Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Minakami

Publications and source records attributed to H Minakami.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

[Cyst of the tunica albuginea testis: a case report].

The patient is a 75-year-old male presenting with a chief complaint of a left painless intrascrotal mass. The left testis was tense to palpation with induration inside. Ultrasonography demonstrated a 3.0 x 1.5 cm cystic space along the margin of the left testis. Left high orchiectomy was performed. Histopathological diagnosis was tunica albuginea cyst. Important differential diagnosis includes a simple testicular cyst and epidermoid cyst of the testis.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Increased levels of plasma thrombomodulin in preeclampsia.

Plasma levels of thrombomodulin (TM), a glycoprotein found on the surface of the endothelial cells, are elevated in certain diseases that are characterized by damage to the vascular endothelium. Such damage is thought to be involved in preeclampsia. We therefore studied the plasma levels of this substance in 13 preeclamptic women as compared with 14 normal pregnant and 16 nonpregnant women. We found that the plasma levels of TM were significantly elevated in preeclamptic women vs. controls. A significant positive correlation was observed between the plasma TM level and that of serum creatinine. It is thus suggested that elevated TM levels in preeclampsia may reflect a decrease in renal clearance rather than vascular endothelial damage.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Testicular tumor following orchiopexy. A case report].

A case of testicular tumor occurring after orchiopexy is presented. The patient, a 21-year-old male, who had undergone bilateral orchiopexy 14 years before was admitted to our clinic on February 17 in 1992 because of left testicular tumor. Computed tomography showed left inguinal and paraaortic lymphnode metastases. Left high orchiectomy was performed. The tumor was histologically diagnosed to be mixed tumors of embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac tumor and choriocarcinoma. After two courses of chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, etoposide and bleomycin (PEB regimen), LDH and tumor markers (HCG, HCG-beta) returned to the normal range. The size of retroperitoneal metastasis was significantly reduced and inguinal metastasis disappeared. Therefore retroperitoneal and left inguinal lymphadenectomy were performed. Pathological examination of the resected retroperitoneal and left inguinal lymphnodes revealed embryonal carcinoma and no residual tumor cells, respectively. Additionally, two courses of chemotherapy were performed after surgery. His postoperative course was uneventful and ten months of follow-up showed no evidence of recurrence.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Clinical evaluation of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase on prediction of diabetic nephropathy].

To assess whether urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) could be used as a predictor of diabetic nephropathy, renal tubular enzymes such as NAG and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma GTP), albumin, total protein and beta 2-microglobulin (BMG) in urine and/or serum were measured in various stages of diabetic nephropathy. As a predictor of diabetic nephropathy, urinary NAG was the most useful indicator among of them. Urinary gamma GTP had no clinical benefit on early detection of diabetic nephropathy although in cis-platin induced nephrotoxicity both urinary gamma GTP and NAG increased in parallel. Increase of urinary NAG appeared in diabetic patients prior to clinical proteinuria. With appearance of proteinuria, urinary NAG more increased. Urinary NAG correlated significantly with HbAlc and BMG in serum (sBMG). It is therefore needed for clinical application of urinary NAG as a predictor of diabetic nephropathy that control states of blood glucose in the patients should be considered. However, the results of sequential measurements of urinary NAG, sBMG and HbAlc in 78 diabetic patients for 18-month period showed that only urinary NAG was a responsible factor for elevation of sBMG known as an indicator of deterioration of renal function. These results indicate that renal tubular damage may already exist in early-stage of diabetic nephropathy, and that increase of urinary NAG activity is a useful predictor of diabetic nephropathy.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1991

Alcohols protect Escherichia coli against cold shock.

Alcohols protect Escherichia coli against cold shock, and the concentration of alcohol which provided optimal protection declined with increasing hydrophobicity of the alcohol. The rate of loss of viability after the chilling transition was decreased by n-octanol, even when it was added after that chilling transition. Cold-shocked cells exhibited a sensitivity toward dioxygen, seen as greater enumeration on anaerobic, rather than on aerobic, trypticase-yeast extract agar plates, and addition of catalase or antioxidants, such as alpha-tocopherol or probucol, to the agar plates did not lessen this dioxygen sensitivity. Respiratory capacity was diminished by cold shock, and cyanide-sensitive respiration was more affected than was cyanide-resistant respiration. Discharging the proton gradient, with the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide trifluoromethoxy-phenylhydrazone, did not change sensitivity to cold shock. There was no evidence for minimal medium recovery after cold shock. The data presented, as well as that already in the literature, are explained on the basis of membrane damage caused by patches of ordering transitions in one membrane leaflet, unmatched by comparable transitions in the mating leaflet.

1-Octanol↗
PubMed1990

Effects of paraquat on cultures of Escherichia coli: turbidity versus enumeration.

The dioxygen-dependent toxicity of paraquat has been studied both in terms of its effects on growth, monitored as increases in turbidity, and on viability, measured by plating and counting of colonies. In the absence of paraquat, turbidity and enumeration increased in parallel. However, in the presence of paraquat, turbidity increased for several hours even while enumeration indicated a marked decrease in viability. The basis for this apparent discrepancy is continued increase in size of individual cells, which have stopped dividing and are losing viability under the influence of paraquat. It can evidently be misleading to study the effects of paraquat on microorganisms in terms of changes in turbidity.

