Cytotoxicity assays of new artificial tears containing 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymer for ocular surface cells.

Purpose: 2-Methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) polymer is a multifunctional agent with antiadhesive, antithrombogenetic, and strong hydrating properties. MPC polymer-containing eye drops are the first such ophthalmic product to be commercially available; they contain approximately 0.1% Lipidure-PMB (copolymer of MPC and butyl methacrylate; NOF Corporation, Tokyo, Japan).

In vitro assessment of the cytotoxicity of anti-allergic eye drops using 5 cultured corneal and conjunctival cell lines.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of anti-allergic eye drops for human corneal endothelial cells (HCEC) and commercially available ocular surface cells. A primary HCEC culture was derived from human eye bank specimens. SIRC (rabbit corneal epithelium), BCE C/D-1b (bovine corneal epithelial cells), RC-1 (rabbit corneal epithelium), and Chang (human conjunctival cells) were obtained commercially.

Preserved and unpreserved 12 anti-allergic ophthalmic solutions and ocular surface toxicity: in vitro assessment in four cultured corneal and conjunctival epithelial cell lines.

In the present study, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of anti-allergic ophthalmic solutions in cultured corneal and conjunctival cells, namely SIRC (rabbit corneal epithelium), BCE C/D-1b (bovine corneal epithelial cells), RC-1 (rabbit corneal epithelium), and Chang (human conjunctival cells). The viability of cell cultures was determined following the exposure of cells to 12 commercially available anti-allergic ophthalmic solutions for varying exposure times and at various dilutions using the MTT and neutral red assays. The cell viability score (CVS) was used to compare the toxicity of different drugs.

Toxicity of antiglaucoma drugs with and without benzalkonium chloride to cultured human corneal endothelial cells.

Purpose: The toxicity of antiglaucoma medications to ocular surface cells has been evaluated extensively; however, the toxicity to corneal endothelial cells (CECs) remains elusive. Our aim is to evaluate the toxicity of antiglaucoma medications to CECs using an in vitro toxicity assay.

Methods: Primary cultures of human (H) CECs derived from eye bank specimens were established.

Cytotoxicity of topical medications used for infection and inflammation control after cataract surgery in cultured corneal endothelial cells.

Postoperative vision-threatening corneal edema sometimes occurs after eye surgery, and corneal endothelial damage may be caused or exacerbated by drug toxicity. A range of commercially available antibiotic and anti-inflammatory ophthalmic solutions used postoperatively, namely levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin, cefmenoxime, diclofenac, bromfenac, pranoprofen, betamethasone, and fluoromethorone, were assessed by using human corneal endothelial cells (HCECs). Propylparaoxybenzoate and methylparaoxybenzoate were also examined.

Cytotoxicity of five fluoroquinolone and two nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory benzalkonium chloride-free ophthalmic solutions in four corneoconjunctival cell lines.

Purpose: Epithelial disorders after eye surgery can result in visual deterioration and patient discomfort. Such disorders may be caused by drug toxicity. In the present study, we evaluated the toxicity of ophthalmic solutions, with or without benzalkonium chloride (BAK) as the preservative, used for postoperative care.

Cytotoxicity of prostaglandin analog eye drops preserved with benzalkonium chloride in multiple corneoconjunctival cell lines.

Purpose: This study evaluated the cytotoxicity of five prostaglandin analog ophthalmic solutions on four ocular surface cell lines, ie, Chang (human conjunctiva), SIRC (rabbit cornea), RC-1 (rabbit cornea), and BCE C/D-1b (bovine cornea).

Methods: Cell viability was measured by neutral red and MTT assays in cells treated for 10, 30, or 60 minutes with various doses of prostaglandins (undiluted, and 2- and 10-fold dilutions). The number of cell lines with viability >/=50% in the presence of selected dilution of the drug (CVS(50)) was used for comparison.

[Evaluation of COBAS TaqMan: a real-time PCR-based diagnostic kit for mycobacteria].

