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...     

A Quantitative Study of Specific Immunoglobulins to Mosquito Salivary Gland Antigen in Hypersensitive and Common Types of Mosquito Bite Reaction

This study was designed with two purposes: first, to elucidate immunologic mechanisms in different cutaneous reactions, particularly in hypersensitivity to mosquito bites, and, second, to develop a more reliable and safer method of identifying the causative species of mosquito in severe cases. The amounts of IgG, IgG₄ and IgE specific to the mosquito salivary gland extract of Aedes albopictus were determined in the sera of 116 volunteers with normal reactions, either immediate or delayed, and 4 patients with severe systemic symptoms caused by mosquito bites. Titers of IgG and IgE in the severe cases were considerably higher than in volunteers with normal reactions, but there were no differences in IgG, titers between the two groups. These results indicate that high titers of IgG and IgE may be involved in development of systemic symptoms in severe cases and verify the possibility of in vitro tests to identify causative species of the mosquito.     

Dynamic Interaction of Craniofacial Structures during Head Positioning and Direct Laryngoscopy in Anesthetized Patients with and without Difficult Laryngoscopy

Background: We lack fundamental knowledge of the mechanisms of difficult laryngoscopy despite its clinical significance. The aim of this study was to examine how head positioning and direct laryngoscopy alter arrangements of craniofacial structures.

Methods: Digital photographs of the lateral view of the head and neck were taken at each step of head positioning and direct laryngoscopy in age- and body mass index-matched patients with (n = 13) and without (n = 13) difficult laryngoscopy during general anesthesia with muscle paralysis. The images were used for measurements of various craniofacial dimensions.

Results: Both simple neck extension and the sniffing position produced a caudal shift of the mandible and a downward shift of the larynx, resulting in an increase of the submandibular space. Direct laryngoscopy during the sniffing position displaced the mandible and tongue base upward and caudally, and the larynx downward and caudally, increasing the submandibular space and facilitating vertical arrangement of the mandible, tongue base, and larynx to the facial line. These structural arrangements in response to direct laryngoscopy were not observed in patients with difficult laryngoscopy, whereas head positioning produced similar structural arrangements in patients with and without difficult laryngoscopy.     

Possible involvement of organic anion transporter 2 on the interaction of theophylline with erythromycin in the human liver.

Organic anion transporter 2 (Oat2 [SLC22A7]) is a multispecific organic anion transporter. Although several substrates of human Oat2 (hOat2) have been elucidated, a possible involvement of hOat2 in drug interaction is less defined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction of theophylline with erythromycin mediated by hOat2 using a Xenopus laevis oocyte expression system. When expressed in Xenopus oocytes, hOat2 mediated the transport of theophylline and erythromycin. The finding indicates that the two compounds are novel substrates for hOat2. The apparent K(m) values for the uptake of hOat2 that mediated the transport of theophylline and erythromycin were 12.6 muM and 18.5 muM, respectively. The hOat2-mediated uptake of [(14)C]theophylline and [(14)C]erythromycin was cis-inhibited by adding erythromycin and theophylline, respectively. Our present findings suggest that hOat2 may, at least in part, be involved in the theophylline-erythromycin interaction in the human liver.     

Thyroplasty Type I with Ceramic Shim

Abstract: To prevent side effects from a silicone shim in Isshiki thyroplasty type I, we used a ceramic shim in 10 patients with unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. No published reports have described the use of ceramic in this type of surgery. According to the degree of glottic insufficiency, ceramic shims of various heights were inserted into the fenestration made in the thyroid ala. All patients experienced subjective improvement of voice postoperatively. Laryngoscopies in most cases showed that glottic insufficiency improved postoperatively. In the postoperative examination, the maximum phonation time improved an average of 3.7 s, and the mean flow rate improved an average of 331 ml/s. We have analyzed the relationship of these improvements to the degree of glottic insufficiency and have compared our results with those of other investigators.     

TRANSSYNAPTIC DEGENERATION IN THE INFERIOR OLIVARY NUCLEUS ASSOCIATED WITH PONTINE GLIOBLASTOMA

A case of glioblastoma arising in the pons of a 14-year-old boy in whom transsynaptic degeneration was found in the inferior olivary nucleus is reported. The tumor occupied most of the pons including the tegmental tract and invaded into the midbrain, medulla oblongata, cerebellar peduncles, thalamus, basal ganglia, and meninges. The right inferior olivary nucleus was devoid of the tumorous lesion, but many neurons were severely vacuolated. An im-munohistochemical study using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and S-100 protein was performed. GFAP and S-100 protein were positive in the reactive glia of the nucleus and NSE gave a faint reaction in some degenerated neurons. These degenerative changes found in neurons of the inferior olivary nucleus were considered to be transsynaptic degeneration due to the destruction of the tegmental tract at the pons and of cerebellar peduncles by invasive pontine glioblastoma. ACTA PATHOL. JPN. 35: 1495–1500, 1985.     

A differential assay of NK-cell-mediated cytotoxicity in K562 cells revealing three sequential membrane impairment steps using three-color flow-cytometry

Annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) staining is a general technique for detecting apoptosis by flow-cytometry (FCM). The release of 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5- (and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF), a non-lipophilic membrane-impermeable labeling dye, from the cytoplasm of target cells is an indicator of increased membrane permeability. This study aimed to devise a three-color FCM technique involving the BCECF-release parameter in addition to conventional Annexin V and PI staining for the analysis of target K562 cells undergoing cytotoxic/apoptotic processes mediated by natural killer (NK) cells. The results demonstrated the following step-wise process of membrane impairment: (1) initiation of Annexin V staining accompanied by increasing forward scatter (FSC) before BCECF-release, indicating membrane impairment without permeabilization by necrosis; (2) BCECF-release with decreasing FSC before PI influx; and (3) PI staining with the lowest FSC state. Therefore, the early stage of cytotoxicity/apoptosis conventionally defined by the flow-cytometric criteria of Annexin V staining before PI staining could be sub-divided into two stages before and after BCECF-release. Annexin-V staining in tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis was also initiated without BCECF-release. Although the underlying mechanism of the transition process from stage 1 to stage 2 is still unknown, this FCM technique should be a useful tool for differential assays of target cells regarding the sequential processes of NK-induced cytotoxicity.