Evaluation of a Novel Immunochromatographic Assay Using Monoclonal Antibodies against the Matrix Protein of Human Metapneumovirus.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a novel immunochromatographic (IC) assay (APD1806) using monoclonal antibodies against the matrix (M) protein of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) for detection of hMPV from nasopharyngeal swab samples based on the results of real-time RT-PCR.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal swab samples taken from 189 patients aged 0 - 5 years who were suspected of having respiratory tract infections associated with hMPV were used in this study. The samples were tested both by the IC assay and by real-time RT-PCR for detection of hMPV.

Measurement of plasma choline in acute coronary syndrome: importance of suitable sampling conditions for this assay.

Blood choline has been proposed as a predictor of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), however different testing procedures might affect the choline concentration because the lysophospholipase D activity of autotaxin (ATX) can convert lysophosphatidylcholine to lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and choline in human blood. Although the influences of ATX on LPA levels are well known in vivo and in vitro, those on choline have not been elucidated. Therefore, we established suitable sampling conditions and evaluated the usefulness of plasma choline concentrations as a biomarker for ACS.

Development of an enzymatic assay for sphingomyelin with rapid and automatable performances: Analysis in healthy subjects and coronary heart disease patients.

Background: Sphingomyelin (SM) is an important choline group-containing phospholipid and is considered to be an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease.

Methods: We have developed a specific enzymatic assay for SM measurement with rapid and automatable performances by using two-reagent system involving sphingomyelinase. We performed within-run and between-run precision, linearity test, detection limit, recovery test and interference to validate this assay.

Thrombosed unruptured cerebral aneurysm causing brain infarction followed by subarachnoid hemorrhage--case report--.

A 71-year-old man presented with right hemiparesis and aphasia due to cerebral infarction in the frontal lobe. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a high-density mass, 12 mm in diameter, in the stem of the left sylvian fissure. Carotid angiography demonstrated occlusion of the left ascending frontal artery complex and retention of contrast medium at the bifurcation of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA).

Hemangioblastomatosis of the central nervous system without von Hippel-Lindau disease: a case report.

We report a very rare case of hemangioblastomatosis in a patient without von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL). A 50-year-old woman had a history of surgical procedures for total removal of a cerebellar hemangioblastoma (HB). Twenty-one years after the last operation, she developed communicating hydrocephalus; computed tomographic (CT) scans of the brain showed no recurrence of HB in the posterior fossa.

Culture method for the induction of neurospheres from mouse embryonic stem cells by coculture with PA6 stromal cells.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells proliferate and maintain their pluripotency for over 1 year in vitro and may therefore provide a sufficient source for cell therapies. However, most of the previously reported methods for obtaining a source for cell therapies have not been simple. We describe here a novel method for induction of neurospheres from mouse ES cells by coculturing on PA6 cells instead of the formation of embryoid bodies.

Two cases of dissecting aneurysm of the distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery: possible involvement of segmental mediolytic arteriopathy in the pathogenesis.

Background: Dissecting aneurysm of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) uninvolved with the vertebral artery is rare. The exact pathohistological diagnosis might result in 'unknown' because the underlying pathoanatomical features are, for a variety of reasons, not always identified.

Case Description: We report herein two cases of dissecting aneurysm harbored in different segments of the distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery.

Isolated central nervous system hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: case report.

Objective And Importance: The first case of histologically proven hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) isolated to the central nervous system (CNS) is reported. HLH affecting the CNS mimics several neurological disorders and may be misdiagnosed. The diagnostic and therapeutic problems of this disease are discussed.

Ceramide triggers caspase activation during gamma-radiation-induced apoptosis of human glioma cells lacking functional p53.

We have previously shown that treatment of human glioma U87-MG cells expressing wild-type p53 with a DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor, etoposide resulted in ceramide-dependent apoptotic cell death. However, U87-W E6 cells lacking functional p53 due to the expression of human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV-16) E6 oncoprotein were resistant to etoposide. In order to gain insight into the roles of p53 and ceramide in gamma-radiation-induced glioma cell death, we used U87-W E6 and vector-infected U87-LXSN cells.

Surgery for carotid dural ring aneurysms.

Background: Carotid aneurysms of the paraclinoid segment are usually located in the intradural space, but can infrequently straddle the intra- and extradural space.

Case Description: We present 2 cases of unruptured carotid dural ring aneurysms with an aneurysmal sac that straddled the distal dural ring. Each paraclinoid aneurysm projected superiorly from the anterior surface of the internal carotid artery with a relatively flattened dome and central indentation on angiography.

Hepatocyte growth factor promotes neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells derived from embryonic stem cells.

We previously reported that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) promoted proliferation of neurospheres and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from mouse embryonic brain. In this study, spheres from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells were generated by floating culture following co-culture on PA6 stromal cells. In contrast to the behavior of the neurospheres derived from embryonic brain, addition of HGF to the growth medium of the floating cultures decreased the number of spheres derived from ES cells.

