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Biomedical subjects

H Baba

Publications and source records attributed to H Baba.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

[Familial juvenile parkinsonism with dementia and autonomic failure--a case report].

A case of familial juvenile parkinsonism with dementia, orthostatic hypotension, neurogenic bladder and constipation was reported. He had been in a good health until the age of 28 when a finger tremor occurred on effort to hold hands in a definite position, and disturbances in gait and speech were noted. These symptoms were relieved by levodopa treatment followed by dyskinesia and motor fluctuations. Three years later, he complained of faintness, constipation and urinary frequency. The neurological examination revealed mentally sound male with masked face, tremor and rigidity in his extremities, and short step gait with lateropulsion. Urodynamic study showed uninhibited bladder. In the following years, orthostatic hypotension, dysuria and urinary retention developed gradually. He became mentally loose and was unable to take medicines appropriately. When in the Nishiojiya Byoin National Sanatorium, he tried to snake out the hospital many times. His parents and a brother suffered from Parkinson's disease and juvenile parkinsonism, respectively, suggesting an autosomal dominant inheritance. On admission to our hospital, he was apathetic. He had masked face, bilateral postural tremor, frozen gait and dyskinesia in the right lower extremity. Little bradykinesia or rigidity was noted. His muscle tone and deep tendon reflexes were decreased but neither muscular wasting, weakness, ataxia nor sensory disturbance was observed. Laboratory data including ceruloplasmin, copper, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and lysosomal enzyme activities were normal except for mild anemia. A cranial CT scan revealed mild cortical atrophy in the frontal and temporal lobes, but nerve conduction study and cortical evoked potentials showed no abnormality. While in the hospital, his mental functions deteriorated to the state of dementia and orthostatic hypotension became apparent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

[Potentiation of cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs by flavone acetic acid].

We used B 16 melanoma cells both in vitro and in vivo to determine whether Flavone acetic acid (FAA) can increase the cytotoxicity of mitomycin C (MMC) under normothermic and hyperthermic (HT) conditions. The significantly increased cytotoxicity of MMC combined with FAA and HT seems to be mainly related to activation of alkylating species under FAA mediated hypoxic condition.

Animals↗

[Electrophysiologic analysis of the lumbosacral radiculopathy using nerve root conduction velocity (NRCV) and cauda equina action potentials (CEAP)].

Nerve root conduction velocity (NRCV) and cauda equina action potential (CEAP) have been measured to assess the severity of lumbosacral radiculopathy, the level-specific diagnosis of the symptomatic roots, and to predict the outcome. This study included 71 patients (40 males, 31 females, average age of 54 years at the time of surgery) who underwent decompressive surgery for lumbar radiculopathy. The NRCV and CEAP were directly measured during the operation. The NRCV decreased significantly with progression of radicular symptoms. The NRCV showed a marked reduction in the nerve roots of the patients with a two years or longer history of radicular symptoms; or those with compression of the nerve roots on the imaging examinations; or nerve roots that were considered to have been subjected to persistent compression over a prolonged period with severe inflammation and adhesions. Multivariative analyses suggested that the NRCV correlated closely to the postoperative neurologic recovery, and the outcome of the lumbosacral radiculopathy could be predicted to some extent by measurements of NRCV. The level-specific diagnosis of the radiculopathy could be determined when the CEAP showed a more than 30% left-right potentials difference.

Action Potentials↗

[Experimental and clinical study in vitro chemosensitivity test for succinate dehydrogenase inhibition test].

The usefulness and problems in the succinate dehydrogenase inhibition (SDI) test as an in vivo chemosensitivity test were reviewed and discussed. SDI test is based on the correlation of succinate dehydrogenase activity with cell viability. The optimal condition of SDI test were evaluated with respect to concentration of anticancer drugs, incubation time, effect of sodium succinate on formazan production and enzymatic disaggregation of solid tumors. Analysis of the chemosensitivity of clinical tumors revealed that the origin of tumor, histological differentiation, DNA distribution patterns, estrogen receptor status in breast cancer, and difference of primary and metastatic lesions were critical for determining the chemosensitivity of tumor tissues. Correlation between in vitro sensitivity in the SDI test and in vivo clinical results of chemotherapy was evaluated. Since SDI test reflects cell viability and is a simple, rapid and inexpensive methods, it is appropriate both for clinical chemosensitivity testing and for the screening of anticancer drugs.

Colonic Neoplasms↗

[Fluorocytometric DNA analysis of intestinal metaplasia associated with gastric carcinoma].

