Neuroanatomical correlates of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder accounting for comorbid oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder.

Aim: An increasing number of neuroimaging studies have been conducted to uncover the pathophysiology of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The findings are inconsistent, however, at least partially due to methodological differences. In the present study voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to evaluate brain morphology in ADHD subjects after taking into account the confounding effect of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) comorbidity.

Impact of behavioral/developmental disorders comorbid with conduct disorder.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to verify the comorbidity of conduct disorder (CD) and behavioral/developmental disorders in children and adolescents, and to examine the traits of CD comorbid with them.

Methods: Subjects were 64 children (60 boys, four girls) who were resident at three institutions for delinquent children or who were conduct-disordered outpatients of a university hospital aged under 18 years. A diagnostic interview was carried out by experienced child psychiatrists and the intelligence score and the Adverse Childhood Experiences score were measured by a licensed psychologist.

Administration of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) reduces proteinuria by suppressing decreased nephrin and increased VEGF expression in the glomeruli of adriamycin-injected rats.

Background: Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a glycoprotein with potent neuronal differentiating activity. We, along with others, have recently found that PEDF inhibits retinal hyperpermeability by counteracting the biological effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). However, the protective role of PEDF against nephrotic syndrome (NS), a condition of hyperpermeability in the glomerular capillaries, remains to be elucidated.

Mesangiolytic glomerulopathy after radiotherapy and chemotherapy of gastric lymphoma.

Mesangiolytic glomerulopathy is an uncommon complication of irradiation and chemotherapy of THP-COP [pirarubicin, cyclophosphamide (CPA), vincristin (VCR), predonisolone (PSL)] and CHOP (CPA, Doxorubicin, VCR, PSL). We report a case of 63-year-old man 7 months status post radiation, and 10 months post chemotherapy for gastric lymphoma. The patient showed proteinuria and mild renal insufficiency.

Plasma levels of alpha-defensins 1-3 are an indicator of neutrophil activation in pregnant and post-partum women.

Aim: In severe preeclampsia and septic shock, excessively activated neutrophils are thought to injure tissue irreversibly. On the other hand, mild neutrophil activation is known to occur during normal pregnancy. The objective of this study was to determine whether elevated plasma levels of alpha-defensins 1-3 could be used as an indicator of neutrophil activation in pregnant and post-partum women.

Re-evaluation of the true rate of hepatitis C virus mother-to-child transmission and its novel risk factors based on our two prospective studies.

Objective: To re-evaluate the true hepatitis C virus (HCV) mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rate and its novel risk factors.

Study Design: A comparative study based on our own two prospective studies done during the two periods, 'early' (1989-1994) and 'recent' (1995-2004).

Results: All carrier infants became HCV RNA-positive within 3 months after birth.

Pitavastatin inhibits lysophosphatidic acid-induced proliferation and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression in aortic smooth muscle cells by suppressing Rac-1-mediated reactive oxygen species generation.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a product generated during oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and a major lipid extracted from human atherosclerotic plaques, has been shown to elicit smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and inflammation, thereby being involved in atherogenesis. Recently, statins, an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, have been reported to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and slows the progression of atherosclerosis, at least partly, via pleiotropic effects. However, the effect of statin on the LPA-signaling in SMCs remains to be elucidated.

Oral adsorbent AST-120 decreases serum levels of AGEs in patients with chronic renal failure.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are senescent macroprotein derivatives that are formed at an accelerated rate in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). AGE formation and accumulation in plasma and vascular tissues contribute to accelerated atherosclerosis in this devastating disorder. AST-120 is an oral adsorbent that attenuates the progression of CRF by removing uremic toxins.