Concordant factors of depression rating scales and dimensionality of depression

A redundancy analysis was carried out between a doctor rating scale (D-RS) and a patient self-rating scale (P-SRS) to determine relating dimensions. The first and second major redundancy variates obtained from the P-SRS and the D-RS were rotated to obtain biorthogonality and interpretability. The obtained two concordant dimensions between the P-SRS and the D-RS were interpreted as depression and vegetative factors. Any redundancy factors before the rotations, however, did not reveal a general factor pattern. These results suggest that the two-dimensional structure is more appropriate for understanding the depression symptomatology rather than the unidimensional structure of a general or endogenous factor pattern. We also discussed how dimensional differences caused a low concordance in severity or total scores.

Requirement of basolateral amygdala neuron activity for the induction of long-term potentiation in the dentate gyrus in vivo

We investigated the effect of injection of a local anesthetic, tetracaine, into the ipsilateral basolateral amygdala (BLA) on long-term potentiation (LTP) in the medial perforant path-dentate gyrus granule cell synapses of anesthetized rats. The dentate gyrus synaptic potential evoked by low frequency test stimulation did not change following tetracaine injection into BLA. However, when tetanic stimulation (30 pulses at 60 Hz) was applied 10 min after tetracaine injection, the magnitude of LTP was significantly attenuated in a dose-dependent manner. Injection of tetracaine after tetanic stimulation did not affect the established LTP. The small LTP observed in the BLA-lesioned rats was regarded as the BLA-independent component of LTP, which was not affected by tetracaine injection. These results suggest that neuron activities in the ipsilateral BLA are partly required for the induction of LTP in the dentate gyrus in vivo.

[Analysis of gait disturbance in a patient with corticobasal degeneration]

A 64-year-old right-handed man was admitted because of increasing clumsiness of the right hand and difficulty in walking since 8 months earlier. The WAIS revealed verbal IQ 124, performance IQ 104 and full scale IQ 115. Neurological examination revealed slight dysarthria and normal eye movements. The right upper extremity showed Gegenhalten, tremor, dystonic elbow flexion, marked grasp reflex, grasping and groping behavior. Voluntary movements were slow and clumsy on the right side. However, neither ideational nor ideomotor apraxia was observed. Tendon reflexes were slightly exaggerated on the right side. Plantar responses were normal. The patient had difficulty in initiating forward walking and turning movements. Once started, he walked dragging his right foot ahead of the left with short steps. A line on the floor was of no benefit. He could not stride across the line on the floor in front of him. Analysis of gait with floor reaction force revealed that the single step rhythm of his frozen gait was about 1.5 Hz, which contrasted with the high frequency seen in Parkinson's disease. MRI demonstrated atrophy of the frontal and parietal lobes on both sides. 123I-IMP single-photon emission CT demonstrated severe hypoperfusion of the left frontal and parietal lobes. Frozen or shuffling gait is a popular symptom as well as unsteady gait and tendency to fall in corticobasal degeneration. It may result from the frontal lobe dysfunction. Lack of improvement in freezing by the visual input contrasts with Parkinson's disease and may be related to dysfunction of the mesial part of the frontal lobe or the parietal lobe involved in corticobasal degeneration.

Roles of GABAA, NMDA and muscarinic receptors in induction of long-term potentiation in the medial and lateral amygdala in vitro

We have studied mechanisms underlying long-term potentiation (LTP) in the medial and lateral amygdala using in vitro slice preparations. In normal bathing medium, LTP was not induced by tetanic stimulation (100 pulses at 100 Hz). However, in the presence of a GABAA blocker, picrotoxin or bicuculline, LTP was reproducibly induced in both medial and lateral amygdala. In the medial amygdala, the LTP induced in the presence of picrotoxin was blocked by 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), an NMDA receptor antagonist, and was significantly reduced by scopolamine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist. On the other hand, the LTP in the lateral amygdala was not affected by APV, but was significantly reduced by scopolamine. These results suggest that both NMDA receptors and muscarinic receptors are involved in the induction of medial amygdala LTP, while muscarinic receptors, but not NMDA receptors, are involved in the induction of lateral amygdala LTP.

Structural requirement for neurotrophic activity of spermine in cultured rat hippocampal neurons

We investigated the structure-activity relationship for the neurotrophic activity of spermine by comparing the effects of several synthetic spermine analogues on the survival of cultured rat hippocampal neurons. N,N'-bis(3-aminopropyl)-1,6-hexanediamine and N,N'-bis(3-aminopropyl)-1,3-propanediamine did not promote the neuronal survival, suggesting that the central butanediamine structure is essential for the neurotrophic activity. Furthermore, N1,N12-bis(ethyl)spermine significantly promoted the neuron survival, but its maximum effect was smaller than that of spermine, indicating that two terminal primary amines are required for full agonist activity. The structural requirement for the neurotrophic activity of spermine was different from those for any other reported activities of polyamines.

