The Kurume Medical Journal
Online ISSN : 1881-2090
Print ISSN : 0023-5679
ISSN-L : 0023-5679
Volume 57, Issue 4
Displaying 1-5 of 5 articles from this issue
OriginalContribution
  • SHUNJI ARIKAWA, MASAFUMI UCHIDA, JUN UOZUMI, JUN SAKODA, HAYATO KAIDA, ...
    2010 Volume 57 Issue 4 Pages 91-100
    Published: October 30, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study aimed to compare the usefulness of multidetector row CT (MDCT), MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in diagnosing branch duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas. Imaging and pathological findings were retrospectively evaluated for 25 patients with branch duct IPMNs of the pancreas who underwent surgical resection (13 adenomas, 4 borderline lesions, and 8 carcinomas). MDCT and MRCP were performed on all 25 patients, whereas EUS was performed on 22 patients. MDCT and MRCP were used to identify features predictive of malignancy, including carcinoma, borderline lesions, and the presence of thickened irregular walls⁄septa or a solid mass. EUS was used to identify the presence of intramural nodules or a solid mass. Correlations between histopathology and maximum diameter of the main pancreatic duct (MPD) or cyst size detected by MDCT and MRCP were also examined. Presence of a solid mass was highly correlated with malignancy with all imaging methods (MDCT; P=0.001, MRCP; P=0.008, EUS; P<0.001, respectively). Presence of thickened irregular walls⁄septa on MDCT correlated well with malignancy (P=0.019). In contrast, presence of thickened irregular walls/septa on MRCP and intramural nodules on EUS did not correlate with malignancy. No significant correlation was found between malignancy and average maximum MPD diameter or cyst size (P>0.05), though values tended to be larger in malignant tumors. Our results suggest that the presence of thickened irregular walls/septa or a solid mass on MDCT are highly correlated with malignancy, and that MDCT is useful for diagnosis of branch duct IPMNs of the pancreas.
    Download PDF (1040K)
  • TORU MATSUGAKI, NAOTO SHIBA, SHOHEI KOHNO, TAKESHI NIKAWA, KATSUYA HIR ...
    2010 Volume 57 Issue 4 Pages 101-108
    Published: October 30, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    “Hybrid exercise” utilizing combined electrical stimulation and voluntary muscle contraction has been developed as a muscle exercise method. Although our previous studies have confirmed the effectiveness of the procedure, the mechanisms of its efficacy still remain unclear. In the present study, we identified genes that are specifically expressed in disused muscles, using the semitendinosus muscle from patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Preoperative exercise was performed by four ACL-injured patients, who were subjected either to hybrid exercise (n=2), electrical stimulation (n=1), or no electrical stimulation (n=1), in addition to standard weight training for 4 weeks. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of the semitendinosus muscle was measured before and after the exercise by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A piece of the semitendinosus muscle was isolated during the surgery, and comprehensive analysis of the gene expression in this sample was performed using DNA microarray analysis. CSA increased in size by 4.2 and 14.7%, respectively, after hybrid exercise, and by 1.4% after electrical stimulation. However it shrunk by 7.7% without electrical stimulation. DNA microarray analysis revealed that hybrid exercise was more effective at stimulating the expression of signal transduction-, transcription- and cytoskeleton-related genes in semitendinosus muscles than electrical stimulation alone. In particular, gene ontology analysis revealed that hybrid exercise induced significantly higher expression of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (EIFSA), peroxisomal biogenesis factor 6 (PEX6) and histone cluster 1 H4 (HIST1H4), compared with electrical stimulation alone. The expression of signal transduction-, transcription- and cytoskeleton-related genes may play an important role in muscle bulk increasing mechanisms in hybrid exercise.
    Download PDF (794K)
  • MASAYUKI INOUE, TAKEFUMI UENO, KIICHIRO MORITA, YOSHIHISA SHOJI, TOSHI ...
    2010 Volume 57 Issue 4 Pages 109-115
    Published: October 30, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Shiritori is a popular Japanese word chain game that resembles verbal fluency tasks used in Western countries. Recently, shiritori has been used to determine the dominant hemisphere for language and as a rehabilitation tool. However, there are few reports of neuroimaging during shiritori. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to conduct a detailed study of brain activities during shiritori and observed activation not only of the left inferior frontal gyrus (including the pars opecularis, the pars triangularis and the pars orbitalis), which is a language-related area, but also of the left superior and middle frontal gyri, the right pars orbitalis (inferior frontal gyrus), and the right cerebellar hemisphere. Shiritori is a useful tool for psychological study and rehabilitation.
    Download PDF (637K)
  • YOSHIHIRO SATO, YOSHIAKI HONDA, KAZUO UMENO, NORIMASA HAYASHIDA, JUN I ...
    2010 Volume 57 Issue 4 Pages 117-124
    Published: October 30, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The editorial board announced this article has been retracted because of scientific misconduct. If you have any further question, please contact us at: kmjedit@kurume-u.ac.jp
    Download PDF (687K)
  • HIROO MATSUSE, CHIKAHIRO IWASA, KISEI IMAISHI, TAKESHI NAGO, YOSHIHIKO ...
    2010 Volume 57 Issue 4 Pages 125-132
    Published: October 30, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Conventional neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) results in surface muscle contraction but high electrical stimulation intensity is required to activate the deep muscles. Therefore, NMES is not useful for training at complicated sites such as the forearm. To make NMES more effective we developed a hybrid training method (HYB), consisting of electrically stimulated antagonists to resist agonist muscle contractions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of HYB on the forearm as compared with NMES alone, and to determine whether HYB had any adverse effects on complex hand movements. Thirty subjects were randomly distributed into three groups: a HYB program group, an isometric electrical stimulation group (ES), and a control group (CN). Subjects trained 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Each session consisted of 10 sets of 10 reciprocal 2-sec wrist flexions and extensions separated by 1-min rest intervals. Wrist flexion/extension torques, grip strengths (GS), forearm flexor/extensor cross sectional areas (CSA), and hand dexterity (Purdue Pegboard (PEG) test, finger tapping (Tapping) test were measured. The HYB group demonstrated statistically significant increases in wrist extension torques (22.8%, p<0.01), forearm flexor CSA (9.6%, p<0.01), and in forearm extensor CSA (5.1%, p<0.05) at the end of training. There was no increase in torque or CSA in the ES or CN groups. Hand dexterity showed no significant differences in any of the three groups. HYB had no adverse effect on hand function and was more effective in forearm training than NMES alone.
    Download PDF (654K)
feedback
Top