Background: and Purpose The natural course of adult-onset moyamoya disease (MMD) is unknown, and there is no medical treatment that halts its progression. We hypothesized that progressive shrinkage of large intracranial arteries occurs in adult-onset MMD, and that cilostazol inhibits this process. Methods: Serial high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) was performed on 66 patients with MMD: 30 patients received cilostazol, 21 received other antiplatelets, and 15 received no antiplatelets or had poor compliance to them. Serial HR-MRI was performed (interval between MRI scans: 29.67±18.02 months, mean±SD), and changes in outer diameter, luminal stenosis, and vascular enhancement were measured. Factors affecting HR-MRI changes were evaluated, including vascular risk factors and the ring finger protein 213 gene variant. Results: The progression of stenosis to occlusion, recurrent ischemic stroke, and the development of new stenotic segments were observed in seven, seven, and three patients, respectively. Serial HR-MRI indicated that the degree of stenosis increased with negative remodeling (outer diameter shrinkage). Patients who received cilostazol presented significantly larger outer diameters and lower degrees of stenosis compared with other groups (p=0.005 and p=0.031, respectively). After adjusting for clinical and genetic factors, only cilostazol use was independently associated with negative remodeling (odds ratio=0.29, 95% confidence interval=0.10–0.84, p=0.023). While vascular enhancement was observed in most patients (61 patients), the progression of enhancement or the occurrence of new vascular enhancement was rarely observed on follow-up HR-MRI (6 and 1 patients, respectively). Conclusions Adult-onset MMD induces progressive shrinkage of large intracranial arteries, which cilostazol treatment may prevent. Further randomized clinical trials are warranted.

Lack of adequate sleep has become increasingly common in our 24/7 modern society. Reduced sleep has significant health consequences including metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, and mental problems including depression. In addition, although the increase in life expectancy has provided a dream of longevity to humans, the occurrence of osteoporosis is a big obstacle to this dream for both male and female. It is known that insomnia and bone health problems, which are very critical conditions in human life, interestingly, share a lot of pathogenesis in recent decades. Nevertheless, due to another side effects of the synthetic drugs being taken for the treatment of insomnia and osteoporosis, patients have substantial anxiety for the safety of drugs with therapeutic expectation. This review examines the pathogenesis shared by sleep and osteoporosis together and herbal medicine, which has recently been shown to be safe and efficacious in the treatment of both diseases other than synthetic drugs. We suggestions for how to treat osteoporosis. These efforts will be the first step toward enabling patients to have comfortable and safe prescriptions through a wide selection of therapeutic agents in the future.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Dreams ; Female ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Life Expectancy ; Longevity ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; Prescriptions ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

Recently, we reported that Artemisia annua (AA) has anti-adipogenic properties in vitro and in vivo. Reduction of adipogenesis by AA treatment may dampen systemic inflammation and protect neurons from cytokine-induced damage. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess whether AA increases neuronal maturation by reducing inflammatory responses, such as those mediated by cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). Mice were fed normal chow or a high-fat diet with or without chronic daily oral administration of AA extract (0.2 g/10 mL/kg) for 4 weeks; then, changes in their hippocampal dentate gyri were measured via immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence staining for bromodexoxyuridine, doublecortin, and neuronal nuclei, markers of neuronal maturation, and quantitative western blotting for COX-2 and Iba-1, in order to assess correlations between systemic inflammation (interleukin-6) and food type. Additionally, we tested the effect of AA in an Alzheimer's disease model of Caenorhabditis elegans and uncovered a potential benefit. The results show that chronic AA dosing significantly increases neuronal maturation, particularly in the high-fat diet group. This effect was seen in the absence of any changes in COX-2 levels in mice given the same type of food, pointing to the possibility of alternate anti-inflammatory pathways in the stimulation of neurogenesis and neuro-maturation in a background of obesity.
Adipogenesis ; Administration, Oral* ; Alzheimer Disease ; Animals ; Artemisia annua ; Blotting, Western ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; Cyclooxygenase 2* ; Dentate Gyrus* ; Diet, High-Fat ; In Vitro Techniques ; Inflammation ; Mice* ; Neurogenesis ; Neurons* ; Obesity* ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases*

