Effects of an anti-oxidative ACAT inhibitor on apoptosis/necrosis and cholesterol accumulation under oxidative stress in THP-1 cell-derived foam cells.

THP-1 cell-derived foam cells were exposed to oxidative stress through combined treatment with acetylated LDL (acLDL) and copper ions (Cu2+). The foam cells showed caspase-dependent apoptotic changes on exposure to oxidative stress for 6 h, and necrotic changes with the leakage of LDH after 24 h. KY-455, an anti-oxidative ACAT inhibitor, and ascorbic acid (VC) but not YM-750, an ACAT inhibitor, prevented apoptotic and necrotic changes.

Parametric imaging of myocardial blood flow with 15O-water and PET using the basis function method.

Unlabelled: Regional myocardial blood flow (MBF) can be measured with 15O-water and PET using the 1-tissue-compartment model with perfusable tissue fraction, which provides an MBF value that is free from the partial-volume effect. Studies with 15O-water have several advantages, such as the ability to repeat a scan. However, because of the short scanning time and the small distribution volume of 15O-water in the myocardium, the image quality of 15O-water is limited, impeding the computation of MBF and perfusable tissue fraction at the voxel level.

Long-term effect of motor cortical repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation [correction].

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) recently has been assessed as a noninvasive treatment modality for movement and psychiatric disorders, whereas the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects is not fully understood. Studies in rodents showed lasting functional changes in some selected regions, such as limbic-associated structures, but unfocused brain stimulation did not clarify the regional effects. To address the topographical and temporal profiles of the effects on glucose metabolism in primate brain, we performed rTMS and repeated (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) before, during, and up to 16 days after rTMS in anesthetized cynomologous monkeys.