Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Otsubo

Publications and source records attributed to H Otsubo.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Etiology of acute childhood encephalitis at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, 1994-1995.

Of 145 patients admitted to our hospital because of encephalitis-like illness, 50 patients hospitalized for > or =72 hours underwent standardized microbiological investigations. A confirmed or probable etiologic agent was identified in 20 cases (40%), including Mycoplasma pneumoniae (9 cases). M. pneumoniae and enterovirus (2), herpes simplex virus (4), Epstein-Barr virus (1), human herpes-virus 6 (HHV-6) (1), HHV-6 and influenza virus type A (1), influenza virus type A (1), and Powassan virus (1). In 13 cases (26%), a possible pathogen was identified, including M. pneumoniae in nine cases. Presenting features included fever (80% of patients), seizures (78%), focal neurological findings (78%), and decreased consciousness (47%). The frequency of findings at the time of admission vs. later in hospitalization was as follows: pleocytosis, 59% vs. 63%; electroencephalogram abnormalities, 87% vs. 96%; and neuroimaging abnormalities, 37% vs. 69%, respectively. The outcomes at the time of discharge were as follows: normal results of physical examination, 32% (16) of the patients; death, 2% (1); motor difficulties, 26% (13); global neurological deficits, 16% (severe, 6; mild, 2); mental status changes, 14% (7); visual defects, 8% (4); and hearing impairment, 2% (1).

Acute Disease↗

Combination chemotherapy with G-CSF, M-CSF and EPO: successful treatment for acute myelogenous leukemia without blood transfusion at lower medical costs.

A 55-year-old Jehova's Witness was treated for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) by intensive chemotherapy with enocitabine, 6-mercaptopurine and daunorubicin. G-CSF, M-CSF and EPO were subsequently administered. Even though no blood transfusion was given for religious reasons, complete remission was achieved without serious infection and hemorrhage. The total cost for induction chemotherapy was less expensive than is the case for elderly AML patients. This case indicates that the administration of cytokines might reduce the incidence of infection and the necessity for blood products, which would result in favorable cost effectiveness for the treatment of elderly patients with AML.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Surgical treatment of epilepsy in tuberous sclerosis: strategies and results in 18 patients.

BACKGROUND: Seizures in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are often intractable to antiepileptic medications and searching investigation may provide evidence that surgical treatment can be considered. OBJECTIVE: To review the results of investigation and surgical therapy, a treatment modality not generally considered in patients with medically refractory seizures and TSC. METHODS: We report 18 patients (9 male) with TSC who underwent surgical treatment of medically refractory epilepsy. Twelve patients had a well-localized epileptogenic lesion and were treated by lesionectomy or focal resection. Resections were: 7 frontal, 4 temporal, 1 frontotemporal, 1 occipital, and 1 frontoparietal. Four patients underwent more than one operation. Six patients had corpus callosotomy (CC). RESULTS: Follow-up ranged from 1 month to 47 years. Outcome of the patients treated by resection was excellent in 7 (5 were seizure-free and 2 had auras only), good in 1, fair in 3, and 1 was lost to follow-up. Best outcome was obtained in patients who had focal seizures and good imaging and EEG correlation, although they might have multiple seizure types, other imaging abnormalities, and multifocal or generalized EEG findings. When there was no such correlation, CC was found to be an option as five patients had at least some improvement and only one showed no change. CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment of patients with TSC and intractable epilepsy is most effective when a single tuber or epileptogenic area can be identified as the source of seizures and resected. This may be possible even when other tubers or diffuse EEG abnormalities are present. In patients with unlocalizable epileptic abnormalities, palliation may be obtained by CC.

Adolescent↗

[Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the uterine cervix complicated by acute renal failure due to ureter obstruction].

An 80-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of irregular genital bleeding. An abnormal mass was found in the uterine cervix, and diagnosed as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, diffuse large B cell type. Soon after admission, the patient became anuric and was given a diagnosis of acute renal failure due to obstruction of the ureter. She was immediately placed on dose-reduced CHOP and radiotherapy of 15 Gy. As a result, not only did the malignant lymphoma go into remission, but diminished renal function was alleviated. Because malignant lymphoma of the uterus is extremely rare, it exact biocharacteristics are not well understood. We are unaware of any previous report concerning uterine lymphoma complicated by renal failure.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

Coexistence of hemimegalencephaly and chronic encephalitis. Detection of cytomegalovirus by the polymerase chain reaction.

