Effect of sedatives or anesthetics on the measurement of resting brain function in common marmosets.

Common marmosets are promising laboratory animals for the study of higher brain functions. Although there are many opportunities to use sedatives and anesthetics in resting brain function measurements in marmosets, their effects on the resting-state network remain unclear. In this study, the effects of sedatives or anesthetics such as midazolam, dexmedetomidine, co-administration of isoflurane and dexmedetomidine, propofol, alfaxalone, isoflurane, and sevoflurane on the resting brain function in common marmosets were evaluated using independent component analysis, dual regression analysis, and graph-theoretic analysis; and the sedatives or anesthetics suitable for the evaluation of resting brain function were investigated. The results show that network preservation tendency under light sedative with midazolam and dexmedetomidine is similar regardless of the type of target receptor. Moreover, alfaxalone, isoflurane, and sevoflurane have similar effects on resting state brain function, but only propofol exhibits different tendencies, as resting brain function is more preserved than it is following the administration of the other anesthetics. Co-administration of isoflurane and dexmedetomidine shows middle effect between sedatives and anesthetics.

[Laparoscopic Colectomy for a Patient with Transverse Colon Cancer in Situs Inversus Totalis].

A 74-year-old man with situs inversus totalis visited our hospital for a positive fecal occult blood. He was diagnosed with transverse colon cancer by total colonoscopy. We performed laparoscopic partial colectomy. He was discharged on the 8th postoperative day, without postoperative complications. Histopathological examination revealed well differentiated adenocarcinoma, pT1aN0M0, pStage Ⅰ. Preoperative assessment of the anatomical position and vascular malformations, using 3- dimensional computed tomography, was essential for our safe surgical conduct.

Fibrin-targeting molecular MRI in inflammatory CNS disorders.

BACKGROUND: Fibrin deposition is a fundamental pathophysiological event in the inflammatory component of various CNS disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's disease. Beyond its traditional role in coagulation, fibrin elicits immunoinflammatory changes with oxidative stress response and activation of CNS-resident/peripheral immune cells contributing to CNS injury. PURPOSE: To investigate if CNS fibrin deposition can be determined using molecular MRI, and to assess its capacity as a non-invasive imaging biomarker that corresponds to inflammatory response and barrier impairment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Specificity and efficacy of a peptide-conjugated Gd-based molecular MRI probe (EP2104-R) to visualise and quantify CNS fibrin deposition were evaluated. Probe efficacy to specifically target CNS fibrin deposition in murine adoptive-transfer experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a pre-clinical model for MS (n = 12), was assessed. Findings were validated using immunohistochemistry and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Deposition of fibrin in neuroinflammatory conditions was investigated and its diagnostic capacity for disease staging and monitoring as well as quantification of immunoinflammatory response was determined. Results were compared using t-tests (two groups) or one-way ANOVA with multiple comparisons test. Linear regression was used to model the relationship between variables. RESULTS: For the first time (to our knowledge), CNS fibrin deposition was visualised and quantified in vivo using molecular imaging. Signal enhancement was apparent in EAE lesions even 12-h after administration of EP2104-R due to targeted binding (M ± SD, 1.07 ± 0.10 (baseline) vs. 0.73 ± 0.09 (EP2104-R), p = .008), which could be inhibited with an MRI-silent analogue (M ± SD, 0.60 ± 0.14 (EP2104-R) vs. 0.96 ± 0.13 (EP2104-La), p = .006). CNS fibrin deposition corresponded to immunoinflammatory activity (R2 = 0.85, p < .001) and disability (R2 = 0.81, p < .001) in a model for MS, which suggests a clinical role for staging and monitoring. Additionally, EP2104-R showed substantially higher SNR (M ± SD, 6.6 ± 1 (EP2104-R) vs. 2.7 ± 0.4 (gadobutrol), p = .004) than clinically used contrast media, which increases sensitivity for lesion detection. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular imaging of CNS fibrin deposition provides an imaging biomarker for inflammatory CNS pathology, which corresponds to pathophysiological ECM remodelling and disease activity, and yields high signal-to-noise ratio, which can improve diagnostic neuroimaging across several neurological diseases with variable degrees of barrier impairment.

