Cortical processing of tactile language in a postlingually deaf-blind subject

We compared neural activation detected by magnetoencephalography (MEG) during tactile presentation of words and non-words in a postlingually deaf-blind subject and six normal volunteers. The left postcentral gyrus, bilateral inferior frontal gyri, left posterior temporal lobe, right anterior temporal lobe, bilateral middle occipital gyri were activated when tactile words were presented to the right hand of the deaf-blind subject. This set of activated regions was not observed in the normal volunteers, although activation of several combinations of these regions was detected. Positron emission tomography confirmed the location of the MEG-activated areas in the deaf-blind subject. Our results demonstrated that the deaf-blind subject is heavily involved in interpreting tactile language by enhancing cortical activation of cognitive and semantic processing.     

Suppressed permeation of linoleic acid in a liposomal formulation through reconstructed skin tissue

Since the liposomal formulation of linoleic acid (LA) exhibited an enhanced skin-whitening effect, the influence of liposomalization on the cutaneous absorption of LA was examined using a three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed skin model. Liposome entrapped [(14)C]-LA was applied on the skin model, and the permeation of LA through the skin was monitored. The permeation rate of LA in the liposomal formulation was found to be lower than that in the conventional formulation without liposomes, suggesting the increased retention time of LA in the skin by the liposomal formulation. Next, to investigate the dependence of the LA permeation on melanocyte conditions and intactness of the reconstructed skin model, the effect of UV irradiation on LA permeation was examined. Low-dose UVB irradiation (0.03 J/cm(2) for 3 times), which activated melanocytes in the skin, did not influence the extent of LA permeation, while high-dose irradiation (0.30 J/cm(2) for 3 times) enhanced the permeation of LA in both the conventional and liposomal formulation. The present results suggest the importance of skin intactness for LA permeation and that the 3D reconstructed skin model would be useful for evaluating the characteristics of skin-oriented cosmetics and drugs.     

Antipruritic effects of the fruits of Chaenomeles sinensis

A 35% EtOH extract of the fruits of Chaenomeles sinensis, long utilized as a folk medicine for cough, significantly inhibited the pruritogenic agent compound 48/80 (COM)-induced scratching behavior in mice. Antipruritic activity-guided fractionation and purification yielded active quercetin, apigenin, and catechin derivatives, which exhibited significant inhibitory effects on COM-induced scratching behavior. To the best of our knowledge, apigenin (5), apigenin 7-glucronide (6), and apigenin 4'-methoxy-7-glucronide (acacetin 7-glucronide) (7) were isolated from the fruits of C. sinensis for the first time. The active fraction and these compounds also inhibited serotonin-, platelet activating factor-, and prostaglandin E(2)-induced scratching behavior, but did not inhibit histamine-induced scratching behavior or locomotive behavior. This study also showed that the fruits of C. sinensis could be used to treat allergic itching sensation.     

A case responding to weekly paclitaxel (TXL) therapy as third line chemotherapy for scirrhous type gastric cancer

A 67-year-old female was admitted to our hospital in May, 2001 for examination. She was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer that was inoperable due to peritoneal dissemination. Seventeen courses of sequential MTX and 5-FU therapy, and 2 courses of TS-1 plus CDDP were carried out. A partial response (PR) and prolonged NC were obtained after these chemotherapies. However, pleural effusion and ascites appeared again, and we diagnosed progressive disease. As a third line chemotherapy for this patient, paclitaxel (TXL) was administered. Treatment consisted of two 3-week courses of paclitaxel 70 mg per m2 on day 1 of each week, with a 1-week break between the courses. Two weeks after the start of this therapy, pleural effusion and ascites had completely disappeared. Paclitaxel is considered to be promising for advanced gastric cancers, as second or third line chemotherapy with paclitaxel for patients with inoperable gastric cancer seems to be effective in improving QOL.     

Release of glutamate and GABA in the hippocampus under zinc deficiency

Zinc homeostasis in the brain is affected by dietary zinc deficiency, and its alteration may cause brain dysfunctions. On the basis of the previous evidence that hippocampal zinc was responsive to 12-week zinc deprivation, responsiveness of hippocampal zinc to dietary zinc deficiency was examined in rats fed a zinc-deficient diet for 4 weeks. Zinc concentration in the hippocampus was not decreased by zinc deprivation for 4 weeks. However, Timm's stain was extensively attenuated in the brain of the zinc-deficient rats. In the brain of the zinc-deficient rats, moreover, zinc concentration in the hippocampal extracellular fluid was approximately 30% of that of control rats. These results demonstrate that vesicular zinc is responsive to dietary zinc and may decrease easily under zinc deficiency. Zinc concentration in the hippocampal extracellular fluid during stimulation with high K(+) was significantly increased even in zinc-deficient rats, although the increased levels of zinc were lower than the basal levels of zinc in control rats. The basal glutamate concentration in the hippocampal extracellular fluid was not significantly different between the control and zinc-deficient rats. However, glutamate concentration in the hippocampal extracellular fluid during stimulation with high K(+) was more increased in the zinc-deficient rats than in the control rats. Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration in the hippocampal extracellular fluid during stimulation with high K(+) was increased in the control rats, but not in the zinc-deficient rats. The present study suggests that the excitability of hippocampal glutamatergic neurons is enhanced by dietary zinc deficiency.     