Colony Count, Microbial↗
PubMed1990

Relationship between growth of Escherichia coli and susceptibility to the lethal effect of paraquat.

Paraquat, which mediates increased O2- production within Escherichia coli, inhibits growth without causing cell death in a minimal medium, whereas it allows growth while decreasing viability in a rich medium. Agents or conditions that inhibit growth in the paraquat-containing rich medium prevent this loss of viability. Antibiotics, chelating agents, nutritional paucity, and excess paraquat all acted this way. NaCl added to 0.2 M to the plates used for enumeration after paraquat exposure did not significantly decrease viable cell counts, although it did so after exposure to a cationic detergent. DNA, rather than cell membranes, thus seems to be a more likely target for the oxygen-derived free radicals engendered by the cycles of enzymatic reduction and autoxidation of paraquat. Inhibition of growth decreases the likelihood that DNA replication will precede DNA repair. Investigators seeking to evaluate the bactericidal actions of paraquat under a variety of conditions will need to be cognizant of this need for growth.

Chelating Agents↗
PubMed1990

Effects of paraquat on Escherichia coli: differences between B and K-12 strains.

Escherichia coli B and K-12 are equally susceptible to the bacteriostatic effects of aerobic paraquat, but they differed strikingly when the lethality of paraquat was evaluated. E. coli B suffered an apparent loss of viability when briefly exposed to paraquat, whereas E. coli K-12 did not. This difference depended on the ability of the B strain, but not the K-12 strain, to retain internalized paraquat; the B strain was killed on aerobic tryptic soy-yeast extract plates during the incubation which preceded the counting of colonies. This difference in retention of paraquat between strains was demonstrated by delayed loss of viability, by growth inhibition, and by cyanide-resistant respiration after brief exposure to paraquat, washing, and testing in fresh medium. This difference was also shown by using [14C]paraquat. This previously unrecognized difference between E. coli B and K-12 has been the cause of apparently contradictory reports and should lead to some reevaluation of the pertinent literature.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1990

Effects of pH, glucose, and chelating agents on lethality of paraquat to Escherichia coli.

Retention of paraquat by Escherichia coli B was greatest after exposure at pH 9.0 and was progressively less after exposure at pH 7.0 and 5.0, respectively. This retained paraquat was capable of persistent growth inhibition. Uptake and retention of paraquat by E. coli B was dependent upon a carbon source, such as glucose. Under comparable conditions E. coli K-12 did not retain paraquat. The lethality of paraquat was seen in TSY medium but not in VB medium. The addition of Soytone, tryptone, or yeast extract, to the VB medium allowed the lethality of paraquat to be seen. A variety of chelating agents, including EDTA, 8-hydroxyquinoline, and o-phenanthroline, prevented the lethal effect of paraquat in TSY medium. Although EDTA protected against the lethality of paraquat, it did not protect against its bacteriostatic effect.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1989

Recurrent pancreatitis in the third trimester in 2 consecutive pregnancies--its relationship to liver histology: a case report.

A 20-year-old woman who had recurrent pancreatitis in the third trimester in 2 consecutive pregnancies was reported. Her liver histology was indistinguishable from acute fatty liver of pregnancy, although she showed no clinical signs. The relationship between idiopathic acute pancreatitis during pregnancy and acute fatty liver of pregnancy was discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Hepatocellular lipofuscin in pre-eclampsia.

Thirty liver specimens from 30 pre-eclamptic women with and without liver dysfunction were examined for the amount of lipofuscin pigment deposited. The amount of hepatic lipofuscin correlated positively with plasma urate concentrations. This finding may indicate an involvement of oxygen-free radicals and xanthine oxidase in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia.

Female↗
PubMed1989

Effect of hydergine in hyperprolactinemia.

The PRL-inhibiting and ovulation-inducing effects of hydergine were studied in 18 patients with hyperprolactinemic ovulatory disturbances. The women were divided into 2 groups of 9 each. Those in group A had basal serum PRL levels higher than 100 micrograms/L, and those in group B had basal serum PRL levels lower than 100 micrograms/L. Serum PRL levels in both groups were determined before and hourly for 8 h after a single oral dose of either 2 mg hydergine or placebo. Hydergine induced a significant (P less than 0.01) decrease in the serum PRL level, compared with placebo, in both groups. The fall in mean serum PRL in group A was significant (P less than 0.05) 300 min after hydergine administration, and the concentration remained low at 480 min, at 45.5% of the mean baseline value. However, the serum PRL concentration did not reach the normal PRL range in any group A patient. Chronic treatment with this drug (2 mg, 3 times daily, for 4-12 weeks) in 5 patients from group A normalized the serum PRL concentration in only 1 patient and did not induce ovulation in any patient. In group B, also, hydergine administration significantly (P less than 0.01) reduced the mean serum PRL concentration within 240 min, and it declined further to within the normal range. The mean maximal reduction was to 56.4% of the baseline value at 360 min. All of the group B women received chronic treatment (2 mg, 3 times daily, for 4-104 weeks); repeated ovulation was induced in 7 (78%). Seven pregnancies ensued in 6 of the women in whom ovulation had been induced, and 4 normal infants were delivered. There were no side-effects, such as nausea and vomiting, during these trials. These data indicate that hydergine has PRL inhibitory activity and is useful in the treatment of hyperprolactinemic anovulatory patients whose basal serum PRL concentrations are below 100 micrograms/L.

Adolescent↗