Professor

Hiroyuki ARAI

Associate Professor

KatsutoshiFURUKAWA

Associate Professor

Shoji OKINAGA

Assistant Professor

Takae EBIHARA

Assistant Professor

Yoichi KOSAKA

Assistant Professor

Masanori ASADA

Assistant Professor

Naoki TOMITA

Due to a change in disease spectrum in aged countries, the primary role of geriatricians should be directed to an appropriate management and prevention of 1) cognitive decline and dementia, 2) swallowing and aspiration pneumonia and 3) falls and fractures. Geriatric medicine is an independent internal medicine division that is specialized for management of medical problems of elderly people. Management of dementia constitutes a central part in the practice of geriatric medicine in order to support independence of life in elderly people. The current paradigm of cognitive function-based testing for the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is going to drastically shift to a biomarker-based test approach, a shift that will correspond to the emergence of disease-modifying drugs. In addition, a new molecular imaging technique that visualizes neuronal protein deposits or pathological features has been developed in Japan and the U.S.A. Based on these achievements, the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) was proposed and initiated in 2005. The ADNI is a long-term observational study being conducted in the U.S.A., Europe, Australia, and Japan using identical protocols. The objectives of ADNI are: 1) to establish methodology which will allow standard values related to long-term changes in imaging data, such as MRI and PET, in patients with AD and mild cognitive impairment and normal elderly persons; 2) to obtain clinical indices, psychological test data, and blood/cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to demonstrate the validity of image-based surrogate markers; and 3) to establish optimum methods to monitor the therapeutic effects of disease-modifying drugs for AD. Patient enrollment in the Japanese ADNI has begun in July 2008. Imaging of AD pathology not only act as a reliable biomarker with which to assay curative drug development by novel pharmaceutical companies, but it also helps health promotion toward AD prevention.

Publication

Reviews & Editorials

1. Okamura N , Federo-Tavoletti M, Kudo Y, Rowe CC, Furumoto S, Arai H, Masters CI, Yanai K, Villegagne VI Advances in molecular imaging for the diagnosis of dementia. Expert Opin. Med. Diagn. 3. 2009;3:709-716.
2. Arai H, Okamura N, Furukawa K, Kudo Y. Geriatric Medicine, Japanese Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and Biomarker Development. Tohoku J. Exp. Med. 2010;221:87-95.

Original papers

1. Matsushita S, Miyakawa T, Maesato H, Matsui T, Yokoyama A, Arai H, Higuchi S, Kashima H. Elevated cerebrospinal fluid tau protein levels in Wernicke’s encephalopathy. Alcoholism:Clin Exp Res. 32:1091-1095, 2008
2. Ebihara S, Ebihaera T, Arai H. Cough and transdermal long-acting β２agonist in Japan. Respiratory medicine 102:1497, 2008
3. Ebihara S, Arai H. Prospects for health systems research. Lancet 371:1914, 2008
4. Okazaki T, Ebihara S, Asada M, Yamanda S, Niu K, Arai H. Erythropoietin promotes the growth of tumors lacking its receptor and decreases survival of tumor-bearing mice by enhancing angiogenesis. Neoplasia 10:932-939, 2008
5. Numasaki M, Ohrui T, Sato A, He M, Arai H. Congenital tracheal stenosis and an anomalous origin of the right upper lobe bronchus. Lancet 371:1526, 2008
6. Nakagawa K, Kiko T, Hadade K, Asai A, Kimura F, Soowong P, Tsuduki T, Arai H, Miyazawa T. Development of a HPLC-based assay for cartenoids in human red blood cells: application to clinical studies. Anal. Biochem. 381:129-134, 2008
7. Hashimoto M, Shahdat HM, Yamashita S, Katakura M, Tanabe Y, Fujiwara H, Gamoh S, Miyazawa T, Arai H, Shimada T, Shido O. DHA disrupts in vitro amyloid b1-40 fibrillation and concomitantly inhibits amyloid levels in cerebral cortex tissue of Alzheimer’s disease model rats. J. Neurochem 107:1634-1646, 2008
8. Miyashita A, Arai H, Asada T, Imagawa M, Shoji M, Higuchi S, Urakami K, Toyabe S, Akazawa K, Kanazawa I, Ihara Y, Kuwano R. GAB2 is not associated with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease in Japanese. Eur. J. Hum. Genetics, 17:682-686, 2008
9. Yamanda S, Ebihara S, Ebihara T, Yamasaki M, Asamura T, Asada M, Une K, Arai H. Impaired urge-to-cough in elderly patients with aspiration pneumonia. Cough Nov19 4;11, 2008
10. Hayashida T, Kawashima S, Ith HJ, Yamada N, Sone H, Watanabe H, Hattori Y, Ohrui T, Yokote J, Nomura H, Umegaki H, Iguchi A. Japan CDM group. Importance of lipid levels in elderly diabetic individuals: baseline characteristics and 1 year survey of cardiovasclular events. Circ J, 72:218-225, 2008.
11. Hegab A.E., Kubo H, Yamaya M, Asada M, He M, Fujino N, Mizuno S, Nakamura T. Intranasal HGF administration ameliorates the physiologic and morphologic changes in lung emphysema. Mol Ther, 16:1417, 2008
12. Asada M, Ebihara S, Numachi Y, Okazaki T, Yamanda S, Ikeda K, Yasuda H, Sora I, Arai H. Reduced tumor growth in a mouse model of schizophrenia, lacking the dopamine transporter. Int J Cancer, 123:511-518, 2008.
13. Yamasaki M, Ebihara S, Freeman S, Ebihara T, Asada M, Yamanda S, Arai H. Sex differences in the preference for place of death in community-dwelling elderly people in Japan. J Am Geriatr Soc. 56:376, 2008.
    
