Biomedical subjects

K Fujikawa

Publications and source records attributed to K Fujikawa.

330 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Histological features of cirrhosis with hepatitis C virus for prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma development; a prospective study.

The histological features of pre-neoplastic lesions in HCV-associated cirrhosis remain uncertain. The aim of this prospective study was to elucidate histological features for predicting the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A cohort of 72 consecutive patients with hepatitis C-associated cirrhosis, which was diagnosed by histology investigated for development of HCC. Seven histological features including small cell dysplasia (SCD) and large cell dysplasia (LCD) of liver cirrhosis were evaluated with regard to the development of HCC. In addition, proliferation and apoptosis were investigated using immunohistochemistry by proliferating cell nuclear antigen and TUNEL method, respectively. At enrollment, SCD was observed in the biopsy specimens of 18 out of 72 (25.0%) patients and LCD was observed in 20 out of 72 (27.8%). Twenty eight out of 72 patients (38.9%) developed HCC during a mean follow-up period of 72.4 months. Among the histological parameters, SCD, active inflammation and complete nodule were statistically significant factors for the cumulative probability of developing HCC. However, LCD did not appear to be important for HCC development. In multivariate analysis, SCD was the highest independent risk factor for HCC. Samples with SCD demonstrated a higher proliferative rate and a lower apoptotic rate than normal hepatocytes or samples with LCD. These results indicate that SCD is a major risk factor for HCC. Careful assessment of liver histology may be important in order to predict HCC development in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Full implementation of a computerized nursing records system at Kochi Medical School Hospital in Japan.

A project to fully implement a novel computerized nursing records system resulted in the standardization of nursing records, reduced the administrative workload for staff, enabled medical staff to know a patient's status at any given time, and improved the quality of nursing care provided to patients. The development process of the computerized nursing records system involved three main steps: 1) the establishment of a new nursing assessment form and introduction of nursing diagnosis into routine work, 2) computerized system design and construction, and 3) the usability check of the computerized nursing records system in a clinical setting for 1 year. The successful development of the computerized nursing records system was based on the following points: 1) the assessment form for nursing diagnosis was improved and the nursing diagnosis was introduced before the computerized system was designed and constructed; 2) full, rather than partial, implementation of the computerized system occurred; 3) existing knowledge of nursing assessments and standard care planning were fully used; 4) registered data were optimally reused upon summarization and readmission to reduce the nurses' workload; and 5) portable computers were introduced to enable simple and quick recording of bedside findings. The routine use of the computerized nursing records system was started in April 2000. More comprehensive investigations during the next 2 to 3 years are necessary to determine how the contents of nursing records can be improved and how much the computerized nursing records system affects the quality of nursing.

Hospital Information Systems↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis.

Two cases of pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis are reported and findings of high resolution computed tomography (CT) are described. CT reveals that most lesions appearing reticular or emphysematous on radiographs are actually cysts, and accurately displays the extent and distribution of cystic change of the lung. On high resolution CT, individual cystic walls are much better displayed than on routine 10 mm section CT. Further, it is possible to detect even trivial pleural effusion and mediastinal lymph node swelling by CT.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

New equipment for a radiation therapy simulator: a device for simplifying irregular field shaping and integrating simulator and therapy machine.

Shaping of irregular treatment fields was facilitated by our newly developed Niwa-Fujikawa irregular field-shaping unit, which was mounted onto a standard radiation therapy simulator. The introduction of a "fieldgraph" led to the functional integration of the simulator and therapy machine. A fieldgraph is a radiograph of an irregular treatment field taken on the Niwa-Fujikawa unit at the same distance as the focus-to-shadow-tray distance of the corresponding therapy machine. The fieldgraph can be taken at the same time as the portal localization film. Through the fieldgraph, which is positioned on the shadow tray of the therapy machine, the irregular treatment field is directly projected onto the skin of the patient. Consequently, marking the irregular field on the skin of the patient is unnecessary. The authors believe that both the new unit and the fieldgraph contribute to greater efficiency and accuracy in daily application of radiation therapy.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

BK virus-induced osteosarcoma (Os515) as a model of human osteosarcoma.

BK virus was isolated by Gardner et al in 1971 from the urine of an immunosuppressed patient with a kidney allograft. Antibodies to this virus are ubiquitous in the general populations worldwide, but the oncogenic capacity of BKV in humans had not been reported. The virus transformed in vitro permissive human and non-permissive animal cells, and the transformed cells had the T antigen. Intracerebral and intravenous inoculation of BKV in newborn hamsters induced malignant tumours (mainly ependymomas, malignant insulinomas, and osteosarcomas). Subcutaneous and intraperitoneal routes were also effective. The virus was only rescued from a few tumours by fusion with human embryonic cells or Vero cells. Brain tumours appeared earlier and osteosarcomas developed in animals which survived for more than 6 months. Many of the osteosarcomas were bony and grew slowly with frequent lung metastases, and a few osteosarcomas were soft and grew rapidly without lung metastases. Experimental targeting chemotherapy with doxorubicin (DX)-containing immunoliposomes was performed against Os515 osteosarcoma. In in vitro experiments, DX-Lip-MoAb29 showed a more significant inhibitory effect on cultured Os515 cells than free Dx and DX-Lip. DX-Lip DNP had less effect. In in vivo experiments, DX-Lip-MoAb29 suppressed the growth of Os515 tumour isografts in hamsters and prolonged the survival of recipients more significantly than free DX.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A newly established mouse model of peritoneal dissemination in human pancreatic cancer.

Tissue from a Suit-2 cell line derived from human pancreatic cancer was transplanted into the normal pancreas of Balb/c nu/nu mice using a physiological fibrin adhesive kit (Beriplast P). A minced tissue specimen (2-5 x 10(2) mg) was transplanted into normal pancreas in each nude mouse, and immediately thereafter 10 microliters of type A solution and 10 microliters of type Bsolution of Beriplast P were administered simultaneously at the transplanted area. The tumor tissue promptly adhered to the normal pancreas. Ten days after the implantation of cancer tissue, neovascularization had also already formed around the cancer tissue. The transplantation ratio of cancer tissue in normal pancreas was 100% (20/20). The capsule around the cancer tissue had not clearly formed. Twenty-one days after transplantation, the cancer cells were observed to be disseminated and closely fixed to the mesentery. The dissemination ratio of this cell line in the mouse mesentery was 85% (17/20) at 21 days after transplantation. This nude mouse model might thus be useful for investigating the development of human pancreatic cancer.

Animals↗