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Biomedical subjects

T Hongo

Publications and source records attributed to T Hongo.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Inhibition of dorsal spinocerebellar tract cells by interneurones in upper and lower lumbar segments in the cat.

The topographical distribution of interneurones mediating disynaptic inhibition of dorsal spinocerebellar tract (d.s.c.t.) cells from group I muscle afferents in the cat was investigated using both physiological and morphological techniques. Lesions of either the dorsal funiculi or of the lateral and ventral funiculi were made between L4 and L5 segments in two groups of cats. I.p.s.p.s. evoked from group I afferents were seen after both these lesions, showing that the i.p.s.p.s were evoked by interneurones located more caudally as well as by interneurones in the same segments as Clarke's column. Distribution of the caudally located interneurones in the lower lumbar segments was investigated after marking these interneurones with horseradish peroxidase retrogradely transported from Clarke's column. The horseradish peroxidase was injected along L3-L4 segments of Clarke's column in two cats with transected dorsal funiculi. The marked cells were found in L5, L6, L7 and S1 segments, with a highest density in L6 and L7. They were seen in laminae V, VI and VII. A search was made for interneurones which could be antidromically invaded following stimuli applied in Clarke's column and were monosynaptically excited by group I afferents. Such interneurones were found at locations corresponding to laminae V-VI of Rexed. The latencies of antidromic and orthodromic responses were within ranges allowing them to mediate disynaptic inhibition of d.s.c.t. cells.

Animals↗

The same interneurones mediate inhibition of dorsal spinocerebellar tract cells and lumbar motoneurones in the cat.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether inhibition of dorsal spinocerebellar tract (d.s.c.t.) cells evoked from group I afferents is mediated by the same interneurones which mediate the non-reciprocal inhibition of hind-limb motoneurones. The origin of inhibition of d.s.c.t. cells from group I afferents was compared in intact preparations, after lesions of the dorsal funiculi (when it could only be mediated by lower lumbar interneurones) and after lesions of the lateral and ventral funiculi (when it would be expected to be evoked by upper lumbar interneurones). In all three preparations extensors were the most common source of inhibition, as in motoneurones. Lower lumbar interneurones inhibiting d.s.c.t. cells were found to be co-excited by group I (Ia and/or Ib) and cutaneous and joint afferents, and by rubrospinal tract fibres, as are interneurones mediating inhibition of motoneurones. Co-excitation by group I and rubrospinal fibres was also found for upper lumbar interneurones. I.p.s.p.s were evoked in hind-limb motoneurones from within Clarke's column in cats with the dorsal funiculi cut between L4 and L5 segments; they were evoked at thresholds as low as 2 microA, i.e. by stimuli with very local actions. The latencies of these i.p.s.p.s were short enough to allow them to be evoked monosynaptically via axonal branches of the same interneurones which projected to Clarke's column. Correspondingly, i.p.s.p.s were evoked in d.s.c.t. cells from within motor nuclei in L7 segments; they were evoked at similarly low thresholds and with similar latencies. In confirmation of previous reports i.p.s.p.s of Ia origin evoked in d.s.c.t. cells were not found to be depressed by Renshaw cells, which excludes their mediation by interneurones responsible for Ia reciprocal inhibition. The study leads to the conclusion that the inhibition of d.s.c.t. cells from group I afferents is, at least in part, collateral to the non-reciprocal inhibition of lumbar motoneurones.

Animals↗

Surgical repair of aortico-left ventricular tunnel in a 7-day-old child.

A 7-day-old girl was successfully operated on for aortico--left ventricular tunnel. She seems to have been the youngest patient with successful repair of the malformation. The case was the second of its type operated on at the Karolinska Hospital. Severe congestive heart failure is usually an early occurrence in aortico--left ventricular tunnel. The high mortality rate without operation illustrates the importance of early diagnosis and surgery. A patch closure technique is recommended as permitting optimum function of the aortic valve.

Aorta↗

Orientation of platelets on the surfaces of glass and Teflon plates as studied by a spin label technique.

