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Biomedical subjects

K Abe

Publications and source records attributed to K Abe.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Tolerability and safety of a calcium channel blocker in comparison with a diuretic in the treatment of elderly patients with hypertension: secondary analysis of the NICS-EH.

A randomized prospective controlled study, the National Interventional Cooperative Study in Elderly Hypertensives (NICS-EH), previously demonstrated that the preventive effect of the long-acting calcium channel blocker nicardipine on the cardiovascular endpoint was similar to that of the diuretic, trichlormethiazide. The present report is a sub-analysis in which we compare the tolerability and safety of the calcium channel blocker with that of a diuretic in the long-term treatment of elderly hypertensives. A total of 429 elderly patients with hypertension were assigned to the nicardipine group or the diuretic group by the double-dummy method and were followed up for 5 years. Two hundred four patients in the nicardipine group and 210 patients in the diuretic group were analyzed. The incidences of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular (CV) events in the two groups were comparable, and there was no significant difference in the cumulative event-free rate. However, the total incidence of adverse reactions, including non-CV events and unfavorable BP changes, was 31 cases (15.2%) in the nicardipine group, which was significantly lower than the 47 cases (22.4%) in the diuretic group (log-rank: p=0.026, G. Wilcoxon: p=0.01). The total number of medical endpoints, including CV events, the withdrawal of the patient from the study, was 52 (25.5%) in the nicardipine group, which was significantly lower than the 65 (31.0%) in the diuretic group (log-rank: p=0.078, G. Wilcoxon: p=0.044). It was concluded that sustained-release nicardipine is better tolerated, as it exhibits a lower incidence of medical-related withdrawals such as adverse drug reactions, non-cardiovascular events and unfavorable BP responses during the treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Two cases of Japanese CADASIL with corpus callosum lesion.

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a rare hereditary stroke disease. In the present study, a Japanese CADASIL family was first reported with missense mutation of Arg141Cys of Notch3 and a unique lesion of corpus callosum. Upon neuropsychological examination, our case 1 showed only right-handed constructional apraxia associated with corpus callosum lesion. No other callosal disconnection signs were present. Sagittal T2 weighted image of case 1 showed multiple small lesions along with the pericallosal branches from the truncus to the posterior part of the splenium in the corpus callosum. Although detailed mapping of the corpus callosum for functional fractionation in humans remains incomplete, the constructional apraxia on the right may be related to callosal dysfunction from the truncus to the posterior part of the splenium in the corpus callosum.

Corpus Callosum↗
PubMed2001

Intensely positively charged perineuronal nets in the adult rat brain as detected by staining with anionic iron colloid.

Ferric chloride, when boiled with ammonium thiocyanate, ammonia and cacodylic acid, is converted into a fine anionic iron colloid which consists of 1.0-1.5 nm electron dense granules and gives a distinct Prussian blue reaction (OHTSUKA and MURAKAMI, 1986). Light microscopy of tissue sections stained with this fine anionic iron colloid at pH values of 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 showed that the healthy adult rat brain contains a considerable number of neurons which possess an intensely positively charged perineuronal net. This net was most clearly demonstrable by staining with the anionic iron colloid at a pH value of 8.0, at which ionizations of almost all cationic sites of the tissue elements were obliterated. Transmission electron microscopy of ultrathin sections stained at a pH value of 8.0 showed that the anionic iron colloid was preferentially deposited in the perineuronal tissue spaces. These findings indicate that the intensely positively charged perineuronal net contains some strongly basic substances such as guanidino compounds, and occupies the perineuronal (perisynaptic) tissue space.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Reduction of ischemic damage by application of insulin-like growth factor-1 in rat brain after transient ischemia.

In order to investigate a possible effect of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) on ischemic brain injury, IGF-1 was applied topically on the brain surface of reperfused rat brain after 60 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. In contrast to the cases treated with vehicle, the infarct volume was greatly reduced at 24 h of reperfusion by the treatment with IGF-1. Immunohistochemical analysis in the middle cerebral artery territory showed that Caspase-3 staining was markedly reduced in the cases with IGF-1 treatment, but 72-kDa heat shock protein staining remained almost unchanged. The present results suggest that treatment with IGF-1 exerts a significant effect on ameliorating brain injury after transient focal brain ischemia. Moreover, this effect is greatly associated with the reduction of Caspase-3 staining, but is only minimally associated with a decreasd stress response at the cellular level.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Two Japanese CADASIL families with a R141C mutation in the Notch3 gene.

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a rare hereditary disease characterized by recurrent transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and strokes, and vascular dementia with Notch3 gene mutations as the cause of the disease. To date, there are only a few Japanese families ever reported with a mutation in the gene. Here, we report two more Japanese CADASIL families carrying a missense mutation in the Notch3 gene (R141C) with a unique lesion in the corpus callosum. This is the first report of two unrelated Japanese CADASIL families with a R141C mutation in the Notch3 gene. Although the disease is very rare among the Japanese population, our result suggests a possible relationship of this particular mutation (R141C) with the lesions of the corpus callosum.

Agenesis of Corpus Callosum↗
PubMed2001

Rheumatoid factor positive hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis in association with hypopituitarism and multiple cranial nerve palsies.

This is the first report of a patient presenting with rheumatoid factor (RF) positive hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis (HCP) in association with hypopituitarism and multiple cranial nerve palsies. Our patient developed palsies of the left II and III, bilateral VI and VII, and right IX, X, and XII cranial nerves. A stimulation test showed hypopituitarism due to hypothalamic failure. The patient was seropositive for RF but had no multiple joint pain or deformities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed thickened dura of the sellar and parasellar region, hypothalamus, bilateral cavernous sinuses and the tentorium all of which were enhanced by gadolinium (Gd). Treatment with prednisone improved clinical symptoms and MRI findings concomitant with reduction of RF titer. Although the exact mechanism of HCP has not been clearly elucidated, the present case suggests an autoimmune mechanism associated with RF.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Detection and quantification of human herpesvirus 6 genomes using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in immunocompromised patients with interstitial pneumonia.

Human herpesviruses have been recognized as a pathogen involved in interstitial pneumonia (IP), especially in immunocompromised patients. So far, little is known about involvement of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in systemic respiratory tract disease. Currently, routine diagnostic tests for HHV-6 are inefficient for HHV-6 reactivation, therefore, we established a rapid quantification system of HHV-6 using real-time PCR in order to determine the possible role of human HHV-6 reactivation in immunocompromised patients showing IP. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens were obtained from 84 consecutively treated patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILD) including various types of IP. First, we determined the viral burden in BALF and peripheral blood obtained from healthy volunteers. In healthy volunteers, the prevalence of HHV-6 in BALF was higher (4/12, 33.3%) than in peripheral blood (8/53, 15.1%), ranging from 0 to 101.65 HHV-6 genome copies per 1 microg of DNA. Among 84 patients with ILD analyzed, the prevalence of HHV-6 in BALF was 27.4% (23/84), ranging from 0 to 103.87 copies per 1 microg of DNA. Three specimens obtained from patients with collagen vascular disease, 2 from Hodgkin's disease, and 1 with sarcoidosis had high level of HHV-6 viral DNA, while none of the patients with idiopathic IP showed elevation of HHV-6 (more than 102) in BALF. Our results suggest that measurement of HHV-6 genomes in BALF using real-time PCR may be useful in management of the care of respiratory complications in immunocompromised patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Dynamic MR imaging of liver lesions with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SH-U-555A)].

Dynamic MRI with SH-U-555 (SPIO) was evaluated. Dynamic MRI was performed for 17 patients with 22 lesions. Dynamic study with T2*-weighted imaging (T2* dynamic) and T1-weighted imaging (T1 dynamic) were performed in 8 cases (10 lesions) and 9 cases (12 lesions), respectively. T2* dynamic MR images were obtained before and 30, 90, 180, 270, 360, and 450 seconds and 31 minutes after the intravenous injection of SPIO, and T1 dynamic MR images were obtained before and 0, 40, 80, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, and 480 seconds and 28 minutes after the injection of SPIO. The signal intensity of each lesion was measured before and after the injection of SPIO. The enhancement ratio of the lesions was calculated and evaluated. The enhancement ratio of hypervascular lesions decreased rapidly in the first phase of T2* dynamic MRI, while that of hypovascular lesions decreased gradually. The enhancement ratio of hypervascular lesions increased in the first phase of T1 dynamic MRI and decreased gradually, while that of hypovascular lesions lacked the increase in the first phase, in contrast to hypervascular lesions. However, the changing of signal intensity could not be recognized on images with T2* dynamic and T1 dynamic study. In conclusion, quantitative analysis using the enhancement ratio made it possible to anticipate lesion vascularity.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Statistics on the operations at the Department of Urology, Fuji City General Hospital during a 10-year period (January 1989-December 1998)].

A 10-year statistic survey was carried out on the operations performed at the Department of Urology, Fuji City General Hospital. The total number of operations was 1,862 cases during 10 years. The number of operations for malignant tumors has increased since 1994 year after year. Transurethral resection of prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia has decreased since 1992, with the advent of the alpha 1-blocker. The patients with urolithiasis are being cured by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy on an outpatient basis, at our hospital, except in special cases. It was suggested to be safe, so the complications needing admission appeared in only 1.2% of the cases.

Female↗
PubMed2001

[Sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor of the testis: a case report].

We report here a case of sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor of the testis. A 21-year-old male, who complained of right testicular pain, visited a Jikei University affiliated hospital on May 30th, 1999. A small nodule with a diameter of 6 to 7 mm was palpable on the central surface of the right testis. No tumor markers for testicular cancer, such as hCG-beta and alfa-fetoprotein, were elevated. However, ultrasound revealed a hypoechoic mass with increased blood flow. Therefore, we performed right high orchiectomy under the diagnosis of right testicular cancer. Pathological diagnosis of this tumor was sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor. Neither recurrence nor metastasis has been found for 12 months postoperatively.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus.

