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Biomedical subjects

H Minami

Publications and source records attributed to H Minami.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Lung cancer treated surgically in patients <50 years of age.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Some investigators have suggested that lung cancer in young patients has a more aggressive course and a poorer prognosis than lung cancer in older patients. The aim of this study was to determine if the basal characteristics and survival in younger patients with lung cancer undergoing surgical resection differ from those of older patients. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. PATIENTS: Of 1,208 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for primary lung cancer between June 1984 and March 2000, we reviewed the medical records of 110 younger patients who were < 50 years of age at the time of surgery and compared them with 1,098 older patients (> or = 50 years of age). All deaths were included. RESULTS: In the younger patient group, asymptomatic disease and adenocarcinoma was significantly more frequent, the rate of smoking was significantly higher, and the amount of smoking (Brinkman index) was significantly larger. For the 94 younger patients with complete resection, the 5-year survival rate was 61.0%, which was not significantly higher than that for the 923 older patients (57.7%). However, the 53 younger patients with stage I disease (5-year survival of 84.3%) had significantly better survival than older patients with the same condition (71.6%). Survival of patients in stage II or stage III disease was not significantly different. CONCLUSION: The younger patients had significantly better prognoses, and a statistical difference was shown especially in the early stage, while in the advanced stage the malignancy of the lung cancer itself surpassed the difference in survival.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2001

Frank-Starling mechanism retains recirculation fraction of myocardial Ca(2+) in the beating heart.

Myocardial Ca(2+) handling in excitation-contraction coupling is the second primary determinant of energy or O(2) demand in a working heart. The intracellular and extracellular routes remove myocardial Ca(2+) that was released into the sarcoplasma with different Ca(2+): ATP stoichiometries. The intracellular route is twice as economical as the extracellular route. Therefore the fraction of total Ca(2+) removed via the sarcoplasmic reticulum, i.e., the recirculation fraction of intracellular Ca(2+) (RF), determines the economy of myocardial Ca(2+) handling. RF has conventionally been estimated as the exponential decay rate of postextrasystolic potentiation (PESP). However, we have found that PESP usually decays in alternans, but not exponentially in the canine left ventricle beating above 100 beats/min. We have succeeded in estimating RF from the exponential decay component of an alternans PESP. We previously found that the Frank-Starling mechanism or varied ventricular preload did not affect the economy of myocardial Ca(2+) handling. Then, to account for this important finding, we hypothesized that the Frank-Starling mechanism would not affect RF at a constant heart rate. We tested this hypothesis and found its supportive evidence in 11 canine left ventricles. We conclude that RF at a constant heart rate would remain constant, independent of the Frank-Starling mechanism.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2001

Anchoring the Duran flexible annuloplasty ring with continuous sutures.

We practised a deviced method of anchoring the Duran flexible ring with continuous sutures. After passing through 3/0 monofilament sutures at the right and left fibrous trigones, both sutures are passed through the ring between the corresponding ring marker and continuous sutures are placed to attach the ring to the mitral valve annulus. This technique requires less time to anchor the ring than the original method with interrupted sutures and can prevent narrowing the mitral valve annulus following the deformity of the flexible ring. This technique can contribute to extend the indication of the prosthetic ring in mitral valve surgery.

Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation↗
PubMed2001

[Complete remission of brain metastases from prostate cancer by gamma knife radiosurgery: a case report].

A 59-year-old male visited us with a chief complaint of dysuria. The serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was within normal limits, and intravenous pyelography and urethrocystography showed no abnormal findings. Because of his urinary retention, transurethral resection of prostate was performed under a clinical diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The pathological diagnosis was poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Not only combination hormone therapy with goserelin acetate and flutamide, but also intermittent arterial infusion chemotherapy with cisplatin (CDDP) and pirarubicin (THP) using a reservoir system was administered. Additionally total pelvic irradiation was delivered. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated that his prostate was reduced to less than 50% in size and he had no difficulty in voiding. He suddenly developed dysarthria and hemiplegia 3 months later. MRI and computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple brain metastases. After the gamma knife radiosurgery, neurological findings disappeared and MRI showed dramatic shrinkage of metastatic brain tumors. Metastasis to the pancreas was recognized on CT and he died of multiple organ failure 30 months after his first visit.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2001

Phase I and pharmacological study of a new camptothecin derivative, exatecan mesylate (DX-8951f), infused over 30 minutes every three weeks.

