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Biomedical subjects

H Okuda

Publications and source records attributed to H Okuda.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Effect of long-term therapy with nipradilol on esophageal varices in patients with compensated cirrhosis. Results of a multicenter open study.

The effect of long-term administration of nipradilol (NIP, Hypadil Kowa, CAS 81486-22-8), a beta-blocker with a vasodilatory action, on esophageal varices was studied in 66 patients with compensated liver cirrhosis. Administration of NIP (6-12 mg/d) for 3-12 months produced progressive improvement of endoscopic findings over time (30% for C, 25% for F, and 40% for the R-C sign after 12 months). At the last examination (mean: 9 +/- 4 months), the improvement rates were 16.7%, 16.7% and 22.7%, respectively. No significant relationship was found between endoscopic improvement and the Child-Pugh score or the dose of NIP. Gastrointestinal bleeding occurred in five patients: one had bleeding esophageal varices, three had bleeding gastric varices, and one had a bleeding gastric ulcer. The systolic blood pressure was decreased significantly (4.6-12.3%) at 2 weeks as well as 1 and 2 months, and the heart rate showed a significant decrease throughout the study (10-18.4%). With the exception of the patients who had gastrointestinal bleeding, no symptoms of decompensation appeared, and there was no deterioration of laboratory parameters including ammonia. Adverse effects occurred in about 10% of the patients, most of which were related to bradycardia and/or hypotension, and they improved when the drug was withdrawn or the dose reduced. These results suggest that long-term administration of NIP is useful in the treatment of esophageal varices.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Effect of substrates on the cyclic AMP-dependent lipolytic reaction of hormone-sensitive lipase.

Cyclic AMP-dependent activation of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) stimulated lipolysis of [3H]triolein emulsified with gum arabic, but not that of endogenous lipid droplets from rat fat cells. The absence of responsiveness of the lipid droplets to activation of HSL was found to be caused by some factor other than their surface area. The activated HSL showed a higher rate of lipolysis than nonactivated HSL on lipid droplets sonicated with gum arabic. Addition of phosphatidylcholine, which is one of the minor components of intact lipid droplets, to triolein or the sonicated lipid droplet emulsion induced loss of responsiveness to activated HSL, and treatment of these substrates containing phosphatidylcholine with phospholipase C restored the responsiveness. These results suggest that loss of responsiveness of the endogenous lipid droplets in fat cells to activated HSL may be due to phosphatidylcholine in the lipid droplets.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1994

[The clinical study of cefpodoxime proxetil dry syrup preparation in the pediatric field].

The clinical efficacy was examined for the newly developed oral cephem antibiotic, cefpodoxime proxetil (CPDX-PR) dry syrup, in the treatment of various acute infections in the field of pediatrics. CPDX-PR dry syrup was administered at 10 mg/kg/day in 3-divided doses to 535 children at 21 institutions, including Tottori University Hospital and its related hospitals. The efficacy rate of this drug was determined to be 80.8%. Among isolates, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus sp. were highly susceptible to the drug, whereas Haemophilus influenzae showed relatively poor susceptibility. Side effects were observed in 2.80% of all of the patients, and abnormal laboratory findings were detected in 1.87%. The low incident of side effects demonstrated its high safety, and this drug was considered to be very useful for such pediatric infections as acute tonsillitis, acute pharyngitis and acute bronchitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

[Rapid growth of eyelid squamous cell carcinoma in elderly patients with multiple cancers].

Two cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the eyelid are reported. Both patients had multiple cancers. Case 1 was an 81-year-old man who had a squamous cell carcinoma on his right upper eyelid and on his right palm, and Bowen's disease in his left thumb. Case 2 was an 87-year-old woman who had a squamous cell carcinoma on her right lower eyelid, an adenocarcinoma in her colon, and a uterus cancer of unknown histology. In spite of their advanced age, the eyelid tumors showed rapid growth in both cases. The reason for this rapid growth was unclear. However, the presence of cancers in other organs may provide clues, because the immunological ability in patients with multiple cancers is considered to be weakened.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1994

Role of endogenous lipid droplets in lipolysis in rat adipocytes.

Sonication of rat fat cells caused an increase in lipolysis in the absence of lipolytic stimulants (basal lipolysis) and loss of epinephrine responsiveness. Sonication of endogenous lipid droplets from fat cells also induced an increase in lipolysis in the presence of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and loss of epinephrine responsiveness in a cell-free system consisting of lipid droplets and HSL. This increase in lipolysis was found not to be due to an increase in the surface area resulting from sonication, but seemed to be due to a decrease in the phosphatidylcholine concentration on the surface of the lipid droplets. Addition of phosphatidylcholine to the sonicated lipid droplets reduced the hydrolysis of triglyceride by HSL in the cell-free system, consisting of HSL and intact lipid droplets or a lipid emulsion containing phosphatidylcholine increased lipolysis. These results suggest that phosphatidylcholine on the surface of the lipid droplets may be a regulatory factor for lipolysis in fat cells.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1993

The presence of corticotropin-releasing factor-like immunoreactive synaptic vesicles in axon terminals with nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-like immunoreactivity in the median eminence of the rat.

