{"title":"Investigation of the Number of Oral Bacteria in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Asthma, and Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap.","authors":"Toshiya Inui, Maya Tsuchiya, Takayasu Watanabe, Mitsuru Sada, Atsuto Mouri, Shinkichi Iwanari, Mitsuhiro Kamimura","doi":"10.2169/internalmedicine.4825-24","DOIUrl":"10.2169/internalmedicine.4825-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Objective Bacteria in the airways are reportedly involved in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. In addition, oral bacteria are thought to contribute to respiratory diseases by migrating to the airway. Therefore, we investigated whether or not the number of oral bacteria influences COPD, asthma, and asthma and COPD overlap (ACO). Methods We analyzed the correlations between the number of oral bacteria and clinical variables, such as pulmonary function tests, in patients with COPD, asthma, and ACO whose condition was stable and who visited our center from August 2019 to December 2020. The number of oral bacteria was assessed using the dielectrophoretic impedance measurement method. Results In patients with COPD (n=50), the number of oral bacteria was significantly negatively correlated with the percentage predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (%FEV<sub>1</sub>), percentage peak expiratory flow, and percentage forced vital capacity but was not correlated with the COPD Assessment Test. In patients with asthma (n=32), it was significantly negatively correlated with the FEV<sub>1</sub> percentage and with the increase in FEV<sub>1</sub> in the reversibility test but not with fractional exhaled nitric oxide. In patients with ACO (n=39), we found no significant correlation between the number of oral bacteria and any clinical variable. Conclusion The results suggest that the number of oral bacteria is associated with both lung capacity and airflow obstruction in patients with COPD and with airflow obstruction in patients with asthma.</p>","PeriodicalId":13719,"journal":{"name":"Internal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"2829-2838"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143700405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Internal MedicinePub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-04-12DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.4613-24
Yui Yoshida, Yasuhiro Hagiwara, Mari Ito, Hiroshi Nishi, Yutaka Matsuyama
{"title":"Association of Obesity, Visceral Fat Accumulation, and Dyslipidemia with the Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease.","authors":"Yui Yoshida, Yasuhiro Hagiwara, Mari Ito, Hiroshi Nishi, Yutaka Matsuyama","doi":"10.2169/internalmedicine.4613-24","DOIUrl":"10.2169/internalmedicine.4613-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Objective Although chronic kidney disease (CKD) is independently associated with hypertension or hyperglycemia, there is no consensus on the thresholds of obesity, dyslipidemia, or visceral fat accumulation to predict CKD onset and progression. Methods We performed a multivariable logistic regression analysis for the association of the subsequent rate of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline with body mass index (BMI), blood high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides (TG) levels on 308,174 subjects who underwent health examinations conducted by the Public Health Research Center Foundation from 2015 to 2022. In addition, a Poisson regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the appearance of urinary protein in participants without baseline urinary protein levels and eGFR decline. Results The median age of the subjects was 46 years old, and the median observation period was approximately 3 years. An eGFR decline rate of ≥5%/year was significantly associated with low HDL-cholesterol levels (<40 mg/dL), independent of the BMI and TG levels. A high baseline BMI (≥25 kg/m<sup>2</sup>) or waist circumference (≥85 cm for men and ≥90 cm for women), high TG levels (≥150 mg/dL), and low HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly associated with new-onset proteinuria. Furthermore, the higher the baseline BMI, the higher the incidence rate ratio of new-onset proteinuria. Conclusion Independent of hyperglycemia and hypertension, dyslipidemia according to the Japanese metabolic syndrome criteria and an elevated BMI were associated with a high risk of new-onset proteinuria, and a low HDL-cholesterol level was significantly associated with a rapid eGFR decline.</p>","PeriodicalId":13719,"journal":{"name":"Internal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"2823-2828"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143997644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Internal MedicinePub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-03-22DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.5113-24
Hengwei Liu
{"title":"A Rare Case of Hereditary Factor XI Deficiency Accompanied by Lupus Anticoagulant in an Adult Patient with Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance.","authors":"Hengwei Liu","doi":"10.2169/internalmedicine.5113-24","DOIUrl":"10.2169/internalmedicine.5113-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acquired coagulopathy, particularly bleeding due to factor X deficiency, is a rare but not unusual phenomenon in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias such as amyloidosis. We herein report a rare case of a Han Chinese man with recurrent scattered skin ecchymosis on the forearms due to factor XI (FXI) deficiency and lupus anticoagulant who was diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and confirmed to have a heterozygous mutation p.L190P (c.T569C) in the FXI gene. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of MGUS concurrent with a FXI missense mutation and lupus anticoagulant.</p>","PeriodicalId":13719,"journal":{"name":"Internal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"2892-2896"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143700397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coronary Artery Spasm as a Contributor to Heart Failure: Lessons from Three Cases.","authors":"Ayami Naito, Takumi Toya, Akane Kawai, Kota Mizutani, Kazuhiko Kuinose, Yuji Nagatomo, Takeshi Adachi","doi":"10.2169/internalmedicine.5057-24","DOIUrl":"10.2169/internalmedicine.5057-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coronary artery spasm (CAS) is an underrecognized cause of heart failure, even in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. We report three cases of heart failure in which CAS was identified as the critical etiology. All patients exhibited symptoms of heart failure with nonobstructive coronary arteries, and CAS provocation testing confirmed epicardial spasm. In two cases, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed ischemic patterns consistent with CAS-related injuries. Calcium channel blockers effectively stabilize the signs and symptoms related to heart failure. This series highlights CAS as a contributor to heart failure progression and emphasizes the importance of provocation testing and early tailored therapy for improving outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":13719,"journal":{"name":"Internal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"2881-2886"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143752591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Internal MedicinePub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-03-29DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.5255-25
Shu Yoshihara, Taku Yaegashi, Masaki Matsunaga
{"title":"Serial Change of Perivascular Fat Attenuation Index in a Case of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Involving the Proximal Left Coronary Artery.","authors":"Shu Yoshihara, Taku Yaegashi, Masaki Matsunaga","doi":"10.2169/internalmedicine.5255-25","DOIUrl":"10.2169/internalmedicine.5255-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The perivascular fat attenuation index (FAI) has been recognized as a cardiac computed tomography-based (CCT)-based biomarker of coronary inflammation. We report the case of a 47-year-old woman with acute spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) involving the proximal left coronary artery (LCA), who underwent FAI three times. The initial CCT scan revealed higher perivascular FAI values in the dissected LCA. The second CCT scan, performed 8 days later, showed persistence of a higher perivascular FAI value only in the left circumflex coronary artery, in which progression of stenotic severity and myocardial infarction formation were found. The persistence of a higher perivascular FAI may indicate disease deterioration in patients with SCAD.</p>","PeriodicalId":13719,"journal":{"name":"Internal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"2863-2869"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143752599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Internal MedicinePub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-04-12DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.4811-24
Kengo Maeda
{"title":"Copy Number Variations in a Case with Intractable Epilepsy, Intellectual Disability, and Hereditary Neuropathy with Liability to Pressure Palsies Having a 17p12 Deletion.","authors":"Kengo Maeda","doi":"10.2169/internalmedicine.4811-24","DOIUrl":"10.2169/internalmedicine.4811-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Some copy number variations (CNVs) in DNA are associated with the development of pathological phenotypes. Regarding the diagnosis of recurrent radial nerve palsies, a 73-year-old female patient with intractable epilepsy and intellectual disability was diagnosed with duplicated 15q11.1-11.2, in addition to a deletion of 17p12, causing hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies. CNVs in 15q11.1-11.2 have been reported in patients with schizophrenia and autism. Although CNVs are also sometimes seen in healthy individuals, duplicated 15q11.1-11.2 could be associated with CNS symptoms in this patient.</p>","PeriodicalId":13719,"journal":{"name":"Internal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"2897-2900"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143995199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}