Plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration in patients and high risk subjects with Lewy body disease.

Comorbid Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology is common in Lewy body disease (LBD); however, AD comorbidity in the prodromal phase of LBD remains unclear. This study investigated AD comorbidity in the prodromal and symptomatic phases of LBD by analyzing plasma biomarkers in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and individuals at risk of LBD (NaT-PROBE cohort). Patients with PD (PD group, n = 84) and DLB (DLB group, n = 16) and individuals with LBD with ≥ 2 (high-risk group, n = 82) and without (low-risk group, n = 37) prodromal symptoms were enrolled.

Degeneration of olivospinal tract in the upper cervical spinal cord of multiple system atrophy patients: Reappraisal of Helweg's triangular tract.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder that presents with variable combinations of autonomic dysfunction, cerebellar ataxia, parkinsonism, and pyramidal signs. The inferior olivary nucleus is targeted in MSA, with a phenotype of olivopontocerebellar atrophy in particular, and involvement of the olivocerebellar tract is well known. However, degeneration of the olivospinal tract has not been studied in MSA.

Metformin-suppressed platelet's function in vitro: Possible relation to delayed or failure of platelet-rich fibrin preparation.

Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a popular autologous blood-derived biomaterial that is used in regenerative therapy. Owing to its simple preparation without additional factors, the PRF quality directly reflects the characteristics of individual blood samples. Antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs can hamper the successful preparation of PRF.

Responses of promyelocytic leukemia HL60 cells as an inflammatory cell lineage model to silica microparticles used to coat blood collection tubes.

Background: The preparation of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) requires glass blood collection tubes, and thus, the shortage or unavailability of such tubes has driven clinicians to search for suitable substitutes, such as silica-coated plastic tubes. However, we have previously demonstrated the cytotoxicity of silica microparticles (MPs) used in plastic tubes to cultured human periosteal cells. To further establish the effects of silica MPs on inflammation, we examined silica MP-induced changes in a human promyelocytic cell model in vitro.

Non-destructive, spectrophotometric analysis of the thickness of the cell-multilayered periosteal sheet.

Background: Autologous tissue-engineered periosteal sheets, which have been clinically applied for periodontal regeneration, sinus lift, and alveolar ridge augmentation, are enriched with osteoblast precursor cells and the abundant deposition of collagen type I in the extracellular spaces. Their quality is inspected prior to clinical use; however, most criteria cannot be evaluated without sacrificing samples. To reduce such losses, we developed a non-destructive optical method that can quantitatively evaluate the thickness of the periosteal sheet.

Severe and long-lasting neuropsychiatric symptoms after mild respiratory symptoms caused by COVID-19: A case report.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is known to cause not only respiratory but also neuropsychiatric symptoms, which are assumed to be derived from a cytokine storm and its effects on the central nervous systems. Patients with COVID-19 who develop severe respiratory symptoms are known to show severe neuropsychiatric symptoms such as cerebrovascular disease and encephalopathy. However, the detailed clinical courses of patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms caused by mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 remain poorly understood.

Bilateral hypogeusia caused by a small lesion in the lower midbrain tegmentum.

We report a case with multiple sclerosis which showed bilateral hypogeusia due to a small lesion in the lower midbrain tegmentum. Sweet taste was diminished only on the contralateral side in the territory of the chorda tympani, and salty, sour and bitter tastes were diminished bilaterally. All taste modalities were preserved in the territory of the greater petrosal nerve.

Mechanistic insight into the structure and dynamics of entangled and hydrated λ-phage DNA.

Intrinsic dynamics of DNA plays a crucial role in DNA-protein interactions and has been emphasized as a possible key component for in vivo chromatin organization. We have prepared an entangled DNA microtube above the overlap concentration by exploiting the complementary cohesive ends of λ-phage DNA, which is confirmed by atomic force microscopy and agarose gel electrophoresis. Photon correlation spectroscopy further confirmed that the entangled solutions are found to exhibit the classical hydrodynamics of a single chain segment on length scales smaller than the hydrodynamic length scale of single λ-phage DNA molecule.

Bone formation without lamina dura in the middle-aged and elderly: possible dependence on enamel.

Bone formation below the crown of mandibular horizontal incompletely impacted third molar is frequently seen in the middle-aged and elderly. The phenomenon shows lamina dura loss without radiolucency and we hypothesized the participation of mature enamel without any influence on the environmental oral status. In order to investigate the characteristics of the phenomenon based on the presence/absence of the lamina dura and radiolucency below the crown, we studied the relationship between 58 men and 43 women with a lamina dura without radiolucency, 12 men and 8 women without a lamina dura with radiolucency, 34 men and 16 women without a lamina dura without radiolucency, and the status of teeth in the ipsilateral mandible.