14. Hayashi T, Kawashima S, Itoh H, Yamada N, Sone H, Watanabe H, Hattori Y, Ohrui T, Yokote K, Nomura H, Umegaki H, Iguchi A; on behalf of Japan CDM group. Low HDL-cholesterol is associated with the risk of stroke in elderly diabetic individuals: changes in the risk for atherosclerotic diseases at various ages. Diabetes Care 32:1221-1223, 2009.
15. He M, Ohrui T, Arai H. Homicides of frail older persons by their caregivers. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 57:173-174, 2009.
16. Freeman S, Ebihara S, Ebihara T, Niu K, Kohzuki M, Arai H, Butler JP. Olfactory stimuli and enhanced postural stability in older adults. Gait Posture. 2009 Jun;29(4):658-60.
17. Norihiro Takei , Akinori Miyashita , Tamao Tsukie, Hiroyuki Arai , Takashi Asada , Masaki Imagawa,　Mikio Shoji , Susumu Higuchi , Katsuya Urakami , Hideo Kimura , Akiyoshi Kakita , Hitoshi Takahashi , Shoji Tsuji , Ichiro Kanazawa , Yasuo Ihara , Shoji Odani , Ryozo Kuwano and the Japanese Genetic Study Consortium for Alzheimer Disease. Genetic association study on in and around the APOE in late-onset Alzheimer disease in Japanese, Genomics 2009;93:441-448
18. Sasaki T, Nakayama K, Yasuda H, Yoshida M, Asamura T, Ohrui T, Arai H, Araya J, Kuwano K, Yamaya M. A randomized, single blind study of lansoprazole for the prevention of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in older patients. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 57:1453-1457, 2009.
19. M Yamaya, M Yoshida, M Yamasaki, H Kubo, K Furukawa, H Arai. Seizure and pneumonia in an elderly SLE patient.　 J Am Geriatr Soc. 57:1709-1711, 2009.
20. Fujiwara H, Tabuchi M, Yamaguchi T, Iwasaki K, Furukawa K, Sekiguchi K, Ikarashi Y, Kudo Y, Higuchi M, Saido TC, Maeda S, Takashima A, Hara M, Yaegashi N, Kase Y, Arai H. A traditional medicinal herb Paeinia suffruticosa and its active constituent 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranose have potent anti-aggregation effects on Alzheimer’s amyloidβproteins in vitro and in vivo. J. Neurochem 109:1648-1657, 2009
21. Satoh T, Takahashi T, Iwasaki K, Tago H, Seki T, Yaegashi N, Tobita M, Arai H. Traditional Chinese medicine on four patients with Huntington’s disease. Mov. Disord. 2009:15:453-455.
22. Asada M, Yoshida M, Suzuki T, Hatachi Y, Sasaki T, Yasuda H, Nakayama K, Nishimura H, Nagatomi R, Kubo H, Yamaya M. Macrolide antiviotics inhibit respiratory syncytial virus infection in human airway epithelial cells. Antiviral Res, 83:191-200, 2009.
23. Asada M, Ebihara S, Yamanda S, Niu K, Okazaki T, Sora I, Arai H. Depletion of serotonin and selevtive inhibition of 2B receptor suppressed tumor angiogenesis by inhibiting endothelial NOS and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Neoplasia 11:408-417, 2009.
24. M Yamaya, N Fujino, H Kubo and H Arai. Effects of pneumococcal vaccination on hospitalization and exacerbations in elderly Japanese COPD patients. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 9:206-209, 2009.
25. T Sasaki, K Nakayama, H Yasuda, M Yoshida, T Asamura, T Ohrui, H Arai, J Araya, K Kuwano, and M Yamaya. The proton pump inhibitor reduces the frequency of exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Geriatr Gerontol Int.
26. Waragai M, Okamura N, Furukawa K, Tashiro M, Furumoto S, Funaki Y Kato M, Iwata R, Yanai K, Kudo Y, Arai H Comparison study of amyloid PET and voxel-based morphometry analysis in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. J. Neurol. Sci. 285:100-108.2009.
27. K Niu, A Hozawa, S Kuriyama, S Ebihara, H Guo, N Nakaya, K Ohmori-Matsuda, H Takahashi, Y Masamune, M Asada, S Sasaki, H Arai, S Awata, R Nagatomi, and I Tsuji. Green tea consumption is associated with depressive symptoms in theelderly. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 90:1390-1396, 2009.
28. Akiyama H, Gotoh A, Shin RW, Koga T, Ohashi T, Sakamoto W, Harada A, Arai H, Sawa A, Uchida C, Uchida T.A novel role for hGas7b in microtubular maintenance: possible implication in tau-associated pathology in Alzheimer disease. J Biol Chem. 2009 Nov 20;284(47):32695-9.
29. Takayama S, Seki T, Watanabe M, Takashima S, Sugita N, Konno S, Takeda T, Arai H, Yambe T, Yaegashi N, Yoshizawa M, Maruyama S, Nitta SI. Changes of Blood Flow Volume in the Superior Mesenteric Artery and Brachial Artery with Abdominal Thermal Stimulation. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Aug 17.
30. Yoshida M, Nakayama K, Yasuda H, Kubo H, Kuwano K, Arai H, Yamaya M. Carbocisteine inhibits oxidant-induced apoptosis in cultured human airway epithelial cells. Respirology. 2009 Sep;14(7):1027-34.
31. Nakagawa K, Kiko T, Hatade K, Sookwong P, Arai H, Miyazawa T. Antioxidant effect of lutein towards phospholipid hydroperoxidation in human erythrocytes. Br J Nutr. 2009 Nov;102(9):1280-4.
32. Yamanda S, Ebihara S, Ebihara T, Yamasaki M, Arai H, Kohzuki M. Bacteriology of aspiration pneumonia due to delayed triggering of the swallowing reflex in elderly patients. J Hosp Infect 74:399-401, 2009.
33. Yamanda S, Ebihara S, Asada M, Okazaki T, Niu K, Ebihara T, Koyanagi A, Yamaguchi N, Yagita H, Arai H. Role of ephrin B2 in nonproductive angiogenesis induced by delta-like 4 blockade. Blood, 113:3631-3639, 2009.
34. Sasaki T, Nakayama K, Yasuda H, Yoshida M, Asamura T, Ohrui T, Arai H, Araya J, Kuwano K, Yamaya M. A randomized, single-blind study of lansoprazole for the prevention of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in older patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. 57:1453-7, 2009
    
