Publications by authors named "Tadaho Nakamura"

Histamine, a neurotransmitter, plays a predominant role in maintaining wakefulness. Further, our previous studies showed that histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT), a histamine-metabolising enzyme, is important for regulating brain histamine concentration. However, the effects of pharmacological HNMT inhibition on mouse behaviour, including the sleep-wake cycle and cataplexy, in a mouse model of narcolepsy have not yet been investigated.

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Purpose: Noninvasive imaging of protein aggregates in the brain is critical for the early diagnosis, disease monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging with specific probes is a promising technique for the in vivo detection of protein deposits without radiation exposure. Comprehensive screening of fluorescent compounds identified a novel compound, THK-565, for the in vivo imaging of amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits in the mouse brain.

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Quantification of in vivo reactive astrogliosis, which represents neural inflammation and remodeling in the brain, is an emerging methodology for the evaluation of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. [18F]THK-5351 is a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), a molecular marker of reactive astrogliosis. We performed in vivo [18F]THK-5351 PET in a patient who at autopsy was found to have argyrophilic grain disease (AGD) with comorbid pathology to visualize reactive astrogliosis for the first time.

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Brain histamine acts as a neurotransmitter in the regulation of various brain activities. Previous studies have shown that histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT), a histamine-metabolizing enzyme, controls brain histamine concentration and brain function. However, the relative contribution of astrocytic or neuronal HNMT to the regulation of the histaminergic system is still inconclusive.

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Histamine is synthesised from l-histidine through the catalysis of histidine decarboxylase (HDC). In the central nervous system (CNS), histamine is exclusively produced in histaminergic neurons located in the posterior hypothalamus and controls various CNS functions. Although histidine was known as a precursor of histamine, the impact of oral histidine intake on brain histamine concentration and brain function has not been fully elucidated.

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Article Synopsis
  • A group of researchers, Yanagita et al., started a role-play program in 2010 to help medical students in Japan learn about drug therapy by acting as doctors and patients.
  • This program was recently moved online due to an emergency in Japan and worked just as well as in-person role-plays for teaching students how to prescribe medication and communicate.
  • The review covers how the online role-play was created, the differences between online and in-person learning, and some challenges that still need to be solved for it to be even better.
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Designer receptor activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) techniques are widely used to modulate the activities of specific neuronal populations during behavioural tasks. However, DREADDs-induced modulation of histaminergic neurons in the tuberomamillary nucleus (HA neurons) has produced inconsistent effects on the sleep-wake cycle, possibly due to the use of Hdc-Cre mice driving Cre recombinase and DREADDs activity outside the targeted region. Moreover, previous DREADDs studies have not examined locomotor activity and aggressive behaviours, which are also regulated by brain histamine levels.

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Infectious diseases continually pose global medical challenges. The transcription factor GATA2 establishes gene networks and defines cellular identity in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and in progeny committed to specific lineages. GATA2-haploinsufficient patients exhibit a spectrum of immunodeficiencies associated with bacterial, viral, and fungal infections.

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Histamine plays pleiotropic roles as a neurotransmitter in the physiology of brain function, this includes the maintenance of wakefulness, appetite regulation and memory retrieval. Since numerous studies have revealed an association between histaminergic dysfunction and diverse neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, a large number of compounds acting on the brain histamine system have been developed to treat neurological disorders. In 2016, pitolisant, which was developed as a histamine H receptor inverse agonist by Schwartz and colleagues, was launched for the treatment of narcolepsy, emphasising the prominent role of brain histamine on wakefulness.

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Some histamine H receptor (HR) antagonists induce adverse sedative reactions caused by blockade of histamine transmission in the brain. Desloratadine is a second-generation antihistamine for treatment of allergic disorders. Its binding to brain HRs, which is the basis of sedative property of antihistamines, has not been examined previously in the human brain by positron emission tomography (PET).

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Purpose: The amount of intraoperative hemorrhages and factors associated with hemorrhages and transfusions during revision total hip arthroplasty (reTHA) have not been identified for Japanese patients. We aimed to clarify the amount of intraoperative hemorrhages, and to elucidate the factors associated with hemorrhages and transfusions during reTHA in Japanese patients.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent reTHA (n = 48) and primary total hip arthroplasty (pTHA) (n = 615) in a single hospital and extracted data regarding hemorrhage, transfusion, patient comorbidities, and surgical anesthesia.

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Brain histamine is a neurotransmitter and regulates diverse physiological functions. Previous studies have shown the involvement of histamine depletion in several neurological disorders, indicating the importance of drug development targeting the brain histamine system. Histamine -methyltransferase (HNMT) is a histamine-metabolising enzyme expressed in the brain.

