Tokeidai Memorial Hospital

BackgroundThe post-discharge period following psychiatric hospitalization is a high-risk period for suicide attempts. This risk is substantially higher for patients admitted for suicidal behavior. Despite the urgent need for effective countermeasures, evidence-based interventions specifically designed to prevent suicide reattempts in this high-risk population remain limited. Although assertive case management is recognized as an effective intervention, its feasibility, safety, and efficacy for patients in psychiatric hospitals remain uninvestigated. The ACTION-JP study aims to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of such an intervention adapted for patients in Japan admitted to psychiatric hospitals following a suicide attempt.MethodsThe ACTION-JP study is a multicenter, single-arm clinical trial. A total of 220 adult patients admitted to participating psychiatric hospitals following a suicide attempt will be enrolled. The intervention comprises two main components: a psychoeducation program conducted during hospitalization and an 18-month structured assertive case management follow-up. The primary outcome is the change from baseline in the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale total score at the 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes include the incidence of suicide reattempts and self-harm, as well as changes in Beck Depression Inventory-II and Global Assessment of Functioning Scale scores.DiscussionThis study protocol describes the essential first step in developing an evidence-based suicide prevention strategy for psychiatric inpatients. This study will provide important data on the intervention’s feasibility, safety, and efficacy. The findings are expected to offer important insights into the potential effectiveness of assertive case management for reducing suicide risk post-discharge. The successful implementation of this study will provide the necessary basis for designing a future large-scale randomized controlled trial that may help to establish a new standard of care in psychiatric hospitals.Trial registrationThis trial was registered on the University Hospital Medical Information Network clinical trials registry: UMIN000057009 (Date of registration: April 1, 2025) and the Japan Registry for Clinical Trials: jRCT1010250041 (Date of registration: October 20, 2025).Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-025-07554-0.

Blepharospasm, characterized by abnormal blinking and sensory hypersensitivity such as photophobia and ocular pain, is thought to arise from pathological sensorimotor integration. We report a rare case of a male teenager with a growth hormone-secreting giant pituitary adenoma compressing both the optic chiasm and bilateral trigeminal nerves. Initially, the patient presented with visual disturbances and bitemporal hemianopia, without photophobia or ocular pain. Following partial tumor resection, which relieved compression of the optic chiasm but not the trigeminal nerves, he developed severe photophobia, deep ocular pain, and bilateral secondary blepharospasm. These symptoms persisted despite pharmacologic interventions, including pregabalin and topical rebamipide. A second surgery, which decompressed the trigeminal nerves, led to the complete resolution of all symptoms. The clinical course suggests that trigeminal nerve compression, particularly of the ophthalmic branch (V1), may induce hypersensitivity states resulting in neuropathic pain, photophobia, and secondary blepharospasm. We hypothesize that initial optic chiasm compression suppressed photophobia by disrupting non-visual photophobia circuits through the suprachiasmatic nuclei to pulvinar nuclei. After decompression, restoration of this pathway unmasked the hypersensitivity induced by ongoing trigeminal compression. The complete resolution of symptoms following trigeminal decompression supports the role of peripheral sensory nerve compression in the pathogenesis of photophobia and secondary blepharospasm. This case provides novel clinical evidence for the interrelationship between the trigeminal and visual pathways in sensorimotor disorders.

The long-term efficacy of drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty for large bifurcation lesions, particularly those involving the left main trunk (LMT), remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of directional coronary atherectomy followed by DCB (DCA/DCB) for large bifurcation lesions. This retrospective multicenter study analyzed 129 cases from the DCA/DCB registry, with 80.4% involving LMT bifurcation lesions. Building on previously reported 12-month outcomes, this study assessed long-term results. The primary endpoint was clinically driven (CD) target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 36 months. Secondary endpoints included CD target vessel revascularization (TVR); CD target vessel failure (TVF); and adverse events, such as all-cause mortality, cardiac death, target vessel acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and the need for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), at 24 and 36 months. The mean follow-up was 53.4 ± 23.9 months. The CD-TLR rate was 5.0% at 24 months, and the primary endpoint was 5.9% at 36 months. CD-TVR rates were 14.0% at 24 months and 15.0% at 36 months, while CD-TVF rates were 14.9% at 24 months and 16.7% at 36 months. Adverse events included all-cause mortality rates of 0.8% at 24 months and 1.8% at 36 months, and cardiac death rates of 0.8% at both 24 and 36 months. No target vessel AMI or CABG procedures were reported. The consistently low CD-TLR rate at 36 months supports the efficacy of the DCA/DCB strategy for large bifurcation lesions, including LMT, indicating its sustained effectiveness. These findings highlight the viability of this treatment approach.

Accurately assessing Activities of Daily Living (ADL) is crucial for evaluating patient independence, yet there is a lack of standardized tools suitable for large-scale surveys, particularly those that are self-administered. We aimed to validate the reliability of the self-administered Performance Evaluation Tool based on the modified Barthel Index (PET-MBI). In this study, 53 patients and 18 occupational therapists were included to determine the inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities via questionnaires.The inclusion criteria for patients were being admitted to a convalescent or community care ward and being able to communicate. The inclusion criteria for professionals were being an occupational therapist in charge of the patients and having at least two years of experience. The inter-rater reliability scores of PET-MBI were 80.4 ± 20.4 and 81.1 ± 19.2 points for patient and therapist ratings, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the total score was 0.888. Regarding intra-rater reliability, the patients' scores were 80.4 ± 20.4 and 84.1 ± 19.8 points for the first and second assessments, respectively. The ICC for the total score was 0.927. The self-administered PET-MBI demonstrated reliability in terms of total scores and numerous sub-items, demonstrating potential as a valuable tool for ADL assessment in large-scale surveys.

