[A Case of Encapsulated Peritoneal Sclerosis Associated with a Ventriculo-Peritoneal Shunt].

We experienced a case of encapsulated peritoneal sclerosis(EPS)that developed as a result of peritoneal deterioration induced by ventriculo-peritoneal(VP)shunting. The patient was a 48-year-old man who underwent VP shunting five times since 1 month of age. Six months after the last operation, abdominal symptoms developed and the patient was hospitalized.

Bifidobacterium infantis suppresses proinflammatory interleukin-17 production in murine splenocytes and dextran sodium sulfate-induced intestinal inflammation.

Interleukin (IL)-17 acts as a potent inflammatory cytokine, and IL-17-producing cells (Th17 cells) have received much attention. However, the involvement of commensal and/or probiotic bacteria in IL-17 production has not been evaluated. In this study, we examined the suppressive effects of five bacteria species on IL-17 production in vitro and ex vivo.

Effects of Citrus unshiu powder on the cytokine balance in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis to pollen.

We evaluated the effects of a 50% methanol extract of Citrus unshiu powder (MEC) on cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis to cedar pollen. The levels of cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IL-13, and GM-CSF, produced by pollen-stimulated PBMC were measured. We found that MEC suppressed pollen-induced TNF-alpha release and increased IFN-gamma release from PBMCs.

Enhanced vertical alveolar bone augmentation by recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 with a carrier in rats.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) on vertical bone regeneration of edentulous ridge. Bilateral upper first and second molars of 8-week-old Wistar rats were extracted and the ridges were allowed to heal for 3 weeks. Compressed poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) copolymer/gelatin sponge (PGS) was used as a carrier of rhBMP-2.

Effect of adhesive primer developed exclusively for heat-curing resin on adhesive strength between plastic artificial tooth and acrylic denture base resin.

Despite progress in the development of denture base resin and artificial tooth materials, dental clinics are still plagued with artificial teeth falling off the denture base--due to poor bond strength--after denture delivery. Against this background, this study sought to examine the effect and durability of an adhesive primer developed exclusively for heat-curing resin on the adhesive strength of heat-curing denture base acrylic resin to plastic artificial tooth. Test specimens were divided into four groups according to the treatment method of the artificial tooth's test bonding surface: air abrasion, adhesive primer application, adhesive primer application after air abrasion, and pretreatment only (control).

[Studies concerning the pathogenesis of trigeminal neuralgia caused by cerebellopontine angle tumors].

It has been well recognized that neurovascular compression can elicit trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and microvascular decompression surgery has become popular as a radical treatment of this clinical symptom. Cerebellopontine (C-P) angle tumors, however, as well known, can also cause TN. Four hundred fifty six patients with TN underwent posterior fossa exploration between 1984 and 1992 in our clinic, and among them, 45 (9.

Hemifacial spasm in childhood and adolescence.

Hemifacial spasm (HFS), a hyperactive dysfunction of the facial nerve, is rarely seen in young people. Between 1984 and 1994, we treated 924 patients with HFS by microvascular decompression at our institution. Of these, 8 (0.

[Treatment of intractable postherpetic neuralgia and blepharospasm: intraneural injection of adriamycin].

Adriamycin, an anthracycline antineoplastic agent, can swiftly be transported to the sensory or somatic motor neurons by way of axoplasmic transport when injected into the subepineurium of the trigeminal nerve or sciatic nerve in experimental animals, and is consequently able to induce degeneration of the neurons without any systemic side effects. Intraneural injection of this agent was carried out for the treatment of a total of 22 patients presenting with intractable neural dysfunction (12 with neuralgia, including 7 with post-herpetic neuralgia and 10 with facial dystonia). The nerve which innervated the affected site was exposed under local anesthesia and approximately 10-60 microliters of 1-20% adriamycin was injected into the subepineurium.

Unusual presentation of brain metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma--two case reports.

Two unusual cases of brain metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are described. A 15-year-old boy presented with intracerebral hemorrhage from brain metastasis from HCC, and died of rebleeding 1 month after surgery. Cerebral metastatic HCC in a child is quite rare, and has not previously been reported.

Classification of supratentorial arteriovenous malformations. A score system for evaluation of operability and surgical strategy based on an analysis of 66 cases.

A classification of arteriovenous malformations (AVM) is proposed, which is based on a retrospective analysis of the records and results of radical operation in 57 patients between 1983 and 1990. It represents the new developments and more recent technical facilities which influence operability of supratentorial AVMs. Predictability of outcome has been settled upon three groups of factors: anatomical, haemodynamical, and clinical.

Clipping of the anterior communicating artery to eliminate the contralateral blood supply in supratentorial large AVM of the carotid system. A report of 22 cases.

Large supratentorial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the carotid system are vascularized by the ipsilateral internal carotid artery (ICA) and often, in addition, by the contralateral ICA via the anterior communicating artery (ACoA). In these AVMs we have previously advocated (1981) multiple staged operations with the progressive reduction of the blood stream passing through the AVM. In twenty-two cases, starting in 1983, the reduction of the blood stream into the shunt has been performed as a first operation by placing a clip on the middle of the ACoA through a pterional approach on the opposite side of the AVM before radical open surgery.

[Cerebral microcirculation during increased intracranial pressure--assessment with reflectance photometry].

The cerebral microcirculation under increased intracranial pressure was evaluated by using reflectance photometric method. The values of tissue hemoglobin (IHb) and its oxygen saturation (ISO2) detected by this method were evaluated in cat brain tissue. The correlation between IHb and content of cortical hemoglobin subunits in vitro was high.

Ischaemic brain oedema and xanthine-xanthine oxidase system.

The formation of oxygen-derived free radicals in cerebral ischaemia has been implicated in altering the BBB permeability, cause oedema and tissue damage. However little attention has been paid regarding the involvement of xanthine oxidase in the cerebral ischaemic events. Recently we demonstrated that cerebral ischaemia promotes the conversion of xanthine oxidase type D (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent dehydrogenase) to type 0 (oxygen-dependent superoxide-producing oxidase).

Lipid peroxidation in focal cerebral ischemia.

To verify whether lipid peroxidation is associated with focal cerebral ischemia, a unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion was carried out in rats. The concentrations of various endogenous antioxidants in the ischemic center were measured, including alpha-tocopherol and ubiquinones as lipid-soluble antioxidants and ascorbate as a water-soluble antioxidant. At 30 minutes after ischemia, alpha-tocopherol decreased to 79% of baseline, reduced ubiquinone-9 to 73%, ubiquinone-10 to 66%, and reduced ascorbate to 76%.

Changes in xanthine oxidase in ischemic rat brain.

Xanthine oxidase activity in the rat brain was measured by means of high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection of uric acid. Cerebral ischemia was produced by a four-vessel occlusion method. In the control rat, the enzyme activity was 0.

Histochemical representation of regional ATP in the brain using a firefly luciferase-immobilized membrane in a multilayer film format.

The enzymatic bioluminescence of firefly luciferase has been used in sensitive pictorial assays of ATP. We describe a method using a membrane with immobilized luciferase in a multilayer film format for the histochemical representation of brain ATP content. The multilayer film consisted of a transparent support, a reagent layer, and a pigment layer.

[Lipid peroxidation and changes in xanthine oxidase in cerebral ischemia].

To verify the lipid peroxidation in the focal cerebral ischemia, the levels of alpha-tocopherol, ubiquinone and ascorbate were measured in the ischemic center in rats. The former two were endogeneous lipid soluble antioxidants and the last was a water soluble antioxidant. alpha-Tocopherol, reduced ubiquinone-9 and -10, and reduced ascorbate decreased to 79%, 73%, 66%, and 76% 0.

[Continuous lumbar subarachnoid pressure monitoring as an indicator of shunt operation for so-called normal pressure hydrocephalus].

Lumbar subarachnoid pressure (LSP) was continuously monitored via intrathecally introduced polyethylene catheter to select the patients for shunt operation. A total of seventy cases included so-called normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) secondary to subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH; 34 cases), idiopathic NPH (17 cases), secondary NPH whose symptoms developed after operations for brain tumors, head injuries or meningitis (12 cases) and other intracranial diseases including pseudotumor cerebri or meningeal carcinomatosis, etc. (7 cases).

[Assessment of tissue and intracellular pH following cold-induced vasogenic brain edema--in vitro and in vivo study].

Acid-base balance is closely related to the brain function and various methods have been applied to estimate the intracellular, extracellular or tissue pH. Umbelliferone, a fluorescent pH indicator, has been used to study either intracellular or tissue pH. In the present study, umbelliferone was used for histochemically estimating the tissue pH in the rat brain.

Reflectance spectrophotometric measurement of in vivo local oxygen consumption in the cerebral cortex.

A simple method was developed to measure in vivo local oxygen consumption quantitatively in the brain cortex. Reflectance spectra of tissue hemoglobin at the brain's surface were measured for assessment of both local tissue hemoglobin content and its oxygen saturation. Local oxygen consumption was calculated from the spectral changes of tissue hemoglobin during complete cessation of blood flow by compression of the cortical surface in the suprasylvian gyrus with the tip of an optic probe.

[Clinical validity of lumbar subarachnoid pressure measurement].

To evaluate the clinical usefulness for measuring lumbar subarachnoid pressure (LSP) as an index of intracranial pressure, the relation between LSP and epidural pressure (EDP) was studied by the cisternal saline infusion and bolus injection in 12 cats at the range of pressure up to 50 mmHg. In the steady state infusion (0.238 ml/min, 0.

[The sequential changes of energy metabolism following cold-induced brain edema--a histochemical study].

The changes of energy metabolism on vasogenic edema have been largely examined using biochemical quantitative assay. However, the relationship between the sequential changes and blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown is not well understood. In the present study, the sequential changes of energy metabolism and potassium in relation to BBB breakdown following the cold-induced brain edema were investigated histochemically.

[Measurement and clinical significance of the posterior cranial fossa volume of patients with hemifacial spasm].

The etiology of hemifacial spasm had long been obscure until 1962 when Gardner proved that this hyperdysfunction of the facial nerve was caused by mechanical compression of the facial nerve by vascular structures in the posterior cranial fossa. In 1977, Jannetta proposed a specific location at the root entry zone of the facial nerve; this area has consequently been considered to be especially vulnerable to minor trauma such as vascular compression. In patients with hemifacial spasm, the posterior cranial fossa cavity is commonly found to be small or shallow on plain craniogram; this anatomical change in the skull is regarded as pathognomonic for the facial nerve hyperdysfunction.

[Importance of intraoperative monitoring of ABR and compound action potential of the eighth cranial nerve during microvascular decompression surgery].

An intraoperative recording of a direct compound action potential of the 8th cranial nerve with pre, intra and postoperative monitorings of auditory brainstem evoked response (ABR) was carried out for the purpose of clarifying mechanism and prevention of postoperative hearing dysfunction following microvascular decompression surgery as a treatment for hyperdysfunction syndrome of cranial nerves. In 221 patients with hemifacial spasm and tic douloureux out of 510 patients operated on by microvascular decompression surgery, ABR was monitored before, during and after surgery and furthermore, in the recent 94 patients among them, an intraoperative direct recording of a compound action potential of the acoustic nerve was performed simultaneously. Among these 94 patients, postoperative mild hearing dysfunction was encountered in 11 patients and severe reduction of hearing acuity in 2.

[Three cases of Eagle's syndrome].

Recently microvascular decompression surgery has been performed for trigeminal neuralgia or glossopharyngeal neuralgia with remarkable success. In differential diagnosis of such neuralgia, a lot of atypical facial pain must be taken into consideration, one of which is so-called Eagle's syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by elongated styloid process or calcified stylohyoid ligament compressing the Vth and/or IXth cranial nerve.