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Biomedical subjects

K Oka

Publications and source records attributed to K Oka.

At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources

Morphine and codeine are endogenous components of human cerebrospinal fluid.

We have examined cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from twelve patients who were not on any medication and found them to contain both morphine and codeine in concentrations of 2 to 339 fmol/ml. These are comparable to the concentration of opioid peptides in spinal fluid. Both morphine and codeine are present mainly in conjugated form from which the free alkaloids can be released by acid hydrolysis.

Adolescent↗

Carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder. Effect of associated neoplastic lesions on clinical course and treatment.

Clinical courses of 67 patients with carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the urinary bladder during 14 years from 1971 to 1984 were investigated according to the clinical type of CIS and treatment methods. CIS was classified into four types: the primary group included 18 patients who had neither prior nor simultaneous tumors of the urinary tract; the secondary group included 10 patients who had CIS diagnosed subsequent to the treatment of superficial papillary bladder tumor; the concurrent group included 14 patients who had CIS concomitantly with superficial papillary bladder tumor; and the nonpapillary T1 group included 25 patients who presented with CIS with concomitant nonpapillary T1 tumor. As a rule, the initial treatment was conservative (transurethral resection [TUR] or intravesical chemotherapy) for the primary, secondary, and concurrent CIS groups, whereas treatment was radical (total cystectomy or irradiation) for the nonpapillary T1 group. Five-year survival rates of the primary, secondary, concurrent, and nonpapillary T1 groups were 41%, 100%, 49%, and 68%, respectively. Secondary CIS revealed a rather good prognosis, probably due to the early detection of CIS and early application of intravesical chemotherapy when compared to other groups. Except for patients with nonpapillary T1 tumors, the 5-year rate of malignant progression (invasion or metastasis) and multiple recurrences leading to delayed cystectomy was 81% in 16 patients treated by TUR, whereas it was 39% in 21 patients treated by instillation therapy. It appears likely that intravesical chemotherapy was preferable to other conservative therapies as an initial treatment of CIS. Radical therapy, however, may be the choice for CIS with nonpapillary T1 tumors, ab initio.

Adult↗

Sequential instillation therapy with mitomycin C and adriamycin for superficial bladder tumors.

From October 1983 to September 1985, 84 patients with superficial bladder tumor (Ta, Tl, Tis) were treated with sequential instillation of mitomycin C (MMC) and adriamycin (ADM). Doses of 20 mg MMC on day 1 and 40 mg ADM on day 2 were instilled into the bladder and retained for at least 2 h; this was repeated once a week for 5 consecutive weeks. Patients who achieved complete response (CR), were randomized and underwent prophylactic treatment taking the form of either intermittent instillation of MMC or daily oral administration of 5-fluorouracil. Of 79 evaluable patients, 72 (91%) had received prior treatment for superficial bladder tumors, 69 (87%) had high-grade tumors, and 18 (23%) had non-papillary Tis. The overall response rate was 68%, made up of CR in 43 patients (54%) and partial response (PR) in 11 (14%). Patients with either five or more tumors or tumors larger than 1 cm showed a significantly lower response rate than those with fewer than five tumors and tumors smaller than 1 cm, respectively. There was no correlation between tumor growth pattern, tumor grade and response rate, though non-papillary Tis appeared to respond better than papillary tumors. A history of prior instillation therapy or of toxicity to this treatment had no significant influence on the response rate. Although no systemic toxicity was observed, 62 patients (74%) experienced cystitis and the treatment had to be discontinued within 4 weeks in 13 of 33 cases with severe symptoms. The preliminary conclusion of prophylactic treatment was that intermittent instillation of MMC was superior to 5-FU medication in reducing the recurrence rate for at least 2 years after the treatment.

