The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Nov 1983
Electrophysiological verification of the ulnar to median nerve communications in the hand and forearm.
One hundred and fifty upper extremities of 85 unselected subjects were studied. Supramaximal nerve stimulation of the median and ulnar nerves at the wrist and elbow was used and the compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) from the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle were recorded. The ulnar to median nerve communication in the hand -- Riche-Cannieu anastomosis -- was detected in 125 out of 150 hands (83.3%). ⋯ The mean ulnar nerve innervation ratio (UNIR) in the APB was 27.6 +/- 16.4% (mean +/- S. D.). In the American black population, this UNIR percentage was statistically smaller than in the American caucasian or hispanic population (p less than 0.05).
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Sep 1983
Comparative StudyEffects of pantethine and its metabolites on fatty acid oxidation in rat liver mitochondria.
The mechanism of the activating effect of pantethine [D-bis-(N-pantothenyl-beta-aminoethyl)disulfide] on fatty acid oxidation was investigated in rat liver mitochondria. Pantethine, pantetheine and 4'-phosphopantetheine activated three steps of fatty acid oxidation, i.e., acyl-CoA synthetase, carnitine, acyltransferase and intramitochondrial oxidation, to various extents. Although their effects may have been partly due to CoASH derived from them, they also had specific effects.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jun 1983
Endocrinological and histological aspects of the process of polycystic ovary formation in the rat treated with testosterone propionate.
To elucidate the process underlying polycystic ovary (PCO) syndrome, we tried to produce experimental PCO by sterilizing rats with androgen and investigated the formation of PCO endocrinologically and histologically. Wistar-Imamichi strain female rats were given an injection of testosterone propionate 1.25 mg on 5 days of age. On 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 130, 160, 200 days after the injection the ovaries were obtained. ⋯ Serum estradiol decreased more markedly than estrone did. The 40 day-ovaries showed polycystic features, lack of corpus luteum, hyperthecosis, luteinization of stroma, while no thickening of tunica albuginea. In conclusion, the rats treated with testosterone propionate had many endocrinological and histological aspects similar to those of human PCO syndrome.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Sep 1982
Peripheral neuropathy in selectively-inbred spontaneously diabetic rats: electrophysiological, morphometrical and freeze-replica studies.
Function and structure of peripheral nerves in selectively-inbred spontaneously diabetic rats (SDR) were quantitatively examined in order to clarify the relationship between these two changes. Electrophysiologically, SDR showed a significant decrease in motor nerve conduction velocity of the tail by 2 months of age. Thereafter, the conduction velocity was constantly lower in SDR than in age-matched control rats. ⋯ In contrast, loss of myelinated nerve fibers, a reduction in nerve fiber size and axonal size were apparent in 6 month-old SDR. By freeze-replica studies, neither any qualitative changes of intramembrane faces nor any quantitative differences in the density of intramembranous particles of internodal myelin and Schwann cell membranes were detected in 2 month-old SDR when compared with those in controls. The results suggested that the delayed nerve conduction velocity was most related to diabetic dysmetabolism and independent of the structural changes of peripheral nerves being in the course of distal axonopathy.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jul 1982
Comparative StudyComparison of cytosolic and mitochondrial enzyme alterations in the livers of propionic or methylmalonic acidemia: a reduction of cytochrome oxidase activity.
The activities of mitochondrial, cytosolic and microsomal enzymes in liver specimens obtained from three patients with propionic or methylmalonic acidemia were compared with those of control patients who had died from unrelated causes. Only the activity of cytochrome oxidase (mitochondrial enzyme) was significantly reduced in the patients of propionic acidemia and methylmalonic acidemia who were in the state of metabolic acidosis; in two patients the activity was less than 30% of that in controls, but in the other patient of propionic acidemia, who was under the treatment with a low protein diet (0.8 g/kg/day), the activity was 50% of that in controls. The metabolites of branched chain amino acids (tiglic acid, propionic acid, methylmalonic acid, succinic acid, tiglyl-CoA and propionyl CoA) exhibited no inhibitory effect on the cytochrome oxidase activity of the sonicated rat liver mitochondria. The reduction of cytochrome oxidase activity found in these organic acidemias may be caused secondarily by some unknown mechanism.