Psychological state in cancer patients

The psychological state and changes over time of cancer patients in the active treatment stage were classified into emotions by the speech and behavior of the patient described in the medical record article of the cancer psychological interview record, and the analysis of the “emotional state map” was attempted. In all cases, positive / negative emotions were mixed and appeared with variation, but a relatively large number of positive emotions, including , , and , were manifested, and the same was true in patients who experienced stressful treatment events. In the background, the existence of appropriate support from medical professionals and psychological characteristics peculiar to the stage of active treatment was inferred, such as the active treatment of the target patient, the hospitalization environment in which mental and physical pain promptly appealed to medical professionals, and the influence of psychological interviews. Cancer patients during active treatment perceived and expressed changes in the body and pain caused by the disease, and after responses from medical professionals and family members, they were conscious of their physical condition and emotions. It is suggested that this analysis method helps to objectively understand and explain the invisible and ever-changing psychological state of cancer patients in the active treatment stage

Neuroradiological and neurofunctional examinations for the patients with 22q11.2 deletion

Since neuroradiological features of patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome are not well-understood, examinations using functional imaging were performed in this study. Brain magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy(MRS) were performed using a clinical 3-tesla MR imager in 4 patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (2 boys and 2 girls; 2~6 years.) and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Furthermore, interictal 123I- iomazenil (IMZ) single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) was examined in two of the four patients. Among 4 patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, 2 patients showed polymicrogyria and 1 patient showed agyria. Those patients with brain malformations also showed abnormal brain artery and decreased accumulation of IMZ in 123I-IMZ SPECT. Although all 4 patients showed epileptic discharges in electroencephalogram(EEG), one patient with polymicrogyria had no seizure episode. Decreases in γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA) corresponding to the areas of polymicrogyria and/or epileptic discharges in EEG were shown in all patients except for the patient with agyria. Although consistent evidence was not seen in patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in this study, brain malformations and disturbances of the GABAergic nervous system would be underlying mechanisms of the neurodevelopmental abnormalities in this syndrome

ジヘイショウ ノ シンダン チリョウ サイゼンセン

In this paper we review the pathophysiology of autism.1）The amygdala theory of autismThe network of neural regions that comprise the social brain includes the amygdala. There isa reduction in volume of amygdala in children with autism. The concentration of N-acetylaspartateis also decreased in amygdala of autistic brain. The amygdala is therefore proposed to be one ofseveral neural regions that are abnormal in autism.2）Mirror neuron dysfunction in autismChildren with autism underwent fMRI while imitating and observing emotional expressions.They showed no mirror neuron activity in the inferior frontal gyrus（pars opercularis）. Notably,activity in this area was inversely related to symptom severity in the social domain, suggestingthat a dysfunctional mirror neuron system may underlie the social deficits observed in autism

Age-related changes in a patient with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease by repeated 1H-MRS

Purpose: In this report, we describe a patient with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD) who underwent repeated evaluations by 1H-Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Subject: The patient was given a definitive diagnosis of PMD based on genetic testing, which showed overlap of the proteolipid protein 1 (PLP1) gene. The control subjects for 1H-MRS consisted of healthy age-matched children. Methods: All measurements were performed with a clinical 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. For 1H-MRS, the center of a voxel was positioned in the right parietal lobe. 1H-MRS was performed when the patient was 2, 6, 14, and 25 months old. Results: The concentration of GABA in early childhood (2 months 1.72 mM, 6 months 2.15 mM) was increased compared with that in normal controls. However, his GABA concentration was normalized at 14 and 25 months. The concentrations of Ins were increased after 6 months. No remarkable changes were seen in the concentration of Cho at any time. Conclusion These results suggest that the changes in metabolite concentrations during growth may reflect the pathological state of PMD. Furthermore, the lack of a change in the Cho concentration may be useful for differentiating PMD from other demyelinating diseases

Evaluation of the GABAergic nervous system in autistic brain : 123I-iomazenil SPECT study

Purpose: To evaluate the GABAA receptor in the autistic brain, we performed 123I-IMZ SPECT in patients with ASD. We compared 123I-IMZ SPECT abnormalities in patients who showed intellectual disturbance or focal epileptic discharge on EEG to those in patients without such findings. Subjects and methods: The subjects consisted of 24 patients with ASD (mean age, 7.3±3.5years), including 9 with autistic disorder (mean age, 7.0±3.7years) and 15 with Asperger’s disorder (mean age, 7.5±3.2years). We used 10 non-symptomatic partial epilepsy patients (mean age, 7.8±3.6years) without intellectual delay as a control group. For an objective evaluation of the 123I-IMZ SPECT results, we performed an SEE (Stereotactic Extraction Estimation) analysis to describe the decrease in accumulation in each brain lobule numerically. Results In the comparison of the ASD group and the control group, there was a dramatic decrease in the accumulation of 123I-IMZ in the superior and medial frontal cortex. In the group with intellectual impairment and focal epileptic discharge on EEG, the decrease in accumulation in the superior and medial frontal cortex was greater than that in the group without these findings. Conclusion The present results suggest that disturbance of the GABAergic nervous system may contribute to the pathophysiology and aggravation of ASD, since the accumulation of 123I-IMZ was decreased in the superior and medial frontal cortex, which is considered to be associated with inference of the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of others (Theory of Mind)

Function of the frontal lobe in autistic individuals: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic study

Purpose. In this investigation, we studied differences in chemical metabolites in certain brain regions between autistic patients and normal control subjects. Methods. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used to evaluate functional activity in these regions. Specific regions studied were right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(DLPFC) and the anterior cingulated cortex(ACC). Results. In the ACC, the N-acetylaspartate(NAA)/creatine/phosphocreatine(Cr) ratio in autistic patients (n=31) was significantly lower than that in control subjects (n=28). The decrease in the NAA/Cr ratio for the ACC was much greater in the group with worst social ability. NAA/Cr for the left DLPFC and social ability of autistic patients also correlated well. Furthermore, NAA/Cr for the left DLPFC in the group with intelligence quotient (IQ) below 50 was significantly less than in controls. NAA/Cr for the right DLPFC in autistic patients was not decreased compared to controls, and did not correlate with IQ or social ability. Conclusions. These findings suggest neuronal dysfunction in the ACC and left DLPFC in autism, and also a relationship between social disability and metabolic dysfunction in these regions. Dysfunction in the ACC and the left DLPFC may contribute to the pathogenesis of autism

Increased Susceptibility to LPS-induced Endotoxin Shock in Secretory Leukoprotease Inhibitor (SLPI)-deficient Mice

Secretory leukoprotease inhibitor (SLPI) protects tissue against the destructive action of neutrophil elastase at the site of inflammation. Recent studies on new functions of SLPI have demonstrated that SLPI may play a larger role in innate immunity than merely as a protease inhibitor. To clarify the functions of SLPI in bacterial infections, we generated SLPI-deficient mice (SLPI−/− mice) and analyzed their response to experimental endotoxin shock induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). SLPI−/− mice showed a higher mortality from endotoxin shock than did wild type mice. This may be explained in part by our observation that SLPI−/− macro-phages show higher interleukin 6 and high-mobility group (HMG)-1 production and nuclear factor κB activities after LPS treatment than do SLPI+/+ macrophages. SLPI also affects B cell function. SLPI−/− B cells show more proliferation and IgM production after LPS treatment than SLPI+/+ B cells. Our results suggest that SLPI attenuates excessive inflammatory responses and thus assures balanced functioning of innate immunity

Findings of brain 99mTc-ECD SPECT in high-functioning autism : 3-dimensional stereotactic ROI template analysis of brain SPECT