Administration, Intravesical↗

Molecular cloning and sequence of a cDNA coding for bovine lipoprotein lipase.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL; triacylglycero-protein acylhydrolase, EC 3.1.1.34) was purified from bovine milk. Synthetic oligonucleotides were prepared, based on the amino acid sequences of three peptides obtained from partial digestion of purified LPL, and were used as probes to isolate cDNA clones for LPL mRNA from a bovine mammary gland. One of the clones, pLPL-49R2, contains an insert cDNA (49R2) of about 3.2 kilobases (kb) that hybridizes to all three probes and encodes a polypeptide that includes the NH2-terminal sequence of bovine LPL reported recently [Ben-Avram, C. M., Ben-Zeev, O., Lee, T. D., Hagga, K., Shively, J. E., Goers, J., Pedersen, M. E., Reeve, J. R. & Schotz, M. C. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83, 4185-4189]. Complete nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that cDNA insert 49R2 contains the entire coding region for LPL as well as a 3' untranslated region of about 1.6 kb. The predicted amino acid sequence indicates that bovine LPL is a hydrophilic protein consisting of 450 amino acids (Mr 50,548) in its unglycosylated form. Blot hybridization analysis of poly(A)+ mRNA from bovine mammary gland demonstrated that there are at least three sizes of LPL mRNAs--3.2, 2.5, and 1.7 kb--with the 2.5-kb mRNA being the most abundant. Restriction endonuclease mapping of other cDNA clones suggested that the variation in mRNA size results from differential utilization of polyadenylylation signals during mRNA processing.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterization of autoantigens relevant to autoimmune ophthalmitis and thyroiditis in mice immunized with the syngeneic tissue extracts and Klebsiella O3 lipopolysaccharide.

The histological localization and biochemical properties of the autoantigens relevant to experimental autoimmune ophthalmitis and thyroiditis were studied using sera from mice hyperimmunized with the corresponding tissue extract of syngeneic mice and Klebsiella O3 lipopolysaccharide (KO3 LPS) as a potent adjuvant. Specific antigens were detected in the lens of the eyeball by immunofluorescence test with sera from mice in which ophthalmitis had been induced and the antigens were lenticular proteins with molecular weights (MW) of 15,000 (15K) to 25K, and 45K. The lenticular proteins with MW of 15K to 25K correspond to the subunits of crystalline. These findings clearly demonstrated that our experimental model for autoimmune ophthalmitis was classified as the lens-induced uveitis. The colloids of the thyroid follicles and the follicular cells were markedly stained by sera from mice in which thyroiditis had been induced. One of the autoantigens detected in the thyroid gland was biochemically consistent with a thyroglobulin subunit. It was also shown that these autoantigens detected in the present study were organ-specific but not species-specific. The nature of autoantigens in the eye and the thyroid gland is discussed.

Animals↗

The effect of transferrin and lysozyme on antibacterial activity of amniotic fluid.

Amniotic fluid obtained from normal full term gestation inhibited the growth of E. coli, Staph. aureus and B. subtilis, while Ps. aeruginosa, Str. faecalis and Str. agalactiae proliferated readily in amniotic fluid. But when amniotic fluid was heated at 100 degrees C for 5 minutes, its antibacterial activity was completely lost. The levels of transferrin and lysozyme in amniotic fluid at term were determined to be 29.1 +/- 17.6 mg/100 ml (n = 90) and 19.1 +/- 8.3 micrograms/ml (n = 145), respectively. Antibacterial activity against E. coli was restored by adding transferrin into heat-treated amniotic fluid at a concentration of 250 mg/100 ml or higher, but simultaneous addition of transferrin and sufficient concentration of iron to form a transferrin-iron complex resulted in the loss of antibacterial activities. When lysozyme was added to the amniotic fluid, which had lost its antibacterial activity through exposure to heat, the antibacterial effect on B. subtilis was restored. The growth of Staph. aureus in heat-treated amniotic fluid was inhibited by the concomitant addition of lysozyme and aminobenzyl penicillin.

Amniotic Fluid↗

Disseminated cutaneous Fusarium infection with vascular invasion in a leukemic patient.

