Meningeal carcinomatosis causing paroxysmal and reversible right midbrain symptoms: a case report.

Meningeal carcinomatosis is known to cause a variety of symptoms. Here, we report a case of meningeal carcinomatosis due to lung cancer in which the patient developed short, frequently recurrent localized symptoms originating from the right midbrain. We considered a diagnosis of meningeal carcinomatosis based on a similar reported case.

Case report: Klinefelter syndrome may protect against the development of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy.

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an X-linked recessive motor neuron disease caused by the expansion of cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeats in the androgen receptor (AR) gene. It is thought that the nuclear translocation of abnormal AR proteins following binding to testosterone triggers the onset of the disease. We report the case of a patient who had SBMA coincident with Klinefelter syndrome.

Assessment of safety of self-controlled repetitive trans-vertebral magnetic stimulation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess safety issues of self-controlled repetitive trans-vertebral magnetic stimulation (rTVMS) in humans.

Methods: We investigated effects of self-controlled rTVMS (≤20 Hz, ≤90% intensity) on vital signs and subjective sensations in 1690 trials of 30 healthy volunteers and 12 patients with spinal cord disorders.

Results: Healthy volunteers and the patients received 4595 ± 2345, and 4450 ± 2304 pulses in one day, respectively.

A possible role of low regulatory T cells in anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody positive myasthenia gravis after bone marrow transplantation.

Background: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) appears several months following allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and is clinically analogous to autoimmune disorder. Polymyositis is a common neuromuscular disorder in chronic GVHD, but myasthenia gravis (MG) is extremely rare. Hence, its pathophysiology and treatment have not been elucidated.

Variability in Response to Quadripulse Stimulation of the Motor Cortex.

Background: Responses to plasticity-inducing brain stimulation protocols are highly variable. However, no data are available concerning the variability of responses to quadripulse stimulation (QPS).

Objective: We assessed the QPS parameters of motor cortical plasticity induction in a systematic manner, and later investigated the variability of QPS using optimal parameters.

Effects of 1950 MHz W-CDMA-like signal on human spermatozoa.

There are growing concerns about how electromagnetic waves (EMW) emitted from mobile phones affect human spermatozoa. Several experiments have suggested harmful effects of EMW on human sperm quality, motility, velocity, or the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of spermatozoa. In this study, we analyzed the effects on human spermatozoa (sperm motility and kinetic variables) induced by 1 h of exposure to 1950 MHz Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA)-like EMW with specific absorption rates of either 2.

Influence of phasic muscle contraction upon the quadripulse stimulation (QPS) aftereffects.

Objective: Contractions of the target muscle influence the aftereffects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The aim of this paper is to investigate whether or not voluntary hand movement influences the aftereffects of quadripulse stimulation (QPS) on the hand motor area.

Methods: Thirteen healthy volunteers participated in this study.

Effects of L-Dopa and pramipexole on plasticity induced by QPS in human motor cortex.

Abnormal plasticity has been reported in the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), especially in the striatum. Although both L-Dopa and dopamine agonist remain to be the mainstay of the treatment in PD, their differential effects on cortical plasticity are unclear. We applied quadripulse stimulation (QPS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) in ten normal subjects to induce bidirectional long-term motor cortical plasticity.

Volitional walking via upper limb muscle-controlled stimulation of the lumbar locomotor center in man.

Gait disturbance in individuals with spinal cord lesion is attributed to the interruption of descending pathways to the spinal locomotor center, whereas neural circuits below and above the lesion maintain their functional capability. An artificial neural connection (ANC), which bridges supraspinal centers and locomotor networks in the lumbar spinal cord beyond the lesion site, may restore the functional impairment. To achieve an ANC that sends descending voluntary commands to the lumbar locomotor center and bypasses the thoracic spinal cord, upper limb muscle activity was converted to magnetic stimuli delivered noninvasively over the lumbar vertebra.

[Two cases of posterior spinal artery syndrome (PSAS)].

We have reported two patients with posterior spinal artery syndrome. Both of them had sudden onset back pain, paraparesis, loss of deep sensation and bladder-bowel disturbances. MRI disclosed spinal cord lesions positioned at its posterior part including the posterior column or posterior horn at thoracic levels.

[Infliximab treatment trial in a patient with neuro-Behçet's disease unresponsive to other treatments].

A 22-year-old man with a previous uveitis episode was admitted to our hospital because of persistent hiccup. On admission, he presented right-upper quadrantanopia, mydriasis and lack of the light reflex in the left eye, left-sided hemiplegia, and bilateral pathologic hyperreflexia. The MR fluid attenuated inversion recovery images showed left side dominant, high intensity lesions on the brainstem and the diencephalon.