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Biomedical subjects

H Amano

Publications and source records attributed to H Amano.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Antihypertensive effect of chronic KT3-671, a structurally new nonpeptide angiotensin AT1-receptor antagonist, in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

KT3-671 (2-propyl-8-oxo-1-[(2'-(1H-tetrazole-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl]-4,5,6, 7-tetrahydrocycloheptimidazole), a structurally new nonpeptide angiotensin AT1-receptor antagonist, was administered orally and repeatedly to 15-week-old stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats for 7 weeks; and its effects on blood pressure, heart rate, renal function, plasma renin concentration (PRC), plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) and hypertension-related tissue damage in the brain, heart, kidney and mesenteric artery were investigated. KT3-671 at a dose of 3 or 10 mg/kg, p.o. per day prevented development of hypertension and produced a significant and consistent reduction of blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner. Enalapril at a dose of 10 mg/kg per day produced cardiovascular effects similar to those of KT3-671 at 10 mg/kg. Despite marked reduction in blood pressure, neither KT3-671 nor enalapril affected the heart rate. KT3-671 at 10 mg/kg produced a transient and significant reduction of urinary sodium excretion in the second week, but did not affect renal function at any other time during the experimental period. Both KT3-671 at 10 mg/kg and enalapril at 10 mg/kg produced a significant increase in PRC and showed a tendency to decrease PAC. Repeated administration of KT3-671 reduced the severity of the pathological changes in the kidney. These results suggest that KT3-671 is a potentially useful antihypertensive drug.

Aldosterone↗

[Advertisements in newspapers and magazines about patent medicines in the Meji era (The first dissertation) (Part 1)].

In February 1869, the government first permitted newspapers to be published. The Yokohama-mainichi, the Tokyo-nichi-nichi, the Nisshin-shinjishi and so on were published. The traders of medicine quickly turned their attention to the newspapers. Jihei Morita put an advertisement about "Houtan" in the newspaper issued in July in the 4th year of the Meiji era (1871) and Ginko Kishida put an advertisement about "Seikisui" in the Mainichi in Yokohama dated August 18th in the 4th year of the Meiji era. After that, the traders of medicine advertised in newspapers one after another, and the contents of advertisements were expressly the efficacy of medicine. As Yukichi Fukuzawa doubted if the trend was really desirable, he carried his comment against the trend in the Katei Sodan published by Keio-Gijuku, but the contents of advertisements were not changed. Advertisements emphasising the efficacy of medicine were prominent.

Advertising↗

[Advertisements in newspapers and magazines about patent medicines in the Meiji era (The first dissertation) (Part 2)].

On January 20th of the 10th year of the Meiji era (1877) the government enforced the laws regulating patent medicines. Since then patent medicines were frequently attacked in the newspapers. Abuses of patent medicines became the target of criticism. Yukichi Fukuzawa had carried his comments against abusing patent medicines in "Minkanzasshi" for 4 days from March 24th in the 11th year of the Meiji era. Abuses of patent medicines prevented medical science from progressing. He pointed out the responsibility of newspapers which printed advertisement of ineffective patent medicines. "The kanayomi" which was a small newspaper company refuted his comments. Jihei Morita published the magazine "Houtan" in person, and he ran many advertisements about patent medicines. In October in the 15th year of the Meiji era, the law, which imposed a tax on patent medicines was enacted. In addition to the censure against patent medicines were an account in the newspaper successively. However, at the same time, these accounts had serious consequences the traders of medicine and they went to law by the reason which they led to serious interference with their business.

Advertising↗

[Advertisements in newspapers and magazines about patent medicines in the Meiji era (the first dissertation) (Part 3)].

After the conclusion of the trial was carried out on december 25th in the 18th year of the Meiji era, write-ups decreased graduallly. Under these circumstances, the traders of medicine began their own publication at their convenience and they put advertisements in them. "Eisei-tebako" by "Kishida ginko" and "Houtan-keikenroku" by "Morita Jihei" were the typical of them. While patent medicines were extremely popular, pharmacists at that time never denied the necessity of patent medicines. Junichiro Shimoyama and Keizo Tanba, who were representatives of pharmacists in Japan, suggested that pharmacists had ought to manage patent medicines and pointed out that excessive write-ups exacerbated the situation.

Advertising↗

[Immunophenotypic analysis of lymphocyte subpopulation and hematological malignancies].