A 61-year-old male with leukemia manifested multiple cutaneous nodules on his whole body surface, subcutaneous nodules on his arms and a tongue tumor. Septate hyphae were observed microscopically in scrapings from the surfaces of the cutaneous lesions. Fusarium solani and F. anthophilum were isolated from scrapings from the several skin lesions. Histological examination revealed the presence of numerous septate hyphae in the lumina of vessels in the dermis. The fungal elements in the cutaneous tissues were suggested to be Fusarium by an immunoperoxidase method using a genus-specific anti-Fusarium antibody. Although no evidence of fungal infection was found in other organs by clinical examinations, F. solani and/or F. anthophilum were considered to have undergone hematogenous dissemination, because of the presence of thrombi containing abundant fungal elements in the skin lesion. The present case is a case of disseminated cutaneous Fusarium infection, in which fungal elements in skin tissue sections were immunohistochemically regarded as Fusarium, though fungus cultures from biopsied specimens were negative.

Dermatomycoses↗

[Therapeutic problems in aged patients with intracranial aneurysms].

In a series of 404 patients with intracranial saccular aneurysm, 61 were over 65 years of age. Ten of these aged patients had no surgery. The operative mortality in the aged patients was 11.8%. While the mortality rate in patients below 65 years was 6.1%. The main complication following intracranial surgery for aneurysm consisted of cerebral infarction due to vasospasm, hydrocephalus, intracranial hematoma and general complications. The incidence of angiographical vasospasm was 22.6% in the aged patients and 43.6% in the young patients. There is no significant difference in vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage between the aged and young patients. Cerebral infarction occurred in 27.5% of the aged patients and in 24.6% of the young patients. Severe cerebral infarction was found in 92.9% of the aged patients and in 58% of the young patients. Vasospasm resulted in broad cerebral infarction significantly more frequently in the aged patients, but cerebral infarction proved was non-fatal in the aged patients. Ventricular dilatation detected by CT was found in 33.3% of the aged patients and in 24.2% of the young patients. In patients with ventricular dilatation, 82.4% of the aged patients needed ventriculo-peritoneal shunt (V-P shunt). On the other hand, 39.3% of the young patients had V-P shunt. There was no significant difference for ventricular dilatation detected by CT between the aged and young patients. The aged patients depended on V-P shunt significantly more than did the young patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay compared for determination of cortisol and corticosterone in plasma after a dexamethasone suppression test.

We developed sensitive, specific "high-performance" liquid chromatography (HPLC) for determining suppressed cortisol and corticosterone in human plasma and compared its efficacy with that of conventional radioimmunoassay (RIA) at concentrations in the nanogram per liter range. Steroids from a 0.5-mL aliquot of plasma were extracted by rapid-flow fractionation, with diethyl ether as mobile-phase solvent, diatomaceous earth granules as stationary-support material. Analytical recovery of the steroids approached 100%. Concentrations in plasma were determined from peak-height ratio calibration (dexamethasone internal standard). The analytical column contained silica gel and the solvent system was water/methanol/dichloromethane/n-hexane (0.1/3/30/66.9 by vol). We could measure the steroids before and 20 h after oral administration of 0.5 mg of dexamethasone. The detection limit was 300 ng per liter of plasma for corticosterone, 500 ng/L for cortisol, with CVs of less than 4%. Determining corticosterone after administration of dexamethasone, in four of 20 such samples we could determine concentrations greater than 300 ng/L; the others contained corticosterone between 100 and 300 ng/L, but these values could not be certified analytically. Mean concentrations of these hormones as determined by RIA substantially exceeded those by HPLC. Some cross reactions in RIA could not be considered negligible in spite of pre-column treatment of the extracts.

Adult↗

[Acute squamous metaplasia of the whole lung after combined radiation and chemotherapy in advanced lung cancer].

Two patients with advanced lung cancer, histologically diagnosed as adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, respectively, were treated with a combination of radiation and anticancer drugs (aclacinomycin-A, bleomycin, mitomycin). The lung tumors responded remarkably to this combined modality. However, the patients succumbed to pneumonia-like disease, being refractory to various antimicrobial treatments. