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Biomedical subjects

H Ohara

Publications and source records attributed to H Ohara.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Prophylactic efficacy of immune serum globulin against hepatitis A.

A remarkable decline in the morbidity of hepatitis A was observed in the members of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) following inoculation of these volunteer workers with human immune serum globulin (ISG) once every 4-6 months, a program which was started in 1981 on a voluntary basis. The morbidity rate of hepatitis A declined from 3.5% in 1980 to 0.6% in 1983 and 1984. A significant difference in the morbidity of hepatitis A was observed among those who were not. In addition to precautions about drinking water and fresh or uncooked foods, inoculation with ISG for the prophylaxis against hepatitis A is recommended when non-immune subjects from a developed country travel to or stay in developing countries.

Adult↗

[Successful chemotherapy in postoperative brain metastasis of breast cancer using ACNU--two case reports].

Two cases of postoperative brain metastasis of breast cancer were evaluated after chemotherapy using ACNU. Case 1: A 47-year-old female, who had undergone right standard radical mastectomy in 1979 for breast cancer (T2 N0M0, papillo-tubular carcinoma), was treated with ADM, TAM, and 60Co irradiation for bone metastasis in 1983. In 1984, she complained of loss of consciousness and paralysis of the extremities due to brain metastasis. After chemotherapy using ACNU (100 mg X 3), brain metastasis could not be detected on CT. She remained asymptomatic for more than 9 months without recurrence after therapy. Case 2: A 46-year-old-female, who had undergone left standard radical mastectomy in 1980 for breast cancer (T1 N1 M0, medullar tubular carcinoma), complained of headache and vertigo accompanying a hard tumor in the scalp. Chest X-ray and CT demonstrated right lung metastasis and left cerebellar metastasis. After combination chemotherapy using ACNU (100 mg) + MMC (4 mg) i.v. and FT (600 mg/day) p.o., symptoms and tumor on CT disappeared for 10 months after therapy. However, the patient died of aggravation of angina pectoris and D.M. from which she had been suffering for several years previously. These two cases correspond to complete response (CR) according to the response criteria proposed by Koyama-Saitoh.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

A combination of sulfamonomethoxine and pyrimethamine versus other drugs for the treatment of malaria.

Sixty-eight cases of vivax and 30 cases of falciparum malaria patients were treated with a combination of sulfamonomethoxine-pyrimethamine (MP tablet with 500 mg of sulfamonomethoxine and 25 mg of pyrimethamine) and the results were compared with those with chloroquine, Fansidar and quinine. Vivax malaria: Fever and parasites were cleared by the 4th day of treatment in 94 and 92% of the patients, respectively. Chloroquine was the most effective drug and Fansidar and MP tablets shared the next position. Falciparum malaria: Fever and asexual parasites were cleared by the 4th day of treatment in 67 and 78% of the patients, respectively. MP tablets were effective in chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria contracted in Kalimantan (Indonesia) and Oceanian countries (Vanuatu etc.). Fever and parasite clearance times were shorter with chloroquine or with Fansidar than with MP tablets. Defective preschizonts used to appear following administration of MP tablets both in vivax and falciparum malarias. They were the premonitory laboratory indications that the asexual parasites will be soon eradicated.

Adolescent↗

Alcohol-induced facial flushing and drinking behavior in Japanese men.

The drinking behavior and alcohol-induced facial flushing of 1646 Japanese men (50.9% flushers and 48.0% nonflushers) were analyzed from questionnaires completed by their wives. The results indicate a relationship between flushing and various indices of sensitivity to alcohol and low rates of alcohol-related problems. It is proposed that alcohol-induced flushing acts as an inhibitory factor against excessive alcohol use and consequent problems due to drinking.

Adult↗

Proton therapy in Japan.