Whether or not corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) containing synaptic vesicles are located in axon terminals with nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) in the median eminence (ME) of the rat was examined by electron microscopic double-labeling immunocytochemistry combining the pre-embedding avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) method for nAChR with the post-embedding immunogold staining method for CRF. nAChR-like immunoreactivity (nAChR-LI) was found in the cell membranes of the axon terminals in the ME. CRF-like immunoreactivity (CRF-LI) was found in dense granular vesicles (about 100 nm in diameter) in the axon terminals. Double-labeling method revealed that some of nAChR-LI axon terminals were found to contain CRF-LI dense granular vesicles. The results indicate that nicotine may act on nAChR in axon terminals to release CRF.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Immunocytochemical localization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in rat hypothalamus.

Immunocytochemical localization of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) was examined in rat hypothalamus. Monoclonal antibody against alpha 4 ACh-binding subunits of nAChR was used in the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) immunocytochemical method at both the light and electron microscopic levels. By light microscopy nAChR-like immunoreactivity was found in many neuronal cell bodies and their fibers in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and in many axons and axon terminals in the median eminence (ME). The immunoreactivity of nAChR was the most intense in the ME. By electron microscopy immunoreaction products occurred on the rough endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear envelope, cytoplasmic matrices and postsynaptic densities of synaptic junctions in some neurons in the parvocellular part of the PVN. In the external layer of the ME, nAChR-like immunoreactivity was found over the entire plasma membranes of many axon terminals. Involvement of nAChRs in the release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides both in the PVN and the ME is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Hepatitis C virus antibody in patients with primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma) in Japan.

BACKGROUND: In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) has been reported, indicating that it may be an important etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of HCC. In this study, the authors investigated the prevalence of anti-HCV in HCC patients, as well as the same prevalence in patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (combined HCC-CC), to study the clinicopathologic features of anti-HCV-positive cases. METHODS: The authors examined 141 patients with primary liver cancer who were pathologically diagnosed as having HCC (121 cases), CC (13 cases), or combined HCC-CC (7 cases). Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV were measured in these patients. RESULTS: Of 121 HCC cases, 85 (70.3%) were found to be anti-HCV positive, 16 (13.2%) were HBsAg positive, and 5 (4.1%) were both anti-HCV and HBsAg positive. In 13 cases with CC and in 7 with combined HCC-CC examined, 4 (30.8%) and 5 (71.4%), respectively, were anti-HCV positive. CONCLUSIONS: The anti-HCV-positive rate was high in combined HCC-CC as well as in HCC. These three types of primary liver cancer, which were anti-HCV positive, shared two common features: male dominance and high incidences of complication with liver cirrhosis.

Adenoma, Bile Duct↗
PubMed1993

Nicotine metabolism by rat hepatic cytochrome P450s.

Many kinds of cytochrome P450s were purified from rat hepatic microsomes, and their role in the metabolization of nicotine in a reconstituted system examined. Of four phenobarbital-inducible P450s, P450 2B1 had the highest nicotine oxidation activity and P450 2B2 showed a low rate of nicotine oxidation, whereas P450 2C6 and 3A2 had no detectable activity toward nicotine. Among eleven other purified cytochrome P450s tested, P450 2C11 had high nicotine oxidation activity and P450 1A2 and 2D1 showed low catalytic activity toward nicotine. The other cytochrome P450s, P450 1A1, 2A1, 2A2, 2C7, 2C12, 2C13, 2E1 and 4A1, had no detectable nicotine oxidation activity. Based on these results, participation of cytochrome P450s in nicotine metabolism in human and animal livers is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Phosphorylation of rat brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptor by cAMP-dependent protein kinase in vitro.

The participation of protein kinases in phosphorylation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) in electric organ and muscle has been precisely investigated in vitro and in vivo whereas phosphorylation of neuronal nAChR is not yet fully characterized. Here, we first report the in vitro phosphorylation of brain nAChR. nAChR purified from rat brains was phosphorylated in vitro by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), immunoprecipitated with monoclonal antibody against the receptor, and subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by autoradiography. PKA specifically phosphorylated nAChR on the alpha 4 subunits, and H8, an inhibitor of PKA, inhibited completely the phosphorylation. Under the conditions used, a maximal stoichiometry of the phosphorylation by PKA was near to 1 mol of phosphate/mol of the alpha 4 subunits. The 32P-labeled subunits were digested with S. aureas V8 protease followed by SDS-PAGE autoradiography and the resultant phosphopeptide maps revealed three distinct phosphopeptide bands, one major band and two minor bands. Phosphoamino acid analysis of the 32P-labeled alpha 4 subunits showed that serine residues were exclusively phosphorylated. Based on these results, participation of PKA in the regulation of neuronal nAChR is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Hydrolysis of cholesteryl oleate liquid crystals by hormone-sensitive lipase.

