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Biomedical subjects

Y Maki

Publications and source records attributed to Y Maki.

341 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

My memories of Japanese pediatric neurosurgery.

At the end of World War II, medical students in Japan knew that the United States of America were the world leaders in medical science, and they dreamed of establishing such a rational and pragmatic brand of medicine in their own country. As the number of motor vehicle accidents increased in parallel with the raid growth of the Japanese economy after the war, the need for neurosurgery also intensified. The number of papers dealing with pediatric issues increased tremendously after the ISPN and JSPN had first held meetings in Japan in September 1973. It seems mandatory for us to back up the activity of the children's hospitals by establishing a subspecialty of pediatric neurosurgery.

Child↗

Blood pressure changes associated with hyperinsulinemia or long-standing diabetes mellitus in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We studied the long-term change in blood pressures of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) treated neonatally with streptozotocin (STZ). Two-day-old male SHR were injected intraperitoneally with 37.5-75.0 mg/kg STZ or with vehicle as control. STZ-treated SHR were divided into mildly or severely diabetic groups according to the nonfasting plasma glucose level at age 12 weeks (the former less than 300 mg/dl, the latter greater than or equal to 300 mg/dl). In the mildly diabetic group (MD) (n = 5), body weight increased and nonfasting plasma glucose was normalized. At 52 weeks of age, fasting plasma glucose levels were lower than controls owing to hyperinsulinemia, and insulinomas were found in 60% of rats. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) as measured by a tail-cuff method, decreased after 40 weeks, and the mean BP from 44 to 52 weeks (188 +/- 4 mmHg) was significantly lower than that in the control group (209 +/- 3 mmHg, p less than 0.01). In the severely diabetic group (SD) (n = 6), hyperglycemia persisted until 52 weeks, although its severity became less marked. BP in the SD group increased after 36 weeks, and the mean BP from 44 weeks to 52 weeks (224 +/- 5 mmHg) was significantly higher than control (p less than 0.05). The present study demonstrated that hypertension was ameliorated in SHR associated with hyperinsulinemia, and deteriorated with long-standing diabetes mellitus.

Animals↗

Intracerebral hematoma developing during MR examination.

We report a case of a 78-year-old woman with cerebellar infarction who developed intracerebral bleeding during the magnetic resonance (MR) examination. The intensity of the hematoma was heterogeneous corresponding to the heterogeneous density shown on CT study that immediately followed the MR examination.

Aged↗

Comprehension of emotions: comparison between Alzheimer type and vascular type dementias.

This study investigated the ability of recognizing emotion in dementia. Twenty-five patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), 25 patients with vascular dementia (VD), and 12 normal control subjects were evaluated as to general cognition, visuoperception and emotion recognition. The score on the emotion recognition task significantly correlated with that of the Mini-Mental State Examination for VD patients while this was not the case for DAT patients. Moreover, VD patients performed significantly worse than DAT patients on the emotion recognition task in spite of the fact that there was no difference in the general cognitive and visuoperceptual abilities between them. The result of this study coupled with the past studies led to the hypothesis that the relationship between intellectual deficits and the deterioration in recognizing emotions differs according to type of dementia. Caregivers in nursing homes and hospitals need to take into account their patients' intellectual deficits but also their deteriorating ability of identifying emotions.

Aged↗

Unresponsiveness to surface antigen 1 modifies cytokine profiles in acute Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Resistance to Toxoplasma gondii involves the development of a highly polarized Th1-type cytokine expression. SAG1 transgenic mice are highly susceptible to T. gondii infection due to their non-reactivity to SAG1 of the protozoan parasite. Here we describe cytokine profiles during the acute phase of T. gondii infection, which are associated with the susceptibility of SAG1 transgenic mice. SAG1 transgenic mice showed a 4.5-fold increase in susceptibility upon inoculation with a sublethal dose of the Beverley strain of T. gondii compared to their wild-type counterparts (mortality: 81 vs. 18%, respectively). When analysis of the most important cytokines involved in the mediation of resistance to infection was carried out, SAG1 transgenic mice exhibited low production levels of IL-12, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in sera during the acute phase of T. gondii infection. Antibody and T cells specific for SAG1 were not mounted upon SAG1 stimulation in SAG1 transgenic mice. Moreover, in vitro studies indicated that in SAG1 transgenic mice IFN-gamma and IL-12 production was lower than in their wild-type counterparts, although levels of TNF-alpha increased in SAG1 transgenic mice on day 9 after infection. Low IgG2a levels were detected in SAG1 transgenic mouse sera. Unresponsiveness to SAG1 of T. gondii renders SAG1 transgenic mice unable to develop a strong Th1-based protection against T. gondii infection. These results provide evidence that SAG1 is a pivotal antigen involved in the induction of immune responses towards the development of Th1-protective immunity during T. gondii infection.

Animals↗

Transverse myelitis associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections.

43-year-old man developed transverse myelitis following an infection with Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Among the uncommon neurological complications following infection with this organism, transverse myelitis has been reported rarely but may be more frequent than previously thought. Posterior spinal column involvement might result in a permanent neurological deficit despite the usually good prognosis.

Adult↗