Effects of a seated upper-extremity exercise program designed to improve cognitive and upper-extremity functions in older females

[Purpose] The square-touch exercise is an upper-extremity exercise program that can be performed in a seated position and includes cognitive tasks. It was designed to maintain and improve cognitive function in older people. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a three-month square-touch exercise program on the cognitive and upper-extremity functions in older females. [Participants and Methods] The participants were divided into an intervention group of 15 individuals with a mean age of 78.1 ± 5.9 years and a control group of 16 individuals with a mean age of 81.7 ± 6.3 years. The intervention group participated in the square-touch exercise program once a week for three months. The mini-mental state examination, trail-making test, peg test, and grip strength were measured before and after the intervention. [Results] The intervention group showed improved mini-mental state examination scores as well as significantly improved attention and calculation, which are sub-items of the mini-mental state examination. [Conclusion] The square-touch exercise program may be effective for maintaining and improving cognitive function in older females.     

Apparent diffusion coefficient value as a biomarker reflecting morphological and biological features of prostate cancer

Purpose

To assess whether there is an association between the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and the pathological characteristics of prostate cancer.

Methods

The study cohort consisted of 29 consecutive patients with prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy. All patients underwent diffusion-weighted MRI before the prostate biopsy. In 42 tumor foci, the associations of the ADC values with the clinicopathological characteristics and Ki-67 labeling index (LI) were analyzed.

Results

High-grade cancers (Gleason score [GS] ≥ 4 + 3), larger cancers (maximum diameter (MD) ≥ 16 mm), and highly proliferating cancers (Ki-67 LI ≥ 4.43 %) had significantly lower ADC values, respectively (P < .001, P = .008, and P = .044, respectively). There was no significant difference in ADC value according to age, prostate-specific antigen, presence of extra-prostatic extension, and intra-tumoral stroma proportion. Multivariate analysis showed that GS, Ki-67 LI, and MD had independent and significant correlations with ADC value (P < .001, P = .006, and P = .002, respectively). Low ADC tumors (<0.52 × 10^?3 mm²/s) are likely to be high-grade cancer foci compared with high ADC tumors (relative risk: 65.2). The sensitivity and specificity of the ADC value to predict high-grade cancer foci are 81.8 and 93.5 %, respectively.

Conclusions

A low ADC value reflects the morphological and biological features of prostate cancer. Analyzing the ADC value may make it possible to more precisely predict the cancer aggressiveness of each focus before treatment.     

Case of laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for ascending colon cancer after aortic graft replacement and revascularization of the superior mesenteric artery

A 67‐year‐old man who presented with a bloody stool was diagnosed with ascending colon cancer. He had previously experienced thoracic and abdominal aortic dissections, which were treated with thoracic and abdominal aortic grafts and superior mesenteric artery revascularization. We performed a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with a D3 lymph node dissection. During the laparotomy, we identified the superior mesenteric artery and an enlarged anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery. Injury to the latter artery could lead to severe ischemia in multiple organs; therefore, it was crucial to identify the primary feeding artery and vascular anatomy before and during surgery. We chose the laparoscopic right hemicolectomy to avoid injuring the anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery and the intra‐abdominal abscess. This case study was the first to describe a laparoscopic hemicolectomy after thoracic and abdominal aortic grafts and superior mesenteric artery revascularization.     

Immediate effects of head-mounted display adaptation in cases of unilateral spatial neglect: study of straight-ahead pointing

[Purpose] This study aimed to clarify the effect of an adaptation of a deviation of the visual field in three axes on spatial cognition in patients with unilateral spatial neglect and distorted spatial perception in three dimensions. [Participants and Methods] Fifteen patients with cerebrovascular disease and symptoms of unilateral spatial neglect were included. Forty-eight pointing movements with a camera attached to a head-mounted display changed in three axes were compared with the control condition in which the camera was deflected only in the horizontal plane as with the prism adaptation. The main outcome measures were subjective straight-ahead pointing, line bisection, line cancellation, and star cancellation. [Results] The head-mounted display adaptive therapy was performed under conditions that varied in all three axes. The results indicated that it was possible to deflect the subjective straight-ahead pointing position to the lower left direction. [Conclusion] In contrast to the prism adaptation, which deflects the visual field in a single axis in the horizontal plane, the tri-axial adaptation corrected the median cognition in the left–right direction as well as the cognition of the body center, including the vertical direction.     

