Identification of mutations associated with attenuation of virulence of a field Sendai virus isolate by egg passage.

Abstract. We have reported that attenuation of the virulence of a field Sendai virus (SeV) isolated by egg passage is associated with an impediment of viral genome replication in mouse respiratory cells (Kiyotani et al., Arch Virol 146, 893-908, 2001).

Loss of heterozygosity and microsatellite instability in epithelial hyperplasia of the breast.

We evaluated loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and microsatellite instability (MSI) in epithelial hyperplasia of the breast by the PCR method using microsatellite markers. Seven loci of 16q, 17p, 17q, and 18q were examined in 35 lesions of epithelial hyperplasia observed in non-neoplastic breast tissue of eight breast carcinoma cases, and 29 lesions were observed within 19 fibroadenomas. These hyperplastic lesions were classified by standard criteria into three groups, namely, mild, moderate and atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH).

Surgical treatment of atypical aortic coarctation associated with occlusion of all arch vessels in Takayasu's disease.

We report a patient with Takayasu's disease surgically treated who had presented severe manifestation due to aortic coarctation associated with occlusion of all arch branches. This patient had suffered cardiac failure and recurrent fainting attacks before surgery. The operative procedures included ascending to infra-renal aortic bypass grafting combined with reconstruction of the right axillary artery.

Irsogladine malate up-regulates gap junctional intercellular communication between pancreatic cancer cells via PKA pathway.

Introduction: Gap junctions (GJs) are intercellular channels that aid communication between coupling cells and may play a critical role in cell differentiation and growth. Connexins (Cxs) are structural proteins of GJs. Though several reports have demonstrated that Cx expression decreases in various malignant tumors, a pancreatic cancer cell line, PANC-1, was reported to express Cx43 mRNA.

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase, p53 and Ki-67 expression and apoptosis in colorectal serrated adenoma.

Background: Serrated adenoma (SA) has recently been proposed as a distinct histological lesion of the colorectum. However, no definite histopathologic criteria for SA have been established, and its histogenesis and natural history remain unclear.

Methods: We analysed 25 hyperplastic polyps (HPs), 26 low-grade SAs (LG-SAs), 32 high-grade SAs (HG-SAs), 18 low-grade tubular adenomas (LG-TAs), 16 high-grade TAs (HG-TAs) and 20 carcinoma in situ (CIS).

Enchondroma in the hand retrospective study--recurrence cases.

This is a retrospective analysis of 21 patients with documented enchondroma of the hand. They were operated on between 1980 to 2000 with conventional curettage and bone grafting. The objective of this study is to analyse the chance of recurrence and evaluate the effectiveness of surgical treatment.

[A case of Guillain-Barré syndrome complicated with severe autonomic failure and presented elevated anti-GD1b and anti-GQ1b antibody].

We report a 30-year-old woman who presented symptoms of oropharyngeal palsy and glove-stocking type sensory disturbance followed by acute cerebellar ataxia, the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), gastroenteric symptoms, urinary disturbance and orthostatic hypotension. She did not have any preceding infection. She was diagnosed as having Guillain-Barré syndrome with autonomic failure.

Combination of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization using cisplatin-lipiodol suspension and percutaneous ethanol injection for treatment of advanced small hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: We evaluated the long-term efficacy of the combination of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) using cisplatin-lipiodol suspension and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) for treatment of advanced small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Patients And Methods: Sixty-nine patients with HCC less than 3 cm in diameter and at most three lesions were enrolled in this study. HCC nodules were confirmed to be hypervascular by angiography.

Role of human SII cortices in sensorimotor integration.

Objectives: To elucidate the functional properties of neurons in the human primary (SI) and ipsilateral and contralateral secondary (iSII or cSII) cortices in response to stimuli during finger movement.

Methods: We measured somatosensory evoked fields (SEFs) produced by electric stimuli delivered to the median nerve at 0.2 Hz in 6 healthy subjects.

Novel mutation in X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease associated with CNS impairment.

The authors describe a 16-year-old boy with severe muscular atrophy and signs of peripheral neuropathy compatible with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Abnormalities in the cerebellum and central somatosensory pathway were also noted. Gene analysis revealed a novel gross insertion mutation in exon 2 of the connexin32 gene along with a 21-base pair duplication resulting in a seven-amino acid insertion in the first extracellular loop of the protein.

Determination method of 1-methyl-1,2,3, 4-tetrahydroisoquinoline, an endogenous parkinsonism-preventing substance, by radioimmunoassay.

To develop a sensitive and simple assay method for 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (1MeTIQ), an endogenous parkinsonism-preventing substance, we designed two kinds of 1MeTIQ-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugates to recognize the methyl group at the 1 position of 1MeTIQ since this is the critical structural difference between 1MeTIQ and parkinsonism-inducing substances. These hapten antigens were synthesized from 1MeTIQ analogues and BSA. A specific antiserum against 1MeTIQ was obtained from a rabbit immunized with one of the hapten antigens.

Sweet elements of Siraitia grosvenori inhibit oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein.

This study examined the ability of sweet elements extracted from Siraitia grosvenori (SG) to inhibit the oxidation of LDL. We monitored the formation of conjugated diene during copper-mediated LDL oxidation in the presence or absence of sweet elements of whole extract of SG (SG extract) or cucurbitane glycosides (CGs) purified from SG extract as sweet elements. CGs consist of Mogroside IV (Mog.

