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Biomedical subjects

K Ohta

Publications and source records attributed to K Ohta.

At least 559 records · Page 31Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Hemichorea associated with ipsilateral chronic subdural hematoma--case report.

Left-sided hemichorea developed suddenly in a 73-year-old male. Computed tomography revealed a left subdural hematoma (SDH) and infarction in the right corona radiata and temporo-occipital region. Hemichorea subsided completely after removal of the SDH. Postoperative single photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m-hexamethyl-propyleneamine oxime revealed a global low-perfusion area in the right cerebral hemisphere. Right carotid angiography demonstrated severe stenosis of the trunk of the right middle cerebral artery. The cerebral blood flow in the right cerebral hemisphere had probably already decreased to nearly the critical level and was reduced further by the left SDH, inducing the left-sided hemichorea due to dysfunction of the right cerebral hemisphere. This case shows that when hemichorea ipsilateral to a SDH is present, it is important to ascertain whether there is a pre-existing ischemic lesion in the contralateral cerebral hemisphere, particularly in the basal ganglia, thalamus, or corona radiata.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Genetic predisposing factors in non-insulin dependent diabetes with persistent albuminuria.

We designed this study to elucidate a possible involvement of genetic factors which influence the progression of renal dysfunction in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). A total of 328 patients was randomly selected in the Tokai University Hospital. They had been cared for in our hospital as NIDDM for the past five years, until April, 1989. Fifty-six patients with persistent albuminuria, and an equal number of patients without persistent albuminuria were included in this study. No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of age, estimated period of illness, blood pressure, body-mass index, HbAlc, blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride level and mean blood pressure. The family histories obtained by questionnaires revealed that there might be some genetic predisposing factors leading to the onset of nephropathy in patients with NIDDM, especially in cases with paternal high blood pressure. It is suggested that paternal hypertension might be related to the development of nephropathy in patients with NIDDM.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

[Relationship between anaerobic threshold and breathlessness during exercise].

We studied the possibility that during incremental exercise anaerobic threshold (AT) is associated with an increase in breathlessness in subjects with increased impedance or respiratory system. Six patients with chronic lung diseases (CLD) and six healthy subjects performed cycle ergometer exercise under two conditions; with free resistive loading and with 9 cmH2O/l/sec of inspiratory resistive loading (IRL). Ventilation, respiratory pattern, VO2, VCO2, were measured every 15 sec by a metabolic cart, Minato Respiromonitor RM 300. AT was determined by V-slope method. Mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1) was also measured in six subjects during exercise. The subjects selected a number of modified Borg scale (psi) to express their breathlessness during exercise by pushing a electrically potentiated remote button. Slopes of changes in psi with increasing work-load, delta psi/delta watt-slope, were calculated before and after V-slope AT, and each inflection point of VE, respiratory rate, VT/Ti, and VCO2. In order to evaluate which parameters are the most responsible for a change in psi, statistical significance (P-value) in changes of slope of each parameters were compared. The delta psi-slope increased with the highest significance after AT point. Under IRL the significance was more pronounced. There was a highly significant linear correlation between P0.1 and psi during exercise both under free resistive loading and IRL. In addition the increase of P0.1 with incremental exercise was characterized by a presence of inflection at a workload of V-slope AT in most of the subjects. From these results it was concluded that anaerobic threshold was closely associated with an increase of breathlessness during exercise via enhancing respiratory motor command.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[An autopsy case of sarcoidosis associated with renal failure].

A 62-year-old woman presented with uveitis and abnormal chest X-ray (bilateral hilar adenopathy). Skin biopsy in 1983 had revealed non-caseating epithelioid cell granuloma consistent with sarcoidosis. Her serum biochemical investigations and exploratory laparoscopy suggested nodular liver cirrhosis, but biopsy was not performed. Both blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine values were within normal limits. She received prednisolone therapy of 15 mg daily initially, and later a maintenance dose of 5 mg daily. In 1985, she complained of skin itching and her laboratory data revealed severe renal insufficiency (BUN 97 mg/dl, serum creatinine 12.2 mg/dl) and hypercalcemia (corrected serum calcium level: 11.5 mg/dl). Prednisolone treatment (40 mg daily) resulted in a dramatic improvement of renal function as well as other clinical abnormalities due to sarcoidosis, without any significant changes in liver function. She died of cerebral infarction in 1989. Autopsy showed interstitial nephritis with tubular calcinosis and hyalinized glomeruli. It is postulated that hypercalcemia due to sarcoidosis contributed to the renal failure in this patient. This case suggests that renal damage due to sarcoidosis may be reversible with appropriate corticosteroid therapy.

