Anti-oxidative effect of fluvastatin in hyperlipidemic type 2 diabetic patients.

An open-label prospective cross-over trial was performed to evaluate the antioxidative effect of fluvastatin in Japanese type 2 diabetics with hyperlipidemia. The study subjects were 10 patients who were on pravastatin (10 mg/day) or simvastatin (5 mg/day). After at least 12 weeks of continuous pravastatin or simvastatin therapy, the drugs were washed out for 12 weeks and replaced with fluvastatin (30 mg/day), then the treatment was continued for another 12 weeks.

Intellectual disability and psychotic disorders of adult epilepsy.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence, psychopathology, and cognitive functions associated with psychotic disorders among adult epilepsy patients with intellectual disability (ID) based on a multicenter study in Japan.

Methods: The study was divided into three phases: a prevalence study of psychotic disorders among new referrals of epilepsy, a polydiagnostic comparative study of patients with psychotic epilepsy and those with schizophrenia, and a neuropsychological study of patients with psychotic epilepsy and education level-matched controls.

Results: Among 336 new referrals of epilepsy, a higher prevalence of psychotic disorders was found among patients with ID (24%) than among those with normal intelligence (6%).

Prolonged postictal psychosis with forced normalization (Landolt) in temporal lobe epilepsy.

We report two patients with temporal lobe epilepsy who developed prolonged episodes of postictal psychosis (12 weeks) following a bout of seizures and a lucid interval. No drug toxicity was noted, and no recurrent or continuous seizures were observed during their prolonged psychotic episodes. Repeated EEGs during the period of psychosis showed that their habitual focal epileptiform abnormalities had disappeared.

Thrombosed vertebral artery aneurysm presenting with hemorrhage and bulbar compression: report of two cases.

Bulbar compression by vertebral artery (VA) aneurysm is extremely rare and only reported in a few cases. We report two cases with thrombosed VA aneurysm compressing medulla oblongata; one presented with bulbar apoplexy hemorrhage and the other with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). A 61-year-old male (case 1) presented with consciousness disturbances, left hemiplegia, and subsequent respiratory arrest.

Elevation of gene expression for salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone in discrete brain loci of prespawning chum salmon during upstream migration.

Our previous studies suggested that salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone (sGnRH) neurons regulate both final maturation and migratory behavior in homing salmonids. Activation of sGnRH neurons can occur during upstream migration. We therefore examined expression of genes encoding the precursors of sGnRH, sGnRH-I, and sGnRH-II, in discrete forebrain loci of prespawning chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta.

Effect of cilostazol, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, on carotid IMT in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cilostazol, a cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and on the incidence of cardiovascular events in Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes. A total of 62 type 2 diabetic subjects were allocated equally to the cilostazol treatment group (n = 31) and the control group (n = 31). Carotid IMT was evaluated before and after treatment using B-mode ultrasonography.

Ankle brachial pressure index and carotid intima-media thickness as atherosclerosis markers in Japanese diabetics.

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical significance of ankle brachial pressure index (ABI) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. ABI and ultrasonographic carotid IMT measurements were made in 1311 patients and the relationships between ABI, IMT, and cardiovascular diseases were examined. Patients were assigned to one of three groups depending on their ABI index: (i) ABI > or = 1.

Association between LDL particle size and postprandial increase of remnant-like particles in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

Small, dense LDL, as well as chylomicron- and VLDL-remnant lipoproteins, are known to be important risk factors for coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between LDL particle size and postprandial remnant lipoprotein levels in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients. Forty-six patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were divided into tertiles according to LDL particle size.

Different effects of two alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, acarbose and voglibose, on serum 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5AG) level.

Serum 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5AG) is a useful glycemic marker in the control of diabetes; however, treated with alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (alpha-GIs), acarbose (Aca) and voglibose (Vog), it tends to show the discrepancy between serum 1,5AG and related glucose levels. Twenty patients were randomly assigned to adding Aca or Vog to the current treatment. We measured serum 1,5AG levels and other parameters of diabetic control before, 2 and 4 weeks after the alpha-GI treatment.

Cerebral infarction in the caudate nucleus associated with acute epidural hematoma and diffuse brain injury in a child after severe head injury.

Case Report: A 6-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital 20 min after receiving a direct impact to his head in an automobile accident. He was semi-comatose on admission and computed tomography showed acute epidural hematoma in the right supratentorial region. Three hours later, his consciousness deteriorated due to the enlargement of the hematoma.

Hydrocephalus due to cerebrospinal fluid overproduction by bilateral choroid plexus papillomas.

Case Report: A 10-month-old boy, with congenital deafness and blindness associated with chromosomal deletion [46XY, del(13)(q32)], presented with intractable ascites 9 months after ventriculo-peritoneal shunting for congenital hydrocephalus. Revision of the ventriculo-atrial shunt resulted in shunt failure 1 month later. External ventricular drainage revealed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) overproduction (2,000 ml/day).

A distal anterior cerebral artery aneurysm in infant: disappearance and reappearance of the aneurysm.

The incidence of intracranial aneurysms in childhood is rare, especially in infancy. Spontaneous thrombosis of a cerebral aneurysm in a child is very rare, particularly in a non-giant aneurysm. We report a case of a 1-month-old girl with a distal anterior cerebral artery aneurysm which disappeared spontaneously after subarachnoid hemorrhage and reappeared 6 months later.

Relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and erythrocyte membrane cholesterol oxidation products in type 2 diabetic patients.

Oxidative stress is well known to play a critical role in atherosclerosis. This study investigated an appropriate marker of in vivo oxidative stress and whether it could predict macroangiopathy in diabetes. The lipid composition of erythrocyte membranes was analyzed in 64 type 2 diabetic patients using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Year-to-year differences in plasma levels of steroid hormones in pre-spawning chum salmon.

Changes in plasma levels of steroid hormones in pre-spawning chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) were examined for 6 years in association with sexual maturation. Fish were sampled along their homing pathway from the coastal sea to the spawning ground from 1995 to 2000. Plasma levels of testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (11KT), estradiol-17beta (E2), 17alpha,20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP), and cortisol were determined by enzyme immunoassays.

Recurrent postictal psychosis after remission of interictal psychosis: further evidence of bimodal psychosis.

Purpose: To ascertain whether bimodal psychosis (i.e., independent postictal and interictal psychosis) in patients with epilepsy can be characterized by postictal psychosis that develops after interictal psychosis remits.

Insulin resistance and atherosclerosis in branch retinal vein occlusion.

Purpose: To investigate insulin resistance and atherosclerotic change in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).

Subjects: Sixty-three patients with BRVO, 859 age- and sex-matched control subjects without BRVO who received the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and 53 control subjects, in whom carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured by high-resolution ultrasonography, were included in this study.

Results: The area under the curve of immunoreactive insulin in plasma during the OGTT was higher in patients with BRVO than in control subjects without BRVO, both when comparing individuals with normal glucose tolerance (P=.

[Two cases of impending herniation due to multiple traumatic acute subdural hematomas: combination of burr hole evacuation and craniotomy].

A contralateral extra-axial hematoma sometimes occurs during an operation on an acute subdural hematoma and may become fatal. Using a combined procedure of burr hole evacuation and craniotomy, we treated 2 cases of multiple traumatic acute subdural hematomas. Our policy for such cases is first to perform a burr hole evacuation for the acute subdural hematoma in the emergency room, while simultaneously preparing the operation room for a possible further operation.

[A case of vertebral artery occlusion following heading play in soccer].

A 13-year-old boy suffered from cerebeller infarction due to right vertebral artery occlusion after heading a ball during a rainy soccer game. Dissection of the vertebral artery after trivial head trauma is well known, but heading as the cause has not been reported. We speculated in this present case that excessive impact force to the young boy's neck due to the heavy rain-soaked ball might have caused right vertebral artery dissection and occlusion.

Changes in expression of genes encoding gonadotropin subunits and growth hormone/prolactin/somatolactin family hormones during final maturation and freshwater adaptation in prespawning chum salmon.

The pituitary levels of mRNAs encoding gonadotropin (GTH) subunits (GTH alpha2 and IIbeta), prolactin (PRL), and somatolactin (SL) increased in chum salmon during the last stages of spawning migration. In the present study, changes in pituitary levels of mRNAs encoding GTH alpha2, Ibeta, and IIbeta; growth hormone (GH); PRL; and SL were examined in homing chum salmon of Sanriku stock to clarify whether the changes are associated with final maturation or freshwater (FW) adaptation. In 1993, fish were caught at four areas: off the coast of Sanriku (off-coast), the mouth of Otsuchi Bay (ocean), inside of Otsuchi Bay (bay), and the Otsuchi River (river).

RANTES promoter genotype is associated with diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetic subjects.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of RANTES gene promoter polymorphism and RANTES receptor (CCR5 gene) promoter polymorphism on diabetic nephropathy in Japanese type 2 diabetic subjects.

Research Design And Methods: A total 616 Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes were recruited. Polymorphisms of -28 C/G and -403 G/A in the RANTES gene promoter region, and of 59029 G/A in the CCR5 gene promoter region were detected by PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism).

Unruptured carotid-duplicated middle cerebral artery aneurysm: case report.

We demonstrate the first case with unruptured carotid-duplicated middle cerebral artery (IC-Dup MCA) aneurysm combined with ruptured opposite carotid aneurysm. Eleven IC-Dup MCA aneurysm reported until now had all ruptured. It is noteworthy that 8 patients of the 11 were Japanese.

Psychoses and epilepsy: are interictal and postictal psychoses distinct clinical entities?

Purpose: To evaluate further the relevance of designating psychotic episodes as either postictal or interictal, we compared several biologic variables between epilepsy patients with and without psychosis.

Methods: The study subjects comprised 282 patients with psychosis (36 with postictal psychosis, 224 with interictal psychosis, and 22 with both postictal and interictal psychoses, i.e.

Growth of small unruptured intracranial aneurysm: case report.

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) revealed silent but rapid growth of a small unruptured intracranial aneurysm until it was surgically treated to prevent rupture. Modern neuroimaging methods such as MRA and 3-dimensional computed tomography have increased opportunity to detect small unruptured cerebral aneurysms. Strict follow up is an option for the incidentally discovered small intact aneurysms using these methods.