Usefulness of the masticatory score by occlusal support.

This study aimed to clarify the usefulness of masticatory score by occlusal support. A total of 605 adults were classified into four groups (A1, A2A3, B, and C) according to the Eichner classification, and the relationship between the amount of glucose eluted and masticatory score was investigated in each group. A significant correlation between the glucose eluted and masticatory score was observed in groups A2A3, B, and C, but not in A1, suggesting that the masticatory score is useful for evaluating the masticatory performance of complete denture wearers, but not adults with natural dentition.

The menstrual cycle affects recognition of emotional expressions: an event-related potential study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have investigated the relationship between behavioral changes and the menstrual cycle in female subjects at a reproductive age. The present study investigated the relationship between the menstrual cycle and emotional face recognition by measuring the N170 component of ERPs. METHODS: We measured N170 of twelve women in both follicular phase and late luteal phase who were presented with human facial expressions as stimuli (happy and angry). RESULTS: In the follicular phase, participants showed a significantly larger response to happy male facial expressions. In the late luteal phase, participants had longer reaction times to all emotional stimuli, and a significantly reduced response to happy faces, especially happy male facial expressions (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the menstrual cycle modulates early visual cognitive processing, and highlight the importance of considering the menstrual cycle phase in studies that investigate emotion and cognition.

Effectiveness of the Japanese DOLOPLUS-2: a pain assessment scale for patients with moderate-to-severe dementia.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess whether the Japanese DOLOPLUS-2 scale could effectively identify pain in elderly individuals with moderate-to-severe dementia. METHODS: This study used a pre-test/post-test design with purposive sampling to select an experimental group and a historical control group. The inclusion criteria were a Functional Assessment Staging score of 5 or 6, a diagnosis of an orthopaedic disease that typically involves pain, the ability to say 'I am currently in pain' (to prevent medication errors), and a total DOLOPLUS-2 scale score ≥5 at the first pain assessment. In the experimental group (n = 19), each patient was assessed by the DOLOPLUS-2 scale at 2PM and 9PM each day for 5 days. If a patient's total score was ≥5, analgesics were prescribed and the patient was re-assessed approximately 3 hours later. In the control group (n = 20), data were collected from medical records over a 1-year period, and we matched the characteristics of the control group to that of the experimental group. We also reviewed nursing records to determine the number of times analgesics had been administered over the 5 days after the nurses had first recorded that the patient had experienced pain. RESULTS: Among the 19 patients in the experimental group, 15 received pain medication because of a total pain score ≥5. Before treatment, their mean DOLOPLUS-2 scale score was 7.5 ± 3.2, and their score significantly decreased to 2.9 ± 2.1 (P < 0.001) after treatment. The experimental group also received significantly more treatments with analgesic medication than the control group (χ(2) = 16.033, P < 0.001, φ = 0.641). CONCLUSION: This study's findings suggested that the Japanese DOLOPLUS-2 scale could adequately identify pain in elderly individuals with moderate-to-severe dementia.

Gender differences in masticatory movement path and rhythm in dentate adults.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to clarify whether there might be a gender difference in masticatory movement path and rhythm in dentate adults. METHODS: Thirty healthy males and 30 healthy females were asked to chew softened chewing gum on their habitual chewing side for 20 sec, and the movement of the mandibular incisal point was recorded using mandibular kinesiograph. For 10 cycles from the fifth cycle, the spatial and temporal parameters (spatial: amounts of vertical and lateral movements; temporal: opening, closing, occluding, and cycle times) of masticatory movement path and rhythm and the parameters representing the stability of masticatory movement path and rhythm were calculated and compared between males and females. RESULTS: The values of the spatial parameters were significantly greater for males than for females. The values of the temporal parameters were smaller for males than for females, and significant differences were found in all parameters except occluding time. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the parameters representing the stability of masticatory movement path and rhythm. CONCLUSION: From these results it was suggested that although there were no differences in the stability of masticatory movement path and rhythm between genders, there were gender differences in the spatial and temporal parameters of masticatory movement path and rhythm.

Genetic association of a polymorphism of the cAMP-responsive element binding protein-binding protein with steroid-induced osteonecrosis after kidney transplantation.

Nontraumatic osteonecrosis (ON) of the femoral head is known to be one of the major complications after organ transplantations. Although the precise mechanism is still uncertain, the administration of glucocorticoid (GC) has been considered to play an important role in the occurrence of ON. To elucidate the genetic factors involved in this pathogenesis, we analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the genes for the GC receptor (GR), CYP3A4, cAMP-responsive element binding protein-binding protein (CBP), and nuclear receptor co-activator 2 (NCoA2). Among the patients examined, A/G alleles of the CBP gene were demonstrated in 32.4% of those with ON, but in only 14.6% of those without ON (P = 0.018). No relationships were observed between the SNPs of GR, CYP3A4, and NCoA2 genes and the occurrence of ON. These results indicate that the genetic polymorphism of the CBP, which is one of the essential factors exerting the biological effects of GC, may affect susceptibility to steroid-induced ON in patients after renal transplantation.

ABCA5 resides in lysosomes, and ABCA5 knockout mice develop lysosomal disease-like symptoms.

ABCA5 is a member of the ABC transporter A subfamily, and a mouse orthologue (mABCA5) in newborn mouse brain and neural cells was identified by reverse transcription-PCR. Full-length cDNA cloning revealed that mABCA5 consists of 1,642 amino acid residues and that its putative structure is that of a full-type ABC transporter having two sets of six transmembrane segments and a nucleotide binding domain. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that mABCA5 is expressed in brain, lung, heart, and thyroid gland. A subcellular localization analysis showed that mABCA5 is a resident of lysosomes and late endosomes. Abca5(-)(/)(-) mice exhibited symptoms similar to those of several lysosomal diseases in heart, although no prominent abnormalities were found in brain or lung. They developed a dilated cardiomyopathy-like heart after reaching adulthood and died due to depression of the cardiovascular system. In addition, Abca5(-)(/)(-) mice also exhibited exophthalmos and collapse of the thyroid gland. Therefore, ABCA5 is a protein related to a lysosomal disease and plays important roles, especially in cardiomyocytes and follicular cells.