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Masahiro Ohashi

Publications and source records attributed to Masahiro Ohashi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Examination by near-infrared spectroscopy for evaluation of piano performance as a frontal lobe activation task.

The purpose of this study was to reveal the activation of the frontal lobe in piano performance by the use of near-infrared spectroscopy. Participants wereseven healthy volunteer music college students. The results of the examination showed a tendency towards an increase in total hemoglobin volume over a wider area in the frontal part of the brain during an appropriate piano task compared with an easy piano task or the Keio version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The results suggest that piano performance is recognized as a frontal lobe-activating task and that performance of an appropriate piano task can be expected to elicit wider activation of the frontal lobe than an easy one.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Latent infection of human herpesvirus 7 in CD4(+) T lymphocytes.

To determine the cell populations in peripheral blood that are infected latently with human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7), the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine the quantities of viral DNA in adherent and non-adherent cells from 71 healthy volunteers. Real-time PCR, which detected the U31 gene of HHV-7, was developed to measure viral load. The majority of non-adherent cells (14/16; 87.5%) contained HHV-7 DNA, while most of the adherent cells did not (1/16; 6.3%). HHV-7 viral load in non-adherent cells was significantly higher than that in adherent cells (P < 0.0001). Then, HHV-7 DNA load was compared between the CD4-positive and -negative cell fractions derived from the non-adherent cells of 26 healthy adults. As in the previous experiment, only 2 (7.7%) of the 26 adherent cell specimens contained small amounts of HHV-7 DNA (27.7 copies/1 x 10(6) cells and 208.7 copies/1 x 10(6) cells). In contrast, 88.5% of CD4(+) T cell samples (23/26 specimens) were positive for HHV-7 DNA, ranging from 0.4 to 3,542.8 copies/1 x 10(6) cells. Viral DNA was detected in only 3 (11.5%) of the 26 CD4(-) T cell specimens, with 8.4, 63.5, and 74.1 copies/1 x 10(6) cells. HHV-7-positive DNA loads were significantly higher in the CD4(+) T cells than those observed in the CD4(-) T cells (P = 0.0005). The relationship between HHV-7 viral loads in non-adherent cells and those in saliva was investigated. Comparison of HHV-7 DNA load between blood CD4(+) T cells and saliva revealed that the HHV-7 DNA load in saliva correlated with that present in CD4(+) T cells (r = 0.415; P = 0.0174).

Adult↗
PubMed2006

How great is willingness to pay for recovery from sequelae after severe traumatic brain injury in Japan?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the burden on families with a family member suffering traumatic brain injury sequelae in Japan. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: Family members' burden from the sequelae of traumatic brain injury was estimated by use of willingness-to-pay models and the contingent valuation method. A national survey among 1707 members of the Japan Traumatic Brain Injury Association was conducted by postal questionnaire with open-ended questions. A total of 509 (29.8%) of the family members responded (405 men and 104 women). Mean age of patients with traumatic brain injury was 33.4 (SD 14.3) years and of responding family members 53.3 (SD 14.5) years. RESULTS: Willingness-to-pay for the family member's recovery from sequelae of traumatic brain injury (8,694,502 Japanese yen; 79,134 US dollars/year) was similar to that reported for a family member's survival from incurable terminal disease (8,342,953 Japanese yen; 75,934 US dollars/year). CONCLUSION: The data indicate that family members perceive the burden of a family member with traumatic brain injury sequelae as similar to what would have been caused by an incurable terminal disease.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Effectiveness of a comprehensive day treatment program for rehabilitation of patients with acquired brain injury in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of a day treatment program with a comprehensive team approach for treating outpatients with acquired brain injury, which is offered by the Kanagawa Rehabilitation Hospital. DESIGN: Non-randomized controlled study. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five program graduates and 12 control patients with acquired brain injury. METHODS: A prospective study using 25 brain-injured patients with cognitive dysfunction who were provided with a comprehensive day treatment program at Kanagawa Rehabilitation Hospital. The 25 enrolled patients had treatment sessions lasting 2-4 hours for 2 days a week over a 3-6-month period. Functional Independence Measure/Functional Assessment Measure (FIM/FAM) and the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) were administered before and after the program to compare outcomes between the 25 program participants and the 12 control patients who did not receive the day treatment program. RESULTS: Significant improvements in speech intelligibility, problem solving, memory, attention and social integration scores in the FIM/FAM and scores in social integration and productive activity in the CIQ were evident in the enrolled subjects. In addition, 9 of the 25 patients returned to work or school. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the effectiveness of this program in helping to rehabilitate patients with acquired brain injury.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Severe acute tonsillitis caused by Rothia dentocariosa in a healthy child.

