BACKGROUND: Optical mapping technique is a novel electrophysiological detection method in which voltage-sensitivity dye is medium and silicon photoelectrical diode transforming technology is characteristic, used for analyzing the spatial-temporal distribution of membrane potential in complex neural system.OBJECTIVE: To observe the spatial-temporal changes of brainstem auditory electro-stimulation evoked potential by using optical mapping technology, so as to probe into the influence of γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) and γ-GABA receptor antagonist-bicuculline (BMI) on auditory evoked potential.DESIGN: Randomized controlled study.SETTING: Aging Medicine Research Institute of Military General Hospital and E.T.N Department of Japanese Kansai Medical University.MATERIALS:This study was conducted at E.T.N Department of Japanese Kansai Medical University from May to November 2002. Totally 100 ddy/ddy rats, with age of 0-5 days, clear grade, either gender were selected.METHODS: All rats were put to death after cryo-anaesthetized, and brainstem was cut into slices under frozen state so as to remain activity.One side of brainstem slice was connected with the residual end of untraumatic auditory nerve, and slices were put on organic glass plate with the bottom covered with siliac gel and fixed by tungsten filament of 30 μm wide. The residual end of untraumatic auditory nerve was stimulated by tungsten electrode, meanwhile the evoke potentials were recorded at cochlea nuclei and vestibule nuclei. In control group slices were incubated in artificial CSF for 20 minutes, which added with 50 μmol/L γ-GABA in experimental group for observing the influence of γ-GABA on brainstem auditory evoked signals; or alternatively incubated with 50 μmol/L g-GABA and 200 μmol/L for 20 minutes for observing the influence of BMI on brainstem auditory evoked signals. Stimulation was positive rectangle-shape impulse with electric current of 5 mA and frequency of 0.1 Hz, lasting period of 5 ms, the onset time of electric stimulation was set at 89.9 ms.Brain stem slices were stained with electric-sensitivity dye of NK3041 and 16×16 pixel silicon photoelectrical diode device was used to record the auditory nerve stimulation evoked optical signals.fluence of γ-GABA and BMI on optical signals.RESULTS: Totally 100 ddy/ddy rats enrolled in this study and 56 died Character of brainstem auditory electrical-stimulation evoked optical signals: Spatial-temporal changes of auditory evoked optical signals were recorded. The latency of optical signals was (4.63±1.01) ms cochlea nuclei and (6.00±0.89) ms at vestibule nuclei of the same side. Each optical sigual can be divided into two parts: Quick peak-potential and slow long-term potential. The onset phage of quick potential displayed pre-synaptic property, while later phage displayed post-synaptic property; the slow long-term reaction due to γ-GABA and BMI administration: 50 μmol/L γ-GABA was added into the perfusion fluid so as to reduce the amplitude of auditory evoked brainstem neuronal signals in maximum degree, the onset latency of quick potential did not prolonged, but amplitude slightly descended; while the latency and amplitude of later phage were obviously reduced. But such changes could be partly resumed due to the 200 μmol/L dicentrine administration.CONCLUSION: Auditory electro-stimulation evoked potentials can be detected by using multiple-site optical mapping system, which displaying spatial-temporal property. γ-GABA can obviously attenuate the amplitude of auditory electro-stimulation evoked brainstem signals, but such effect can be partly but not completely attenuated by γ-GABA A receptor antagonist-BMI, which implying that besides γ-GABA A receptor, such inhibition of γ-GABA energetic neurons on auditory electro-stimulation evoked potentials can be achieved by other γ-GABA subtype receptors.

A 60-year-old male was diagnosed as having sarcoidosis four months previously because of bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy seen on a chest X-ray, uveitis, and elevation of serum angiotensin converting enzyme. In summer, the patient suffered from hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and renal dysfunction. Renal biopsy showed interstitial nephritis with gallium scintigraphy demonstrating high uptake in the bilateral hilum, eyes, and kidneys. Corticosteroid treatment was effective in remarkably improving the renal disorder and radiographic abnormalities.
The calcium metabolic abnormalities and the granulomatous interstitial nephritis showed a marked response to corticosteroid therapy, so that immediate administration of corticosteroid may be justified even in cases without histological evidences. Gallium scintigraphy is suggested to be useful in noninvasive examination in acute stage of sarcoidosis.

AIMTo explore the influence of GABAergic neurotransmitters and GABAA receptors on the auditory afferent impulses recorded in the brainstem evoked by electro-stimulation.

METHODSBrainstem slices were prepared using ddy/ddy mice of postnatal 0-5th days. The brainstem slices were stained with a voltage-sensitive dye(NK3041). The cut end of the vestibulocochlear nerve (nVIIIth) connected with slices was stimulated by a tungsten electrode, a 16 x 16 pixels silicon photodiode array apparatus was used to record the optical mapping from auditory brainstem slices. The data were analyzed by ARGUS-50/PDA software.