Female↗
PubMed1992

Detection and clinical usefulness of urinary interleukin-6 in the diseases of the kidney and the urinary tract.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a key role in inflammatory and immune responses in the host. In the present study, the IL-6 activity in urine from patients with various renal diseases was examined to elucidate the pathological and clinical significance of urinary IL-6. In patients with mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (mes-PGN) including, IgA nephropathy, the urinary IL-6 activity tended to increase with the progression of mesangial hypercellularity. In four patients with IgA nephropathy, urinary IL-6 activity increased markedly but transiently during episodes of acute exacerbation associated with upper respiratory tract infection. In addition, it was demonstrated that urine from patients with other types of PGN such as poststreptococcal acute glomerulonephritis and membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis contained large quantities of IL-6. However, the levels of urinary IL-6 activity were almost within the normal range in non-proliferative glomerular diseases such as membranous nephropathy, minimal change nephrotic syndrome and lupus nephritis (WHO class I and V), non-glomerular bleeding and orthostatic proteinuria. It should be noted that a marked increase in urinary IL-6 was often observed in the patients with urinary tract infection. These results indicated that IL-6 in urine might be derived from various types of cells participating in inflammatory reactions not only in the renal parenchyma but also in the urinary tract.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Clinical study on the time courses of serum myosin light chain I levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction: effect of intracoronary thrombolysis on serum myosin light chain I levels].

Changes of serum myosin light chain I (Myosin LCI) concentrations and CK activities were serially measured in 23 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Intracoronary thrombolysis was performed in 14 patients (ICT group) while the remaining 9 patients were treated in the conventional manner (non ICT group). The relationships between the maximum levels of serum Myosin LCI or CK and a myocardial infarct size index or left ventricular function were evaluated in 18 patients. The myocardial infarct size index was determined by 201Tl myocardial scintigrams performed in the chronic phase. Multiple peaks of Myosin LCI were observed in 64% (9/14) of the ICT group and the first peak in 6 of these patients appeared Much earlier in the same time as CK peak than in the non-ICT group, while multiple peaks were seen only in one case in the non-ICT group. The infarct size index by 201Tl myocardial SPECT correlated with maximum Myosin LCI levels (r = 0.88, p < 0.001, n = 10) and CK activities (r = 0.67, p < 0.05, n = 10). These results indicate that the measurement of serum Myosin LCI is very useful for estimating the extent of myocardial damage and suggest that myocardial degeneration occurs at a very early phase of myocardial infarction.

Female↗
PubMed1992

[Dyspnea and ventilatory muscle function during exercise on air and oxygen breathing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)].

Exercise performance and dyspnea in COPD patients have been shown to be improved with supplemental oxygen, although the exact mechanisms resulting in the improvement are still unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate a possible relationship between ventilatory muscle function and sensation of dyspnea (modified Borg Scale) during exercise on 20% O2 and 30% O2. Eight patients with COPD (FEV1 1.06 L +/- 0.30 L) exercised on a treadmill two times breathing compressed air or 30% oxygen with a one hour rest in between. The electrical activity of the diaphragm (EMGdi) was recorded with esophageal electrodes, and that of the sternomastoid muscle (EMGsm) was recorded from the fine wire electrodes. The ratio of high frequency (150 to 350 Hz) to low frequency (20 to 47 Hz) power (H/L) of EMGdi was analyzed to assess diaphragmatic fatigue, which was defined as a 20% fall of H/L ratio from the control value. Flow, volume, O2 Saturation (SaO2), esophageal pressure (Pes) and transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) were measured. Tension time index (TTdi) was calculated from Pdi and the ratio of inspiratory time to total time for one cycle (Ti/Ttot). At rest, we measured maximal esophageal pressure (Pesmax), maximal transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdimax), maximal integrated EMGdi (EMGdimax) and EMGsm (EMGsmmax). Incremental exercise was discontinued by dyspnea. The walking distance achieved was increased in all patients on 30% O2. Dyspnea and desaturation were significantly improved on 30% O2 breathing, and the onset of diaphragmatic fatigue was delayed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1992

[A case of recurrent liver tumor from gastric cancer responding remarkably to hepatic arterial infusion of large doses of mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil].

