No abstract available.
Coronary Vessels*

The confirmatory diagnosis of Moyamoya disease has been obtained by invasive angiographic examination. We report the results of MRI and transcranial doppler sonography of three cases ol Moyamoya disease, which ws disgnosed by clinical and angiography. We think that the diagnosis of Moyamoya disease can be made by noninvasive MRI and transcranial doppler sonography without conventional invasive angiography.
Angiography ; Diagnosis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Moyamoya Disease* ; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial*

This study was conducted to investigate tiamulin (TML) residues in the edible tissues of orally dosed broiler chickens and to re-establish the withdrawal time (WT). Thirty-six healthy Ross broiler chickens were administered 0.5 (TML-1) and 2.5 kg (TML-2) per ton feed, respectively, of the drug containing TML 78 g/kg for 10 days. Twenty-four tissue samples were collected from 6 chickens in each of the TML-1 and TML-2 groups on 0, 1, 3, and 5 days after drug administration, respectively. The residual concentrations of TML were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The correlation coefficient of the calibration curves was 0.9978 to 0.9998, and the limits of detection and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were in the range of 0.03 to 0.06, and 0.1 to 0.2 µg/kg, respectively. Recoveries ranged between 89.0% to 116.7%, and the coefficients of variation were less than 13.9%. After the drug administration, TML in the TML-1 and TML-2 groups was detected above the LOQ in 1 and 6 samples of liver, respectively, at day 0, and in 1 liver sample from both groups on day one. At 3 days after administration, TML was detected below the LOQ in all samples of TML-1 and TML-2. The calculated WT of TML in both TML-1 and TML-2 using the WT calculation program WT 1.4 was 0 days. In conclusion, the developed analytical method is suitable for detection, and the calculated WT of TML in poultry edible tissues is shorter than the current recommended WT of 7 days for TML in broiler chickens.

Hemimasticatory spasm is a rare disorder that often accompanies facial hemiatrophy and is characterized by spasm in one or more of the jaw-closing muslces supplied by the fifth cranial nerve. We report a clinical and electrophysiological observation of a patient of hemimasticatory spasm, who presented involuntary spasm on masseter muscle and hemiatrophy of the face on the right side for 7 years.
Facial Hemiatrophy ; Humans ; Masseter Muscle ; Spasm* ; Trigeminal Nerve

The pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy has not been fully explained. The earliest histological lesion is the loss of intramural pericytes and thickening of the basement membrane. Increased activity of the polyol pathway is a probable mechanism for these two abnormalities. Investigations have suffered from the lack of an exact animal model simulating the human condition. Examination of the retina in the spontaneously diabetic SHR/N:Mcc-cp rat demonstrated degeneration and loss of intramural pericytes, a progressive increase in basement membrane thickness, and microinfarctions with an area of non-perfusion. Therefore, this model may be used to clarify the biochemical mechanisms linking the metabolic abnormalities of diabetes and retinopathy.
Animal ; Diabetic Retinopathy/pathology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Hybridization ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR/genetics ; Rats, Inbred Strains/genetics ; Retina/pathology* ; Retinal Degeneration/pathology

PURPOSE: Good results of the cephalomedullary nails have been reported in proximal femoral fractures recently. Based on length of nails and shape of screws fixed in a femoral head for proximal fragment fixation, the proper nail length was in dispute. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiological results of a long cephalomedullary hip nail for the treatment of comminuted subtrochanteric femoral fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-one consecutive patients with severe subtrochanteric femoral fractures who had undergone intramedullary fixation using long-PFNA II between March 2010 and March 2013 were followed-up for over 12 months. Their mean age was 64.8 years old (range, 43-85 years). Sixteen of 22 cases were high energy trauma. According to Seinsheimer's classification, 5 cases were type IV and 16 cases were type V. For radiological assessment, time to union, change of neck-shaft angle, sliding length, tip-apex distance (TAD) and leg length discrepancy (LLD) were measured. For clinical evaluation, a modified Koval index was investigated. RESULTS: Mean operation time was 96 minutes. An average decrease of neck-shaft angle was 4.5°. The average sliding length of the helical blade was 4.2 mm. Average LLD was 3.0 mm, and TAD was 23.0 mm. Mean modified Koval index score at final follow-up was 4.6 points. All the 21 subtrochanteric fractures healed uneventfully on an average of 24.2 weeks (range, 18-30 weeks). CONCLUSION: Long cephalomedullary hip nail provides excellent clinical and radiological outcomes in the comminuted subtrochanteric fracture.
Classification ; Dissent and Disputes ; Femoral Fractures* ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Hip Fractures ; Hip* ; Humans ; Leg