[A Case of Small Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus with Complete Response to Chemoradiotherapy in an Elderly Patient].

Small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is a rare malignancy with a perceived poor prognosis. We report a case of long-term survival using chemoradiotherapy. An 80-year-old man visited our hospital complaining of hiccup. Endoscopic examination showed type 2 lesions in the lower esophagus with a pathological diagnosis of small cell carcinoma. Based on the diagnosis of cStage Ⅲ disease and the patient's age, chemoradiotherapy comprising 3 courses of CDDP and CPT-11 and 45 Gy of irradiation was administered. After treatment completion, the therapeutic effect was evaluated as a complete response through CT, PET-CT, and endoscopic examination. No recurrence has been identified more than 5 years after achieving the complete response.

Distinct fMRI Responses to Self-Induced versus Stimulus Motion during Free Viewing in the Macaque.

UNLABELLED: Visual motion responses in the brain are shaped by two distinct sources: the physical movement of objects in the environment and motion resulting from one's own actions. The latter source, termed visual reafference, stems from movements of the head and body, and in primates from the frequent saccadic eye movements that mark natural vision. To study the relative contribution of reafferent and stimulus motion during natural vision, we measured fMRI activity in the brains of two macaques as they freely viewed >50 hours of naturalistic video footage depicting dynamic social interactions. We used eye movements obtained during scanning to estimate the level of reafferent retinal motion at each moment in time. We also estimated the net stimulus motion by analyzing the video content during the same time periods. Mapping the responses to these distinct sources of retinal motion, we found a striking dissociation in the distribution of visual responses throughout the brain. Reafferent motion drove fMRI activity in the early retinotopic areas V1, V2, V3, and V4, particularly in their central visual field representations, as well as lateral aspects of the caudal inferotemporal cortex (area TEO). However, stimulus motion dominated fMRI responses in the superior temporal sulcus, including areas MT, MST, and FST as well as more rostral areas. We discuss this pronounced separation of motion processing in the context of natural vision, saccadic suppression, and the brain's utilization of corollary discharge signals. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Visual motion arises not only from events in the external world, but also from the movements of the observer. For example, even if objects are stationary in the world, the act of walking through a room or shifting one's eyes causes motion on the retina. This "reafferent" motion propagates into the brain as signals that must be interpreted in the context of real object motion. The delineation of whole-brain responses to stimulus versus self-generated retinal motion signals is critical for understanding visual perception and is of pragmatic importance given the increasing use of naturalistic viewing paradigms. The present study uses fMRI to demonstrate that the brain exhibits a fundamentally different pattern of responses to these two sources of retinal motion.

Effects of Combined Treatment with Branched-Chain Amino Acids, Citric Acid, L-Carnitine, Coenzyme Q10, Zinc, and Various Vitamins in Tumor-Bearing Mice.

A functional dietary supplement (FDS) containing Coenzyme Q10, branched-chain amino acids and L-carnitine was administered to tumor-bearing mice, investigating its effects on tumor and muscle tissues. Experiment (A): B16 melanoma cells were implanted subcutaneously into the right side of the abdomen of 8- to 9-week-old C57BL/6J mice. The mice were divided into two groups: a FDS group that received oral administration of FDS (n=10), and a control group that received oral administration of glucose (n=10). The moribund condition was used as the endpoint, and median survival time was determined. Experiment (B): On day 21 after tumor implantation, tumors, soleus muscle, gastrocnemius muscle, and suprahyoid muscles were collected. Tumor and muscle weight and other aspects were evaluated in each group: FDS group (n=15) and control group (n=15). The median survival time was comparable (21 d in the FDS group vs. 18 d in the control group, p=0.30). However, cumulative food intake was significantly higher in the FDS group than the control group (p=0.011). Metastasis of melanoma to the lung was observed in the control group but not in the FDS group (p=0.043). The weight of the suprahyoid muscles was significantly higher in the FDS group than in the control group (p=0.0045). The weight of the tumor was significantly lower in the FDS group than in the control group (p=0.013). The results possibly suggest oral administration of FDS in tumor-bearing mice enhances the maintenance of suprahyoid muscles, resulting in an extended feeding period and suppression of tumor growth and metastasis.

