Effect of low-level clenching and subsequent muscle pain on exteroceptive suppression and resting muscle activity in human jaw muscles.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of muscle fatigue induced by low-level isometric jaw-clenching and subsequent glutamate-evoked muscle pain on the exteroceptive suppression (ES) response and resting electromyographic (EMG) activities in human jaw muscles. METHODS: The resting EMG activity and the ESs were recorded before (baseline), after low-level jaw-clenching (Post1), after subsequent glutamate or isotonic saline injections into the left masseter (Post2), and 60 min after the clenching (Post3) in 23 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: The late ES (ES2) showed more inhibition at Post1 compared with baseline (P<0.05). It was less inhibited after both types of injections (Post2), and increased at Post3 again (P<0.05) with no significant difference between the glutamate and isotonic saline sessions. The resting EMG activity increased at Post1 and Post2 (P<0.05). The glutamate injection further increased the resting EMG activity in the injected muscle (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Muscle fatigue influences inhibitory reflex pathways in jaw-closing muscles and subsequent acute muscle pain potentiates the local increase in the resting EMG activity of the painful muscle. SIGNIFICANCE: Muscle fatigue which can be observed in patients with oral dysfunctions may interact with nociceptive regulation and influence the clinical presentation of jaw symptoms and function.     

The nature of antiplatelet activity in antilymphoblast ALG: with special reference to crossreacting antibody, immunochemical characterization, and Coombs'' positive thrombocytopenia in ALG-treated renal recipients

ALG raised against lymphoblasts grown in pure culture for many generations contained antiplatelet activity. The thromboagglutinins could be completely removed by absorption with lymphoblasts, indicating that they had been raised to antigens shared by lymphoblasts and platelets. Anti-spleen ALG possessed levels of such anti-platelet antibodies but in substantially higher titres, because an additional contribution was made by contaminating thrombocytes in the immunizing injectate. By chromatographic separation and immunoelectrophoretic analysis of the eluate from platelet–antibody complexes generated during the absorption of anti-spleen ALG with thrombocytes, the thromboagglutinins were shown to reside almost exclusively (97·7%) in the area of the IgA fraction. The direct Coombs' test, reacting platelets from patients receiving equine anti-spleen ALG with guinea-pig antisera against normal horse serum, showed a highly significant, but not invariable correlation with clinical platelet depression, which was not, however, clearly related to the thromboagglutinin titre of the ALG being administered.     

A simplified, sensitive immunohistochemical detection system employing signal amplification based on fluorescyl-tyramide/antifluorescein antibody reaction: its application to pathologic testing and research.

The catalyzed signal amplification (CSA) technique, based on the peroxidase-mediated deposition of haptenized tyramide and also known as tyramide signal amplification and catalyzed reportor deposition systems, is widely accepted as a signal amplification method for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. In this study, we examined the applicability of a new simplified CSA system employing fluorescyl-tyramide (FT) to pathologic testing and research with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. By using the FT, instead of biotinyl-tyramide (BT) that is commonly employed in the CSA system with chromogen, nonspecific staining caused by endogenous biotin was completely avoided. The FT-CSA system loaded on the automated immunostaining equipment also allowed for more reproducible detection in short times. When applied to cyclin D1 immunostaining that is important in differentiation among small B-cell lymphomas, the system was useful in demonstrating its protein expression in mantle cell lymphomas considered negative or equivocally positive for cyclin D1 in a conventional immunodetection. In immunohistochemistry for phosphorylated proteins and murine hematologic markers that often require higher sensitivity than conventional methods, the FT-CSA system provided desirable staining results with intense signal amplification. Our results indicate that the simplified CSA system employing the FT can be useful in enlarging the target range for routine immunohistochemistry due to its high applicability.     

Distal oblique osteotomy versus cheilectomy for moderate-advanced hallux rigidus: A 2-year propensity-score-matched study

BackgroundThe surgical treatment of moderate-advanced hallux rigidus is controversial. Cheilectomy is widely used but has recurrence rates of up to 30%. Dorsal oblique metatarsal osteotomy (DOO) has also shown good results, however, there is no study comparing outcomes of the DOO against cheilectomy.MethodsThis was a retrospective propensity score matched study based on registry data from a single tertiary institution. Between 2007 and 2017, all patients who had undergone dorsal cheilectomy or DOO for hallux rigidus were included. Patients with previous foot surgery, revision surgeries, and concomitant surgical procedures were excluded. Clinical outcomes, complication rates, revision rates and patient satisfaction were assessed at 2 years postoperatively.ResultsThere were 44 patients (34 cheilectomy, 10 DOO). After propensity score matching, 17 cheilectomy and all 10 DOO cases were selected for comparison. Patients in both groups had a significant improvement in visual analogue pain scores (VAS) and AOFAS 1st toe scores 2-years post-operatively (P < 0.001) with high levels of post-operative satisfaction (85.1%). Overall there were no statistically significant differences in post-operative scores, improvement in scores, complication rates, revision rates, and levels of patient satisfaction between groups.ConclusionsBoth the DOO and cheilectomy give similarly good outcomes for moderate-advanced hallux rigidus. Further studies are needed to elucidate differences in indications for each procedure.     

Non-invasive fibrosis assessments of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease associated with low estimated glomerular filtration rate among CKD patients: the Fukuoka Kidney disease Registry Study

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology - A growing body of evidence has shown that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Non-invasive fibrosis...     