The effect of graded calcium infusions on rhythmic blood pressure oscillations in normal man

This study was designed to determine whether calcium contributes to the regulation of rhythmic oscillations in blood pressure. Six normal subjects received sequential 1-h infusions of calcium gluconate (1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 mg calcium/kg/h) during continuous blood pressure (Finapres) monitoring. The plasma ionized calcium ([Ca2+]) concentration increased from 4.6 +/- 0.07 mg/dl to 5.97 +/- 0.20 mg/dl (p < 0.01) with infusion. The mid-frequency (0.07-0.14 Hz, Mayer wave) power spectrum of diastolic blood pressure was depressed slightly following the first dose but increased significantly following the final dose (p < 0.05). The high-frequency (0.15-0.40 Hz) power spectrum of systolic blood pressure decreased following the first dose (p < 0.05) and subsequently remained low. The low-frequency (0.02-0.6 Hz) power spectrum was not affected. These results demonstrate that graded hypercalcaemia affects blood pressure oscillations in man. Our data suggest that the amplitude of the Mayer wave, a clinical marker of sympathetic vascular tone, is modulated in part by calcium.

Eyelid metastasis from breast cancer showing marked response to chemotherapy

A patient with recurrent breast cancer, who was diagnosed with eyelid metastasis as a part of systemic metastases and in whom systemic chemotherapy was markedly effective, is reported. A 50-year-old woman underwent a radical mastectomy for stage II breast cancer in October, 1988. Histologically, the tumor was invasive lobular carcinoma. In October, 1993, the patient consulted our hospital complaining primarily of swelling of the left eyelid and restriction of movement in the left eye. Metastasis from breast cancer was diagnosed on eyelid biopsy. On further examination, metastases were detected in the liver, bone, orbit, peritoneum and pleura. Systemic combined chemotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin and 5-fluorouracil was administered intravenously at intervals of three weeks. Complete responses were obtained in the eyelid and peritoneal metastases after three courses, and in the liver metastasis after five courses. Partial responses were also observed in the bone and pleural metastases. The incidence of eyelid metastasis from breast cancer is very low, one case only having been previously reported in Japan and 34 cases abroad. Most of these cases were treated locally by surgical resection or radiotherapy, but the mean survival period was only 14 months, ranging from two months to four years. Eyelid metastasis from breast cancer should be regarded as a manifestation of systemic spread of the tumor and, in principle, treated by systemic therapy.

Enhanced plasma GH responses to simultaneous administration of TRH and GHRH in patients with primary hypothyroidism

The mechanism of aberrant GH responses to TRH was indirectly evaluated in 7 patients with primary hypothyroidism. All patients showed GH response to TRH. When TRH was administered together with GHRH, the plasma GH response was much greater than after a single administration of TRH or GHRH (TRH+GHRH vs. TRH or GHRH: max. delta GH, 16.4 +/- 3.2 vs. 5.4 +/- 1.3 or 6.0 +/- 0.8 microgram/L; AUC, 1282.7 +/- 234.7 vs. 384.0 +/- 95.0 or 441.8 +/- 66.2, both P < 0.01). The combined administration of TRH and GHRH caused an additive, but not a synergistic, GH response. In contrast, 8 normal subjects showed neither any plasma GH response to TRH nor enhancement by TRH of GHRH-induced GH response following combined administration. It is concluded that the sites of action of TRH seemed to be different from GHRH in patients with primary hypothyroidism.

Early immunohistochemical changes of microtubule based motor proteins in gerbil hippocampus after transient ischemia

Changes of immunoreactivities for microtubule based motor proteins, kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein, and non-motor protein, microtubule associated protein (MAP) 2 were investigated in gerbil hippocampus after transient ischemia. The immunoreactivities for kinesin showed a progressive decrease in hippocampal CA1 cells from 8 h after transient 5 or 15 min of ischemia that is lethal to the CA1 cells, while it showed no change after 2 min of ischemia that is non-lethal to the cells. The immunoreactivities for cytoplasmic dynein showed a decrease from 3 or 1 h of reperfusion in the CA1 cells after 5 or 15 min of ischemia, respectively. In contrast, the immunoreactivity for MAP2 remained normal until 2 days in the CA1 cells after 5 min of ischemia. These results showed an early changes of microtubule based motor proteins, such as kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein in vulnerable CA1 neurons. These changes may affect the mitochondrial shuttle system between neuronal cell body and the peripheries such as axon terminal and dendrites. This early disturbance may cause a failure to obtain newly synthesized nuclear encoded mitochondrial protein, and result in mitochondrial dysfunctions and the subsequent cell death.