[A Case of Advanced Gastric Cancer Responding to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy with Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and 5-Fluorouracil, Leading to a Pathological Complete Response].

We report a 72-year-old woman who was initially diagnosed with locally advanced gastric cancer with involvement of the esophagus and pancreas. She received 3 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NAC)with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5- fluorouracil(the DCF regimen)and achieved an excellent response. She underwent total gastrectomy with distal pancreatectomy, splenectomy, and D2 lymphadenectomy. Histological examination confirmed a pathological complete response. NAC chemotherapy can down stage/down size the disease and allow some patients to undergo curative radical surgery.

[Successful Surgical Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombus after Favorable Response to Irradiation and Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization].

Here, we describe the surgical treatment of a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) after irradiation and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). A 51-year-old man was being followed-up for HBV-related liver cirrhosis and HCC that was previously treated by radio-frequency ablation (RFA) and TACE. A follow up CT study revealed recurrence of HCC in segment 6 of the liver with PVTT extending to the right branch. As early recurrence was likely after resection and due to insufficient hepatic functional reserve, primary radiotherapy for PVTT was performed followed by TACE. After non-surgical treatment, a favorable tumor response was observed with no evidence of intrahepatic disease within the left lobe of the liver, and the volume of the future liver remnant increased, allowing us to perform splenectomy and right hemihepatectomy combined with portal vein resection/reconstruction.

[A Case of a Metastatic Liver Tumor from a Thymic Carcinoma Detected During a Cesarean Section].

A 40-year-old pregnant woman who had previously been diagnosed with uterine myoma underwent cesarean section. During the operation, a tumor thought to be uterine myoma was found to be an extrauterine tumor arising from the upper abdomen. After the delivery of the fetus, a staging CT scan was performed, which revealed a huge, 18 cm, hepatic tumor in the left lateral segment, a mediastinal tumor with calcification, and multiple lung nodules. She underwent a left hepatic lobectomy and a wedge resection 8 days after the delivery. The initial pathological diagnosis was moderately differentiated neuroendocrine tumor (NET). However, as a primary hepatic NET is extremely rare, further immunohistochemical staining was performed. The tumor was positive for p63, CD5, c-kit, and bcl-2, indicating a diagnosis of thymic carcinoma with liver and lung metastases.

[Simultaneous Resection of Sigmoid Colon Cancer and Synchronous Liver Metastasis by Laparoscopic Surgery].

We report the case of a patient with sigmoid colon cancer with synchronous liver metastasis who underwent simultaneous sigmoid colectomy and partial hepatectomy by laparoscopic surgery. A 70-year-old man with positive fecal occult blood was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer and referred to our hospital. Staging computed tomography (CT) revealed a solitary liver metastasis in segment 6, confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He underwent simultaneous laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy and partial hepatectomy. The patient's postoperative recovery was uneventful and he was discharged 12 days later. The patient was alive without recurrence 4 months after surgery. Laparoscopic surgery is an accepted mode of treatment for colorectal cancer. However, the use of laparoscopy in liver surgery is still limited. There have only been few case reports of combined laparoscopic colorectal and liver resection. Simultaneous laparoscopic colectomy and hepatectomy is feasible for selected colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases. It may provide significant decrease in morbidity, length of hospitalization time, and intraoperative blood loss, without compromising curability or increasing mortality. Further studies are needed to confirm the feasibility of this approach.