A 4-year-old Japanese girl developed a sore throat and high fever. Her tonsils were enlarged, red and covered with a thick white membrane. There was marked leukocytosis (26,600 leukocytes per mm) and elevated C-reactive protein levels (23.3 mg/dL). Rothia dentocariosa was recovered from the throat swab; many Gram-positive cocci were observed in the smear from the pseudomembrane covering the tonsil.

Actinomycetaceae↗
PubMed2004

Monitoring herpesvirus DNA in three cases of acute retinal necrosis by real-time PCR.

BACKGROUND: It is not clear whether quantitative analysis of viral DNA in ocular specimens is correlated with disease activities of acute retinal necrosis (ARN). OBJECTIVES: To monitor viral load in ocular specimens collected from patients with ARN by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). STUDY DESIGN: Ocular samples (aqueous humor and vitreous) were serially collected from three patients with ARN. Viral load in those samples was evaluated by real-time PCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In case 1, large amounts of varicella zoster virus (VZV) DNA (4.8 x 10(6) to 5.5 x 10(6) copies/ml) were detected in aqueous humor during the first 2 weeks after admission. The viral load in vitreous was higher than that in aqueous humor at the time of vitrectomy. As ophthamoscopic findings and visual acuity improved through acyclovir (ACV) treatment, the viral load in aqueous humor decreased dramatically. In case 2, the patient was treated with intravenous ACV at first, but clinical features did not improve. The herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 viral load in aqueous humor remained stable (2.3 x 10(3) to 2.8 x 10(3) copies/ml) during the first 3 weeks after admission. The amount of HSV-2 DNA in vitreous was again higher than that in aqueous humor. Although neither clinical features nor viral load had changed by ACV, intra-ocular ganciclovir (GCV) injection improved clinical features, and decreased viral load to undetectable levels. In case 3, the patient developed ARN within 1 month after the onset of varicella and demonstrated only mild clinical symptoms. She was treated with ACV administration alone and recovered quickly. In contrast to case 1, the copy number of VZV DNA at the time of admission was low (9 x 10(2) copies/ml), and decreased quickly in response to the treatment. Correlation between viral load in ocular specimens and clinical course of the disease was demonstrated in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Role of brain perfusion single-photon emission tomography in traumatic head injury.

This investigation examined the role of brain perfusion single-photon emission tomography (SPET) in traumatic head injury in 35 patients. The results were compared with those of X-ray computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT and MRI detected brain contusions in seven patients, subarachnoid haemorrhage in one patient and both in nine patients. In 16 of the 17 subjects (94%), SPET with technetium-99m-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (Tc-HMPAO) revealed CT/MRI-negative abnormalities, such as hypoperfusion in the contre-coup region, frontal hypoperfusion related to personality change and cerebellar hypoperfusion associated with vertigo. In two patients presenting with diffuse axonal injury in the brainstem, hypoperfusion in the frontal cortex on the affected side was observed on SPET. SPET demonstrated hypoperfusion in the adjacent cortex, with no abnormality on either CT or MRI, in six of seven patients exhibiting acute epidural haematoma. SPET failed to provide additional information in two of five patients with acute subdural haematoma and in one of two patients displaying chronic subdural haematoma. In four of nine patients with post-traumatic amnesia, SPET detected hypoperfusion in the temporal lobe, with no abnormality on either CT or MRI. In five of eight patients with vertigo, SPET detected hypoperfusion in the morphologically normal cerebellum. In seven cases involving personality change, frontal hypoperfusion was observed in four; moreover, a markedly non-homogeneous pattern was evident in the remaining three. Overall, SPET afforded additional information in 26 patients (74%). CT possesses an advantage with respect to the detection of haemorrhagic lesions. MRI provides more precise information regarding contusions and axonal injury. Frequently, SPET may be the only examination to reveal perfusion abnormalities which are related to symptoms in the absence of other objective findings, such as post-traumatic amnesia, vertigo or personality change.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Rapid diagnosis of human herpesvirus 6 infection by a novel DNA amplification method, loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

