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Biomedical subjects

F Ichida

Publications and source records attributed to F Ichida.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Analysis of left ventricular regional wall motion in normal neonates.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate neonatal circulatory change by quantitative analysis of left ventricular regional wall motion. DESIGN: Random prospective study. SETTING: Department of paediatrics in a teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 66 neonates born after a normal pregnancy, labour, and delivery. INTERVENTIONS: Quantitative analysis of left ventricular regional wall motion was performed on cross sectional echocardiograms. M mode, cross sectional, and Doppler echocardiograms were obtained simultaneously. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Manually traced endocardial contours at end diastole and at end systole were realigned by superimposing the centre of the ventricular mass and the axis. The contours were divided into 24 segments with 24 radii of equal arc from the centre. Then the ratio of the change in area between the outline of the contour and the two hemiaxes was calculated automatically. RESULTS: There was hyperkinesis of the interventricular septum in the first 24 hours after birth which continued until the end of the first week. Simultaneous echocardiographic examination showed evidence of pulmonary hypertension, as indicated by an increase in the ratio of the right pre-ejection period to the right ventricular ejection time (RPEP/RVET) and of the diameter ratio of the pulmonary artery to the aorta and a shortening of the acceleration time of pulmonary arterial blood flow. These features disappeared within a week. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperkinesis of the interventricular septum may reflect circulatory changes that are characteristic of the early neonatal period.

Diastole

Efficacy of a herbal medicine "sho-saiko-to" on the improvement of impaired cytokine production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

Peripheral blood samples were collected from normal subjects and chronic viral hepatitis patients, and the in vitro capability of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells to produce various cytokine (interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, interferon-gamma, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) were analyzed by adding pokeweed mitogen. We then investigated the effects of a herbal medicine "Sho-saiko-to" on the levels of cytokine production. The production levels of the 4 cytokines were significantly lower in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the patients (Patient Group) than in those of normal subjects (Control Group). The addition of Sho-saiko-to to the Patient Group resulted in improved productions of those cytokines, as well as an remarkable improvement of interleukin-1 beta production. The results demonstrated that Sho-saiko-to acts to improve such immunological abnormalities as decreased cytokine productions. Administration of Sho-saiko-to to chronic viral hepatitis patients is also expected to have immunological benefits.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal

[Magnetic resonance imaging: evaluation of the Blalock-Taussig shunts and anatomy of the pulmonary artery].

The morphology and circulation of the pulmonary arteries and shunt vessels were evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 8 patients with cyanotic heart disease after a Blalock-Taussig shunt operation. Their ages ranged from one month to 17 years. MRI permitted assessment of the size and patency of the Blalock-Taussig shunts, as well as the size and morphology of the pulmonary arteries in all patients. Measurements of the vessel diameters on MRI correlated well with the angiographic measurements (main pulmonary artery, r = 0.98; right pulmonary artery, r = 0.98; left pulmonary artery, r = 0.98; and Blalock-Taussig shunt, r = 0.97). MRI successfully imaged 3 of 4 shunt obstructions and 3 of 4 pulmonary stenoses with high resolution. In assessing peripheral pulmonary stenosis or obstruction, MRI was superior to echocardiography, the latter being unable to image peripheral pulmonary arteries satisfactorily. We concluded that MRI is an excellent noninvasive method for serially evaluating the anatomy and function of Blalock-Taussig shunts and pulmonary arteries, which is particularly useful for children with cyanotic congenital heart disease.

Adolescent

Hepatic lesions in alcoholic HBV carriers.

Liver biopsies were taken from 54 alcoholic HBV carriers with liver dysfunction to assess whether HBV infection or habitual drinking was the main cause of their illness. In 28 cases, ultrastructural studies were done. Results showed that 50% of the cases predominantly displayed virus-related histological changes, whereas 13% of them mainly had alcohol-related ones. Both pathological changes were evenly distributed in four cases. The remaining 15 cases showed nonspecific or other histological changes. Electron microscopy revealed that HBV core and Dane particles were seen with Mallory bodies in the same hepatocytes. Thus, we postulate that HBV-related changes are more often encountered than alcoholic ones in alcoholic HBV carriers and that HBV replication can occur even in hepatocytes bearing Mallory bodies.

Adult

Long-term follow-up of a child with idiopathic restrictive cardiomyopathy.

A ten-year-old male with palpebral edema was proved to have a restrictive hemodynamic pattern by cardiac catheterization. Sequential echocardiographic examination revealed uniformly depressed left ventricular diastolic properties, well-maintained left ventricular systolic function, and a progression of obliterative change of the left ventricular cavity. Myocardial biopsy at 17 years of age disclosed a normal endocardium and marked interstitial fibrosis of the myocardium. Consequently, a decrease of cardiac output and a marked biatrial enlargement have developed in association with persistent atrial fibrillation.

Adolescent

Treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma utilizing lymphokine-activated killer cells and interleukin-2.

