CogEvo, a cognitive function balancer, is a sensitive and easy psychiatric test battery for age-related cognitive decline.

Aim: We examined whether a newly developed computer-aided neuropsychiatric series of test, CogEvo, is necessary and sufficient for the evaluation of cognitive function in older people.

Methods: A total of 272 participants in worthwhile life activity for the prevention of decline in mobility and cognitive function were administered tests every week at 33 locations in Fukaura-machi, Japan. Basic profile information, a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a CogEvo and a clock drawing test were used in the present study.

Biochemical features of genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with valine-to-isoleucine substitution at codon 180 on the prion protein gene.

Valine-to-isoleucine substitution at codon 180 of the prion protein gene is only observed in patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and accounts for approximately half of all cases of genetic prion disease in Japan. In the present study, we investigated the biochemical characteristics of valine-to-isoleucine substitution at codon 180 in the prion protein gene, using samples obtained from the autopsied brains of seven patients with genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease exhibiting this mutation (diagnoses confirmed via neuropathological examination). Among these patients, we observed an absence of diglycosylated and monoglycosylated forms of PrP at codon 181.

Orally active neurotrophin-enhancing agent protects against dysfunctions of the peripheral nerves in hyperglycemic animals.

Biological substances with neurotrophic activities, such as nerve growth factor (NGF) and monosialoganglioside GM1, have been considered as agents for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Because recent studies have suggested that decreased availability of these substances might contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, some clinical trials of NGF for diabetic peripheral neuropathy have been conducted and have led to mixed conclusions. The major reasons were its limited delivery to the nervous system and adverse effects induced by subcutaneous injection, which was necessary because NGF is a polypeptide.

Chronic administration of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor restores functional and morphological changes of the basilar artery during chronic hypertension.

Objective: Activation of tyrosine kinase appears to play an important role in pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease during chronic hypertension. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that long-term treatment with an inhibitor of tyrosine kinase would have beneficial effects on hypertension-induced morphological and functional changes of the cerebral artery.

Methods: Male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR; 4 months old) were fed normal rat chow, or that containing an inhibitor of tyrosine kinase, genistein (1 mg/kg chow).