Aotake: A modified stepping exercise as a useful means of improving lower‐extremity functional fitness in older adults

Aim: Poor functional fitness of the lower extremities is a potentially modifiable risk factor for falls. This study compared the Aotake stepping exercise, a unique indoor program, to walking and examined improvements in lower‐extremity functional fitness. Methods: We non‐randomly assigned 36 community‐dwelling older adults (age 67.3 ± 3.7 years) to either an Aotake stepping exercise group (group A, n = 19) or a walking group (group W, n = 17). During the 10‐week regimen, the members of each group participated in either a 45‐min Aotake or walking exercise session twice a week. Each session for group A consisted mainly of stepping activities on Aotake equipment (L42 × W10 × H3 cm); the equipment was made of plastic and had a bumpy surface to stimulate the soles of the feet. Results: Attendance rates were 91.1 ± 5.6% for group A and 89.7 ± 9.4% for group W. anova revealed improvements in leg strength and power (measured by isometric leg extension and chair stands), motor processing (measured by stepping with both feet and whole‐body reaction time) and locomotion (measured by walking around two cones and a 10‐m walk); the analysis revealed no group‐by‐time interactions. There was particular improvement (effect size = 1.18) in the chair stand measure in group A. However, the balance measures remained unchanged. Conclusion: Aotake stepping exercise may be just as effective as walking for improving lower‐extremity functional fitness. The current study, however, was a non‐randomized trial with a small sample size; further investigations would be warranted. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2010 ; 10: 244–250.     

Increased levels of surfactant protein A and D in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids in patients with bronchial asthma.

Surfactant proteins (SP)-A and SP-D are collagen-like glycoproteins belonging to the "collectin" class of C-type lectins, which are primarily synthesized in type II cells. Recent studies reported the possibility of local production of SP-A and SP-D in the airways, but the amounts of surfactant proteins in patients with bronchial asthma have not been studied. The composition of surfactant proteins in mild, stable asthmatics in the first lavage as bronchial lavage (BL) and the second and third lavages consecutively as alveolar lavages (AL) were therefore, analysed separately. The co-relationships in the BL between the amounts of surfactant proteins and those of fucose, which is one of the markers of submucosal secretion were also analysed. Increased amounts of SP-A in BL and AL of in asthmatics were found as compared with those in controls. A high concentration of SP-D in the AL asthma patients was also found. The levels of SP-A correlated with those of fucose in patients with bronchial asthma (r=0.849, p<0.01). The observations in the present study suggested that surfactant protein A may be secreted from the airways with allergic inflammation in a different manner from the alveoli. The increased levels of surfactant proteins A and D may play a protective role in an allergic inflammation in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma.     

The role of bronchial responsiveness to leukotrienes in antigen-induced immediate and late asthmatic response]

In order to clarify the role of leukotriene in the antigen-induced asthmatic response, we carried out mite-antigen, leukotriene D4 (LTD4) and histamine inhalation tests in 21 mite-sensitive atopic asthma patients, and investigated the relationship between the bronchial responsiveness to mite (PD20-Mite) and that to LTD4 and histamine (PD20-LTD4, PD20-Hist). We then compared PD20-LTD4 and PD20-Hist between the groups with and without late asthmatic response (LAR), and investigated the relationship between the peak percentage fall of FEV1.0 in LAR (magnitude of LAR) and PD20-LTD4 and PD20-Hist. There were significant correlations between PD20-LTD4 and PD20-Mite (r = 0.590, p < 0.01), and between PD20-Hist and PD20-Mite (r = 0.669, p < 0.001). The bronchial responsiveness to LTD4 and histamine was significantly higher in the group with LAR. In addition, PD20-LTD4 showed a significant negative correlation with the magnitude of LAR (r = 0.724, p < 0.001). Furthermore we analyzed the relationship between PD20-LTD and the ratio of the magnitude of LAR to that of IAR (immediate asthmatic response), because there was a significant correlation between the magnitude of IAR and that of LAR (r = 0.842, p < 0.001) in 16 asthmatic patients with dual asthmatic response, and found that the correlation coefficient was also very high (r = -0.836, p < 0.001). These results suggest an important role of leukotriene in the antigen-induced asthmatic response.     

Organ identity specification factor WGE localizes to the histone locus body and regulates histone expression to ensure genomic stability in Drosophila

Over‐expression of Winged‐Eye (WGE) in the Drosophila eye imaginal disc induces an eye‐to‐wing transformation. Endogenous WGE is required for organ development, and wge‐deficient mutants exhibit growth arrest at the larval stage, suggesting that WGE is critical for normal growth. The function of WGE, however, remains unclear. Here, we analyzed the subcellular localization of WGE to gain insight into its endogenous function. Immunostaining showed that WGE localized to specific nuclear foci called the histone locus body (HLB), an evolutionarily conserved nuclear body required for S phase‐specific histone mRNA production. Histone mRNA levels and protein levels in cytosolic fractions were aberrantly up‐regulated in wge mutant larva, suggesting a role for WGE in regulating histone gene expression. Genetic analyses showed that wge suppresses position‐effect variegation, and that WGE and a HLB component Mute appears to be synergistically involved in heterochromatin formation. Further supporting a role in chromatin regulation, wge‐deficient mutants showed derepression of retrotransposons and increased γH2Av signals, a DNA damage marker. These findings suggest that WGE is a component of HLB in Drosophila with a role in heterochromatin formation and transposon silencing. We propose that WGE at HLB contributes to genomic stability and development by regulating heterochromatin structure via histone gene regulation.