Posture Induced Changes in the Maximal M-wave and the H-reflex Amplitude

The purpose of this study was to investigate posture induced changes in the H-reflex and maximal M-wave (M_max) amplitude in soleus muscle (SOL). The hypothesis of the present study is that both H-reflex amplitude and M_max amplitude change with posture. Nine healthy males were tested under two randomly administered conditions; prone and standing position. The ankle joint angle was set at the same angle in each postural condition by monitoring the electrical goniometer. H-reflex was elicited in the SOL from the right leg every 5 seconds using electrical stimulation to the tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded from the middle surface of the SOL and the tibialis anterior muscle (TA) using silver bipolar electrodes. Absolute values of H_max, M_max amplitude and H_max/M_max ratio in each postural condition obtained from the H-M recruitment curve were compared. All H_max/M_max ratios, H_max amplitudes and M_max amplitudes were significantly lower in the standing position. The hypothesis of the present study was verified, and M_max amplitude in the SOL was inhibited by the standing posture. There is a possibility that M_max amplitude is changed in conjunction with the posture induced physiological response

The Relationship between Inferior Vena Cava Distensibility and Arterial Blood Pressure

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the inferior vena cava distensibility and blood pressure. Six Japanese healthy males volunteered to participate in this study. We measured the cross-sectional area of inferior vena cava (CSAivc) and blood pressure at rest and during passive leg raising in supine position. We calculated the change rates of each parameter, based on the value at rest in supine position. We observed a negative correlation between the change rate of CSAivc and systolic blood pressure (P<0.05). These results suggest that the inferior vena cava distensibility affects partially systolic blood pressure

Surgical Outcomes of High-Grade Spinal Cord Gliomas

Study DesignA retrospective study.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to obtain useful information for establishing the guidelines for treating high-grade spinal cord gliomas.Overview of LiteratureThe optimal management of high-grade spinal cord gliomas remains controversial. We report the outcomes of the surgical management of 14 high-grade spinal glioma.MethodsWe analyzed the outcomes of 14 patients with high-grade spinal cord gliomas who were surgically treated between 1989 and 2012. Survival was charted with the Kaplan-Meier plots and comparisons were made with the log-rank test.ResultsNone of the patients with high-grade spinal cord gliomas underwent total resection. Subtotal resection was performed in two patients, partial resection was performed in nine patients, and open biopsy was performed in three patients. All patients underwent postoperative radiotherapy and six patients further underwent radiation cordotomy. The median survival time for patients with high-grade spinal cord gliomas was 15 months, with a 5-year survival rate of 22.2%. The median survival time for patients with World Health Organization grade III tumors was 25.5 months, whereas the median survival time for patients with glioblastoma multiforme was 12.5 months. Both univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models demonstrated a significant effect only in the group that did not include cervical cord lesion as a factor associated with survival (p=0.04 and 0.03).ConclusionsThe surgical outcome of patients diagnosed with high-grade spinal cord gliomas remains poor. Notably, only the model which excluded cervical cord lesions as a factor significantly predicted survival

Day-to-Day Variation in the Hoffmann Reflex in Females

The present study aimed to investigate changes in the Hoffmann reflex (H-reflex) at the same time on different days and to compare the findings between genders. Four males and five females in healthy subjects agreed to participate in the study and provided informed consent. All subjects were nonsmokers, and none of the females were consuming any oral contraceptives. The H-reflex was elicited in the right soleus muscle by constant current stimulation of the tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa with the subjects in the prone position. As a reference, the maximal amplitude of the H-wave relative to that of the M-wave (Hmax/Mmax) was measured to determine changes in α-motoneuron excitability. Hmax/Mmax of 6 to 9 trials and was represented by the coefficient of variation (CV). The CV of Hmax/Mmax in females was significantly higher than that in males. The level of Hmax/Mmax for males was highly reproducible, suggesting that fewer factors alter α-motoneuron excitability in males compared with those in females. Several female subjects experienced symptoms of depression and suffered from body and menstrual pain. Variations in Hmax/Mmax values were considerably greater for females than for males, suggesting that the α-motoneuron might be influenced by the menstrual cycle phase as well as by individual differences

