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Biomedical subjects

H Hashimoto

Publications and source records attributed to H Hashimoto.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Retroperitoneoscopic pyelotomy combined with the transposition of crossing vessels for ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

PURPOSE: We developed a new approach of retroperitoneoscopic pyelotomy combined with the transposition of crossing vessels for ureteropelvic junction obstruction as an alternative to conventional antegrade or retrograde endopyelotomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From February 1997 to August 1999 we treated 5 cases of ureteropelvic junction obstruction due to crossing vessels that were diagnosed by helical computerized tomography. Ureterovascular hydronephrosis characterized by a malrotated renal pelvis with anterior crossing vessels was observed in 4 cases and ureteropelvic junction obstruction with a posterior crossing artery was present in 1. After endoureterotomy stent insertion under cystoscopic guidance we performed retroperitoneoscopic endopyelotomy with the kidney in standard position. Crossing vessels were transposed to a higher position to remove obstruction and fixed with peripelvic tissue via retroperitoneoscopy. In all cases a longitudinal incision approximately 1.5 cm. long was made with a potassium titanyl phosphate laser. RESULTS: Convalescence was uneventful in all patients and the endoureterotomy stent was removed 4 to 8 weeks after surgery. Postoperatively helical computerized tomography showed the successful transposition of crossing vessels and significant hydronephrosis resolution in all cases. All patients were asymptomatic during followup of 17 to 28 months. CONCLUSIONS: Despite our small number of patients our results are sufficient to conclude that retroperitoneoscopic pyelotomy combined with the transposition of crossing vessels is a simple and reliable method for treating ureterovascular hydronephrosis and associated conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Specific but variable expression of h-caldesmon in leiomyosarcomas: an immunohistochemical reassessment of a novel myogenic marker.

h-Caldesmon is considered a novel specific marker for tumors with smooth muscle differentiation. To reassess its diagnostic use, the authors evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of h-caldesmon and other myogenic markers (calponin, alpha-smooth muscle actin, HHF35, and desmin) in 30 leiomyosarcomas (external soft tissues [15], retroperitoneum [8], uterus [5], other sites [2]), 26 myofibroblastic lesions, and 26 fibrohistiocytic tumors of varying biologic potential and histology. In contrast with previous data, h-caldesmon was expressed only in 11 (36%) of the 30 leiomyosarcomas analyzed, whereas they consistently expressed actins and frequently expressed calponin (86%) and desmin (76%). Leiomyosarcomas with the expression of h-caldesmon were well or moderately differentiated and primarily confined to the retroperitoneum or uterus. All but one leiomyosarcomas in the external soft tissues examined were negative for h-caldesmon, and the h-caldesmon-negative tumors showed moderately to poorly differentiated morphology. All myofibroblastic lesions examined were negative for h-caldesmon despite their constant expressions of at least one of the other markers. h-Caldesmon was not expressed in fibrohistiocytic tumors either, although focal positivity for the other markers was seen in subsets of the tumors. Thus, h-caldesmon can be regarded as a specific myogenic marker. However, one should be aware that the expression of h-caldesmon in leiomyosarcomas can be more variable according to their locations and/or extent of smooth muscle differentiation than considered previously.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Adhesion of Bifidobacterium spp. to human intestinal mucus.

Twenty-four Bifidobacterium strains were examined for their ability to bind to immobilized human and bovine intestinal mucus glycoproteins. Each of the tested bacteria exhibited its characteristic adhesion to human and bovine fecal mucus. No significant differences were found among the taxonomic species. Among the tested bacteria, B. adolescentis, B. angulatum, B. bifidum, B. breve, B. catenulatum, B. infantis, B. longum and B. pseudocatenulatum adhered to human fecal mucus better than bovine fecal mucus, while the binding of B. animalis and B. lactis was not preferential. These results suggest that the mucosal adhesive properties of bifidobacteria may be a strain dependent feature, and the mucosal binding of the human bifidobacteria may be more host specific.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Comparison of mucosal adhesion and species identification of bifidobacteria isolated from healthy and allergic infants.

