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Biomedical subjects

J Murashita

Publications and source records attributed to J Murashita.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopic observations in 4 cases with anorexia nervosa.

1. Brain phosphorus metabolism was examined using phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 4 patients with anorexia nervosa. 2. In 4 patients examined before treatment, phosphodiester (PDE) peak area was significantly higher than that in 13 normal females. 3. In 6 data points in 4 patients, lower levels of PME were associated with malnutrition reflected by endocrinological abnormalities. 4. These data suggest that severe malnutrition in patients with anorexia nervosa may result in abnormality in membrane phospholipid metabolism, which might be responsible for brain atrophy in anorexia nervosa.

Adult

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the basal ganglia in patients with schizophrenia: a preliminary report.

To examine metabolic changes in the left basal ganglia in chronic schizophrenia, we performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in 21 medicated schizophrenic patients and 21 gender and age-matched normal controls. Compared to the normal subjects, the schizophrenic patients showed a significantly increased level of choline containing compounds (Cho) (t = 2.60, p < 0.05) and ratio of Cho to N-acetylaspartate (NAA) (t = 2.46, p < 0.05) in the left basal ganglia. No significant correlation was observed between the 1H-MRS measurements in the left basal ganglia and clinical symptom scores as evaluated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). The chlorpromazine equivalent neuroleptic dosage was positively correlated with the level of NAA (r = 0.38, p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the Cho/NAA ratio (r = -0.34, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that these changes in metabolites in the left basal ganglia may reflect some of the functional and morphological abnormalities reported previously for the brain in schizophrenia.

Adolescent

High-energy phosphate metabolism in the frontal lobes of patients with panic disorder detected by phase-encoded 31P-MRS.

Using phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS), we analyzed the brain phosphorous metabolism in 18 patients with panic disorder (PD) and in 18 sex-, age-, and handedness-matched normal controls (NC). All patients were receiving ongoing drug treatments for PD. The evaluation of phosphorous metabolism in the whole frontal lobes revealed no significant differences between the patients and controls in 31P metabolite levels, although the PD patients showed slightly decreased inorganic phosphate (Pi) concentration of the frontal lobes. Moreover, we found a significant asymmetry (left > right) of phosphocreatine (PCr) concentration in the frontal lobes in the patients with PD, suggesting that abnormalities of phosphorous metabolism are present in the frontal lobes of PD patients. Two patients in whom a limited panic episode occurred during measurements showed frontal lobe intracellular pH higher than that in the other patients and that in the NC, suggesting respiratory gaseous alkalosis due to hyperventilation in the anxiety state. 31P-MRS has potential for application in the assessment of brain abnormalities and anxiety state, such as that accompanied by hyperventilation, in PD patients.

Adolescent

Prevalence of cavum septum pellucidum detected by MRI in patients with bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia.

The incidence of cavum septum pellucidum (CSP), which has been widely regarded as a developmental anomaly of little clinical importance in neuropathology, was examined in 113 patients with affective disorders (69 with bipolar disorder and 44 with major depression), 40 schizophrenic patients, and 92 control subjects by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Significantly higher incidence of Grade 3-4 CSP (moderate to large) compared with the controls was found only in the schizophrenics. When a broader interpretation of CSP, including indeterminant (Grade 1) and small (Grade 2) CSP was used, three additional patients with bipolar disorder were found to have Grade 1-2 CSP, and the total prevalence of Grade 1-4 CSP in the patients with bipolar disorder was significantly higher than that in the control subjects but slightly lower than that in the schizophrenic patients. CSP was not observed in any patient with major depression. There were no differences between the patients with and without CSP in age, sex, education, or the duration of illness. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that neurodevelopmental abnormality may be present in schizophrenia, and such an abnormality may also be present in some patients with bipolar disorder.

Adult

The symptom structure of panic disorder: a trial using factor and cluster analysis.

