The effect of physical therapy integrated with pharmacotherapy on tension-type headache and migraine in children and adolescents.

Background: Tension-type headache (TTH) and migraine are prevalent neurological conditions in children and adolescents that significantly impact activity of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QOL). Although physical therapy targeting cervical myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) on TTH and migraine has been extensively studied in adults, the efficacy in pediatric patients remains unexplored. The aim of this study is to reveal the effect of physical therapy integrated with pharmacotherapy on TTH and migraine in children and adolescents.

Developmental mechanisms regulating the formation of smooth muscle layers in the mouse uterus†.

Uterine smooth muscle cells differentiate from mesenchymal cells, and gap junctions connect the muscle cells in the myometrium. At the neonatal stage, a uterine smooth muscle layer is situated away from the epithelium when smooth muscle cells are grafted near the epithelium, suggesting that the epithelium plays an important role in differentiation, proliferation, and/or migration of smooth muscle cells. In this study, developmental mechanisms regulating the formation of the smooth muscle layers in the mouse uterus were analyzed using an in vitro culture model.

The effect of electroconvulsive seizure on survival, neuronal differentiation, and expression of the maturation marker in the adult mouse hippocampus.

Electroconvulsive seizure (ECS), a model of electroconvulsive therapy in rodents, strongly increases neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus. Neurogenesis is a multi-step process that spans proliferation, survival, neuronal differentiation, and functional maturation. Our previous study demonstrated that ECS stimulates the proliferation of neural stem-like cells.

Anaplastic changes of diffuse leptomeningeal glioneuronal tumor with polar spongioblastoma pattern.

Diffuse leptomeningeal glioneuronal tumor (DLGNT) is a rare glioneuronal neoplasm with oligodendroglioma-like cells confined in the subarachnoid spaces. A great majority of DLGNT are histologically low grade. However, some tumors show features of anaplasia with increased mitotic and proliferative activity.

The efficacy of resection of an intradural extramedullary foramen magnum cavernous malformation presenting with repeated subarachnoid hemorrhage: a case report.

Background: Intradural extramedullary cavernous angiomas of the central nervous system are a rare type of cavernous angioma, but they can cause fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The efficacy of resection for this type of cavernous malformations remains uncertain. This is the first report to recommend surgical resection of these types of lesions regardless of the fatal condition.

Interferon-β and temozolomide combination therapy for temozolomide monotherapy-refractory malignant gliomas.

Interferon-β (IFN-β) has been found to downregulate O-methyl-guanine-DNA methyltransferase and sensitize glioma cells to chemoradiation therapy. The effectiveness of IFN-β and temozolomide (TMZ) combination therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastomas was previously reported. However, there is no clinical report of recurrent of malignant gliomas treated with the combination of IFN-β and TMZ.

Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling reflects vascular density and differentiates angiomatous meningiomas from non-angiomatous meningiomas.

Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL) can measure tumor blood flow (TBF) reliably. We investigated meningioma TBF using PCASL and assessed for any correlation with histopathological microvascular density (MVD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Conventional MRI with contrast T1-weighted images and PCASL were acquired with a 3 T scanner before surgery in 25 consecutive patients with meningiomas.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma presenting with rapidly progressive severe visual disturbance: a case report.

Introduction: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is one of the most difficult tumors to diagnose correctly at the initial phase because of the occasional lack of nasal symptoms. The perineural spread of the trigeminal nerve is one of the most common and important routes in the intracranial paracavernous extension of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but visual loss is very rare.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 54-year-old Japanese man with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, who presented with rapid and severe disturbance of left monocular visual acuity and eye movement with a 10-month history of ipsilateral otitis media and facial pain.

Evaluation of the antiangiogenic effects of octreotide on growth hormone-producing pituitary adenoma using arterial spin-labeling perfusion imaging.

Decreased absolute tumor blood flow (TBF) measured by arterial spin labeling perfusion imaging (ASL-PI) on 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the reduced size and growth hormone (GH) secretion of a large GH-producing pituitary adenoma in a 32-year-old man in response to octreotide therapy. The study shows the usefulness of ASL-PI in providing a biomarker of the antiangiogenic effect of octreotide.

Primary neurolymphomatosis of the lower cranial nerves presenting as Dysphagia and hoarseness: a case report.

Primary neurolymphomatosis is an extremely rare tumor. We report the case of a 74-year-old patient presenting with dysphagia and hoarseness. Initial contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the head, neck, and chest did not reveal any lesions.

Usefulness of intraoperative monitoring of visual evoked potentials in transsphenoidal surgery.

Postoperative visual outcome is a major concern in transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). Intraoperative visual evoked potential (VEP) monitoring has been reported to have little usefulness in predicting postoperative visual outcome. To re-evaluate its usefulness, we adapted a high-power light-stimulating device with electroretinography (ERG) to ascertain retinal light stimulation.

Dissecting Aneurysm at the Proximal Segment of the Anterior Cerebral Artery Associated with Infraoptic Course Anterior Cerebral Artery.

A 48-year-old man presented a subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by a rupture of a dissecting aneurysm at the proximal segment (A1 segment) of the right anterior cerebral artery (ACA). He also had an anomalous artery named infraoptic course ACA and an agenesis of the contralateral ACA A1 segment. Balloon occlusion test at the bifurcation of the right internal carotid artery demonstrated that the distal segments of the bilateral ACAs were perfused through the infraoptic course ACA.

