Nagoya Journal of Medical Science

Peripheral blood of adult species contains endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) that participate in neovascularization, consistent with postnatal vasculogenesis. EPCs can be isolated not only from peripheral blood but also from bone marrow and human umbilical cord blood. In vitro culture-expanded EPCs participate in endothelial network formation (capillary formation) in vitro, and transplanted EPCs have been incorporated into sites of active neovascularization. For example, transplanted human EPCs formed capillaries among preserved skeletal myocytes in the ischemic hindlimb of athymic nude rats in vivo. Furthermore, transplantation of EPCs functionally augmented neovascularization in response to hindlimb ischemia. Thus, transplantation of EPCs may become a useful strategy to modulate postnatal neovascularization.

Platelet thrombosis, intimal hyperplasia, and the progression of atherosclerosis are the most important factors determining the patency of vein grafts for arterial occlusive disease. Interactions between aggregating platelets and the vessel wall play an important role in all of these processes. The endothelium modulates the underlying vascular smooth muscle by releasing nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasodilator and anti-aggregating substance. This review focuses on vascular modulation by NO in vein grafts.

Purpose: To identify the serious emotional impacts as socio-psychological problems encountered by patients with late adolescent onset type 1 diabetes since their disease onset. Subjects and methods: Thirteen patients (aged 21–35 years) with type 1 diabetes, onset age from 17 to 28, were interviewed. To extract their disturbing experiences from the content of the interviews, a qualitative analysis was carried out. We categorized their experiences as socio-psychological problems. Results: Twenty-two items of socio-psychological problems which posed obstacles to the control of diabetes were found. Problems with particularly strong impacts included a fulminant crisis prior to hospitalization; surprise and shock of patients themselves and family members upon diagnosis; unacceptable feelings against insulin injections and diabetes; difficulty and anxiety over frequent and unexpected occurrences of hypoglycemia; noncompliance with diet therapy; stress of disclosing the disease to fiancés and their parents; no understanding of or knowledge about diabetes on the part of people around them; restricted range in occupation selection, travel and daily life; existence of stigma; no place for performing insulin injections; resistant or negative feelings against disclosing to others that they had diabetes; acceptance of the disease using various emotional coping behaviors. Conclusions: These results suggest that for patients with such problems we should seek a more effective sort of intervention to improve their quality of life (QOL).

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of a cross-choking-technique commonly used in Judo on visual acuity. In 156 Judokas, experienced in competition, visual acuity was examined before and after choking (Juji-Jime). The average age of the 46 female and 110 male subjects was 22.8 years (standard deviation 10.5 years). In all examined grades of distance (infinite, 0.55 m and 0.4 m), eye tests showed an improvement of visual acuity after choking on a highly significant scale. In quantitative terms, vision the far sight range was optimized more clearly than in the close ranges. The following mechanisms are discussed as possible causes of the present results: an increase of blinking frequency induced by stress, an optimized tear film covering the cornea, a stenopaeic gap induced by improved blinking, pupillomotor alterations and an improved cerebral processing of visual signals and information. From an evolutionary-biologic perspective, the benefit of this psychophysiological mechanism might consist in an improvement of visual acuity in moments of danger, approaching from a distance and, thus, better chances of survival.

In the present study, we developed quantitative index for evaluating regional liver function using 99mTc diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid galactosyl human serum albumin (GSA). A three head SPECT equipped with a low energy high resolution parallel hole collimator was used. Used pre-filter was Butterworth and axial images were reconstructed by a ramp filter without attenuation correction. Correlation between SPECT counts and net concentration of activity of radioisotopes was evaluated in basic consideration using LKS and Nine-Ball phantoms. SPECT Counts = 0.6 × RI concentration There was a simple correlation among GSA receptor amounts (Cr), injected GSA amounts (S), free GSA amounts (Cf), and intra hepatic receptor ratio ((Cr ratio)). Cr = S – Cf (Cr ratio) = Cr/S, 0 < (Cr ratio) < 1 Injected GSA amounts can be calculated from injected net RI counts. Free GSA amounts can be evaluated from counts of the heart. GSA receptor amounts can be assumed by performing SPECT three times in series. Regional GSA receptor amounts can be evaluated from the ratio between the region’s counts and whole counts. In clinical SPECT images, we could evaluate the regional GSA receptor amounts before and after chemolipiodolization. In conclusion, our method is a simple quantitative index of analyzing regional GSA receptor amounts.