PURPOSE: A Phase I study of exatecan, a new water-soluble camptothecin derivative, was conducted to determine the maximum tolerated dose and a recommended dose, according to an internationally standardized core protocol. Pharmacological profiles of lactone and total (lactone + carboxylate) exatecan were also investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with advanced solid malignancies were treated with 3, 5, and 6.65 mg/m(2) of exatecan infused over 30 min every 3 weeks. Concentrations of lactone, total drug, and a metabolite in plasma and urine were determined during the first course. RESULTS: Dose-limiting neutropenia and liver dysfunction were observed in two of six patients at 6.65 mg/m(2), but no grade 3 or worse diarrhea was observed. Emesis was moderate, and no grade 3 or worse nausea and vomiting were observed at a recommended dose of 5 mg/m(2), with prophylactic use of granisetron. Pharmacokinetics were linear and had moderate variability; clearances of lactone and total drug were 6.8 +/- 2.8 and 2.1 +/- 1.1 (mean +/- SD) l/h/m(2), respectively. The ratio of lactone concentration to total drug concentration in plasma decreased from 0.81 +/- 0.06 at the end of infusion to 0.15 +/- 0.06 10 h after the infusion. The lactone:total ratio of drug exposure was 0.30 +/- 0.08, ranging from 0.16 to 0.43. Neutropenia was related to the drug exposure of both lactone and total drug. CONCLUSIONS: The recommended dose of exatecan infused over 30 min every 3 weeks is 5 mg/m(2), with a favorable toxicity profile of mild and infrequent diarrhea. Interpatient variability of pharmacokinetics was similar to or smaller than that with other camptothecin derivatives.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Intraarterial infusion of papaverine and change of cerebral hemodynamics in symptomatic cerebral vasospasm.

In 43 cases with symptomatic cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage treated by intraarterial infusion of papaverine (IAP), we studied cerebral hemodynamics by measuring cerebral circulation time (CCT) using digital subtraction angiogram. CCT on the middle cerebral artery site was defined as CCT-LAV and on the anterior cerebral artery side as CCT-MAV. In the CCT-LAV, two phases were further defined; the arterial phase (CCT-A) and the capillary phase (CCT-CAP). Mean CCT-LAV before and after IAP was 6.35+/-1.69 sec, 4.91+/-1.56 sec, and mean CCT-MAV was 6.15+/-1.68 sec, 4.80+/-1.58 sec, each showing a significant shortening. Mean CCT-A before and after IAP was 0.274+/-0.105 sec, 0.226+/-0.066 sec and mean CCT-CAP was 6.00+/-1.62 sec and 4.60+/-1.55 sec. The shortening rate of CCT-A and CCT-CAP were 11.2+/-25.7% and 22.7+/-14.6% respectively. Our study confirmed that IAP shortened CCT and improved cerebral hemodynamics. Compared with CCT-A, CCT-CAP was shortened significantly, suggesting that IAP is working not only in the proximal vessels but also in the distal vessels, that is, effective for resolution of vasospasm in the view of cerebral microcirculation. Clinical outcome was not improved statistically, however, it is the fact that there are not a few cases improved neurologically and IAP is still useful for vasospasm as a means to directly dilate intracranial peripheral arteries.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Purification, cloning, and three-dimensional structure prediction of Micrococcus luteus FAD-containing tyramine oxidase.

The FAD-containing tyramine oxidase enzyme and gene from the Gram (+) bacterium Micrococcus luteus were isolated, and computer prediction was used to propose a preliminary 3D model of the protein. A 2.8-kb Sau3AI fragment containing the structural gene of tyramine oxidase was cloned from a M. luteus genomic DNA library. The 1332 bp gene encodes a protein of 443 amino acids, with a calculated molecular mass of 49.1 kDa. The enzyme was found to be a homodimer with a molecular weight of 49,000. It oxidizes tyramine, adrenaline, 3-hydroxytyramine, dopamine, and noradrenaline, and was reversibly inhibited by FAD-containing monoamine oxidase A and B specific inhibitors. Sequence comparison show that tyramine oxidase is smaller than other FAD-amine oxidases but that it contains well-conserved amino acid residues reported in all other FAD-amine oxidases. A hypothetical three-dimensional structure of tyramine oxidase has also been proposed based on secondary structure predictions, threading, and comparative modeling.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Primary osteosarcoma of heart with severe congestive heart failure.

We present a case report on a 54-year-old woman with extraskeletal osteosarcoma of the left atrium featuring severe congestive heart failure. We resected the tumor, which occupied the left atrium and had widely infiltrated the atrial wall, but the patients died of the tumor 9 months after surgery. This is to our knowledge the 32nd case of cardiac osteosarcoma ever reported.

Female↗
PubMed2000

Vitamin B6 phototoxicity induced by UVA radiation.

We have previously reported that pyridoxine shows UVA-induced cytotoxicity. Four other vitamin B6 compounds (pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, pyridoxal phosphate, and pyridoxamine phosphate) are metabolically more important in vivo than pyridoxine. These compounds were examined for UVA phototoxicity to cultured human fibroblasts. The cytotoxicity was measured by post-UVA irradiation colony-forming ability. All the B6 compounds except pyridoxal phosphate showed cytotoxicity. Pyridoxamine phosphate, which is the most important form of vitamin B6 in vivo, had the strongest cytotoxic effect. To examine the involvement of reactive oxygen species in the phototoxicity, we performed an electron spin resonance study using the spin trapping agent, 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide, and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid. We failed to detect radicals derived from vitamin B6. The cytotoxic effect remained in UVA-irradiated solutions for at least 30 min after the end of UVA irradiation. Hydrogen peroxide was produced in the solution, but the amount was not enough to cause cytotoxicity. In addition, the cells from xeroderma pigmentosum patients who belong to group A or C showed survival curves similar to those of normal fibroblasts. This suggests that cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers or 6-4 photoproducts of DNA were not involved in this damage. These findings suggest that UVA-induced vitamin B6 cytotoxicity is caused by toxic photoproducts resulting from irradiated vitamin B6.

Cell Line↗
PubMed2000

Enhancement of retrovirus-mediated gene transfer to rat liver in vivo by infusion of hepatocyte growth factor and triiodothyronine.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gene transfer using recombinant Moloney murine leukemia viruses (rMoMuLV) requires mitosis of the target cell. Previously, we and others have used partial hepatectomy for induction of hepatocellular proliferation for gene transfer to the liver in vivo by exsanguineous perfusion with rMo-MuLV. We hypothesized that induction of hepatocellular proliferation by combined administration of two hepatocellular mitogens, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and triiodothyronine (T3), should permit rMo-MuLV-mediated gene transfer into liver without invasive approaches. METHODS: HGF (1 mg/kg) was perfused continuously into the portal vein of Wistar male rats and T3 (2 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously. Twenty-four hours after injecting HGF and T3, the state of proliferation of hepatocytes was estimated from the incorporation of 5'-bromo-2'-deoxy-uridine (BrdU). The amphotropic retroviral receptor (Ram-1) expression of liver was evaluated at different time points after injecting HGF and T3 by means of Northern blotting using Ram-1 cDNA probe. In order to evaluate the role of hormone treatment on gene transfer, the liver was perfused exsanguineously with rMoMuLV 24 h after injection with hormones. RESULTS: Rats treated with a combination of HGF and T3 expressed BrdU and beta-galactosidase in 8.3% and 0.7% of hepatocytes, respectively. On the other hand, there was near absence of gene transfer in untreated rats perfused with rMoMuLV Twenty-four hours after the initial manipulation, abundant expression of Ram-1 mRNA was observed in rat hepatocytes treated with HGF plus T3. CONCLUSIONS: Stimulation of hepatocellular mitosis and upregulation of Ram-1 expression by HGF and T3 augment retrovirus-mediated gene transfer into hepatocytes.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

A preliminary report of the treatment of blue nevus with dermal injection of riboflavin and exposure to near-ultraviolet/visible radiation (ribophototherapy).

Dye lasers are useful for treating pigmented skin lesions, but their equipment is expensive and bulky. A simple and cheap phototherapy would be acceptable to dermatologists for treating pigmented skin lesions such as nevus of Ota. We investigated as a pilot study whether dermal injection of riboflavin and exposure to near-ultraviolet/visible radiation (ribophototherapy) decreases the dermal pigment of blue nevi which are recalcitrant to laser therapy. The therapeutic efficacy was assessed by comparison of the amount of dermal pigment in hematoxylin-eosin specimens taken before and after treatment. Pigmentation of the nevus became faint to the depth of 1 mm with little noticeable epidermal change after 21 treatments. At the deeper dermis somewhere between 3 and 4 mm from the epidermis, ballooning degeneration of the dermal cells was observed in hematoxylin-eosin specimens. Ribophototherapy is hopeful for treating pigmented skin lesions.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Dose-escalation study of CHOP with or without prophylactic G-CSF in aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: CHOP is accepted as the gold standard for first line chemotherapy of aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). A dose-escalation study of CHOP was conducted to determine the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) and toxicity profile of CHOP at three-week intervals with or without prophylactic recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rHuG-CSF) in patients with aggressive NHL. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The doses of drugs were escalated from 50 mg/m2 to 70 mg/m2 for doxorubicin and from 750 mg/m2 to 2250 mg/m2 for cyclophosphamide, with conventional doses of vincristine and oral prednisolone. After the MTD was determined without rHuG-CSF, dose escalation was conducted with prophylactic rHuG-CSF. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients with NHL were enrolled into the study. The MTD without prophylactic rHuG-CSF was 70 mg/m2 of doxorubicin and 1250 mg/m2 of cyclophosphamide, with neutropenia as a dose-limiting toxicity. The MTD with prophylactic rHuG-CSF was 70 mg/m2 of doxorubicin and 2250 mg/m2 of cyclophosphamide. The overall response rate was 100% (76% complete response and 24% partial response). Progression-free survival and overall survival at five years were 45% and 66%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Significant dose escalation of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide was feasible with prophylactic rHuG-CSF. The efficacy of dose-escalated CHOP should be compared with that of standard CHOP.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Compound heterozygous group A xeroderma pigmentosum patient with a novel mutation and an inherited reciprocal translocation.

The severity of neurological abnormalities in Japanese group A xeroderma pigmentosum (XP-A) patients correlates with the sites of non-sense mutation in the XP-A gene. We describe a patient who presented with a more severe photosensitivity and neurological abnormality than those in typical Japanese XP-A patients with a splicing mutation in intron 3. The patient was compound heterozygous for the splicing mutation in intron 3, which resulted in formation of a non-sense codon in exon 4, and a novel non-sense mutation at codon 208 in exon 5, a C to T transition creating a stop codon TAG. Although the combination of these mutations might have been thought to cause only mild neurological signs, the longer truncated XP-A proteins than those of typical XP-A patients may have resulted in severe neurological symptoms. This phenomenon may be explained by a translocation of chromosome (1;10)(q25.3;q22.3) inherited from his father.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Two new meliacarpinins from the roots of Melia azedarach.

Two new azadirachtin-type limonoids, 1-methacrylyl-3-acetyl-11-methoxymeliacarpinin (1) and 1-(2-methylpropanoyl)-3-acetyl-11-methoxymeliacarpinin (2), together with the known compounds, meliacarpinin D (3), melianin B (4) and 2 beta,3 beta-dihydroxy-5 alpha-pregn-17(20)-(Z)-en-16-one (5), were isolated from the roots of Melia azedarach. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data and comparison of their NMR data with those of 3. Compounds 1 and 5 exhibited significant activity in the brine shrimp lethality test (BST).

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Three new sesquiterpene lactones from the pericarps of Illicium merrillianum.

Structures of three new sesquiterpene lactones 1-3, isolated from the pericarps of Illicium merrillianum, have been assigned as 14-O-benzoylfloridanolide, 2,10-epoxy-3-dehydroxypseudoanisatin and 7-O-methylpseudomajucin on the basis of spectroscopic data and chemical transformation. The structure of 2, having an ether linkage between C-2 and C-10, has been confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis.

China↗
PubMed2000

Lung cancer in women: sex-associated differences in survival of patients undergoing resection for lung cancer.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze various characteristics and survival in female patients treated surgically for lung cancer. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. PATIENTS: From 1,242 consecutive cases of primary non-small cell lung cancer treated with pulmonary resection between June 1984 and December 1998, 337 female patients (27.1%) were chosen. RESULTS: Female patients had the following characteristics: a significantly younger age at onset (62.5 +/- 0.56 years vs 64.1 +/- 0.31 years for men), a higher frequency of adenocarcinoma (86.0% vs 48.3% for men), and smaller tumors (32.7 mm vs 38.3 mm in diameter for men). Peripheral tumors were significantly more common in women than men (71.8% vs 50.6%, respectively). Among 686 patients with a history of smoking, the women smoked significantly less often (12.8% vs 91.4% for men). Complete resection was achieved significantly less often in women (79.6% vs 85.2% for men); however, women having complete resection survived significantly longer than their male counterparts. Women with a postoperative negative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) had a significantly better prognosis than men; however, women with a postoperative positive CEA did not. Women > or = 60 years old survived significantly longer than their male counterparts, while women < 60 years old did not. CONCLUSIONS: Once the tumor was resected completely, women survived longer, partly due to the influence of life expectancy. However, the incidence of malignant effusion was higher and the rate of complete resection was lower in women.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen↗
PubMed2000

Localization of mRNAs for novel, atypical as well as conventional protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms in the brain of developing and mature rats.

Using in situ hybridization histochemistry, the localization of mRNAs for 10 isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) in the rat brain was studied at embryonic and postnatal stages. In the embryonic brain, the gene expression was positive only for PKCepsilon, mu, lambda, and zeta with the former three more evident: The expression for PKCmu and lambda in the ventricular germinal zone and that for PKCepsilon, zeta, and lambda in the mantle zone. In the postnatal brain, the expression for PKCdelta, eta, and theta was detected differentially in a few circumscribed loci such as the thalamus, the habenula, the septum, and the cerebellar granule cells, whereas that for the other isoforms was seen widely in various loci of the gray matter with different intensity. The expression in the cerebellar external granule cell layer was positive only for PKCbeta (betaI and betaII), mu, and lambda with that for PKCbeta confined to its inner zone. There is a general tendency for all PKC isoforms that the expression levels reach at peaks in early postnatal brain and decreases more or less in adult specimens. This is the first report on the spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the gene expression for the whole members of PKC family in the brain throughout development, especially at embryonic days.

Aging↗