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Biomedical subjects

H Kondo

Publications and source records attributed to H Kondo.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

[Serum hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in patients with inflammatory myopathies].

The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) regulates growth, motility, and morphogenesis of epithelial and endothelial cells. It has been reported that serum level of HGF was elevated in patients with having fulminant hepatitis. In inflammatory myopathies (IM), muscle cells are damaged by the inflammatory process and subsequently regenerated. HGF may be involved in the regeneration process of muscle cells in IM. We examined serum HGF was measured by ELISA from 13 patients with having polymyositis (PM), 18 patients with having dermatomyositis (DM), 3 patients with amyopathic dermatomyositis (ADM) and 14 normal individuals. The muscle of IM patients was examined by immunofluorescence staining using a monoclonal anti-HGF antibody. The serum HGF level was significantly higher in IM patients (0.63 +/- 0.11 (p = 0.028) in PM, 0.58 +/- 0.07 (p = 0.023) in DM) than in normal controls (0.26 +/- 0.01 ng/ml). However, there was no relationship between the serum HGF level and hepatic enzyme level in IM. The levels of serum HGF were significantly higher in active disease (1.05 +/- 0.26 ng/ml) than in inactive disease (0.29 +/- 0.03 ng/ml) (p = 0.044). The serum HGF levels (0.77 +/- 0.12 ng/ ml) were significantly higher in IM patients with pulmonary fibrosis than in those (0.42 +/- 0.04 ng/ml) without pulmonary fibrosis (p = 0.049). There was a positive relationship between serum HGF levels and the presence of opaque fiber and/or regeneration/degeneration fiber in biopsied muscles. HGF was detected in muscles from IM patients by immunofluorescence. Serum HGF levels are elevated in IM and correlated with disease activity and complication of interstitial pneumonia.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

EI-1511-3, -5 and EI-1625-2, novel interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme inhibitors produced by Streptomyces sp. E-1511 and E-1625. I. Taxonomy of producing strain, fermentation and isolation.

EI-1511-3, -5 and EI-1625-2, novel interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) inhibitors, were isolated from the culture broths of Streptomyces sp. E-1511 and E-1625. EI-1511-3, -5 and EI-1625-2 selectively inhibited the recombinant human ICE activity with IC50 values of 0.09, 0.38 and 0.2 microM, respectively. Taxonomy, fermentation of the producing strain and isolation of EI-1511-3, -5 and EI-1625-2 are described.

Amides↗
PubMed1996

EI-1507-1 and -2, novel interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme inhibitors produced by Streptomyces sp. E-1507.

EI-1507-1 and -2, novel interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) inhibitors, were isolated from the culture broths of Streptomyces sp. E-1507. EI-1507-1 and EI-1507-2 selectively inhibited the recombinant human ICE activity with IC50 values of 0.23 and 0.42 microM, respectively. EI-1507-1 and EI-1507-2 also inhibited mature interleukin-1 beta secretion from THP-1 cells with IC50 values of 1.1 and 1.4 microM, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

[Clinical application of oncogene and antioncogene as a tumor marker].

Since it is generally accepted that neoplasm is developed by accumulation of abnormalities in oncogenes and antioncogenes, these genetic analysis would be useful as new tumor markers. The present clinical applications of genetic analysis of oncogenes are as follows, 1) diagnosis of neoplasm (early detection, differential diagnosis for borderline lesion), 2) speculation of the prognosis of a cancer patient and prediction of chemosensitivity and, 3) establishment of high risk group of cancer. In regard to clinical practice, a medical doctor take care of scientific interpretation of genetic examinations as well as ethical problems.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed1996

[An unusual autopsy case of corticobasal degeneration--with special reference to clinicopathological differentiation from progressive supranuclear palsy and slowly progressive aphasia].

We report an unusual autopsy case of corticobasal degeneration. The patient was male who was 67 years old at the time of his death. He developed clumsiness of his right hand at age 65. Neurological examination at age 66 revealed supranuclear ophthalmoplegia of upward gaze and parkinsonism. Progressive supranuclear palsy was suspected. The patient's clinical course was rapidly progressive. Dementia developed nine months after the onset of the disease, and the patient manifested apallic syndrome at 21 months and died of pneumonia at about 25 months. At autopsy the brain weighed 1370g. Macroscopic examination revealed prominent atrophy of the anterior and parietal lobes, particularly of the pars opercularis in the left inferior frontal gyrus, and there was marked depigmentation of the substantia nigra. Histological examination showed neuronal loss, glial proliferation, spongy state, and ballooned neurons in the frontal and parietal lobes. Neuronal loss with glial proliferation was conspicuous in the striatum, pallidum, thalamus, and substantia nigra. There was slight neuronal loss in the dentate nucleus and locus ceruleus. Staining by Gallyas-Braak method revealed massive appearance of argyrophilic threads. This case is important in terms of the clinical differentiation from progressive supranuclear palsy, and is also interesting in regard to the pathological correlation with slowly progressive aphasia.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[Comparison of life habits and health examination data between smokers and ex-smokers].

