Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Shiojima.
Pure motor hemiplegia (PMH) is a common manifestation of lacunar infarction. However, pure motor monoparesis (PMM), isolated corticospinal tract deficits confined to one limb, have received little attention. We observed a patients in whom the clinical feature was compatible with PMM and discussed the possible pathomechanism of PMM.
The performance of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) on selective neuropsychological tests was examined to assess the diagnostic applicability of such examinations. Twenty-seven patients with MG and twenty-seven age, sex, and education-matched controls were given a battery of tests designed to assess cognitive functions. The MG group displayed significantly lower scores on Mini-mental state test and memory tests. The results indicated that MG patients had cognitive impairment. Results are also discussed with respect to the involvement of cholinergic pathways in the central nervous system.
A study was undertaken to elucidate the existence of cognitive and memory impairments in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by comparing a group of ALS patients with both nonneurological medical controls (MC) and healthy controls (HC) on neuropsychological tests. We also examined the relationship between the severity of motor disabilities and intellectual impairment. Twenty-two ALS patients, 18 MCs and 17 HCs participated. The tests used were the Mini-mental state examination (MMS) and the immediate and delayed memory tests. The mean MMS score of the ALS patients was lower than the mean scores of both control groups. In the memory tests, there were significant differences between the ALS group and the two control groups. Correlation analyses of several motor symptoms and neuropsychological results revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between upper motor neuron symptoms and MMS, as well as memory tests. The evidence for multisystem degeneration in ALS has prompted speculation that more sensitive neuropsychological measurements might reveal cerebral dysfunction in ALS patients who are not presenting evident dementia.
We studied trophic effects of enkephalin (ENK), beta-endorphine (END) and dynorphine (DYN) on explanted cultures of ventral spinal cord from 13-14 day old rat embryo. The addition of each of these three neuropeptides to the growth medium caused no changes in neurite extension and in increased number of glial cells compared to control samples. The results indicate that neurite appearance is neither prompted nor inhibited by addition of ENK, END and DYN. It is considered that ENK, END and DYN are not growth factor of cultured ventral spinal cord of rat embryo.
We studied trophic effects of angiotensin II, vasopressin and oxytocin on explanted ventral spinal cord cultures derived from 13 to 14-old day rat embryos. There was a significant neurite promoting effect in angiotensin II and vasopressin-treated cultures. Angiotensin II had the most potent effect at any concentrations. It became clear that minimum effective concentration was 10(-8)M in both angiotensin II and vasopressin. However, oxytocin had no neurotrophic effect at any concentrations. Our results demonstrated that angiotensin II and vasopressin have a neurotrophic effect on ventral spinal cord in cultures, and may contribute to therapeutic strategy of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
We studied the trophic effects of various neuropeptides, including substance P (SP), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), neurotensin (NT) and bombesin (BN) on explanted cultures of ventral spinal cord from 13- to 14-day-old rat embryos. In groups, receiving one type of drug only, there was a significant neurite-promoting effect (NPE) in SP, TRH and BN-treated cultures. At a concentration of 10(-12) M the most potent effect was shown by SP. However, BN had the most potent action at concentrations greater than 10(-10) M. It also became clear that there were maximum and minimum effective concentrations for these 3 neuropeptides. NT had no NPE at any concentration. There was no additional NPE when any two or all four of these neuropeptides were given simultaneously. Our results demonstrate that BN, SP, and TRH have a trophic effect on ventral spinal cord in cultures, and may contribute to a therapeutic strategy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
We studied trophic effects of angiotensin II, vasopressin and oxytocin on explanted ventral spinal cord cultures from 13-14-old day rat embryos. There was a significant neurite promoting effect in angiotensin II and vasopressin-treated cultures. Angiotensin II had the most potent effect at any concentrations. It became clear that minimum effective concentration was 10(-8) M in angiotensin II and vasopressin respectively. Effect of these two neuropeptides was concentration-dependent. However, oxytocin had no neurotrophic effect at any concentrations. Our results demonstrated that angiotensin II and vasopressin have a neurotrophic effect on ventral spinal cord in cultures, and may contribute to therapeutic strategy of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
We studied trophic effects of cholecystokinin (CCK) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) on explanted cultures of ventral spinal cord from 13-14 old day rat embryo. There was a significant neurite promoting effect (NPE) in CCK-treated culture. The neuritic extension of ventral spinal cord exceeds control values 3.5-6.5 times. Otherwise, CGRP and NPE at any concentration. The possible mechanism of trophic effect of CCK on ventral spinal cord was briefly discussed. Our results may contribute to a therapeutic strategy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The effects of ventral spinal cord extracts from normal controls and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on neurite appearance in ventral spinal cord explant of 13-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated. Ventral spinal cord extracts from normal controls and ALS were significantly more effective in stimulating growth than control medium only. There was no statistically significant difference between normal and ALS ventral spinal cord extracts in growth of neurites. Our results may be an important for the consideration of the hypothesis that ALS may be a disorder of motor neuron growth factors.
This experiment was undertaken in order to study the probable trophic effect of ceruletide and LH-RH on cultured ventral spinal cord. The ventral spinal cord from 13-14-gestational day rat embryos were explanted, following a conventional culturing method. Explants in the culture medium were fed ceruletide and LH-RH at different concentrations. An equal volume of PBS was administered to the control explants. For quantitative analysis of the trophic effect of ceruletide and LH-RH, a numerical score from 0 to 4 was determined at the 7th culture day, based on the length and extension of neurite growth estimated. The presence of ceruletide, the neuritic extension of ventral spinal cord exceeds control values 3.5-6.3 times. The growth zone of the spinal cord explants increases in the ceruletide treated culture, LH-RH treated culture, on the other hand, had no promoting effect on neurite growth. The possible mechanism of trophic effect of ceruletide on cultured ventral spinal cord was briefly discussed. These experimental observation have important implications regarding to potential therapeutic effects of ceruletide n amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
In a patient with neuro-Behçet (N-B) syndrome, MRI images obtained with TR 2000 msec, and TE 80 msec showed an increased signal intensity in the brain stem corresponding to the neurological symptoms. In N-B syndrome, the brain stem has been documented as a main site of the lesion, and MRI shows promise as a useful technique in the diagnosis of this disease.