The influence of size, specific gravity, and head position on the swallowing of solid preparations

AbstractAimTo clarify the influence of size and specific gravity of solid preparations, and the position of healthy volunteers when swallowing, for the purpose of practical use in patient consultation regarding the taking of medicines.Materials and methodsThe paper reports three studies. Volunteers were asked to swallow four different capsules (A, large and heavy; B, large and light; C, small and heavy; D, small and light) in Study 1, two preparations with different positions (upright, horizontal, and chin-down) in Study 2, and two preparations before and after anesthetization of the bilateral lingual and inferior alveolar nerve in Study 3. The oral transit time (OTT) and pharyngeal transit time (PTT) were evaluated with videofluoroscopy.ResultsThe mean OTT became longer in the order of C, D, B, A. The mean PTT showed no statistically significant differences. The swallowing preference of the four preparations ranked by the subjects showed that difference in size but not the difference in specific gravity is a significant factor. In the chin-down position, OTT was shorter for two preparations, compared with the other two positions. The mean OTT for both the A and B preparations was significantly longer after the bilateral lingual and inferior alveolar nerves were anesthetized.ConclusionWhen swallowing solid preparations, a consideration of size and the position will enable ease of swallowing of medicines. This would especially be the case when delivery of the medicines to be taken by the aged suffering from oral hypoesthesia caused by an underlying disease

Histologic Evaluation of Lymphaticovenular Anastomosis Outcomes in the Rat Experimental Model: Comparison of Cases with Patency and Obstruction

BACKGROUND: Lymphaticovenular anastomosis plays an important role in the surgical treatment of lymphedema. The outcomes of lymphaticovenular anastomosis are evaluated based on changes in edema; however, isolated assessment of the anastomosis itself is difficult. The authors used an animal experimental model to conduct a detailed examination of histologic changes associated with lymphaticovenular anastomosis and determined the factors important for success. METHODS: The experimental lymphaticovenular anastomosis model was created using lumbar lymph ducts and iliolumbar veins of Wistar rats. The authors performed anastomosis under a microscope and reviewed postoperative histologic changes using optical and electron microscopy. In addition, electron microscopy and histology were used for detailed examination of the area in the vicinity of the anastomotic region in cases with patency and obstruction. RESULTS: The patency rates immediately after, 1 week after, and 1 month after lymphaticovenular anastomosis were 100 percent (20 of 20), 70 percent (14 of 20), and 65 percent, respectively. A detailed examination of the anastomotic region with electron microscopy revealed that, in cases with patency, there was no notable transformation of the endothelial cells, which formed a smooth layer. In contrast, in obstruction cases, the corresponding region of the endothelium was irregular in structure. CONCLUSIONS: Vessel obstruction after lymphaticovenular anastomosis may be associated with irregular arrangement of the endothelial layer, leading to exposure of subendothelial tissues and platelet formation. One part of the postoperative changes after anastomosis and a cause of obstruction were elucidated in this study. The authors' results may enable improvements in lymphaticovenular anastomosis by translating back to real clinical operations

Intraday Activity Levels May Better Reflect the Differences Between Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder Than Average Daily Activity Levels

It is important to establish an objective index to differentiate mood disorders (i.e., bipolar disorder; BD and major depressive disorder; MDD). The present study focused on the pattern of changes of physical activity in the amount of activity intraday, and examined the relationship between activity patterns and mood disorders. One hundred and eighteen inpatients with MDD or BD in a depressive state provided the activity data by using wearable activity trackers for 3 weeks. In order to illuminate the characteristic patterns of intraday activities, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was adopted to extract the main components of intraday activity changes. We found that some of the PCs reflected the differences between the types of mood disorder. BD participants showed high activity pattern in the morning and low activity pattern in evenings. However, MDD showed the opposite. Our results suggest that activity tracking focused on daytime activity patterns may provide objective auxiliary diagnostic information

Vascularized peripheral nerve grafting promotes myelination of regrowing optic nerve

We investigated whether the use of vascularized peripheral nerve grafts on the optic nerve stump enhances axonal regeneration of retinal ganglion cells compared with isolated nonvascularized grafts. The rat median nerve was microsurgically sutured with its supplying artery and vein to the optic nerve stump. The number of retinal ganglion cells with regenerating axons was evaluated by retrograde labeling into the grafted peripheral nerve, and the myelination of the regenerating axon fibers was examined by electron microscopy. The number of retinal ganglion cells with regenerating axons was significantly higher in the vascularized graft than in the nonvascularized graft. The ratio of myelinated axon fibers was also increased in vascularized grafts. Thus, grafting with their supplying arteries and veins to an injured nerve stump represents a promising strategy to accelerate axonal regeneration from neurons of the central nervous system