35. Matsui T, Yokoyama A, Matsushita S, Ogawa R, Mori S, Hayashi E, Roh S, Higuchi S, Arai H and Maruyama K. Effect of a comprehensive lifestyle modification program on the bone density of male heavy drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 34:869-875, 2010.
36. Matsui T, Yokoyama A, Matsushita S, Mori S, Arai H, Higuchi S, Maruyama K. Changes in the serum bone metabolism markers of elderly alcoholics during abstinence. J Am Geriatr Soc. 58:984-986, 2010.
37. Furukawa K, Okamura N, Tashiro M, Waragai M, Furumoto S, Iwata R, Yanai K, Kudo Y, Arai H Amyloid PET in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease with BF-227: comparison to FDG-PET. J Neurol. 257:721-727, 2010.
38. Okamura N, Shiga Y, Furumoto S, Tashiro M, Tsuboi Y, Furukawa K, Yanai K, Iwata R, Arai H, Kudo Y, Itoyama Y, Doh-ura K. In vivo detection of prion amyloid plaques using [(11)C]BF-227 PET. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2010 May;37(5):934-41.
39. Kikuchi A, Takeda A, Okamura N, Tashiro M, Hasegawa T, Furumoto S, Kobayashi M, Sugeno N, Baba T, Miki Y, Mori F, Watabayashi K, Funaki Y, Iwata R, Takahashi S, Fukuda H, Arai H, Kudo Y, Yanai K, Itoyama Y. In vivo visualization of α-synuclein deposition by carbon-11-labeled2-(2-[2-dimethylaminothiazol-5-yl]ethenyl)- 6-(2-[fluoro]ethoxy) benzoxazole positron emission tomography in multiple system atrophy. Brain In press, 2010
40. Asamura T, Ohrui T, Nakayama K, He M, Yamasaki M, Ebihara T, Ebihara T, Furukawa K, Arai H. Low serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D level and risk of respitratory infections in institutionalized older people. Gerontology 2010, Jan12 online
41. Asamura T, Ohrui T, Une K, Furukawa K, Arai H. Centrally active ACEIs and cognitive decline. Arch.Intern.Med. 170:107-108, 2010
42. Yamasaki M, Ebihara S, Ebihara T, Yamanda S, Arai H, Kohzuki M. Effects of capsiate on the triggering of the swallowing reflex in elderly patients with aspiration pneumonia. Geriatrics & Gerontology International 10:107-109, 2010
43. Ebihara T, Ebihara S, Yamazaki M, Asada M, Yamanda S, Arai H. Intensive stepwise method for oral intake using a combination of transient receptor potential stimulation and olfactory stimulation inhibits the incidence of pmeumonia in dysphasic older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc,58:196-198, 2010
44. Takayama S, Seki T, Sugita N, Konno S, Arai H, Saijo Y, Yambe T, Yaegashi N, Yoshizawa M, Nitta S. Radial artery hemodynamic changes related to acupuncture. Explore (NY). 2010 Mar-Apr;6(2):100-5