Effects of phototherapy in neonates on circadian sleep-wake and saliva cortisol level rhythms

The influence of phototherapy treatment during the neonatal period on sleep-wake rhythm, and its long-term effects on biological rhythms, was evaluated in preterm and full-term infants. Forty-three infants treated with phototherapy during the neonatal period and 47 untreated infants were examined for entrainment of sleep-wake rhythms between 16 and 52 weeks and for sleep-wake and saliva cortisol rhythms at 2.5 years of age. The age of sleep-wake rhythm entrainment was not significantly different between the 2 groups. No correlations between duration of exposure to phototherapy and corrected age of entrainment of sleep-wake rhythm were observed. At follow-up, no significant differences in sleep-wake and saliva cortisol rhythms were observed between the 2 groups, indicating that circadian variations were similar to those in adults.     

Zinc homeostasis in the brain of adult rats fed zinc-deficient diet

Zinc concentration and (65)Zn uptake in the brain of rats fed zinc-deficient diet for 12 weeks were examined, based on a previous finding of the impairment of learning behavior by the zinc deprivation. Zinc concentrations in the brain, except for the hippocampal formation, did not decrease significantly in zinc-deficient rats, whereas zinc concentration in the liver of the zinc-deficient rats was approximately half that of control rats. When zinc-deficient rats were subjected to brain autoradiography with (65)Zn, (65)Zn concentration in any brain region of zinc-deficient rats was significantly higher than in control rats 6 days after injection of (65)ZnCl(2). The increase rate of (65)Zn concentration in the brain by the zinc deprivation was approximately 150%, and was similar to those in the liver and serum, suggesting that dietary zinc deprivation may cause a scarcity of zinc in the brain, in addition to the peripheral tissues such as the liver. These results indicate that the adult brain is responsive to dietary zinc deprivation. In the brain of zinc-deficient rats, the increase rate of (65)Zn concentration in the hippocampal formation seemed to be low compared to those in other brain regions. The hippocampal formation may be the most responsive to dietary zinc deprivation in the adult brain. The present finding demonstrates that zinc homeostasis in the brain is altered by chronically dietary zinc deprivation.     

Neonatally administered diethylstilbestrol retards the development of the blood-testis barrier in the rat

Newborn rats were treated with 10 microg of diethylstilbestrol (DES) on alternate days from the 2nd to the 12th postnatal day, and the testes were sequentially examined up to 105 days of age by light, electron, and confocal laser microscopy. In control rats, spermatozoa and step 19 spermatids were observed in stage VIII seminiferous tubules at 56 days of age. Spermatogenic cells in DES-treated rats differentiated normally from birth until 21 days of age, after which differentiation continued only to the pachytene-spermatocyte stage. From this age onward, spermatogenic cells older than pachytene spermatocytes were not found until 56 days of age. After this point, the cells resumed differentiation and finally became spermatozoa by 91 days of age; that is, 35 days later than control rats. Electron and confocal laser microscopy showed that in the normal rat, the formation of the ectoplasmic specialization between adjoining Sertoli cells was observed as early as 20 days of age. In contrast, the specialization was not formed until 56 days of age in DES-treated rats. Furthermore, the delay in functional maturation of this structure as the blood-testis barrier was confirmed by intercellular tracer experiments. It is clear that neonatal administration of DES delayed the establishment of the blood-testis barrier for 4 weeks. Consequently, during this period, pachytene spermatocytes were exfoliated from the seminiferous epithelium without completion of meiosis.     

Perception and conception: separate memory systems in the medial temporal lobe.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate, by using positron emission tomography, whether the functionally different types of information are subserved by different memory systems in human medial temporal lobe structures. Before explicit retrieval tests during scans, subjects studied words in perceptually and conceptually processed manners separately. It was found that different parts of the medial temporal lobe structures were involved in each of the different conditions. These results indicated that perceptually and conceptually processed types of information were subserved by at least two partially segregated memory systems in human medial temporal lobe structures.