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Biomedical subjects

H Muranaka

Publications and source records attributed to H Muranaka.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

A syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone associated with pleuritis caused by OK-432.

We here report a case presenting with the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) after having been treated for pleurodesis with OK-432, which is a lyophilized preparation of an attenuated strain of Streptococcus pyogenes. The patient, who had undergone a subtotal esophagectomy 4 years previously, was referred to our department after the diagnosis of a metastatic lung tumor. A right lower lobectomy of the lung was performed, and prolonged air leakage from a pulmonary fistula thereafter developed because of the dissection of severe pleural adhesion. OK-432 (5 klinische einheiten) was administered to the pleural cavity 3 times. On the 13th postoperative day, the patient began to complain of general fatigue and nausea. SIADH was diagnosed based on laboratory findings such as hyponatremia, serum hypo-osmolality and a high excretion of sodium in the urine. A restriction of the fluid intake with a sodium supplement resulted in the return to a normal serum level within 2 weeks. We therefore concluded that the intrapleural instillation of OK-432 had apparently caused SIADH in this case, because no other causes could be found.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1998

Therapeutic effect of erythromycin on influenza virus-induced lung injury in mice.

Erythromycin (EM) is an antibiotic with potent antiinflammatory effects that is used for treating chronic lower respiratory tract infections. It has been shown that free radicals, such as the superoxide anion and nitric oxide (NO), are pathogenic molecules in viral disease. Much attention has been given to a critical role of NO in the pathologic events of various inflammatory diseases. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of EM on influenza-virus-induced pneumonia in mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza virus A/Kumamoto/Y5/67 (H2N2). The administration of EM at a dose of 3.3 mg/kg/d (intraperitoneally, from Days 1 to 6 after infection), significantly improved the survival rate of mice infected with influenza virus, and the survival rate of the virus-infected mice at Day 20 after infection increased in a dose-dependent fashion with EM administered to the animals, from 14% among controls to 42% among animals given EM at 1.0 mg/kg/d and 57% among those given EM at 3.3 mg/kg/d. The induction of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in the mouse lung was inhibited by EM treatment on Day 6 after infection. Simultaneously, the number of inflammatory cells recovered in lung lavage fluid 6 d after virus infection was significantly reduced by the treatment with EM. The EM treatment resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the level of nitrite/nitrate (metabolites of NO) in the serum and the NO synthase (NOS)-inducting potential in the lungs of the virus-infected mice. These results indicate that EM may have substantial therapeutic value for various acute inflammatory disorders such as influenza-virus-induced pneumonia, by inhibiting inflammatory-cell responses and suppressing NO overproduction in the lung.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Superoxide scavenging activity of erythromycin-iron complex.

We evaluated superoxide (O2-.) scavenging activity of erythromycin (EM) and of EM-iron complex by means of electron spin resonance spectroscopy, luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay, and cytochrome c reduction assay. The EM-iron complex was produced by mixing EM with equal molar iron chloride and was stable in neutral buffer. The EM-iron complex reduced the amount of O2-. produced by xanthine oxidase/hypoxanthine without inhibiting the enzyme activity. It also reduced the amount of O2-. release from phorbor ester-stimulated human neutrophils and alveolar macrophages. EM alone showed few such effects. The scavenging activity of the complex was equal to that of L-ascorbic acid. These results in vitro suggest a possibility that the O2-.-scavenging effect of EM-iron complex contributes to the anti-inflammatory action of EM used in treating chronic inflammatory lung disease independent of its antimicrobial activity.

Erythromycin↗
PubMed1997

Chronic expanding hematoma in the chest.

We herein report the successful surgical treatment of 2 cases of chronic expanding hematoma in the chest. The first patient, who had undergone thoracoplasty 42 years earlier due to tuberculosis, became aware of a slowly growing mass protruding in the lateral thoracic wall. The second patient, who had tuberculous pleurisy 36 years earlier, was referred to our department because of a slowly expanding intrathoracic mass revealed by a roentgenogram. The tumors, which were encapsulated chronic hematomas, were both surgically resected. These cases are rare because of the development of a very large mass after undergoing treatment for tuberculosis more than 30 years previously.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Congenital familial myopathy with type 2 fiber hypoplasia and type 1 fiber predominance.

A 12-month-old girl with delayed developmental milestones, due to muscle hypotonia and weakness from early infancy, exhibited type 2 fiber hypoplasia. A muscle biopsy specimen disclosed type 1 fiber predominance and type 2B fiber deficiency compatible with congenital myopathy. During the following 4 years, she continued to have mild muscle weakness, but no mental retardation. Her mother had similar symptoms from early infancy with minimal progression. Although type 2 fiber hypoplasia is a non-specific finding in various diseases, it may be a specific finding in a limited number of patients with hereditary congenital non-progressive myopathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Effects of pulmonary surfactant on macrophage migration: suppression of chemokinesis by surfactant phospholipid and enhancement of chemotaxis by surfactant protein.

We fractionated the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from normal rabbit lungs into several fractions by high speed centrifugation and ethanol-ether extraction. Random migration, chemokinesis and chemotaxis of freshly harvested alveolar macrophages (AM), 24 h cultured AM, and peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) were assayed in vitro using a modified, under agarose method and a blind well chemotactic chamber method. Freshly harvested AM demonstrated little random migration compared with PEC. However, when freshly harvested AM were pre-incubated in surfactant free medium for 24 h, the cells showed the same rate of migration as PEC. The increased migration of the 24 h cultured AM was partially suppressed by the presence of all BALF fractions containing high proportions of phospholipid. The inhibition by Fr-L (a fraction enriched in phospholipids) was reversed by normal serum, but not by heat-inactivated serum, cholesterol, synthetic dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline, or indomethacin. Fr-L markedly suppressed macrophage chemokinesis but did not affect on macrophage chemotaxis. Alternatively, Fr-P, a delipidated preparation of surfactant consisting mainly of protein, had no effect on macrophage chemokinesis but increased the chemotaxis of PEC to zymosan-activated serum. We conclude that surfactant phospholipid suppresses AM migration, while surfactant protein increases macrophage chemotaxis.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effects of granulocyte and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors in a neutropenic murine model of trichosporonosis.

We produced disseminated trichosporonosis in a neutropenic murine model with Trichosporon asahii, which was identified by DNA relatedness analysis. We then assessed the efficacy of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) (30 to 100 microg/kg of body weight per day) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (0.8 to 2 microg/kg x day). The administration of G-CSF either before or after infection improved the survival rate from less than 25% up to 100% (P < 0.05). The effects of G-CSF on organ clearance and histological examinations were most remarkable in the lungs. The levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of neutropenic and G-CSF-pretreated mice were 60 +/- 6 ng/ml and 18 +/- 6 pg/ml, respectively, at 24 h after infection. Immunohistologically, alveolar macrophages proved to be the main source of TNF-alpha in BALF. GM-CSF increased neutrophil counts less significantly than did G-CSF and increased the lethality (P < 0.05) with a high level of TNF-alpha in BALF. Expecting to inhibit TNF-alpha, we administered anti-TNF-alpha intraperitoneally at the dose completely inhibiting TNF-alpha in plasma (2 x 10(4) U), but the TNF-alpha level in BALF and the lethality increased. Though the number of neutrophils at the early stage of infection appeared to be the most critical, the results suggest that other host defense mechanisms, such as TNF-alpha overproduction in the lungs, have an important role in the prognosis of trichosporonosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effectiveness of fructose-modified chitosan as a scaffold for hepatocyte attachment.

Free amino groups of chitosan, a substance which has previously been shown to be a good scaffold for hepatocyte attachment, were covalently modified with fructose. The modification significantly increased the number of cells that could be attached on the surface of chitosan gel. Rat hepatocytes cultivated on fructose-chitosan behaved similarly to those on unmodified chitosan, i.e., they retained the spherical shape they have in vivo, and released much less lactate dehydrogenase than cells attached on a collagen-coated surface. The modification with fructose did not alter the important characteristics of chitosan for hepatocyte culture: liver-specific functions such as urea synthesis and drug metabolism were stably maintained for 5 d in the hepatocytes cultured on fructose-chitosan. In sharp contrast, hepatocytes attached on a collagen-coated surface underwent a severe morphological change, from spherical to flat, and lost almost all their lidocaine-removal activity within 5d. A very thin fructose-chitosan layer was also applied onto the collagen-coated surfaces of polystyrene plates and a dextran microcarrier by crosslinking free amino groups in the chitosan and collagen with glutaraldehyde to fix the thin layer. Hepatocytes on the fructose-chitosan-coated surface retained their spherical shape, masking the cell-flattening effect of the collagen layer. Perfusion culture was then carried out using a hollow-fiber cartridge in which hepatocytes attached on fructose-chitosan-coated microcarriers were suspended in the extracapillary space: the liver-specific functions were stably maintained during 4d of the culture. A fructose-chitosan-coated surface thus appears to be a very promising scaffold for hepatocyte attachment which can be used in cellular biological studies of liver functions, especially in relation to cytochrome P450, as well as in bioartificial liver support systems.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Effect of antibacterial antibody on bactericidal activities of superoxide and lysosomal enzyme from alveolar macrophages in rabbits.

