Dopamine agonists and valvular heart disease in Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease

Journal of Neurology - A high incidence of valvular heart disease in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients treated with ergot-derived dopamine agonists, such as cabergoline and pergolide, has been...     

Characteristics and course of bone mineral densities among fast bone losers in a rural Japanese community: the Miyama Study

The aim of this study was to clarify and compare the temporal course of bone mineral density (BMD) between fast bone losers and normal residents in Miyama Village, a rural Japanese community. BMD was measured over a 10-year period in a cohort study in Miyama Village, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, to provide information on rate of bone loss in the mature and elderly population. Subjects (n=400) were selected by sex and age stratum from the full list of residents born in 1910–1949, with 50 men and 50 women in each age decade. Baseline BMD of the lumbar spine and proximal femur was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2000. In the cohort, 171 men and 189 women completed the follow-up survey performed in 1993. After calculating the rate of bone loss between 1990 and 1993, the greatest tertile from the distribution of bone loss was categorized as fast bone losers, with the remainder considered as normal subjects. Changes in BMD were compared between normal subjects and fast bone losers over the 10-year period. Mean rate of change for BMD at both lumbar spine and femoral neck in fast bone losers recovered to levels similar to those in normal subjects over 7 years of observation. By contrast, BMD at the lumbar spine and femoral neck decreased steeply over the 10-year period in both groups, and mean BMD for fast bone losers was significantly lower than that of normal subjects (P<0.05). These differences were apparent only at the lumbar spine in both men and women, even after adjusting for age. These results indicate that fast bone loss is a transient phenomenon rather than a fixed status, although individuals who have been categorized as fast bone losers at some stage continue to display low BMD in the lumbar spine.     

Permanent prostate brachytherapy for Japanese men: Results from initial 100 patients with prostate cancer

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the initial results of brachytherapy for prostate cancer with permanent iodine-125 implant in Japan. METHODS: The results obtained with brachytherapy in the initial 100 Japanese patients treated at Nagano Municipal Hospital were reviewed. Patients with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of less than 10 ng/mL and a Gleason's scores of 5, 6, 3 + 4 were classified as having a low risk of recurrence. Patients with a PSA level of 10-20 ng/mL and/or a Gleason's score of 4 + 3 were classified as having an intermediate risk for recurrence. Seventy-eight of the low-risk patients and 19 of the intermediate-risk patients were treated by seed implants alone, or seed implants combined with preceding external radiation, respectively. A total of 53 patients received neoadjuvant hormone therapy. The efficacy and morbidity of brachytherapy were investigated using the serum PSA, International Prostate Symptom Score, quality of life score and uroflowmetry data. RESULTS: The average V100 and D90 obtained by post-implant dosimetry was 94.3 and 113.7%, respectively. Serum PSA decreased gradually after treatment, although it had still not reached a nadir after 1 year. There was little difference of the PSA level between the patients with and without neoadjuvant hormone therapy even at 1 year after seed implantation. There were no PSA biochemical failure or clinical recurrence during the follow-up period. Voiding symptoms worsened until 3 months after treatment, and then gradually improved. Acute urinary retention occurred transiently in one patient (1%). Rectal bleeding and severe diarrhea did not occur. CONCLUSION: Brachytherapy is a feasible and effective option for the treatment of prostate cancer in Japanese men. Brachytherapy may have a different effect in Japanese patients with respect to voiding symptoms. Urinary retention was rare, but voiding symptoms were persistent in Japanese patients. Neoadjuvant hormone therapy deserves investigation to determine whether it can achieve better results, especially in patients with an intermediate risk.     

Characterization of dehydrochlorinated poly(vinylidene chloride) and the shock-compressed material

Dehydrochlorinated poly(vinylidene chloride) proved to be a conjugated polyene-polyene polymer. Shock compression of the polymer formed a large portion of graphite and trace amounts of diamond and of an unknown carbon. The unknown carbon belongs to the hexagonal crystal system and possesses the cell dimension α₀ = 0.338 nm. A comparison with known carbynes was made in terms of the crystalline parameters.     

POSSIBLE PARTICIPATION OF NMDA AND GLYCINE RECEPTORS BUT NOT GABAA RECEPTORS IN ENFLURANE-INDUCED OPISTHOTONUS IN MICE

1. We previously reported that volatile anaesthetics produce incidences of a transient opisthotonus in mice, a sign of CNS stimulation. This study was performed to investigate mechanisms by which enflurane-induced opisthotonus (EIO) occurs. 2. The effects of pretreatment of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists dizocilpine (MK-801; DIZ) and ketamine (KET), GABA_A antagonists picrotoxin (PIC), pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) and glycine antagonist strychnine (STR) on the incidence of EIO were determined. Prior to exposure to 2.0% enflurane in air, male ddN mice were given intraperitoneal injections of 0.2 mL saline (control), 0.5–5.0 mg/kg DIZ, 20–80 mg/kg KET, 2.9 mg/kg PIC, 40.0 mg/kg PTZ and 0.75 mg/kg STR. After the injection, the behavioural state of the mice was observed for 20 min (the pre-enflurane period). During the exposure to enflurane the time for immobilization, that is, anaesthetic induction time (IT), and the incidence of EIO were measured. 3. Dizocilpine (1.0–5.0 mg/kg) and KET (80 mg/kg) significantly (P<0.01) reduced both the incidence of EIO and IT in a dose-dependent manner. During the pre-enflurane period DIZ produced incidences (5–40%) of transient seizures in a dose-dependent manner, while KET did not induce them at all. The two GABA_a antagonists had no detectable effect on the EIO. Strychnine significantly enhanced the EIO. These CNS stimulants resulted in a 3–10% incidence of transient seizure and/or opisthotonus during the pre-enflurane period, but there was no correlation between DIZ-induced seizure and EIO. 4. These results suggest that the EIO is mediated by the NMDA and the STR-sensitive glycine receptors, but not the GABA_A receptor. We speculate that DIZ acts on the NMDA-receptor and/or disrupts the balance between the inhibitory and the excitatory systems.