A 69-year-old man underwent subtotal gastrectomy for gastric cancer in 1989. He was diagnosed with recurrent liver tumors at 9 months after the operation. Mitomycin C and 5-Fluorouracil were infused repeatedly into hepatic artery, at total doses of 170 mg and 15 g, respectively. Metastatic tumors disappeared in liver by this therapy. There were no side effects such as liver dysfunction, bone marrow suppression and anorexia in spite of the large amount of anti-cancerous agents. This case suggested that hepatic arterial infusion of a large amount of anti-cancerous agents is a good method for liver metastasis from gastric cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

[Ventriculoperitoneal shunt using a continuously variable-resistance valve for management of hydrocephalus, especially for cases mimicking simple brain atrophy].

Twenty-two hydrocephalic patients with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt using a continuously variable flow resistance valve (Orbis-Sigma valve system; Cordis Corporation, USA) were reviewed to discuss usefulness of the shunt system. We divided the cases into two groups according to the demonstration of the cortical sulci in computed tomography (CT) as follows; A: progressive hydrocephalic cases mimicking simple brain atrophy, B: acute or subacute hydrocephalic cases with evidence of increased intracranial pressure. Patients in Group A had begun to present slowly progressive loss of activity, dementia and gait disturbance of various degrees after a long quiescent period following primary central nervous system injury. CT findings of these cases showed they were mimicking simple brain atrophy. Although the period of their deterioration was very long, ranging from 1 month to nine years, clinical signs improved in all cases after the shunt. None showed complications. Group B cases consisted of those with signs of increased intracranial pressure such as consciousness disturbance, nausea and vomiting. These cases showed poor demonstration of the cortical sulci in CT. Eleven out of thirteen cases showed satisfactory clinical improvement, though the size of the ventricle showed a slight decrease following shunt procedure. Only one case showed unilateral subdural effusion. In conclusion, this shunt system is useful for the management of ventricular enlarged cases mimicking simple brain atrophy as well as acute hydrocephalic cases. Troublesome consequences such as subdural effusion and hemorrhage rarely occur even in cases with low cerebrospinal pressure.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Thyrotropin receptor non-mediated thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin in Graves' disease.

There exists a consensus that hyperthyroid Graves' disease is caused by thyrotropin receptor (TSH-R) autoantibodies. To test the possibility that the TSH-R is the sole antigen for thyroid stimulating antibodies (TSAb), we compared bioactivities of Graves' IgGs between non-thyroid mammalian cells transfected with human TSH-R cDNA and the reference thyroid bioassay. A Graves' IgG with TSH-binding inhibitor immunoglobulin (TBII) activity (89%) markedly stimulated cAMP formation in both CHO-K1 cells transfected with TSH-R cDNA (340 microU/ml of TSH equivalent) and rat thyroid cells, FRTL-5, (410 microU/ml of TSH equivalent). In contrast, a TBII negative (-1.5%) IgG from another patient with Graves' disease showed a strong thyroid stimulating activity (87 microU/ml of TSH equivalent) when FRTL-5 cells were used for the assay. But no stimulating activity was observed in this IgG when CHO-K1 cells transfected with TSH-R cDNA were used, suggesting a possible existence of TSH-R non-mediated thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin in some cases of Graves' disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Anti-skeletal muscle and anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in patients with thymoma without myasthenia gravis: relation to the onset of myasthenia gravis.