Platelets were found by a spin label technique to orient on flat surfaces of glass as well as of Teflon. This kind of platelet orientation was not caused by centrifugation or partial dehydration of the membrane preparation as employed usually to make oriented planar multilayers of biological membranes on the surface of a supporting plate (1-8), but was considered to be closely related to the adhesion or the aggregation properties of platelets. The amount of oriented platelets varied depending on the platelet treatment and was estimated from a computer simulation of the observed ESR spectra to be about one-half of that of the non-oriented ones in the case of thrombin-treated platelets. This technique may be useful as a new tool to explore the adhesion or aggregation properties of platelets.

Animals↗

Effect of various drugs and extrinsic denervation on the non-adrenergic inhibitory neurons in the rat stomach.

The effects of various drugs and extrinsic denervation on the non-adrenergic inhibitory nerves in the rat stomach were examined. Stimulation of the intramural nerves supplying the longitudinal smooth muscle strips taken from the rat stomach produced responses consisting initial contractions followed by relaxations in the presence of guanethidine in case of the tone of the preparation maintained with serotonin. After scopolamine treatment, transmural nerve stimulation (TMS) caused a relaxation or a relaxation followed by a transient after-contraction. All of these responses were abolished reversibly with tetrodotoxin. After cold storage of rat stomach strips for 5 d at 4 degrees C, the TMS-induced response was not observed, but noradrenaline still relaxed these strips. The TMS-induced relaxation reached a maximum amplitude at 2-5 Hz, and was entirely independent of alpha- and beta-blockers, or a combination of them. It was not affected by treatment of 6-hydroxydopamine and reserpine. These results strongly suggested that the relaxation was not myogenic, but neurogenic, and was not elicited by stimulation of adrenergic neurons. Strychnine and poly-L-lysine inhibited the relaxation elicited by TMS even in normal and transection-treated rats. Histochemical studies showed degenerative changes due to the dissection at the axons of a ganglion in the Auerbach's plexuses by transection. The effect of various drugs and extrinsic denervation on the response to TMS in relation to non-adrenergic inhibitory nerves in the rat stomach is discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Reconstruction of the right ventricle with diaphragm driven right ventricular wall device.

For the treatment of congenital cardiac anomalies associated with hypoplastic right ventricle such as tricuspid atresia, various methods have been used in clinical and experimental studies. Though these methods were effective, there remained still some problems such as postoperative right heart failure or restriction of indications for the cases associated with high pulmonary vascular resistance. In order to solve these problems, diaphragm driven right ventricular wall device (RVWD) was newly developed. The device is composed of hard outer housing and soft diaphragm made of polyurethane and actuated pneumatically triggered to R wave of ECG or left ventricular pressure. Characteristics of RVWD were checked using a mock circulation to find optimal driving condition for animal experiments. Acute experiments were carried out using 15 mongrel dogs. Right ventricular free wall was excised as wide as possible under hypothermic inflow occlusion and RVWD was sutured to the edges of right ventriculotomy. Hemodynamics were investigated with and without driving of RVWD for 6 to 24 hr. RVWD was able to maintain hemodynamics efficiently during immediate postoperative period. After body temperature and cardiac function returned to normal, systemic circulation could be maintained without driving of RVWD. From the results of this study, possibly of surgical correction of hypoplastic right ventricle using RVWD was presumed.

Animals↗

Histologic findings of ductus arteriosus and pulmonary vascular disease in interrupted aortic arch.

There are still a number of unsolved problems concerning the total correction of interruption of the aortic arch. Here we report a histopathological investigation of the patent ductus arterious and pulmonary vascular disease using autopsy material of a patient with Celoria type B interruption of the aortic arch who died postoperatively. The so-called ductus arteriosus between the pulmonary arterial trunk and the descending aorta was lacking in elastic fibers and smooth muscle cells at the media showing discontinuous, transverse fibrous tissue. The vessel walls were weak and normal development was apparently impossible. Consequently, it was concluded that in the reconstruction of the aortic arch in such cases with PDDT, it is advisable not to use the patent ductus arteriosus. In this case, hypertrophy of the media of small pulmonary arteries was marked, but pulmonary vascular intimal lesions were mild. With regard to the pathogenesis, it is thought that there was sufficient thickening of the media of the pulmonary arterial system in response to the pulmonary hypertension present from birth, and it prevented the progression of the intimal lesions by accommodating to the intraarterial pressure.

Aorta↗

Real-time sound spectroanalysis for diagnosis of malfunctioning prosthetic valves.