Chemotherapy-induced sarcopenia is an unfavorable prognostic factor implicated in the development of postoperative complications and reduces the quality of life of patients with cancer. Skeletal muscle loss due to cisplatin use is caused by mitochondrial dysfunction and activation of muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases Atrogin-1 and muscle RING finger 1 (MuRF1). Although animal studies suggest the involvement of p53 in age-, immobility-, and denervation-related muscle atrophy, the association between cisplatin-induced atrophy and p53 remains unknown. Herein, we investigated the effect of a p53-specific inhibitor, pifithrin-alpha (PFT-α), on cisplatin-induced atrophy in C2C12 myotubes. Cisplatin increased the protein levels of p53, phosphorylated p53, and upregulated the mRNA expression of p53 target genes PUMA and p21 in C2C12 myotubes. PFT-α ameliorated the increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial dysfunction, and also reduced the cisplatin-induced increase in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. Although PFT-α also reduced the cisplatin-induced increase in MuRF1 and Atrogin-1 gene expression, it did not ameliorate the decrease in myosin heavy chain mRNA and protein levels and muscle-specific actin and myoglobin protein levels. We conclude that cisplatin increases muscle degradation in C2C12 myotubes in a p53-dependent manner, but p53 has minimal involvement in the reduction of muscle protein synthesis.

Cognitive conflict effects are well characterized within unimodality. However, little is known about cross-modal conflicts and their neural bases. This study characterizes the two types of visual and auditory cross-modal conflicts through working memory tasks and brain activities. The participants consisted of 31 healthy, right-handed, young male adults. The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) and the Paced Visual Serial Addition Test (PVSAT) were performed under distractor and no distractor conditions. Distractor conditions comprised two conditions in which either the PASAT or PVSAT was the target task, and the other was used as a distractor stimulus. Additionally, oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) concentration changes in the frontoparietal regions were measured during tasks. The results showed significantly lower PASAT performance under distractor conditions than under no distractor conditions, but not in the PVSAT. Oxy-Hb changes in the bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and inferior parietal cortex (IPC) significantly increased in the PASAT with distractor compared with no distractor conditions, but not in the PVSAT. Furthermore, there were significant positive correlations between Δtask performance accuracy and ΔOxy-Hb in the bilateral IPC only in the PASAT. Visual cross-modal conflict significantly impairs auditory task performance, and bilateral VLPFC and IPC are key regions in inhibiting visual cross-modal distractors.

Rikkunshito is a Japanese herbal medicine (Kampo) that has been attracting attention and researched by many researchers not only in Japan but also worldwide. There are 214 rikkunshito articles that can be searched on PubMed by August 2021. The reason why rikkunshito has attracted so much attention is due to an epoch-making report (Gastroenterology, 2008) discovered that rikkunshito promotes the secretion of the orexigenic peptide ghrelin. Since then, many researchers have discovered that rikkunshito has a direct effect on the ghrelin receptor, GHS-R1a, and an effect of enhancing the ghrelin signal to the brain. Additionally, a lot of evidence that rikkunshito is expected to be effective for various gastrointestinal diseases have also been demonstrated. Numerous basic and clinical studies have suggested that rikkunshito affects (i) various discomforts caused by anticancer drugs, gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional dyspepsia, (ii) various stress-induced anorexia, (iii) hypophagia in the elderly, and (iv) healthy lifespan. In this review, as one who discovered the ghrelin enhancer effect of rikkunshito, we will review the research of rikkunshito so far and report on the latest research results.

An 86-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with anemia. She had never experienced symptoms of serositis. Colonoscopy revealed colitis with erosions and a friable mucosa. First, she was diagnosed with unclassified inflammatory bowel disease (IBD-U). We suspected familial Mediterranean fever as a differential diagnosis of IBD-U, and MEFV gene analysis showed heterozygosity for Exon2 R202Q. The patient was treated with colchicine 0.5mg. After 4months, a follow-up colonoscopy showed remarkable improvement of the mucosal inflammation throughout the entire colon. MEFV gene-associated enterocolitis responding to colchicine may be observed in patients with IBD-U and elucidating the role of MEFV gene mutations in intestinal inflammation is a future challenge.

AimHikikomori, a form of pathological social withdrawal, has been suggested to have comorbidity with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to clarify how characteristics of hikikomori are associated with ASD, including undiagnosed autism spectrum conditions (ASC), in clinical settings.MethodsA total of 416 clinical patients were recruited through the Mood Disorder/Hikikomori Clinic at Kyushu University Hospital. A total of 103 hikikomori cases and 221 clinical controls without hikikomori conditions were extracted using a semi‐structured interview, and completed a series of self‐rated scales, including the Japanese version of the Autism‐Spectrum Quotient (AQ‐J).ResultsCompared to non‐hikikomori controls, hikikomori cases were more likely to have higher autistic tendency based on the AQ‐J. The cases showed more severe subjective depressive symptoms based on the self‐rated Beck Depression Inventory II, whereas no significant difference was found on interview‐based severity evaluation using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Comparison within hikikomori cases based on the AQ‐J cut‐off score revealed that hikikomori cases with high ASC were significantly more likely to have higher traits of modern‐type depression, smaller social networks, and less social support.ConclusionThe present data suggest that hikikomori sufferers are more likely to have autistic tendency, and that hikikomori sufferers with high ASC may have much more difficulty in social communication and social interaction. In addition, those with high ASC may also have lower self‐esteem and higher complaint tendencies as aspects of modern‐type depression traits, which may relate to the occurrence of hikikomori. Thus, evaluating autistic tendencies is important for appropriate interventions in hikikomori. Further investigations should be conducted to validate our pilot findings using structured diagnostic systems of ASD.