We measured the anti-skeletal muscle (SM) antibody titers in sera from 46 patients with thymoma but without Myasthenia gravis (MG) in order to determine whether the presence of anti-SM antibody is linked to the combination of thymoma-MG, or to thymoma alone. We detected anti-SM antibodies in 18 of these sera, of which 15 had concomitantly elevated titers of anti-AChR antibodies. Moreover, 9 of whom had experienced the onset of MG after surgery. In contrast, no patient without elevations in both antibodies developed MG during the followup. We conclude that the presence of anti-SM antibodies is linked strongly with thymoma associated with MG, but not with thymoma alone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The mRNA levels of thyrotropin receptor, thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase in neoplastic human thyroid tissues.

Expression levels of thyrotropin receptor (TSH-R), thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) mRNA in normal and neoplastic human thyroid tissues (6 adenomas and 7 carcinomas) were investigated by Northern-blot and slot-blot analyses. We found that TSH-R mRNA levels were significantly lower in carcinoma tissues than in normal tissues. The levels of Tg mRNA were also significantly lowered in adenoma and carcinoma tissues as compared to normal tissues. In contrast, no significant difference was observed in the expression levels of TPO mRNA between these tissues. Furthermore, TSH-R mRNA levels were well-correlated with Tg mRNA levels in neoplastic tissues. These results suggest that mRNAs of TSH-R and Tg are expressed in relation to their degree of differentiation.

Actins↗
PubMed1991

In vitro effects on microtubule dynamics of purified Xenopus M phase-activated MAP kinase.

The protein kinase MAP kinase, also called MAP2 kinase, is a serine/threonine kinase whose activation and phosphorylation are induced by a variety of mitogens, and which is thought to have a critical role in a network of protein kinases in mitogenic signal transduction. A burst in kinase activation and protein phosphorylation may also be important in triggering the dramatic reorganization of the cell during the transition from interphase to mitosis. The interphase-metaphase transition of microtubule arrays is under the control of p34cdc2 kinase, a central control element in the G2-M transition of the cell cycle. Here we show that a Xenopus kinase, closely related to the mitogen-activated mammalian MAP kinase, is phosphorylated and activated during M phase of meiotic and mitotic cell cycles, and that the interphase-metaphase transition of microtubule arrays can be induced by the addition of purified Xenopus M phase-activated MAP kinase or mammalian mitogen-activated MAP kinase to interphase extracts in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Endothelin-3 stimulates production of endothelium-derived nitric oxide via phosphoinositide breakdown.

Cultured bovine endothelial cells (EC) have specific receptors for endothelin (ET)-3 functionally coupled to phosphoinositide breakdown. We studied whether ET-3 stimulates synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), an endothelium-derived relaxing factor that activates soluble guanylate cyclase in EC, and whether the ET-3-induced NO formation involves G-proteins. ET-3 dose-dependently stimulated production of intracellular cGMP in EC, of which effects were abolished by pretreatment with NG-monomethyl L-arginine, an inhibitor of NO synthesis, and methylene blue, an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase. The stimulatory effects of ET-3 on cGMP production, inositol trisphosphate formation and increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration were similarly blocked by pretreatment with pertussis toxin (PTX). These data suggest that ET-3 induces synthesis of NO mediated by phosphoinositide breakdown via PTX-sensitive G-protein in EC.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The infection of mouse preimplantation embryos to Sendai virus (parainfluenza I).

To provide information on the susceptibility of mouse embryos to Sendai virus, it was investigated if viral replication occurs in the preimplantation embryo at different stages of development, with or without the zona pellucida (ZP). Mice were induced to superovulate, and embryos were collected on Days 2, 3 and 4 after mating. The ZP was removed by digestion with 0.5% pronase. Embryos were exposed to Sendai virus, washed, and allowed to develop in fresh culture medium. The presence of viral antigen in the embryonic cells was examined by the fluorescent antibody test (FAT). Specific immunofluorescence was demonstrated in the ZP-free morula and ZP-intact blastocyst. However, viral antigen was not detected in the ZP-intact two-cell, four-cell, eight-cell or morula stage embryos. Infected embryos developed normally to expanded blastocysts. These findings show that mouse embryonic cells are permissive hosts to Sendai virus replication and that the ZP played the role of a barrier against the virus.

Journal Article↗