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Yoko Mochizuki

Publications and source records attributed to Yoko Mochizuki.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Acute limbic encephalitis: a new entity?

Clinical cases similar to herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis have accumulated in Japan. Detailed examinations have failed to demonstrate HSV infection. Recently, these cases have been named "non-herpetic acute limbic encephalitis". Only a single autopsy case was so far reported in an abstract form, because many cases showed a good prognosis. The case presented here was that following fever, a 59-year-old woman developed disturbance of consciousness and uncontrollable generalized seizures. Brain MRI revealed abnormal signals in the bilateral medial temporal lobe and along the lateral part of the putamen. Autoantibody against the NMDA glutamate receptor (GluR) IgM-epsilon2 was detected in the serum, and the GluR IgG-delta2 antibody was positive in cerebrospinal fluid. She died 12 days after onset. An autopsy examination revealed scattered foci consisting of neuronal loss, neuronophagia and some perivascular lymphocytic infiltration in the hippocampus and amygdala, but no haemorrhagic necrosis in the brain. HSV-1, -2 and human herpes virus-6 were negative immunohistochemically. We believe that our autopsy case may contribute to understanding the neuropathological background of non-herpetic acute limbic encephalitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2005

Silver stainings distinguish Lewy bodies and glial cytoplasmic inclusions: comparison between Gallyas-Braak and Campbell-Switzer methods.

Lewy bodies (LBs) of idiopathic Parkinson's disease and glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) of multiple system atrophy are pathological deposits both composed of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein woven into different filaments. Although both LBs and GCIs are considered to be hallmarks for each independent synucleinopathy, until now they could not be clearly distinguished on the basis of their biochemical or immunohistochemical features. We have examined possible differences in their argyrophilic features and their relation to synuclein-like or ubiquitin-like immunoreactivity (IR). Pairs of mirror sections from different brain areas were triple-fluorolabeled with an anti-alpha-synuclein antibody, an anti-ubiquitin antibody and thiazin red (TR), a fluorochrome that labels fibrillary structures such as Lewy bodies or neurofibrillary tangles. One of the paired sections was subsequently stained using the Campbell-Switzer method (CS), and the other by the Gallyas-Braak method (GB). By comparing of the same microscopic field on the paired fluorolabeled sections, subsequently silver-stained with either CS or GB, five different profiles of each structure could be determined: alpha-synuclein-like IR, ubiquitin-like IR, affinity to TR, argyrophilia with CS or GB. GCIs exhibited argyrophilia with both CS and GB but lacked affinity to TR. In contrast, LBs exhibited argyrophilia with CS but not with GB and some affinity to TR. These disease-specific profiles of argyrophilia were consistent, and were not influenced by areas or cases examined. Although immunohistochemical features of LBs and GCIs were similar in exhibiting IR for alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin, the contrast in their argyrophilic profiles may indicate possible differences in the molecular composition or conformation of alpha-synuclein. Even though these empirical differences still remain to be explained, awareness of this clear distinction is potentially of diagnostic and pathological relevance.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with florid plaques after cadaveric dura mater graft.

A patient with dura-associated Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (D-CJD) which occurred about 15 years after a dura mater graft is reported in the present study. The prion protein gene analysis disclosed no mutation. The D-CJD was atypical in: (i), the long interval between the onset of ataxia and the occurrence of dementia; (ii), the presence of transient myoclonus; and (iii), the presence of florid plaques in the brain. The electron-microscopic findings showed bundles of amyloid filaments which radiated from the center of the plaques without degenerating neurites. This case of D-CJD may belong to a new subtype of D-CJD.

Ataxia↗
PubMed2003

[Clinical features and neuropathological findings of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with an H43R mutation in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase].

We report the clinical and neuropathological features of a Japanese family with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS), whose members have an amino acid substitution of histidine by arginine in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase. A 58-year-old woman developed muscle weakness in the legs, and died of respiratory insufficiency 7 months after the onset of her weakness. Her family history included 7 patients with FALS over 3 generations. Their pertinent neurological abnormalities consisted primarily of lower motor neuron signs, and their clinical progression was rapid. Autopsy of our patient showed the involvement of the lower and upper motor neuron systems with Lewy body-like hyaline inclusions, in addition to degeneration in the posterior columns, Clarke's nuclei and posterior spinocerebellar tracts. The inclusions reacted with both anti-SOD1 and anti-ubiquitin antibodies. This is the first report of the neuropathological findings of FALS with this mutation.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed2002

Current perception threshold and sympathetic skin response in diabetic and alcoholic polyneuropathies.

OBJECTIVE: Correlation between current perception threshold and sympathetic skin response was investigated in patients with diabetic or alcoholic polyneuropathy. METHODS: Current perception threshold was measured using Neurometer CPT/C, and the sympathetic skin response was measured using Neuropack sigma. PATIENTS: Fourteen patients with diabetic polyneuropathy and 10 patients with alcoholic polyneuropathy were studied. RESULTS: There was a significant negative correlation between the current perception threshold to 5 Hz stimulation and the amplitude of sympathetic skin response. CONCLUSION: Since both current perception threshold to 5 Hz stimulation and sympathetic skin response are related to C fibers, these two are considered to be impaired concurrently in diabetic and alcoholic polyneuropathies.

Adrenergic Fibers↗