Microporous polysaccharide hemospheres for reducing pocket hematomas after cardiac device implantation in patients on antithrombotic therapy.

Background: Various surgical procedures have employed microporous polysaccharide hemosphere (MPH) hemostatic agents. However, data regarding their effectiveness in preventing pocket hematomas (PHs) during the implantation of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) among the Asian population are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential benefits of using MPH hemostatic agents during CIED implantations as a preventive measure against post-procedural PHs.

Intranasal administration of trehalose reduces α-synuclein oligomers and accelerates α-synuclein aggregation.

Abnormal α-synuclein (αSyn), including an oligomeric form of αSyn, accumulates and causes neuronal dysfunction in the brains of patients with multiple system atrophy. Neuroprotective drugs that target abnormal αSyn aggregation have not been developed for the treatment of multiple system atrophy. In addition, treating diseases at an early stage is crucial to halting the progress of neuronal damage in neurodegeneration.

Behavioral and histological analyses of the mouse p.P3882A mutation corresponding to the human p.P3866A mutation.

Tauopathy is known to be a major pathognomonic finding in important neurodegenerative diseases such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration. However, the mechanism by which tauopathy is triggered remains to be elucidated. We previously identified the point mutation c.

Tizanidine-Induced Bradycardia Without Concomitant Medications: A Case Report.

A 37-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital due to a loss of consciousness. She had been taking 2 mg of tizanidine for two months to manage shoulder muscle pain at night. On admission, an electrocardiogram showed sinus bradycardia with a heart rate of 30 bpm and QT prolongation (QTc 495 msec).

A case report of undetected cardiac arrest in a patient with an insertable cardiac monitor.

Unlabelled: Insertable cardiac monitors (ICMs) are small electrocardiographs implanted subcutaneously to automatically record electrocardiograms when arrhythmia is detected in patients with syncope. If the ICM misses a significant arrhythmia, it may delay the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic syncope and put the patient at risk. Herein, we describe a case of undetected cardiac arrest in a patient with ICM.

Cultivation of Piezotolerant and Piezophilic Hyperthermophiles with a Newly Developed Constant High Pressure and Temperature Culturing and Monitoring System.

The Earth's microbial biosphere extends from ambient to extreme environments, including deep-sea hydrothermal vents and subseafloor habitats. Despite efforts to understand the physiological adaptations of these microbes, our knowledge is limited due to the technological challenges associated with reproducing in situ high temperature (HT)-high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) conditions and sampling HT-HHP cultures. In the present study, we developed a new high temperature and pressure (HTP) incubation system that enabled the maintenance of HT-HHP conditions while sampling incubation medium and mostly eliminated non-biological reactions, including hydrogen generation or the leakage of small gaseous molecules.

Colocalization of TDP-43 and stress granules at the early stage of TDP-43 aggregation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

TDP-43 aggregates (skeins and round inclusions [RIs]) are frequent histopathological features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We have shown that diffuse punctate cytoplasmic staining (DPCS) is the earliest pathologic manifestation of TDP-43 in ALS, corresponding to nonfibrillar TDP-43 located in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Previous in vitro studies have suggested that TDP-43 inclusions may be derived from stress granules (SGs).

Axon terminal hypertrophy of striatal projection neurons with levodopa-induced dyskinesia priming.

Background: A rat model of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) showed enlarged axon terminals of striatal direct pathway neurons in the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) with excessive gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) storage in them. Massive GABA release to GPi upon levodopa administration determines the emergence of LID.

Objectives: We examined whether LID and axon terminal hypertrophy gradually develop with repeated levodopa treatment in Parkinsonian rats to examine if the hypertrophy reflects dyskinesia priming.

Effects of a Pharmacist-Led Educational Interventional Program on Electronic Monitoring-assessed Adherence to Direct Oral Anticoagulants: A Randomized, Controlled Trial in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation.

Purpose: Several landmark trials have reported that direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are more effective in preventing stroke and systemic embolism than vitamin K antagonists. However, nonadherence to DOACs worsens prognosis in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) despite the effectiveness of the drugs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a pharmacist-led educational interventional program involving motivational interviewing on medication adherence, as assessed by electronic monitoring, in patients receiving DOACs for the treatment of NVAF.

Phosphorylation of Tau at Threonine 231 in Patients With Multiple System Atrophy and in a Mouse Model.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a sporadic neurodegenerative disorder pathologically characterized by the presence of glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs). Some MSA patients exhibit motor deficits with accompanying cognitive impairment. Of note, some patients suffering from MSA with longer disease duration have AT8-positive signals, which correspond to phosphorylated tau (P-tau) at 202/205 (P-tau202/205).

Alteration of Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein-Binding Protein B in α-Synuclein Aggregates in Lewy Body Disease.