Determination of the human lymphocyte subpopulation selected by immunofluorescence and the phenotypic analysis of hematological malignant cells by laser flow cytometry have become popular and useful tests in various laboratories. However, several lines of evidence have questioned the accuracy and reproducibility of these analysis. We examined the problems of laser flow cytometric analysis to measure the lymphocyte subpopulation and determine the phenotypic expression of hematological malignancies. In lymphocyte subset analysis, no survey has been applied to reveal the accuracy and reproducibility of these tests. We compared the accuracy of gating events and the ratio of lymphocytes using leuco GATE/simul SET analysis to those by manual gate method analysis. We found that there were some patients with SLE in which the accurate lymphocyte subpopulation was difficult to calculate due to the gating of lymphocytes by either method. Furthermore, apparent differences in the lymphocyte population were observed between these methods. In the phenotypic analysis of hematological malignancies, there have been several problems over 30% of the total cells had to be abnormal cells. Second, the malignant cells were difficult to gate unless the information of the size, shape and cellular density were obvious. Third, the phenotype of malignant cells were often different from that of the normal matured cells in the some lineage. However, flow cytometric analysis was useful to determine the cell lineage of peroxidase-negative cells and to diagnose the hybrid leukemia. In summary, the phenotypic analysis using flow cytometry and various monoclonal antibodies are clinically useful tests to diagnose the immunological disorders and hematological malignancies. However, there remain several problems to be solved in the near future.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

[A case of Churg-Strauss syndrome in which MPO-ANCA (antibodies to myeloperoxidase) appeared to reflect the disease activity].

A 42-year-old housewife was admitted to our hospital because of an asthma attack, fever, severe eosinophilia, mononeuritis-multiplex, arthralgia, skin-eruptions, transient pulmonary infiltration, and other symptoms. Chung-Strauss syndrome was diagnosed. When there were signs and symptoms of vasculitis, chest radiography revealed that pulmonary infiltrates had decreased, but her chest CT showed ground glass opacities of both lung fields and fine granular shadows. Differential cell count of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid revealed a high level of eosinophils, and transbronchial lung biopsy specimens showed vasculitis and marked infiltration of eosinophils. When signs and symptoms of vasculitis were prominent, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in the serum were examined. PR3-ANCA (antibodies to serine-protease, nearly equal to c-ANCA), which is specific to Wegener's granulomatosis, was negative, but MPO-ANCA (antibodies to myeloperoxidase, nearly equal to p-ANCA) was positive and the level was very high (478 EU/ml). After corticosteroid therapy, her symptoms markedly improved, and MPO-ANCA became negative. MPO-ANCA appeared to reflect the disease activity in this case.

Adult↗

[A case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis probably caused by a humidifier in winter].

A 64-year-old man was admitted complaining of cough, hemoptysis, dyspnea, and fever. His chest X-ray film on admission showed reticulo-granular shadows in both lung fields. Ausculation of his chest revealed fine crackles in both lower zones. After admission, he was treated with antibiotics, but his chest-radiographic appearance worsened temporarily, and sputum cytology results were repeatedly positive. Diagnosis was difficult. Differential cell count of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed lymphocytosis, with a high CD 4/8 ratio. Transbronchial lung biopsy specimens revealed Masson bodies and alveolitis. With antibiotic therapy alone, his condition improved, and he was discharged. Five and a half hours later, his symptoms worsened and he was readmitted. His chest X-ray film on the second admission was almost the same as that on the first admission. His symptoms became less severe, and his condition improved without treatment. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis was diagnosed. Because the onset was in February, this was not considered to be a case of so-called summer type hypersensitivity pneumonitis a provocation test was done with water from the humidifier he had been using at home. The white blood cell count increased and PaO2 decreased significantly, so the result of the provocation test was thought to be positive. Therefore, so-called humidifier lung was strongly suspected. The results of sputum cytology on the first admission were probably falsely positive.

Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic↗

[Clinical evaluation of prophylactic nitroglycerin infusion during coronary artery bypass grafting].

We evaluated retrospectively the benefit of prophylactic nitroglycerin (TNG) infusions during elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in 73 patients. In all patients anesthesia was maintained with high dose fentanyl. Thirty-seven patients were infused TNG 0.3 microgram.kg-1.min-1 during surgery and 36 patients were not. The TNG-infused patients demonstrated lower perfusion pressure during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and higher incidence of inotropic administrations than the uninfused patients. Serum myocardial creatine phosphokinase (CPK-MB) levels of TNG-infused patients were higher than those of TNG-uninfused patients on the first postoperative day. We speculate that inotropic administrations under low myocardial perfusion pressure at the time of weaning from CPB induces myocardial ischemia which in turn causes an increase in serum CPK-MB level. We conclude that prophylactic administration of TNG does not prevent perioperative ischemia during CABG.