No abstract available.
Bone Density* ; Female ; Humans ; Motor Activity*

Crowns ; Genioplasty ; Gingival Recession ; Humans ; Incisor ; Malocclusion ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Prognathism

An attractive target for anti-herpes chemotherapy is the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) protease encoded by the UL26 gene. HSV-1 protease is essential for DNA packaging and virus maturation. To perform high throughput for potent inhibitors, the efficient production of larger amounts of highly purified enzyme and protease activity assay method must be established. In this report, expression in E. coli and purification of the protease gene of HSV-1 strain F was investigated. The protease gene was cloned pET28, and the nucleotide sequence of protease catalytic domain of HSV-1 compared strain F with other strains (KOS and CL101). In these results the F strain was different in base sequence. However, the amino acid sequence was identifical. The HSV-1 protease was purified with His-tagged affinity column. The analysis of HSV-1 protease activity Was performed by high performance liquid chromatography.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Catalytic Domain ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Clone Cells ; DNA Packaging ; Drug Therapy ; Herpes Simplex* ; Herpesvirus 1, Human* ; Simplexvirus*

To investigate viral pathogenesis and in vivo efficacy of acyclovir (ACV) in mouse HSV-1 encephalitis models, female BALB/c mice aged 5 weeks were inoculated with strain F either intranasally (IN) or intracerebrally (IC). ACV-treatment by intraperitorneal injection with 0, 5, 10 and 25 mg/kg b.i.d. for 6days was commenced 1 h after infection. Body weight and signs of clinical disease were noted daily up to 2 weeks. ED50 of ACV in IN infection was 5mg/kg and 14.1 mg/kg in IC infection. Tissues of cental nervous system were collected from 2 mice per group everyday up to 5 days p.i. and the virus titers were measured. In IN infection model, high titers in eyes and trigeminal nerves were observed. ACV-treatment showed significant reduction of the titers in all the isolated. In IC infection model, cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem showed high virus titers. ACV-treatment showed less significant reduction of virus titers than that in IN infection model. Reactivation of explanted trigeminal nerves from mice 30 day p.i. was monitored. In all of ACV treated mice reactivation was observed, i.e. even the highest dose of ACV did not inhibit the establishment of viral latency.
Acyclovir* ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Brain Stem ; Cerebellum ; Cerebrum ; Encephalitis* ; Female ; Herpes Simplex* ; Herpesvirus 1, Human* ; Humans ; Mice* ; Nervous System ; Simplexvirus* ; Trigeminal Nerve ; Virus Latency

No abstract available.
Echocardiography, Transesophageal* ; Foramen Ovale, Patent*

No abstract available.
Blood Group Incompatibility*

The fifty four patients with urinary stones(38 men. 16 women) and nine controls on usual constant diet were evaluated with the measurement of urinary minerals. electrolytes, citrate and calculation or net gastrointestinal absorption or alkali by recently devised simple method, i.e., (Na+K+ Ca + Mg)-(CI +1.8P) of urine, to evaluate prevalence of either hypo-or hyper-excretion of each items as well as to see possible correlation between citraturia and net gastrointestinal absorption of alkali. In 24-hour urine measurement, the stone patients in comparison with controls showed hyperexcretion of calcium(p<0.05), oxalate(p<0.05) and sodium(p<0.05) and hypoexcretion of phosphorus( p<0.05), potassium(p<0.001) and citrate(p <0.05). Hypocilraturia(less than 320mg/ dl) was noted in 64.8% of all stone patients though mean urine citrate levels were higher in women compared to men without statistical significance. In view of gender difference, all 24-hour urine analysis except citrate in stone patients were higher in men than women. of which calcium, creatinine, potassium and chloride were statistically significant(p<0.05). A retrograde analysis between citraturia and net gastrointestinal absorption of alkali in both stone patients and controls didn`t reveal any significant correlation. In conclusion, 24-hour urine biochemistries are an influential factor or the stone formation and this study regarding to relation between hypocitraturia and reduced net gastrointestinal absorption of alkali shows no correlation."
Absorption ; Alkalies ; Calcium ; Citric Acid ; Creatinine ; Diet ; Electrolytes ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Minerals ; Potassium ; Prevalence ; Urinary Calculi