Alveolar macrophages (AM) have many Fc receptors for IgG, but are less reactive to lymphokines. They have a well-developed oxidative metabolism and contain large amounts of lysosomal enzyme. This suggests that the antibacterial antibody plays an important role in early resistance by AM to intracellular bacterial infection and that a bactericidal agent, dependent on oxygen and lysosomal enzyme, participates in the effects of the antibacterial antibody on bactericidal activities of superoxide (O2-) and lysosomal enzyme from rabbit AM. The number of Listeria monocytogenes in AM increased after pretreatment with saline or normal IgG but decreased by 60% after pretreatment with anti-Listeria and 120 min incubation. Alveolar macrophage-phagocytized Listeria monocytogenes and Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) bound with antibacterial antibody enhanced release of O2-, and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) formazan reduced by O2- was observed around the bacteria in the phagosomes of AM. We also confirmed that Listeria and BCG were killed extracellularly by O2-released by a superoxide-generating system in vitro and/or by lysosomal concluded that the antibacterial antibody of the IgG class enhances the antibacterial activity of AM thereby increasing the production of 02- and lysosomal enzyme in the phagosome. This finding may be important in the early resistance to intracellular bacteria infection by AM in the alveolar spaces.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Persistent chorea following cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease.

We describe a 6 year old girl with chorea following cardiac surgery, the first such report in Japan. The radical operation for total anomalous pulmonary venous return was carried out at the age of 11 months under hypothermia. Seven days after the operation, a sudden onset of irritability, dysphagia, chorea, generalized, hypotonia, and complete external ophthalmoplegia were seen. These symptoms diminished gradually, but chorea remained. We speculated that the cause of chorea arose from the cardiac surgery under hypothermia. It is necessary to consider 'cardiac surgery' as one of the triggers of certain movement disorders including chorea. We tried treatment with haloperidol, pimozide, and several other drugs; only pimozide was effective in decreasing chorea without any side-effects.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass↗
PubMed1994

[A case of early myoclonic encephalopathy accompanied with central respiratory dysfunction].

A case of unusual early myoclonic encephalopathy was reported. He showed massive and/or fragmentary myoclonic seizures soon after birth until 20 months before death. These seizures were resistant to various kinds of anti-epileptic drugs. The EEG pattern of suppression-burst was continuously seen in both waking and sleep states from 2 months to 19 months of age. He was supported with mechanical ventilator because of the central respiratory dysfunction since 4 days after birth until death. This case was electroclinically considered as that of early myoclonic encephalopathy. The central respiratory dysfunction has not been reported in early myoclonic encephalopathy.

Electroencephalography↗
PubMed1993

[Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in childhood].

Clinical, electrophysiological and histopathological findings in 6 children with steroid-responsive acquired demyelinating neuropathy are presented. The clinical features and nerve conduction findings are basically similar to those of chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy (CIDP) in adults, although early-onset cases had prominent pes cavus deformity and thickened nerves, which are rare findings in acquired neuropathies in adults. The diagnostic criteria of adult CIDP can be adopted for most of the cases, however, repeated electrophysiological tests may be required to identify multifocality of the nerve lesion, especially when conduction block is not apparent before treatment. The biopsied sural nerves showed many thinly-myelinated fibers, subperineurial and endoneurial edema, and cellular infiltrations. Varied fascicular involvements were common. Two cases with almost complete or considerable loss of myelinated fibers in the biopsied sural nerve revealed good clinical response to steroid therapy. The degree of nerve degeneration in the sural nerve thus, may not be helpful to estimate the prognosis and the responsiveness to treatment. Therapeutic trials should be employed when the main conduction findings are those of demyelinating neuropathies, even if genetically-determined neuropathy is suggested from the clinical pictures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Evaluation of nicotine, cotinine, thiocyanate, carboxyhemoglobin, and expired carbon monoxide as biochemical tobacco smoke uptake parameters.

In a cross-sectional study on 236 individuals in Japan (174 males, 62 females; 149 smokers, 87 non-smokers) plasma nicotine (pnic), cotinine (pcot) and thiocyanate (pSCN), urinary creatinine ratios of nicotine (unic), cotinine (ucot) and thiocyanate (uSCN) as well as carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and expired carbon monoxide (COex) were determined. All tobacco smoke uptake parameters (TSUP) were significantly elevated in smokers as compared to nonsmokers. The discriminant power (smokers vs nonsmokers) rank in the following order: ucot approximately pcot approximately unic greater than pSCN approximately COHb approximately pnic greater than COex approximately uSCN. All parameters except for pnic are significantly correlated with the self-reported number of cigarettes smoked per day. The reason for the poor correlation of pnic with daily cigarette consumption is the short half-life of pnic coupled with the arbitrary time of blood drawing in relation to the last time of smoking.

Adult↗