Anesthesia, General↗

[The human chorionic gonadotrophin reference standard (Control 941) of the National Institute of Health Sciences].

Raw human chorionic gonadotrophin material was examined for preparation of the "Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin Reference Standard (Control 941)". The candidate material was assayed against the 3rd International Standard by the rat ovarian weight method. The potency of the new standard was defined as 1180 international units per ampoule as the result of 18 assays in four collaborative laboratories.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗

[Five cases of drug-induced pneumonitis due to Sho-saiko-to or interferon-alpha or both].

We encountered five cases of drug-induced pneumonitis due to Sho-saiko-to or interferon-alpha or both. In all 5 cases the underlying disease was chronic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C virus. Interferon-alpha alone was administered in one case, Sho-saiko-to alone was administered in two cases, and both were administered in two cases. Bronchoalveolar lavage was done in 4 cases. In three cases, lymphocytosis and abnormally low CD4/8 ratios were found on examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In the only case in which interferon-alpha alone was given the percentage of neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was abnormally high, and the adult respiratory distress syndrome developed. Lymphocyte stimulation tests were done in four cases, and in all four cases the only positive results were against Sho-saiko-to or against interferon-alpha. The frequency of drug-induced pneumonitis among patients with chronic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis was 0.7% in those given only Sho-saiko-to, 0.5% in those given only interferon-alpha, and 4.0% in those given both interferon-alpha and Sho-saiko-to. Therefore, pneumonitis due to Sho-saiko-to and to interferon-alpha is more likely to occur if these two drugs are given simultaneously.

Aged↗

Characterization of the developmental toxicity of di-n-butyl phthalate in rats.

The objective of this study was to determine the characterization of the developmental toxicity of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) in rats. Pregnant rats were given DBP by gastric intubation at a dose of 0.75, 1.0 or 1.5 g/kg on days 7-9, 10-12 or 13-15 of pregnancy. Postimplantation loss was 100% for each period of dosing at 1.5 g/kg. A significant increase in the postimplantation loss was found in dams given DBP at doses of 0.75 and 1.0 g/kg regardless of the days of treatment. No evidence of teratogenicity was detected when DBP was given on days 10-12. Treatment on days 7-9 with DBP at doses of 0.75 and 1.0 g/kg caused a significant increase in the number of skeletal malformations such as deformity of the vertebral column in the cervical and thoracic regions and of the ribs, but neither external nor internal malformations. Treatment with DBP on days 13-15 at doses of 0.75 and 1.0 g/kg resulted in a significant increase in the incidence of fetuses with external and skeletal malformations such as cleft palate and fusion of the sternebrae. The frequency of malformations increased as the dose of DBP was increased. The highest incidence of malformed fetuses occurred after treatment with DBP on days 13-15. It could be concluded that susceptibility to the teratogenicity of DBP varies with the developmental stage at the time of administration.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with chromosomal translocations involving 3q27 band and immunoglobulin gene loci: report of two cases.

Two cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of B-cell origin with reciprocal chromosome translocations involving the 3q27 band and loci for the immunoglobulin genes are described. In case 1, [t(3;14)(q27;q32)], the 14q32 band for the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene was involved, and in case 2, [t(3;22)(q27;q11)], the reciprocal breakpoint was the 22q11 band where the immunoglobulin lambda light chain gene is located. Although the two patients shared some clinical features, the lymphomas varied in histologic phenotypes; in case 1, the lymphoma being a diffuse large cell subtype, whereas in case 2, the lymphoma being the high grade small noncleaved cell lymphoma. Thus, the consistent association of the 3q27 translocation with a specific subtype of NHL remains to be determined. Southern blot analysis of the lymphoma cells from the two patients showed rearrangements and deletions in immunoglobulin genes with features which cannot be explained by normal immunoglobulin-generating mechanisms and which suggest that the translocations involved these loci at the molecular level. Cloning of the breakpoint using DNA probes from the immunoglobulin genes would prove a novel oncogene at the 3q27 band.

Adult↗

Rate of falls and the correlates among elderly people living in an urban community in Japan.

