Biomedical subjects

Noriaki Takeda

Publications and source records attributed to Noriaki Takeda.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Endoscopic evaluation of dynamic narrowing of the pharynx by the Bernouilli effect producing maneuver in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic narrowing of the retropalatal pharynx by the Bernouilli effect producing maneuver (BEPM) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) with computer-assisted analysis of nasopharyngoscopic images. METHODS: Endoscopic images of the retropalatal pharynx were obtained and their area was measured by NIH imaging. Because changes in distance between the CCD camera of the nasopharyngoscope and the site of pharyngeal narrowing decreased the measurement reliability, the area of the retropalatal pharynx was divided by the square of the uvula's lateral side length for normalization. We calculated both normalized areas: the pharyngeal narrowing during quiet nasal breathing and that during BEPM, which is a forced inspiration through the nose with the mouth closed. The narrowing rate was then calculated as an index of the pharyngeal dynamics. RESULTS: Nasopharyngoscopy combined with BEPM showed a medial motion of the lateral walls of the pharynx due to the Bernoulli effect, which is an increase in speed and a reduction in pressure of a moving gas passing through a tube constriction. There was a significant correlation between the narrowing rate of the retropalatal pharynx and the apnea index. The decrease in intraluminal pressure at the narrowing combined with the higher atmospheric pressure exercised on the lateral pharyngeal walls would induce the pharyngeal collapse. There was also a significant correlation between the normalized retropalatal are and the apnea index. CONCLUSION: Nasopharyngoscopy with BEPM suggest that in addition to the static narrowing, the dynamic narrowing of the retropalatal pharynx contributes to the pathophysiology of OSAS. The correlation between the apnea index and both the normalized retropalatal area and the narrowing rate of the retropalatal pharynx due to the Bernoulli effect constitute a quantitative and predictive alternative to the evaluation and understanding of the upper airways changes in OSAS.

Airway Resistance↗

PubMed2006

Zinc nutrition in healthy subjects and patients with taste impairment from the view point of zinc ingestion, serum zinc concentration and angiotensin converting enzyme activity.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the zinc nutrition in healthy subjects and patients with taste impairment. Dietary zinc intake, zinc concentration in the serum and the ratio of apo/holo-activities of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), a zinc dependent enzyme in the serum (ACE ratio) were used as indices. SUBJECTS: Healthy paramedical volunteers from a local hospital and patients with taste impairment seen in the Department of Otolaryngology, Tokushima University Hospital. MEASUREMENTS: Dietary zinc intake was estimated with the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Zinc concentration in the serum was measured by means of atomic absorption spectrometry. The ACE activity in the serum was measured spectrophotometrically as the activity of holo-ACE, which contains zinc and shows full ACE activity. The activity of apo-ACE, which dose not contain zinc, was determined as the increase of its activity over that of the initial holo-ACE activity after the addition of zinc to the serum in vitro. ACE ratio was used as a more sensitive indicator of zinc nutrition than measuring zinc concentration in the serum. RESULTS: There were no differences in dietary intake of zinc after adjusting for energy and zinc concentration in the serum between patients and age-adjusted healthy subjects. The ACE ratio in patients with taste impairment was significantly higher than that in age-adjusted healthy subjects (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our date demonstrate that zinc deficiency is a predominant factor underlying taste impairment and we hypothesize that patients with taste impairment may have malabsorption of dietary zinc.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo due to a simultaneous involvement of both horizontal and posterior semicircular canals.

From April 2001 to November 2003, we investigated 8 patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) that was suspected to simultaneously affect both the horizontal and posterior semicircular canals (HSCC and PSCC). These cases showed typical vertical-torsional nystagmus induced by the Dix-Hallpike maneuver, followed by a horizontal nystagmus. They also showed a direction-changing geotropic or apogeotropic positional nystagmus triggered by lateral head rotations in the supine position. Using the three-dimensional analysis of the positional nystagmus, the rotation axis of the positional nystagmus had a component perpendicular to the plane of PSCC and another component perpendicular to the plane of HSCC. All these findings suggest that BPPV in these patients was a combination of posterior and horizontal canal BPPV. The observation of a vertical-torsional positional nystagmus should prompt the specialist to perform not only the canalith repositioning procedure, but also to execute lateral head turns in the supine position.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Fos-enkephalin signaling in the rat medial vestibular nucleus facilitates vestibular compensation.

