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Biomedical subjects

Y Tsuboi

Publications and source records attributed to Y Tsuboi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Autosomal dominant dystonia-plus with cerebral calcifications.

OBJECTIVE: To report genealogic, clinical, imaging, neuropathologic, and genetic data from a Canadian kindred with dystonia and brain calcinosis originally described in 1985. METHODS: The authors performed clinical examinations and CT and PET studies of the head and analyzed blood samples. One autopsy was performed. RESULTS: The family tree was expanded to 166 individuals. No individuals were newly affected with dystonia, but postural tremor developed in two. The mean age at symptom onset was 19 years. Eight individuals had dystonia: three focal, one segmental, one multifocal, and three generalized. Seven displayed additional signs: chorea, intellectual decline, postural tremor, and dysarthria. CT studies were performed on five affected and 10 at-risk family members. All affected individuals and eight at-risk individuals had brain calcinosis. PET scans in two individuals showed reduced D(1)- and D(2)-receptor binding and reduced uptake of 6-[(18)F]fluoro-l-dopa. Autopsy of one affected individual showed extensive depositions of calcium in the basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebral white matter, and cerebellum. No specific immunohistochemistry abnormalities were seen. Genome search data showed no evidence of linkage to the previously described loci IBGC1, DYT1, and DYT12. CONCLUSIONS: The phenotype of this family consists of dystonia-plus syndrome. Brain calcium deposits vary in severity and distribution, suggesting that calcifications alone are not entirely responsible for the observed clinical signs. Further studies are needed to elucidate the etiology of this heterogeneous group of disorders.

Adolescent↗

Autosomal dominant parkinsonism associated with variable synuclein and tau pathology.

Since the original 1995 report of a parkinsonian kindred, four individuals have been affected (mean age at onset, 65 years). All four had cardinal signs of Parkinson disease (PD) and good response to levodopa. Four autopsies showed neuronal loss and gliosis in the substantia nigra. Lewy bodies (LB) limited to brainstem nuclei were detected in one case, diffuse LB in the second, neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) without LB in the third, and neither NFT nor LB in the fourth. Genetic studies suggested linkage to the PARK8 locus on chromosome 12.

Aged↗

Magnetic resonance imaging of thoracic epidural venous dilation in Hirayama disease.

Hirayama disease is a nonprogressive, asymmetric amyotrophy of the hands and forearms, possibly caused by compression of the lower cervical cord on neck flexion. The authors used phase-contrast MR angiography to study a patient with this disorder and observed abnormal spinal epidural venous dilation on neck flexion. In addition to mechanical compression of the lower cervical cord, venous congestion in the spinal canal may have a role in promoting anterior horn damage.

Adolescent↗

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease presenting as progressive supranuclear palsy.

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by an akinetic rigid syndrome with vertical supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, early falls, and levodopa resistance. The pathological substrate of PSP consists of filamentous tau degenerative lesions affecting neurons and glia. Other disorders can present with a similar clinical picture, most commonly corticobasal degeneration and multiple system atrophy. Non-neurodegenerative disorders are rare causes of the PSP syndrome. In this report we describe clinical and pathological features of two cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) presenting with the PSP syndrome and discuss which features may help prevent misdiagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cases of CJD with autopsy confirmation that presented with a PSP syndrome.

Aged↗

A new model of experimental parotitis in rats and its implication for trigeminal nociception.

A rat model of chronic parotitis was developed following a direct injection of Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the unilateral parotid gland via the parotid duct without skin incision. The nocifensive behavior, plasma extravasation in the parotid gland, and trigeminal Fos protein expression, a marker of neuronal activation, were analyzed in this model and compared to that of the saline-injected rats. A significant reduction of the escape threshold to mechanical stimulation of the lateral face on the ipsilateral side to the CFA injection was observed at 1-6 days after CFA injection as compared to that of the pre-CFA control ( P<0.01). The lateral face region contralateral to the CFA injection also showed mechanical hyperalgesia at 1-6 days after injection ( P<0.05). The plasma extravasation was significantly increased in the parotid gland ipsilateral to CFA injection as compared to that of the parotid gland with saline injection at 3 days after injection as shown by Evans' blue dye extravasation ( P<0.05). Bilateral expression of Fos protein-like immunoreactive cells was observed in the transition zone between the trigeminal spinal nucleus interpolaris (Vi) and caudalis (Vc) and paratrigeminal nucleus (Pa5). On the other hand, a significant unilateral expression of Fos protein-positive cells was observed on the ipsilateral side of the upper cervical (C2) dorsal horn ( P<0.05). This model of parotitis can be used to study trigeminal pain mechanisms associated with sialadenitis. A unique feature of this preparation is that the inflammation was limited to the parotid gland after intraductal injection of CFA, allowing analysis of peripheral input from a defined orofacial region. The model will be useful in developing new strategies to treat chronic orofacial pain.