[A case of enterolith ileus secondary to acute pancreatitis associated with a juxtapapillary duodenal diverticulum].

A 63-year-old woman with abdominal pain was referred to our hospital. Her pancreatic enzymes were elevated, and an abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed an enlarged pancreas, consistent with pancreatitis, and gas collection containing an impacted stone adjacent to Vater's papilla. This finding raised the suspicion of a duodenal diverticulum. A subsequent ERCP showed a juxtapapillary duodenal diverticulum (JPDD) filled with calculi and pus. The pancreatitis improved with 2 weeks of conservative treatment. Subsequently, the patient underwent resection of the uterus and bilateral adnexa to remove a large ovarian cyst that was also identified on the admission CT scan. On the third postoperative day, she developed abdominal pain and vomiting. CT revealed small bowel obstruction caused by an enterolith expelled from JPDD. Enterotomy was performed to remove the stone. To our knowledge, only three similar cases have been previously reported in Japan.

A prominent vertical occipital white matter fasciculus unique to primate brains.

Vision in humans and other primates enlists parallel processing streams in the dorsal and ventral visual cortex, known to support spatial and object processing, respectively. These streams are bridged, however, by a prominent white matter tract, the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF), identified in both classical neuroanatomy and recent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) studies. Understanding the evolution of the VOF may shed light on its origin, function, and role in visually guided behaviors. To this end, we acquired high-resolution dMRI data from the brains of select mammalian species, including anthropoid and strepsirrhine primates, a tree shrew, rodents, and carnivores. In each species, we attempted to delineate the VOF after first locating the optic radiations in the occipital white matter. In all primate species examined, the optic radiation was flanked laterally by a prominent and coherent white matter fasciculus recognizable as the VOF. By contrast, the equivalent analysis applied to four non-primate species from the same superorder as primates (tree shrew, ground squirrel, paca, and rat) failed to reveal white matter tracts in the equivalent location. Clear evidence for a VOF was also absent in two larger carnivore species (ferret and fox). Although we cannot rule out the existence of minor or differently organized homologous fiber pathways in the non-primate species, the results suggest that the VOF has greatly expanded, or possibly emerged, in the primate lineage. This adaptation likely facilitated the evolution of unique visually guided behaviors in primates, with direct impacts on manual object manipulation, social interactions, and arboreal locomotion.

Deciphering social traits and pathophysiological conditions from natural behaviors in common marmosets.

Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are indispensable animal models by virtue of the continuity of behavioral repertoires across primates, including humans. However, behavioral assessment at the laboratory level has so far been limited. Employing the application of three-dimensional (3D) pose estimation and the optimal integration of subsequent analytic methodologies, we demonstrate that our artificial intelligence (AI)-based approach has successfully deciphered the ethological, cognitive, and pathological traits of common marmosets from their natural behaviors. By applying multiple deep neural networks trained with large-scale datasets, we established an evaluation system that could reconstruct and estimate the 3D poses of the marmosets, a small NHP that is suitable for analyzing complex natural behaviors in laboratory setups. We further developed downstream analytic methodologies to quantify a variety of behavioral parameters beyond motion kinematics. We revealed the distinct parental roles of male and female marmosets through automated detections of food-sharing behaviors using a spatial-temporal filter on 3D poses. Employing a recurrent neural network to analyze 3D pose time series data during social interactions, we additionally discovered that marmosets adjusted their behaviors based on others' internal state, which is not directly observable but can be inferred from the sequence of others' actions. Moreover, a fully unsupervised approach enabled us to detect progressively appearing symptomatic behaviors over a year in a Parkinson's disease model. The high-throughput and versatile nature of an AI-driven approach to analyze natural behaviors will open a new avenue for neuroscience research dealing with big-data analyses of social and pathophysiological behaviors in NHPs.

Commonality and variance of resting-state networks in common marmoset brains.

