Effects of Food Properties and Aging on External Auditory Canal Movements Associated With Mastication.

Few objective evaluations of external auditory canal movement during mastication have been conducted. This study investigated the extent to which age and physical properties influence such movement. The effects of food properties and aging on ear canal movement during mastication were investigated using an earable reliable chewing-count measurement device.

Association between an Increased Serum CCL5 Level and Pathophysiology of Degenerative Joint Disease in the Temporomandibular Joint in Females.

Degenerative joint disease of the temporomandibular joints (DJD-TMJ) clinically manifests with symptoms such as orofacial pain, joint sounds and limited jaw movements. Our research group previously reported the functional necessity of a chemokine-chemokine receptor axis of CCL5-CCR5 in osteoclasts. Accumulated studies reported that this axis was involved in the pathogenesis of bone and joint destructive diseases, suggesting CCL5 as a potent biomarker.

Enhancing calmodulin binding to cardiac ryanodine receptor completely inhibits pressure-overload induced hypertrophic signaling.

Cardiac hypertrophy is a well-known major risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Dysregulation of intracellular Ca is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy. However, the precise mechanism underlying cardiac hypertrophy remains elusive.

Dantrolene prevents ventricular tachycardia by stabilizing the ryanodine receptor in pressure- overload induced failing hearts.

Aberrant Ca release from cardiac ryanodine receptors (RyR2) has been shown to be one of the most important causes of lethal arrhythmia in various types of failing hearts. We previously showed that dantrolene, a specific agent for the treatment of malignant hyperthermia, inhibits Ca leakage from the RyR2 by correcting the defective inter-domain interaction between the N-terminal (1-619 amino acids) and central (2000-2500 amino acids) domains of the RyR2 and allosterically enhancing the binding affinity of calmodulin to the RyR2 in diseased hearts. In this study, we examined whether dantrolene inhibits this Ca leakage, thereby preventing the pharmacologically inducible ventricular tachycardia in ventricular pressure-overloaded failing hearts.