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Biomedical subjects

K Ohara

Publications and source records attributed to K Ohara.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

[Problem of molecular psychiatry in view of the trinucleotide repeat expansion disease].

Recent findings of trinucleotide repeat expansion diseases (TNED) have suggested that some familial psychiatric diseases may be caused by the same molecular mechanisms. Anticipation and imprinting phenomena have been shown to be present in families with schizophrenia. Studies by means of the Repeat Expansion Detection (RED) showed the frequencies of the expanded CAG repeat in schizophrenia was larger than those in normal control subjects. However, there are several problems; anticipation may be caused by not only TNED but also by unknown mechanisms and biases; RED method cannot detect the specific TNE, and TNE which was unrelated to a disease was found.

Anticipation, Genetic↗
PubMed1999

[Acute retinal necrosis with varicella zoster dermatitis in the fellow eyelid].

BACKGROUND: We report a case of acute retinal necrosis with contralateral varicella zoster dermatitis. CASE: The patient, a 61-year-old man, developed acute retinal necrosis in the right eye 1 month after varicella zoster dermatitis in the left eyelid. PROGRESS: Intravenous acyclovir, corticosteroids, and laser photocoagulation were effective without any surgical treatment. CONCLUSION: We suggest that ophthalmoscopic examination of both eyes is needed in cases with varicella zoster dermatitis.

Eyelid Diseases↗
PubMed1999

[Peripheral 5-FU blood concentration after high-dose injection into the hepatic artery: potential preventive effect on extrahepatic metastatic foci].

To clarify the effect of high-dose 5-FU injection into the hepatic artery (1,000 mg/m2 weekly) on liver metastases of colorectal cancer, the peripheral venous 5-FU concentration was measured in two groups of patients, one which had undergone hepatectomy and the other which had not. The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was calculated and the preventive effect of 5-FU on extrahepatic lesions was examined. The peripheral venous 5-FU concentration and AUC were higher in patients who received the drug via the hepatic artery after hepatectomy, and 5-FU was effective for the prevention of extrahepatic lesions as well as against recurrence in the residual liver.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Chemoradiation therapy for advanced esophageal cancers--report of 3 cases].

Three cases of prominent-type advanced esophageal cancer were treated with chemoradiation therapy using a 5-FU analog and low dose CDDP. All cases showed a complete response after the treatment. Only mild bone marrow suppression was found in one case. This protocol will be applied for patients with prominent-type advanced esophageal cancers, especially high risk patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

[Patterns of initial treatment failure of esophageal cancer following radiotherapy].

Sixty patients with stage I-III esophageal squamous cell cancer treated by definitive radiotherapy (RT) were analyzed for patterns of treatment failure. Patients were treated by external RT alone (n = 45) or in combination with intraluminal RT (N = 15) when suitable, with prescribed total doses ranging from 59.4 to 104.4 Gy. Concurrent chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin and/or 5-fluorouracil was administered to 19 patients. The two-year actuarial survival rate and two-year disease-free survival rate were 29.5% and 18.3%, respectively. Two-year failure rates were 66.5%, 36.9%, and 3.8%, for the esophagus, lymph nodes, and other sites, respectively. Two-year esophageal failure rates for patients with T1-2 (n = 8), T3 (n = 30), and T4 disease (n = 22) were 14.3%, 64.7%, and 87.9%, respectively (p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis of esophageal failure with descriptive variables of T classification, tumor length, and performance of intraluminal RT revealed that only T classification was an independent factor (p = 0.021). Two-year lymph node failure rates were 24.8% and 33.6% for patients with N0 (n = 36) and N1 disease (n = 24), respectively (p = 0.0035). Lymph node failure in N0 patients was found exclusively outside the treatment field. These results suggest that inclusion of potential lymph node metastases in the radiation field could lessen the lymph node failure rate in T1-3N0M0 patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the lenticular nuclei in bipolar I affective disorder.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMS) was used to examine the ratio of choline-containing compound (Cho) to creatine (Cr) in the basal ganglia. Subjects comprised 10 bipolar I affective disorder patients and 10 healthy control subjects. No significant difference was found in the Cho/Cr, N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA)/Cr, or NAA/Cho ratios between bipolar patients and control subjects. Within the bipolar group, negative correlations emerged between the NAA/Cr ratio in the right lenticular nuclei and both age at onset and age at the time of study. The results suggest that a late onset of illness and older age are associated with neuronal cell loss in the right lenticular nuclei in bipolar patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Functional polymorphism of -141C Ins/Del in the dopamine D2 receptor gene promoter and schizophrenia.