Treatment results of radiotherapy to both the prostate and metastatic sites in patients with bone metastatic prostate cancer

Although systemic therapy is the standard treatment for metastatic prostate cancer, a randomized controlled trial showed radiotherapy to the prostate improved overall survival of metastatic prostate cancer patients with the low metastatic burden. Additionally, a randomized phase II trial showed that metastasis-directed therapy for oligo-recurrent prostate cancer improved androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT)-free survival. Therefore, administering radiotherapy to both prostate and metastatic regions might result in better outcomes. Thus, we report the treatment results of radiotherapy to both prostate and metastatic regions. Our institutional database was searched for patients who received radiotherapy to the prostate and metastatic regions. We summarized patient characteristics and treatment efficacy and performed statistical analysis to find possible prognostic factors. A total of 35 patients were included in this study. The median age was 66 years, and the median initial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was 32 ng/ml. The Gleason score was 7 in 10 patients, 8 in 13 patients, and 9 in 12 patients. The median radiotherapy dose was 72 Gy to the prostate and 50 Gy to the metastatic bone region. The 8-year overall survival, cause-specific survival, progression-free survival, and freedom from biochemical failure rate were 81, 85, 53, and 57%. Among the 35 patients, 12 were disease-free even after ADT was discontinued. In selected patients with metastatic prostate cancer, ADT and radiotherapy to the prostate and metastatic sites were effective. Patients with good response to ADT may benefit from radiotherapy to both prostate and metastatic regions.     

New approach to management of malignant ascites with streptococcal preparation OK-432. III. OK-432 attracts natural killer cells through a chemotactic factor released from activated neutrophils

When a streptococcal preparation, OK-432, was administered intraperitoneally to patients with malignant ascites, lymphocytes with cytotoxic activity against tumor cells increased in number in the peritoneal cavity after 5 to 7 days. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of such lymphocyte accumulation, lymphocyte chemotactic activity (LCA) in ascitic fluid was measured by a modification of the Boyden method. High LCA was found on the third and fourth days after the OK-432 injection. This LCA was generated in the cell-free supernatant of the patients' abdominal neutrophils that accumulated in the peritoneal cavity 24 hours after the injection of OK-432. A similar LCA was also found when normal peripheral neutrophils were incubated with OK-432. Incubation of normal neutrophils without OK-432 failed to generate LCA, however, and OK-432 alone had no LCA. We tentatively named this factor "neutrophil-derived lymphocyte chemotactic factor" (NDLCF). The NDLCF was heat stable and nondializable, and its molecular weight was approximately 45,000 daltons. It attracted mainly natural killer cells by immunoperoxidase assay of migrated lymphocytes in the chemotactic membrane. These characteristics were distinct from C5a, interleukin-1, and interleukin-2. The results suggest that the newly found NDLCF may be responsible for the infiltration of cytotoxic lymphocytes, especially natural killer cells in the peritoneal cavity in patients with malignant ascites when treated by intraperitoneal injections of OK-432.     

Radiation Therapy Results for Patients Undergoing Inappropriate Surgery in the Presence of Invasive Cervical Carcinoma

Total vaginal or abdominal hysterectomy was considered an inadequate treatment method for invasive uterine cervix cancer. Usually the procedure was inadvertently performed on patients who were thought preoperatively to have benign or premalignant conditions. Between 1985 and 1993, 64 patients undergoing hysterectomy in the presence of invasive cervical cancer were treated with external radiation therapy and/or intracavitary radiotherapy. Preoperative diagnoses were carcinomain situ(36), severe dysplasia (2), and early invasive cancer (14), and others were benign disease. Overall 5-year survival and relapse-free survival rates were 75.8 and 77.5%, respectively. For patients in retrospective stage IA, IB, and IIB (gross residual after surgery), overall 5-year survival rates were 90.9, 88.8, and 27.9%, respectively. Thirteen patients developed treatment failure; most of them (10/13) were patients with gross residual disease. Patients with early invasive cervical cancer (stage IA) had no treatment-related failure. Prognostic factors affecting survival by univariate analysis were retrospective stage (P= 0.0000) and preoperative diagnosis (P= 0.0021). Tumor histology was marginally significant factor (P= 0.0938). By multivariate analysis, only retrospective stage was significant prognostic factor (P= 0.0001). Adjuvant radiotherapy appears to be an effective treatment method for patients with presumed stage IA and IB after inadvertent hysterectomy. Survival for patients with gross disease remaining after inappropriate hysterectomy is poor. So, early cancer detection and proper management with precise pretreatment staging is necessary to avoid inadherent hysterectomy, especially in cases of gross residual disease.     

Antioxidant activity from the stem bark of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Albizzia julibrissin</Emphasis>

The antioxidant activity of the stem bark from Albizzia julibrissin was evaluated for its potential to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, to inhibit the generation of the hydroxyl radical (*OH), total reactive oxygen species (ROS) and to scavenge authentic peroxynitrites (ONOO-). The methanol extract of A. julibrissin exhibited strong antioxidant activity in the tested model systems. Therefore, it was further fractionated using several solvents. The antioxidant activity of the individual fractions were in the order of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) > n-butanol (n-BuOH) > dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) > and water (H2O). The ethyl acetate soluble fraction, which exhibited strong antioxidant activity, was further purified by repeated silicagel, Sephadex LH-20 and RP-18 gel column chromatography. Sulfuretin (1) and 3',4',7-trihydroxyflavone (2) were isolated as the active principles. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited good activity in all tested model systems. Compound 1 exhibited five times more inhibitory activity on the total ROS than Trolox. Compound 2 showed six times stronger DPPH radical scavenging activity than L-ascorbic acid. These results show the possible antioxidant activity of the A. julibrissin crude extract and its major constituents.