Bone formation with disruption of the lamina dura in the mandibular third molar.

The lamina dura is a healthy structural component in teeth. This study highlights the association of bone formation with disruption of lamina dura below the crown of the mandibular horizontal incompletely impacted third molar.

Age-related disruption of the lamina dura: evidence in the mandibular horizontal incompletely impacted third molar.

Changes in the lamina dura are associated with dental diseases around the root of the tooth and with systemic diseases; however, the lamina dura below the crown of horizontal, incompletely impacted third molars has not been studied. Using orthopantomography, we studied the age of subjects with and without the lamina dura in 419 subjects. The participants were between the ages of 21 and 89 years.

Radiolucency below the crown of mandibular horizontal incompletely impacted third molars and acute inflammation in men with diabetes.

Although mandibular third molar has a high risk of infection extending any complications, the influence of diabetes on radiolucency and acute inflammation in pericoronitis remains unclear. The present study was to evaluate whether radiolucency below the crown is related to acute inflammation in mandibular horizontal incompletely impacted third molars and to review the records of 140 men more than 45 years with and without diabetes. The odds ratio of exhibiting acute inflammation was 3.

Bone resorption in incompletely impacted mandibular third molars and acute pericoronitis.

Acute pericoronitis (AP) arises frequently in incompletely impacted mandibular third molars, but it remains unknown whether bone resorption in aging is associated with acute inflammation of the third molar. We conducted an experiment to compare the ratio of bone resorption to root length in the distal surface of the second molar (A), the proximal surface (B), and distal surface (C) in mesio-angular, incompletely impacted third molars in 27 young and 58 older adults with AP and 77 young and 79 older adults without a history of AP. Bone resorption in A, B, and C in older adults with AP demonstrated a significantly higher ratio when compared to those without AP, whereas there was no difference between those with and without AP in young adults except for B in women.

Docetaxel inhibits bone resorption through suppression of osteoclast formation and function in different manners.

Osteoclasts are formed from the monocyte-macrophage lineage in response to receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand (RANKL) expressed by osteoblasts. Bone is the most common site of breast cancer metastasis, and osteoclasts play roles in the metastasis. The taxane-derived compounds paclitaxel and docetaxel are used for the treatment of malignant diseases, including breast cancer.

Effect of glycation on the structure and dynamics of DNA: a critical spectroscopic approach.

Glycated DNA is considered to be a pathogenic factor for diabetes mellitus. Here we present a novel and preliminary study on normal and glycated (with fructose and glucose-6-phosphate as reducing sugars) human placenta DNA using agarose gel electrophoresis and photon correlation spectroscopy. The former is used to find structural alterations, while the latter is exploited to observe differences in the dynamics between normal (i.

Multidrug resistance-associated protein 7 expression is involved in cross-resistance to docetaxel in salivary gland adenocarcinoma cell lines.

The aim of the present study was to clarify whether ATP binding cassette transporters are refractory factors in head and neck cancers. For in vitro and in vivo chemotherapeutic studies, we used the following head and neck cancer cell lines: a mouse oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell line, Sq-1979; a human SCC cell line, SCCHA; a mouse salivary gland adenocarcinoma (SGA) cell line, NR-PG; and a human SGA cell line, HSY. We used a vinca alkaloid anticancer drug, vincristine (VCR), as a chemotherapeutic anticancer drug.

Exploring the antioxidant property of bioflavonoid quercetin in preventing DNA glycation: a calorimetric and spectroscopic study.

Reducing sugars for example glucose, fructose, etc., and their phosphate derivatives non-enzymatically glycate biological macromolecules (e.g.

Muramyl dipeptide enhances osteoclast formation induced by lipopolysaccharide, IL-1 alpha, and TNF-alpha through nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2-mediated signaling in osteoblasts.

Muramyl dipeptide (MDP) is the minimal essential structural unit responsible for the immunoadjuvant activity of peptidoglycan. As well as bone-resorbing factors such as 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1alpha,25(OH)2D3) and PGE2, LPS and IL-1alpha stimulate osteoclast formation in mouse cocultures of primary osteoblasts and hemopoietic cells. MDP alone could not induce osteoclast formation in the coculture, but enhanced osteoclast formation induced by LPS, IL-1alpha, or TNF-alpha but not 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 or PGE2.

Effects of oral squamous cell carcinoma-derived TGF-beta1 on CD26/DPPIV expression in T cells.

Background: Enzymatic activity levels of serum CD26/dipeptidylpeptidase (DPP) IV in oral cancer patients are lower than those in healthy subjects. However, the mechanism for this decrease is not yet fully understood.

Materials And Methods: The influence of malignant cell-derived cytokines on cell surface CD26/DPPIV expression in human T cells was analyzed using an oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell line, KB, and peripheral blood T cells.