Using cluster analysis of 207 patients with panic disorder (PD), we investigated the relationships between several panic symptoms at the time of panic attacks, which included anticipatory anxiety, agoraphobia, and 13 clinical symptoms based on the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual-III-Revised. Cluster analysis revealed three panic symptom clusters: cluster A (dyspnea, choking, sweating, nausea, flushes/chills); cluster B (dizziness, palpitations, trembling or shaking, depersonalization, agoraphobia, and anticipatory anxiety); and cluster C (fear of dying, fear of going crazy, paresthesias, and chest pain or discomfort). Generally, cluster A was comprised exclusively of physiological symptoms, among which respiratory symptoms were prominent, cluster B included both panic and non-panic symptoms such as agoraphobia and anticipatory anxiety, and cluster C was comprised chiefly of fear symptoms.

Adult

Effect of photic stimulation on energy metabolism in the human brain measured by 31P-MR spectroscopy.

Effect of photic stimulation (PS) on energy metabolism in the human occipital cortex was examined by using phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 9 normal subjects. Phosphocreatine (PCr)/total phosphorus signal peak area ratio significantly decreased from 12.3% to 10.9% during the 12 minutes of PS (P < 0.05). PCr once returned to a normal level after PS (11.9%) but significantly decreased again 12-18 minutes after PS (10.8%; P < 0.05). Intracellular pH increased from 7.08 to 7.16 during PS, although this increase was not significant. These results suggest that functional alteration of energy metabolism in the brain is different from that in muscles.

Adult

Choline-containing compounds detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the basal ganglia in bipolar disorder.

Choline-containing compounds (Cho) were examined by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in the left subcortical region, including basal ganglia, in 19 euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and 19 age-matched normal controls. Ten of the patients were treated with lithium; the remaining 9 were not treated with lithium for at least 30 d. The Cho to creatine + phosphocreatine (Cr) peak ratio in the bipolar patients (0.75 +/- 0.38 [mean +/- SD]) was higher than that in the normal controls (0.52 +/- 0.26, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the Cho:Cr peak ratio between patients treated with lithium (0.63 +/- 0.36) and without lithium (0.89 +/- 0.35). These results do not support the hypothesis that lithium increases the brain choline-containing compounds, but rather imply that membrane breakdown may occur in the basal ganglia of patients with bipolar disorder.

Adult

Lateralized abnormality of high-energy phosphate and bilateral reduction of phosphomonoester measured by phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the frontal lobes in schizophrenia.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (one-dimensional chemical shift imaging) was used to measure membrane phospholipid metabolism and high-energy phosphate metabolism in the left and right frontal lobes of 27 schizophrenic patients. In the schizophrenic patients, the phosphomonoester peak area was decreased in bilateral frontal lobes compared with that in age-matched normal subjects. On the other hand, the peak area of beta-adenosine triphosphate was increased in the left frontal lobe in the schizophrenic group. The phosphocreatine peak area was increased in the left frontal lobe of schizophrenic patients with high scores on the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS).

Adenosine Triphosphate

Lateralized abnormality of high energy phosphate metabolism in the frontal lobes of patients with bipolar disorder detected by phase-encoded 31P-MRS.

High energy phosphate metabolites were measured using phase-encoded in vivo phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) in both the left and right frontal lobes of 25 patients with bipolar disorder. Eleven patients were examined in the depressive state, 12 in the manic state, and 21 in the euthymic state. Twenty-one age-matched normal volunteers were also examined. The phosphocreatine (PCr) peak area percentage in the left frontal lobe in the patients in the depressive state was decreased compared with that in the normal controls. It was significantly negatively correlated with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score evaluated at the time of 31P-MRS examination. The PCr peak area percentage in the right frontal lobe in the patients in the manic and the euthymic states was decreased compared with that in the controls. These results are compatible with previous reports describing reduction of glucose metabolism in the left frontal lobe in depressive patients with bipolar disorder and trait-dependent right hemisphere dysfunction in bipolar disorder.