The real-time PCR-based diagnostic kits, COBAS TaqMan MTB and COBAS TaqMan MAI (Roche Diagnostics, Tokyo, Japan), were developed to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and M. avium (MAV)/M. intracellulare (MIN), respectively.

Fibroma of the omentum resembling an ovarian tumor in the pelvis.

We would like to report the case of a patient with fibroma of the omentum that resembled an ovarian tumor in the pelvis. Since primary tumours of the omentum are rare, there is a paucity of information about the biology of such tumors in the basic texts and literature. An ultrasound examination of the patient revealed a mass, likely of ovarian origin, which consisted of liquid and solid components.

Brain volume analyses and somatosensory evoked potentials in multiple system atrophy.

We investigated a progression of brain atrophy and somatosensory system dysfunction in multiple system atrophy (MSA). Subjects were 21 MSA patients [12 MSA-C (cerebellar type) and 9 MSA-P (parkinsonism type)]. The relative volumes of cerebrum, brainstem and cerebellum to the intracranial volume were obtained from three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) of the brain.

Heart rate variability and hypercapnia in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between heart rate variability and hypercapnia.

Patients And Methods: We measured the coefficient of variation of R-R interval (CVrr) and arterial blood gas pressures in 73 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Results: CVrr was negatively correlated with arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO(2)).

Mental retardation and lifetime events of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in Japan.

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between mental retardation and lifetime events in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Methods: The data on mental retardation and ages of lifetime events (first walking, loss of ambulation, introductions of ventilator support and tube nutrition and death) were collected retrospectively, and the relationships between the factors were analyzed.

Patients: Among 194 DMD patients admitted to our hospital between 1995 and 2007, 74 patients underwent evaluation of their intelligence quotient (IQ).

Aging adversely affects postinfarction inflammatory response and early left ventricular remodeling after reperfused acute anterior myocardial infarction.

Background And Aims: We have demonstrated that an increased peak serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was a major predictor of left ventricular (LV) remodeling. We sought to clarify the effect of aging on the postinfarction inflammatory response and LV remodeling.

Methods: We studied 102 patients who underwent primary angioplasty for a first anterior Q-wave AMI.

A case of pT4 vaginal adenocarcinoma in which surgery prolonged disease-free interval.

There is no established treatment for vaginal cancer at present. Cases of squamous cell carcinoma reported in the literature have been treated primarily by radiotherapy. We report a case of pT4 vaginal adenocarcinoma, in which radical surgery seemed to prolong the disease-free period.

Subcellular localization of a promoter and an inhibitor of apoptosis (Smac/DIABLO and XIAP) during brain ischemia/reperfusion.

We explored the expression of Smac/DIABLO, a newly identified mitochondrial apoptogenic molecule, and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) in the brain subjected to ischemia/reperfusion. Transient focal ischemia was produced for 1 hour in mice. We observed only a negligible amount of Smac/DIABLO in both mitochondria and cytosol in the normal state.

Activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in renal cell carcinoma: a study of incidence and its association with pathological features and clinical outcome.

Purpose: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is known to have an important role in cytokine and growth factor signaling pathways. In various types of human malignant tumors STAT3 has been shown to be constitutively activated due to aberrant production of cytokines and growth factors. We examined the presence of STAT3 activation and its association with pathological features and clinical outcome in renal cell carcinoma cases.

[Perinephric liposarcoma mimicking cystic renal tumor].

Liposarcoma is one of the most common primary retroperitoneal neoplasms, and the perinephric region is a frequent location for them. Liposarcomas show a variety of radiographic features in terms of histological types and tumor sizes, so the specific diagnosis of liposarcoma is often difficult. We present a unique case of perinephric dedifferentiated liposarcoma mimicking cystic renal tumor.

Delayed resolution of residual hemifacial spasm after microvascular decompression operations.

Objective: After microvascular decompression to treat hemifacial spasm (HFS), resolution of the HFS is often gradual. We carefully investigated the course of the gradual resolution of HFS and examined the differences between patients with and without postoperative HFS.

Methods: One hundred seventy-five patients with HFS were monitored, for observation of 1) whether postoperative HFS occurred, 2) when it occurred, and 3) when it disappeared after microvascular decompression.

F-waves and facilitated late responses of the mentalis muscle in patients with a cerebrovascular accident.

F-waves in the extremities result from the backfiring of antidromically activated anterior horn cells and F-waves of the mentalis muscle can be also elicited after stimulation of the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve. In order to investigate the influence of the descending pathway of the excitability of the facial motonucleus, the F-wave of the mentalis muscle and the facilitated late response, which follows F-waves and which seems to be the snout reflex due to their similar latency and habituation, were studied in 11 conscious patients with a hemispheric cerebrovascular accident (CVA) presenting with hemiparesis, and in 10 unconscious patients with CVA or head injury. The duration and the persistence of the F-waves increased significantly statistically on the normal side in the CVA patients compared with those of the palsy side and the normal subjects.

Glycerol attenuates the adherence of leukocytes in rat pial venules after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Intravenous infusion of glycerol has been used in patients with a cerebral infarction, expecting improvement in brain edema and cerebral blood flow (CBF). However, the mechanism of the improvement of CBF has not been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this study in the rat pial microvasculature after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) is to examine the effects of glycerol on leukocyte-endothelium interaction, which plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of brain injury by ischemia/reperfusion and concerns induction of secondary brain damage.

Effects of moderate hypothermia on leukocyte- endothelium interaction in the rat pial microvasculature after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Background and Purpose--It has been demonstrated that moderate hypothermia attenuates brain damage, but the mechanism whereby this is achieved has not been clearly shown. Recently, the role of leukocytes as mediators of secondary brain damage after brain ischemia has been discussed. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of moderate hypothermia on leukocyte-endothelium interaction in the rat pial microvasculature after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

F-waves of the facial muscles in healthy control subjects and in patients with peripheral facial nerve disturbance.

F-waves were recorded from the mentalis muscles with surface electrodes following stimulation of the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve in healthy control subjects during wakefulness, non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and voluntary contraction and in patients with Bell's palsy and acoustic neurinoma. The F-wave of the facial muscles results from the backfiring of antidromically activated alpha motoneurons in the facial motonucleus. Therefore, first, the F-waves were not easily elicited in patients with any disturbance in the proximal segment of the facial nerve (Bell's palsy and acoustic neurinoma).

In vivo rat closed spinal window for spinal microcirculation: observation of pial vessels, leukocyte adhesion, and red blood cell velocity.

Objectives: An in vivo closed spinal window technique in rats was designed for observing the spinal microcirculation, such as the change of vessel diameter, leukocyte adhesion, and red blood cell (RBC) velocity, which has been very rarely examined in vivo in the spinal cord.

Methods: We made a very precise closed spinal window with a laminectomy at the C5 level using a dental acrylic resin and a cover glass (7 mm in diameter). Through this closed window, the dorsal surface of the rat cervical cord was observed with a video microscope, and the fluorescent images of rhodamine 6G-labeled leukocytes and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled RBCs were recorded and analyzed with a silicon-intensified target tube camera (30 frames/s) and an image-intensified high-speed video camera system (1000 frames/s).

Measurement of RBC velocities in the rat pial arteries with an image-intensified high-speed video camera system.

The mean centerline red blood cell (RBC) velocity of the rat pial artery was measured using an image-intensified high-speed (1000 frames/s) video camera system and RBCs labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). Some investigations measuring RBC velocity have been made in most organs, but the RBC velocity of the pial artery has not yet been measured with this system using FITC labeled RBC. After recording the emission of the FITC labeled RBC through a closed cranial window using this system, the authors analyzed the videotape.

[Syringomyelia associated with posterior fossa cyst: a case report].

We report a case of a 47-year-old woman with a posterior fossa cyst associated with syringomyelia and hydrocephalus. Her birth was traumatic and she had suffered a fractured skull. About 10 years prior to coming to our department she had occipitalgia and a pain had developed over a month from her right shoulder to hand.