Health practice and health examination data were compared between smokers and ex-smokers in 6,076 male subjects, whose ages ranged from 40 to 59 years, who participated in health examinations in 1993 in 17 towns of Gunma Prefecture. A total of 4,629 (76.2%) subjects replied to the interview on health practice and also had health examination data that could be used. The numbers of smokers and ex-smokers were 2,681 and 245, respectively for a total of 2,926 target population. The percentage for those having breakfast daily was significantly higher in ex-smokers than in smokers in the age 40's group (p < 0.01). The percentage for those doing exercise more than one day a week was significantly higher in ex-smokers than in smokers in the age 50's group (p < 0.05). Mean body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher in ex-smokers than in smokers in the age 40's and 50's groups, with p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively. Mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) was significantly higher in ex-smokers than in smokers in the age 40's group (p < 0.05). The two way analysis of variance on BMI and HDLC was conducted by smoking and drinking factors. BMI was related to only smoking in the age 40's and 50's groups. Smoking and drinking habit related to HDLC in the age 40's group and the latter habit had a relatively large association to HDLC. From the association between BMI and smoking habit, we speculate that exercise was practiced by ex-smokers due to the obesity potential of the ex-smoking status.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Prospective clinical study of the combination therapy of auranofin and methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis--a multi-center study].

In a study to evaluate the usefulness of DMARDs combination therapy for RA, AF and MTX were concurrently given to RA patients who had responded poorly to over three months of monotherapy of either AF or MTX. The study was composed of two stages. In the first stage, patients were concurrently given AF and MTX for six months in order to evaluate the efficacy of combination therapy. In the second stage, patients who had responded to the earlier combination therapy were again put on monotherapy of the additive DMARD. Safety evaluation was conducted with 126 patients, and both efficacy and utility were evaluated in 100 patients. Lansbury index for RA significantly improved in both groups of patients starting with the AF and followed by the MTX combination (Group I) and those who started with MTX alone followed by the AF combination (Group II). The ratio of patients who achieved slight improvement or better in the overall improvement rating was significantly higher in Group I at 74.6%, vs. 51.1% in Group II patients. Ten patients (16.9%) and 2 patients (4.9%) were switched to their additive DMARD monotherapy of MTX and AF respectively, having responded to the combination therapy in stage I with slight improvement or a better rating. Adverse events were observed in 44 patients (34.9%), but the combination therapy neither increased the incidence of adverse events nor caused new adverse events. Combination therapy of AF and MTX appeared to be useful both in terms of efficacy and safety for patients who have experienced the dwindling effect of monotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Risk factors for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis or systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate risk factors for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM). METHODS: The subjects were 75 patients hospitalized because of SLE or PM/DM who were administered corticosteroids 40 mg/day or above as prednisolone. The relationship between clinical symptoms of SLE and PM/DM and the occurrence of PCP was evaluated. RESULTS: Seven patients (9.3%) developed PCP and 3 died. Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis was observed in all 7 patients who developed PCP, and its incidence was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in those who did not develop PCP (6/68). The incidence of PCP in patients with SLE was 1.7%, but that of patients with PM/DM was 37.5%. The peripheral blood lymphocyte count was 1052.7/microliters in patients who developed PCP, which was significantly lower (p < 0.01) than 1841.6/microliters in patients who did not develop PCP. CONCLUSION: A low peripheral lymphocyte count and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis were considered risk factors for PCP in patients administered corticosteroids for SLE or PM/DM.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Influence of dietary fiber on the bioavailability of zinc in rats.