A putative digestive cysteine proteinase from Drosophila melanogaster is predominantly expressed in the embryonic and larval midgut

Plant seeds have biodefense systems for protection against insects. One of these systems may be based on the occurrence of phytocystatins, cysteine proteinase inhibitors of plant origin, that probably inhibit insect cysteine proteinases involved in digestive functions. To elucidate a molecular mechanism for this biodefense phenomenon, we isolated a gene encoding a putative digestive cysteine proteinase from Drosophila melanogaster, a suitable model species. The cloned genomic DNA fragment contained a sequence encoding a cysteine proteinase. The mature enzyme from the encoded protein, termed Drosophila cysteine proteinase-1, consisted of 218 amino acid residues. Drosophila cysteine proteinase-1 showed 67% similarity in its amino acid sequence to a lobster cysteine proteinase-3 contained in the digestive juice. This enzyme also showed significant similarities to cysteine proteinases of animal origin such as cathepsins H and L, and to proteinases of plant origin such as rice oryzains alpha and beta. In situ hybridization studies for the embryo showed that the mRNA for Drosophila cysteine proteinase-1 was predominantly expressed in the midgut. Larval alimentary organs, such as the salivary gland and the midgut including the gastric caeca, also expressed the mRNA at significant levels. These observations, suggesting that Drosophila cysteine proteinase-1 is a digestive cysteine proteinase which can be used as a model target of phytocystatins, will hopefully lead to new strategies for the regulation of pest insects.

A new mitochondrial DNA deletion associated with diabetic amyotrophy, diabetic myoatrophy and diabetic fatty liver

Mitochondrial dysfunctions of the muscle in diabetic amyotrophy and of the liver in diabetic fatty liver have been reported. We investigated mitochondrial gene mutations in three cases: (1) a patient with diabetic amyotrophy in the muscles of the lower extremities, and neuropathy; (2) 5 diabetics with myoatrophy, diabetic nephropathy, and chronic renal failure; and (3) an IDDM patient with a diabetic fatty liver. We identified a 5778-bp deletion (8214-13991) in mitochondrial DNA from the muscle and liver biopsy specimens by the primer shift PCR and PCR-direct sequence methods. It is speculated that 5778-bp deletion is due to homogeneous recombination in the 7-bp repeat sequence of TCCTAGA flanking the region deleted in the mitochondrial DNA. Determination of respiratory chain enzyme activities in fresh muscle mitochondria demonstrated the defect in complex I activity. The deletion covers areas coding ND3, ND4, ND4L, and ND5 in complex I. The 5778-bp deletion might cause a defect in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic amyotrophy, myoatrophy with diabetic nephropathy, and chronic renal failure, as well as diabetic fatty liver in IDDM.

Long-term effects of niceritrol on serum lipoprotein(a) and lipids in patients with high levels of lipoprotein(a)

The long-term effects of niceritrol on lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]), lipids, apolipoproteins, and fibrinogen and fibrinolytic factors were evaluated in 20 outpatients who had serum Lp(a) levels higher than 20 mg/dL. The mean ( +/- SE) levels of Lp(a) decreased from 33.6 +/- 2.3 mg/dL to 23.5 +/- 3.5 mg/dL after 12 months of niceritrol treatment (P < 0.01). Serum levels of triglycerides and apolipoprotein E decreased significantly and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increased significantly after 12 months (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes overall in fibrinogen and fibrinolytic factors, although fibrinogen concentrations showed a tendency to decrease with treatment. PAI-1 levels decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after 6 months of niceritrol treatment. A significant correlation of percent reduction between Lp(a) and apolipoprotein B levels (P < 0.01) was observed, suggesting that the Lp(a)-lowering effects of niceritrol may be due to niceritrol inhibition of apolipoprotein B synthesis, the major apolipoprotein of Lp(a). The ability of niceritrol to decrease Lp(a) levels and increase HDL-C levels, together with its tendency to lower fibrinogen levels, may help prevent coronary events in patients with high levels of Lp(a).

Antihypertensive and renal-protective effects of losartan in streptozotocin diabetic rats

OBJECTIVE

To assess the renal benefits of a specific angiotensin II receptor antagonist, losartan, in diabetic rats with renal impairment.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Uninephrectomized streptozotocin diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were randomly assigned to receive vehicle, or to receive losartan or captopril, or both, intraperitoneally via osmotic minipumps for 8 weeks.