Histopathologic studies and fluorocytometric DNA analysis were carried out in 39 patients with intestinal metaplasia (IM) of the mucosa associated with gastric carcinoma, in order to determine possible relationships. According to the histological degree of IM, 39 cases were divided into 16 (41%) with slight-to-moderate, and 23 (59%) with severe IM. The 39 tumors were histologically divided into 20 (51%) differentiated tumors and 19 (49%) undifferentiated tumors. The DNA patterns of tumors revealed 17 (43%) to be euploidy and 22 (57%) to be aneuploidy. The DNA content of the metaplastic epithelial cells was measured, and the percentage of the cells in S and G2 + M phases of the cell cycle was taken as the index of proliferative activity. DNA analysis of the non-metaplastic epithelium was performed in 10 as a control group. While the histological differentiation of the tumors and the degree of IM were not related to the proliferative activity of IM, the IM around the aneuploid tumors did have higher proliferative activity (14.01 +/- 6.16%) than that around euploid tumors (11.08 +/- 7.13%) or of normal mucosa (9.95 +/- 9.92%). This approach will help to determine cell kinetics of IM around the gastric tumor. Our study indicated a relationship between DNA ploidy and the proliferative activity of IM around gastric cancer.

Cell Cycle↗

Flavone acetic acid increases the antitumor effect of hyperthermia in mice.

The combined effects of flavone acetic acid (FAA), a synthetic flavonoid, and hyperthermia on B16 melanoma cells were investigated. In vitro, FAA alone at concentrations below 100 micrograms/ml was not cytotoxic with a 60-min exposure at 37 degrees C. Hyperthermia at 43 degrees C for 60 min enhanced the cytotoxicity of FAA only at concentrations over 100 micrograms/ml. Inhibition of the growth of B16 melanoma solid tumor by FAA and/or hyperthermia was examined in vivo. FAA (100-200 mg/kg) inhibited tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner. The combined treatment of FAA (200 mg/kg) and hyperthermia (43 degrees C, 15 min) significantly inhibited tumor growth compared to a treatment of FAA or hyperthermia alone. The maximum antitumor effect of FAA combined with hperthermia was obtained when FAA was administered 2 or 4 h before heat. The significantly increased cytotoxicity of FAA combined with hyperthermia seems to relate to specific decreases in tumor blood flow, a reduction in tumor pH, and an increased tumor temperature, without altering pH in the normal tissues. This combined treatment of FAA and hyperthermia warrants further study for treating subjects with solid tumors.

Animals↗

Interaction of nascent preproparathyroid hormone molecules with microsomal membranes.

To characterize the early steps in the interaction of nascent chains of preproparathyroid hormone (prepro-PTH) with the secretory apparatus, such truncated nascent chains still attached to ribosomes were tested for binding to microsomal membranes and cleavage by signal peptidase. Nascent chains of 114, 97, 88, 81, 70, and 59 residues were tested for their ability to bind tightly to membranes and to undergo signal sequence cleavage. Chains of 81 residues and longer bound tightly to the membranes and were cleaved by signal peptidase. The 88- and 81-residue precursors and their corresponding pro-proteins were less efficiently associated with the membranes than were the 114- and 97-residue precursors and their corresponding pro-proteins. The 70-residue chain bound to the membrane but was not cleaved. When this peptide was subsequently released from the ribosome with puromycin, it was cleaved by signal peptidase. The 59-residue chain bound only slightly to the microsomal membrane and was not cleaved by signal peptidase, even when the nascent peptide was released from the ribosome with puromycin. Thus the critical length for productive binding to microsomal membranes is between 59 and 70 residues; the length required for signal cleavage is between 70 and 81 residues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Prognostic factors for noncurative gastric cancer: univariate and multivariate analyses.

We performed univariate and multivariate analyses of possible prognostic factors related to postoperative clinical course of patients with advanced gastric cancer. Noncurative resection was done for 119 patients with hepatic metastasis, peritoneal seeding, extensive lymph node metastasis, or direct invasion to adjacent organs, either alone or in various combinations. In the univariate analysis, 6 of 17 items such as peritoneal seeding, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, mode of invasion, extent of lymphadenectomy, and width of serosal invasion significantly correlated to the prognosis. The multivariate analysis indicated that three inherent pathologic factors, mode of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and hepatic metastasis, and one treatment factor, extent of lymphadenectomy, were significant variables predictive of the prognosis and that the prognosis was expected to be very poor in cases of infiltrative type, nodal involvement to tertiary nodes, presence of hepatic metastasis, and lymphadenectomy less than R3. Prognosis in terms of the extent of lymphadenectomy shows that extensive lymphadenectomy (R3) proved to be significantly effective in prolonging survival time, even after noncurative gastrectomy. We recommend extensive lymphadenectomy to prolong survival time for such patients.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Noncurative resection for advanced gastric cancer.