Animal models of brain function are critical for the study of human diseases and development of effective interventions. Resting-state network (RSN) analysis is a powerful tool for evaluating brain function and performing comparisons across animal species. Several studies have reported RSNs in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus; marmoset), a non-human primate. However, it is necessary to identify RSNs and evaluate commonality and inter-individual variance through analyses using a larger amount of data. In this study, we present marmoset RSNs detected using > 100,000 time-course image volumes of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data with careful preprocessing. In addition, we extracted brain regions involved in the composition of these RSNs to understand the differences between humans and marmosets. We detected 16 RSNs in major marmosets, three of which were novel networks that have not been previously reported in marmosets. Since these RSNs possess the potential for use in the functional evaluation of neurodegenerative diseases, the data in this study will significantly contribute to the understanding of the functional effects of neurodegenerative diseases.

Multi-modal brain magnetic resonance imaging database covering marmosets with a wide age range.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that is useful for identifying normal developmental and aging processes and for data sharing. Marmosets have a relatively shorter life expectancy than other primates, including humans, because they grow and age faster. Therefore, the common marmoset model is effective in aging research. The current study investigated the aging process of the marmoset brain and provided an open MRI database of marmosets across a wide age range. The Brain/MINDS Marmoset Brain MRI Dataset contains brain MRI information from 216 marmosets ranging in age from 1 and 10 years. At the time of its release, it is the largest public dataset in the world. It also includes multi-contrast MRI images. In addition, 91 of 216 animals have corresponding high-resolution ex vivo MRI datasets. Our MRI database, available at the Brain/MINDS Data Portal, might help to understand the effects of various factors, such as age, sex, body size, and fixation, on the brain. It can also contribute to and accelerate brain science studies worldwide.

Cortical neural dynamics unveil the rhythm of natural visual behavior in marmosets.

Numerous studies have shown that the visual system consists of functionally distinct ventral and dorsal streams; however, its exact spatial-temporal dynamics during natural visual behavior remain to be investigated. Here, we report cerebral neural dynamics during active visual exploration recorded by an electrocorticographic array covering the entire lateral surface of the marmoset cortex. We found that the dorsal stream was activated before the primary visual cortex with saccades and followed by the alteration of suppression and activation signals along the ventral stream. Similarly, the signal that propagated from the dorsal to ventral visual areas was accompanied by a travelling wave of low frequency oscillations. Such signal dynamics occurred at an average of 220 ms after saccades, which corresponded to the timing when whole-brain activation returned to background levels. We also demonstrated that saccades could occur at any point of signal flow, indicating the parallel computation of motor commands. Overall, this study reveals the neural dynamics of active vision, which are efficiently linked to the natural rhythms of visual exploration.

The perception of self-agency in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

The ability to distinguish actions and effects caused by oneself from events occurring in the external environment is a fundamental aspect of human cognition. Underlying such distinctions, self-monitoring processes are often assumed, in which predicted events accompanied by one's own volitional action are compared with actual events observed in the external environment. Although many studies have examined the absence or presence of a certain type of self-recognition (i.e. mirror self-recognition) in non-human animals, the underlying cognitive mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we provide, to our knowledge, the first behavioural evidence that chimpanzees can perform self/other distinction for external events on the basis of self-monitoring processes. Three chimpanzees were presented with two cursors on a computer display. One cursor was manipulated by a chimpanzee using a trackball, while the other displayed motion that had been produced previously by the same chimpanzee. Chimpanzees successfully identified which cursor they were able to control. A follow-up experiment revealed that their performance could not be explained by simple associative responses. A further experiment with one chimpanzee showed that the monitoring process occurred in both temporal and spatial dimensions. These findings indicate that chimpanzees and humans share the fundamental cognitive processes underlying the sense of being an independent agent.

Interleukin-8 and clinical symptoms can be prognostic indicators for advanced cancer patients with cachexia.

