Biomedical subjects

E Tanaka

Publications and source records attributed to E Tanaka.

670 records · Page 38Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Monitoring of serum levels of HCV RNA in early phase of IFN therapy; as a predictive marker of subsequent response.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To determine whether the initial response to interferon (IFN) therapy predicts the long-term response, monitoring of HCV RNA level in the early phase of IFN therapy was performed. METHODOLOGY: Sixty-seven patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were investigated. Patients received 6 MU of human lymphoblastoid IFN daily for 2 weeks and then three times weekly for 22 weeks (total dose; 480 U). These were 34 complete responders (CR) and 33 non-responders (NR). Serum levels of HCV RNA were assayed before therapy and at weeks 1 and 2, using the AMPLICOR HCV Monitor kit. RESULTS: Serum levels of HCV RNA were below the detection limit in 33 (97.1%) of 34 CR compared with 13 (39.4%) of 33 NR at week 1, and in 100% of CR compared with 17 (51.5%) of NR at week 2 (P < P0.05). These observations were independent with viral genotypes. CONCLUSION: A complete response to IFN therapy results primarily from a rapid decrease in the serum levels of HCV RNA and a further decrease to below the detection limit by week 2 of the therapy. In spite of a viral genotype, early monitoring of serum levels of HCV RNA during IFN therapy are predictive of a subsequent long-term response to IFN in patients with chronic HCV infection.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Tongue cancer treated with brachytherapy: is thickness of tongue cancer a prognostic factor for regional control?

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the predisposing factor for lymph node metastasis and examine the influence of thickness for lymph node recurrence in oral tongue cancer. METHODS: We analysed 254 patients with early oral tongue cancer (T1-2N0) who were treated with brachytherapy from 1967 through 1985. RESULTS: T category (p = 0.005), and thickness (p = 0.04) were identified as a significant predisposing factors for neck failure. 50%, 40% and 30% were the incidences of lymph node metastasis for patients with thickness of tumor more than 11 mm, 6-10 mm and 5 mm or less. Furthermore, T category (largest diameter of lesion) correlates strongly to thickness of tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Although it is not an independent factor, thickness is a significant predisposing factor for lymph node metastasis.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ratios of nerve conduction parameters in proximal to distal limbs remain constant through the second to the eighth decades.

We investigated the effect of age on nerve conduction parameters to establish a diagnostic validity in demyelinating neuropathies of the aged. We evaluated 257 subjects (age 10-76 years old) with no history or signs of peripheral neuropathies. The CMAP amplitude ratio (proximal CMAP/distal CMAP), duration ratio, and area ratio were almost the same throughout the second to eighth decades. The respective lower limits of the normal CMAP amplitude ratio (mean-3 SD) were 0.79 (median nerve), 0.75 (ulnar nerve), 0.57 (peroneal nerve), and 0.45 (tibial nerve). The upper limits of the normal CMAP duration ratio (mean +3 SD) were 1.21 (median nerve), 1.22 (ulnar nerve), 1.37 (peroneal nerve), and 1.35 (tibial nerve). The lower limits of the normal CMAP area ratio (mean-3 SD) were 0.81 (median nerve), 0.78 (ulnar nerve), 0.60 (peroneal nerve), and 0.57 (tibial nerve). No age-related changes were observed in the amplitude ratio or duration ratio SNAP, although the standard deviation increased with age. Since the amplitude, duration and area ratios are easily calculated and age-independent, they can provide useful and reliable information on aged patients with demyelinating neuropathies by conventional nerve conduction studies.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

5 Gy irradiation does not alter the expression level of WT1 (Wilms tumor gene) in K562 and ML1.

Recently, Wilm's Tumor gene (WT1) has been identified as a predisposing indicator for the activity of leukemia. To know the influence of irradiation on the expression level of WT1, we examined changes in WT1 expression after 5 Gy of irradiation of the K562 and ML1 cell lines (lymphoblastic cell lines). 48 hours after irradiation we could not find any alteration in the expression of WT1 at the mRNA and protein levels. Therefore, our results indicate that 5 Gy of irradiation does not induce differentiation of the leukemia cells.

DNA-Binding Proteins↗