Hikaru Seto

Effects of Cimicifugae rhizoma on serum calcium and phosphate levels in low calcium dietary rats and on bone mineral density in ovariectomized rats.

We studied the effects of ethyl acetate-(EtOAc) soluble fractions from methanol (MeOH) extracts of Cimicifugae rhizoma derived from two species - Cimicifuga heracleifolia Komarov and C. foetida L. - and four triterpenoids (1-4) isolated from them on the serum calcium (Ca) and phosphate (P) levels in low - Ca dietary rats. The EtOAc-soluble fraction from C. heracleifolia Komarov (HE) significantly drecreased Ca levels when administered. Similarly, the EtOAc-soluble fraction from C. foetida L. (FE) significantly lowered serum Ca levels at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg/day, while the four triterpenoids (1-4) did the same at a dose of 25mg/kg/day. Interestingly only 7,8-didehydro-24-0-acetylhydroshengmanol-3-0-β-xyloside (4) showed a significant influence on serum P levels. The effects of HE and FE on the bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (L 2-4) in ovariectomized rats were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Rats treated with HE and FE showed a significant increase in BMD compared to untreated ovariectomized rats. BMD was lower in the latter than in sham-operated rats.

The effect of low molecular weight chitosan on bone resorption in vitro and in vivo.

We studied the effect of low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) on the formation of osteoclast-like multinucleated cells (OCLs) in the co-culture of mouse osteoblastic cells and bone marrow cells in the presence of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1alpha,25(OH)2D3]. LMWC at 440 microg/ml inhibited the formation of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive OCLs induced by 1alpha,25(OH)2D3. We prepared OCLs in the co-culture of osteoblastic cells and bone marrow cells. The effect of LMWC on pit formation by OCLs was examined using dentin slices, and LMWC inhibited pit formation at 440 microg/ml. Oral administration of the LMWC to ovariectomized rats prevented a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar vertebra without affecting the body and uterus weights. These results suggested that LMWC prevented a decrease in BMD in vivo by inhibiting osteoclastic bone resorption.

Contralateral cerebellar activation in frontal lobe epilepsy detected by ictal Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT.

A 65-year-old woman with Alzheimer dementia type with status epilepticus had an electroencephalogram, which showed an epileptic focus in the right frontal area. MRI showed no pathologic findings except for mild brain atrophy. Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT imaging during the ictal phase showed a marked increase of regional cerebral blood flow in the right dorsolateral frontal lobe, and ipsilateral basal ganglia and thalamus, in which regional cerebral blood flow was increased by 23-83% as compared with the left side. Interestingly, contralateral cerebellar activation was observed, where regional cerebral blood flow was increased by 23% as compared with the right side.

Long-term efficacy of heparin exercise treatment for patients with chronic effort angina: evaluation by exercise Tl-201 myocardial scintigraphy

To determine the effects of heparin exercise treatment on the coronary collateral flow reserve, exercise thallium-201 myocardial perfusion images were obtained with the same work-load before and late after heparin exercise treatment (17 +/- 2 months, mean +/- S.E.). In six patients with stable effort angina, to develop the collateral circulation, treadmill exercise was performed 20 times for 2-3 weeks with pretreatment with a single intravenous dose of heparin (5000 IU). The coronary collateral flow reserve was measured quantitatively as a severity score by analysis of exercise thallium-201 myocardial perfusion images. The severity score was decreased from 11,976 +/- 1722 to 5531 +/- 1967 (P < 0.05) long after heparin exercise treatment. The ST segment depression at the time of peak exercise was also decreased from 0.15 +/- 0.02 mV to 0.05 +/- 0.02 mV. In an additional five medically treated patients, these indexes remained unchanged during 18 +/- 3 months of follow-up period. These findings demonstrate that the coronary collateral flow reserve is significantly enhanced with heparin exercise treatment. These preliminary results lend support for heparin exercise treatment as one of the possible therapeutic modalities for treating patients with chronic stable effort angina.

Detection of active bleeding from ruptured aortic aneurysm by emergency radionuclide angiography.

Radionuclide angiography of the abdominal aorta provides hemodynamic information of the kidneys, aorta and aneurysm as well as the location and extent of aneurysm. Visualization of early abnormal activity in the pelvic region simultaneously with iliac artery visualization is thought to be a specific finding of active bleeding from a ruptured aneurysm of the abdominal aorta.

Increased concentration of 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate and 67Ga-citrate in extracranial bone metastases from pinealoma.

A rare case of extracranial bone metastases from pinealoma is reported. 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate and 67Ga-citrate scans were of great clinical value in confirming the presence of bone metastases. Bone lesions were positively delineated by both radionuclides, but the concentration of 67Ga-citrate was more extensive than that of 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate.

Simultaneous measurements of twenty-four-hour whole-body retention of 47Ca-chloride and 99mTc-MDP: Early differentiation of metabolic bone diseases in rat models

The 24-h whole-body retention (24-h WBR) of 47Ca-chloride and 99mTc-MDP was measured in four rat models over a 6-week period at 2 week intervals. Fine detail bone radiographs of the femurs and histologic bone specimens were also obtained simultaneously. In the osteomalacic (M) and steroid-induced osteoporotic (S) groups the 24-h WBR values of 47Ca were significantly lower, and in the osteoporotic (P) group were higher than in the control (C) group from the second week. The 24-h WBR values of 99mTc-MDP were significantly higher in the M group and were lower in the S group from the second week. Simultaneous measurements of 24-h WBR of these two radiopharmaceuticals facilitated the early differentiation of metabolic bone diseases in the animal models prior to the detection of radiologic bone changes.

Myocardial visualization on a routine perfusion lung scintigram: Relationship to the amount of right-to-left shunt

Three cases of myocardial visualization on a routine perfusion lung scintigram with99mTc-macroaggregated albumin were reported in patients with congenital heart diseases; two cases of tetralogy of Fallot and one case of truncus arteriosus type IV. Large right-to-left shunts greater than 39% and marked hypertrophy of the ventricle suggesting the presence of increased coronary blood flow were noted in all cases. In the two patients with tetralogy of Fallot myocardial activity appeared to be located in the hypertrophic right ventricles.

Automatic processing of patient's ID on a x-ray film with recognition technique for characters

By using a film digitizer it is possible to digitize X-ray film images with high quality. But from a practical point of view, conventional film digitizer systems are not satisfactory, because the identification of each film, that is indispensable for an image filing system, should be manually recorded. This procedure takes a long time and is cumbersome. In this paper we propose an automatic recognition method of film IDs using Synthetic Discriminant Function filters with an error check code, which greatly improves the recognition ratio. From experimental results it is confirmed that the proposed method is practically feasible. A full automatic film digitizer system is also described.

Twenty-four-hour whole-body retention of 47Ca-chloride : an index of global bone metabolism in rat models

The 24-h whole-body retention (24-h WBR) of 47Ca-chloride was measured over a 4-week period in three rat models verified by histologic study. In the osteomalacic and osteoporotic groups the 24-h WBR values were significantly lower and higher, respectively, than in the control group from the 2nd week. Quantitative assessment of bone radiographs by microdensitometry revealed significant osteopenia in these groups at the 4th week. The 24-h WBR values of 47Ca were found to differentiate the three rat models from the early stage of disease development.