Fifty bifidobacteria strains were isolated from fecal samples of allergic and age matched healthy infants. Allergic infants were found to have an adult type Bifidobacterium flora with high levels of Bifidobacterium adolescentis. Healthy infants had a typical infant Bifidobacterium flora with high levels of Bifidobacterium bifidum. These isolates were tested for their adhesive properties to human intestinal mucus. The adhesion of the fecal bifidobacteria from healthy infants was significantly higher (P<0.0001) than for allergic infants. This suggests a correlation between allergic disease and the composition of the intestinal bifidobacteria flora which has reduced adhesive abilities to the intestinal mucus. Therefore, dietary supplementation of bifidobacteria typical for healthy infants, may be beneficial in the treatment of allergic disorders.

Bacterial Adhesion↗
PubMed2001

[Evaluation of the anti-biofilm effect of a new anti-bacterial silver citrate/lecithin coating in an in-vitro experimental system using a modified Robbins device].

The anti-biofilm effect of a newly developed antibacterial coating, a mixture of a silver citrate, soybean lecithin and liquid silicon at the ratio of 2:2:8, for silicon catheters was investigated in an in vitro experimental system using a modified Robbins device. The inhibitory effect against bacterial adherence, killing effect against adhered bacteria and durability of these anti-biofilm effects were examined using two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and one of Escherichia coli. Almost complete inhibition of bacterial adherence was demonstrated in the case of one of two strains of P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The more resistant strain of P. aeruginosa OP 14-210 adhered at scattered sites of the silicon with antibacterial coating, while mature biofilm developed on the surface of the silicon without coating. Using already adhered P. aeruginosa OP 14-210, we confirmed the killing effect of silver ion released by this new coating. These anti-biofilm effects did not change after treatment with artificial urine for at least 48 hours.

Bacterial Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed2001

Increased serum concentrations of advanced glycation end products: a marker of coronary artery disease activity in type 2 diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the concentrations of serum advanced glycation end products (AGE) in diabetic patients with obstructive coronary artery disease differ from those in type 2 diabetic patients without obstructive coronary artery disease. DESIGN: Serum AGE concentrations were measured in type 2 diabetic patients and in non-diabetic patients, both with and without obstructive coronary artery disease, and the relation between these values and coronary disease severity was evaluated. RESULTS: Mean (SD) serum AGE concentrations were higher (p < 0.0125) in type 2 diabetic patients with obstructive coronary artery disease (5.5 (2.5) mU/ml, n = 30) than in patients without obstructive coronary artery disease (2.8 (0. 5) mU/ml, n = 12), and higher than in non-diabetic patients with (3. 4 (1.0) mU/ml, n = 28) and without (3.2 (0.4) mU/ml, n = 13) obstructive coronary artery disease. Serum AGE was associated with the degree of coronary arteriosclerosis in type 2 diabetic patients with obstructive coronary artery disease (single vessel: n = 13, 3.4 (0.9) mU/m; two vessel: n = 6, 5.7 (1.6) mU/m; three vessel: n = 11, 7.2 (2.5) mU/ml). Serum AGE was positively correlated with serum mean four year HbA(1C) (r = 0.46, p < 0.01), but not with recent serum HbA(1C) (r = 0.24). The four groups did not differ in the other coronary risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Serum AGE concentrations may be associated with long term poor glycaemic control and reflect the severity of coronary arteriosclerosis in type 2 diabetic patients.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Peripheral lung adenocarcinoma: correlation of thin-section CT findings with histologic prognostic factors and survival.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic importance of thin-section computed tomographic (CT) findings of peripheral lung adenocarcinomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects were 127 patients with adenocarcinomas smaller than 3 cm in largest diameter who underwent at least a lobectomy with hilar and mediastinal lymphadenectomy. The margin characteristics of nodules and the extent of ground-glass opacity (GGO) within the nodules at preoperative thin-section CT were analyzed retrospectively. Regional lymph node metastasis (LNM) and vessel invasion (VI) were histologically examined in surgical specimens. Survival curves were calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The frequencies of LNM (4% [1 of 24]) and VI (13% [three of 24]) in adenocarcinomas with GGO components of more than 50% were significantly lower than those with GGO components of less than 10% (LNM, P <.05; VI, P <.01). The patients with GGO components of more than 50% showed a significantly better prognosis than those with GGO components less than 50% (P <.05). All 17 adenocarcinomas smaller than 2 cm with GGO components of more than 50% were free of LNM and VI, and all these patients are alive without recurrence. Coarse spiculation and thickening of bronchovascular bundles around the tumors were observed more frequently in tumors with LNM or VI than in those without LNM or VI (P <.01). CONCLUSION: Thin-section CT findings of peripheral lung adenocarcinomas correlate well with histologic prognostic factors.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2001

