Biomarkers.

Background: Dopamine transporter (I-FP-CIT) single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) and I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (I-MIBG) image play roles as indicative biomarkers in diagnosing patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Brain- and body-first subtypes of DLB were hypothesized implying that subset of DLB may have normal I-FP-CIT or I-MIBG results, respectively. The purpose of this study was to explore the diagnostic sensitivity of two combination imaging modalities (I-FP-CIT SPECT and I-MIBG image) in patients with DLB and examine the clinical difference between brain- and body-first subtype.

Factors associated with psychological distress in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A retrospective medical records study.

Objective: Although psychological distress is a prevalent issue among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and can impact survival, the risk factors contributing to this distress remain insufficiently understood.

Methods: Patients with ALS who completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) between June 2017 and March 2022 were included. Participants with moderate to severe cognitive decline were excluded, resulting in the recruitment of 121 patients.

Diagnostic Sensitivity and Symptomatic Relevance of Dopamine Transporter Imaging and Myocardial Sympathetic Scintigraphy in Patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

Background: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) presents with various symptoms, posing challenges for early diagnosis challenging. Dopamine transporter (123I-FP-CIT) single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) and 123I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) imaging are crucial diagnostic biomarkers. Hypothesis about body- and brain-first subtypes of DLB indicate that some DLB may show normal 123I-FP-CIT or 123I-MIBG results; but the characteristic expression of these two subtypes remains unclear.

Surgical treatment for pulmonary metastasis from ovarian cancer: a retrospective case series.

Background: Distant metastases of ovarian cancer are rarely detected alone. The effectiveness of surgical intervention for pulmonary metastases from ovarian cancer remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing resection for pulmonary metastasis from ovarian cancer.

Anomalous bronchus and pulmonary artery in a patient who underwent subsegmentectomy of right S6a + b.

This report describes the case of a woman with small-sized peripheral lung cancer who underwent thoracoscopic right superior subsegmentectomy of S6a + b. Preoperative multiplanar reconstruction computed tomography revealed an anomalous posterior basal bronchus (B10c) and pulmonary artery (A10c), branching from the right lower superior segment bronchus (B6) and artery (A6), respectively. A three-dimensional (3D) model of the bronchi and pulmonary vessels and virtual bronchoscopy images were created to confirm the anomalous bronchus and pulmonary artery.

Coexistence of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an autopsy case.

Background: Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a rare neurodegenerative disease. Pathologically, it is characterized by eosinophilic hyaline intranuclear inclusions in the cells of the visceral organs as well as central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous system cells. Recently, a GGC repeat expansion in the NOTCH2NLC gene has been identified as the etiopathological agent of NIID.

Dysfunction of the left angular gyrus may be associated with writing errors in ALS.

Language dysfunction is a feature of cognitive impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that may compromise communication. To elucidate language dysfunction in patients with ALS and its relationship with other neuropsychological tests and to identify the brain regions associated with this dysfunction using perfusion image. Overall, 37 patients with ALS were included in this study.

The Neuropsychological Correlates of Brain Perfusion and Gray Matter Volume in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Neuropsychological tests, structural neuroimaging, and functional neuroimaging are employed as diagnostic and monitoring biomarkers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD)Objective:We aimed to elucidate the similarities and differences in neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging with the use of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog), structural magnetic resonance image (MRI), and perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and parametric image analyses to understand its role in AD.

Methods: Clinically-diagnosed AD patients (n = 155) were scanned with three-dimensional T1-weighted MRI and N-isopropyl-p-[123I] iodoamphetamine SPECT. Statistical parametric mapping 12 was used for preprocessing images, statistical analyses, and voxel-based morphometry for gray matter volume analyses.

The Relationship Between the Striatal Dopaminergic Neuronal and Cognitive Function With Aging.

Both cognitive function and striatal dopamine function decline by normal aging. However, the relationship among these three factors remains unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the association among age-related changes in the striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) and cognitive function in healthy subjects.

Decline in drawing ability and cerebral perfusion in Parkinson's disease patients after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation surgery.

Background: Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) is an established therapy for alleviating motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients; however, a postoperative decline in cognitive and speech function has become problematic although its mechanism remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the properties of language and drawing ability and cerebral perfusion in PD patients after bilateral STN DBS surgery.

Methods: Western aphasia battery, including drawing as a subcategory, and perfusion (N-isopropyl-p-[I] iodoamphetamine) SPECT scan was conducted in 21 consecutive PD patients, before, and three to six months after, bilateral STN DBS surgery while on stimulation.

[Elastofibroma Dorci;Report of a Case].

Elastofibroma is a relatively rare tumor that occurs commonly at the apex of scapula in elderly people. We report a case of elastofibroma of a female in her seventies. She visited our hospital with complaints of painful mass in her back, which was increasing in size.

Microglial Activation During Pathogenesis of Tauopathy in rTg4510 Mice: Implications for the Early Diagnosis of Tauopathy.

Tauopathy is characterized by the fibrillar tau accumulation in neurons and glial cells. In order to advance our understanding of the causative mechanisms of tauopathy, neuroinflammation, which has been suggested to play important roles in disease progression, will require particular attention. Neuroinflammation is characterized predominantly by microglial activation.

In Vivo Visualization of Tau Accumulation, Microglial Activation, and Brain Atrophy in a Mouse Model of Tauopathy rTg4510.

Background: Tau imaging using PET is a promising tool for the diagnosis and evaluation of tau-related neurodegenerative disorders, but the relationship among PET-detectable tau, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration is not yet fully understood.

Objective: We aimed to elucidate sequential changes in tau accumulation, neuroinflammation, and brain atrophy by PET and MRI in a tauopathy mouse model.

Methods: rTg4510 transgenic (tg) mice expressing P301L mutated tau and non-tg mice were examined with brain MRI and PET imaging (analyzed numbers: tg = 17, non-tg = 13; age 2.

The mechanism behind the inhibitory effect of isoflurane on angiotensin II-induced vascular contraction is different from that of sevoflurane.

Background: Angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced vascular contraction is mediated both by a Ca(2+)-mediated signaling pathway and a Ca(2+) sensitization mechanism. We recently demonstrated that sevoflurane inhibits the contractile response to Ang II, mainly by inhibiting protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation that regulates myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity, without significant alteration of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) in rat aortic smooth muscle. The current study was designed to determine the mechanisms by which isoflurane inhibits Ang II-induced contraction of rat aortic smooth muscle.