We report the extraordinary association of hemimegalencephaly with chronic encephalitis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) positivity in a 5-month-old infant with intractable seizures and a left hemisphere resection. Microscopy revealed a severe neuronal migration disorder (NMD) with fusion of gyri, marked disarray of neuronal lamination, neuronal gigantism and extensive neuronal heterotopias. Also widespread were microglial nodules, gliosis and nodular calcifications and some foci of frank necrosis with calcification. Occasional perivascular and leptomentingeal lymphocytic infiltrates were present. No viral inclusions were identifiable. Polymerase chain reaction on multiple specimens showed unequivocal CMV positivity. In intrauterine CMV infection. NMDs such as polymicrogyria are well recognized, but the association of hemimegalencephaly with CMV infection has not previously been described. Our finding of chronic encephalitis with CMV positivity and hemimegalencephaly in the same patient raises questions about the role of CMV in the etiopathogenesis of the NMD.

Brain↗

Positive epileptiform discharges in children with neuronal migration disorders.

Most epileptiform abnormalities show a negative polarity on EEG. Focal positive spike waves have rarely been identified in seizure disorders and are generally associated with physiological and neurological impairment. Results of EEG, computed tomography, MRI, and pathologic studies of 15 children with focal neuronal migration disorders who underwent surgery for refractory localization-related epilepsy were compared to examine the association between positive discharges and other findings. Subjects were studied both ictally and interictally by scalp EEG with the International 10-20 system and zygomatic or sphenoidal electrodes, and video EEG telemetry. The 5 children with positive discharges were significantly more likely to develop hemiparesis during the preoperative period (P < or = .025). Correlations were observed between positive discharges and lesions apparent on MRI situated around the rolandic fissure (P < or = .025). Children with positive discharges had a significantly less favorable outcome after surgical treatment (P < or = .025). Positive epilepti-form discharges in children with neuronal migration disorders may signal a more dysfunctional cortex leading to a focal neurological deficit or a more extended lesion than is detected on MRI. This would explain the less favorable outcome of seizures after surgery, since the epileptogenic areas and neuronal migration lesions cannot be completely resected.

Brain↗

Gingival squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with chronic graft-versus-host disease.

This article describes a gingival squamous cell carcinoma that developed in a 21-year-old woman who received a bone marrow transplant at the age of 16 from her human leukocyte antigen-identical sister as treatment for severe aplastic anemia. Thirty days after transplantation, she presented with cutaneous erythema as a result of acute graft-versus-host disease, and this subsequently evolved into chronic graft-versus-host disease. A lichenoid white plaque of the gingiva developed shortly thereafter, and it began to increase in size rapidly 4 years posttransplantation. Biopsy indicated squamous cell carcinoma arising in this region, apparently associated with chronic graft-versus-host disease. Few reports have described a secondary solid malignancy involving the oral cavity of young adults after bone marrow transplantation.

Adult↗

Prognostic factors of hemophagocytic syndrome in adults: analysis of 34 cases.

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) presents with fever, pancytopenia, liver dysfunction and increase in hemophagocytic histiocytes in various organs. Although there are two major classifications of HPS in adults, malignant and reactive histiocytosis, it is often very difficult to distinguish between these disorders. We analyzed the laboratory data of patients with HPS to evaluate prognostic factors. Of 34 patients, 14 survived, and 20 died. The median age of survivors was 29.6+/-11.5 yr significantly younger than those who died (54.7+/-17.8 yr). Twenty patients had no obvious underlying disease, the other 13 had hematological malignancies or viral infections. Comparison of laboratory data revealed that nonsurvivors had significantly lower Hb and platelet values on admission. During treatment, worsening of anemia and thrombocytopenia, increase of transaminase and biliary enzymes were similarly more prominent. Risk factors associated with death were: age over 30 yr, presence of disseminated intravascular coagulation, increased ferritin and beta2-microglobulin, anemia accompanied by thrombocytopenia and jaundice. Our data suggests that patients with HPS and any of these risk factors should be treated aggressively with sufficient chemotherapy and supportive care.

Adolescent↗

Combined utility of functional MRI, cortical mapping, and frameless stereotaxy in the resection of lesions in eloquent areas of brain in children.

