[Essential role of pikachurin, a novel dystroglycan-binding protein, in bipolar dendrite connection to photoreceptor ribbon synapse in the retina].

Photoreceptor cells with bipolar cells and horizontal cells form a specialized synapse, the ribbon synapse. We identified the novel retinal extracellular matrix protein pikachurin, and observed that it is localized in the synaptic cleft of the photoreceptor ribbon synapse. In order to investigate the biological functions of pikachurin, we generated a pikachurin knock-out mouse.

Pseudohypoxic brain swelling after elective clipping of an unruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm.

A case of pseudohypoxic brain swelling, a newly defined entity, is described. The patient experienced generalized seizures and did not awake initially after a seemingly uneventful elective craniotomy for clipping of an unruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm. Neuroimaging findings demonstrated diffuse brain swelling, especially in the bilateral basal ganglia and thalami.

[Case of transient paralysis and paresthesia after epidural blood patch].

A 47-year-old woman with postdural puncture headache suffered from transient paralysis and paresthesia immediately after the epidural blood patch. After one and a half hour, these symptoms disappeared spontaneously. We suspect that the spinal cord or spinal nerve root was transiently pressed by the viscous blood mass, because blood sampling maneuver took a few minutes.

Spontaneous acute subdural haematoma and intracerebral haemorrhage in patient with HELLP syndrome: case report.

HELLP (haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count) syndrome can result in a fatal intracranial haemorrhage during the perinatal period. We report treatment of a 32-year-old primigravida who fell into a deep coma during labour with fetal distress, complicated by a spontaneous acute subdural haematoma and intracerebral haemorrhage. Simultaneous emergency operations, evacuation of the acute subdural haematoma and a caesarean section, were performed, during which a diagnosis of HELLP syndrome with disseminated intravascular coagulation was made.

Blunt thyroid trauma with acute hemorrhage and respiratory distress.

We report a rare event of acute hemorrhage into a thyroid adenoma after blunt trauma and causing respiratory distress. A 65-year-old woman fell and hit the left side of her anterior neck without any other injuries. The next day, she suffered from severe dyspnea and respiratory distress, and visited a community hospital.

Spinal cord herniation into associated pseudomeningocele after brachial plexus avulsion injury: case report.

Objective: Posttraumatic spinal cord herniation is a rare condition. We describe a case of spinal cord herniation into an associated pseudomeningocele after a brachial plexus avulsion injury.

Clinical Presentation: A 33-year-old man began to develop progressive Horner's syndrome 14 years after a brachial plexus avulsion injury.

Displacement of the facial nerve course by vestibular schwannoma: preoperative visualization using diffusion tensor tractography.

Purpose: To preoperatively visualize the course of the facial nerve, which is displaced by vestibular schwannoma, using diffusion tensor (DT) tractography, and to evaluate the agreement with surgical findings.

Materials And Methods: The subjects were eight patients with vestibular schwannoma who had undergone removal surgery. DT MR images were obtained and tracts that were considered to represent the facial nerve were constructed.

Usefulness of an estimation of physiologic ability and surgical stress (E-PASS) scoring system to predict the incidence of postoperative complications in gastrointestinal surgery.

Surgical intervention induces various host responses to maintain homeostasis. When postoperative inflammation is intense and persists for a long time, postoperative complications may occur, sometimes developing into multiple organ failure. Therefore, it is very important to assess surgical stress and predict the risk of morbidity and mortality.

Borderline Brenner tumor of the ovary: MRI findings.

Ovarian Brenner tumor is an uncommon epithelial tumor that accounts for 1.5% to 2.5% of all ovarian neoplasms.

Hard-copy versus soft-copy image reading for detection of ureteral stones on abdominal radiography.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the usefulness of soft-copy images displayed on a cathode ray tube (CRT) with hard-copy images (film images) for detecting ureteral stones on abdominal radiography.

Materials And Methods: Five radiologists read images from 50 cases of ureteral stones and 50 normal cases diagnosed on the basis of intravenous urography and CT. For hard-copy reading, 10-bit images at 3,520x4,280 pixels obtained by computed radiography were printed on 14x17-inch films.

Clear cell ependymoma with a lipidized component that developed in the thoracic spinal cord.

The authors report a case of clear cell ependymoma with a lipidized component that developed in the thoracic spinal cord. A 59-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with an itchy pain in the left forearm to the left anterior and lateral chest for the past three years. Neurological findings on admission included dissociated sensory disturbance below the C8 level and increased deep tendon reflex in both lower extremities.

Lipomatous apocrine mixed tumor of the skin.

The common mesenchymal elements of apocrine mixed tumor of the skin are mucin and chondroid tissue. An apocrine mixed tumor of the skin with extensive adipose content is reported. A 56-year-old Japanese man presented with a subcutaneous mass in the glabella region that was 1 cm in diameter and had developed within the preceding 5 years.

The transradial approach for selective carotid and vertebral angiography.

Purpose: The transradial approach is not so popular in cerebral angiography. The purpose of this study was therefore to present our experience of success rate and safety of this method.

Material And Methods: From December 1998 to June 2001, 526 carotid and vertebral angiographies with DSA were performed via the radial artery.

[Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase and thymidylate synthase in colon carcinoma].

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) and thymidylate synthase (TS) in cancer are considered to play key roles in the sensitivity to 5-FU-based chemotherapy. We measured DPD activities and TS content in cancer and normal mucosa obtained from 59 patients with colorectal carcinomas and examined their relationship and clinicipathological relevance. DPD activity was significantly decreased in cancer compared to that in adjacent mucosa, irrespective of the clinicopathological parameters (p < 0.

Cytologic finding of chyloascites in lymphangioleiomyomatosis. A case report.

Background: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a rare disease, histologically characterized by an abnormal proliferation of smooth muscle around the lymphatics. Lung is the most common site of involvement, and patients usually present with dyspnea, chest pain, and cough. Chylous pleural effusion and ascites occasionally appear during the course of the disease.

[Experimental study of esophageal covered stent for prevention of migration: use of clay to simulate stenosis of the esophagogastric junction or anastomosis site].

Purpose: An inner-covered Spiral Z-stent (IC-SZ) developed by our group was examined for its effectiveness in preventing migration by experimental comparison with commercially available esophageal covered stents.

Materials And Methods: The following six types of stents were used: inner-covered Spiral Z-stents with diameters of 16 mm (small IC-SZ) and 19 mm (large IC-SZ), outer-covered Spiral Z-stent (OC-SZ), covered Wallstent, covered Ultraflex stent, and Cook Z-stent. Experimental models were prepared using clay to simulate stenosis of the esophagogastric junction or anastomosis site due to tumor, and each stent was placed in the clay.

Influence of transfusion-transmitted virus infection on the clinical features and response to interferon therapy in Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Recently, the genome of a novel DNA virus, transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV), was cloned from the plasma of a blood donor who had an elevated aminotransferase level but no serological markers of known hepatitis viruses. In this study, we investigated the influence of TTV infection on the clinical features and response to interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. We studied 247 patients who had received a 16- or a 24-week course of IFN-alpha therapy.