Between 1965 and 1985, 489 patients with advanced gastric cancer who were treated with gastric resection and in whom tumor cells remained after the operation were defined as cases of a "noncurative resection." The clinicopathological features and prognosis of these patients were examined and two groups were prepared: locally advanced cancer and cancer with a distant metastasis. In locally advanced cancer cases, tumor cells remained in the neighboring organs, lymph nodes, and/or resected margins; in those with distant metastasis, peritoneal dissemination and/or liver metastasis were present regardless of whether or not the metastasis was removed, with or without locally noncurative factors. Serosal invasion was prominent and high rates of lymph node metastasis and lymphatic involvement were evident in both groups. The survival rate for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer was better than that of patients with distant metastasis (P < 0.01). Survival time in patients with locally advanced cancer can be lengthened by resecting all of the primary tumor and as much of the metastatic lesions as possible, even if the surgical management is "noncurative." Aggressive postoperative chemotherapy for patients with distant metastasis from a gastric cancer is to be recommended.

Aged↗

In vitro succinate dehydrogenase chemosensitivity of gastric carcinoma--relationship to DNA content.

Relationships between in vitro chemosensitivity and cell nuclear DNA content were investigated in malignant cells from 41 patients exhibiting advanced gastric carcinoma. The chemosensitivity was evaluated by measuring the succinate dehydrogenase (SD) activity in drug-exposed cancer cells and the DNA content was microspectrophotometrically determined. Following exposure of malignant tissue to carboquone (CQ) and cisplatin (DDP), the mean SD activity in cells displaying a relatively regular DNA distribution (type II) was significantly higher than that in those exhibiting a widely scattered DNA distribution (type IV; P less than 0.01 in CQ, P less than 0.05 in DDP). A similar tendency was recognized in cells that were treated with aclacinomycin A (ACR), Adriamycin (ADM), and mitomycin C (MMC). Such a decrease in SD activity in cells exhibiting a type IV pattern was remarkable, especially in cases undifferentiated adenocarcinoma. Mitotic counting analysis revealed a significantly higher value for DNA pattern type IV as compared with the findings for type II (P less than 0.01). These results demonstrate that gastric carcinoma displaying a high malignant potentially shows a better response to antitumor drugs. Adjuvant chemotherapy prescribed following drug-sensitivity testing should be effective against such tumors.

Adult↗

Effect of chemotherapy combined with caffeine for osteosarcoma.

Nine patients with osteosarcoma were treated by chemotherapy combined with caffeine and surgery. All primary tumors showed complete histological response to preoperative chemotherapy consisting of three intraarterial infusions of cisplatin and caffeine without/with doxorubicin and two systemic high-dose methotrexate combined with vincristine. Limb-salvage surgery was performed in eight patients with marginal procedure, which led to the preservation of good limb function. Below-knee amputation was done in one patient with calcaneal osteosarcoma. There has been neither local recurrence nor lung metastasis in seven patients with conventional osteosarcoma during a median follow-up period of 28 months. Lung metastases leading to death were observed in one patient with small-cell osteosarcoma despite complete destruction of the primary tumor by preoperative chemotherapy. Chemotherapy combined with caffeine administration deserves further extensive and large-scale study in osteosarcoma.

Adolescent↗

In vivo assessment of the metabolic alterations in glucagonoma syndrome.

Stable-isotope methodology and indirect calorimetry were used to evaluate metabolic abnormalities in a patient with glucagonoma syndrome manifested by 17% body weight loss, hypoaminoacidemia, and hyperglycemia. Energy expenditure (26 kcal/kg) was the same as that predicted by the Harris-Benedict equation. The rate of appearance (Ra) of intracellular leucine (2.70 mumol/kg/min), an index of protein breakdown, was normal, although the percentage of leucine flux oxidized (31%), an index of amino acid catabolism, was 50% greater than the normal mean value. Glucose Ra in plasma (12.9 mumol/kg/min), representing hepatic glucose production, and glycerol Ra in plasma (3.04 mumol/kg/min), a measurement of whole-body lipolysis, were 15% and 25% greater, respectively, than mean values found in normal volunteers. These results suggest that long-term alterations in energy, leucine, glucose, and lipid metabolism in patients with glucagonoma are minimal. However, small long-term metabolic alterations caused by glucagon excess, in conjunction with chronic negative energy balance, could be responsible for the weight loss, hypoaminoacidemia, and hyperglycemia observed in this patient population.

Adult↗

Comparison of constant infusion and flooding dose techniques to measure muscle protein synthesis rate in dogs.

