Backup support of the mother-child technique: technical considerations for the size of the mother guiding catheter

Background : We previously proposed a technique called the “mother–child technique” to facilitate stent delivery for complex coronary lesions. This technique is applicable when the backup support of the guiding catheter is insufficient. In this study, we used an in vitro coronary artery tree model to determine the impact of the size of the mother guiding catheter on the backup support of the mother–child guiding system. Methods : The backup support was measured for the 4‐in‐5, 4‐in‐6, 4‐in‐7, and 4‐in‐8 systems as well as for the 5‐in‐6, 5‐in‐7, and 5‐in‐8 systems. Results : Advancement of the child catheter into the coronary artery tree model improved the backup support of the mother–child system. When a 4‐Fr child catheter was advanced by 9 cm, the relative increase in the backup support was 174% in the 4‐in‐5 system; it was 203% in the 4‐in‐6, and 135% in the 4‐in‐7 system (P < 0.05 vs. the mother catheter alone). The relative increase with the 5‐Fr child catheter was 289% in the 5‐in‐6 system, and 152% in the 5‐in‐7 system (P < 0.0001 vs. the mother catheter alone). However, the improvement in the backup support with 9‐cm child catheter advancement did not reach statistical significance for either the 4‐in‐8 (115%) or the 5‐in‐8 (112%) system (P = NS). Conclusions : The relative increase in the backup support of the mother–child system was inversely related to the size of the mother guiding catheter. Thus, the mother–child technique may be most useful for PCIs in which a small guiding catheter is used, such as transradial coronary interventions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Analysis of L-threo-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylserine effect on motor and psychological symptoms in Parkinson's disease

Improvement of motor and psychological symptoms by L-DOPS (L-threo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylserine) in totally 20 cases with Parkinson's disease (PD), including 5 cases of juvenile or early onset parkinsonism (JP) and one case of pure akinesia was analysed. Improvement was obtained in about two thirds of the cases on symptoms of freezing in gait, difficulty of postural control, depressive mood and bradyphrenia. Severity of freezing in gait and that of the depressive mood were graded in five stage (from 0 to 4) scale and the improvement was evaluated by A (three stage improvement), B (two stage improvement), C (one stage improvement) and D (no change or worsened). Improvement of psychological symptoms was seen parallel to that of motor symptoms. It seems important that marked effect on both motor and psychological symptoms was obtained mostly in PD cases but not in the cases of JP. In MMPI test, depressive score (D) and hypochondriac score (Hs) were normalized in PD cases but not changed in JP, indicating differences in psychological traits between two groups. It was suggested that JP is a condition of mainly DA deficiency in nigro striatum but PD presents wider spectrum of symptoms covering both DA and NE deficiency. Importance of the role of aging of the brain in each individual patient is discussed and interpreted in relation to the difference of clinical pictures.     

Augmentation by Corynebacterium liquefaciens of erythrocyte surface H-2 expression and alloimmunogenicity for antibody responses

Intravenous injection of killed Corynebacterium liquefaciens induced a population of red blood cells that expressed both H-2K and H-2D antigens at exceptionally high density and displayed augmented immunogenicity for H-2 alloantigen-specific B cell activation. Injection of killed Escherichia coli or E. coli lipopolysaccharide was ineffective for the generation of such RBC. RBC that express H-2 antigens at high density first appeared at 7 days after injection of C. liquefaciens. These RBC persisted for more than 50 days, although they lost H-2 antigens gradually with time. The observed phenomenon was not due to enhanced erythropoiesis and peripheral release of immature RBC (reticulocytes); populations of both mature and immature RBC of mice injected with C. liquefaciens expressed H-2 antigens at high density, whereas those from normal mice or mice injected with phenyl hydrazine did not. Appearance of RBC expressing H-2 antigens at high density was preceded by a temporal increase in H-2 expression of bone marrow cells that included precursors of RBC. It was concluded that RBC expressing H-2 antigens at high density were descendants of bone marrow cells whose H-2 expression was augmented by C. liquefaciens. The present communication would be the 1st report of the bacteria-mediated augmentation of cell surface expression and activity of major-histocompatibility-complex class I antigens on host cells in vivo.     

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia and thalamotomy.

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia of the limbs in thirteen cases of Parkinsonism, which was choreic, ballistic or dystonic in type, was alleviated almost completely by stereotaxic surgery using a microelectrode technique for the ventralis oralis anterior and posterior nuclei of the thalamus, but much less by the ventralis intermedius nucleus. Control of levodopa-induced dyskinesias by thalamic lesions in the course of routine treatment of Parkinsonism is discussed.     

Oral motor patterns during feeding in severely physically disabled children

Oral motor patterns during feeding were investigated in 58 patients with severe physical disability. Five patients showed a pattern resembling sucking. Twenty-nine exhibited an up-and-down movement of the jaw and protrusion of the tongue. Among these, the mouth opened when the food entered and the lips closed before swallowing in 20 patients; the mouth was constantly open in nine. Eight had an up-and-down movement of the jaw without protrusion of the tongue. These patterns were frequently seen in patients with spastic tetraplegia caused by neonatal asphyxia and compensated for oral motor impairment. Sixteen patients showed lateral movement of the jaw at some time during feeding; in these patients the texture of the food was more coarse than in those with other patterns.     

-Fetoprotein and hepatocarcinogenesis in rats fed 3'-methyl-4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene or N-2-fluorenylacetamide

Serum α-fetoprotein (af) of rats during hepatocarcinogenesis by 3′-methyl-4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene (3′-Me-DAB) or N-2-Fluorenylacetamide (FAA) was checked by the micro-Ouchterlony method throughout the course of the study. The serum af appeared in two phases, early from the 3rd to 5th week and late during the development of large carcinomas. The frequency of early appearance of serum af varied considerably according to the difference in age, sex, and strain of the animals or the difference in type or dose of the carcinogen. In general, 3′-Me-DAB was a much stronger carcinogen than FAA in producing early serum af. A good correlation was observed between the serum af level and the intensity of oval cell proliferation in the liver at this stage. The cell composing the nodular hyperplasia in 3′-Me-DAB or the area of hyperplasia in FAA carcinogenesis, which replaced the major part of the liver in the next stage and had been considered the most possible forerunner of the carcinoma, did not seem to produce af. The serum af in the late phase was produced by the carcinoma. The majority of the 3′-Me-DAB-induced carcinomas belonged to the mixed type carcinoma. This type of carcinoma was strongly af-producing with the required minimal size of 10 mm in diameter for positive serum af. Most of the FAA-induced carcinomas were of the trabecular type. This type of carcinoma was relatively weak in af-production and the serum af was negative until a trabecular carcinoma became larger than 20 mm in diameter. The appearance of early serum af was distinct evidence of a fair progress of hepatocarcinogenesis, and a positive correlation was found between the degree of this phenomenon and the frequency of development of a carcinoma producing large amounts of af. However, the appearance of early serum af was not an absolute requisite for later development of carcinomas.     

Autophagy is required for efficient meiosis progression and proper meiotic chromosome segregation in fission yeast

Autophagy is a conserved intracellular degradation system, which contributes to development and differentiation of various organisms. Yeast cells undergo meiosis under nitrogen‐starved conditions and require autophagy for meiosis initiation. However, the precise roles of autophagy in meiosis remain unclear. Here, we show that autophagy is required for efficient meiosis progression and proper meiotic chromosome segregation in fission yeast. Autophagy‐defective strains bearing a mutation in the autophagy core factor gene atg1, atg7, or atg14 exhibit deformed nuclear structures during meiosis. These mutant cells require an extracellular nitrogen supply for meiosis progression following their entry into meiosis and show delayed meiosis progression even with a nitrogen supply. In addition, they show frequent chromosome dissociation from the spindle together with spindle overextension, forming extra nuclei. Furthermore, Aurora kinase, which regulates chromosome segregation and spindle elongation, is significantly increased at the centromere and spindle in the mutant cells. Aurora kinase down‐regulation eliminated delayed initiation of meiosis I and II, chromosome dissociation, and spindle overextension, indicating that increased Aurora kinase activity may cause these aberrances in the mutant cells. Our findings show a hitherto unrecognized relationship of autophagy with the nuclear structure, regulation of cell cycle progression, and chromosome segregation in meiosis.