Arousal

Reduction of brain phosphocreatine in bipolar II disorder detected by phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Brain phosphorus metabolism was measured by 31P-MRS in 15 patients with bipolar II disorder (BP II) and 14 patients with bipolar I disorder (BP I). Phosphocreatine (PCr)levels were significantly lower in patients with BP II in all three psychiatric states compared to 59 normal controls (PCr (%) was 13.5 +/- 1.5 (mean +/- SD) for controls, and 12.2 +/- 1.7, 12.1 +/- 1.3, 12.0 +/- 1.9 for hypomanic, euthymic and depressed bipolar II patients respectively). High values of phosphomonoester (PME) were found in BP II patients in the hypomanic and depressive states, but PME values in the euthymic state did not differ significantly from controls. Intracellular pH of BP II patients in all three psychiatric phases was similar to control values, whereas euthymic BP I patients had lower pH values. These results suggest that brain high energy phosphate metabolism may be impaired in BP II and that there may be pathophysiological differences between BP I and BP II.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Correlations of phosphomonoesters measured by phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the frontal lobes and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Frontal lobe dysfunction has been linked to negative symptoms of schizophrenia. We used phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) to examine phosphorous metabolism in frontal brain regions in 26 schizophrenic patients compared with 26 sex- and age-matched control subjects. The relative signal intensities of phosphorous metabolites in frontal regions did not differ significantly between schizophrenic patients and control subjects. However, phosphomonoester levels were significantly decreased in frontal regions of 12 schizophrenic patients who had high scores on negative symptom subscales from the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (i.e., emotional withdrawal, motor retardation, and blunted affect) compared with 14 patients with low negative symptom scores on the same subscales and control subjects. The correlations between negative symptoms and phosphorous metabolism in the frontal lobes support the "hypofrontality hypothesis" in schizophrenia.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy and ventricular enlargement in bipolar disorder.

Phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) was used to examine whether reduced levels of phosphomonoesters (PME) were correlated with ventricular enlargement in 40 patients with bipolar disorder and 60 age-matched normal control subjects. Ventricular enlargement was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (1H-MRI) using the following three methods: Evans ratio (ER), Huckman number (HN), and minimum distance of caudate nuclei (MDCN). Although MDCN and ER were significantly larger in the patient group, no significant correlations were found between 31P-MRS and 1H-MRI. PME was negatively correlated with age in bipolar disorder. Decreased levels of PME were found only in bipolar I disorder. Intracellular pH was positively correlated with duration of lithium treatment. These results suggest that the observed PME reduction was not related to ventricular enlargement, but the issue should be further studied with volumetric MRI analysis.

Adult

Changes in the frequency distribution pattern of body weight in patients with major depression.

To compare the frequency distribution of body weight of the depressed patients with that of a standard group and to evaluate the change in distribution during treatment, body weight was measured in 106 depressed inpatients with major depressive disorder as defined by DSM-III criteria both on admission and on discharge. The body weight distribution in the depressed patients skewed towards a high frequency of lower weights on admission but shifted to the normal pattern on discharge. In women, this tendency was more obvious and was statistically significant. The body weight distribution in the depressed patients with melancholia maintained high frequencies of lower body weight on discharge, while that in those without melancholia did not, suggesting that there could be a difference in the pattern of body weight distributions between those with endogenous and nonendogenous depression. Three tricyclic antidepressants examined (imipramine, clomipramine and desipramine) did not seem to have the side effect of pathological weight gain in the frequency distribution pattern.

Adult

Instant shift from continuous flow assistance to paracorporeal diaphragm type pulsatile assistance.

Experiments were conducted implementing a special technique for shifting instantaneously from continuous flow to pulsatile flow assistance by using the assistant heart and obtaining the following results: Within only a few minutes, the shift could easily be made from one type of flow assistance to another on calves with normal hearts. In the 10 calves in which ventricular failure was produced, this instantaneous shift from continuous to pulsatile flow assistance brought about remarkable improvements in their hemodynamics. At the occurrence ventricular fibrillation in 6 of the calves, the return to sinus rhythm was possible with aid of this shift mechanism.

Acute Disease