The aim of this study is confirmation of an abnormal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) pattern in high-functioning autism (HFA). Confirmation of an abnormal rCBF pattern in HFA may be useful for elucidate of its pathophysiology and a differential diagnosis, such as with attention-deficit / hyper activity disorder (AD/HD).Brain 99mTc-ECDSPECTwas performed in 16 cases of HFA. The HFA group consisted of 16 cases of HFA. They were all male, with an IQ of 76～126. They had normal brain MRI findings, and had an age of 9～14 years. We examined abnormal rCBF in HFA by comparing the results to those in the control group. The control group consisted of 1male and 4 females cryptogenic epilepsy patients with normal intelligence. They have no problems in learning at school or mental or behavioral traits. They had normal brain MRI or SPECT findings, and had an age of 7～15 years. 3-dimensional stereotactic ROI template (3DSRT) was used to analyze SPECT data. We calculated the ‘relative rCBF (%)’ (RI count of each segment ×100 / Sum of RI count of the corresponding hemisphere), and compared the values between the two groups. We found a significantly low ‘relative rCBF (%)’ in the left temporal region in the HFA group. We also calculated the ‘L/R ratio’ (the ‘relative rCBF(%)’ of a segment on the left side / the ‘relative rCBF (%)’ of the corresponding segment on the right side), and compared the value for each segment between the two groups. There were no significant differences in any segments between the two groups. We also checked for differences in the ‘relative rCBF (%)’ between segments on the right side and corresponding segments on the left side in both the HFA and control groups. We found significant rightltleft perfusion in the angular region and significant leftltright perfusion in the pericallosal, thalamus, and hippocampus region in the HFA group. We also found significant rightltleft perfusion in the temporal region in the control group. Significant hypoperfusion in the left temporal region due to an unidentified underlying brain pathology and abnormal laterality in the angular, temporal (lack of rightltleft perfusion), pericallosal, thalamus, and hippocampus regions may influence the symptoms of autism

Handling rich turn-taking in spoken dialogue systems

ABSTRACT This paper discusses how to build a system that can engage in a mixed-initiative human-machine spoken dialogue in which system utterances sometimes overlap with user utterances and vice versa. In the method, a module that incrementally understands user utterances and another module that incrementally generates system utterances work in parallel, and the timing of taking and releasing the dialogue initiative is decided according to the understanding of user utterances and the content of the system utterances. This method enables the system to respond when the user holds the dialogue initiative and is speaking, and enables the system to react to the user's barge-ins when it holds the initiative and is speaking. An experimental system called DUG-1 is also presented

MRS Study of ACC in Asperger's Syndrome

Purpose Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) is a noninvasive neuroimaging method to quantify biochemical metabolites in vivo and it can serve as a powerful tool to monitor neurobiochemical profiles in the brain. Asperger's syndrome (AS) is a type of autism spectrum disorder, which is characterized by impaired social skills and restrictive, repetitive patterns of interest and activities, while intellectual levels and language skills are relatively preserved. Despite clinical aspects have been well-characterized, neurometabolic profiling in the brain of AS remains to be clear. The present study used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) to investigate whether pediatric AS is associated with measurable neurometabolic abnormalities that can contribute new information on the neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder. Methods Study participants consisted of 34 children with AS (2-12 years old; mean age 5.2 (±2.0); 28 boys) and 19 typically developed children (2-11 years old; mean age 5.6 (±2.6); 12 boys) who served as the normal control group. The 1H MRS data were obtained from two regions of interest: the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and left cerebellum. Results In the ACC, levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), total creatine (tCr), total choline-containing compounds (tCho) and myo-Inositol (mI) were significantly decreased in children with AS compared to controls. On the other hand, no significant group differences in any of the metabolites were found in the left cerebellum. Neither age nor sex accounted for the metabolic findings in the regions. Conclusion The finding of decreased levels of NAA, tCr, tCho, and mI in the ACC but not in left cerebellar voxels in the AS, suggests a lower ACC neuronal density in the present AS cohort compared to controls