Overview of Cannabis including Kampo Medicine and Therapy for Treatment of Dementia: A Review.

Cannabis sativa L. is an annual herb oldest cultivated plants as a source of fiber since about 5000 B.C. On the other hand, the cannabis flower and seed are listed in Shennong's classic Materia Medica approximately 2000 years ago. The formulas prescribed with cannabis in Kampo medicine have been summarized. Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the major neurological and psychiatric cannabinoids, and develop to drugs. It becomes evident that the therapeutic CBD and/or THC are the important candidate of anti-dementia drugs having different mechanism for Alzheimer's patients. Two receptors and endocannabinoids are also discussed for underlying mechanism of action. In order to promote the breeding of cannabis plant containing higher concentration of target cannabinoid the biosynthetic enzymes were isolated, cloning and the tertiary structure of THCA synthase determined by x-ray analysis resulting in the possibility of molecular breeding for cannabinoids.

[A case of rocuronium-induced anaphylactic shock successfully treated with sugammadex].

We report a case of a 19-year-old male with rocuronium-induced anaphylactic shock. He was scheduled for endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis under general anesthesia. Induction of anesthesia was done with fentanyl, propofol and sevoflurane. Just after administration of rocuronium, he developed tachycardia with extended exanthema on the face, anterior chest wall and abdomen. He was difficult to ventilate manually with mask and then intubated without difficulty. The carotid arterial pulse was not palpable and adrenaline was given intermittently to maintain blood pressure. Although the systolic blood pressure increased to 80 mmHg, hemodynamics was unstable with adrenaline. Sugammadex was then given and the blood pressure became stable without adrenaline. Exanthema also disappeared gradually. He was then transferred to ICU and extubated without any sequela. The plasma beta-tryptase increased to 46 microg x l(-1) during the shock state and returned to 14.1 microg x l(-1) 8 hrs after the event. The blood hemoglobin level also increased to 21.3 g x dl(-1) during the shock state and returned to 17.2 g x dl(-1) during the recovery phase. The laboratory data showed a marked increase in vascular permeability caused by rocuronium-induced anaphylactic shock.

Quantitative estimation of interaction between carbohydrates and concanavalin A by surface plasmon resonance biosensor.

We measured the affinity of more than 20 sugars with concanavalin A (ConA) by an optical biosensor (surface plasmon resonance sensor) using asialofetuin (ASF) as an immobilized binding partner of ConA. We determined kinetic parameters of the effects of sugars on the dissociation of ConA from ASF quantitatively, and the structural requirements of the functional groups of sugars for binding with ConA. We found that the affinity of ConA for sugars is dependent on its conformation induced by interaction with the binding partner. In addition, the results showed that optical biosensor system is well mimics the interaction of ConA with sugars in biomembrane.