (median number [range] of urine samples/person, 2 [1 - 3]) were studied. Determination of protein and creatinine concentrations and number of cells in urine other than blood cells, and quantitative analyses of the mRNA expression of aquaporin 2 (AQP2-mRNA), podocin (Pod-mRNA), and nephrin (Nep-mRNA) were performed using RT-PCR in pelleted urine samples. Podocyturia was monitored with urine Pod- and Nep-mRNA expression levels normalized relative to creatinine. RESULTS Urine cell density and urine AQP2-, Pod-, and Nep-mRNA expression normalized relative to creatinine were significantly higher in PW than NPW. The number of cells per milligram of creatinine was significantly positively correlated with expression of all three mRNAs with correlation coefficients (R-value) of 0.442, 0.481, and 0.561 for Pod-, Nep-, and AQP2-mRNA, respectively. AQP2-mRNA expression was strongly (R > 0.8) positively correlated with both Pod- and Nep-mRNA expression. CONCLUSION Podocyturia monitored by Pod- and Nep-mRNA expression and urine cells expressing AQP2-mRNA were increased in uncomplicated pregnancies compared to healthy non-pregnant women. Urine cells expressing AQP2-mRNA increased with increasing podocyturia in healthy women.

Aim The aim of this study was to provide better counsel to pregnant women with suspected placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD) regarding the risks of preterm birth and intrauterine fetal death. Material and Methods We reviewed the outcomes of 109 PMD pregnancies with gestational week (GW) ≥ 24 abstracted from 63 reports in the English-language published reports, including two cases that we encountered recently. The prospective risk of stillbirth at GW N was defined as the number of women with stillbirth at GW ≥ N divided by the number of women giving birth at GW ≥ N. Results A total of 32 (29.4%) women experienced stillbirth at a median GW of 31 (range, 24–38). Preterm birth (GW

This study assessed whether hypertension, a circulating factor, influences local keloid severity. This retrospective cross-sectional study involved 304 consecutive patients (13-78 years old) with keloids who were surgically treated in our hospital between January 2011 and August 2013. Their blood pressure (BP), age and gender, and the size and number of their keloids before surgery were recorded. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that BP associated significantly with both keloid size and number (all p < 0.0001). Age also associated with keloid size (p < 0.0001). However, a Goodness-of-fit chi-square test showed that the prevalence of hypertension was not higher among keloid patients than in the general Japanese population. This study provides epidemiological evidence for the possibility that primary hypertension may aggravate keloids. We propose that the skin, along with the heart and liver, is a target organ of hypertension. The observations of this study, which require validation with large-scale prospective interventional trials, suggest that keloid patients should be screened for hypertension and that antihypertensive treatments may be of prophylactic and therapeutic value for skin fibrosis.

Key Clinical Message: Hypofibrinogenemia is rare in pulmonary thromboembolism. A pregnant woman with dyspnea, abdominal pain, restlessness, agitation and protein S deficiency exhibited normal blood oxygenation and high D-dimer (370 mu g/mL) and undetectable fibrinogen levels in the blood. The pathogenesis responsible for present findings may have some features similar to amniotic fluid embolism.

Background There are still insufficient quantitative comparisons of phase-dependent blood–brain barrier permeability among inflammatory central nervous system disorders. Aim By using the Reibergram (2-D diagram of the quotient of albumin and quotient of immunoglobulin G), we visually compared the extent of blood–brain barrier permeability among inflammatory central nervous system disorders. Methods Both the quotient of albumin and that of immunoglobulin G in the acute and chronic phase were calculated in non-herpetic meningitis, septic meningitis, multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica, and were plotted on the Reibergram. As controls, samples from non-inflammatory patients without pleocytosis were collected. The correlation coefficient between each cerebrospinal fluid biomarker and disease severity index in each disorder was also studied. Results In the controls, the distribution differed between males and females, suggesting a sex-dependent difference in blood–brain barrier-function, in addition to the age-related compromise. A compromised blood–brain barrier was confirmed in the acute phase of meningitis and neuromyelitis optica, but not in the acute phase of multiple sclerosis. However, blood–brain barrier permeability significantly correlated with the severity and disability in multiple sclerosis. In meningitis, a compromised blood–brain barrier correlated well with the length of hospitalization rather than cerebrospinal fluid cell count. Conclusion Visualization of the blood–brain barrier permeability with a Reibergram indicated distinct pathophysiology in each disorder. The quotient of albumin and quotient of immunoglobulin G would be useful for estimating the pathophysiology in each disorder, and the severity of ongoing inflammation or damage in the central nervous system.