Biomedical subjects
Shozo Aoki
Publications and source records attributed to Shozo Aoki.
Effects of tricyclic antidepressants on protein kinase C activity in rabbit and human platelets in vivo.
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) on protein kinase C (PKC) in vivo. METHODS: PKC activity in rabbit and human platelets in vivo was measured after administration of TCA and in controls. RESULTS: Administration of TCA increased PKC activity in rabbit and human platelets in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: It has been reported that activation of PKC mediates inhibition of neurotransmitter uptake and down-regulation of beta-adrenergic receptor. We suppose that TCA-induced activation of PKC may be associated, at least in part, with the mechanism of TCA. LIMITATIONS: Other signal transduction systems, such as those of protein kinase A, protein kinase G, and cyclic-AMP, also affect neurotransmitter uptake and/or down-regulation. In this study, the relationship between the TCA-PKC system and other signal transduction systems was not investigated.
Clonazepam augmentation of antidepressants: does it distinguish unipolar from bipolar depression?
BACKGROUND: The authors compared the effect of clonazepam supplement treatment on unipolar depression and bipolar depression. METHODS: A total of 38 protracted depression patients with unipolar depression (n = 19) or bipolar depression (n = 19) were treated with 3.0 mg clonazepam for 4 weeks. RESULTS: In the unipolar depression group, 84.2% of the subjects fulfilled the response criteria (at least an 80% reduction in their HDRS score). However, in the bipolar depression group, only 10.5% of them fulfilled these criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The difference in responses between the two groups supposes that the underlying abnormality in unipolar depression is not the same as that in bipolar depression. This trial also supposed that clonazepam can play active role in the treatment of protracted depression in patients with unipolar depression. LIMITATIONS: This finding was made in an open study, and the effect on clonazepam alone was not established.
[The Japanese version of RBANS (Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status)].
In Japan, neuropsychological assessment of dementing illnesses has been done mainly using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a revised version of Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS-R). However, because of a lack of appropriately designed test domains, early detection of senile dementia and/or cognitive impairment is hardly possible, even if using these batteries. This paper is to introduce a Japanese Version of RBANS (Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status) which was originally developed by Randolph and revised by us. The entire battery of Japanese Version RBANS took less than 30 minutes to administer, and yielded scaled scores for five cognitive domains such as immediate memory, visuospatial/constructional ability, language, attention, and delayed memory. On RBANS, abnormal cognitive decline in the older adult was much easily detected, being compared to MMSE and HDS-R: 52 normal volunteer subjects ranging from 24 to 80 years old showed a significant (p < 0.05 on t test) impairment of delayed and immediate memories due to ageing. The aged (60-79) subjects with average scores of MMSE and HDS-R being over 25, significantly showed impairment of both immediate memory (list and story learnings) and delayed memory (list, story and figure recalls). The present data suggest that the Japanese Version RBANS is useful for both detecting and characterizing early dementia, and should be widely utilized for a neuropsychological screening battery in the clinical practice throughout Japan.