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) binds to vesicle-associated membrane protein-binding protein B (VAPB) in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Recent studies have shown that α-Syn-immunoreactive Lewy pathology is characterized by membrane crowding, including vesicular structures. To elucidate the role of VAPB and vesicular structures in Parkinson's disease (PD) and in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), the relationships among VAPB, vesicular structures, and Lewy pathology were investigated by immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy in 8 PD and 4 DLB autopsy cases.

Involvement of autophagic protein DEF8 in Lewy bodies.

Dysregulation of autophagy, one of the major processes through which abnormal proteins are degraded, is a cardinal feature of synucleinopathies, including Lewy body diseases [Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)] and multiple system atrophy (MSA), which are characterized by the presence of abnormal α-synuclein in neurons and glial cells. Although several research groups have reported that Rubicon family proteins can regulate autophagosome-lysosome fusion or positioning, little is known about their involvement in synucleinopathies. In the present study, by studying patients with PD (N = 8), DLB (N = 13), and MSA (N = 5) and controls (N = 16), we explored the involvement of Rubicon family proteins [Rubicon, Pacer and differentially expressed in FDCP8 (DEF8)] in synucleinopathies.

Pathological substrate of memory impairment in multiple system atrophy.

Aims: Synaptic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease is caused by propagation of pathogenic α-synuclein between neurons. Previously, in multiple system atrophy (MSA), pathologically characterised by ectopic deposition of abnormal α-synuclein predominantly in oligodendrocytes, we demonstrated that the occurrence of memory impairment was associated with the number of α-synuclein-positive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCIs) in the hippocampus. In the present study, we aimed to investigate how abnormal α-synuclein in the hippocampus can lead to memory impairment.

An autopsy case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with striatonigral and pallidoluysian degeneration and cat's-eye-shaped neuronal nuclear inclusions.

We report the case of a Japanese woman with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) of 28 months' duration who died at the age of 66 years. Postmortem examination revealed moderate loss of neurons and phosphorylated TDP-43 (p-TDP-43)-immunoreactive neuronal and glial cytoplasmic inclusions in the upper and lower motor neurons. Additionally, marked neuronal loss was observed in the neostriatum, globus pallidum, subthalamic nucleus, and substantia nigra.

Neuropathology of Multiple System Atrophy, a Glioneuronal Degenerative Disease.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a fatal disease characterized pathologically by the widespread occurrence of aggregated α-synuclein in the oligodendrocytes referred to as glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs). α-Synuclein aggregates are also found in the oligodendroglial nuclei and neuronal cytoplasm and nuclei. It is uncertain whether the primary source of α-synuclein in GCIs is originated from neurons or oligodendrocytes.

Accumulation of Nonfibrillar TDP-43 in the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum Is the Early-Stage Pathology in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Transactivation response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43)-immunoreactive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCIs) are the histopathological hallmarks of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). They are classified as skein-like inclusions, round inclusions, dot-like inclusions, linear wisps, and diffuse punctate cytoplasmic staining (DPCS). We hypothesized that TDP-43-immunoreactive DPCS may form the early-stage pathology of ALS.

Coronary Artery-Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm Fistula After Myocardial Infarction.

A 56-year-old man presented to the emergency department with chest pain. The diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction caused by a left circumflex artery occlusion was made. After conservative treatment, a fistula between the circumflex artery and the left ventricle, and the evolution of the pseudoaneurysm, were noted.

Cabergoline, a long-acting dopamine agonist, attenuates L-dopa-induced dyskinesia without L-dopa sparing in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.

Intermittent administration of L-dopa in Parkinson's disease is associated with L-dopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). Long-acting dopamine agonists may reduce the risk of LID by continuous dopaminergic stimulation. We examined the LID-like behavior, preprodynorphin messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression in the striatum (a neurochemical LID hallmark), and the volume of the entopeduncular nucleus (a pathological LID hallmark) in Parkinson's disease rat models that were treated with L-dopa and cabergoline.

Elevated Cystatin-C Levels Are Associated with Increased Mortality in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients: An HIJ-PROPER Sub-Analysis.

Background And Aims: We investigated the association between serum cystatin-C (Cys-C) levels and cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: Data of 1,100 patients from the prospective parent study were included. Patients hospitalized for ACS were divided into 4 groups based on quartiles (Q) of Cys-C levels (mg/L) within 24 h of admission: Q1, ≤0.

Potential oxygen consumption and community composition of sediment bacteria in a seasonally hypoxic enclosed bay.

The dynamics of potential oxygen consumption at the sediment surface in a seasonally hypoxic bay were monitored monthly by applying a tetrazolium dye (2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride [INT]) reduction assay to intact sediment core samples for two consecutive years (2012-2013). Based on the empirically determined correlation between INT reduction (INT-formazan formation) and actual oxygen consumption of sediment samples, we inferred the relative contribution of biological and non-biological (chemical) processes to the potential whole oxygen consumption in the collected sediment samples. It was demonstrated that both potentials consistently increased and reached a maximum during summer hypoxia in each year.