Manifestation of preferred chewing side for hard food on TMJ disc displacement side

Summary The purpose of this study was to reveal the relationship between chewing‐side preference and anterior disc displacement (ADD) of the TMJ. Thirty‐two healthy subjects with ages ranging from 26 to 34 years were selected from volunteer students at the Okayama University Dental School. Subjects were asked to chew freely with two kinds of test foods, beef jerky (hard food) and chiffon cake (soft food), thus expecting different amounts of mechanical loading on the TMJ. One, 4, and 7 s after starting the mastication, subjects were asked to open their mouth momentarily to have a digital image of their mouth taken. The bolus placement area was measured by processing the digital images, calculated as the number of pixel of bolus area. Area asymmetry index was used for the determination of preferred chewing side (PCS). Oblique sagittal MRI scanning in the closed mouth position was taken to evaluate the articular disc position. In asymptomatic subjects with ADD, a significant predominance of the PCS on the ipsilateral side of ADD was observed during the mastication of hard food. On the contrary, no correlation was found between unilateral ADD and PCS for the soft food. From the results of this study, it is suggested that ADD is the associating factor of PCS for hard food. Therefore, it would be necessary to break down the concept of PCS into at least two categories, one for hard food and one for soft food, considering the mechanical loading on the TMJ.     

Clinical Study of Cyclocytidine in Children With Acute Leukemia

One hundred children with various types of leukemia were given113 treatments with cyclocytidine. Eighty-four of these patientshad been treated previously. Cyclocytidine was daily given intravenouslyfor four to 11 consecutive days in amounts of 20mg/kg or 500mg/m².The treatment course . was repeated, when necessary. Complete remission was obtained in one case of monocytic leukemiaamong six treated by cyclocytidine alone. Combined therapy withsteroid hormone gave 14 complete and eight partial remissionsin 38 cases, the remission rate standing at 58%. There were30 complete and 16 partial remissions in 69 cases treated withcombination therapy with two or more agents, and the remissionrate was 67%. Transient pains in the region of the parotid gland were themost characteristic toxicity. GI tract symptoms were less commonand milder than those of cytosine arabinoside. Dizziness wasnoticed in three cases. Nine children with acute leukemia who were given cyclocytidineorally showed no remarkable response. Cyclocytidine, given parenterally, seems beneficial for varioustypes of leukemia in children.     

Seroepidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection among children in Mongolia: Results of a nationwide survey

BACKGROUND: Because Mongolia is one of the highly endemic countries for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the world, hepatitis B (HB) vaccine was introduced into the National Expanded Program on Immunization in 1991. However, relatively few data are available concerning HBV infection among children born after the start of the program, so far. The aim of the present paper was to describe the seroepidemiology of HBV infection among primary school children using representative national data. METHODS: In 2004, a nationwide school-based cross-sectional serosurvey was carried out throughout Mongolia, covering both urban and rural areas. Serum samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) as well as for liver enzymes. RESULTS: A total of 1145 children aged 7-12 years were studied, which represents nearly 2% of the second grade population of elementary schools in Mongolia. The overall prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HBc was 5.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.9-6.5%) and 15.6% (95%CI: 13.5-17.7%), respectively. Among HBsAg-positive children 67.8% (95%CI: 55.9-79.7%) were also positive for HBeAg. The prevalence of chronic HBV infection increased by age and was significantly higher among children from rural areas compared to those from urban areas (7.7% vs 3.0%; P < 0.001). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, rural residence (odds ratio [OR]: 2.57; 95%CI: 1.45-4.58), male sex (OR: 1.9; 95%CI: 1.08-3.26) and age (OR: 1.5; 95%CI: 1.10-2.05) were independent demographic predictors for chronic HBV infection. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of chronic HBV infection has been decreasing in the Mongolian young generation, most likely due to infant HB vaccination. However, significant rural-urban differences in the prevalence of HBV infection were found that demand further investigation to estimate the potential causes.     

Genetic heterogeneity of combined gastric and duodenal ulcers detected by pepsinogen C gene polymorphism

Abstract It has been reported recently that there was genetic heterogeneity in gastric ulcer disease depending upon the location of the ulcer, and that there was a significant association between the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for pepsinogen C (PGC) gene and gastric body ulcer. In the present study, the association of the RFLP for PGC gene with combined gastric and duodenal ulcers was investigated to analyse genetic factors in its aetiology. Eighty unrelated controls and 47 patients with combined gastric and duodenal ulcers were studied. The allele frequencies of the large (3.6 kilobase EcoRI fragment) and the small fragment (3.5 kilobase EcoRI fragment) were, respectively 80.6 and 19.4% in controls, 60.0 and 40.0% in patients with combined gastric body and duodenal ulcers, 69.0 and 31.0% in patients with combined gastric angular and duodenal ulcers, and 81.8 and 18.2% in patients with combined gastric antral and duodenal ulcers. The allele frequency of the small fragment was significantly higher in patients with combined gastric body and duodenal ulcers than in controls. The genotypes that possessed the small fragment were significantly more frequent in patients with combined gastric body and duodenal ulcers (66.7%) than in controls (33.8%) and combined gastric antral and duodenal ulcers (27.3%). These results suggest that there is genetic heterogeneity in combined gastric and duodenal ulcers depending upon the location of gastric ulcer, and that combined gastric body and duodenal ulcers are associated with the small fragment allele of the PGC RFLP in the same way as solitary gastric body ulcers.     