Significance of earlier carotid atherosclerosis for stroke subtypes.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In addition to advanced stenosis, earlier stages of carotid atherosclerosis are associated with the risk for stroke. However, the significance has not been established for specific stroke subtypes. This study examines the association of earlier carotid atherosclerosis with stroke subtypes. METHODS: The subjects comprised 1059 patients (mean+/-SD age, 62+/-11 years) with <60% carotid stenosis. With the use of ultrasound, carotid atherosclerosis was evaluated by the plaque score, as defined by the sum of all plaque heights in bilateral carotid arteries. On the basis of neurological signs and symptoms, medical history, and brain MRI, we diagnosed stroke and its subtypes as follows: no stroke (n=738), atherothrombotic infarction (AI) (n=56), lacunar infarction (LI) (n=117), cardioembolic infarction (n=65), cerebral hemorrhage (n=26), and other or unclassified stroke (n=57). RESULTS: The plaque score was higher in AI (10.5+/-5.9) and LI (6.0+/-5.1) groups than in the no-stroke group (4.3+/-4.9) (both P<0.05), although it was similar between other stroke groups and the no-stroke group. Each 1 SD greater plaque score was associated with 2.5-fold (95% CI, 2.0 to 3.2) higher risk for AI and 1.4-fold (95% CI, 1.2 to 1.7) higher risk for LI compared with the no-stroke group. When we adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors, plaque score remained significantly associated with AI but not with LI. By receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, the receiver operating characteristic area for AI (0.81 to 0.86) was greater than that for LI (0.62 to 0.67) when we used plaque score either alone or in combination with cardiovascular risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Although evaluation of carotid atherosclerosis may aid in the risk assessment for AI and LI, the benefit appears to be greater for AI.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

The stereoselective effects of bucolome on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of racemic warfarin.

The objective of this study was to investigate the stereoselective influence of bucolome on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in Japanese inpatients with heart disease. Thirty patients were administered a fixed-maintenance dose of warfarin alone once a day for at least 7 days. The other 25 patients were concomitantly administered warfarin and a 300 mg dose of bucolome once a day, and blood samples were collected on days 1, 4, 7, 14, or 21 after administration of bucolome. Serum concentration of warfarin enantiomers was measured by a chiral reversed-phase HPLC-ultraviolet detection method. The PT-INR was used as a measure of the pharmacodynamic effect of warfarin. Coadministration of bucolome and warfarin had no effect on serum (R)-warfarin concentration and significantly increased serum (S)-warfarin concentration compared with warfarin alone. The PT-INR of warfarin alone was significantly lower with bucolome cotreatment. These results indicate that the augmented anticoagulant effect of warfarin by bucolome is due to inhibition of (S)-warfarin metabolism in vivo. When bucolome is added to a stabilized regimen of warfarin therapy, the dose of warfarin should be reduced by about 30% to 60%, and caution should be exercised during the first 7 days after coadministration of bucolome.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2001

Clinical usefulness of duplex ultrasonography for the assessment of renal arteriosclerosis in essential hypertensive patients.

The present study was carried out to investigate whether the renal resistive index (RRI), obtained by ultrasonic duplex scanning, is useful for the evaluation of renal arteriosclerosis in essential hypertensive patients. We also studied the relationships between RRI and other kinds of hypertensive target-organ damage, including carotid atherosclerosis. One hundred and two patients (56.4+/-9.4 years) with untreated mild or moderate essential hypertension were examined. The normal range of RRI was determined for 12 normal age-matched volunteers (55.0+/-6.6 years). Hypertensive organ damage was evaluated by funduscopy, electrocardiograms, and carotid B-mode imaging. Based on the mean and distribution of RRI in normal volunteers (0.60+/-0.05), the normal upper limit of RRI was found to be 0.7. RRI was correlated with creatinine clearance (CCr) (r=-0.61, p<0.05), and blood urea nitrogen (r=0.46, p<0.05), but not with serum creatinine. In addition, the incidence of abnormal RRI (>0.7) was higher in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy and in those with advanced carotid atherosclerosis (p<0.01, respectively). Thus, RRI appears to be more strongly associated with CCr than with serum creatinine, and it increases in patients with hypertensive end-organ damage. The assessment of RRI may be useful for the evaluation of early renal damage in essential hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Congenital-infantile fibrosarcoma. A clinicopathologic study of 10 cases and molecular detection of the ETV6-NTRK3 fusion transcripts using paraffin-embedded tissues.