We studied 16 children with lesions in the eloquent brain to determine if the amalgamation of information from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), frameless stereotaxy, and direct cortical mapping and recording could facilitate the excision of these lesions while minimizing potential neurological deficits. The mean age of the children was 10 years. Fourteen children presented with seizures. All lesions were located in or near eloquent cerebral cortex. fMRI was successful in all patients in delineating the relationship between the lesion and regions of task-activated cortex. The ISG wand was utilized in all cases for scalp and bone flap placement, and for intraoperative localization of the lesion. Direct cortical stimulation or recording of phase reversals with somatosensory evoked potentials helped delineate the central sulcus and language cortex in patients with lesions near the motor or language cortex. Intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) was utilized in all patients who presented with seizures to guide the extent of resection of the epileptiform cortex. Ten children had benign cerebral neoplasms, nine of which were totally resected. The other diagnoses included vascular malformations, Sturge-Weber, tuberous sclerosis, Rasmussen's encephalitis, and primitive neuroectodermal tumor. Only 1 patient with a left Rolandic AVM developed a new neurological deficit postoperatively. Thirteen of fourteen patients who presented with seizure disorders were rendered either seizure free or improved in terms of seizure control postoperatively. Follow-up has ranged from 12 to 18 months, with a mean follow-up of 15 months. We conclude that the techniques of fMRI, frameless stereotaxy, direct cortical stimulation and recording can be utilized in sequence to accurately localize intracerebral lesions in eloquent brain, and to reduce the morbidity of resecting these lesions in children.

Adolescent↗

Vesnarinone exhibits antitumor effect against myeloid leukemia cells via apoptosis.

Vesnarinone is a positive inotropic agent used for treating congestive heart failure. We evaluated its ex vivo effects on myeloid leukemia cell lines and primary acute myelogenous leukemia cells. Vesnarinone inhibited the incorporation of radiolabeled thymidine by a myeloid cell line, HL60, in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 30 microg/mL. A maximum 40% suppression was seen at a concentration of 10 microg/mL. Determination of viable cell counts by trypan blue dye exclusion method demonstrated vesnarinone to be cytocidal for HL60 cells. Vesnarinone induced DNA fragmentation as detected by electrophresis in HL60 cells after 72-hour culture; this effect was not inhibited by G-CSF. The apoptosis induced by vesnarinone was also detected by the in situ end-labeling method. Northern blot analysis showed a reduction of c-myc mRNA expression in HL60 cells by vesnarinone. However, immunostaining assay showed no change in the expression of Fas and Bcl-2 proteins. We next examined the effect of vesnarinone on primary myeloid leukemia cells derived from 10 patients: 3 cases of M1, 2 of M2, 3 of M3, 1 of M4, and 1 of M6, by the French-American-British classification. Vesnarinone inhibited the incorporation of thymidine in all cells, with a mean suppression of 58.1%. DNA electrophoresis showed induction of DNA fragmentation in cultured cells with vesnarinone for 72 hours in 8 of the 10 patients with primary leukemia. However, bone marrow mononuclear cells from healthy controls showed no growth suppression or DNA fragmentation in response to vesnarinone. These results suggest that vesnarinone may be useful in treating myeloid leukemia.

Adult↗

Infantile spasms: cerebral blood flow abnormalities correlate with EEG, neuroimaging, and pathologic findings.

This ongoing study examines abnormalities of cerebral perfusion in a consecutive series of children with infantile spasms and correlates cerebral blood flow (CBF) abnormalities with electroencephalographic (EEG), neuroimaging, and pathologic findings. A consecutive series of children with infantile spasms, diagnosed by standard clinical and EEG criteria, had cerebral perfusion studies using 99Tc-HmPAO single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), together with neuroimaging studies using computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), interpreted independently and correlated with surgical pathologic findings. Twenty children aged 2-13 months (mean 9.3 months) were studied over a 4-year period; 60% had symptomatic infantile spasms due to cerebral dysgenesis (33%), other congenital lesions (25%), tuberous sclerosis (17%), or other causes (25%), and the remaining patients were cryptogenic (40%). CBF abnormalities were present in 85%: multifocal decrease (40%), focal increase (25%), diffuse decrease (15%), and focal increase (10%), while the remaining 15% had normal cerebral blood flow. Focal cortical lesions may lead to infantile spasms, even in cryptogenic patients diagnosed by functional neuroimaging such as 99Tc-HmPAO SPECT. In selected patients, surgical excision of the cortical lesions leads to improved seizure control and possibly outcome. The localization and surgical excision of focal cortical lesions in infantile spasms required further investigation with functional and structural neuroimaging, EEG, and intraoperative electrocorticography.

Brain↗

[Erythropoietin improved anemia in a case of multicentric Castleman's disease].

Severe anemia A 37 year-old male with therapy resistant multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) anemia was treated by subcutaneous injection of erythropoietin. Although immunoglobulin and CRP concentration increased, anemia obviously improved with hemoglobin levels increasing from 4.8 g/dl to 8.5 g/dl without any side effects. Colony assay revealed that the bone marrow mononuclear cells responded to erythropoietin in a dose dependent manner. The mechanism of anemia of MCD is not clearly understood, and treatment is sometimes very difficult. There is no other previous report concerning erythropoietin as a treatment for anemia in MCD.