RESULTSThe spatial-temporal patterns of the excitatory propagation from the vestibulocochlear nerve (nVIIIth) to cochlear nucleus and vestibular nucleus were displayed with multiple-sites optical recording. The optical signal coming from one pixel consisted of a fast spike-like response and a following slow response. Inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA decreased the fast spike-like response and following slow response of evoked optical signals, while an antagonist BMI against GABAA receptors increased the both responses.

CONCLUSIONA 16 x 16 pixel silicon photodiode array apparatus can be used to record multiple-sites optical mapping evoked by electro-stimulation to the cut end of the vestibulocochlear nerve. The every optical signal consists of both presynaptic and postsynaptic elements. Inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA and an antagonist BMI of GABAA receptors can modulate the excitatory propagation of evoked optical signals.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Auditory Pathways ; physiology ; Brain Stem ; physiology ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; physiology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Mice ; Neurons, Afferent ; physiology ; Optics and Photonics ; Photic Stimulation ; Receptors, GABA-A ; physiology ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; physiology

During the one-year period from April 1992 through March 1993, we measured 25, 498 blood samples by the use of a sequential multichannel autoanalyzer, which our hospital installed in August 1991. Of the total, 4, 707 samples were thoroughly examined under the microscope. They included those from the patients for which physicians indicated laboratory testing, those samples whose white cell counts were less than 3, 000/μlor more than 10, 000/μl, the cases in which the amount of hemoglobin was less than 10.0g/dl, and the samples which defied blood typing. The result was that three cases of myelodysplastic syndrome were detected, although the autoanalyzer failed to find any abnormalities in these three cases.
Laboratory technicians in hospital are so busy that they hardly have time enough for thoroughgoing examination of hemogram. Nevertheless, the recent experience has brought home to us the importance of a microscopic scrutiny, into hemogram and its application to diagnosis.

With the diagnosis of metastatic tumor of the lung suspected, we had a chance to experience a histopathological case of carcinoma of the uterine cervix (adenoid squamous cell carcinoma), which was thought to coexist with carcinoid tumor. In this paper, we report the results of cytological as well as histological examinations of the case.
The patient was as 43-year-old woman. She visited our hospital, complaining about abnormally prolonged uterine bleeding (metrorrhagia). Cytodiagnosis was performed with a Papanicolaou smear. A microscopic examination revealed squamous cell carcinoma occurring together with adenocarcinoma. A similar finding was obtained by cervical biopsy. Thus, the case was diagnosed as adenoid squamous cell carcinoma.
Then the patient underwent radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy, followed by chemotherapy. After leaving the hospital, she was put under doctor-monitored observation. About 4 years after the surgery, a chest x-ray examination found abnormal shadows. For inspection, bronchoscopy was performed. Carcinoid of the lung was diagnosed through histopathological as well as electron microscopic examination of specimens taken from bronchial polyps during bronchoscopy. At the same time a cytologic study was conducted. It also revealed neoplasms strongly suspected of caricinoid tumors. Retrospective studies of cytological and histopathological images of the uterine cervix when the patient first visited us found only adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, but no signs of carcinoid tumors. However, the immunohistological staining of NSE and chromoganins A, both neuroendocrine markers, showed positive findings in some adenocarcinomatous parts of the tissues of the unterine cervix. Therefore, we considered that the cervical cancer is compounded of adenoid squamous cell carcinomas and tumors having properties of neuroendocrine cells.
From this, we concluded that it is necessary to take into account a differential diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumors including carcinoid of the uterine cervix when less differentiated adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are suspected in histological and cytological examinations. Furthermore, we thought it important to make a definite diagnosis after meticulous examinations by immunohistological staining and electron microscopy.

Methadone is a difficult medicine to assess the efficacy at an initial stage because the blood concentration of it varies greatly among individuals and it takes days to reach a steady state and cannot be increased for 7 days. Nevertheless, there are few reports of blood concentration together with effects after administration of methadone about Japanese cancer patients. In this study, we investigated changes in blood concentration and pain score (NRS), and factors that affect blood concentration. Dose per body weight was only correlated with blood concentration of methadone. In the effective cases, NRS decreased chronologically until the 7th day after treatment initiation, and significantly decreased from the 1st day compared to before treatment initiation, but in the ineffective cases, it tended to decrease until the 3rd day, but there was no change thereafter. The blood concentration increased to 110 ng/ml on the 7th day in the effective cases, and in the ineffective cases, it reached the concentration on the 3rd day. Thus there was no correlation between the blood concentration and the drug efficacy. The individual blood concentrations tended to increase slightly or decrease after the 3rd day, but in only one case, it continued to increase. From the above-mentioned, it was shown that the effect could be judged at an early stage, however, since there was a case in which the blood concentration continued to rise until the 7th day, it was considered that the early dose increase within 7 days after initiation should be performed carefully.