Development of a new binocular visual stimulation device using image guides for functional MRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) makes it possible to detect regions of neuronal activity in the brain. Moreover, this examination is quite non-invasive. Although fMRI is popularly employed in ophthalmology, it is sometimes impossible to give optimal visual stimulation to the subject because the space inside the MRI equipment is very small and has a strong magnetic field. Thus, there are strict limitations on visual stimulation devices. In order to resolve these problems, we developed a new binocular visual stimulation device for fMRI using image guides. This device consists of a pair of image guides, LCD projectors, C-mounted objective lenses, and eyepieces. The image guides and the eyepieces are diamagnetic. They can be attached to the surface or head coil unit of the MRI equipment without any magnetic influence on the fMRI signals. Since the images in both eyepieces are completely separated, binocular parallax stimulation can easily be given to a subject. This makes it possible to investigate stereopsis with fMRI. This device will be very useful for the fMRI investigation of the brain region related to visual function.     

Cell sheet therapy for myocardial infarction

Introduction Recently,bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) have been reported to repair chronically infracted myocardium with direct injection.However,it is very difficult to localize the injected cells onto the ischemic area to regenerate sufficient cardiac mass in the thinned scar area.To overcome the problem,we have utilized our cell sheet technology based on temperature-responsive culture dishes.When the culture temperature is reduced from 37℃to 20℃,all cells connected via cell-cell junction proteins are harvested as a single sheet without using proteolytic enzymes.This technology allows us to transplant stem cells in vivo for treatment heart disease without the problems mention in the previous.Methods Male Clawn mini pigs were used in this study.Bone marrow(5-7 mL)was collected under general anesthesia. Histopaqe-1077(15 mL),were added to bone marrow and centrifuged.The cells were collected and cultured for 7 days.We seeded the bone marrow-derived MSCs at the concentration of(6×10~5/ml) on 60 mm diameter temperature -responsive dishes for 7 days.As the culture temperature decreased from 37℃to 20℃,MSC sheet detached itself spon-taneously and floated up into the culture medium. Triple layers were stacked together repeatedly forming special multiplayer.Myocardial infarction was created by the ligation of the left anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery.A cell sheets was transplanted onto the ischemia area.The echocardiography was performed two and four weeks after transplantation.The heart tissue with cell sheets were removed and fixed with 10%formalin for histological analysis one month after the transplantation of cell sheets.Results Most MSCs are positive for CD29,CD90,CD146 and CD73.These mean the culture cell sheets were composed of undifferentiated MSCs and remained multipotent.Monolayers(20- 30μm) and multilayer(120μm) cell sheets were produced,which retained all cell-to-cell contaction. Histological analyses show the cell sheets become closely contacted with the heart tiss     

Patterns of levels of biological metals in CSF differ among neurodegenerative diseases

We measured the levels of some biological metals: copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with neurodegenerative diseases (52 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)), 21 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 20 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The diagnoses were additionally supported by neuroimaging techniques for AD and PD. In ALS, the levels of Mg (p<0.01 significant difference), Fe, Cu (p<0.05), and Zn (p<0.10) in CSF were higher than those in controls. Some patients showed very high levels of Cu and Zn before the critical deterioration of the disease. In AD, the levels of Cu and Zn in CSF were significantly higher in patients with late-onset AD (p<0.01). In PD, we found significantly increased levels of especially Cu and Zn in particular (p<0.01) and Mn (p<0.05) in CSF. A multiple comparison test suggested that the increased level of Mg in ALS and that of Mn in PD were the pathognomonic features. These findings suggest that Cu and Zn in particular play important roles in the onset and/or progression of ALS, AD, and PD. Therefore, Cu-chelating agents and modulators of Cu and Zn such as metallothionein (MT) can be new candidates for the treatment of ALS, AD, and PD.     

Reading aloud as rehabilitation method for children with dyslexia detected at the first grade in their primary school

We provided reading aloud instructions to a child who was diagnosed with dyslexia in a regular class of 69 first graders, comprising 33 boys and 36 girls, during a test of reading sentences aloud. The instructions consisted of a 2-step approach, i.e., decoding instruction and vocabulary instruction. First, a decoding instruction, which emphasized an important point in effortless decoding, was presented to the child. Next, a vocabulary instruction, which aimed to facilitate word-form recognition, was provided. We found that, the decoding instruction was effective in decreasing the number of reading errors, and that the vocabulary instruction was effective against reducing the time taken to read aloud.     

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and pervasive developmental disorder:attention and response inhibition in the kiddie continuous performance test

Continuous Performance Test (CPT) is widely used to assess the attention function and response inhibition in both children and adults. This study attempts to examine the performances of boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) with and without comorbid AD/HD using a CPT. Among the various versions of the CPT available, we used the Kiddie CPT (K-CPT) modified for younger children. The K-CPT was administered to children with AD/HD (n=22), those with PDD (n=19), and typically developing children (n=41) from 7 to 12 years of age. All children were drug free at the time of examination. The performances were examined in 6 measures:total number of omission errors (OE), total number of commission errors (CE), mean hit reaction time (HRT), hit reaction time standard error (HRTSE), perceptual sensitivity (d'), and response style (beta). Significantly lower scores in d' and a tendency to more errors in CE were found in the AD/HD group compared with the control group. Significantly lower scores in d' and significantly more errors in CE were also found in the PDD group with AD/HD symptoms compared with the control group. Moreover the AD/HD group showed significantly more errors in OE and higher scores in HRTSE compared with the control group. There were no significant group differences between the PDD group without AD/HD symptoms and the control group on all measures. Less favorable scores in AD/HD suggest inadequate selective attention, sustained attention and/or response inhibition. Results of the PDD group with comorbid AD/HD may reflect a basis of AD/HD impairment. Our findings may provide an understanding of neuropsychological characteristics underlying developmental disorders.     

A case of cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistula presenting with intracranial hemorrhage

Intracranial cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistula (CS-dAVF) rarely causes intracranial hemorrhage. We report a case of CS-dAVF presenting with intracranial hemorrhage. A 62-year-old man presented tonic clonic convulsion with consciousness disturbance and was transferred to our hospital. CT scan revealed subarachnoid hemorrhage and right frontal subcortical hemorrhage. Angiography revealed right CS-dAVF which drained only into the vein of the right sylvian fissure. Transvenous embolization was performed using detachable coils. After embolization, CS-dAVF had completely disappeared and the patient was discharged without any symptom. We summarized the fourteen reported cases, including ours, of CS-dAVF with intracranial hemorrhage. All of them had retrograde drainage through cerebral veins.