6 research outputs found
Amantadine can Ameliorate Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction and Nocturnal Polyuria in Patients with Parkinson Disease and Vascular Parkinsonism
Get PDFBackground:Amantadine is a drug used for patients with Parkinson\u27s disease (PD) and vascular parkinsonism (VP). These patients often have lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and nocturnal polyuria (NP). Thus, we investigated the effect of amantadine on these in parkinsonian patients.Methods:Twenty-two patients with LUTS, including 13 with PD and nine with VP, were recruited. We performed a urinary questionnaire, frequency-volume chart, and residual urine (RU) measurement before and after daily administration of 150 mg and 300 mg amantadine.Results:Before amantadine administration, mean daytime urinary frequency was 9.07(standard error [SE], 0.64), nighttime urinary frequency 2.89 (0.24), urinary urgency per week 24.2 (6.69), urge incontinence per month 15.1( 9.94), urine volume per void 145.6( 12.6) mL, and residual urine volume 12.5( 6.30) mL. After daily 150 mg amantadine administration, mean daytime and nighttime urinary frequency, urinary urgency, and urge incontinence decreased to 6.9( 0.42), 1.97( 0.21), 13.0( 3.58), and 14.2( 10.2), respectively, and urine volume per void increased to 174.1( 11.3) mL. NP( N=8) was ameliorated in six patients. No patient had side effects. After daily 300 mg amantadine administration( N=8), mean daytime and nighttimeurinary frequency, urinary urgency, and urge incontinence decreased to 6.90 (0.33), 1.69 (0.10), 5.88 (1.61), and 2.31 (0.61), respectively, and urine volume per void increased to180.2 (15.0) mL. NP (N=4) was ameliorated in two patients. One patient developed hallucination, and two patients developed flashing sensation.Conclusion:Amantadine has beneficial effects on LUTS and NP in patients with VP and PD
CD4^+ -Central Memory and Effector Memory T Cells in Patients with Asthma
Get PDFAsthma is associated with chronic airway inflammation, suggesting that its pathogenesis is driven by type 2 helper T (Th2) cells among memory/effector CD4^+ T, cells. CCR4, a chemokine receptor, is considered a preferential marker for Th2 cells. Another chemokine receptor, CCR7, is regarded to be a suitable molecule for T-cell homing to lymph nodes. Recent studies have demonstrated that memory T cells are subdivided into central memory T cells (TCMs) and effector memory T cell (TEMs), designated as CCR7^+ CD62L^+ CD45RA^- and CCR7^- CD62L^- CD45RA^-, respectively. Nevertheless, the properties of TCMs and TEMs in allergic diseases remains unknown. This study focused on the cytokine production and the populations and survival of CD4^+ TCMs and CD4^+ TEMs in patients with asthma (n=3-5), as compared with those in healthy controls (n=4-5). We found that the population of TEMs in asthma was greater than that in healthy control. IL-4-producing cells among both activated TCMs and TEMs and IFN-γ-producing cells among TEMs were more abundant in asthma than in healthy control. Apoptotic cells stained with annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) were more numerous among both TCMs and TEMs in asthma than in healthy control after stimulation with both phorbol myristate acetate and ionomycin. Although CCR4^+ cell populations among TCMs and TEMs were similar in patients with asthma and healthy controls, cytokine-production profiles differed significantly. Namely, CCR4^+ (but not CCR4^-) TCMs and TEMs produced IL-4 and CCR4^+(but not CCR4^-) TCMs produced IFN-γ in both asthma and healthy control. In contrast, both CCR4^+ and CCR4^- TEMs produced IFN-γ. The production levels of IL-4 and IFN-γ by each subpopulation were greater in asthma than in healthy control. Our results suggest that increased CCR4^+-TEMs in peripheral blood accumulate in the lung and to play an important role in the development and maintenance of airway inflammation in asthma. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate CCR4^+ TCMs and TEMs in bronchial asthma and healthy controls