In the present study, we first observed up-regulation in preproenkephalin (PPE)-like immunoreactivity (-LIR), a precursor of Met- and Leu-enkephalin, in the rat ipsilateral medial vestibular nucleus (ipsi-MVN) after unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL). By means of double-staining immunohistochemistry with PPE and Fos, a putative regulator of PPE gene expression, we revealed that some of these PPE-LIR neurons were also Fos immunopositive. The time course of decay of these double-stained neurons was quite parallel to that of UL-induced behavioral deficits. This suggests that these double-labeled neurons could have something to do with development of vestibular compensation. We next examined correlation between Fos and PPE expression in the ipsi-MVN by means of a 15-min pre-UL application of antisense oligonucleotide probes against c-fos mRNA into the ipsi-MVN. Gel shift assay and Western blotting revealed that elimination of Fos expression significantly reduced both AP-1 DNA binding activity and PPE expression in the ipsi-MVN after UL. C-fos antisense study also revealed that depression of Fos-PPE signaling in the ipsi-MVN caused significantly more severe behavioral deficits during vestibular compensation. Furthermore, studies with PPE antisense and naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist, demonstrated that specific depression of enkephalinergic effects in the ipsi-MVN significantly delayed vestibular compensation. All these findings suggest that, immediately after UL, Fos induced in some of the ipsi-MVN neurons could regulate consequent PPE expression via the AP-1 activation and facilitate the restoration of balance between bilateral MVN activities via the opioid receptor activation, resulting in progress of vestibular compensation.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2006

Natural history of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and efficacy of Epley and Lempert maneuvers.

We assessed the efficacy of Epley maneuver in patients with posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (P-BPPV) and Lempert maneuver in patients with horizontal canal BPPV (H-BPPV). In patients with P-BPPV, positional vertigo in patients treated by Epley maneuver was significantly resolved more quickly than that in untreated patients. But in patients with H-BPPV, there were no significant differences of time course in remission of positional vertigo between untreated patients and patients treated by Lempert maneuver. Among the untreated patients, the positional vertigo in patients with H-BPPV was significantly resolved more quickly than that in patients with P-BPPV. Epley maneuver was effective for the treatment of patients with P-BPPV, whereas the efficacy of Lempert maneuver for the treatment of patients with H-BPPV was limited. The natural courses in remission of positional vertigo in untreated patients with H-BPPV showed significantly faster resolution than that in patients with P-BPPV.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Three-dimensional analysis of benign paroxysmal positional nystagmus in a patient with anterior semicircular canal variant.

OBJECTIVE: To show the positional nystagmus in a patient who had suffered from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) that was thought to be caused by involvement of the anterior semicircular canal (ASCC) (A-BPPV). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case report. SETTING: City hospital. PATIENT: The present study reports a rare case of A-BPPV in a 41-year-old woman. CASE REPORT: The patient is 41-year-old woman who developed a positional vertigo after playing volleyball on March 22, 2005 and consulted our hospital the next day. When left Dix-Hallpike maneuver was performed, she showed a positional nystagmus of which fast phase direction of the torsional component was clockwise while that of the vertical component was downward. We plotted the slow phase eye velocity of the positional nystagmus during the left Dix-Hallpike maneuver on three-dimensional coordinates that showed the axis of the positional nystagmus to be perpendicular to the plane of the right ASCC. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that the patient was suffering from A-BPPV.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Dexamethasone suppresses histamine synthesis by repressing both transcription and activity of HDC in allergic rats.

BACKGROUND: Histamine synthesized by histidine decarboxylase (HDC) from L-histidine is a major chemical mediator in the development of nasal allergy which is characterized by nasal hypersensitivity. However the regulatory mechanism of histamine synthesis by HDC remains to be elucidated. The objectives of the present study were to examine the changes of histamine content, HDC activity and HDC mRNA expression in the nasal mucosa of allergy model rats sensitized by the exposure to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and to investigate the effect of dexamethasone on the above mentioned allergic parameters. METHODS: Rats were sensitized and provocated by TDI and the nasal allergy-like behaviors were scored during a 10 minute period after provocation. Histamine content and HDC activity in the nasal mucosa were determined using fluorometric high performance liquid chromatography. The expression of HDC mRNA in nasal mucosa was determined using real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: In TDI-sensitized rats, nasal allergy-like behaviors such as sneezing and watery rhinorrhea were induced. Histamine content, HDC activity and HDC mRNA expression in nasal mucosa were also significantly increased after TDI provocation. Pretreatment with dexamethasone significantly suppressed nasal allergy-like behaviors, up-regulation of histamine content, HDC activity and HDC mRNA induced by TDI in TDI-sensitized rats. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that increased synthesis of histamine through up-regulation of HDC gene expression and HDC activity in nasal mucosa plays an important role in the development of nasal hypersensitivity. Repression of HDC gene expression and HDC activity by dexamethasone may underlie its therapeutic effect in the treatment of allergy.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Microarray analysis of stress-related gene expression in patients with Ménière's disease.