Animals↗

Atrophy of superior cerebellar peduncle in progressive supranuclear palsy.

BACKGROUND: Pathologic changes in the superior cerebellar peduncles (SCP) are common in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), but atrophy of the SCP has never been systematically studied. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the SCP width in PSP cases and controls with morphometric methods. METHODS: The mean width of the SCP in transverse sections of the pons at the level of trigeminal nerve was determined in 48 PSP cases (29 men, 19 women; mean age 72.5 +/- 8.2 years) and 29 age-matched control subjects, many with neurodegenerative disorders that can be clinically mistaken for PSP. As the origin of the SCP is the cerebellar dentate nucleus, correlations were sought between SCP atrophy and severity of grumose degeneration in the dentate nucleus. RESULTS: The average width of the SCP was less in PSP (range 0.09 to 0.24 cm) than in controls (range 0.21 to 0.43 cm; Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.001), including control cases that had been clinically misdiagnosed as PSP (range 0.26 to 0.41 cm). Severity of SCP atrophy normalized by brain weight correlated with disease duration (Spearman rank order correlation, r = 0.367, p = 0.028), suggesting that SCP atrophy is a relatively early feature of PSP. No correlation was found between grumose degeneration and SCP width. CONCLUSIONS: SCP atrophy is common in PSP and correlates with disease duration. Given that measurements of the SCP are within the resolution of MRI, it remains to be determined if SCP atrophy can be used as a diagnostic marker of PSP.

Adult↗

Hard-food mastication suppresses complete Freund's adjuvant-induced nociception.

The effect of food hardness during mastication on nociceptive transmission in the spinal cord was studied by analyzing complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) induced nocifensive behavior and Fos expression. The behavioral study showed that the shortening of the withdrawal latency following CFA injection into the hind paw was depressed after a change in the given food hardness from soft to hard. The depression of nocifensive behavior in the rats with hard food was reversed after i.v. injection of naloxone. Fos protein-like immunoreactive cells (Fos protein-LI cells) were expressed in the superficial and deep laminae of the L4-6 spinal dorsal horn after s.c. injection of CFA into the hind paw during soft food mastication. The number of Fos protein-LI cells was decreased in the rats with hard food mastication followed by soft food. This reduction of Fos protein-LI cells following change in food hardness was reversed after i.v. application of naloxone. Furthermore, the depression of Fos protein-LI cells following hard food intake was significantly inhibited after bilateral inferior alveolar nerve transection or bilateral ablation of the somatosensory cortex. These findings suggest that the change in food hardness during mastication might drive an opioid descending system through the trigeminal sensory pathway and somatosensory cortex resulting in an antinociceptive effect on chronic pain. However, IAN transection and cortical ablation did not induce 100% reversal of Fos expression, suggesting other than trigeminal sensory system may be involved in this phenomena, such as the pathway through the brainstem reticular formation.

Animals↗

Early and pre-symptomatic neuropsychological dysfunction in the PPND family with the N279K tau mutation.