Usefulness of intraoperative monitoring of visual evoked potentials in transsphenoidal surgery.

Postoperative visual outcome is a major concern in transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). Intraoperative visual evoked potential (VEP) monitoring has been reported to have little usefulness in predicting postoperative visual outcome. To re-evaluate its usefulness, we adapted a high-power light-stimulating device with electroretinography (ERG) to ascertain retinal light stimulation.

Evaluation of tumor blood flow after feeder embolization in meningiomas by arterial spin-labeling perfusion magnetic resonance imaging.

Preoperative embolization changes the amount of blood flow and pattern of flow distribution in meningioma. Tumor blood flow was investigated in eight meningioma patients before and after embolization using arterial spin-labeling (ASL) perfusion imaging. Although blood flow was significantly reduced in the whole tumor after embolization, changes in flow distribution patterns varied from one case to another.

Cerebral hemorrhage due to posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome associated with autonomic dysreflexia in a spinal cord injury patient.

A 37-year-old man with C4-5 spinal cord injury (SCI) presented with abnormally high blood pressure after vesicocutaneous catheter exchange and was treated with antihypertensive agents. Two weeks later, he developed headache and visual disturbance, and presented with fluctuating blood pressure. Multiple subcortical hemorrhages in the left occipital and right frontal lobes occurred on the next day, and he died of increased intracranial pressure 3 weeks later.

Chronic subdural hematoma in a patient with congenital afibrinogenemia successfully treated with fibrinogen replacement.

A 37-year-old woman with congenital afibrinogenemia presented with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) manifesting as severe headache, nausea, and somnolence after a minor head trauma. Brain computed tomography scans showed a right subdural hematoma associated with midline shift. Laboratory studies showed prolongation of prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and undetectably low level of fibrinogen.

Basi-parallel anatomical scanning magnetic resonance imaging in patients with bilateral vertebrobasilar artery dissections.

A 31-year-old man presented with bilateral unruptured vertebral artery (VA) dissections. The temporal course of the dissected arteries was successively evaluated using brain surface imaging modality basi-parallel anatomical scanning (BPAS) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in combination with the conventional modalities of MR angiography and three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) angiography. Initially, BPAS-MR imaging clearly demonstrated bilateral fusiform dilatations of the arterial wall, whereas MR angiography and 3D-CT angiography showed irregular, dilated, or interrupted inner contour of the arteries.

Mixed germ cell tumor and hemangioblastoma in the cerebellum: report of a rare coexistence.

We report a case of a cerebellar tumor consisting of a mixed germ cell tumor (GCT) and a hemangioblastoma. A 22-year-old man presented with myoclonus and cerebellar ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumor mass in the left cerebellar hemisphere.

Enhancement of antibody production by the addition of Coenzyme-Q(10).

Recently, there has been a growing demand for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) on the global market. Because therapeutic MAbs are more expensive than low-molecular-weight drugs, there have been strong demands to lower their production costs. Therefore, efficient methods to minimize the cost of goods are currently active areas of research.

Comparison of cell lines for stable production of fucose-negative antibodies with enhanced ADCC.

Several methods have been described to enhance antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) using different host cells that produce antibody with reduced levels of fucose on their carbohydrates. We compared the suitability of these methods for the serum-free fed-batch production of antibody for clinical trials and commercial uses. Recombinant anti-human CD20 chimeric IgG1-producing clones were established from host-cells that have been shown to produce more than 90% fucose-negative antibody.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis from urinary bladder adenocarcinoma: a clinicopathological case study.

We report a 73-year-old male patient with leptomeningeal metastasis from urinary bladder adenocarcinoma. He was presented with prominent hyperactive delirium during the course of the disease. Meningeal carcinomatosis was detected 5 days before his death, but the primary site of the malignant tumor could not be determined.

Event-related potentials elicited by non-target tones in an auditory oddball paradigm in schizophrenia.

It has been reported that in event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by non-target tones in oddball paradigms, the superimposition of a negative component on the descending slope of N100 depends on subjects' attention to the task. We tested the possibility that this attention-related change is abnormal for patients with schizophrenia. ERPs induced by non-target, frequent tones were measured for 52 patients and 31 healthy controls under two oddball conditions: a passive condition where the subjects were told to disregard the tones, and an active condition where they were instructed to respond to infrequent tones.

Auditory P300 amplitude as a state marker for positive symptoms in schizophrenia: cross-sectional and retrospective longitudinal studies.

The amplitude of the P300 component of the auditory event-related brain potential (ERP) is consistently reduced in schizophrenia. To determine whether this P300 abnormality can be used as a state marker to reflect the severity of symptoms, we examined both cross-sectionally and longitudinally the relationship between auditory P300 amplitude and symptom severity in patients with schizophrenia. For the cross-sectional study, ERP was elicited by an auditory oddball paradigm, and symptom severity was quantitatively measured by means of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in 93 patients with schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder (DSM-III-R).

Cholinergic dysfunction in cognitive impairments after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Objective: Although cognitive impairments have been observed after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), little is known about their neurobiological bases. To examine cholinergic function in such patients, we used a known test for Alzheimer's disease based on an exaggerated pupil dilation response to a cholinergic antagonist, tropicamide (the tropicamide drop test).

Methods: Seventeen patients who were treated surgically after aneurysmal SAH were divided into two groups on the basis of their scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE): Group A (MMSE > or =28) and Group B (MMSE < or =27).