We developed an original microarray carrying 1,467 cDNAs of stress-related genes for the assessment of stress responses. In this study, we used microarray analysis to assess the stress-related gene expression profiles in peripheral leukocytes in 2 patients with definite Ménière's disease. In the attack and active phases, mRNA expression levels of 57 genes and 163 genes were either up-regulated more than twofold or down-regulated by less than half in patient 1 and patient 2, respectively. Patient 1 had sporadic episodes of vertigo attack, while patient 2 had an intractable course with frequent vertigo attacks, suggesting that the magnitude of changes in gene expression is correlated with the severity of the disorder in Ménière's disease. The expression of a total of 26 genes commonly changed in both patients in the attack and active phases and returned to the baseline levels in the remission phase, suggesting the involvement of the distinct group of stress-related genes in the development of vertigo attacks in Ménière's disease. We then examined the effects of caloric stimulation on the stress-related gene expression profiles in peripheral leukocytes in 5 healthy volunteers. Although unilateral caloric stimulation with cold water caused acute vertigo with nystagmus, the expression profiles of stress-related genes did not significantly change after this experiment. This finding indicated that the up- or down-regulated genes in the attack and active phases in patients with Ménière's disease are not secondary to vertigo or vertigo-associated anxiety. All these findings suggested that the distinct group of stress-related genes contributed to the development of vertigo attacks of Ménière's disease and that stress-related gene expression profiles in peripheral leukocytes can be a predictive and therapeutic tool for episodic vertigo attacks in patients with Ménière's disease.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Regional difference in corticotropin-releasing factor immunoreactivity in mossy fiber terminals innervating calretinin-immunoreactive unipolar brush cells in vestibulocerebellum of rolling mouse Nagoya.

Unipolar brush cells (UBCs), a class of interneurons in the vestibulocerebellum, play roles in amplifying excitatory inputs from vestibulocerebellar mossy fibers. This study aimed to clarify whether corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-positive mossy fiber innervation of calretinin (CR)-positive UBCs was altered in rolling mouse Nagoya (RMN). The distribution and the number of CR-positive UBCs in the vestibulocerebellum were not different between RMN and control mice. Double immunofluorescence revealed that some CRF-positive mossy fiber terminals were in close apposition to CR-positive UBCs. In the lobule X of vermis, such mossy fiber terminals were about 5-fold greater in number in RMN than in controls. In contrast, the number of CRF-positive mossy fiber terminals adjoining CR-positive UBCs in the flocculus was not significantly different between RMN and controls. The results suggest increased number of CRF-positive mossy fiber terminals innervating CR-positive UBCs in the lobule X but not in the flocculus of RMN. CRF may alter CR-positive UBC-mediated excitatory pathways in the lobule X of RMN and may disturb functions of the lobule X such as cerebellar adaptation for linear motion of the head.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Comparing the accuracy of video-oculography and the scleral search coil system in human eye movement analysis.

The measurement of eye movements in three dimensions is an important tool to investigate the human vestibular and oculomotor system. The primary methods for three dimensional eye movement measurement are the scleral search coil system (SSCS) and video-oculography (VOG). In the present study, we compare the accuracy of VOG with that of SSCS using an artificial eye. We then analyzed the Y (pitch) and Z (yaw) component of human eye movements during saccades, smooth pursuit and optokinetic nystagmus, and the X (roll) component of human eye movement during the torsional vestibulo-ocular reflex induced by rotation in normal subjects, using simultaneous VOG and SSCS measures. The coefficients of the linear relationship between the angle of a simulated eyeball and the angle measured by both VOG and SSCS was almost unity with y-intercepts close to zero for torsional (X), vertical (Y) and horizontal (Z) movements, indicating that the in vitro accuracy of VOG was similar to that of SSCS. The average difference between VOG and SSCS was 0.56 degrees , 0.78 degrees and 0.18 degrees for the X, Y and Z components of human eye movements, respectively. Both the in vitro and in vivo comparisons demonstrate that VOG has accuracy comparable to SSCS, and is a reliable method for measurement of three dimensions (3D) human eye movements.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Effects of immersion in virtual reality on postural control.