A newly developed real-time sound spectroanalyzer was found to be capable of diagnosing malfunction of prosthetic heart valves. Sound spectroanalysis is believed to be superior to other methods such as phonocardiography and echocardiography. This system, developed in our institute, allows display on a cathode ray oscilloscope of five different modes of the valvular click, including the sound spectrograph and section pattern. Analysis of the section pattern allows measurement of the high-frequency components of the valvular click, which is normalized so as to be applicable to a click of any intensity. This parameter is called normalized maximal frequency (NMF). Sound spectroanalyses were carried out 228 times on 127 patients having a prosthetic heart valve. NMF values of normally functioning valves differed characteristically according to the type of valve, but did not change during the postoperative time course. Three of seven patients who had cerebral embolism showed significantly lower NMF values than normal, as did all four patients whose valve had become thrombosed.

Atrial Fibrillation↗

Trajectory of group Ia afferent fibers stained with horseradish peroxidase in the lumbosacral spinal cord of the cat: three dimensional reconstructions from serial sections.

A reconstruction was made of the intramedullary trajectory of 23 physiologically identified Ia afferents from cat hind limb muscles (medial gastrocnemius, soleus, plantaris, flexor digitorum-hallucis longus, and hamstring). The afferents were stained by intra-axonally injected HRP. The axons of these afferents were traced over distances of 5.8 mm to 15.7 mm rostrocaudally. In the dorsal funiculus fibers from all the muscles showed a similar course and similarly bifurcated into an ascending and a descending branch. The mean diameters of stem axons, ascending branches, and descending branches were 6.6 micrometer, 5.8 micrometer, and 3.0 micrometer, respectively. Within the analyzed lengths of the spinal cord five to eleven collaterals were given off from the two branches. The distances between adjacent collaterals of the ascending and descending branches averaged 1200 micrometer and 790 micrometer, respectively. The collaterals as a rule passed through the medial half of the dorsal horn before they entered the deeper parts of the gray matter. The terminal distribution areas common to all Ia collaterals were: (1) the medial half of the base of the dorsal horn, mainly lamina VI: (2) lamina VII; and (3) lamina IX. The numbers of terminals were largest in lamina IX and smallest in lamina VII. The density of terminals in lamina IX was highest in the homonymous motor cell column. The terminal distribution areas of adjacent collaterals showed no overlap in the sagittal plane. Terminal branches carried one bouton terminal and up to six boutons en passage with an average of 1.8 terminals per terminal branch. Apparent axosomatic and axodendritic contacts were seen on small-sized and medium-sized neurons in laminae V-VI, medium-sized neurons in lamina VII, and large neurons in lamina IX. One motoneurons was contacted by an average of 3.3 terminals. In addition to the common features, Ia collaterals of various muscles of origin showed some differences in their trajectories in the ventral horn, and in their terminations in the gray matter.

Animals↗

Projection of individual pyramidal tract neurons to lumbar motor nuclei of the monkey.

The projection of individual pyramidal tract (PT) neurons from the hindlimb area in the precentral gyrus of the cerebral cortex to the lumbar spinal cord was studied in the monkey by systematically searching for sites within identified regions of the spinal gray from which the PT neurons could be antidromically activated by local stimulation. All investigated neurons belonged to the fast conducting fraction of PT neurons. The following results were obtained. 1. Each PT neuron could be activated from more than one region of the spinal gray matter, including identified spinal motor nuclei and areas dorsomedial to these nuclei, but do not the intermediate nucleus or regions dorsal to it. "Passage areas" and "termination areas" were defined. 2. Half of the PT neurons with termination areas within motor nuclei had these areas in more than one nucleus. There were thus strong suggestions for synaptic contacts of some PT neurons with motoneurons of more than one muscle. 3. Four groups of three or four neurons were recorded simultaneously by the same cortical electrode. Comparisons of passage and termination areas within groups revealed both similarities and differences in projections of neighboring neurons. Every neuron was activated from some region(s) where others of the group were not. Common passage areas, or passage and termination areas, for two or three neurons of a group within at least one motor nucleus were found for all groups. Termination areas in the same motor nucleus have been found for the majority of the neurons of only one group. These common projection areas are compatible with, but not prove, that group of adjacent PT neurons has common target cells in the spinal cord.

Animals↗