The exact relationship between the constant infusion and flooding dose techniques for measuring fractional muscle protein synthesis (FMPS) rates was determined in anesthetized dogs during the postabsorptive period, using different isotopes of leucine as tracers. First, [1,2-13C]- and [U-14C]leucine were given simultaneously by prime-constant infusion for 5 h to establish that both isotopes gave comparable FMPS rate values. The tracers gave almost identical FMPS rates and the values obtained after 3 and 5 h were not different. Next, the constant infusion and flooding dose methods were compared in the same animal by first measuring FMPS rate with a prime-constant infusion of [U-14C]leucine, then with a flooding dose of 376 mumol/kg [1,2-13C]leucine. The flooding dose method gave FMPS rates that were markedly greater than the constant infusion values. Finally, the effect of a 376 mumol/kg leucine flooding dose on FMPS rate was assessed using the prime-constant infusion of [U-14C]lysine. The large dose of leucine decreased FMPS rate by approximately 50% because acid-soluble muscle lysine (precursor) specific activity increased while the rate of incorporation of labeled lysine into protein decreased. These results indicate that the flooding dose method gives FMPS rates that are markedly greater than those obtained with the constant infusion method and that the latter method is not valid when a large dose of leucine is given.

Animals↗

Metabolism of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil to 5-fluorouracil in partially hepatectomized rats.

Changes in the metabolism of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil (tegafur) to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were examined in the plasma, lung, liver, stomach, small intestine, spleen and kidney in two-thirds partially hepatectomized rats. Concentrations of tegafur and 5-FU in plasma and tissues were determined 30 min after injecting 100 mg/kg of tegafur via the tail vein. The 5-FU concentration in the plasma remained unchanged for the first 7 days after hepatectomy. The tissue level of 5-FU was higher in the liver and kidney than in other organs examined, but there were no changes in levels of 5-FU in each organ examined. Our observations support the proposal that the conversion of tegafur to 5-FU is maintained in partially hepatectomized rats.

Animals↗

Spinal cord evoked potentials in thoracic myelopathy with multisegmental vertebral involvement.

Spinal cord evoked potentials were recorded preoperatively from the thoracic epidural space after spinal cord stimulation in 20 patients with thoracic myelopathy with multisegmental vertebral involvement. Waveform abnormalities in spinal cord evoked potentials, namely, positive-going wave or decrease in amplitude, were observed in all cases. Abnormalities, especially in the first negative component of spinal cord evoked potentials, were recorded at the most compressed site in each case. Decrease in amplitude of more than 50% was noted frequently in moderately involved cases, whereas positive-going wave was elicited predominantly in cases of severe myelopathy. Spinal cord evoked potentials should provide information for determining the range of decompression in multisegmental vertebral involvement.

Adult↗

The carboxy-terminus of parathyroid hormone is essential for hormone processing and secretion.

The biological function of the carboxy-terminal portion of the PTH molecule is unknown. We hypothesized that the carboxy-terminus of PTH may be essential for hormone processing and secretion. To ascertain the potential role of the carboxy-terminus in transport through the secretory pathway, we constructed a series of carboxy-terminally deleted mutants of human preproPTH. PreproPTH and these truncated peptides were expressed in cell-free extracts and in acutely transfected COS 7 cells. Intact preproPTH(1-84) (115 residues) was processed to proPTH(1-84); the PTH was secreted very efficiently. In contrast, translocation across the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum and signal sequence cleavage were mildly impaired for PTH(1-52) (83 residues), moderately impaired for PTH(1-40) (71 residues), and dramatically impaired for PTH(1-34) (65 residues). Subsequent cleavage of the prosequence and secretion from intact cells were also dramatically impaired for PTH(1-52) and undetectable for PTH(1-40) and PTH(1-34). We conclude that more than 65 residues are needed to cross the endoplasmic reticulum and that more than 83 residues are needed for efficient prosequence cleavage and secretion. Perhaps similar requirements for full transport through the secretory pathway explains why most secreted peptides are synthesized as long propeptides of at least 80 residues.

Animals↗

New actions of parathyroid hormone through its degradation.

Parathyroid hormone degradation is intimately connected with its action. By the action of the unique renal neutral cytosolic PTH ase, PTH is split into 1-34 and 35-84 fragments, and further into 35-70 and 71-84 fragments. Amino-terminal 1-34 peptide was found to participate in the autoregulation of PTH secretion, suppressing the intact PTH secretion both in vivo in humans and in vitro in the dispersed bovine parathyroid cells. C-terminal fragment 35-84 and N-terminal fragment 1-34 both suppress the alkaline phosphatase production by ROS 17/2.8 cells to a lesser extent than the intact PTH 1-84, and the sum of the effects of the two fragments approximately equaled that of the intact hormone. Fragments 35-70 and 71-84 were devoid of such activity. Intracellular free calcium of human vascular endothelial cells was raised by intact 1-84, lowered on the contrary by C-terminal 35-84 fragment, but fragments 1-34, 35-70 and 71-84 had no effect. Fragments generated by the actions, supporting the physiological significance of PTH degradation by its target cells.

Animals↗