There are two facilities for clinical trials with protons in Japan: the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), Chiba, and the Particle Radiation Medical Science Center (PARMS), University of Tsukuba. At the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, patient treatment with the 70 MeV proton beam began in November 1979, and 29 patients were treated through December 1984. Of 11 patients who received protons only, 9 have had local control of the tumor. Two of the 9 patients, suffering from recurrent tumor after radical photon beam irradiation, developed complications after proton treatment. In the patients treated with photons or neutrons followed by proton boost, tumors were controlled in 12 of 18 patients (66.6%), and no complications were observed in this series. Malignant melanoma could not be controlled with the proton beam. A spot-beam-scanning system for protons has been effectively used in the clinical trials to minimize the dose to the normal tissues and to concentrate the dose in the target volume. At the Particle Radiation Medical Science Center, University of Tsukuba, treatment with a vertical 250 MeV proton beam was begun in April 1983, and 22 patients were treated through February 1984. Local control of the tumor was observed in 14 of 22 patients (63.6%), whereas there was no local control in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. There have been no severe complications in patients treated at PARMS. The results suggest that local control of tumors will be better with proton beams than with photon beams, whereas additional modalities are required to manage radioresistant tumors.

Adult↗

Determination of localization of allergen and IgG inducing antigen in Dirofilaria immitis by immunofluorescent antibody method.

More detail studies were made into the localization of IgE inducing antigen (allergen) and IgG inducing antigen in the body of adult male and female Dirofilaria immitis worms by the indirect immunofluorescent antibody method using rat sera against purified allergen and IgG inducing antigen. Allergen was detected in large amounts in the body cavity fluid and the excretory canal, and it was also detected in the cuticles and the lateral lines in the vicinity of the excretory canal. IgG inducing antigen was found in the largest amount in the site of musculature inside of cuticle. Besides the musculature, it was also recognized in smaller amounts in the muscle layer, the body cavity fluid and the excretory canal. In females it was also detected on the surface of microfilaria in the uterus. As to allergen as well as IgG inducing antigen, the fluorescence was recognized most strongly in the central part of the worm body, and it tended to diminish gradually as it approached the head and tail. The concentration of allergen determined by the immunofluorescent antibody method was higher in males than in females. Especially in the excretory canal, a difference was seen between males and females. Allergen was thought to be secreted mainly out of the excretory canal and present largely in the body cavity fluid. On the other hand, the site of the musculature inside of cuticle and the muscular layer were supposed to be the major constituents of IgG inducing antigen.

Allergens↗

[Tuberculosis of the contralateral adrenal gland: a case report].

Unilateral adrenal tuberculosis is a very rare disease. A 66-year-old woman presented with epigastric discomfort and general fatigue. Abdominal CT scan revealed a homogeneous mass shadow in the right adrenal region. Findings of physical examination were normal except that the patient was obese. Hormonal data were in normal range. Adrenal scintiscanning demonstrated no RI uptake in the right adrenal gland. Right adrenalectomy was performed under the diagnosis of nonfunctioning tumor of the right adrenal gland. Histopathological examination, however, revealed typical tuberculosis with Langhans' type of giant cells and infiltrated lymphocytes. Of 322, 148 autopsies performed during the twelve years between 1970 and 1981 in Japan, 228 cases of adrenal tuberculosis were recognized. Furthermore, only 18 cases had tuberculous regions in the adrenal gland alone.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

[Bilateral primary germ cell tumors of the testis: report of two cases and review of the literature].