Congenital-infantile fibrosarcoma (CIFS) is a relatively indolent sarcoma that should be distinguished from more aggressive spindle cell sarcomas of childhood. CIFSs have been found to have a novel recurrent reciprocal translocation t(12;15)(p13;q25) resulting in the gene fusion ETV6-NTRK3 (ETS variant gene 6; neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 3). We studied immunohistochemical expression of NTRK3, and conducted a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay to detect the ETV6-NTRK3 fusion transcripts using archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 10 CIFSs. Thirty-eight other spindle cell tumors were included as controls. The ETV6-NTRK3 fusion transcripts were identified in 7 (70%) of 10 CIFSs. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that the fusion occurred between ETV6 exon 5 and NTRK3 exon 13. The 38 control tumors were negative for the fusion transcript. Immunohistochemically, CIFSs consistently expressed NTRK3. But the expression of NTRK3 also was observed in 22 of 38 control tumors. These results show the diagnostic usefulness of RT-PCR methods to detect ETV6-NTRK3 fusion transcripts in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue and the important role of NTRK3 in the development of CIFS, despite its being a protein of little importance in differential diagnosis.

Child↗
PubMed2001

Prolactin levels and maternal behavior induced by ultrasonic vocalizations of the rat pup.

The relationship among ultrasonic vocalization (USV), prolactin and maternal behavior was investigated in lactating rat mothers and their pups. The lactating mother had a cannula inserted into the external jugular vein, and was exposed to USVs emitted from a pup immediately. Changes of prolactin and maternal behavior were determined. Prolactin increased dramatically during exposure to USVs, when maternal search, retrieving and nest building behavior appeared significantly. These results suggested that the relationship among USV, prolactin and maternal behavior was included in communication between lactating mother and pup.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Comparative study on isolation calls emitted from hamster pups.

Waveforms of isolation calls emitted from hamster pups, which were Syrian hamsters, Djungarian hamsters, and Chinese hamsters, were compared in a basic study on improving reproduction by decrease of cannibalism, because it was reported that maternal behavior was induced by isolation calls in rodents. Isolation calls of hamster pups, isolated from their mother and receiving cold stress, were collected by Real-Time Spectrogram (RTS), and calculated to spectrograms and power spectra by SIGNAL. Isolation calls consisted of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and audible vocalizations (ADVs) in each species. Waveforms of isolation calls emitted by the hamster pups, were shown to have several characteristic features. In this study, the species specificity of isolation calls was shown in hamster pups. It would seem that the species specificity originates in the differences of sensitivity to cold stress via the autonomic nerve in hamsters.

Aggression↗
PubMed2001

Retroviruses and autoimmunity.

The investigation of human retroviruses has shown dramatic progress since the discovery of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These studies have also contributed to the exploration of the role of retroviruses, including endogenous retroviruses, in the induction of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This review describes the potential role of retroviruses in autoimmunity, based on recent findings including our own results.

Autoimmune Diseases↗
PubMed2001

Relationship between having a home doctor and outpatient utilization.

While universal insurance coverage should eliminate or substantially reduce financial and certain structural barriers to medical care, inequity in utilization of care may continue to exist. We conducted a questionnaire survey of a national random sample of 4500 Japanese age 16 or over in October, 1995. Separate analyses were conducted to predict the physician visit rates for the entire respondents (N=3395) and for those with chronic conditions (N=777). Forty-three percent of the total subjects reported an ambulatory physician visit within the past three months. About 17% of subjects with one chronic condition and 14% of those with two or more chronic conditions did not have any physician visits within recent three months. The regression model demonstrated that having a home doctor, as well as comorbidity and perceived health status, is significantly associated with outpatient visit both among all subjects (p < 0.0001) and among those with chronic conditions (p < 0.01). The Japanese health system still has unevenness in outpatient resource utilization. This mainly pertains to whether they have their own regular physician. The failure of some persons with chronic diseases to be seen requires further investigation.

Adolescent↗