Effect of Environmental Change while Climbing Mt. Daisen on Forced Vital Capacity and Forced Expiratory Volume % in Young Women

The aim of the present study was to clarify the effects of environmental change while climbing Mt. Daisen on forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume % in young women in summer. Seven healthy Japanese women (age: 22.6 ± 4.2 years) volunteered to climb Mt. Daisen (1,709m), located in Tottori prefecture, in August. Participants\u27 expiratory forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume % (FEV_%) and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO_2) were measured at 4 points (Ground: 10m, Rest point: 780m, Summit: 1,709m, Goal point: 780m). The measurements were conducted soon after the subjects\u27 arrival at each point. The degree of dyspnea sensation was measured at Ground, Rest point, Goal point and at each station. There were no significant changes in FVC. FEV_% at the summit was significantly lower than at the Ground and Rest point. No significant differences were found in SpO_2 at each measuring point. The degree of dyspnea sensation at each station soon after the subjects\u27 arrival was significantly higher than those at the Rest point. The results of this study indicated mild airway contraction induced by stresses on the respiratory system from increasing exercise intensity during an ascent of Mt. Daisen

Imaging of Glucose Metabolism by 13C-MRI Distinguishes Pancreatic Cancer Subtypes in Mice

Metabolic differences among and within tumors can be an important determinant in cancer treatment outcome. However, methods for determining these differences non-invasively in vivo is lacking. Using pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma as a model, we demonstrate that tumor xenografts with a similar genetic background can be distinguished by their differing rates of the metabolism of 13C labeled glucose tracers, which can be imaged without hyperpolarization by using newly developed techniques for noise suppression. Using this method, cancer subtypes that appeared to have similar metabolic profiles based on steady state metabolic measurement can be distinguished from each other. The metabolic maps from 13C-glucose imaging localized lactate production and overall glucose metabolism to different regions of some tumors. Such tumor heterogeneity would not be not detectable in FDG-PET

Dynamic Imaging of Glucose and Lactate Metabolism by C-13-MRS without Hyperpolarization

Abstract Metabolic reprogramming is one of the defining features of cancer and abnormal metabolism is associated with many other pathologies. Molecular imaging techniques capable of detecting such changes have become essential for cancer diagnosis, treatment planning, and surveillance. In particular, 18F-FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) PET has emerged as an essential imaging modality for cancer because of its unique ability to detect a disturbed molecular pathway through measurements of glucose uptake. However, FDG-PET has limitations that restrict its usefulness in certain situations and the information gained is limited to glucose uptake only.13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy theoretically has certain advantages over FDG-PET, but its inherent low sensitivity has restricted its use mostly to single voxel measurements unless dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (dDNP) is used to increase the signal, which brings additional complications for clinical use. We show here a new method of imaging glucose metabolism in vivo by MRI chemical shift imaging (CSI) experiments that relies on a simple, but robust and efficient, post-processing procedure by the higher dimensional analog of singular value decomposition, tensor decomposition. Using this procedure, we achieve an order of magnitude increase in signal to noise in both dDNP and non-hyperpolarized non-localized experiments without sacrificing accuracy. In CSI experiments an approximately 30-fold increase was observed, enough that the glucose to lactate conversion indicative of the Warburg effect can be imaged without hyper-polarization with a time resolution of 12s and an overall spatial resolution that compares favorably to 18F-FDG PET

下腿浴が心拍数、血圧、直腸温及び心臓自律神経系活動に及ぼす影響

The purpose of this study was to make clear the influence of foot bath on heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) , rectal temperature (RT) and cardiac autonomic nervous. Eight males served as subjects (n=8, mean age ; 22.9±2.0 yrs old). All subjects gave informed consent before participating. Subjects performed foot bath condition. The water level was 10cm below their articulation genus. Water temperature was 40 degrees Celsius. Cardiac autonomic nerve activity was estimated with power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) by using the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT). High frequency (HF ; 0.15-0.40Hz) was used as the index of cardiac parasympathetic nerve activity. These values were showed logarithmically (Log HF and Log LF / HF). HR, BP and RT were not significantly differences. Log HF and log LF / HF were not significantly increased rather than values of Base. These results suggest that foot bath was not influence in HR, BP, RT and cardiac autonomic nervous