A novel nucleic acid amplification method, termed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), which amplifies DNA with high specificity, efficiency, and rapidity under isothermal conditions, may be a valuable tool for the rapid detection of infectious agents. LAMP was developed for human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), and its reliability was evaluated in this study. Although LAMP products were detected in HHV-6 B and HHV-6 A DNA, they were not detected in HHV-7 and human cytomegalovirus DNA. The sensitivity of the original HHV-6 LAMP protocol was 50 copies/tube. In order to increase the method's sensitivity, HHV-6 LAMP was modified by increasing the primer concentration. As a result of the modification, sensitivity increased to 25 copies/tube. After these initial validation studies, 13 patients with fever were tested for HHV-6 by viral isolation, serological analysis, and HHV-6 LAMP. In three of the eight patients with primary HHV-6 infection, HHV-6 DNA was detected in whole blood by the original HHV-6 LAMP protocol in not only the acute phase but also the convalescent phase. HHV-6 DNA was detected by modified HHV-6 LAMP in all eight plasma samples collected in the acute phase; however, no HHV-6 DNA was detected in plasma samples collected in the convalescent phase. Although HHV-6 DNA was detected in both the acute and convalescent phases of whole-blood samples in patients with past HHV-6 infection, it was not detected in plasma samples that did not contain latent viral DNA. Thus, detection of HHV-6 DNA in plasma by using this modified HHV-6 LAMP protocol is appropriate for diagnosis of active HHV-6 infection.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2004

[Examination of NIRS for evaluation of frontal lobe function in diffuse axonal injury (DAI) patients].

The purpose of this study is to compare diffuse axonal injury (DAI) patients with healthy controls by using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Keio Version (KWCST), a standard task paradigm to detect human frontal lobe dysfunction was set as a method. The result of the examination showed that compared with DAI patients, wider increase of total hemoglobin was admitted in the frontal part of the brain of healthy people during the KWCST. This suggests that NIRS would serve as an objective indicator to evaluate the frontal lobe function in DAI patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

[Lowered VIQ level following traumatic brain injury].

A patient with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often associated with incidence of cognitive dysfunction as a sequela. We have conducted WAIS-R to 237 patients who were diagnosed as TBI at the Kanagawa Rehabilitation Hospital in order to assess their intellectual function. Twelve patients, whose VIQ being marked significantly lower than PIQ, were retrospectively analyzed in terms of their Functional Independence Measure (FIM), neuropsychological test results and lesions found in diagnostic images. In consequence, presence of a patient group whose VIQ level is significantly lowered due to the TBI sequela is recognized, in addition to a finding that trauma sites of cerebral contusion or other incidents are not necessarily corresponding to the results of neuropsychological test. Furthermore, based on an observation that those patients with lowered VIQ level are also associated with aggravation of PIQ 'digit symbol', Trail Making Test, or word fluency levels. This result was before similar with the result of "32 cases of DAI (diffuse axonal injury)" which authors reported, and it was guessed anew that the main factor of a cognitive dysfunction was damage on axon.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2003

Variation of human herpesvirus 7 shedding in saliva.

Sequential analysis of human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) shedding in saliva obtained from healthy adults was performed for 6 months; virus was isolated in 92 (34.1%) of the 270 saliva samples obtained. Frequency of HHV-7 shedding in serially obtained saliva samples varied among subjects. Associations between frequency of HHV-7 shedding and age, sex, and virus antibody titer were analyzed, and, although sex was not associated with frequency of shedding, young age (P=.031) and low antibody titer (P=.006) were correlated with frequent viral shedding (5 or 6 times/6 months).

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Evaluation of active human herpesvirus 6 infection by reverse transcription-PCR.

Monitoring of active human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection is important for distinguishing between reactivation and latency of the virus. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) may be a useful tool in order to distinguish active and latent HHV-6 infection. An RT-PCR assay detecting 4 different HHV-6 gene transcripts was established. Samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from patients with exanthem subitum and used to evaluate the reliability of the assay. After confirming the reliability of the assay, RT-PCR was used to determine whether HHV-6 reactivation occurs in children with hypercytokinemia. Three gene transcripts (U31, U39, and U94) were detected in 90-100% of the PBMC samples collected from febrile period of exanthem subitum patients, from which HHV-6 was isolated. The two gene transcripts encoding the late proteins U31 and U39, however, were not detected in samples collected during the convalescent period that contained no infectious virus. The putative latency associated gene transcript, U94, was detected in 2 (10%) of the 20 convalescent samples, and another immediate early gene transcript, U90, was also detected in 3 (15%) of the 20 convalescent samples. The frequency of HHV-6 reactivation in patients with hypercytokinemia, suggesting monocyte/macrophage activation, was studied. Only 9 of 17 patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease and 1 patient diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis were positive for HHV-6 DNA in their PBMCs samples. Neither the U31 gene nor the U94 gene transcript was detected in any of the 10 samples. An RT-PCR assay screening for both immediate early and late genes may be useful for monitoring active HHV-6 infection. No HHV-6 reactivation was found in patients with hypercytokinemia using the RT-PCR assay.