GB virus-C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) is a positive, single-strand RNA virus that has been classified in the family Flaviviridae. Interestingly, GBV-C/HGV appears to have a truncated or absent core protein at the amino terminus of the polyprotein. GBV-C/HGV is transmitted parenterally and probably sexually. Most GBV-C/HGV infections appear to be asymptomatic, persistent, and no correlation between virus infection and liver dysfunction although the disease-inducing activity of GBV-C/HGV remains to be investigated. Furthermore, there was no evidence of pathogenesis in the liver by experiment with chimpanzees. From these results, GBV-C/HGV might be considered as a kind of "orphan" virus in search of a disease. Epidemiological investigation demonstrated that GBV-C/HGV infection is present in about 1-1.4% of the healthy population in developed countries and in 8-14.6% in developing countries. The genome of GBV-C/HGV exhibits a sequence variation among different isolates. On the basis of this variation, it has been proposed that GBV-C/HGV can be classified into at least four major genotypes, consisting of type 1 (West Africa), type 2 (US/Europe), type 3 (Asia), and type 4 (Southeast Asia).

Africa↗
PubMed2001

Gene therapy with adenovirus-mediated glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and neural stem cells activation after ischemic brain injury.

Recent advancements in molecular biology are made to expect the appearance of the new treatment of stroke patients. One is the administration of neurotrophic factors, and another is the use of neural stem cell. In this report, we performed two experiments. First experiment is administration of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) using an adenovirus vector into ischemic rat brain. A replication-defective adenoviral vector containing GDNF gene (Ad-GDNF) was directly injected into the cerebral cortex at 1 day before 90 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Infarct volume of the Ad-GDNF injected group at 24 h after the transient MCAO was significantly smaller than that of vehicle or Ad-LacZ treated group. These results suggest that the successful exogenous GDNF gene transfer ameliorates the ischemic brain injury after transient MCAO in association with the reduction of apoptotic signals. Second one is the neural stem cell activation after transient ischemia. We investigated a possible expression of highly polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) in gerbil hippocampus after 5 min of transient global ischemia in association to the proliferation of neural stem cell labeled with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). The number of PSA-NCAM positive cells increased in dentate gyrus (DG) at 10 and 20 days, and that of BrdU-labeled cells increased in DG at 5 and 10 days after the reperfusion. Immunofluorescence for PSA-NCAM and BrdU showed that a few cells per section were double labeled in DG only at 10 days after the reperfusion. These results suggest different chronological change of PSA-NCAM positive and BrdU-labeled cells in DG after transient ischemia.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed2001

Na+ and K+ dependence of morphological changes of cultured rat cortical astrocytes.

Cultured astrocytes display flattened, polygonal morphology in the absence of stimuli, and change into process-bearing stellate cells in response to specific stimuli. In the present study, we investigated possible role of Na+, K+ and Ca2+ in this morphological change of cultured rat cortical astrocytes. Astrocyte stellation induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP (1 mM), phorbol ester (100 nM) or amyloid beta peptide (20 microM) was partly suppressed by replacing NaCl with choline chloride or LiCl in the extracellular medium or by adding KCl, and was completely abolished by replacing NaCl with KCl. Furthermore, the astrocyte stellation was blocked by the specific Na+-K+ pump inhibitor ouabain. However, it was not significantly affected by removing CaCl2 from the extracellular medium nor by adding the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel blocker nicardipine. These results suggest that Na+ and K+, but not Ca2+, electrochemical gradients across the plasma membrane are necessary for morphological changes of astrocytes. In addition, amyloid beta25-35-induced stellation was most susceptible to changing Na+ and K+ concentrations or ouabain, while phorbol ester-induced stellation was least sensitive, demonstrating that the Na+ and K+ dependence differs among stimuli.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Mitral exposure technique for redo cardiac surgery. A left mediastinal pleurotomy and minimal adhesiotomy method.

We report an improved mitral exposure technique for mitral valve re-operation. Left mediastinal pleurotomy through a median sternotomy achieves rotation of the heart and excellent exposure of the mitral valve allowing the apex to drop posteriorly. We employed this technique in redo mitral valve surgeries for over a 3-year period. This minimal adhesiotomy method is technically simple, safe and time-saving.

Humans↗
PubMed2001

[Experience of gamma-detecting probe for the survey of sentinel node in gastroesophageal malignancies].

Gamma-detecting probe NAVIGATOR GPS (Autosuture Japan) was evaluated by using of 99mTc. Linearlity of counting in radioactivity was fairly good, but the sensitivity of the prove is so low, that sentinel node (SN) should contain the 3.7 x 10(-3) MBq (0.1 microCi) of 99mTc or more for the most effective use of it. And the count rate of the gamma-detecting probe was influenced by the distance and angle from the 99mTc source variously. It is important for the operator to know such characteristics of the gamma-detecting probe in order to obtain the correct SN judging.

Esophageal Neoplasms↗