Approach to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome at Tokyo Dental College, Ichikawa General Hospital.

In this communication, we report the current status of OSAS (Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome) in the southern region of Higashikatsushika around Ichikawa City, our effort to improve patient QOL as well as to establish diagnostic and therapeutic methods, and the results of a comparison of therapeutic options with the focus on improvement of compliance by using nCPAP (nasal continuous positive airway pressure). We examined 112 patients who visited the Otolaryngology Department at Tokyo Dental College, Ichikawa General Hospital, with the chief complaint of nocturnal snoring or sleep apnea from January 2001 to April 2003 and underwent all-night PSG (polysomnography). Based upon the results of these all-night PSGs, 89 and 23 patients were diagnosed as having OSAS and simple snoring, respectively.

Functional and Vbeta repertoire characterization of human CD8+ T-cell subsets with natural killer cell markers, CD56+ CD57- T cells, CD56+ CD57+ T cells and CD56- CD57+ T cells.

We investigated the individual CD8+ populations with natural killer (NK) cell markers (NK-type T cell); CD56 single positive (CD56)-T cells, CD56/CD57 double positive (DP)-T cells and CD57 single positive (CD57)-T cells in the peripheral blood. All NK-type T-cell populations expressed CD122 and intermediate levels of T-cell receptor (TCR; regular CD8+ T cells are CD122- and express high levels of TCR). The number of both DP-T cells and CD57-T cells, but not CD56-T cells, gradually increased with age.

Miller Fisher syndrome with transient coma: comparison with Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis.

We herein report a 4-year-old boy with Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) who presented with transient coma in addition to the typical triad of internal and external ophthalmoplegia, cerebellar ataxia and areflexia after an influenza type B infection. The electroencephalogram findings revealed intermittently generalized slow wave bursts. The cerebrospinal fluid revealed high protein and a lack of any cellular response.

Effect of weight loss on T-cell receptor-mediated T-cell function in elite athletes.

Purpose: Long-term intensive exercise by athletes may sometimes lead to a susceptibility to infections. In the present study, we examined the differences in immune function between amateur wrestlers experiencing weight loss (WL) and those without WL who underwent similar intensive exercise training.

Methods: Eighteen elite amateur wrestlers who attended the Japanese national championship were classified into two groups.