Cytokines↗
PubMed2003

Thallium-201 brain SPECT to diagnose aggressiveness of meningiomas.

This investigation was conducted to determine the ability of 201Tl brain SPECT with respect to preoperative prediction of lesional aggressiveness of meningioma. Fifty-nine lesions in 42 patients were examined. Early (15 min) and late (3 h) SPECT were obtained. Early uptake ratio (ER; lesion to normal brain average count ratio), late uptake ratio (LR) and the ratio of LR to ER (L/E ratio) were calculated. Twenty-three lesions exhibited malignant features based on histologic or clinical course such as recurrence or skull invasion. Both ER and LR of malignant meningiomas were significantly higher than those in thirty-six benign lesions. Benign lesions were classified into two groups for further analysis: meningotheliomatous type, which is the most common histology, and benign lesions other than the meningotheliomatous (other benign) type. ER in other benign type was lower than the meningotheliomatous and the malignant type. LR afforded differentiation of the malignant type from the two benign types. These two benign types could be distinguished on the basis of the L/E ratio. These results indicate that high pre-operative ER and LR values in patients with meningioma are indicators of the aggressiveness of lesions, i.e., malignant meningioma, recurrence or skull invasion.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed2003

Spread of varicella-zoster virus DNA to the environment from varicella patients who were treated with oral acyclovir.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to determine the degree of spread of varicella-zoster virus to the environment (VZV) from varicella patients who received oral acyclovir treatment. METHODS: Over a period of 8 months, seven healthy children (two girls and five boys, 23-64 months of age) with varicella who visited Fujita Health University School of Medicine were treated with routine doses of oral acyclovir (ACV) for 5 days, commencing within 24 h after onset of the disease. Swab samples from the throats of patients and their family members as well as from air purifier filters in their houses were collected for 7 days as frequently as possible after starting treatment for the disease. The VZV DNA in the samples was identified by a sensitive polymerase chain reaction amplification assay. RESULTS: The VZV DNA was detected in 33-100% of throat swab samples from varicella patients by day 7 of the disease, in 17-32% of throat swab samples from family members by day 4 and in 29% of filters from air purifiers by day 3. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a broad spread of VZV, probably by the airborne route, from the patients with varicella even after the administration of oral ACV.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed2003

[Cognitive dysfunction in 32 diffuse axonal injury cases].

In acute stage of traumatic brain injury, it is not easy to diagnose diffuse axonal injury (DAI) by computer imaging. Even in chronic stage, DAIs occasionally show no remarkable abnormality by ordinal CT or MRI images. We retrospectively studied 32 DAI cases by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), a battery of neuropsychological tests and CT or MRI films of acute and chronic phase. The result showed decrease of cognitive function in 32 DAI cases. The degree of enlargement of the ventricles in chronic stage did not correlate with cognitive dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Human herpesvirus 6 viremia in bone marrow transplant recipients: clinical features and risk factors.

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection was studied in 82 bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients (72 allogeneic, 10 autologous). All recipients and 30 donors were seropositive for HHV-6 antibody at the time of bone marrow transplantation. Thirty-one recipients (37.8%) had HHV-6 viremia 2-4 weeks after transplantation. The incidence of HHV-6 viremia was significantly higher among allogeneic BMT recipients than in autologous BMT recipients (P=.011). Therefore, the following analyses of allogeneic BMT recipients were carried out (n=72). Geometric mean antibody titers (log(10)) were significantly higher in recipients without viremia than in those with viremia (1.84+/-0.39 vs. 1.61+/-0.42; P=.022). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that leukemia or lymphoma is an independent risk factor (P=.031) for HHV-6 viremia. Rash occurring within 1 month after transplantation was observed in 17 (54.8%) of 31 recipients with HHV-6 viremia but in only 8 (19.5%) of 41 recipients without HHV-6 viremia (P=.001).

Adolescent↗