Nicorandil enhances myocardial tolerance to ischemia without progressive collateral recruitment during coronary angioplasty.

Nicorandil, a hybrid nitrate and ATP-sensitive potassium channel opener, has had a preconditioning effect in some coronary angioplasty studies. The present study investigated whether the cardioprotective effects of nicorandil involve coronary collateral function. Thirty-two patients with stable angina pectoris were randomized to receive a 1-min intravenous infusion of nicorandil (100 microg/kg) or normal saline.

Interleukin-1beta-induced substance P release from rat cultured primary afferent neurons driven by two phospholipase A2 enzymes: secretory type IIA and cytosolic type IV.

We previously described that recombinant interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) induced the significant release of substance P (SP) via a cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway in primary cultured rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells. In the present study, we examined the involvement of two types of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes, which lie upstream of COX in the prostanoid-generating pathway, in the IL-1beta-induced release of SP from DRG cells. The expression of type IIA secretory PLA2 (sPLA2 -IIA) mRNA was undetectable by ribonuclease protection assay in non-treated DRG cells, while in DRG cells incubated with 1 ng/mL of IL-1beta, the expression was induced in a time-dependent manner.

Characteristic MRI findings in multiple system atrophy: comparison of the three subtypes.

We reviewed MRI findings in 29 patients with probable multiple system atrophy (MSA) to see whether there were common and or less common neuroradiological findings in the various clinical subtypes. We divided the patients into three clinical subtypes according to initial and predominant symptoms: 14 with olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA), eight with the Shy-Drager syndrome (SDS) and seven with striatonigral degeneration (SND). The patients showed atrophy of the brain stem and cerebellum, high signal on T2-weighted images of the base of the pons and middle cerebellar peduncles, high and low signal on T2-weighted images of the putamen and atrophy of frontal and parietal lobes.

In situ localization of nitric oxide synthase and direct evidence of NO production in rat retinal ganglion cells.

The expression of isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), enzymes responsible for NO production, and the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) in rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) during synaptogenesis for various phases of the pre- and postnatal developmental periods were investigated. The retinas from prenatal, lactating, young, and adult rats were fixed in paraformaldehyde. The cryosections or paraformaldehyde-fixed ganglion cells purified from rat pups were immunostained for constitutive isoforms of NOS (n and eNOS) and observed with a confocal laser scanning microscope.

Effect of risperidone on sleep in schizophrenia: a comparison with haloperidol.

The aim of the present study is to determine the effect of the atypical antipsychotic drug, risperidone on sleep measures in patients with schizophrenia by polysomnography. Sleep measures were compared in five schizophrenic patients who were receiving risperidone alone and five schizophrenic patients who were receiving haloperidol alone. There were no differences between these two groups in their demographic characteristics or doses of antipsychotic medication.

Microsurgical transdural discectomy with laminoplasty: New treatment for paracentral and paracentroforaminal cervical disc herniation associated with spinal canal stenosis.

Study Design: A clinical study of the surgical procedure for cervical disc herniation was conducted.

Objectives: To describe microsurgical transdural discectomy with laminoplasty, and to assess the clinical outcome of this surgical technique.

Summary Of Background Data: A posterior approach for cervical disc herniation has been considered risky, and few reports on a transdural approach to this disorder have appeared in the past decade.

Activation of Maf/AP-1 repressor Bach2 by oxidative stress promotes apoptosis and its interaction with promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies.

The oxidative stress response operates by inducing the expression of genes that counteract the stress. We show here that the oxidative stress-responsive transcription factor Bach2 is a generic inhibitor of gene expression directed by the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element, the Maf recognition element, and the antioxidant-responsive element. The Bach2-enhanced green fluorescent protein bicistronic retrovirus was used to monitor the fate of Bach2-expressing cells at the single cell level.

Co-existent carcinosarcoma and adenoid basal carcinoma of the uterine cervix and correlation with human papillomavirus infection.