Several studies showed the density of D2 receptors was elevated in postmortem brains from schizophrenics. Genes which operate at the level of gene activation may be associated with the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Arinami et al. [(1997) Human Molecular Genetics 6, 577-582] found a polymorphism in the 5'-flanking region of the D2 receptor gene designated as -141C Ins/Del. The promoter activity by luciferase assay of a plasmid containing the -141C Ins allele was higher than in the one containing the -141C Del allele. In addition, the -141C Ins allele frequency was significantly higher in schizophrenics than in control subjects. We replicated the -141C Ins/Del polymorphism in 170 schizophrenics and 121 healthy control subjects. The number of schizophrenics with the -141C Ins/Ins genotype was significantly higher than that of control subjects (P = 0.038). The frequency of the -141C Ins allele was significantly increased in the schizophrenics compared with the control subjects (P = 0.042). The mean age of onset for the patients with -141C Ins/Del was significantly lower than that for the patients with -141C Ins/Ins (P = 0.029). There was no association between the genotype and either positive symptoms or the response to antipsychotic medication. Our results suggest that the -141C Ins/Del polymorphism may affect the susceptibility to schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Association between anxiety disorders and a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene.

Recently, individuals with the short form of the serotonin transporter were found to be associated with neurotic characteristics. An association study on this polymorphism was performed in anxiety disorder patients and control subjects. The short form allele frequency in patients tended to be higher than that in control subjects (81.7 vs. 74.5%). Although it is difficult to ascribe significance to these 'tendencies', these data may suggest that variation of this functional polymorphism makes some contribution to anxiety disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter promoter at the SLC6A4 locus and mood disorders.

BACKGROUND: Heils et al found a functional polymorphism in the transcriptional control region upstream of the serotonin transporter gene at the SLC6A4 locus. The transcriptional promoter activity of the short (s) form was less than twice that of the long (l) form of the serotonin transporter promoter gene. In addition, they found individuals with the s form with associated neurotic characteristics (e.g., anxiety, anger, hostility, and depression). The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there is an association between this functional polymorphism and mood disorders. METHODS: The l/s polymorphism was studied in 80 patients with mood disorders and 92 control subjects. RESULTS: There was statistically no difference between mood disorders and healthy controls in either the genotype or the allele frequency. There was statistically no difference between the genotype and subdiagnosis, family history, single/recurrent episodes of depressive disorders, suicide attempts, or the mean age of onset. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest there is no association between the l/s polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene and mood disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

No association between anxiety disorders and catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphism.

Several studies have shown that the morbidity risk for anxiety disorders is increased among the relatives of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Recently, it was reported that a polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is significantly associated with OCD. The purpose of this study was to determine the association, if any, between the COMT polymorphism and anxiety disorders. We undertook an association study of the COMT polymorphism in 108 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for anxiety disorders and 135 healthy controls. All subjects were unrelated Japanese. The subdiagnostic groups did not differ significantly from the control group in either the genotypic or allelic frequencies. There were no statistically significant differences between the genotype and males, females, or a family history. The mean age of onset did not significantly differ among the genotypes. Our results suggest this functional COMT polymorphism does not make an important contribution to anxiety disorders in the Japanese population.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Detection of DNA lesions induced by chemical mutagens by the single cell electrophoresis (Comet) assay. 1. Relationship between the onset of DNA damage and the characteristics of mutagens.

We evaluated the relationship between the onset of DNA damage and the characteristics of 5 model chemical mutagens with the single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCG) assay using L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells. We treated the cells with each chemical for 3 h and sampled them 0.21, and 45 h after treatment. DNA damage induced by UV mimetic mutagens MMS and MNU, and X-ray mimetic mutagen BLM was observed just after treatment, crosslinking agent MMC-induced DNA damage was detected 21 h after treatment, and 6-MP as an inhibitor of DNA synthesis did not induce DNA damage at any sampling time. These results suggest that the SCG assay detects DNA lesions just after treatment with UV and X-ray mimetic mutagens, but needs a waiting period after treatment with crosslinking agents.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Anticipation and imprinting in Japanese familial mood disorders.

