Abstract. Ataxic movement, the common major symptom of spinocerebellar atrophy, has been considered to involve impaired glutamatergic excitatory neurotransmission in the cerebellum. Considering the therapeutic importance of ataxia control, we assessed the effectiveness of increasing the extracellular concentration of glycine by administering it exogenously or via blockade of glycine transporter 1, using its selective inhibitors sarcosine and N-[3-(4'-fluorophenyl)-3-(4'-phenylphenoxy)propyl]sarcosine (NFPS), for amelioration of motor ataxia in a mouse model of spinocerebellar atrophy developing after neonatal treatment with cytosine β-D-arabinofuranoside. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of sarcosine (3, 10, and 30 μg) and NFPS (0.01 and 0.03 μg) reduced the number of falls without affecting spontaneous motor activity, and therefore the falling index [(number of falls / spontaneous motor activity) × 100], and dosedependently ameliorated ataxic movements. Similar effects were observed upon i.c.v. injection of D-serine (1 and 10 μg), an agonist of the glycine-recognition site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. However, exogenously injected glycine (1, 3, and 10 μg, i.c.v.) only weakly ameliorated the ataxic movements at 3 μg. These results suggest the therapeutic relevance of GlyT1 inhibitors for amelioration of motor ataxia in spinocerebellar atrophy by increasing the endogenous concentration of glycine near the glycine-recognition site of the NMDA receptor.

No abstract

The measurement of the enzyme expression levels of TP and DPD is considered to be useful for better understanding the conditions of tumor progression. The mechanisms of regulation of these enzymes thus require further evaluation.

Pulmonary hemangiomas are benign, relatively rare tumours. Because computed tomography (CT) findings show a variety of images, it is often difficult to distinguish hemangiomas from lung cancer and other benign tumours. We report a 63‐year‐old man who was diagnosed with a pulmonary capillary hemangioma (PCH). A right lung basal segmentectomy was performed for diagnosis and treatment. On chest CT, the lesion was shown to be a solid nodule with contrast‐enhanced margins. This finding was thought to reflect the dense vascular hyperplasia of the central part of the tumour based on the pathologic findings. Although few studies involving PCH have referred to contrast‐enhanced CT, the findings of contrast‐enhanced CT might be a valuable indicator for diagnosing PCH.

Thymic atypical carcinoids are extremely rare tumors and have a poor prognosis owing to their aggressive clinical course. The efficacy of treatments other than complete surgical resection is unclear. We herein report a postoperative recurrent case of thymic atypical carcinoid treated with everolimus and octreotide long‐acting repeatable (LAR). A 75‐year‐old woman was admitted to our department because a nodule was detected in the right lobe of thymus by annual computed tomography. The patient underwent thymothymectomy, and a diagnosis of thymic atypical carcinoid was made. One year and seven months after surgery, she developed multiple metastases in the lung, hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes, liver, and bone. Everolimus 10 mg/day was administered; however, the dose had to be reduced to 5 mg/day due to grade 3 hyperglycemia and grade 3 interstitial lung disease. Metastatic lesions other than liver metastasis markedly responded to everolimus, although the liver metastases gradually progressed. Three years and six months after surgery, she was administered octreotide LAR 30 mg per month in combination with everolimus. She has maintained stable disease for 8 months after the application of this combination therapy.