Cholesteryl oleate liquid crystals were prepared by sonication as a model of lipid droplets accumulated in foam cells derived from macrophages. These liquid crystals were spherical and showed an anisotropic cross image. Hormone-sensitive lipase from bovine adipose tissue hydrolyzed these liquid crystals optimally at pH 6.8. The Km for the liquid crystals was about 8 times that for vesicles or emulsified cholesteryl oleate. The Vmax for the liquid crystals was the same as that for the emulsified substrate and 6 times that for the vesicle substrate. Phospholipid inhibited cholesteryl oleate hydrolysis in a concentration-dependent fashion, phosphatidylserine being especially inhibitory. The effect of phospholipids on the activity changed upon their incorporation into the cholesteryl oleate liquid crystals, phosphatidylethanolamine increasing the activity to about twice that of the control. These results suggest that hormone-sensitive lipase hydrolyzes cholesteryl oleate liquid crystals as a model of endogenous lipid droplets and its activities are affected by phospholipids.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Long QT syndrome with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: contiguous gene syndrome on chromosome 11p.

Long QT syndrome (Romano-Ward syndrome) and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) have been documented as being linked with gene(s) on chromosome 11p although concurrence of the two disorders has not been reported. Our case is a 13-year-old boy with Romano-Ward syndrome accompanied by IDDM. The long QT syndrome seemed to be transmitted in an autosomal-dominant mode because the Q-T intervals of his father and paternal grandfather were longer than normal. There was no family member with an abnormally high level of blood glucose except the patient. The human leucocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes of the patient and the father were DR4/DR9 and DR2/DR9, respectively. This study suggests that in our patient IDDM, as well as Romano-Ward syndrome, is linked with chromosome 11p in the presence of HLA-DR4. The results support the previous study that chromosome 11p encodes a gene implicated in HLA-DR4-dependent diabetes susceptibility.

Child↗
PubMed1993

The prognosis of idiopathic portal hypertension in Japan.

To clarify the factors relating to the prognosis of patients with idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH), we followed 171 patients with IPH until the end of 1990, who were registered in the database among those with abnormal portal circulation as of 1985 in hospitals of Japan. During the follow-up period, twenty patients died; 6 from gastro-intestinal tract bleeding, 5 from hepatic insufficiency and 9 from other causes. Cox's proportional hazard model suggested that male patients (hazard ratio 4.85, 95% confidence interval 1.82-12.94), with a disease onset at less than 40 years of age (H.R.3.94, 95% C.I. 1.31-11.57), and/or with varices (H.R.2.86, 95% C.I. 1.05-7.77) generally had poorer prognoses.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Arterial supply of the maxillary teeth in the crab-eating monkey (Macaca fascicularis).

Superior dental rami diverging from arterial multi-resources of the crab-eating monkey were investigated by means of plastic corrosion castings. Correlations between the dental ramus/rami entering the apical foramen/foramina of each maxillary tooth were elucidated. Superior dental rami supplying the maxillary teeth diverged from the posterior superior alveolar, infraorbital, descending palatine, major palatine and sphenopalatine arteries as follows: The posterior superior alveolar gave rise to molar branches which supplied three molars and rarely an additional two premolars, to premolar branches and to a canine branch as its terminus. The infraorbital gave off canine branches. The descending palatine gave rise to a molar branch which supplied the lingual root of each molar. The major palatine gave rise to a premolar branch which supplied the lingual roots of two premolars and the 1st molar, and an incisive branch which supplied two incisors. The sphenopalatine supplied the lingual root of each molar and rarely the 1st premolar in addition. Two incisors were supplied by the major palatine (100%), the canine by the posterior superior alveolar (50%), this artery and the infraorbital (43.3%) or the infraorbital only (6.7%). Three roots of each premolar were supplied by the posterior superior alveolar, occasionally the lingual root (16.7%) and mesiobuccal root (3.3%) of the 1st premolar by the major palatine, the lingual root of the 2nd premolar by the major palatine (6.7%) and the sphenopalatine (3.3%). Two buccal roots of each molar were also supplied by the posterior superior alveolar (100%), occasionally the lingual root of the 1st molar by the descending palatine (6.7%), the major palatine (6.7%) or the sphenopalatine (3.3%), the lingual root of the 2nd molar by the descending palatine (30%), the sphenopalatine (10.0%) or the infraorbital (3.3%), the lingual root of the 3rd molar by the descending palatine (23.3%), the sphenopalatine (20.0%) or the infraorbital (3.3%). Superior dental rami diverging from the posterior superior alveolar artery were distributed to the molars, premolars and canine as principal arterial vessels of the crab-eating monkey. The descending palatine, sphenopalatine and the infraorbital arteries were supplementary to the above main arteries. Two incisors were only supplied by the major palatine but the anterior and middle superior alveolar were not observed.

Animals↗