The N279K mutation on the tau gene of chromosome 17 leads to an inherited condition that involves pallido-ponto-nigral degeneration (PPND). Patients with PPND develop dementia, but the pattern and onset of cognitive dysfunction has not yet been delineated. Four affected patients underwent neurocognitive evaluation within the first 2 years of PPND motor onset; one of whom underwent five serial neurocognitive evaluations, and another who was not diagnosed with PPND until the third annual evaluation. Impaired letter fluency was found in the early stages of PPND and was also shown to precede the onset of motor symptoms by 2 years. Trail Making A (visual scanning and motor speed) and Trail Making B (divided attention) were impaired within the first 2 years of the disease in all but one patient, but this individual showed clinically significant decline on these tasks by the third year of the disease. Learning, memory, and timed visuospatial sequencing skills were variably affected. Results reveal disproportionate frontal-executive dysfunction early in PPND disease course, a pattern similar to what has been reported in other FTDP-17 kindreds and in sporadic PSP. In addition, results suggest that letter fluency may be a sensitive predictor of incipient PPND.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17↗

Increased hepatocyte growth factor level in cerebrospinal fluid in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), also known as the scatter factor, is a potent mitogen for mature hepatocytes, and also has multifunctional effects on some cells in various organs. Recently, we have found expression and localization of HGF in white matter astrocytes in human brain tissues. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry using anti-HGF antibody revealed more intense immunolabeling in Alzheimer's disease (AD) than control brains. The aim of the study is to investigate the level of HGF in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with AD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined the level of HGF in CSF from 34 AD and 15 age-matched disease control patients by highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) system. RESULTS: Consistent with the immunohistochemical data, a significantly higher concentration of HGF in AD CSF was found as compared with controls. A significant correlation was also seen between CSF HGF levels and white matter high-signal foci determined on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in AD patients. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that CSF HGF levels correspond with the white matter damage in AD brain.

Aged↗

Tau pathology in the olfactory bulb correlates with Braak stage, Lewy body pathology and apolipoprotein epsilon4.

Olfactory dysfunction increases with disease severity in Alzheimer's disease (AD), is early and independent of disease severity in Parkinson's disease (PD), but is absent in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Previous histopathologic studies of olfactory bulbs in AD have shown neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and senile plaques while Lewy bodies (LBs) have been described in PD. Little is known about olfactory bulb pathology in PSP and CBD. Tau and alpha-synuclein pathology was assessed with immunohistochemistry in olfactory bulbs of AD (N=15), Lewy body disease (LBD; N=10), LBD with concurrent AD (AD/LBD; N=19), PSP (N=27), CBD (N=3) and cases with no significant neurodegenerative pathology (NSP; N=15). The Braak NFT stage, counts of senile plaques and NFT in cortical and hippocampal sections, and counts of LBs in amygdala and cortical sections were recorded for each case. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes were determined on DNA prepared from frozen brain tissue. All AD and AD/LBD cases and nine of 10 LBD cases had tau pathology in the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), but it was uncommon in PSP (9/27), CBD (0/3) and NSP (5/15). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that tau pathology in the AON correlated with Braak stage (P<0.001), cortical LB counts (P<0.001), as well as APOE epsilon4. Tau pathology is common in the olfactory bulb of AD and LBD but is minimal or absent in PSP and CBD. It correlates with APOE epsilon4, severity of tau pathology in the brain and surprisingly with cortical and amygdala LBs, suggesting a possible synergistic effect between tau and synuclein in the AON in cases with both pathologic processes.

Aged↗

Clinical and genetic studies of families with the tau N279K mutation (FTDP-17).

The tau N279K mutation was identified in four separately ascertained families in the United States, Japan, and France and in another recently discovered affected individual in Japan. The authors analyzed genealogical and clinical records and DNA samples. Average age at onset was 43 years; survival time was 7 years. All families exhibited similar clinical features, with parkinsonism, dementia, and supranuclear palsy uniformly seen. A founder effect indicated by a shared disease haplotype was seen only in two Japanese families. The N279K mutation can develop independently in different parts of the world.

Adult↗

SCA-2 presenting as parkinsonism in an Alberta family: clinical, genetic, and PET findings.

The authors describe an Alberta family with levodopa-responsive parkinsonism without cerebellar abnormalities. Genetic testing showed expanded repeats for SCA-2; other mutations for parkinsonism were excluded. The expanded allele shows interruption of the CAG repeat with CAA. PET in two affected members showed reduced fluorodopa uptake in striatum and normal raclopride binding. Families with autosomal dominant, levodopa-responsive parkinsonism should be tested for the SCA-2 mutation.

Adult↗