Neurite Outgrowth of PC12 Mutant Cells Induced by Orange Oil and d-Limonene via the p38 MAPK Pathway

We studied the effects of natural essential oil on neurite outgrowth in PC12m3 neuronal cells to elucidate the mechanism underlying the action of the oils used in aromatherapy. Neurite outgrowth can be induced by nerve growth factor (NGF), where ERK and p38 MAPK among MAPK pathways play important roles in activating intracellular signal transduction. In this study, we investigated whether d-limonene, the major component of essential oils from oranges, can promote neurite outgrowth in PC12m3 cells, in which neurite outgrowth can be induced by various physical stimulations. We also examined by which pathways, the ERK, p38 MAPK or JNK pathway, d-limonene acts on PC12m3 cells. Our results showed that neurite outgrowth can be induced when the cells are treated with d-limonene. After treatment with d-limonene, we observed that p38 MAPK is strongly activated in PC12m3 cells, while ERK is weakly activated. In contrast, JNK shows little activity. A study using an inhibitor of p38 MAPK revealed that neurite outgrowth in PC12m3 cells is induced via the activation of p38 MAPK by d-limonene. The results thus indicate that d-limonene may promote neural cell differentiation mainly via activation of the p38 MAPK pathway

ホスピス トクシマ ニオケル マッキ ガン カンジャ ノ ボウシュヨウセイ シンケイ ショウコウグン ノ ハッショウ ヒンド ト ソノ リンショウテキ イギ

Neurological complications in advanced cancer occur frequently and therefore an adequate neurological assessment must always be part of patient evaluation in hospice palliative care. Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are rare, probably affecting less than 1 per cent of patients with cancer, even if the most commonly associated neoplasms, such as small-cell lung cancer and ovarian cancer are considered. Neurological complications were studied in 127 inpatients with advanced cancers. Neurological complications were seen in up to 40 per cent of the patients. The most frequent symptom was derilium, followed in order to lethargy, paraplegia, depression, dementia, hemiplegia, restlessness, aphasia, stupor, facial palsy, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, convulsion, and myastenia. Those symptoms were seen in patients in hepatic encephalitis（12）, metastatic brain tumor（9）, metastatic spinal cord injury（8）, depression（4）, paraneoplastic syndrome（4）, hypercalcemia（2）, senile dementia（2）, peripheral neuritis（2）, and cerebral infarction（2）. Of the four patients with paraneoplastic syndrome, one patient had both anti-Hu antibody and anti-VGCC antibody and two patients had anti-neuronal nuclear antibodies. These results indicate that paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are associated more than 1 per cent of patients with advanced cancer

「癒し」の認識-高齢者・中年・若者の比較-

癒しは病気の治癒過程だけでなく、日常の生活においても大きな影響をもつ。12項目からなる「癒し」尺度を作成し、その認識について構造化による高齢者・中年・若者の比較を試みた。2004年9月に調査を実施し、有効回答は高齢者169・中年178・若者174であった。この尺度の標本妥当性は高く、信頼性は第1因子では高いが、第2・3因子ではやや低かった。構造化(共分散構造分析AGFI0.94)し、癒しは笑顔や気配り、優しい言葉や励まし、気持ちを汲む・支援で大きな影響力があった。影響力の強い項目から働きかけると効果的である。世代間を比較すると、中年では日常行事や家族、高齢者では自然からの影響を多く受けていた。反対に若者ではペットや家族の存在、高齢者では一緒にいるで影響が低く、多様な考え方がある。全体で見ると癒しは笑顔や家族によってもたらされた。さらに若者では言葉がけ、仲者存在があった。世代がもつ「癒しの認識」を把握した上でケア・ケア教育を実施すると効果的である