Intrasellar pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma: case report.

Objective And Importance: A patient with a primary intrasellar pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma is described.

Clinical Presentation: A 78-year-old woman experienced slowly progressing bilateral visual disturbance. Analysis of magnetic resonance imaging scans indicated a well-enhanced tumor occupying intra- and suprasellar spaces with displacement of the pituitary gland anteriorly.

Epileptiform burst discharges in hippocampal CA3 neurons of young but not mature Noda epileptic rats (NER).

Noda epileptic rat (NER), originally found in a colony of Crj; Wistar rats, shows spontaneous tonic-clonic convulsion characterized by the appearance of high voltage polyspikes in cortical and hippocampal EEG once every 2-3 days after 2-4 months of age. Electrophysiological studies using hippocampal slice preparations of NER were performed to determine whether hippocampal neurons have abnormal excitability. When a single stimulus (1-25 V) was delivered to the mossy fibers of NER at 4-6 weeks old before they showed any seizures, a long-lasting depolarization shift (DS) accompanied by repetitive firings and after-hyperpolarization following the abnormal firing was observed in seven of 14 hippocampal CA3 neurons.

Effect of alcohol consumption on endothelial function in men with coronary artery disease.

An inverse relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and coronary artery disease (CAD) has been observed in several epidemiologic studies. Whether improvement of endothelial function is involved in this beneficial effect is unknown. We investigated endothelial function of the brachial artery in 108 men with CAD, 54 of whom consumed alcohol on at least 1 day per week.

Chromosomal FISH analysis of unfertilized human oocytes and polar bodies.

The incidence of chromosomal aneuploidy was studied in 208 unfertilized metaphase II human oocytes from an in vitro fertilization program by fluorescence in situ hybridization using probes for chromosomes 18, 21, and X. Chromosome spreads were prepared by a gradual fixation-air-drying method. We obtained analyzable results from 183 oocytes and 93 polar bodies; 167 oocytes (91%) were normal, 11 (6%) were diploid, and 5 (3%) were aneuploid.

Effects of vigabatrin on epileptiform abnormal discharges in hippocampal CA3 neurons of spontaneously epileptic rats (SER).

Vigabatrin, a gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) transaminase inhibitor, is known to inhibit partial epilepsy in humans. The spontaneously epileptic rat (SER), a double mutant (zi/zi, tm/tm), exhibits both tonic convulsion and absence-like seizures from the age of 8 weeks. Hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons in SER show a long-lasting depolarization shift with accompanying repetitive firing when a single stimulus is delivered to the mossy fibers in slice preparations.

[A sporadic case of late-onset familial amyloid polyneuropathy type I (transthyretin Met 30-associated familial amyloid polyneuropathy) inborn habitant of Ehime prefecture].

We reported a 62-year-old man of late-onset familial amyloid polyneuropathy type I(transthyretin Met 30-associated familial amyloid polyneuropathy) from Ehime Prefecture. There was no family history related to endemic Japanese foci (Nagano and Kumamoto foci). He demonstrated paraesthesia in the legs and mild autonomic symptoms at the age of 52.

Tumor dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activity in advanced cervical carcinoma.

Patients with advanced cervical carcinoma were treated with oral fluoropyrimidine (UFT) as neoadjuvant chemotherapy and its antitumor effect was examined. The relationship between thymidylate synthase (TS) or dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) activity in tumor tissue and apoptosis was also investigated. The subjects were 56 patients with advanced cervical carcinoma.

Clinical characteristics and natural history of patients with low-grade reflux esophagitis.

Background And Aim: Although the incidence of reflux esophagitis (RE) has recently increased in Japan, the majority of these cases are mild (Los Angeles classification grades A and B). In order to consider therapy for these patients, it is important to understand the natural history of mild RE. There is little information concerning the natural course of RE, particularly low-grade disease.

Comparative study of noninvasive cerebrovascular monitoring methods in cardiac surgery.

Unfavorable incidents during cardiac operations due to inadequate cerebral perfusion can be avoided by the utilization of noninvasive blood flow monitoring methods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate monitoring systems for cebrovascular perfusion. We compared currently available blood flow monitoring devices including transcranial Doppler (TCD), central retinal artery color Doppler (CRAD) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Fine structural aspects of the urothelium in the mouse ureter with special reference to cell kinetics.

The present study aimed at clarifying the cell kinetics of the mouse ureteral epithelium by focusing on vesicle maturation in the cells and labeling with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). Electron microscopically, superficial cells were characterized by concave plaques in the apical plasma membrane and numerous fusiform vesicles in the cytoplasm. Intermediate cells were laden with ellipsoid vesicles, and basal cells had a few or no round vesicles.

Meige syndrome with apraxia of lid opening after the discontinuation of sulpiride treatment.

We report a case of Meige syndrome with apraxia of lid opening that lasted for about seven months after discontinuation of sulpiride treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that Meige syndrome with apraxia of lid opening is induced by sulpiride, and that the condition persists.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 by cells isolated from the peritoneal fluid of women with ovarian carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the level of expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and -9 by cells isolated from the peritoneal fluid of women with ovarian carcinoma.

Study Design: Tumor tissue specimens and cells isolated from peritoneal fluid from 20 patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma were examined for MMP-2 and -9 expression using immunostaining. Six benign peritoneal effusions containing mesothelial cells were also included in the study.