Biomedical subjects

J Sakai

Publications and source records attributed to J Sakai.

147 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

The Kobe earthquake and recurrent endogenous uveitis.

The mechanism of recurrent endogenous uveitis remains uncertain but it is generally believed to be affected by both heredity and environment. On January 17, 1995, the Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) area of Japan experienced a major earthquake which killed more than 6300 people and forced 310,000 to take refuge in emergency shelters. All inhabitants of this area suffered severe stress due to the sudden changes in their living environment. We investigated the recurrence rate of endogenous uveitis before and after the earthquake in 116 patients who had been followed for more than 2 years (since July 17, 1993) at Kobe University Hospital. The postquake rate was significantly higher than the prequake rate (10% vs 3%); women were more often affected than men. Our data suggests that psychological stress due to the sudden changes in living conditions following the earthquake may have triggered the recurrences. It might be important to provide psychological as well as physical care for these patients after a disaster.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ciclosporin microemulsion preconcentrate treatment of patients with Behçet's disease.

PURPOSE: The new microemulsion preconcentrate (MEPC) formulation of ciclosporin has been developed to reduce problems in intestinal absorption and to stabilize fluctuations in blood levels. A multicenter, open-label clinical trial of MEPC was conducted to assess its efficacy and safety in Behçet's disease patients with ocular involvement. METHODS: The patient population comprised 17 de novo patients (patients not previously treated with ciclosporin in the currently available formulation) and 30 patients whose ciclosporin formulation was switched from the conventional formulation to MEPC. The patients were treated with the test formulation for 16 weeks in the former (de novo) group and for 12 weeks in the latter (switched) group. RESULTS: In the de novo group, ocular attacks decreased significantly as compared to the pretreatment incidence in 11 of the 14 patients (78.6%) evaluated after MEPC therapy. Ocular attacks also decreased significantly in the switched group. In the de novo group, visual acuity improved with MEPC therapy in 20 of the 28 eyes (71.4%) examined, and the overall efficacy evaluation was "improved" or "markedly improved" in 13 of the 16 patients evaluated (81.3%). The one case each of onset of neuro-Behçet's disease and intestinal Behçet's disease observed in the de novo group were regarded as adverse reactions. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that ciclosporin MEPC is useful for controlling the ocular symptoms of Behçet's disease, and that it can be used as effectively and safely as the conventional formulation.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Lack of point mutation of the APP gene in sporadic Alzheimer's disease in Japanese.

We investigated point mutations of the APP gene in 66 patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 180 normal individuals by use of the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method. Both the AD patients and the normal individuals were Japanese. We extracted DNA from blood samples using the phenol-chloroform method and amplified exons 16 and 17 of the APP gene by PCR. PCR products were digested by MBO-II (exon 16) and BCL-1(exon 17). Electrophoresis was carried out with 3% agarose gel and the separated fragments were stained with ethidium bromide. In addition we investigated other point mutations of exons 16 and 17 by use of the PCR-SSCP (single stranded conformation polymorphisms) method, and found no fragments that exhibited point mutations in the AD patients and normal individuals. These findings indicate that the presence of point mutation of the APP gene is not a major cause of AD in the Japanese population.

Aged↗