835YAKUGAKU ZASSHI 135(6) 835-840 (2015) It has been reported that magnesium oxide tablets are excreted in a non-disintegrated state in the stool of patients when the tablets are administered after being immersed in a food thickener. Therefore we examined whether immersion in a food thickener aŠects the pharmacological eŠect in patients taking magnesium oxide tablets, and whether immersion aŠects its disintegration and solubility. The mean dosage (1705 mg/d) was higher for patients who took tablets after immersion in a food thickener than for those who took non-immersed tablets (1380 mg/d). The disintegration time and dissolution rate of the immersed tablets were lower than those of non-immersed tablets in vitro. Furthermore, components that constitute the food thickener and diŠerences in composition concentrations diŠerentially aŠect the disintegration and solubility of magnesium oxide tablets. This suggests that commercially available food thickeners are likely to be associated with changes in the degradation of magnesium oxide tablets, and they therefore should be carefully used in certain clinical situations.

No abstract

A new secoguaianolide sesquiterpene (1) was isolated along with its three stereoisomers (2-4) from the nonmedicinal plant Artemisia gilvescens. The structure of 1 was elucidated to be (4S,5S)-dihydro-5-[(1R,2S)-2-hydroxy-2-methyl-5-oxo-3-cyclopenten-1-yl]-3-methylene-4-(3-oxobutyl)-2(3H)-furanone on the basis of 2D NMR and other spectroscopic evidence. Five known sesquiterpenoids were also isolated from this plant, and one of them (5) showed activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Aim To assess the long‐term natural course and prognosis of epilepsy in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Method We retrospectively collected data for 72 patients (36 males, 36 females) with CP who had epilepsy who visited our institutions between 1980 and 2015. The data from medical records, electroencephalography (EEG), and neuroimaging findings were reviewed. Time‐to‐event statistical analyses were performed to analyse the remission outcome and the Cox regression model was used for multivariate analyses. Results Median age at onset of epilepsy was 2 years 0 months, and 17 years 0 months at the latest follow‐up. In total, 34 patients (47%, 0.043 per person‐year) achieved seizure remission at a median age of 11 years 0 months. Favourable factors for seizure remission included older age, motor disability being able to roll over/crawl but not able to sit, intellectual disability with an IQ between 36 and 70, normal findings on neuroimaging, and CP type other than spastic quadriplegia. In multivariate analysis, spastic quadriplegia was found to be associated with continued seizure activity. Antiepileptic drugs could be discontinued without relapse in 10 patients at a median age of 16 years 6 months, occurring 11 years 6 months after the onset of epilepsy. The drugs were terminated if the patient was aged at least 10 years and had perinatal causative aetiology and normalization or amelioration of epileptiform discharges on EEG. Interpretation The remission rate of epilepsy in CP increases up to young adulthood, and termination of antiepileptic drugs can be considered in selected cases at older ages. What this paper adds The remission rate of epilepsy in cerebral palsy increases up to 20 years after onset. In some cases, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can be terminated without relapse. Older age, perinatal aetiology, and improvement on electroencephalography are favourable factors for terminating AEDs.

No abstract

Background Computed diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (cDWI) is a computational technique that can be used to calculate a high b-value image from DWI acquired with at least two different lower b-values. Purpose To explore the utility of cDWI for the diagnosis of acute pediatric encephalitis/encephalopathy. Material and Methods Twenty-two children were enrolled, for whom acquired DWI (aDWI) with b = 1000 and 3000 was examined during the acute phase of febrile encephalitis/encephalopathy. For each patient, cDWI was calculated pixel by pixel from aDWI b = 0 and 1000 images by using software equipped with a commercially available image viewer. Quantitative assessment was performed by calculating a signal intensity (SI) ratio, defined as the mean SI of the affected lesion/the mean SI at the center of the pons for each image. The Mann–Whitney test was used for statistical analysis of the SI ratios of cDWI b = 3000 versus aDWI b = 1000 and cDWI b = 3000 versus aDWI b = 3000. A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The SI ratio of cDWI b = 3000 images was significantly higher than that of aDWI b = 1000 images (P = 0.0391), whereas the SI ratio of cDWI b = 3000 images was not significantly different from that of aDWI b = 3000 images (P = 0.991). Conclusion cDWI b = 3000 is useful for detecting diffusion-restricted lesions in acute pediatric encephalitis/encephalopathy compared to aDWI b = 1000 and 3000. cDWI enables the generation of high b-value images without additional scanning, which will be helpful for sedated pediatric patients in clinical settings.