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Biomedical subjects

A Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to A Watanabe.

At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Aspergillosis in acute hepatic failure.

Six (16.7%) out of 36 acute hepatic failure patients were associated with aspergillus infection mainly in the lungs (4 pneumonia and 2 fungus balls), which might be the cause of death in 4 cases. Preventive and therapeutic approaches following the early diagnosis have not been performed in all the cases. Fungal infection in hepatic failure should be considered to a greater extent to achieve a higher survival rate in this disease.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1987

Treatment of hairy cell leukemia with alpha-interferon and splenectomy.

A typical case of hairy cell leukemia, very rare in Japan, is described. The biological characteristics of the disease and histological features of liver and spleen are also reported. Treatment with alpha-interferon and splenectomy was successfully performed, and the patient is now in good health.

Follow-Up Studies↗
PubMed1986

Alteration of striatal dopaminergic functions implicated in methamphetamine-induced reverse tolerance in rats.

Rats were injected repeatedly with methamphetamine (6 mg/kg per day, for 14 days). The effects of the repeated treatment on the change of behaviors and striatal DA metabolism induced by challenge with DA agonists were studied 10 days after the last injection. Repeated methamphetamine administration decreased the sedative effect of low dose apomorphine, and enhanced apomorphine-induced stereotyped behavior but reduced in after pretreatment with tetrabenazine. Striatal DA, HVA and DOPAC contents, and striatal gamma-butyrolactone-induced DA or DOPA accumulation were not altered by repeated methamphetamine treatment. The effect of apomorphine to decrease DA metabolite content and DA or DOPA accumulation was not changed either. As evidenced by experiments using alpha-MT, repeated methamphetamine administration increased DA utilization after methamphetamine or low dose apomorphine challenge, although it did not change DA utilization at the steady state (without drug challenge). These findings suggest that methamphetamine-induced reverse tolerance is accompanied by an increase of DA utilization resulting from the subsensitivity of DA utilization-modulating autoreceptors.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1986

In vitro synthesis and assembly of photosystem II proteins of spinach chloroplasts.

The synthesis and assembly of photosystem II (PS II) proteins of spinach chloroplasts were investigated in three different in vitro systems, i.e., protein synthesis in isolated chloroplasts (in organello translation), read-out translation of thylakoid-bound ribosomes, and transport of translation products from spinach leaf polyadenylated RNA into isolated chloroplasts. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of labeled thylakoid polypeptides in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate revealed that the first two systems were capable of synthesizing the reaction center proteins of PS II (47 and 43 kDa), the herbicide-binding protein, and cytochrome b559. The reaction center proteins synthesized in organello were shown to bind chlorophyll and to assemble properly into the PS II core complex. One of the reaction center proteins translated by the thylakoid-bound ribosomes (47 kDa) was also found to be integrated in situ into the complex but was lacking bound chlorophyll. Incorporation of radioactivity into the three extrinsic proteins of the oxygen-evolution system (33, 24, and 18 kDa) was detected only when intact chloroplasts were incubated with the translation products from polyadenylated RNA, showing that these proteins are coded for by nuclear DNA. The occurrence of a precursor polypeptide 6 kDa larger than the 33-kDa protein was immunochemically detected in the translation products.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1986

Randomized controlled study of postoperative adjuvant immunochemotherapy with Nocardia rubra cell wall skeleton (N-CWS) and Tegafur for gastric carcinoma.

We performed a randomized controlled study of postoperative adjuvant immunochemotherapy with Nocardia rubra cell wall skeleton (N-CWS) and Tegafur for gastric carcinoma between September 1979 and March 1983. A total of 309 patients were entered into this trial. Of the 309 patients, there were 98 evaluable patients in the chemotherapy group and 115 evaluable patients in the immunochemotherapy group. In both groups, Tegafur was given as chemotherapy at a daily dose of 400 to 800 mg, starting at 24-29 days after gastrectomy. In the immunochemotherapy group, 400 micrograms of N-CWS was injected i.d. within the 2nd postoperative week. It was given weekly during the first month and subsequently monthly for as long as practicable. The patients were surveyed for length of survival in March 1985. The postoperative survival rate was analyzed for all cases, and for patients with various histopathological stages of carcinoma for comparison between the two treatment groups. No statistical difference was detected between the two groups in terms of age, sex, surgical curability, or stage of carcinoma. The overall survival rate for all patients was significantly higher in the immunochemotherapy group than in the chemotherapy group (p less than 0.05). With stage III plus IV disease, 53 patients from the chemotherapy group and 61 patients from the immunochemotherapy group were included for the analysis. As a consequence, a highly significant survival rate was observed in patients with stage III plus IV carcinoma in the immunochemotherapy group (p less than 0.005) as compared to the chemotherapy group. The overall 5-year (1800 days) survival rate after surgical treatment was 60.2% for the chemotherapy group and 73.2% for the immunochemotherapy group. In patients with stage III plus IV disease, the 5-year survival rates of the two treatment groups were 28.8% and 52.4%, respectively. Accordingly, the 50% survival period of patients with stage III plus IV cancer was 1800 days or more in the immunochemotherapy group, whereas it was only 722 days in the chemotherapy group. These results emphasize the effectiveness of N-CWS as an adjuvant immunotherapeutic agent in postoperative gastric cancer patients. The main side effects of N-CWS were skin lesions in the injected sites and fever, but these were temporary and not serious.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1986

Evidence for the presence of a genome-linked protein in infectious flacherie virus.

The genomic RNA of infectious flacherie virus (IFV), an insect picornavirus, was shown to contain a covalently attached substance which can be labeled with 125I-Bolton and Hunter reagent. This substance was found to be a protein covalently linked to the virus genome, because it cosedimented and was copurified with the viral RNA and was degraded by proteinase K but not by RNases. The molecular weight of the protein was found to be 11,500 in the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This protein apparently corresponds to viral protein genome-linked (VPg) detected in mammalian picornaviruses, because it was not required for the synthesis of viral proteins in a cell-free translation system of a rabbit reticulocyte lysate and because it was not immunochemically related to the virus capsid proteins. The results presented here leave a possibility that insect picornavirus also replicates its RNA by using VPg as a primer as reported for mammalian picornaviruses. These observations on VPg of an insect picornavirus are discussed in the view point of comparative virology.

Bombyx↗
PubMed1986

Glucagon-like polypeptide and insulin contents in the brain from acute hepatic failure dogs.

Insulin contents in the thalamus-hypothalamus were significantly increased in acute hepatic failure dogs treated with dimethylnitrosamine. Glucagon immunoreactivity (GI) contents also tended to increase in the same portion of the brain. However, insulin and GI contents in the cerebral cortex and midbrain did not rise. Glucagon-like immunoreactivity (GLI) contents were much higher than GI in all the brain regions tested, but the levels were not significantly altered in hepatic failure dogs. A simultaneous infusion of insulin and glucagon to hepatic failure dogs failed to produce an elevation of insulin, GI and GLI contents even in the thalamus-hypothalamus.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Treatment of homozygous patients with familial hypercholesterolemia by double-filtration plasmapheresis.

Two homozygous patients with familial hypercholesterolemia were treated by double-filtration plasmapheresis. The plasma separated by the first filter was subsequently led to the second filter of ethylene vinylalcohol co-polymer hollow fibers, which trap very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) preferentially to other plasma constituents. Serum, VLDL, IDL, LDL cholesterol levels decreased by 55, 68, 59 and 55%, respectively. HDL cholesterol levels decreased by 39%. Immunoglobulins and fibrinogen levels decreased significantly. Cutaneous and tendinous xanthomas became smaller. off

Adult↗