Parotitis caused by Mycobacteroides abscessus subspecies abscessus.

Rapidly growing mycobacteria rarely causes parotitis. We report a rare case of Mycobacteroides abscessus subspecies abscessus (MAB) parotitis in a previously healthy 26-year-old woman. She presented to the previous hospital with a swelling over the right parotid region, and a computed tomography scan revealed multiple abscesses in the swollen parotid gland.

Evaluation of the Effects of Chronic Kidney Disease and Hemodialysis on the Inner Ear Using Multifrequency Tympanometry.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hemodialysis (HD) on the inner ear using the G width (the width between the bimodal peaks of the conductance (G) tympanogram at 2,000 Hz), which reflects the inner ear pressure and/or the existence of endolymphatic hydrops.

Materials And Methods: We selected five patients (10 ears) from the patients with CKD who were hospitalized for creation of arteriovenous fistula prior to initiation of HD (non-HD group), and we selected seven patients (14 ears) from the patients with CKD who were undergoing HD (the HD group). As a control group, we selected 80 healthy individuals (160 ears); these were mainly the medical staff of the hospital.

Diagnosis and following up of Ménière's disease using multifrequency tympanometry-Cutoff values and temporal changes in measurements.

Objective: This study aimed to verify cutoff values for G width (the width of bimodal peaks for the waveform obtained when measuring conductance at 2000Hz) in Japanese individuals diagnosed with Ménière's disease (MD) using multifrequency tympanometry (MFT) and to determine the relationship between the G width and ability to hear low-pitched sounds using measurements over time.

Methods: The study included 51 patients with clinically diagnosed MD, who had not undergone endolymphatic sac surgery, but had no other known ear disease (57 ears in patients aged 22-80 years were affected, and 45 ears in patients aged 18-83 years were unaffected; mean age: 53.3±16.

Prenatal low-dose bisphenol A enhances behavioral responses induced by a predator odor.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental endocrine disrupter (EED). Previous studies by our group showed that pre- and postnatal administration of low-level BPA induced depression-like behavior in rats. In this study, we evaluated the effects of prenatal BPA on behavioral responses to a predator odor by using a novel cross-form apparatus consisting of 4 plastic chambers.

Development of conductive hearing loss due to posterior semicircular canal dehiscence.

We herein report a case of posterior semicircular canal dehiscence (SCD) syndrome who had been audiologically followed up for eight years. The patient originally had sensorineural hearing loss. The audiogram had gradually transformed to pure conductive hearing loss.

Brief neonatal handling alters sexually dimorphic behaviors in adult rats.

Several effects of neonatal handling on brain and behavior have been reported. We investigated the effects of neonatal handling on behaviors that have been shown to be sexually dimorphic in rats using an open-field test. "Gender differences" were observed in locomotor activity, exploratory behavior and grooming in the handled group.

Phase I/II study of oral immunotherapy with Cry j1-galactomannan conjugate for Japanese cedar pollinosis.

Objective: Among many immunotherapeutic approaches, oral immunotherapy (OIT) is thought to be an effective route for desensitization against a variety of allergens. However, there is little evidence that OIT is effective for airway allergic diseases such as pollen allergy. Thus, in the present study, we assessed the safety, efficacy and immune response of OIT using the Cry j1-galactomannan conjugate for Japanese cedar pollen allergy.

Postnatal exposure to low-dose bisphenol A influences various emotional conditions.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the 'environmental endocrine disrupters' (EEDs) released by plastics and resin known to interfere with hormonal responses. In this study, female Wistar rats were exposed to low-dose BPA (24 μg/kg/day) during 7 days after giving birth. The male and female offspring, exposed to the BPA through lactation, were evaluated using an open field test (OFT) at the age of six weeks, an elevated plus maze test (EPM) at seven weeks, and a forced swimming test (FST) at nine weeks.

Expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor and aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocators in human adenoid tissue.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and AhR nuclear translocators (ARNTs) are expressed in human adenoid tissue.

Methods: Paraffin-embedded human adenoid tissue specimens were obtained from eight children with adenoid hypertrophy. Sections were stained immunohistochemically with specific polyclonal antibodies to evaluate the expression pattern of AhR, ARNT1 and ARNT2 were evaluated.

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A impairs sexual differentiation of exploratory behavior and increases depression-like behavior in rats.

Perinatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA, 0.1 and 1 ppm in drinking water applied to mother rats for 6 weeks) has been shown to impair the sexual differentiation in exploratory behavior, but the exact critical period of this disrupting effect is still unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of prenatal exposure to BPA (0.

GABA-induced response in spiral ganglion cells acutely isolated from guinea pig cochlea.

The physiological and pharmacological properties of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-induced responses were investigated in acutely isolated spiral ganglion cells (SGCs) of guinea pig by using either a nystatin-perforated patch recording configuration or a conventional whole-cell patch recording mode combined with rapid drug application. GABA and GABA(A) subtype receptor agonist, muscimol, induced inward currents in a concentration-dependent manner in 74% of all cells. The current-voltage relationship for the GABA response indicated the GABA-induced current in SGCs is carried by Cl-.

Distribution of tributyltin, dibutyltin and monobutyltin in the liver, brain and fat of rats: two-generation toxicity study of tributyltin chloride.

The distribution of tributyltin (TBT) and its metabolites, dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT), was examined in the liver, brain and fat tissues in a two-generation reproductive toxicity study of tributyltin chloride (TBTCl) in rats using dietary supplementation at concentrations of 5, 25 and 125 ppm. In the liver, irrespective of TBTCl dietary concentration, gender or generation, the highest concentration of metabolite was consistently MBT, followed by DBT, and then TBT. In contrast, TBT was consistently present at the highest concentration in the brain, nearly always followed by DBT and MBT.

Low dose effects of bisphenol A on sexual differentiation of the brain and behavior in rats.

There is an endocrinological concern that environmental endocrine disrupters (EEDs) may influence sexual differentiation. Bisphenol A (BPA), one of EEDs, is released from polycarbonate plastics, and has been detected in the human umbilical cord. In this study, we examined the effect of BPA on the sexual differentiation of open-field behavior and the sexually dimorphic nuclei in the brain in the offspring of rats exposed to BPA during the fetal and suckling periods at a dosage below the human tolerable daily intake (TDI) level.