Young male albino rats were fed ad libitum semipurified diet supplemented with or without 5% of purified dietary fiber (cellulose, agar-agar, pectin, chitin or chitosan) for 31 days. Each test diet was carefully prepared in order to contain zinc at the level of 8 ppm from zinc acetate. In rats fed diets containing 5% of dietary fiber except chitosan, food consumption was higher than the control. The body weight gain of rats fed diets containing cellulose, pectin or chitin was higher than the control. However, food intake and body weight gain of rats fed the diet containing 5% of chitosan were definitely lower than not only the other fiber including diet groups but also the control group. When dietary fiber was added at 5% level to diet, zinc absorption was not changed to a considerable degree. But, the apparent zinc absorption of rats fed the agar-agar diet was 70%. On the other hand, zinc absorption in the pectin diet group was about 10% higher than the control. The total amount of zinc in tibia or femur of rats fed non-fiber diets was a little higher than that of rats fed fiber diets.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Transitional concentration of antibacterial agent to the maxillary sinus via a nebuliser.

Surface and tissue transitional concentration of 3% FOM aerosol for treatment of paranasal sinusitis was examined in 18 patients (21 sides) who underwent the Caldwell-Luc operation. In this operation, patients have a bony window on the sinus; we therefore investigated the difference of compliance of the maxillary sinus between when we closed the bony window with subcutaneous tissue and when we did it with a silicone sheet before the FOM nebulization. No significance was found in the mean concentration of FOM either at the maxillary sinus surface or in the tissue with or without the use of the silicone sheet. We also examined the concentration using a jet-type nebulizer and an ultra-sonic type nebulizer. Using the ultrasonic-type nebulizer resulted in a higher transitional concentration at two sites of the maxillary sinus surface than when using the jet-type nebulizer. The results suggest that the ultrasonic-type nebulizer is more effective in the treatment of paranasal sinusitis than the jet-type, and that there was no change of maxillary sinus compliance with or without a bony window.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1996

[P300 findings in patients with corticobasal degeneration].

An auditory discrimination paradigm was employed to elicit the P300 component of the event-related potentials from three patients with clinically diagnosed corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Presenile and senile dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT), vascular dementia (VD) and age-matched control subjects were also examined. All patients with CBD manifested limb kinetic apraxia, hemiparkinsonism and mild dementia. Brain MRI revealed marked parietal atrophy, which was predominant in contralateral to the extremities with severe motor dysfunction. 123I-IMP SPECT analysis showed asymmetric reduction of cerebral blood flow, in accordance with the MRI findings. The P300 latencies in the two CBD patients were markedly prolonged compared to those of DAT and VD patients, although they were not as severely demented as DAT and VD patient. It should be noted that the P300 was not detected in one patient with CBD. The latencies of the N100 were not significantly different among the all groups. These abnormal findings of the P300 may be characteristic in CBD, and, furthermore, may be associated with the parietal lobe atrophy and low blood flow in cortex and thalamus revealed by brain MRI and SPECT.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[Primary pituitary abscess: a case report].

We report a rare case of primary pituitary abscess. A 53-year-old female was admitted to our hospital with headache and visual field defect. CT and MRI demonstrated an intrasellar cystic mass and suprasellar solid mass. Intrasellar cystic mass had peripheral enhancement. Suprasellar solid mass had homogeneous enhancement. Transsphenoidal surgery was performed. A purulent material was aspirated from the intrasellar region. Histological examination of the purulent material revealed an infiltration of inflammatory cells and pituitary cells. There were no tumor components or epithelium. The postoperative course was uneventful. The patient was discharged from our hospital without neurological deficits. Two years after surgery, she still has no neurological deficits and no recurrence of intra- and suprasellar mass on MR image.

Abscess↗
PubMed1996

Ca2+ sensitivity and caffeine-induced changes in skinned cardiac muscle fibers of the carp, Cyprinus carpio.

Ca2+ sensitivity and caffeine-induced sensitivity changes in skinned carp heart fibers were compared with those of guinea pig and rat heart. The Ca2+ concentration-response curves of saponin-treated left atrial skinned fibers obtained from guinea pig and rat were almost identical. Doses of 5 and 20 mmol.l-1 caffeine shifted this curve to the left. However, when a relatively high concentration (50 mmol.l-1) of caffeine was used, the left-ward shift was reduced. Caffeine reduced the peak of the Ca2+ concentration-response curve. The Ca2+ concentration-response curve of carp atrial skinned fiber is almost identical to that of guinea pig and rat. However, a further increase in Ca2+ sensitivity was observed even when 50 mmol.l-1 caffeine was added. Similarly, a decrease in the response curve peak was also observed. Ca2+ sensitivity in ventricular skinned fibers obtained from carp was almost the same as that observed for the atrial, but the increase in Ca2+ sensitivity due to caffeine was larger. In addition, a further increase was also observed when 50 mmol.l-1 caffeine was added. These results indicate that the Ca2+ sensitivity of contractile proteins in atrial muscles from carp heart is the same as that of guinea pig and rat. It is, however, assumed that there are some differences in properties in the contractile proteins. It is also assumed that there are some differences between the atrial and ventricular muscles of carp heart.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[A successful case of surgical treatment for the bronchogastric tube fistula originated in the reconstructed gastric tube after operation for esophageal cancer].