Several reports have suggested the presence of anticipation and imprinting in Caucasian families with either unipolar or bipolar affective disorders. In practice, families consisting of subjects with bipolar and unipolar affective disorders are common, whereas unipolar cases were not included in the analysis because of their uncertain diagnostic status. The purpose of this study is to determine if anticipation and imprinting are associated with Japanese familial mood disorders. The age of onset, clinical course rating, single/recurrent disease episodes, number of hospitalizations, and number of suicide attempts were compared between two generations in 26 Japanese families with mood disorders [offspring/parental: unipolar (U/U), 14; bipolar/unipolar (B/U), 12]. A significantly lower age of onset and more recurrent episodes were observed in the offspring generation than in the parental generation in both U/U and B/U families. Our results suggest the presence of anticipation in both Japanese U/U and B/U families with mood disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Polymorphism in the promoter region of the alpha 2A adrenergic receptor gene and mood disorders.

Alpha 2 adrenergic receptors are thought to play a crucial role in the etiology or treatment of mood disorders. Polymorphism(s) in the promoter region of the alpha 2 receptor may affect the gene expression and be associated with mood disorders. We studied the previously reported polymorphisms of the alpha 2A receptor gene at position-1291 in 114 healthy controls and 103 mood disorder patients. There was statistically no difference between controls and patients in either the genotype or the allele frequency. There was statistically no difference between the genotype and the clinical characteristics. Our results suggest there is no association between this polymorphism in the promoter region of the alpha 2A receptor gene and mood disorders.

Alleles↗
PubMed1998

Low activity allele of catechol-o-methyltransferase gene and Japanese unipolar depression.

Several studies have shown that depressed patients have significantly lower catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) activity than healthy controls. Two COMT genes coding for low activity, COMTL, and high activity, COMTH have been identified. We undertook an association study on 75 depressive disorder patients, 40 bipolar disorder patients and 135 healthy controls. All the subjects were Japanese. Patients with depressive disorders exhibited a significantly higher rate of genotypes with the COMTL allele than healthy controls (p = 0.012), which was not the case in patients with bipolar disorders. The presence of the COMTL allele was significantly associated with depressive disorders (odds ratio 2.19, 95% CI 1.19-4.03). Our results suggest the COMTL allele contributed to the etiologies of depressive disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

5-HT2A receptor gene promoter polymorphism--1438G/A and mood disorders.

A 5-HT2A receptor promoter polymorphism, -1438G/A, was reported to be significantly increased in patients with anorexia nervosa when compared with controls. In practice, many patients with anorexia nervosa suffer from mood disorders. Furthermore, 5-HT2A receptors are thought to play a role in the etiologies of mood disorders. Thus, we studied the polymorphism in 95 Japanese patients with mood disorders and 106 healthy Japanese controls. The allele frequency for the -1438G/A polymorphism did not differ between the patients and controls. In addition, the genotype frequencies did not differ according to the subdiagnosis, age of onset, family history of psychiatric illness or suicide attempts.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Three cases of right-sided active endocarditis with multiple pulmonary infarction].

We have experienced three patients with right-sided active endocarditis combined with multiple pulmonary infarction. Ventricular septal defect (VSD), aortic regurgitation (AR), tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and congestive heart failure were present in case 1. TR was present in case 2. VSD, TR and patent ductus arteriosus were present in case 3. alpha-Streptococcus caused endocarditis in case 1 and 3; Candida albicans caused endocarditis in case 2. Antibotic therapy had no effect in case 2 and 3. Case 1 and 3 developed pulmonary hemorrhage, which resolved before the operation in case 1, but not in case 3. Our three patients underwent surgery and recovered successfully. They were discharged on the 43th, 58th and 32th postoperative day and are presently free of clinical symptoms. These experiences suggest surgery should be undertaken in the following situations: 1. antibiotic therapy has no effect on the infection, 2. hemodynamics are worsening, and 3, pulmonary infarction and pulmonary hemorrhage occur repeatedly.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

[Case report of surgical repair of left ventricular free wall rupture using GRF glue and pericardial patch].

A 73-year-old woman with acute myocardial infarction (Seg. 6: 100%) was admitted to our hospital. She underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA) and stent insertion to Seg. 6 on that day and anticoagulant therapy with urokinase and heparin was started in CCU. On the 4th day, chest pain developed suddenly and echocardiography revealed cardiac tamponade, so we suspected left ventricular free wall rupture. When blood pressure increased to 100 mmHg in the operating room, the left ventricular free wall rupture became "blow out" type. After establishing extracorporeal circulation, we glued Xenomedica and autologous pericardium using gelatin-resorcin-formaldehyde glue (GRF glue) to the linear tear without damaging the myocardium and coronary arteries and reducing left ventricular volume. Bleeding was completely controlled. This experience suggests that this procedure might be effective for left ventricular free wall rupture.

Aged↗