Neuronal protein NP25 interacts with F-actin.

Neuronal protein NP25 is a neuron-specific protein present in highly differentiated neural cells, but its functional properties have not been well characterized. NP25 shows high amino acid sequence homology with the smooth muscle cell cytoskeleton-associated proteins, SM22, mp20, and calponin. To gain an insight into the biological functions of NP25, we first examined its subcellular localization in the human neuroblastoma cell line, SK-N-SH.

Prediction of neurologic deterioration in patients with lacunar infarction in the territory of the lenticulostriate artery using perfusion CT.

Background And Purpose: A significant proportion of patients with lacunar infarctions experience neurologic deterioration after onset. However, no clinical examination has been established for prediction of the progress of symptoms. To determine the hemodynamic predictors of such progression, we performed perfusion CT to quantitatively assess cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), and mean transit time (MTT) of patients with lacunar infarctions in the territory of the lenticulostriate artery.

Prognostic factors and therapeutic problems of primary intracranial choriocarcinoma/germ-cell tumors with high levels of HCG.

Objective: Primary intracranial choriocarcinoma (PICCC)/germ-cell tumors (GCTs) with high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) (PICCC/GCTs with HL-HCG) are rare and malignant. The goal of this study was to report our 3 cases of PICCC/GCTs with HL-HCG and to review the literature to elucidate the clinical problems and prognostic factors and to discuss the therapeutic modalities of this rare tumor.

Methods: Survival was analyzed in 66 previously reported PICCC/GCTs with HL-HCG including our 3 cases, of which the clinical results have been described in the literature since 1975.

Interleukin-2 activated microglia engulf tumor infiltrating T cells in the central nervous system.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been utilized to treat cancer patient. However, recent studies disclosed that IL-2 induces T cell death. To clarify IL-2 induced T cell apoptosis at tumor sites in the central nervous system (CNS), we utilized an intracranial implantation of IL-2 cDNA transduced murine tumor cells and examined freshly recovered tumor infiltrating T lymphocytes (TIL) with a magnetic beads separation method.

[Therapeutic neurogenesis for CNS disorders].

Although neurogenesis is observed in the human adult brain, its regulation and role are unknown. Among lots of factors promoting neurogenesis, we focused on fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), because it is known to be an important factor for neural stem cell culture. In our study, neurogenesis was upregulated in the dentate gyrus (DG) following cerebral ischemia and kainic acid-induced seizure in wild type animals, but it was reduced in FGF-2-/- mice.

A non-infantile case of desmoplastic infantile astrocytoma.

Case Report: We describe a very rare non-infantile case of desmoplastic infantile astrocytoma (DIA). A 9-year-old boy presented with motor weakness and sensory disturbance in his right upper and lower limbs. CT and MRI showed a contrast-enhanced large cystic tumor in the left sensorimotor area.

Hepatocyte growth factor promotes proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells from mouse embryos.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), originally cloned as a hepatocyte mitogen, has recently been reported to exhibit neurotrophic activity in addition to being expressed in different parts of the nervous system. At present, the effects of HGF on neural stem cells (NSCs) are not known. In this study, we first report the promoting effect of HGF on the proliferation of neurospheres and neuronal differentiation of NSCs.

Preoperative construction of an extracranial arterial shunt for resection of an aortic arch aneurysm with occluded left carotid artery.

A 68-year-old man with aortic arch aneurysm was referred to our department. Preoperative carotid echography and magnetic resonance angiography revealed occlusion of the left internal carotid artery. Single-photon emission computed tomography scanning indicated that cerebral blood flow was decreased and reactivity to acetazolamide was reduced in the left temporal lobe.

Fluorescence-guided resection of glioblastoma multiforme by using high-dose fluorescein sodium. Technical note.

The authors have recently performed a fluorescence-guided tumor resection procedure by using high-dose fluorescein sodium without any special surgical microscopes for the intraoperative visualization of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), and they report on the actual procedure and clinicopathological findings. Thirty-two patients with GBMs underwent tumor resection during which this fluorescence-guided procedure was used. Fluorescein sodium (20 mg/kg) was intravenously injected after dural opening at the craniotomy site.

[A case of a bacterial brain abscess presenting as symptoms of 'sudden stroke-like' onset].

We report a case of a bacterial brain abscess presenting symptoms of 'sudden stroke-like' onset, associated with infective endocarditis. A 59-year-old woman experienced a sudden stroke-like onset of left hemiplegia. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed on the day of ictus.

[Invasive cerebral aspergillosis in an immunocompetent patient: a case report].

A 32-year-old immunocompetent female presented with sensory aphasia and psychomotor seizure due to aspergillosis in the left temporal lobe spreaded from the left orbita. In spite of oral administration of itraconazole, the symptoms continued to deteriorate due to extension of the lesion to the left temporoparietal white matter. As a result of the stereotactic biopsy of the lesion, she was histologically diagnosed as intracerebral aspergillosis.