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Objective: To evaluate the effect of intravenous administration of human multilineage‐differentiating stress‐enduring (Muse) cells on rat postoperative erectile dysfunction (ED) with cavernous nerve (CN) injury without an immunosuppressant. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomised into three groups after CN crush injury. Either human‐Muse cells, non‐Muse mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) (both 1.0 × 105 cells), or vehicle was infused intravenously at 3 h after CN injury without immunosuppressant. Erectile function was assessed by measuring intracavernous pressure (ICP) and arterial pressure (AP) during pelvic nerve electrostimulation 28 days after surgery. At 48 h and 28 days after intravenous infusion of Muse cells, the homing of Muse cells and non‐Muse MSCs was evaluated in the major pelvic ganglion (MPG) after CN injury. In addition, expressions of C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand (Cxcl12) and glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (Gdnf) in the MPG were examined by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Statistical analyses and comparisons among groups were performed using one‐way analysis of variance followed by the Tukey test for parametric data and Kruskal–Wallis test followed by the Dunn–Bonferroni test for non‐parametric data. Results: The mean (SEM) ICP/AP values at 28 days were 0.51 (0.02) in the Muse cell group, 0.37 (0.03) in the non‐Muse MSC group, and 0.36 (0.04) in the vehicle group, showing a significant positive response in the Muse cell group compared with the non‐Muse and vehicle groups (P = 0.013 and P = 0.010, respectively). In the MPG, Muse cells were observed to be engrafted at 48 h and expressed Schwann cell markers S100 (~46%) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (~24%) at 28 days, while non‐Muse MSCs were basically not engrafted at 48 h. Higher gene expression of Cxcl12 (P = 0.048) and Gdnf (P = 0.040) was found in the MPG of the Muse group than in the vehicle group 48 h after infusion. Conclusion: Intravenously engrafted human Muse cells recovered rat erectile function after CN injury in a rat model possibly by upregulating Cxcl12 and Gdnf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the clinical features of pediatric uveitis at a tertiary referral center in Western Japan. One hundred forty eyes of 80 patients aged <20 years at the time of uveitis onset, who visited Kyushu University Hospital between January 2010 and December 2019 were included in this study. Clinical records were retrospectively reviewed. Demographics, clinical findings, treatments, and visual prognoses were compared between the disease groups. Of 80 patients, 32 were males and 48 were females. The average age of onset was 12.5 ± 4.8 (0–19) years. Tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis (TINU) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) were the most frequent causes, accounting for 11.3% and 10% of cases, respectively, followed by sarcoidosis (5%), Behçet's disease, acute anterior uveitis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, and juvenile chronic iridocyclitis (3.8% each). Infectious uveitis accounted for 7.6% of the cases: cytomegalovirus was the most frequent agent. Of these cases, 43.8% were unclassified. Systemic therapies were administered to 87.5% of the patients with JIA, 33.3% of those with TINU, and 28.6% of the other diagnostic groups. In the unclassified group, 80% of the patients were followed up with only topical corticosteroids. LogMAR visual acuity of 0 or less accounted for more than 80% in the final examination. TINU and JIA were the most common causes of pediatric uveitis. Although each required systemic therapy, most unclassified cases of pediatric uveitis were managed by topical corticosteroids alone with good visual prognosis. Accurate diagnosis is important for pediatric uveitis management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to examine the disturbance effect of music on performances of memory tasks. Subjects performed a verbal memory task and a spatial memory task in 4 sound conditions, including the presence of vocal music, instrumental music, a natural sound (murmurings of a stream), and no music. 47 undergraduate volunteers were randomly assigned to perform tasks under each condition. Perceived disturbance was highest under the vocal music condition regardless of the type of task. A disturbance in performance by music was observed only with the verbal memory task under the vocal and the instrumental music conditions. These findings were discussed from the perspectives of the working memory hypothesis and the changing state model.

Sialic acids are unique sugars with negative charge and exert various biological functions such as regulation of immune systems, maintenance of nerve tissues and expression of malignant properties of cancers. Alpha 2,6 sialylated N -glycans, one of representative sialylation forms, are synthesized by St6gal1 or St6gal2 gene products in humans and mice. Previously, it has been reported that St6gal1 gene is ubiquitously expressed in almost all tissues. On the other hand, St6gal2 gene is expressed mainly in the embryonic and perinatal stages of brain tissues. However, roles of St6gal2 gene have not been clarified. Expression profiles of N -glycans with terminal α2,6 sialic acid generated by St6gal gene products in the brain have never been directly studied. Using conventional lectin blotting and novel sialic acid linkage-specific alkylamidationmass spectrometry method (SALSA-MS), we investigated the function and expression of St6gal genes and profiles of their products in the adult mouse brain by establishing KO mice lacking St6gal1 gene, St6gal2 gene, or both of them (double knockout). Consequently, α2,6-sialylated N -glycans were scarcely detected in adult mouse brain tissues, and a majority of α2,6-sialylated glycans found in the mouse brain were O -linked glycans. The majority of these α2,6-sialylated O -glycans were shown to be disialyl-T antigen and sialyl-(6)T antigen by mass spectrometry analysis. Moreover, it was revealed that a few α2,6-sialylated N -glycans were produced by the action of St6gal1 gene, despite both St6gal1 and St6gal2 genes being expressed in the adult mouse brain. In the future, where and how sialylated O -linked glycoproteins function in the brain tissue remains to be clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.09.003 Byline: Kana Unuma (a)(b), Kazuki Harada (a), Makoto Nakajima (a), Hiromi Eguchi (c), Kensuke Tsushima (d), Takako Ito (a)(e), Kaori Shintani-Ishida (a), Hideaki Kojima (c)(f), Ken-ichi Yoshida (a) Keywords: Central pontine myelinolysis; Digoxin; Vomiting; Autopsy Abstract: An 87-year-old male, prescribed digoxin and furosemide for congestive heart failure and Alzheimer disease, had dehydration and anemia due to poor food intake and hemorrhagic cystitis. Repeated vomiting due to an upper respiratory infection caused disturbance of consciousness and hypotension. The patient was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with digoxin intoxication and hypernatremia. The serum sodium (Na.sup.+) level was corrected, but the patient died 4 days after admission following uncontrollable seizure. A histologic examination after an autopsy revealed characteristic findings of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM). This is the first autopsy report on CPM triggered by vomiting in association with digoxin administration. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan (b) Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan (c) Department of Clinical Neuropathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, Japan (d) Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Tokyo Hospital, Japan (e) Department of Health Services Management and Policy, Graduate School of Medicine Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan (f) Department of Pathology and Clinical Cytology, Mitsubishi Chemical Medience, Japan Article History: Received 26 September 2008; Revised 21 April 2009; Accepted 1 September 2009