In the present study, we examined the effects of the time lag between visual scene and the head movement in the virtual reality (VR) world on motion sickness and postural control in healthy volunteers. After immersion in VR with additional time lags (from 0 to 0.8 s) to the inherent delay (about 250 ms), the visual-vestibular conflict induced a slight motion sickness in experimental subjects, but no change was noticed in the body sway path with eyes open and closed. However, Romberg ratio of body sway path with eyes closed divided by that with eyes open after immersion in VR was significantly decreased in comparison with that before immersion in VR. Since Romberg ratio is an index of visual dependency on postural control, this finding indicates that the immersion in VR decreases the visual dependency on postural control. It is suggested that adaptation to visual-vestibular conflict in VR immersion increases the contribution of vestibular and somatosensory inputs to postural control by ignoring the conflicting delayed visual input in the VR world. VR may be a promising treatment for visual vertigo in vestibular patients with unsuccessful compensation by its ability to induce vestibular and somatosensory reweighing for postural control.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Blink reflex R2 recovery curves in patients with facial palsy within ten days after onset.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute changes in blink reflex responses in patients with facial palsy. We used the blink reflex R2 recovery curves as an index of the excitability of the blink reflex neural circuit and evaluated the excitability of the blink reflex within 10 days after onset. Twelve patients with peripheral facial palsy were selected on condition that the degree of facial palsy was so mild that R2 responses of the blink reflex were measurable on the affected side, and they were compared with 12 healthy volunteers. Conditioning and test electrical stimuli were delivered on the affected side of the supraorbital nerve. Ipsilateral R2 response (iR2) of the blink reflex in patients was significantly enhanced at interstimulus intervals (ISIs) between conditioning and test stimuli from 100 to 1,000 ms, in comparison with the control subjects. These findings suggested hyperexcitability of the blink reflex neural circuit in patients with facial palsy. In addition to iR2, contralateral R2 response (cR2) in the patients was also significantly increased at ISIs of 100-1,000 ms to the same extent as the enhancement of iR2. All these findings suggested that the hyperexcitable changes developed in a common pathway of iR2 and cR2, but not in the ipsilateral facial motor neurons. It is suggested that the hyperexcitability of the neural circuit of the blink reflex during an acute period of facial palsy is an adaptive response to compensate for impaired facial motor function.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Analysis of in vivo role of alpha-fodrin autoantigen in primary Sjogren's syndrome.

The alpha-fodrin N-terminal portion (AFN) autoantigen mediates in vivo immunoregulation of autoimmune responses in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS). We further examined this process and found that cleavage products of AFN were frequently detected in the salivary gland duct cells of SS patients. In in vitro studies using human salivary gland HSY cells, anti-Fas-induced apoptosis resulted in specific cleavage of alpha-fodrin into the 120-kd fragment, in association of alpha-fodrin with mu-calpain, and activation of caspase 3. Significant proliferative responses against AlphaFN autoantigen were observed in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from SS patients with higher pathological score (grade 4) and with short duration from onset (within 5 years). In vivo roles of AFN peptides were investigated using PBMCs from patients with SS, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Significant proliferative T-cell responses of PBMCs to AFN peptide were detected in SS but not in systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis. AFN peptide induced Th1-immune responses and accelerated down-regulation of Fas-mediated T-cell apoptosis in SS. Our data further elucidate the in vivo role of AFN autoantigen on the development of SS and suggest that the AFN autoantigen is a novel participant in peripheral tolerance.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Taste disorders: a survey of the examination methods and treatments used in Japan.

CONCLUSIONS: In Japan, the number of patients seeking treatment for taste disorders from otolaryngologists is approximately 240 000/year, and this number has almost doubled in the last 13 years. Taste examinations are routinely conducted in almost all university hospitals; testing is not as common in private clinics. Administration of zinc is the main treatment for taste disorders in Japan. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the number of patients who visited otolaryngologists for treatment of taste disorders between 2000 and 2002. In addition to determining changes in the number of patients that had occurred in the 13 years since the last study in 1990, the survey also sought to find out what types of taste examination were used to diagnose taste disorders in Japan and what therapies were used to treat them. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire was mailed to 1559 members of the Japan Society of Stomato-pharyngology. RESULTS: The average number of patients with taste disorders who visited otolaryngological clinics between 2000 and 2002 was 244 858/year. This number is 1.77-fold greater than the number of patients reported by the last study in 1990 (138 575). Electrogustometry was used in 99% of university hospitals and in 20% of private clinics. The filter-paper disk method was also used in 57% of university hospitals and in 27% of private clinics. The main treatment was zinc administration. Most doctors (70%) prescribed polaprezinc, a zinc-containing drug that is used to treat peptic ulcers. Of these doctors, 78% stated that it effectively treated taste disorders and 11% that it did not.

