Beat-to-Beat Estimation of Peripheral Arterial Stiffness From Local PWV for Quantitative Evaluation of Sympathetic Nervous System Activity.

Objective: Sympathetic nervous system activity (SNSA) can rapidly modulate arterial stiffness, thus making it an important biomarker for SNSA evaluation. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a well-known quantitative indicator of arterial stiffness, but its functional responsivity to SNSA has not been elucidated. This paper reports a method to estimate rapid changes in peripheral arterial stiffness induced by SNSA using local PWV (LPWV) and to further quantify SNSA based on the estimated stiffness.

Pressure-based Detection of Heart and Respiratory Rates from Human Body Surface using a Biodegradable Piezoelectric Sensor.

This study investigates the relationship between respiration and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and proposes a parallel detection method that can simultaneously extract the heart rate (HR) and respiration rate (RR) from different pulse waves measured using a novel biodegradable piezoelectric sensor. The synchronous changes in heart rate variability and respiration reveal the interaction between respiration and the cardiovascular system and their interconnection with ANS activity. Following this principle, respiration was extracted from the HR calculated beat-by-beat from pulse waves.

Rejection following donor or recipient preoperative treatment with FTY720 in rat small bowel transplantation.

Background: Severe rejection of small bowel transplantation (SBTx) has been ascribed to abundant lymphoid tissues in the small intestine without well-established evidence. However, the role of donor lymphocytes in rejection is still unclear. The novel immunosuppressant, FTY720, is reported to transfer peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) to lymphoid tissues such as mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and Peyer patches (PP).

Pain threshold, learning and formation of brain edema in mice lacking the angiotensin II type 2 receptor.

The main biological role of angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2) has not been established. We made use of targeted disruption of the mouse AT2 gene to examine the functional role of the AT2 receptor in the central nervous system (CNS). We have previously shown that AT2-deficient mice displayed anxiety-like behavior in comparisons with wild-type mice.

Role of the angiotensin II type-2 receptor in the mouse central nervous system.

There are two known major angiotensin II receptor subtypes, type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2), both of which are present in the brain. AT1 and AT2 receptors occur in characteristic distributions that are highly correlated with the distribution of angiotensin II-like immunoreactivity in nerve terminals. Acting through the AT1 receptor in the central nervous system, angiotensin II has effects on fluid and electrolyte homeostasis, neuroendocrine systems, autonomic pathways regulating cardiovascular function and behavior.

Reduction of depressive-like behavior in mice lacking angiotensinogen.

We made use of targeted disruption of the mouse angiotensinogen (ATN) gene to examine the functional role of the ATN in the central nervous system. Both male and female ATN-deficient mice displayed the reduction of depressive-like behavior in the behavioral despair swim tests and spontaneous locomotor activity diminished. However, both male and female ATN-deficient mice showed no anxiogenic-like or memory-deficit behavior and there was no change in the pain threshold.

Anxiety-like behavior in mice lacking the angiotensin II type-2 receptor.

The main biological role of angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2) has not been established. We made use of targeted disruption of the mouse AT2 gene to examine the role of the AT2 receptor in the central nervous system (CNS). AT2-deficient mice displayed anxiety-like behavior compared with wild-type mice.

Motor discoordination and increased susceptibility to cerebellar injury in GLAST mutant mice.

To study the function of GLAST, a glutamate transporter highly expressed in the cerebellar Bergmann astrocytes, the mouse GLAST gene was inactivated. GLAST-deficient mice developed normally and could manage simple coordinated tasks, such as staying on a stationary or a slowly rotating rod, but failed more challenging task such as staying on a quickly rotating rod. Electrophysiological examination revealed that Purkinje cells in the mutant mice remained to be multiply innervated by climbing fibres even at the adult stage.

Functions of the two glutamate transporters GLAST and GLT-1 in the retina.

In the retina, the glutamate transporter GLAST is expressed in Müller cells, whereas the glutamate transporter GLT-1 is found only in cones and various types of bipolar cells. To investigate the functional role of this differential distribution of glutamate transporters, we have analyzed GLAST and GLT-1 mutant mice. In GLAST-deficient mice, the electroretinogram b-wave and oscillatory potentials are reduced and retinal damage after ischemia is exacerbated, whereas GLT-1-deficient mice show almost normal electroretinograms and mild increased retinal damage after ischemia.

Peptic ulcer therapy with lansoprazole and Helicobacter pylori eradication.

This study investigated the relationship between the clearance of Helicobacter pylori and the healing rate of ulcers after treatment with lansoprazole. Lansoprazole 30 mg/day was administered to 124 gastric ulcer (GU) patients and 57 duodenal ulcer (DU) patients. The healing rates were 89.

NE-100, a novel sigma receptor ligand: effect on phencyclidine-induced behaviors in rats, dogs and monkeys.

Phencyclidine (PCP)-induced psychosis is a useful animal model for studies on schizophrenia. N, N-dipropyl-2-[4-methoxy-3-(2-phenylethoxy)-phenyl]- ethylamine monohydrochloride (NE-100) had no effect on conditioned avoidance responses (CAR) in rats, whereas, the PCP-induced impairment of avoidance inhibition was attenuated by NE-100. The PCP-induced ataxia or decreased attention in rhesus monkeys was to some extent overcome by NE-100.

The effect of VA-045 on disturbance in consciousness in experimental animal models.

The effect of VA-045, a novel apovincaminic acid derivative, on disturbance in consciousness was investigated in mice and rats. VA-045 and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) shortened the duration of pentobarbital-induced sleeping in rats. VA-045 and TRH improved head impact-induced disturbed behavior in mice.

Effect of VA-045 on a closed head injury model in rats.

The effect of VA-045, a novel apovincaminic acid derivative, was studied in a model of closed head injury (CHI) in rats. CHI was induced by dropping a 400 g weight through a tube from 70 cm above a steel helmet placed on the vertex. Intravenous administration of VA-045 and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) reduced both the duration of loss of righting reflex and the duration of disruption of spontaneous movement caused by CHI.

[The analgesic and antipyretic effects of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, oxaprozin, in experimental animals].

The analgesic and antipyretic effects of oxaprozin were investigated in comparison with those of indomethacin, ibuprofen, phenylbutazone and aspirin. On the various writhing tests in mice, the analgesic effect of oxaprozin was about 2 to 9 times more potent than those of ibuprofen, phenylbutazone and aspirin. On the other hand, the analgesic and antipyretic effects of oxaprozin in rats were roughly equivalent to those of aspirin, but less effective than those of the other drugs tested.

[Influence of hydrocortisone 17-butyrate 21-propionate on the visual and the auditory organs (author's transl)].

The visual toxicity and the ototoxicity of hydrocortisone 17-butyrate 21-propionate (HBP), a newly synthesized anti-inflammatory steroid, was investigated using rats and dogs. (1) Electroretinogram (ERG) and visually evoked potential (VEP) in rats were not changed when HBP was administered intravenously and intraperitoneally, even at the semilethal doses. Consequently, it was suggested that HBP had no effect on the visual nervous system.