This paper is a report on adoptive immunotherapy involving consecutive injections of recombinant interleukin-2 and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Peripheral blood lymphocytes, obtained by leukopheresis, acted as the activated killer cells with a co culture of recombinant interleukin-2 in the culture system. After 4 days, the activated killer cells were returned into the patients' bodies intra-arterially and intravenously. No complete remissions or partial remissions have resulted, although five of the seven patients showed a significant decrease in their serum alpha-fetoprotein levels after treatment. In addition, one case showed a patent portal truncus while another indicate the appearance of central necrosis on the computerized tomograph scan. Although the period of observation was short, there were no recurrences after the combination therapy of tumor resection and LAK adoptive immunotherapy. It might be difficult to treat hepatocellular carcinoma with adoptive immunotherapy alone, but there is some possibility of conducting therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma after removing the majority of the tumor cells by surgical resection and transcatheter arterial embolization therapy. This conclusion indicates, at least theoretically, that adoptive immunotherapy will be suitable in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma as one of the combination therapies with the two major forms of treatment mentioned above.

Adult

Propagation of hepatitis A virus in hybrid cell lines derived from marmoset liver and Vero cells.

To establish monkey liver cell lines with a high susceptibility to hepatitis A virus (HAV), marmoset (Saguinus labiatus) liver cells were fused with Vero cells deficient in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase and the resulting hybrid cells were selected in HAT medium. Of four hybrid cell lines obtained (S. 1a/Ve-1 to -4), three (S. 1a/Ve-1, -3 and -4) were equally susceptible to HAV infection. When inoculated with a virus isolated from marmoset liver tissue (10% liver tissue extract) or a faecal virus (10% stool extract) from a human hepatitis A patient, all susceptible cell lines showed a significant elevation of viral antigen activity as seen in radioimmunoassay and/or immunofluorescent antibody assays, at 4 to 6 weeks post-infection (p.i.) with the liver-derived inoculum and at 6 to 8 weeks p.i. with the stool-derived inoculum. In S. 1a/Ve-1 cells, a representative of the susceptible hybrid cell lines, full adaptation of HAV (liver tissue virus concentrate) to cell culture was attained after four serial passages. Thereafter, the virus grew to a plateau titre of 10(8.5) TCID50/ml at 7 days p.i. in a growth experiment. The infected cells showed no cytopathic effects but eventually a persistent infection was established when a saturated level of virus growth was reached.

Animals

Rug shampoo and Kawasaki disease.

Following personal interviews with 63 families of children with Kawasaki disease and with 63 control families with children paired for race, sex, and age, no epidemiologic differences were seen except for use of rug shampoo within 1 month of onset in 16 episodes in 15 children with Kawasaki disease in 14 families (24% of children, 22% of families) compared with two families of control children (3%, P less than .005). Explanations for this strong association of recent rug shampoo and Kawasaki disease include the question of recall bias as well as the possibility that an agent in the shampooing process does cause or does contribute to illness.

Allergens

Epidemiologic aspects of Kawasaki disease in a Manhattan hospital.

Epidemiologic and clinical features of Kawasaki disease in 106 patients seen between 1980 and 1986 at The New York Hospital in midtown Manhattan were compared with those in large series from the United States, Canada, and Japan. Dissimilarities in our Kawasaki disease experience included ethnic heterogeneity of our patients (50% white, 18% black, 16% Hispanic, and 16% Oriental) and, in comparison with the Japanese experience, an older mean age (3 1/2 vs 1 1/2 years) with fewer children less than 2 years of age (32% vs 50% to 60%). In comparison with the general population of the geographic urban and suburban referral area for our hospital and in comparison with our general pediatric population, Oriental children with Kawasaki disease were overrepresented (16% vs 2%). More families of children with Kawasaki disease were members of the upper and middle class (73%) than were the population seen in general pediatrics (31.7%) at our hospital. Personal interviews with 63 families of children with Kawasaki disease and 63 control families with children paired for ethnic group, sex, and age revealed no epidemiologic differences except for use of rug shampoo within 1 month of onset in 16 episodes in 15 children with Kawasaki disease in 14 families (22% of families) compared with two families of control children (3%) (P less than .001).

Age Factors

The fucosylation index of alpha-fetoprotein and its usefulness in the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The serum concentration and degree of fucosylation (fucosylation index) of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were determined in serum samples from 258 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 114 patients with benign liver diseases. When the serum AFP concentration was below 1000 ng/ml, it could not be used as a measure to distinguish between HCC and benign liver diseases. However, the fucosylation index of AFP proved useful for such a purpose. The sensitivity of the analysis using the fucosylation index in total patients with HCC was 69%; the specificity was 96% in benign liver diseases, and the accuracy of this test was 77%. When HCC patients who were grouped according to tumor size (5 cm, 3 cm, and 2 cm in diameter) were analyzed, they all had a fucosylation index significantly higher than that in benign liver disease patients. The mean fucosylation index in 28 patients with a serum AFP concentration below 1000 ng/ml and a tumor diameter less than 3 cm was 26 +/- 30%. Corresponding values for 16 patients with an AFP concentration below 400 ng/ml and a tumor size less than 3 cm and for 8 patients with a concentration below 400 ng/ml and a tumor size less than 2 cm were 32 +/- 31% and 27 +/- 27%, respectively. These values were higher, with statistical significance, than those in patients with benign liver diseases. These data indicate that the measurement of the fucosylation index of AFP is useful for the early diagnosis of HCC.

