The incidence of postoperative subjective taste disorder was low, although inconsistent with the high incidence of threshold elevation on electrogustometry, especially in the severed nerve group. Preservation or repair of the chorda tympani nerve is recommended in order to maintain or recover gustatory function.

The prostaglandin synthesizing enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has emerged as a critical pathogenic factor in brain diseases associated with activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, including stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the COX-2 reaction products responsible for these deleterious effects have not been identified. In particular, the relative contribution to the neurotoxicity of COX-2-derived prostanoids and reactive oxygen species has not been defined. We found that the brain damage produced by direct injection of NMDA into the somatosensory cortex is attenuated by the COX-2 inhibitor NS-398 or in COX-2-null mice, but that the associated production of free radicals is not. Furthermore, COX-2 inhibition reduces the lesions even if the deleterious effects of free radicals are eliminated by the scavenger superoxide dismutase. The protection exerted by NS-398 is counteracted by a stable analog of prostaglandin E2. The findings directly implicate COX-2-derived prostanoids, rather then radicals, in the COX-2-dependent component of the damage mediated by NMDA receptors and strengthen the rationale for using COX-2 inhibitors in the treatment of neurological diseases associated with glutamate neurotoxicity.

This is the first description of the unique clinical features of SCA36, a relatively pure cerebellar ataxia with progressive motor neuron involvement. Thus, SCA36 is a disease that stands at the crossroads of SCA and motor neuron disease.

Effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) were studied in transgenic (Tg) mice model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. GDNF protein or vehicle was injected three times a week from 35 weeks of age into the right gastrocnemius muscle of Tg mice carrying mutant human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase gene, and histological analysis was performed at 46 weeks. Clinical data showed a tendency of improvement, but was not significantly different between the two animal groups. In contrast, total number of and phospho-Akt (p-Akt) positive large motor neurons in the treated side was significantly more preserved in GDNF-treated group than in vehicle group (p < 0.05). Immunoreactivity of phospho-ERK and active caspases-3 and -9 showed no difference. These results indicate that the intramuscular injection of GDNF protein prevented motor neuron loss while preserving survival p-Akt signal and without affecting caspase activations, suggesting a future possibility for the therapy of the disease.

Submucous inferior turbinectomy (ST) can be combined with posterior nasal neurectomy (PNN) to treat intractable allergic rhinitis (AR) and vasomotor rhinitis (VR). This study assessed the long-term effects and complications of this surgical intervention. We enrolled 127 patients who had undergone combined ST and PNN. We mailed these patients card questionnaires. Of these questionnaires, we excluded the 5 patients with VR and 26 patients who had undergone concomitant endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), because they had both AR or VR and sinusitis. Then, we assessed the questionnaire score of 31 patients with AR who had undergone combined ST and PNN. Postoperative bleeding was investigated in 127 subjects by medical records. Moreover, we compared the incidence of numbness in the palate, cheeks, or teeth between patients who had undergone PNN and those who had not. We found that 77.4% of the AR patients were satisfied with the improvement of their nasal symptoms after the operation. Although seven patients had been receiving medical treatment from an otolaryngology clinic every month before the operation, none needed any such treatment after the operation. One year postoperatively, all symptom scores were statistically decreased. However, the scores increased over time, although there was a significant improvement in nasal obstruction more than 3 years after the operation (P < 0.01). Five patients (3.9%) among 127 patients who had undergone PNN were treated for postoperative bleeding. Patients who had undergone PNN did not differ significantly from those who had not in terms of postoperative numbness in the palate, cheeks, or teeth. Endoscopic ST combined with PNN is an effective treatment for intractable AR. Further studies are required to elucidate the efficacy of this intervention.