The biological effects of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for malignant meningioma (MM) were evaluated experimentally. In vitro boron uptake from boronophenylalanine (BPA) was analyzed in a human MM cell line (IOMM-Lee). The cytotoxic effect of BNCT on IOMM-Lee was also evaluated and compared with that on the human malignant glioma cell line U87{delta}. In vivo boron bio-distributions following administration of BPA to mice bearing subcutaneous implants of the IOMM-Lee and U87{delta} were analyzed. The tumor-bearing mice were also given BPA and neutron irradiation was performed. After irradiation, the size of the tumor was assessed. The in vitro boron concentration of IOMM-Lee cells was increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The surviving fraction of neutron-irradiated cells with BPA decreased exponentially along with neutron fluence. The boron concentration of tumor nodules increased dose dependently after administration of BPA, while the tumor to brain and tumor to blood ratios of the boron concentrations were almost constant. The tumor nodules treated with BNCT decreased in size significantly in comparison with the control group. BNCT strongly enhanced the growth inhibition effect for the MM compared with the malignant glioma. These findings suggest that BNCT should become a highly effective treatment for MM patients. (author)
Objective: For diagnosing the lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it is necessary to understand normal structures on each sequence. In this study, we attempted to clarify structures of the normal tongue on fat -suppressed enhanced MRI qualitatively. Clinical material and method: Twenty-seven fat-suppressed enhanced MR images of normal tongue were studied, which were obtained using a T1 weighted spin echo pulse sequence (T1WISE) with the chemical shift selective (CHESS) method by a superconducting MRI scanner operating at 1.5T. Tongue structures and their signal intensities on fat-suppressed enhanced images were assessed and compared to those obtained by non-enhanced T1WI. Results: Normal tongues were found to be composed of a symmetrical high signal area (HSA), low signal area (LSA), lingual septum, bilateral sublingual gland, and genioglossus muscle on nonenhanced T1WI. In the fat-suppressed enhanced images, HSA and lingual septum signal intensities were suppressed. Further, though the lingual mucosa was well visualized in fat-suppressed enhanced images (P<0.05), differentiation of HSA and LSA was difficult as compared to the nonenhanced scans (P<0.05). Conclusion: Fat-suppressed enhanced scans demonstrated simple anatomical structures as compared to conventional T1WI with independent signal intensity. Accordingly, we conclude that it is necessary to use both sequence for diagnosing the mass lesion located in the tongue.
In patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), the evaluation of neurological status is clinically important. A detailed analysis of the pupillary dynamics under the control of the autonomic nervous system was performed in patients with POAG. Pupil size and pupillary light reflex were measured by an infrared videopupillogram in 13 patients with POAG (from 25 to 67 years old) with good oculotensive controls without applications mydriatics nor miotics revealed. Pupillary light reflexes were analyzed by comparing the simulated patterns obtained after the studies with topical autonomic agents. Effects of topical adrenergics (dipivalyl epinephrine: DPE 0.025%) on the pupil were also investigated. Three types of autonomic abnormalities (cholinergic, adrenergic and physiological mydriatic reflex patterns) of the light reflex were detected in 11 eyes of 6 patients, and a normal pattern was found in only 2 eyes of one patient. Afferent pupillary defect (APD) pattern was detected in 13 eyes. Although APD was generally described as a reduced visual input, the degree of APD was not related to the stage of the visual field defect in POAG.
The authors previously reported light reflex abnormalities and adrenergic supersensitivity to topical epinephrine (DPE; dipivalyl epinephrine) of the pupils in patients with ocular hypertension (OH) and those with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). In this investigation, we attempted to reconfirm pupillary light reflex abnormalities we reported previously, and to investigate the relationship between the normotensive effect of 0.1% DPE and the pupillary light reflex abnormalities in OHs and POAGs. A total of 11 OHs and 11 POAGs under good oculotensive control with neither mydriatics nor miotics were examined. They were measured by an open-loop photically stimulated infrared videopupilogram, and were neurologically diagnosed by comparing the simulated patterns of the light reflex made by topical autonomic agents. When we considered the progress of the stage of POAG, both OHs and POAGs showed satisfactory reproducibility of pupillary light reflex abnormalities. Other cases in which light reflexes altered, showed worsening of the visual field deficit, which was prominent when OHs developed into POAG. OHs with significant reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) after topical administration of 0.1% DPE showed various kinds of abnormal pupillary light reflexes. On the contrary, cases with little reduction of IOP after 0.1% DPE instillation showed normal pupillary light reflexes in OHs and afferent pupillary defect on POAGs.
In this paper, the normal values, distribution, and variations in serum and urinary activities of the lysosomal enzyme, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), were estimated in a rural area of Japan. The frequency distribution of NAG activities both in the serum and urine of 1,152 males and females (aged 35 to 87), living in a rural area of Gifu Prefecture in Japan, showed an approximately log-normal distribution. Geometric mean values (with S.D. ranges) in healthy subjects (876 males and females) were 12.61 U/l (9.56-16.63) for serum NAG and 8.05 U/l (4.03-16.07) for urinary NAG. There was no significant difference between those of males and females. Serum and urinary NAG activities increased with advancing ages, and these NAG activities in hypertensive subjects were higher than those in normotensives. Since the serum and urinary levels of several commonly measured cytosolic chemicals were within normal limits, the above results could not be ascribed to tissue necrosis. Thus, the estimation of serum and urinary NAG could be a useful indicator discriminating the essential hypertensive patients from the normal subjects.
The natural killer (NK) activity and NK cell subsets in peripheral blood were evaluated in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), by using 51Cr release cytotoxicity assay and two color flowcytometry analysis. The peripheral blood NK activity was significantly lower in IBD than that in normal controls. This decrease of the NK activity was independent on the disease activity of IBD but dependent on the steroid medication. The total population of NK cells (Leu 7+ or 11c+ cells) did not change in IBD as compared with those of normal controls. However, the proportions of Leu7+11c- cells and Leu7-11c+ cells in IBD were higher and lower, respectively as compared with those of normal controls. These findings suggest that the maturation step of NK cell lineages might be impaired in IBD. The decrease of NK activity in IBD was supported by the change in the proportion of NK cell subsets described above. It was thought that such a change in NK cell subsets might be a specific finding in IBD patients, because it was not observed in patients with non-IBD colitis.
In the present study, intermaxillary fixation for a period of 1 or 2 weeks after excision of the articular disc was administered to maturing rats. After removal of the fixation, the animals were allowed unrestricted mandibular movement. Histological observations were made at the postoperative 3rd month in those rats which demonstrated normal occlusion. As a result, it was found that the normal articular disc did not regenerate. However, in the articular cavity, both connective tissue and articular disc-like structures were found. The major changes in the mandibular fossa were tylosis of the outer fibrous layer of the fossa and an accompanying shallowing tendency. The major changes in the condyle were tylosis and morphological deformation of the fibrous layer of the parietal region. The deformation was mainly manifested by a fan-shaped hypertrophy. In the cases in which neither connective tissue nor articular disc-like structures were present in the articular cavity, changes in the mandibular fossa and condyle were remarkable. The appearance of the articular disc-like structure was more frequent in cases with 2-week intermaxillary fixation than in those with 1-week fixation.