Biomarkers, Tumor

Cardiac chamber growth pattern determined by two-dimensional echocardiography.

Two-dimensional echocardiographic measurements of the right and left ventricles from the parasternal long-axis and apical four-chamber views and an estimated right ventricular-left ventricular dimensional ratio were obtained in 173 normal subjects, ranging from 1 day to 15 years of age. The end-diastolic dimensions of both the right and left ventricles increases in proportion to the logarithmic function of body surface area. The right ventricular-left ventricular dimensional ratio decreases immediately after birth and continues to decrease during the first months of life. Newborns have altered ventricular shapes as seen in the pathological conditions of right ventricular volume or pressure overload. After the first months of life, the ventricular shapes remain constant throughout childhood. The 95% prediction intervals for the data were computed, and we suggest that the confidence limits of the normal data may be useful for quantitative echocardiographic evaluation in childhood.

Adolescent

Correlation of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes in Kawasaki syndrome.

To determine whether changes in ECGs correlated with abnormalities in echocardiograms in children with acute and convalescent Kawasaki syndrome, we undertook a retrospective analysis of 44 patients examined during the first 2 weeks of illness and followed for at least 6 months, 31 for longer than 1 year. We analyzed 360 ECGs, 282 echocardiograms, and clinical status. Results of echocardiography showed 18 children with myocardial dysfunction, pericardial effusion, and/or coronary arterial abnormalities (41%); 26 children had no abnormalities. All 18 of the former and all but 10 of the latter had abnormalities on serial ECGs that normalized on recovery. Thirty-four of 44 patients (77%) had ECG abnormalities. These abnormalities were most prevalent in the first month: 68% appeared in the first week, about 50% in the second to fourth weeks, 16% at 2 months, and 10% at 3 months. The type of ECG change did not predict the type of echocardiographic abnormality, except that low voltage of QRS was found only with pericardial effusion. The most frequent early changes were in T waves, which were flattened in 28 (64%). Later 12 patients had high, peaked, abnormal T waves. Prolonged PR interval occurred in 13 patients, seven of whom had echocardiographic abnormalities. Of six with prolonged QT interval, four had abnormal echocardiograms. The possibility of having an abnormal echocardiogram increased with the number of ECG changes: from 0 risk with no change to 37% for one, 47% for two, 80% for three, and 100% for four changes in serial ECGs. Both ECGs and echocardiograms are important in early and subsequent evaluation of these patients. Inasmuch as the ECGs showed abnormalities in 77% whereas echocardiograms showed changes in 41%, we believe that serial ECGs in comparison with prior tracings offer the more sensitive noninvasive indicator of pancarditis in young children during acute and convalescent Kawasaki syndrome.

Child

Biochemical evidence for the local synthesis and retention of fibronectin in the tissue of human placenta.

1. Human chorionic tissues were incubated with [14C]leucine and/or [3H]glucosamine, and fibronectin synthesis was examined. 2. Radio-labeled fibronectin was detected in the tissue fraction of the incubation mixture, but not in the medium fraction, indicating that fibronectin is synthesized and retained in the tissue. 3. The glycopeptides derived from 3H-labeled fibronectin showed the lectin-binding characteristics similar to those from unlabeled placenta fibronectin, but different from those of plasma fibronectin.

Carbon Radioisotopes

Hepatic lesions induced by graft-versus-host reaction across MHC class II antigens: an implication for animal model of primary biliary cirrhosis.

To induce graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR), C57B1/6 (B6) spleen cells were injected into (B6 x bm1)F1, (B6 x bm12)F1, and (bm1 x bm12)F1 mice. Since the strains bm1 and bm12 are mutant at the H-2Kb and I-Ab regions of major histocompatibility complex (MHC), respectively, we can assess MHC class I- or class II-different GVHR. As reported earlier, immunological perturbations assessed by the number of immunoglobulin-producing cells and immune complex deposition in renal glomeruli were demonstrated in MHC class II-different GVHR. A conspicuous finding in this report is that epithelioid granuloma formation was observed in the portal area and around the central vein of liver of (B6 x bm12)F1 mice injected with B6 spleen cells. The epithelioid granuloma formation was not observed in (B6 x bm1)F1 nor (bm1 x bm12)F1 recipient mice. Degenerative changes resembling chronic nonsuppurative destructive cholangitis in primary biliary cirrhosis were also observed in the bile duct epithelium in (B6 x bm12)F1 and (bm1 x bm12)F1 mice. These lesions were already obvious at the 2 week postinjection of donor cells and were continuously observed up to 10 weeks when immunological perturbations subsided. Thus, class II-disparate GVHR in this experimental system might provide a novel animal model of protracted disease, primary biliary cirrhosis.

Animals