BACKGROUND: G93A or A4V mutations in the human Cu/Zn- superoxide dismutase gene (hSOD1) cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS). However, it has not yet clearly understood how these bring about fALS. We investigated the effects of the G93A or A4V mutations in hSOD1 on the phosphatydilinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) pathway, and effects of GSK-3 inhibitor on the G93A- or A4V-mutant cells. METHODS: To evaluate those effects, VSC4.1 motoneuron cells were transfected with G93A- or A4V-mutant types of hSOD1 (G93A and A4V cells, respectively) with/without GSK-3 inhibitor were compared with them transfected with wild type (wild cells) in cell viability and intracellular signals, including PI3K/Akt, GSK-3, and caspase-3, 24 hours after neuronal differentiation. RESULTS: Compared with wild cells, MTT assay revealed a greatly reduced viability in G93A and A4V cells without GSK-3 inhibitor. However, treatment with GSK-3 inhibitor increased the viability of G93A and A4V cells. Western blotting showed that PI3K and pAkt were decreased, and GSK-3 and caspase-3 were increased in G93A and A4V cells, and that GSK-3 inhibitor treatment reduced caspase-3 but did not affected PI3K, Akt and GSK-3. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the G93A or A4V mutations induce inhibition of PI3K/Akt and activation of GSK-3 and caspase-3 resulting the vulnerability to oxidative stress, and that GSK-3 mediated cell death mechanism is important in G93A and A4V cell death.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ; Blotting, Western ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Death* ; Cell Survival ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; Glycogen Synthase* ; Glycogen* ; Humans ; Motor Neurons* ; Neurons ; Oxidative Stress ; Superoxide Dismutase

Liver fibrosis is part of the wound healing process to help the liver recover from the injuries caused by various liver-damaging insults. However, liver fibrosis often progresses to life-threatening cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. To overcome the limitations of current in vivo liver fibrosis models for studying the pathophysiology of liver fibrosis and establishing effective treatment strategies, we developed a new mouse model of liver fibrosis using polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate (PHMG-p), a humidifier sterilizer known to induce lung fibrosis in humans. Male C57/BL6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with PHMG-p (0.03% and 0.1%) twice a week for 5 weeks. Subsequently, liver tissues were examined histologically and RNA-sequencing was performed to evaluate the expression of key genes and pathways affected by PHMG-p. PHMG-p injection resulted in body weight loss of ~15% and worsening of physical condition. Necropsy revealed diffuse fibrotic lesions in the liver with no effect on the lungs. Histology, collagen staining, immunohistochemistry for smooth muscle actin and collagen, and polymerase chain reaction analysis of fibrotic genes revealed that PHMG-p induced liver fibrosis in the peri-central, peri-portal, and capsule regions. RNA-sequencing revealed that PHMG-p affected several pathways associated with human liver fibrosis, especially with upregulation of lumican and IRAK3, and downregulation of GSTp1 and GSTp2, which are closely involved in liver fibrosis pathogenesis. Collectively we demonstrated that the PHMG-p-induced liver fibrosis model can be employed to study human liver fibrosis.

An after-cataract is caused by the proliferation of residual cells over the equator of the lens. These cells subsequently migrate to the posterior lens capsule, where they undergo aberrant differentiation into fiber-like cells or transdifferentiation into fibroblast-like cells. To study the precise molecular mechanisms of transdifferentiation, an attempt was made to establish an in vitro system, in which the lens epithelial cells (LECs) of the pre-equatorial zone could be transdifferentiated into fibroblast-like cells. The required conditions for culturing the LECs were identified as consisting of four phases; intact bovine explants, explant-cultured, serum-modulated and additionally modulated LECs. The LECs of each phase were compared by examining changes in the expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) -related genes and changes in cellular morphology and adhesion. The explants that were cultured in a medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for 2 weeks, showed changes in the expression of the EMT-related genes, although the other explant-cultured cells maintained an epithelial morphology. To introduce a transition into mesenchymal cells, the explant cultures were subcultured in a medium containing 20% FBS for six passages. These cells displayed an elongated morphology and were able to grow and migrate in a similar way to fibroblast cells. The expression of the EMT-related genes, such as, extracellular matrix proteins and integrins, was altered. This was similar to the alteration of the 3-dimensional collagen gels model previously reported. During a further process of EMT by additional serum modulation, the inhibitory effect of disintegrin on cell adhesion was gradually decreased, integrin expression was differentially regulated and alpha-smooth muscle actin was post-translationally modified from the point of passage number six. Overall, it can be concluded that terminal transdifferentiation accompanies changes in the cytoskeletal proteins and cell surface molecules. These are modulated in systematic patterns of post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation and patterns of gene regulation, by the synergic effects of several transforming factors contained in serum. Therefore, posterior capsular opacification may also be accompanied by this molecular mechanism.
Animals ; Blood Proteins/*pharmacology ; Cattle ; Cell Adhesion/drug effects ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects/physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Epithelial Cells/*cytology/physiology ; Fibroblasts/*cytology/physiology ; Gene Expression/drug effects ; Lens, Crystalline/*cytology ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; alpha-Crystallin A Chain/genetics ; alpha-Crystallin B Chain/genetics

We report an unusual case of osteoblastic metastasis from gastric carcinoma. In this case, bone metastasis was the initial manifestation of the cancer. The laboratory findings revealed mild hypocalcemia and markedly elevated alkaline phosphatase levels. Plain X-ray showed mottled osteoblastic changes in the pelvis. Bone marrow and bone biopsy of the pelvis revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma with increased osteoblastic activity. An extensive search for the primary site revealed advanced gastric carcinoma, which was confirmed by endoscopic biopsy.
Adenocarcinoma/diagnosis/*secondary ; Adult ; Bone Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/*secondary ; Case Report ; Female ; Human ; *Osteoblasts/radiography ; *Pelvis/radiography ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Stomach Neoplasms/*diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed