Inhibition of Lipid Peroxidation by Sesquiterpenoid in Heterotheca inuloides

A sesquiterpenoid, 7-hydroxy-3,4-dihydrocadalin, isolated from a Mexican medicinal plant Heterotheca inuloides was evaluated as an antioxidant. This sesquiterpenoid inhibited mitochondrial and microsomal lipid peroxidation induced by Fe(III)-ADP/NADH or Fe(III)-ADP/NADPH. Furthermore, 7-hydroxy-3,4-dihydrocadalin protected red cells against oxidative haemolysis. This sesquiterpene was thus shown to be effective in protecting biological systems against oxidative stresses.     

金钱草抗炎利胆有效部位研究

目的:寻找金钱草抗炎利胆有效部位。方法:采用二甲苯致小鼠耳廓肿胀实验和醋酸致小鼠腹腔毛细血管通透性增高实验对金钱草各提取部位进行了抗炎活性筛选,用小鼠及大鼠胆汁分泌实验进行利胆活性筛选。结果:金钱草醇提物和乙酸乙酯提取物能显著抑制二甲苯所致的小鼠耳廓肿胀和醋酸所致的小鼠腹腔毛细血管通透性亢进,明显促进小鼠和大鼠胆汁的分泌。结论:乙酸乙酯提取部分可能是金钱草抗炎利胆的有效部位。     

Characteristics of juvenile dermatomyositis in Japan

Questionnaires were sent to 1290 hospitals in Japan asking for data on patients with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) diagnosed between June 1984 and May 1994. Of the 204 patients identified by these questionnaires, 102 met the criteria for JDM. JDM is categorized into three subtypes: Banker-type JDM , Brunsting-type and fulminant-type; patients with the latter exhibit markedly elevated serum levels of creatinine phosphokinase (> 10 000 U/mL) and appear to be at risk of renal failure. Cutaneous manifestations were present in 98% of patients and preceded the appearance of other symptoms. This tendency is one of the reasons for the difficulty in some cases in diagnosing the onset of JDM. Better criteria for early treatment of JDM are needed. The results of the present study suggest that itching and calcinosis are factors that indicate a poor prognosis in patients with JDM. Muscle enzyme levels do not always reflect disease activity, suggesting that methods other than measurement of muscle enzymes, such as measurement of the levels of neoprerin and von Willebrand factor antigen, as well as magnetic resonance imaging should be used to be evaluate disease severity. Patients with Brunsting-type JDM who exhibit dysphagia and antinuclear antibody positivity and patients with Banker-type JDM should be treated aggressively. Pulse therapy should be selected as the initial therapy in patients with fulminant-type JDM.     

An Operating Microscope with Higher Magnification and Higher Resolution for Cerebral Aneurysm Surgery: Preliminary Experience—Technical Note

We describe a higher magnifying power operating microscope system to improve one method of high-quality microsurgical clipping for cerebral aneurysm in some cases. This higher magnification is achieved by a new lens design in the optical system, which makes the image of the object very clear at high magnifications (distinctiveness of 7 μm). This higher-resolution operating microscope system provides the surgeon with higher-magnified images (at the maximum of more than 30× magnifications as each working distance) in the operating field. The magnifications can be changed from low power (2.9×) to high power (62.0×) depending on the circumstances in a given procedure. We have used this operating microscope system on 11 patients with microsurgical clipping for cerebral aneurysms. Microsurgical treatment could be performed safely and precisely. All aneurysms were treated without any technical complications. We think that the use of this microscope would have potential benefits for microsurgical treatment for cerebral aneurysms because of better visualization.     

Occlusion and brain function: mastication as a prevention of cognitive dysfunction

Summary Research in animals and humans has shown that mastication maintains cognitive function in the hippocampus, a brain area important for learning and memory. Reduced mastication, an epidemiological risk factor for the development of dementia in humans, attenuates spatial memory and causes hippocampal neurons to deteriorate morphologically and functionally, especially in aged animals. Active mastication rescues the stress‐attenuated hippocampal memory process in animals and attenuates the perception of stress in humans by suppressing endocrinological and autonomic stress responses. Active mastication further improves the performance of sustained cognitive tasks by increasing the activation of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, the brain regions that are essential for cognitive processing. Abnormal mastication caused by experimental occlusal disharmony in animals produces chronic stress, which in turn suppresses spatial learning ability. The negative correlation between mastication and corticosteroids has raised the hypothesis that the suppression of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis by masticatory stimulation contributes, in part, to preserving cognitive functions associated with mastication. In the present review, we examine research pertaining to the mastication‐induced amelioration of deficits in cognitive function, its possible relationship with the HPA axis, and the neuronal mechanisms that may be involved in this process in the hippocampus.     

Contribution of pulmonary hemodynamics on manifestation of allergic asthma in patients with congenital heart disease

The purpose of this study was to determine whether pulmonary hemodynamic abnormalities relate to manifestations of allergic asthma. In 448 patients with congenital heart disease the relationships between asthma and age or pulmonary arterial blood (PA) flow were studied. Asthma (allergic and non-allergic) was more common in 39 (19%) of 201 patients with high PA flow, compared with the incidence in those with normal PA flow (6/117, 5%; P < 0.001) and reduced PA flow (1/130, 1%; P < 0.05). In the high PA flow group, the frequency of asthma declined significantly (P < 0.01) with age, from 25–26% in the 6 month-5 year patient group to 5% in the 6–12 year old patients. The frequency of asthma, including allergic type, was significantly (P < 0.01) greater in patients with pulmonary hypertension (15/24, 63%) than in those without (10/77, 13%) at the age of 6 months to 1 year. Asthma in the high PA flow group was associated with other allergic diseases in 30 (77%) of 39 patients, including food allergy in nine (23%), atopic dermatitis in 14 (36%), allergic rhinitis in seven (18%) and abnormally high total IgE levels in 14 (36%). These findings suggest that high pulmonary flow or pulmonary hypertension enhances the manifestation of allergic disease, particularly asthma.     

Adjuvant Immunotherapy for Malignant Brain Tumors

New methods of adjuvant immunotherapy were introduced for thetreatment of malignant brain tumors. Allogeneic bone marrowcell transfusion or local intratumoral infusion of allogeneicor autologous peripheral white blood cells were conducted on18 patients having malignant glioma, after ordinary treatmentof operation, radiation or chemotherapy. The survival rate ofthese patients was significantly prolonged when compared withthe rate normally expected. No side effects were noted. Morphologicalchanges of cells in the cerebrospinal fluid taken from the intratumoralcavity, before and after infusion of peripheral white bloodcells, were studied. Cytolysis and phagocytosis of tumor cellsby macrophages were observed. Suppressive mechanism of immunologicallycompetent cells on glioma cells was partly studied, cytologicallyin vitro.