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome with a single coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery

A newborn male infant with hypoplastic left heart syndrome due to mitral and aortic atresia died on the third day of life. Autopsy revealed a single coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery, reversed coarctation of the aorta, a coronary sinus type atrial septal defect and stenosis of the left subclavian artery. To our knowledge, hypoplastic left heart syndrome associated with a single coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery has never been reported in the English or Japanese literature. This may be the first such case.     

Human milk reduces the risk of retinal detachment in extremely low-birthweight infants

BACKGROUND: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a major cause of blindness in children. Because the use of oxygen is a known risk factor for development of ROP, supplemental oxygen is used carefully. However, it does not necessarily reduce the morbidity of ROP-induced blindness. The aim of the present study was to identify the possible risk factors for progression to retinal detachment, a most relevant cause of visual impairment, in extremely low-birthweight infants (ELBWI). METHODS: The medical records of the 42 ELBWI who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit in Asahikawa Kosei Hospital from April 1999 to March 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Seven infants (16.7% of the ELBWI) developed retinal detachment and two of them became blind. Perinatal and postnatal variables in these infants with retinal detachment were compared with those in infants without retinal detachment. RESULTS: A striking difference in the daily intake of human milk was found between the infants with or without retinal detachment when their gestational ages at birth were matched. The infants without retinal detachment were fed more human milk (67-83% volume of total nutritional intake) as compared to those with retinal detachment (24-38% volume of total nutritional intake) at a specific postnatal period, 5-7 weeks postnatal age. CONCLUSIONS: Human milk may contain some beneficial factors to reduce the severity of ROP. Identifying these factors in human milk may contribute to development of a strategy to rescue premature infants from blindness.     

Dependence of canine right coronary arterial flow upon heart rate and right ventricular pressure

There is a paucity of knowledge regarding right coronary pulsatile hemodynamics when the right ventricle is under hemodynamic overload as is often the case in pediatric patients with congenital cardiac anomalies. To elucidate the exact mechanisms for the right coronary artery (RCA) to cope with the overload, we studied nine open-chest adult Beagles and analyzed the flow signals of the RCA in relation to independently varied heart rate (pacing) and right ventricular pressure (pulmonary artery banding). Both increased heart rate and right ventricular pressure increased the total volume flow of the RCA. The diastolic over total flow ratio (D/T), however, enlarged on increasing right ventricular pressures while it declined on increasing heart rates. Our data confirmed, as well, that increased flow of RCA on rising heart rate was provided mainly by an increase in systolic phase, while the increase on augmented right ventricular pressure was provided by the increase in diastolic phase. The RCA manages to deliver blood to the right ventricular musculature in two different ways in response to increasing heart rate and right ventricular pressure.     

Γ-MELANOTROPHIN-LIKE IMMUNOREACTIVITIES IN HUMAN PITUITARIES, ACTH-PRODUCING PITUITARY ADENOMAS, AND ECTOPIC ACTH-PRODUCING TUMOURS: EVIDENCE FOR AN ABNORMALITY IN GLYCOSYLATION IN ECTOPIC ACTH-PRODUCING TUMOURS

Using gel exclusion chromatography on Bio-Gel P-60, gamma-melanotropin-like immunoreactivity (gamma-MSH-LI) in three human pituitary glands, two ACTH-producing pituitary adenomas, and three ectopic ACTH-producing tumours (two medullary thyroid carcinomas and one thymoma) was divided into one or two molecular weight classes. The largest component eluted near the position of mouse 16K fragment and was designated big gamma-MSH-LI. This big gamma-MSH-LI was present in all samples. The second one, designated intermediate gamma-MSH-LI, eluted between the position of mouse 16K fragment and human ACTH, and was demonstrated only in two ectopic ACTH-producing tumours. No gamma-MSH-LI emerged at the elution position of synthetic gamma 3-MSH. Affinity chromatography on concanavalin A-agarose revealed that a significant fraction (52-68%) of gamma-MSH-LI from human pituitary glands, ACTH-producing pituitary adenomas, and one ectopic ACTH-producing tumour bound to the column and was eluted with alpha-methyl-D-mannopyranoside. In two ectopic ACTH-producing tumours which contained big and intermediate gamma-MSH-LI, a relatively small fraction (27-35%) of gamma-MSH-LI bound to the column and was similarly eluted. These observations suggest that human gamma-MSH-LI is glycosylated and that there is an abnormality in the glycosylation of gamma-MSH-LI in some ectopic ACTH-producing tumours.