Satoru Ebihara

1. By the development of a new perforated patch method using gramicidin, the effects of GABA on neurones dissociated from the rat substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) were examined without disturbing the intracellular chloride concentration. 2. Using the patch pipette solution containing gramicidin (100 micrograms ml-1), the access resistance dropped to less than 20 M omega within 40 min after making the gigaohm seal. 3. Under current-clamp conditions, GABA caused a hyperpolarization accompani

Despite the development and wide distribution of guidelines for pneumonia, death from pneumonia is increasing due to population aging. Conventionally, aspiration pneumonia was mainly thought to be one of the infectious diseases. However, we have proven that chronic repeated aspiration of a small amount of sterile material can cause the usual type of aspiration pneumonia in mouse lung. Moreover, chronic repeated aspiration of small amounts induced chronic inflammation in both frail elderly people

Overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) with attendant oxidative and nitrosative stress has been implicated in sepsis-induced diaphragm dysfunction. Here we determined the impact of controlled mechanical ventilation (MV) on rat diaphragm sarcolemmal injury, inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression, and oxidative stress during endotoxemia. At 4 h after injection of endotoxin, impaired sarcolemmal integrity and decreased force production by the diaphragm were observed in spontaneously breathing rats. T

The effects of serotonin (5-HT) on tumor growth are inconsistent. We investigated whether a decreased level of 5-HT affected tumor growth using 5-HT transporter knockout (5-HTT(-/-)) mice, which showed 5-HT depletion. When cancer cells were injected subcutaneously into both 5-HTT(-/-) and 5-HTT(+/+) mice, the tumor growth was markedly attenuated in 5-HTT(-/-) mice. Serotonin levels in the blood, forebrain, and tumors of 5-HTT(-/-) mice bearing tumors were significantly smaller than those of thei

Lavender olfactory stimulation may reduce falls and agitation in elderly nursing home residents; further research is necessary to confirm these findings.

Background: To test the hypothesis that minimum toe clearance and maximum angular inclination of the sole relative to the floor during the swing phase of gait and the maximum lateral sway of the trunk relative to lateral foot separation discriminate fallers from non‐fallers in the elderly. Methods: We studied 25 community‐dwelling elderly subjects with a history of two or more falls in the previous year and 31 age‐ and sex‐matched controls with no such history. Studies were conducted in the Gait

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal disease caused by defects in the gene encoding dystrophin. Dystrophin is a cytoskeletal protein, which together with its associated protein complex, helps to protect the sarcolemma from mechanical stresses associated with muscle contraction. Gene therapy efforts aimed at supplying a normal dystrophin gene to DMD muscles could be hampered by host immune system recognition of dystrophin as a "foreign" protein. In contrast, a closely related protein call

Morbidity and mortality from aspiration pneumonia continues to be a major health problem in the elderly. A swallowing disorder, such as a delayed triggering of the swallowing reflex, exists in patients with aspiration pneumonia. We found that the swallowing reflex in elderly people was temperature-sensitive. The swallowing reflex was delayed when the temperature of the food was close to body temperature. The actual swallowing time shortened when the temperature difference increases. The improvem