A 59-year-old female of facial myokymia with multiple sclerosis was reported. In this case, facial myokymia appeared at the same time as the first attack of multiple sclerosis, in association with paroxysmal pain and desesthesia of the neck, painful tonic seizures of the right upper and lower extremities and cervical transverse myelopathy. The facial myokymia consisted of grossly visible, continuous, fine and worm-like movement, which often began in the area of the left orbicularis oculi and spread to the other facial muscles on one side. Electromyographic studies revealed grouping of motor units and continuous spontaneous rhythmic discharges in the left orbicularis oris suggesting facial myokymia, but there were no abnormalities on voluntary contraction. Sometimes doublet or multiplet patterns occurred while at other times the bursts were of single motor potential. The respective frequencies were 3-4/sec and 40-50/sec. There was no evidence of fibrillation. The facial myokymia disappeared after 4-8 weeks of administration of prednisolone and did not recur. In the remission stage after disappearance of the facial myokymia, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging by the inversion recovery method demonstrated low intensity demyelinated plaque in the left lateral tegmentum of the inferior pons, which was responsible for the facial myokymia, but X-ray computed tomography revealed no pathological findings. The demyelinated plaque demonstrated by NMR imaging seemed to be located in the infranuclear area of the facial nerve nucleus and to involve the intramedurally root.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1985

[The effect of diazepam on neonatal neurobehavioral response].

Diazepam was administered I.V. in 10mg doses to 26 normal women in labor, and its blood concentration in the mother and newborn, Apgar score and acid-base status in umbilical cord blood were determined immediately after delivery. The effect of diazepam on the neurobehavioral response of the newborn was evaluated by using the early neonatal neurobehavioral scale (ENNS) by Scanlon et al. Diazepam was swiftly transported into fetal blood through the placenta, to attain a higher blood concentration in the umbilical vein (UV) than in the maternal vein (MV) at 1-2 min after administration. The UV blood concentration of diazepam was always higher than the MV blood concentration, irrespective of the time between administration and delivery. A comparison of the blood concentration in the umbilical vein and the umbilical artery (UA), showed that the UV blood concentration was higher until 30 min after administration, but roughly eqalled the UA blood concentration thereafter. In terms of mean values in all the patients, the blood concentration in the UV (506 +/- 245 ng/ml) was significantly higher than that in the MV (350 +/- 204 ng/ml) or the UA (394 +/- 142 ng/ml). No significant difference was detected between the diazepam-treated group and the control in respect to the Apgar score, acid-base status in cord blood, neonatal serum bilirubin or time required for restration of the newborn to body weight at birth. The ENNS test showed suppression of nearly all the response immediately after birth, with suppression of response to pinprick, rooting response and sucking response persisting until 8 hr after birth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

PubMed1985

[Magnetic resonance imaging in agenesis of the corpus callosum].

The recent use of computed tomography (CT) scan is providing an easy diagnoses of agenesis of corpus callosum which had been difficult to diagnose only by clinical signs and symptoms. Since, more neuropsychological studies on agenesis of corpus callosum are being done, clinical details of agenesis of corpus callosum are being clarified. We examined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 3 patients who were suspected to have agenesis of corpus callosum by CT scan. And we studied the usefulness of MRI in agenesis of corpus callosum. Case 1. We studied a thirty-two-year-old right-handed man with a one-year history of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He had no callosal disconnection syndrome. CT scan on horizontal view showed dilated third ventricle, the dilatation of the occipital horns and wide separation of the lateral ventricles. On coronal view, CT scan showed the absence of the corpus callosum, the concave mesial borders of the lateral ventricle, the dilatation of the third ventricle and its abnormal dorsal extent(bat-wing appearance). On sagittal MRI (the inversion recovery technique), the corpus callosum was absent and the convolutions and sulci were arranged radically centering the third ventricle (radial distribution). But the anterior commissure was preserved. Case 2. We studied a fourty-one-year-old right-handed man with a seven-year history of hyper ventilation syndrome. He had no callosal disconnection syndrome. CT scan showed the similar findings as those of case 1. On sagittal MRI (the inversion recovery technique), the corpus callosum was absent, and the convolutions and sulci showed radial distribution. But the anterior commissure was preserved.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Successive study on the production of plasminogen activator in cultured endothelial cells by phytosterol.