Adult↗

Neuroimaging studies in children with temporal lobectomy.

Twenty-eight children with intractable seizures who subsequently underwent a temporal lobectomy were studied by electroencephalogram (EEG), prolonged video EEG telemetry, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for the localization of epileptogenic foci. MRI showed abnormalities indicating epileptogenic foci in 21/25 patients and a increased signal intensity in 7/11 patients with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). SPECT showed corresponding abnormalities in 17/22 patients, including an interictal decrease in regional cerebral blood flow corresponding to the epileptogenic zone in 15. CT showed localized abnormalities in 16/28. All 12 patients with benign, slow-growing neoplasms showed an abnormality on CT scan. In children, MRI is essential in localizing epileptogenic abnormalities, especially MTS and cortical dysplasia. SPECT contributes to the localization of epileptogenic foci, which are often coincident with EEG abnormalities, particularly in single pathology. CT depicts benign neoplasms with calcification in the temporal lobe, which are likely to provoke complex partial seizures.

Adolescent↗

Location of epileptic foci on interictal and immediate postictal single photon emission tomography in children with localization-related epilepsy.

Several neuroimaging techniques that supplement electrophysiologic methods of evaluating pediatric patients with localization-related epilepsies before surgery assess both structural and functional abnormalities. For example, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with technetium-99m-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) has been used to demonstrate abnormal cerebral perfusion. States of cerebral perfusion during the interictal and immediate postictal periods have been reported to correlate with epileptiform foci identified by electroencephalogram (EEG). Between January 1987 and March 1993, we studied 55 pediatric patients with intractable seizures with prolonged video EEG telemetry in the epilepsy monitoring unit, followed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and SPECT, before surgery to determine whether SPECT studies with 99mTc-HMPAO improved the accuracy of locating the epileptic focus. Interictal SPECT was performed on all patients, and immediate postictal SPECT (within 10 minutes after seizure ended) on 17 patients monitored in the epilepsy monitoring unit. In 15 (88%) of the 17, the combination of interictal and postictal SPECT studies yielded results corresponding to the EEG abnormality, a result significantly better than that obtained from interictal studies alone: 21 (55%) of 38 (chi 2 = 5.647, P = .0175). SPECT scans showed localized abnormal perfusion in the ipsilateral temporal lobe in all six patients with mesial temporal sclerosis, but precise results were not obtained in cases of dual pathology and neuronal migration disorders. Depiction of cerebral perfusion by interictal and immediate postictal SPECT studies can lead to greater accuracy in the localization of epileptic foci.

Adolescent↗

Chronic encephalitis and epilepsy (Rasmussen's encephalitis): detection of cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus 1 by the polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization.

We made a pathologic diagnosis of chronic encephalitis on surgical resections or autopsy material in 10 patients with intractable seizures and studied the specimens by immunohistochemistry for herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 and 2 and cytomegalovirus (CMV) as well as by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for viral DNA sequences (HSV1, HSV2, and CMV). We also assessed eight patients (nonepileptic) with pathologically documented or clinically suspected encephalitis and five resections from epileptics without encephalitis. Immunohistochemistry for viral antigens was negative in all cases. Using PCR assay, CMV was present in six and HSV1 in two of 10 epilepsy patients with chronic encephalitis. We demonstrated CMV by in situ hybridization in two of the six patients positive for CMV by PCR. We found no viral sequences by PCR in five epileptics without encephalitis. Of the eight patients (nonepileptic) with clinically suspected or pathologically confirmed encephalitis, two cases showed CMV sequences by PCR. These observations suggest that PCR allows detection of viral sequences in some cases of chronic encephalitis associated with epilepsy that may be missed by in situ hybridization.

Adolescent↗

Cholesterol emboli following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty as speculated by toe skin biopsy.

A 55-year-old man required hemodialysis for acute renal failure 3 days after repeat percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Bilateral acrocyanosis and necrotic lesions of the toes occurred 10 days after PTCA. Skin biopsy samples revealed needle-shaped cholesterol crystals of the intraluminal clefts in his small arteries. He was diagnosed with cholesterol emboli presenting as blue toe syndrome. The conditions improved with anticoagulation and vasodilation, but improvement in renal function was temporary. He later required maintenance hemodialysis. Cholesterol emboli following PTCA are life threatening because they are difficult to diagnose and can cause severe complications.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