Vocal cord abductor paralysis in multiple system atrophy: a case report

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by varying degrees of parkinsonism and cerebellar, corticospinal, and autonomic dysfunction. Vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP) is considered a sign of a poor prognosis in MSA, because it is a life-threatening complication that may cause nocturnal sudden death. This case report presents a patient who was treated for Parkinson's disease, and complained of dizziness and sleep apnea. We examined VCAP using fiberoptic laryngoscopy as the possible cause of sleep apnea. VCAP usually occurs in the advanced stages of MSA and is accompanied by a worsening of other symptoms. Optokinetic nystagmus was severely impaired and the caloric test response was bilaterally absent. Objective findings such as VCAP and abnormal neuro-otological results led to the diagnosis of MSA.

X-ray phase imaging of biological soft tissue using a direct-sensing x-ray HARP tube camera

A HDTV camera having a direct-sensing x-ray high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor (HARP) tube was used, for the first time, to acquire x-ray phase maps. The tube can achieve a high sensitivity as a result of the avalanche multiplication process in the HARP target. A beryllium plate, rather than a glass plate, was used as the face plate of the tube to minimize the loss of x-rays due to absorption, and a 15 microm thick HARP target was directly formed on it. In the experiment, the x-ray phase shifts produced by a rat liver were measured using synchrotron x-rays (lambda = 0.0766 nm) and a triple Laue-case (LLL) x-ray interferometer. Interference patterns produced by the sample were observed with the direct-sensing x-ray HARP tube camera. A voltage of 1300 V was applied to the HARP target to give an output signal gain of two. The camera was operated in 1125 scanning-line mode, and real-time images were stored on a workstation at a rate of 30 images/s with an image format of 960 (H) x 1100 (V) pixels. A phase-map image of the sample was successfully obtained using the fringe scanning method and phase unwrapping. The observed phase shifts ranged from 50 degrees to 200 degrees . Trees of blood vessels in the rat liver were clearly depicted without using a contrast agent. The spatial resolution of the x-ray camera was estimated to be better than 35 microm in the vertical direction and 100 microm in the horizontal direction.

Life-span studies on spontaneous tumor development in the medaka (Oryzias latipes)

A total of 961 medaka, separated chronologically from the first to the fifth year of life, were examined for spontaneous tumor development. While no liver tumors were found in either male or female medaka under the age of 1 year and the incidence in 2-year-old fish was relatively low (males 1.9% and females 1.7%), they became more common with advancing age. The incidence was higher in females than in males from 3 to 5 years of age, reaching 7.1% in 5-year-old female stock. These liver tumors included a total of 12 adenomas and 9 hepatocellular carcinomas. The hepatocellular carcinomas were histologically well differentiated and were all observed in female medaka. Spontaneous tumors occurring in organs other than the liver were rare and sporadic. Four squamous cell carcinomas, 5 melanomas and 4 lymphosarcomas were observed with no sexual or pronounced age bias being evident. The squamous cell carcinomas developed in the surface epithelium with local invasion into the dermis. Melanomas occurred in the abdominal cavity and demonstrated systemic invasion into various parts of the body. Three out of the 4 lymphosarcomas arose from the inner part of the operculum suggesting that these tumors were of thymic origin. They also showed extensive invasion. The data indicate a particular susceptibility of older female medaka to liver but not other tumor development.

The production of cloned fish in the medaka (Oryzias latipes)

The measurement of cellular DNA content by DNA microfluorometry revealed that medaka embryos that were fertilized with normal sperm and exposed to heat shock (41 degrees C for 3 min) or hydrostatic pressure (700 kg/cm2 for 10 min) at 85-95 min after insemination were tetraploid. Embryos fertilized with normal sperm and exposed to heat shock (41 degrees C for 2 min at 2-3 min after insemination) were triploid. These results suggest that heat shock or hydrostatic pressure at 85-95 min after insemination arrests the first cleavage, while heat shock at 2-3 min after insemination arrests the second meiotic division. Medaka clones have been produced by the following method: Eggs from orange-red or variegated variety were activated by UV-irradiated, genetically impotent sperm of wild-type fish (UV sperm). The haploid eggs obtained were diploidized by preventing the first cleavage with heat shock or hydrostatic pressure to produce homozygous females. Each of the two homozygous females was mated with vasectomized male in isotonic balanced salt solution to collect unfertilized eggs. The collected eggs were activated with UV sperm and converted from haploid to diploid by arrest of the second meiotic division with heat shock. Hatched fry of each homozygous diploid (all females) were fed with a methyltestosterone-containing diet (40 micrograms/gm diet) to produce sex-reversed males, which were mated with brood females, and thus two cloned lines were obtained.

Effect of heat on radiosensitivity at different developmental stages of embryos of the fish Oryzias latipes

Embryos of the fish, Oryzias latipes, at various developmental stages were heated before or after gamma-irradiation. The lethal effects of heat and radiation treatments were determined by the hatchability of the irradiated embryos. The radiosensitivity suddenly decreased at 3-days after fertilization. Heat (41 degrees C), either preceding or following irradiation, decreased the shoulder region (Dq) of the dose-response curves of the embryos irradiated at the 1-3 day stages, and increased the slope (D0) only at the 3 day stage. The magnitude of enhancement of radiosensitivity by pre- and post-heating was found to depend on the time and temperature of the heat as well as the developmental stage of the embryos; in 1- and 2-day embryos the effectiveness of post-irradiation heating was larger than that of pre-irradiation heating whereas in 3-day embryos there was no difference between the effectiveness of pre- and post-treatment. The sequence of heat (41 degrees C) and radiation treatment, and the time interval between the two treatments, also influenced the effectiveness of heat on radiosensitivity, depending upon the developmental stage; recovery from heat effects was not observed within a time interval of up to 3 h before radiation exposure for either 1- or 3-day embryos, whereas recovery from the radiation lesion occurred, for only 1-day embryos, within 1 h of subsequent heat exposure.

Whole-body X-irradiation of mice accelerates polyploidization of hepatocytes

Male C57BL/6 mice were whole-body irradiated with 4.75 Gy of X-rays at the age of 2 months and killed at 2, 6, 12 and 19 months after irradiation. The percentage survival began to decline earlier and faster in the irradiated group than the controls up to 19 months after exposure when the study was terminated. The nuclear DNA content of individual hepatocytes was measured by a Feulgen-DNA microfluorometric method, and hepatocytes were classified into various ploidy classes. In the irradiated mice, the degree of polyploidization was significantly higher than the controls by 2 months after exposure and steadily increased up to 6 months after exposure. Thereafter, however, a slow return to the control level was found up to 19 months after irradiation. These results appear to support a hypothesis that radiation accelerates the ageing process as judged from hepatocyte polyploidization.

Effect of gamma irradiation on the reproductive system of the pond snail Physa acuta

Changes in the survival rate in adults and embryos of the pond snail Physa acuta were studied after acute whole-body gamma irradiation. The LD50 value of the adult snails was about 40 kR. The LD50 values of the embryos irradiated 0 and 1 day after oviposition were about 0.9 and 2 kR, respectively. Histological changes in the ovotestis, the number of eggs laid, and their hatchability were examined in the irradiated adult snails. A fall and a subsequent recovery were observed for these characteristics after irradiation with 8 kR of gamma rays. The relative constitution of the germ-cell populations was greatly changed by the same dose of gamma rays. The proportion of immature germ cells was reduced, and the total number of germ cells also diminished 11 days after irradiation. After depletion, the ovotestis was first repopulated with gonia , and then with oocytes, spermatocytes, and spermatids.

The unique responses of the primordial germ cells in the fish Oryzias latipes to gamma-rays

The effects of gamma-radiation on the development of the primordial germ cells (PGCs) of medaka embryos (Oryzias latipes) during the early stages of development were quantitatively examined and compared to the effects on the intestinal cells. The PGCs develop in three stages: an extra-gonadal proliferative stage (1-2.5 days after fertilization), a mitotically inactive stage after the termination of the migration into the gonad (2.5-4.5 days), and an extensive proliferative stage (between 4.5 days and hatching). A dose-rate effect was absent in the PGCs, regardless of their mitotic activity, when dose rates were 2.5 and 0.14 Gy/min. The radiation effect on the PGCs was not reduced by hypoxia and was not enhanced by heat treatment during the proliferating stages. Conversely, radiation resistance was induced in the PCGs during the mitotocally inactive stage by hypoxia and, unexpectedly, by heat treatment. From the present data, we conclude that the PGCs have a small repair ability, and we discuss the radiation resistance induced in the PGCs by hypoxia and heat treatment.

Dominant lethal mutations induced by MMS and mitomycin C in the fish Oryzias latipes

Males of the fish Oryzias latipes were treated with various chemicals and then mated with normal females. The fertility and hatchability of the eggs laid by the parents were examined, and the dominant lethal effects were estimated. Mitomycin C induced dominant lethals in the fish spermatids and spermatocytes after the males had been treated with concentrations of 2.5 and 25 micrograms/ml. Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) induced dominant lethals in spermatozoa and spermatozoa and spermatids after the injection of 200 and 400 mg/kg. These results are in good agreement with the results obtained with mice. However, the effects of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) were not clear on spermatogenic cells at any stage. We could not recognize any significant induction of dominant lethals by urethanes, bleomycin, caffeine, and two kinds of food-color additives, at least under the present experimental conditions.

Dominant lethal mutation rate after gamma-irradiation of the fish, Oryzias latipes

When laying females or males of the small fish Oryzias latipes were irradiated with gamma-rays and then mated with a non-irradiated partner, the fertility and hatchability of the embryos were reduced as the doses increased. In respect to hatchability (the induction of dominant lethality), the male was more sensitive than the female, and mature sperm were most sensitive among the various stages of spermatogenetic cells. The dose-rate effects on the production of the dominant lethality were observed in spermatogonia and spermatocytes. The inbred strain of the fish, HB-1, was sensitive to gamma-rays. Since the relationship between dose and the decrease in hatchability was almost linear, at least within a limited range, we think that this system would be useful for monitoring mutagenic factors in an aquatic environment.

Effects of gamma-irradiation on the rejection of transplanted scale melanophores in the teleost, Oryzias latipes

The effects of gamma-irradiation on allograft rejection in the teleost, Oryzias latipes, were examined at 25 degrees C. The survival of melanophores in the transplanted scale was observed as an index of rejection. Allografts were rejected in non-irradiated fish within 7 days. In the gamma-irradiated recipients (2kR), the grafts were rejected more slowly, but still within 20 days. The gamma-ray effects, however, disappeared almost completely within 25 days after the irradiation. If the same recipient again received transplants, the secondary response occurred clearly and the melanophores were rejected very rapidly. The secondary response was suppressed by gamma-rays if the fish was irradiated just before the second transplantation. Immunologic memory against the first transplants disappeared within 30 days, a period shorter than that of mammals.

Age related changes in morphology of the thymus of the fish, Oryzias latipes

The thymus of the teleost fish Oryzias latipes is a paired structure found at the dorsoposterior part of the gill chamber. In 3-month-old fish, the thymus shows a great development. The thymus displays atrophy during aging, and the thymus involution continues until 5 years of age. Male thymus shows heavier involution than female thymus of the same age. Emigration of thymus cells takes place at all ages but increases with age.