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Article Synopsis
  • Research shows that histamine synthesis in tumor tissues influences tumor immunity, particularly in cells from BALB/c mice with colon cancer.
  • Co-culturing splenocytes with colon cancer cells led to increased levels of IFN-γ, a crucial immune response factor.
  • Histamine receptor antagonists significantly reduced IFN-γ production in splenocytes, even in situations unrelated to histamine, indicating multiple pathways for immune modulation.
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Purpose: To provide an overview on positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Results: Different classes of tau tracers such as flortaucipir, THK5317, and PBB3 have been developed and utilized in previous clinical studies. In AD, the topographical distribution of tracer binding follows the known distribution of neurofibrillary tangles and is closely associated with neurodegeneration as well as the clinical phenotype of dementia.

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Histamine acts as a neurotransmitter to regulate various physiological functions in CNS. Recent reports showed the involvement of histaminergic dysfunction in neurological disorders. Neurotransmitter clearance is essential to determine brain neurotransmitter concentration.

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Astrocytes play key roles in regulating brain homeostasis and neuronal activity. This is, in part, accomplished by the ability of neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft to bind astrocyte membrane receptors, activating signalling cascades that regulate concentration of intracellular Ca ([Ca]) and gliotransmitter release, including ATP and glutamate. Gliotransmitters contribute to dendrite formation and synaptic plasticity, and in some cases, exacerbate neurodegeneration.

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Heparan sulfate (HS), a linear polysaccharide, is involved in diverse biological functions of various tissues. HS is expressed in pancreatic β-cells and may be involved in β-cell functions. However, the importance of HS for β-cell function remains unknown.

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Histamine is a neurotransmitter that regulates diverse physiological functions including the sleep-wake cycle. Recent studies have reported that histaminergic dysfunction in the brain is associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) is an enzyme expressed in the central nervous system that specifically metabolises histamine; yet, the exact physiological roles of HNMT are unknown.

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Clinical PET studies using F-THK5351 have demonstrated significant tracer retention in sites susceptible to tau burden in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, the in vivo PET signal to reflect tau aggregates remains controversial. We examined the spatial pattern of tracer binding, amyloid-β, tau, and gliosis in an autopsy-confirmed AD patient who underwent F-THK5351 and C-Pittsburgh compound B PET before death.

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Brain histamine acts as a neurotransmitter and regulates various physiological functions, such as learning and memory, sleep-wake cycles, and appetite regulation. We have recently shown that histamine H3 receptor (H3R) is expressed in primary mouse microglia and has a strong influence on critical functions in microglia, including chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and cytokine secretion in vitro. However, the importance of H3R in microglial activity in vivo remains unknown.

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We previously reported on brain H receptor occupancy measurements of antihistamines in human brain using [C]doxepin and positron emission tomography (PET). We proposed the use of brain H receptor occupancy to classify antihistamines objectively into three categories of sedating, less-sedating, and non-sedating antihistamines according to their sedative effects. Non-sedating antihistamines are recommended for the treatment of allergies such as pollinosis and atopic dermatitis because of their low penetration into the central nervous system.

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The dysregulation of monoamine clearance in the central nervous system occurs in various neuropsychiatric disorders, and the role of polyspecific monoamine transporters in monoamine clearance is increasingly highlighted in recent studies. However, no study to date has properly characterized polyspecific monoamine transporters in the mouse brain. In the present study, we examined the kinetic properties of three mouse polyspecific monoamine transporters [organic cation transporter 2 (Oct2), Oct3, and plasma membrane monoamine transporter (Pmat)] and compared the absolute mRNA expression levels of these transporters in various brain areas.

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Histamine is a physiological amine which initiates a multitude of physiological responses by binding to four known G-protein coupled histamine receptor subtypes as follows: histamine H1 receptor (H1 R), H2 R, H3 R, and H4 R. Brain histamine elicits neuronal excitation and regulates a variety of physiological processes such as learning and memory, sleep-awake cycle and appetite regulation. Microglia, the resident macrophages in the brain, express histamine receptors; however, the effects of histamine on critical microglial functions such as chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and cytokine secretion have not been examined in primary cells.

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An inhibitory mechanism toward gastrin hypersecretion is significantly different between G-cell hyperplasia and gastrinoma despite the common clinical manifestations; hypergastrinemia and its related persistent gastric ulcers. We recenlty studied the G-cell, d-cell and ECL-cell density in a case of G-cell hyperplasia. The 70-year-old patient has been treated for persistent gastric ulcers with a markedly increased plasma gastrin (5600 pg/mL).

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