Eight hundred and seven elderly persons aged 65-84 years who were randomly selected from the community were interviewed about falls. The rate of falls in the preceding year was 12.8% in men and 21.5% in women. The difference in the rate between the sexes was statistically significant. The rate in the older group was significantly higher than that in the younger group in both sexes, when they were divided into two major age categories. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that contact with a doctor within a month preceding the survey in both sexes, age, history of stroke, visual deficit in men, and urinary or bowel incontinence in women were significantly associated with increased risk of falling. The study reveals that falls tend to occur in physically frail elderly people in the community.

Accidental Falls↗

Inhibitory action of a (1-->6)-beta-D-glucan-protein complex (F III-2-b) isolated from Agaricus blazei Murill ("himematsutake") on Meth A fibrosarcoma-bearing mice and its antitumor mechanism.

The effects of F III-2-b (Agaricus blazei Murill polysaccharide) with or without 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on immune responses were investigated in Meth A tumor-bearing and normal mice. The i.p. administration of F III-2-b (10 mg/kg/day x 30) moderately inhibited the growth of Meth A tumor cells implanted s.c. in mice. Development of implanted tumors was strongly inhibited by the combination of F III-2-b and 5-FU. The picryl chloride-induced delayed type hypersensitivity (PC-DTH) response in mice was depressed after the implantation of tumor and treatment with 5-FU. F III-2-b restored the suppression of PC-DTH by 5-FU, but did not increase the PC-DTH of normal mice. F III-2-b not only enhanced the degree of spleen cell-mediated sheep red blood cells (SRBC) hemolysis (quantitative hemolysis of SRBC), the indexes of the spleen and thymus, and the number of spleen cells but also restored the suppressive effect of 5-FU. In the group receiving F III-2-b, the percentages of splenic Thy1.2-, L3T4- and asialo GM1-positive cells were significantly increased as compared with the tumor-bearing mice treated with saline. Furthermore, the L3T4+/Lyt2+ ratio showed a tendency to increase, and the Lyt2+ ratio was markedly decreased. These results suggest that the antitumor effect of F III-2-b may be correlated with the changing pattern of the Thy1.2-, L3T4- and asialo GM1-positive cells.

Agaricus↗

Pathologic observations of pigs intranasally inoculated with serovar 1, 4 and 5 of Haemophilus parasuis using immunoperoxidase method.

Nineteen, 7- to 13-week-old pigs were inoculated intranasally with different strains of Haemophilus parasuis (serovar 1, 4 and 5), and the pathological lesions induced by each strain were compared. Eleven of thirteen pigs inoculated with either strain Nagasaki (serovar 5) or No. 4 (serovar 1) died between days 1 to 6 after inoculation, and had septicemic lesions, meningitis, or polyserositis. One of six pigs inoculated with strain SW124 (serovar 4) died with polyserositis, another one recovered after illness, and the remaining four pigs remained in good health. Five of the septicemic pigs had thrombi at many organs. Endotoxin was detected in the plasma of 10 pigs in the acute stage of infection. Using the immunoperoxidase technique, H. parasuis antigen was detected in lesions of infected pigs. In the serosal lesions the bacterial antigen was found mainly in the cytoplasm of infiltrating neutrophils and macrophages and appeared as degenerated bacteria and/or lytic bacterial material in dilated phagosomes. Many of the bacteria in the blood vessels of pigs with septicemic lesions were also degenerated. Although H. parasuis was reisolated from nasal secretions of infected pigs, the bacterial antigen could not be detected in the nasal cavities of these pigs. No lesions were observed in the parenchyma of the lung. However, H. parasuis antigen was detected in the tonsil of infected pigs.

Administration, Intranasal↗

Variant type of congenital stomatocytosis.

A 52-year-old female with congenital stomatocytosis showed hemolytic anemia, an increased mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), reticulocytosis and an increased osmotic fragility. Lipid and protein content of membranes, the activities of membrane-associated enzymes in erythrocytes and the elution pattern of hemoglobin were normal. Erythrocyte Na+ influx was moderately increased and Na+ efflux, particularly ouabain-insensitive Na+ "leak-out" was also increased. K+ concentration of erythrocytes was abnormally low with a slightly increased Na+ content. These phenotypes are very rare, and should be classified as a variant type.

Anemia, Hemolytic, Congenital↗

[Usefulness of hemoglobin A1c and fructosamine for screening of glucose intolerance in community adults].

The usefulness of hemoglobin A1c and fructosamine for screening of glucose intolerance were compared in 383 semi-urban residents ranging from 35 to 88 years of age. Both the sensitivity and specificity of the indices for screening of those with 110 mg/dl and over of fasting blood glucose were examined. The results showed that hemoglobin A1c was better than fructosamine for screening for glucose intolerance.

Adult↗