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Objective: To clarify music therapy-induced changes in behavioral evaluations, and saliva chromogranin A and immunoglobulin A concentrations in elderly patients with senile dementia. Methods: A music therapy group consisting of 8 elderly patients with dementia and a control group including eight similarly matched patients received a total of 25 1-h sessions of music therapy that were conducted twice weekly for 3 months. The Gottfries–Brane–Steen Scale, and the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale were used to evaluate behavioral changes. Saliva chromogranin A and immunoglobulin A were used to assess changes in stress and immunological status, respectively. Results: On the Gottfries–Brane–Steen Scale, the mean score for “different symptoms common in dementia” improved significantly after music therapy. The mean Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale score for “paranoid and delusional ideation” also significantly improved (P

Evidence suggests that the erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular (EPH) receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and their ephrin (EFN) ligands are involved in human carcinogenesis. Expression of two of them, EFNA1 ligand and its receptor, EPHA2, has been proposed to contribute to tumor-induced neovascularization. Colorectal cancers were examined for expressions of EPHA2 and its ligand EFNA1 by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, and double-immunostained for EPHA2 and CD34. Microvessels in the tumors were counted. Double-staining was also performed in 25 cases of adenoma with focal cancer for comparison. Trends of overexpression of both EPHA2 and EFNA1 was found in tumor tissue compared to the corresponding normal tissue in the same specimen [22/37 (59.5%) and 25/37 (67.5%), respectively; P = 0.100 for EPHA2 and P = 0.009 for EFNA1]. Overexpression of EPHA2 and EFNA1 was noted more frequently in the early stage than in the late stage [EPHA2, 15/21 (71.4%) vs. 7/16 (43.8%), P = 0.007; EFNA1, 15/21 (71.4%) vs. 10/16 (62.5%), P = 0.007]. Both EPHA2 and EFNA1 were more frequently overexpressed in smaller tumors (less than 5 cm) than in larger tumors [EPHA2, 15/21 (71.4%) vs. 7/16 (43.8%), P = 0.017; EFNA1, 16/21 (76.2%) vs. 8/16 (50%), P = 0.001]. Tumors less than 5 cm in diameter and in stages I and II were significantly more likely to overexpress EPHA2 and EFNA1 (P = 0.001 for EPHA2, P = 0.001 for EFNA1). Microvessel counts (MVCs) after immunostaining for CD34 were significantly correlated (r = 0.343, P = 0.037) with overexpression of EPHA2. EPHA2-expressing focal cancer also surrounded microvessels in adenomas with focal cancers. These findings suggest an involvement of EPHA2 in colon carcinogenesis, mainly in stages I and II, and probably through their effect on microvessel induction.

Protein fractions were extracted sequentially with 2% sodium chloride, 30% isopropyl alcohol, 4% lactic acid and 0.5% potassium hydroxide from three varieties of adzuki beans, kafae and red kafae bean, three varieties of lima beans and red lima bean, two varieties of kidney beans and field bean that were grown in the tropics and sub-tropics. The sodium chloride extract had the highest range of protein concentration (51.2 to 81.4%). The sodium chloride extract was separated into two fractions based on solubility in water. The amino acid compositions of the flour from the seed and of the two fractions from the sodium chloride extract were determined. High contents of lysine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and leucine were obtained, whereas the sulphur-containing amino acids contents were low.

Classical segregation analysis was performed on 651 male probands in 597 families with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) collected from 20 of 25 National Institutions for Muscle Diseases in Japan. The proportion of sporadic cases is compatible with 1/3 expected for an X-linked lethal trait with an equal mutation rate in egg and sperm, the estimated mutation rates being 9.2 × 10−5 and 10.9 × 10−5 /gamete/generation, respectively. The incidence and prevalence among males were estimated to be 29.2 × 10−5 and 6.7 × 10−5, respectively. These results indicated no difference from the patterns of DMD in Western countries.