RESULTS

Blood pressure and urinary protein excretion in the diabetic SHR increased progressively during the experimental period. Both captopril treatment and losartan treatment completely blocked the development of hypertension in diabetic SHR. Simultaneous administration of captopril and losartan did not enhance the antihypertensive effects of losartan treatment or captopril treatment. Furthermore, losartan treatment, captopril treatment and losartan + captopril treatment all significantly decreased urinary protein excretion, urinary albumin excretion and serum creatinine to the same extent. These effects were sustained for the entire experimental period and were not associated with any significant changes in body weight, urine volume, urine sugar and urinary electrolytes excretion. These results were confirmed by morphological analysis of kidneys in each group of rats. Losartan treatment, captopril treatment and losartan+captopril treatment all significantly and effectively protected against an increase in the percentage of focal glomerular sclerosis. Losartan treatment and captopril treatment both significantly attenuated the increase in heart weight: body weight ratio. The heart weight: body weight ratio in the losartan-treated group was significantly lower than in the captopril-treated group.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that hypertension could accelerate diabetic renal impairment and that losartan has antihypertensive and renoprotective effects in this rat model. They also suggest that the antihypertensive and renoprotective effects of captopril treatment in this rat model are caused mainly by inhibition of angiotensin II production rather than stimulation of the kallikrein-kinin system or of vasodilator prostaglandins. The difference in potency between losartan treatment and captopril treatment to attenuate the increase in heart weight: body weight ratio might partly explain the existence in the heart of angiotensin-forming pathways, which are not dependent on angiotensin converting enzyme.

Physical mapping of the retinoid X receptor B gene in mouse and human

Retinoid X receptors (RXRs) are zinc finger-containing nuclear transcription factors. They belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily that contains retinoid receptors, vitamin D receptors, thyroid hormone receptors, and steroid hormone receptors as well as the so-called orphan receptors. We previously mapped all three RXR genes on mouse chromosomes, using a panel of Mus spretus-Mus musculus interspecific backcross mice: Namely, the RXRA-gene (Rxra) on Chr 2 near the centromere, the RXRB gene (Rxrb) on Chr 17 in the H2 region, and the RXRG gene (Rxrg) on distal Chr 1. Using cosmid clones that cover the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, we determined the precise physical map positions of the gene encoding mouse and human RXRB, respectively. The mouse gene (Rxrb) maps between H2-Ke4 and H2-Ke5: namely, immediately telomeric to H2-Ke4 which encodes a histidine-rich transmembrane protein, and 12 kilobases centromeric to H2-Ke5 which is expressed in lymphoid tissues. Rxrb and H2-Ke4 are transcribed into opposite directions from a CpG-rich promoter of about 250 base pairs. This gene organization is well conserved also in the human genome at the HLA-DP subregion of Chr 6p, underscoring the strong conservation of the gene organization in the MHC region between the two mammals.

Scanning electron microscopic studies of reticular framework in the rat mesenteric lymph node

BACKGROUND

The reticular framework in the lymph node has in the past been studied mainly by light microscopy of silver-impregnated specimens. The aim of the present study is to understand three-dimensionally the ultrastructure and organization of the reticular framework better than before.

METHODS

The mesenteric lymph nodes of the rat were prepared either an alkali-water maceration method or a conventional method and were observed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

RESULTS

The SEM study of alkali-water macerated tissues visualized directly the reticular fiber network in the lymph node. The reticular fibers consisted of thin bundles of collagen fibrils. They were continuous with the collagen fibrillar sheaths of blood vessels and lymphatic sinuses as well as with the fibrous capusule, thus acting as a skeleton of the lymph node. The arrangement of the reticulum was variable, depending on individual compartments. The SEM study of conventionally treated tissues, on the other hand, clarified the shape of reticular cells and their relationship with the reticular fibers. The sinus reticular cells connected with the sinus lining cells but separated from the parenchymal reticular cells, indicating that the former two originate from lymphatic endothelial cells. The parenchymal reticular cells varied in shape depending on their locations but essentially shared features with fibroblasts.

CONCLUSIONS

The arrangements of the reticular fibers in the parenchyma were closely related to the associated reticular cells, showing the possibility that the reticular cells maintain the shape of the reticular framework suitable for each compartment of the lymph node.

A crossed Kana agraphia

We report a right-handed man who developed selective Kana (phonogram) agraphia following an infarct in the non-dominant right cerebral hemisphere. His ability for comprehension, reading and writing of Kanji (ideogram) was unaffected. Kana errors consisted of substitution with another letter and the number of target words was well preserved. The lesion responsible for his Kana agraphia included the right Wernicke's area (the posterior one-third or one-half of the superior temporal gyrus) on MRI, but he did not have aphasia. Based on these findings, we conclude that the language function in some dextral people may be partially lateralized to the right cerebral hemisphere.