In a previous study(1), it was demonstrated that one of phytosterols, sitosterol, has an ability to increase the intracellular and extracellular activities of plasminogen activator in cultured endothelial cells and that other steroids including cholesterol, 5-androsten-3 beta-ol, stigmasterol, 20(R)-propyl-5-pregnen-3 beta-ol and 20(R)-heptyl-5-pregnen-3 beta-ol have no ability. Once-stimulated cells went back to normal states by removal of sitosterol. The similar lines of research for plasminogen activators were reported by several groups which were cited in a previous paper(l). In the present communication, we found that fucosterol, which is present mainly in brown algae, Phaeophyta, enhances the production of plasminogen activator in endothelial cells, as well as sitosterol. A similar enhancement was not observed for other steroids and sex hormones including androsterone, testosterone, estrone and estradiol. Synthesis of plasminogen activator induced with fucosterol or sitosterol was inhibited by protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. The plasminogen activators produced in cells were, in the present study, classified into urokinase-type activators with molecular weights of 31,000 and 55,000 and tissue-type ones with molecular weights of 81,000 and 130,000, which were identified with respective antibodies. The synthesis of each type of plasminogen activator in endothelial cells was stimulated by sitosterol or by fucosterol.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Effects of aspirin and salicylic acid on lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase and cholesterol content in rat serum.

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Animals↗

PubMed1984

Functional analysis of spatially discriminative neurons in prefrontal cortex of rhesus monkey.

The present study addresses the question of whether prefrontal neurons that exhibit spatially selective patterns of discharge during the delay period in spatial delayed-response tasks code a mnemonic event. To examine this question, rhesus monkeys were trained to perform two variants of the classical spatial delayed-response task in both of which a delay intervened between cue presentation and response and the discriminative stimulus had to be recalled at the moment of response. They were also trained to perform two control tasks in which memory was not required since cues present throughout the delay informed the monkey of the correct response. Extracellular recordings were obtained from 192 neurons located in and around the principal sulcus of the frontal lobe during performance of both control and delay tasks. Comparison of the same neuron's activity across the 4 task conditions revealed a class of neuron that displayed spatially discriminative activity in the delay period only during delayed-response tasks and not during the same period of the control tasks. These neurons are candidates for units engaged in a central mnemonic process. Other neurons either exhibited similar activity in the delay period of control and delayed-response tasks or stronger discriminative behavior during this period in control tasks than in delayed response tasks. We conclude that delay-related spatially discriminative neurons found in the prefrontal association cortex are diversified and that certain of them play a specific role in mnemonic coding.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

In vitro binding of 67Ga to Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

The binding of 67Ga to Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (ETC) was studied in vitro. Acid mucopolysaccharide (AMPS) present at the cell surface of ETC was identified as heparan sulfate (HS). The extent of 67Ga binding to ETC reached a plateau (ca. 10% of the added dose) at 1-2 h after the start of incubation. The binding was higher under neutral or alkaline conditions than under acidic conditions. Heparin and heparitinase treatment both significantly decreased the extent of 67Ga binding to ETC. Mild treatment with protease, including trypsin or papain, also decreased the binding. On the contrary, the treatment with trypsin under severe conditions markedly increased the extent of 67Ga binding to ETC. These results support the hypothesis that HS plays an important role as a 67Ga receptor in the mechanism of gallium binding to ETC.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Relation between 67Ga uptake and iron metabolism in rat tissues.

The relationship between 67Ga uptake and iron metabolism was investigated in rat tissues. 67Ga and 59Fe(II) both accumulated in the mitochondrial-lysosomal fraction after being injected. Moreover, they both showed especially high affinity for heparan sulfate (HS) among various acid mucopolysaccharides (AMPS). When iron (ferrous citrate) was injected IV before, simultaneously with, and after 67Ga citrate IV injection, 67Ga uptake was significantly inhibited in normal rat liver in all cases. Elevated 67Ga uptake in the liver of CCl4-treated rats was also lowered to the control level by iron pretreatment. High zinc intake remarkably elevated the 67Ga uptake in rat liver. The contents of iron in the liver and liver AMPS of 0.75% zinc-fed rats were lowered in comparison with those in controls. Thus, the elevation of 67Ga uptake in the liver of zinc-fed rats might be due to the decrease of iron bound to HS.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

67Ga accumulation and heparan sulfate metabolism in lysosomes.

67Ga incorporation in the mitochondrial-lysosomal (Mt-Ly) fraction of rat liver increased sharply from 1 to 24 h after 67Ga IV injection, whereas that in the 105,000 g supernatant fraction decreased sharply from 6 to 48 h. Further, when 14C-labeled heparan sulfate (HS: biosynthesized by injection of [1-14C] glucosamine into a rat) was injected intravenously into a rat treated with Triton WR-1339, and the liver was isolated and fractionated, the radioactivity of 14C was concentrated in the lysosomal fraction. The effect of HS on 67Ga uptake in normal rat liver was also studied. On administration of 67Ga-HS complex, the peak uptake of administered radioactivity of 67Ga in rat liver occurred sooner than after the injection of 67Ga alone. The change was greatest in the Mt-Ly fraction among the subcellular fractions. Moreover, the 67Ga uptake in rat liver increased with increasing doses of HS. These results suggest that administered 67Ga may be bound to HS and that the concentration of 67Ga in lysosomes may be related to the in vivo metabolism of HS.

