Journal of medical and dental sciences
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Comparative Study
Kinetic properties of tetrodotoxin-sensitive and tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channel currents in neonatal rat trigeminal ganglion neurons.
The kinetic properties of tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) and tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) Na' channels in acutely dissociated neonatal rat trigeminal ganglion neurons were studied using whole-cell and cell-attached patch-clamp recordings. The time course of TTX-R currents was slower than that of TTX-S currents. Compared with TTX-S currents, TTX-R currents had more positive half-activation and half-inactivation voltages. ⋯ TTX-R channels had longer open-times and more dispersed latent-times than TTX-S channels. The convolution of the first latency distribution with the open-time distribution revealed that the slower time course of TTX-R currents is due to longer open-times and more dispersed latent-times of the TTX-R channels compared with those of the TTX-S channels. These findings suggest that TTX-R Na+ channels in trigeminal ganglion neurons have similar kinetic property to brain TTX-S Na+ channels, but not to structurally homologous cardiac Na+ channels.
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This paper reviews the current status and future perspectives of the artificial heart research that was started in 1957 by Akutsu and Kolff. During the 1960's, although not much progress was made in increasing animal survival time with artificial hearts, clinical applications were already made for both a ventricular assist device in 1962 and total artificial heart (TAH) in 1969 followed by a second TAH application in 1981. Both TAH applications were done as bridges to heart transplantation. ⋯ In, the 21st century, we will see prevalent clinical applications of various circulatory support devices from pulsatile VAD, pulsatile TAH to continuous flow VAD. These devices will be combined with genetic treatment to re-generate the myocardium and recover the failing heart. Complete recovery of the myocardium may become possible through therapy combining circulatory assist devices and biotechnology.
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Review Case Reports
Reconstruction of congenital microtia by using a tissue expander.
In the conventional reconstruction of microtia, skin grafting is an absolute necessity because of the scantiness of the skin tissue at the affected site. As the result, color- and texture- matching as well as sensory preservation remain to be improved. To solve these problems, we developed a surgical procedure for reconstruction of microtia by using a tissue expander, which allowed us to reconstruct the erect auricle without the need for skin grafting. ⋯ The reconstructed auricle was satisfactory in color- and texture-matching and had nearly normal sensation. No major absorption of the cartilage has been noted for 15 years, although a slight retraction of the expanded skin was observed in each patient. In conclusion, microtia repair by using a tissue expander is superior to that by conventional procedures in color- and texture- matching and sensory preservation of the reconstructed auricle.
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The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of a structured intervention program in emotional and physical states of family caregivers for elderly. This program is a series of five weekly 90-minute sessions including psycho-education, problem-solving techniques, and relaxation training. Subjects were 56 primary caregivers looking after relatives with dementia or disability at home. ⋯ Moreover, there was persistence of the improvement during two months after intervention. Post-intervention NK cell activity was significantly higher than the pre-intervention. These results indicated that our program was effective in managing the stress of family caregivers.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
A prospective, randomized clinical trial of preoperative bowel preparation for elective colorectal surgery--comparison among oral, systemic, and intraoperative luminal antibacterial preparations.
During a one year and six month period, 137 patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery for carcinoma were randomly allocated to three groups. Patients in group A received oral tobramycin and metronidazole for three days prior to surgery. Patients in groups B and C received systemic antibiotic, a second generation cephem cefmetazole, every 3 hours during surgery. ⋯ Although the preoperative bowel preparation taken for patients in group A could not sufficiently reduce the intestinal bacterial count, systemic antibiotic prophylaxis was simple and cost-effective. There was no additional advantage in combining the systemic and luminal antibiotic preparations. Therefore, for elective colorectal surgery, we recommend intravenous infusion of second generation cephem cephmetazole with mechanical bowel preparation.