A case of carcinosarcoma associated with an adenoid basal carcinoma of the uterine cervix in an 84-year-old woman is described. The tumor formed a pelvic mass, and total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. The tumor was 17 cm in maximal dimension, arose in the posterior wall of the uterine cervix, and had a solid and cystic, focally myxoid sectioned surface.

Role of anti-parietal cell antibody in Helicobacter pylori-associated atrophic gastritis: evaluation in a country of high prevalence of atrophic gastritis.

Background: Helicobacter pylori plays an important part in the progression of atrophic gastritis; however, markers for predicting the progression of atrophic gastritis remain unidentified. We investigated the relation between the degree of atrophic gastritis and the amount of anti-parietal cell antibodies (APCAs) present.

Methods: In 219 Japanese patients, APCA was investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by Western blotting.

[Alteration of neuronal activities following repeated administration of stimulants].

It has been well-known that abuse of psychostimulants such as amphetamine and methamphetamine (MAP) induces behavioral sensitization (reverse tolerance) to MAP, resulting in psychotic effects such as hallucinatory-delusional state. Animals treated with MAP repeatedly also show the behavioral sensitization to MAP. This paper focuses on the pathogenesis and mechanism underlying sensitization to MAP after repeated treatment with MAP.

Clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor C expression and angiogenesis at the deepest invasive site of advanced colorectal carcinoma.

Aim: Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) is known to be associated with the development of the lymphatic vascular system. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical significance of VEGF-C expression and microvessel density (MVD) at the deepest invasive site in advanced colorectal carcinoma (CRC).

Methods: 152 patients who had undergone surgical resection for advanced CRC entered this study.

Cytochrome P450 1A1/2 mediated metabolism of trans-stilbene in rats and humans.

It was demonstrated that trans-stilbene was metabolically activated to the estrogenic compound by rat liver microsomes (Sugihara et al., Toxicol. Appl.

Carboplatin AUC and gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase gene expression in peripheral mononuclear cells of lung cancer patients.

Background: To investigate the association between glutathione-related enzymes and carboplatin (CBDCA) dose, we examined gene expression levels for both subunits of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (heavy; gamma-GCSh, light; gamma-GCS1) in peripheral mononuclear cells (PMN) of lung cancer patients before and after CBDCA administration.

Materials And Methods: PMN and plasma samples were obtained from 10 advanced non-small lung cancer patients before and after CBDCA administration. We analyzed the gene expression levels by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Apolipoprotein E phenotype associations with plasma lipoproteins and bone mass in postmenopausal women.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of apolipoprotein E (apo E) phenotype on plasma lipids and bone mass in postmenopausal Japanese women.

Methods: In 320 subjects aged 40-65 years (mean +/- SE, 54.0 +/- 0.

Expression of the protease inhibitor antileukoprotease and the serine protease stratum corneum chymotryptic enzyme (SCCE) is coordinated in ovarian tumors.

We have previously reported that the stratum corneum chymotryptic enzyme (SCCE) is overexpressed in ovarian cancers and that SCCE has potential as a useful marker and/or a therapeutic target for ovarian carcinoma. Antileukoprotease (ALP) has been shown to be a specific inhibitor of SCCE. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential cotranscription and overexpression of ALP in carcinoma of the ovary.

Reductive metabolism of an alpha,beta-ketoalkyne, 4-phenyl-3-butyn-2-one, by rat liver preparations.

The reduction of the triple bond and carbonyl group of an alpha,beta-ketoalkyne, 4-phenyl-3-butyn-2-one (PBYO), by rat liver microsomes and cytosol was investigated. The triple-bond-reduced product trans-4-phenyl-3-buten-2-one (PBO) and the carbonyl-reduced product 4-phenyl-3-butyn-2-ol (PBYOL) were formed when PBYO was incubated with rat liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH. The triple bond of 1-phenyl-1-butyne, deprenyl, ethynylestradiol, ethinamate, and PBYOL, in which the triple bond is not adjacent to a carbonyl group, were not reduced by liver microsomes even in the presence of NADPH.