Bilateral germ cell tumors of the testis are not common. The contralateral tumor may develop simultaneously or sequentially. In both cases, bilateral involvement is postulated to represent two primary tumors. Case 1: A 47-year-old male was seen with a painless nodular mass in the right testis. Physical examination revealed hard swelling of both testes besides a nodule in the right testis. He underwent bilateral radical orchiectomy; and, microscopical both tumors proved to be seminoma. Although bipedal lymphangiography was negative for nodal metastases, postoperative irradiation to the pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes was given to a total dose of 5,800 rad. The patient was alive 15 years after treatment for bilateral testicular tumors. Case 2: A 53-year-old male presented with painless left scrotal swelling. Physical examination showed not only an enlarged hard testis in the left scrotum but also a palpable hard mass in the right testis. Bilateral radical orchiectomy was performed and pathological examination revealed pure seminoma in both testes; a 1 cm mass in the right testis and almost completely replaced tumor in the left testis. Evaluation including retroperitoneal lymph node dissection revealed no metastatic disease. Postoperatively, the patient received 1,900 rad of irradiation to the retroperitoneal space. He is well one year after surgery and has no evidence of recurrence or metastasis. Previous reports of bilateral germ cell testicular tumors are reviewed and the incidence, age, predisposing factors, interval between the first and second tumors, histology, pathogenesis, prognosis, and management are discussed.

Age Factors↗

[Analysis of mortality patterns in an area supplying tunnel workers away from home. Part 2. Mortality patterns among tunnel workers].

In order to clarify the long-term effect of tunnel work on the health of its workers, we examined its cause-specific mortality pattern. The subjects were 418 males who died after the age of 30 in 1977 in the southern part of Oita Prefecture, where many men come and work away from home as tunnel workers. Death certificates, 418 in number, presented to the health center were used to examine the causes of death. Occupational careers and life histories of the subjects were obtained by interviewing their families or relatives in 1980. The interviews were successfully carried out with 356 subjects (85.2%). The subjects were divided into two groups. One group was consisted of 73 males who had engaged in the tunnel work (tunnel workers) and the other was of 283 males without experience of tunnel work (others). Proportional mortality ratio (PMR) and proportional mortality classified by age were compared between the two groups. The mean ages at death were also compared among these two groups and all Japanese males over 30 years of age. The results were as follows. The proportion of the deaths of "tunnel workers" among the total deaths in the area surveyed was correlated to the regional rate of tunnel workers and the distribution of pneumoconiosis due to tunnel work. These results show that many tunnel workers suffering from pneumoconiosis had returned to their home area before they died. Excess deaths from the ICD category I; infective and parasitic diseases (000-136), tuberculosis (010-019) and silicotuberculosis (010) were found among the "tunnel workers."(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

One-electron reduction of D-amino acid oxidase. Kinetics of conversion from the red semiquinone to the blue semiquinone.

The reduction of D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) by hydrated electrons (eaq-) has been studied in the absence and presence of benzoate by pulse radiolysis. The eaq-did not reduce the flavin moiety in DAAO and reacted with the amino acid residues in the protein. In the presence of benzoate, eaq- first reacted with benzoate to yield benzoate anion radical. Subsequently, the benzoate anion radical transferred an electron to the complex of DAAO-benzoate to form the red semiquinone of the enzyme with a second-order rate constant of 1.2 X 10(9) M-1 s-1 at pH 8.3. After the first phase of the reduction, conversion of the red semiquinone to the blue semiquinone was observed in the presence of high concentration of benzoate. This process obeyed first-order kinetics, and the rate increased with an increase of the concentration of benzoate. In addition, the rate was found to be identical with that of the formation of the complex between benzoate and the red semiquinone of DAAO as measured by a stopped-flow method. This suggests that bound benzoate dissociates after the reduction of the benzoate-DAAO complex by benzoate anion radical and that free benzoate subsequently recombines with the red semiquinone of the enzyme to form the blue semiquinone.

Animals↗

An outbreak of hepatitis A caused by consumption of raw oysters.

An outbreak of hepatitis A occurred among the members of the Japan Overseas Corporation Volunteers (JOCV) stationed in the Philippines. Seven out of 10 youths who ate, but none of five youths who did not eat raw oysters developed hepatitis. All these seven cases were positive for hepatitis A antibody (anti-HAV) and six of them were also positive for anti-HAV IgM (immunoglobulin M) 111 days after the infection.

Adult↗