Absorption↗

PubMed1984

Uptake of 67Ga in the lung of mice during bleomycin treatment.

Changes of 67Ga uptake in the lungs and changes of components of the so-called ground substance of the lung connective tissues of mice were followed for 7 weeks after the start of bleomycin (BLM) administration (20 mg/kg body weight IP, twice weekly for 5 weeks; this treatment induced fibrosis of the lung). 67Ga uptake of the lung was elevated at 1 week, and reached a maximum at 5 weeks (3.00 +/- 0.11% dose/g lung), and then decreased slightly at 7 weeks. The uronic acid content in the 1.2 M NaCl-soluble fraction, which contained predominantly heparan sulfate (HS), was increased at 1 week, peaked at 3 weeks, and then remained unchanged up to 7 weeks. This pattern was similar to that of 67Ga accumulation in the lungs. The uronic acid content of the 0.4 M NaCl-fraction, which contained predominantly hyaluronic acid (HA), was decreased at 1 week, but increased to a maximum at 3 weeks, then decreased to about the initial level at 5 weeks and decreased further at 7 weeks. Lung hydroxyproline content, an index of collagen content, was increased at 3 weeks and continued to increased rapidly thereafter, reaching approximately 1.5 times the control value at 7 weeks. Serum iron, measured as an indicator of iron metabolism, was slightly increased at 3 weeks and there was a corresponding decrease of unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC). No corresponding change of 67Ga uptake was apparent. These results indicate that HS increased before the collagen accumulation at an early stage of pulmonary fibrosis of the lung during BLM treatment of mice, and support our earlier proposal that HS is a major acceptor for 67Ga accumulation.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Relationship between lipids and angiographically defined coronary artery disease in Japanese patients.

The relationship between the severity and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the lipid profiles was evaluated in 120 Japanese male patients, who underwent coronary angiography. Analysis of the lipid quartile distribution showed that the percentage of patients with significant CAD increased as the total cholesterol (TC) increased and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) decreased. In addition, as the number of vessels with marked coronary artery stenosis increased, TC and TC/HDL-C increased while HDL-C decreased. However, within this population, triglyceride level, high blood pressure, and smoking were not significantly associated with coronary angiographic findings.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Associations between HLA and immune responses in individuals with chronic schistosomiasis japonica.

The association of an HLA specificity with low or high immune responsiveness to Schistosoma japonicum antigen (Sj) was demonstrated among individuals who had previously been exposed to S. japonicum infection. The frequency of HLA-Aw24 specificity among low responders in the IgG antibody response determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was higher than that among high responders. Significant association between HLA-B7 and high responsiveness was observed in the IgE antibody response. The frequency of HLA-Bw52-Dw12 was also found to increase among individuals with higher levels of total serum IgE. These results suggest that antibody responses to Sj are regulated by an immune response (Ir) gene(s) linked to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), although a possibility of the presence of non-MHC-linked Ir genes is not excluded. Serum IgE levels may also be controlled by a gene(s) linked to the MHC.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Glycolipid composition of ascitic fluids from patients with cancer.

The glycolipid composition of ascitic fluids from nine patients with cancer and one pleural effusion from a hepatoma patient was studied. Glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, globotriaosylceramide, and globotetraosylceramide were found in all samples and also in normal human serum. These glycolipids accounted for more than 90% of the neutral glycolipid fraction and the composition in ascitic fluids was similar to that in normal human serum. From ascitic fluids, several minor glycolipids, which could not be detected in normal human serum, were isolated and characterized by exoglycosidase treatment. Lactoneotetraosylceramide was found in eight samples of ascitic fluids, and globopentaosylceramide was detected in two samples from hepatoma and one from pancreatic cancer. A fucolipid which was converted to lactoneotetraosylceramide by alpha-L-fucosidase treatment was recognized in two samples from hepatoma patients. In the ganglioside fraction, GM3 was the predominant component both in normal human serum and in ascitic fluid. The GM2 content in ascitic fluids was much higher than that in normal human serum. From these results, lactoneotetraosylceramide and GM2 are possible candidates as cancer markers, because they seemed to be derived from cancer tissues by shedding.

Ascites↗