OBJECTIVES: Prognostic prediction is a significant tool for selecting appropriate treatment in advanced cancer patients with cachexia, at a time when it is important to offer high-quality palliative care and improve quality of life until death. In this retrospective study, we investigated the prognostic potential of serum cytokine level and various clinical symptoms by analyzing the pathological conditions and metabolic dynamics of cachexia in advanced cancer patients. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-three advanced cancer patients who underwent palliative care and died at the Department of Surgery and Palliative Medicine, Fujita Health University Nanakuri Memorial Hospital between 1 January 2004 and 30 June 2007 were eligible for the study. We simultaneously assessed their blood factors and clinical symptoms at admission. All patients were divided into two groups according to median survival time to analyze the risk factors for prognosis. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis revealed the following independent prognostic factors: interleukin (IL)-8 (odds ratio [OR]=4.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.52-11.41, p=0.002), general fatigue (OR=1.22, 95%CI=1.03-1.45, p=0.019), anorexia (OR=1.19, 95%CI=1.04-1.37, p=0.008), dyspnea (OR=1.19, 95%CI=1.02-1.38, p=0.024), depression (OR=1.28, 95%CI=1.11-1.47, p<0.001), nausea (OR=1.25, 95%CI=1.05-1.48, p=0.007), dry mouth (OR=1.19, 95%CI=1.01-1.40, p=0.032), and overall assessment score (OR=1.05, 95%CI=1.02-1.09, p<0.001). Patients with low IL-8 (<1.347 pg/ml) and low overall assessment score (<26) had significantly better prognosis (both p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: High IL-8 level and clinical symptoms can be prognostic indicators for advanced cancer patients with cachexia.

Spatial organization of occipital white matter tracts in the common marmoset.

The primate brain contains a large number of interconnected visual areas, whose spatial organization and intracortical projections show a high level of conservation across species. One fiber pathway of recent interest is the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF), which is thought to support communication between dorsal and ventral visual areas in the occipital lobe. A recent comparative diffusion MRI (dMRI) study reported that the VOF in the macaque brain bears a similar topology to that of the human, running superficial and roughly perpendicular to the optic radiation. The present study reports a comparative investigation of the VOF in the common marmoset, a small New World monkey whose lissencephalic brain is approximately tenfold smaller than the macaque and 150-fold smaller than the human. High-resolution ex vivo dMRI of two marmoset brains revealed an occipital white matter structure that closely resembles that of the larger primate species, with one notable difference. Namely, unlike in the macaque and the human, the VOF in the marmoset is spatially fused with other, more anterior vertical tracts, extending anteriorly between the parietal and temporal cortices. We compare several aspects of this continuous structure, which we term the VOF complex (VOF +), and neighboring fasciculi to those of macaques and humans. We hypothesize that the essential topology of the VOF+ is a conserved feature of the posterior cortex in anthropoid primates, with a clearer fragmentation into multiple named fasciculi in larger, more gyrified brains.

[A curative resection with the combination of portal vein branch embolization and systemic chemotherapy in a patient with synchronous multiple and bilobar colorectal liver metastases].

A 60-year-old man was admitted to our institution having a descending colon cancer with synchronous liver metastases. Tumor marker levels were remarkably elevated and the liver metastases were multiple and located at both right lobe and segment 4. Due to lack of the remnant liver volume, left hemicolectomy and intraoperative right portal vein branch embolization were performed as a primary operation. Three weeks after the operation, he started to undergo systemic chemotherapy by mFOLFOX6. After 8 courses of the treatment, grade 3 neurotoxicity appeared, and we changed the regimen to FOLFIRI. During a total of 18 courses of the chemotherapy, the periodic CT scans revealed the liver metastases to be PR or SD, and no other metastatic lesion was detected. After the rest of chemotherapy for 7 weeks, extended right hepatectomy was performed. He had an uneventful postoperative course and the tumor marker levels immediately returned to normal levels. He has been in good health without a recurrence for 10 months after hepatectomy. The combination of portal vein embolization and systemic chemotherapy may contribute to improve respectability of synchronous multiple and bilobar colorectal liver metastases.