A successful case of surgical treatment for a bronchogastric tube fistula after resection for esophageal cancer are reported herein. The patient was a 67-year-old male who had undergone blunt total esophagectomy with reconstruction of a whole gastric tube pulled up through the posterior mediastinum and laryngopharyngectomy with a permanent end-tracheostomy in February, 1983. After the operation, he was irradiated prophylactically to the both neck and upper mediastinum with a total dose of 50 Gy. He showed no sign of recurrence. But 11 years after the operation, he complained excretion of food from his tracheostomy. Endoscopical examination on admission revealed an ulcer in the anterior wall of the reconstructed gastric tube penetrating to the right main bronchus. He was treated conservatively, but endoscopy didn't reveal the ulcer in healing. So we performed an operation. At first the gastric tube and the right main bronchus were divided. Then we attempted to close each fistula. We could suture the gastric tube wall tightly. The membranous wall of bronchus around the fistula was weak, but we could close that fistula without air leak by using the azygos vein flap. His postoperative course was uneventful. We consider that postoperative irradiation, administration of antibiotics, and bile reflux etc. might play significant role in development of the penetrating ulcer.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Immunohistochemical detection of coagulation factor XIIIa in postmortem human brain tissue.

Blood coagulation factor XIII is responsible for stabilizing fibrin clots by catalyzing the formation of covalent bonds between lysine amino groups and glutamine carboxyl groups. A smaller form of factor XIII called factor XIIIa (FXIIIa) occurs intracellularly in platelets, monocytes and peripheral macrophages. Using a specific antibody to FXIIIa, we detected this molecule immunohistochemically in a subpopulation of reactive microglia and macrophages in a number of neurological disease states. These included Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative disorders. FXIIIa was also detected in capillaries and some leukocytes in both control and neurologically diseased tissue. FXIIIa is known to cross-link a variety of proteins in addition to fibrin. Its occurrence in some reactive microglia suggests a possible role in the fundamental pathology.

Adrenoleukodystrophy↗
PubMed1995

Identification and localization of gene expression of a low M(r) GTP-binding protein, ram p25 in pituitary gland.

The localization of gene expression of a low M(r) GTP-binding protein, ram p25, was examined throughout the entire brain of adult rat by in situ hybridization. ram-mRNA was expressed predominantly in anterior and intermediate lobes of pituitary gland (hypophysis), and weakly in hippocampal formation. In other parts of brain, no significant expression of ram-mRNA was detected, indicating that ram p25 may have an important role(s) in adenohypophysis. In 15-day-fetal rat, the mRNA was observed to be expressed strongly in the primitive anterior lobe of pituitary gland. The ram p25 was also detected in bovine pituitary gland by a specific antibody and was purified to near homogeneity by stepwise column chromatographies. Biochemical characterization of the purified ram p25 revealed that the profile of [35S]GTP gamma S-binding activity was almost the same as that of recombinant ram p25 expressed in E. coli.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Immunohistochemical investigation of tau-positive structures in the cerebral cortex of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy.

We have investigated tau-positive structures immunohistochemically in the cerebral cortex of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). In addition to neurofibrillary tangles, a variety of tau-positive structures occur. They are particularly abundant in the precentral gyrus and other frontal cortices. Double immunostaining has demonstrated that coil-like structures (coiled bodies) are located in the oligodendroglial cell bodies. Three forms of tau-positive astrocytic inclusions are discerned: those with tuft-like profiles, thorn-like structures, and concentric clusters of short stubby fibers. The concentric clusters of tau-positive fibers are present in some, but not all, PSP brains. They appear to be identical to 'astrocytic plaques' previously reported in patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD). PSP and CBD might share a common pathological background which causes abnormal accumulation of tau protein in neurons and glial cells of neuroectodermal origin.

Aged↗