Carnosine↗

PubMed2005

Prognosis of inner ear periphery and central vestibular plasticity in sudden deafness with vertigo.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to elucidate the clinical problems and otopathology of patients with sudden deafness with vertigo (SDV). METHODS: In 24 patients with SDV who had significant canal paresis (CP) at their first visit to our hospital between 1997 and 2001, we examined pure tone audiograms, caloric tests, and several questionnaires twice, at the first visit within 5 days after the onset and around 2 years after steroid therapy. RESULTS: These examinations revealed that improvements of auditory and vestibular function in patients with SDV tended to be correlated with one another. Sixteen of the 24 patients (66.7%) still had CP. This rate in SDV was significantly worse than that reported previously for vestibular neuritis (VN). On the other hand, patients with SDV with long-lasting CP had a faster reduction of head-shaking afternystagmus and of handicaps in their everyday life due to dizziness than did patients with VN and CP. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that SDV may deteriorate the inner ear function more severely but accelerate the central vestibular compensation more effectively than VN after the lesion. It is well known that vestibular neurectomy causes much more severe motion-induced dizziness after surgery than does labyrinthectomy. Taken together, these findings suggest different regions of damage in SDV (mainly the labyrinth, as in labyrinthectomy) and VN (mainly the ganglion, as in vestibular neurectomy).

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[Incidence of vertigo and dizziness disorders at a university hospital].

Subjects were 626 patients reporting vertigo or dizziness seen at the University Hospital Department of Otolaryngology from April 2001 to September 2003. Patients were diagnosed based on diagnostic criteria prescribed by the Japan Society for Equilibrium Research. The most common peripheral vestibular disorder was benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (32%), followed by Meniere's disease (12%). All peripheral vestibular disorders accounted for 65%. Central vestibular disorder accounted for 7%, of which space-occupying lesions in the posterior fossa accounted for 1.0% and cerebral infarction 1.9%. Dizziness due to orthostatic hypotension accounted for 4.0%. Among past reports on clinical statistics of vertigo, the incidence of vertigo and dizziness disorders differed greatly, but our research and the past 2 reports based on diagnostic criteria prescribed by the Japan Society for Equilibrium Research showed almost the same incidence, i.e., BPPV of 30-40%, Meniere's disease of 7-10%, other peripheral vestibular disorders of 15-20%, and central vestibular disorder of 6-8%. Unified diagnostic criteria are thus important in the statistical analysis of vertigo disorders.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

[Alcohol dehydrogenase interference in clinical chemical laboratory tests].

Alcohol dehydrogenase (AD, EC 1.1.1.1 ) activity in serum markedly increases in cases of hypoxic hepatic injury and acute hepatitis. Furthermore, AD can reduce oxidized coenzyme NAD+ to NADH even without substrate such as ethanol. Therefore, AD interferes in clinical chemical tests using the reducing reaction of coenzyme NAD+. We found that AD caused a false positive in serum glucose determination using an enzymatic procedure (hexokinase/glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase/NAD+ coupled assay) and increased the blank value of the sample on lactate dehydrogenase (LD) assay using the method recommended method by JSCC (Japanese Society of Clinical Chemistry). We should approve the correction of sample blank reaction in LD activity assay using the method recommended by JSCC as well as the IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry) method. Also, we should adopt the enzymatic procedures using the reducing of coenzyme NADP+ or without the influence of AD.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

PubMed2004

Differential activity of drugs to induce emesis and pica behavior in Suncus murinus (house musk shrew) and rats.

We have previously reported that emetic stimuli induce kaolin ingestion behavior (pica behavior) in rats and mice (i.e., species that do not have the emetic reflex) and that the behavior may be analogous to gastrointestinal discomfort, such as nausea and emesis. We hypothesized that pica behavior may also occur in species capable of vomiting and that it may serve as an additional index of discomfort relevant to antiemetic drug development. The present experiments were conduced using Suncus murinus and rats and kaolin consumption was measured at 24 h after the administration of nicotine (1.25-5 mg/kg, s.c.), copper sulfate (10-120 mg/kg, p.o.), lithium chloride (50-200 mg/kg, i.p.) and cisplatin (1-30 mg/kg, i.p.). In S. murinus, all treatments, excepting lithium chloride, were emetic but none induce kaolin consumption. Conversely, all treatments induced kaolin consumption in rats without inducing emesis. The results indicate that pica behavior is not likely to be useful to assess gastrointestinal discomfort in S. murinus.

Animals↗