N10 potential as an antidromic motor evoked potential in a median nerve short-latency somatosensory evoked potential study.

When stimulating the mixed nerve to record evoked potential, both sensory and motor fibers are activated before entering the spinal cord. The N10 potential has been described as an antidromic motor evoked potential based on results obtained by recording at the anterior midneck. In the present study, we examined the changes in latencies of Erb's potential, N10, and N13 by stimulating the median nerve distally at the wrist and proximally at the elbow.

Study of eosinophil activation in nasal mucosa in patients with perennial nasal allergy: effects of CO2 laser surgery.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser surgery has been shown to be clinically effective in the treatment of nasal allergy. To investigate the mechanisms of eosinophil infiltration and activation underlying the therapeutic effects of CO2 laser surgery, we examined changes in the cytological profile of nasal mucosa after surgery. Twenty-two patients with perennial nasal allergy against house-dust mites underwent two or three rounds of laser surgery at 1-month intervals on an outpatient basis.

Carpal tunnel syndrome in radial dysplasia.

We treated three patients for carpal tunnel syndrome which developed more than 10 years after reconstructive surgery for radial dysplasia. All responded to decompressive surgery. The radial carpal bones were hypoplastic in all cases, and in two we measured the carpal tunnel with computed tomography (CT).

Endothelial markers and adhesion molecules in acute ischemic stroke--sequential change and differences in stroke subtype.

The progress of a stroke concerns the activation of endothelial cells and platelets. We measured the plasma activities of von Willebrand factor (vWf) and the serum levels of soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) as endothelial markers, and the plasma concentrations of soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) as adhesion molecules during the acute (within 48 h from onset) and subacute (after 1 month from the onset) phases of 52 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke and 86 age-matched control subjects. The plasma vWf activities and levels of sP-and sE-selectins in stroke patients were significantly elevated compared with those in controls during both the acute and subacute phases.

Extra-abdominal desmoid tumor presenting as an intrathoracic tumor: case report and literature review.

A case of an extra-abdominal desmoid tumor presenting as an intrathoracic tumor (intrathoracic desmoid tumor) in a 46-year-old woman is reported. The tumor originated in the left chest wall and protruded into the left pleural cavity. Simple resection was carried out.

Promoter methylation status of the DNA repair genes hMLH1 and MGMT in gastric carcinoma and metaplastic mucosa.

Hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter region is associated with the silencing of a variety of tumor suppressor genes. DNA repair genes human Mut L homologue 1 (hMLH1) and O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) have been shown to be hypermethylated in certain carcinomas. We studied DNA methylation of CpG islands in hMLH1 and MGMT in 50 gastric carcinomas and 10 intestinal metaplastic mucosa samples.

Renal endothelial dysfunction and hypertension.

Patients with essential hypertension have an impaired endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation in the renal arteries. The possible mechanisms by which essential hypertension is associated with alterations in endothelial function are decreased endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity, decreased availability or deficiency of L-arginine, increased endogenous NO synthase inhibitor, inactivation of NO by superoxide anions, and increased vasoconstrictors. However, the precise mechanism is not known.

Estrogen replacement suppresses function of thrombin stimulated platelets by inhibiting Ca(2+) influx and raising cyclic adenosine monophosphate.

Objective: Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) in postmenopausal women reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Beneficial changes in lipid profiles account for only one part, thereby raising the question of other estrogen induced benefit that may be lost at menopause. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) on platelet function of postmenopausal women.

Dinucleotide repeat polymorphisms in the neprilysin gene are not associated with sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

In the pathological process of Alzheimer's disease (AD), deposition of amyloid beta-peptide (A beta) in the brain parenchyma plays an important role. Neprilysin (NEP), a neutral endopeptidase, degrades A beta, and it is postulated that decreased NEP activity may contribute to the development of AD by promoting the accumulation of A beta. The human NEP gene possesses four dinucleotide repeat polymorphisms, and it is possible that these polymorphisms regulate the NEP expression levels and influence the pathological cascade of AD.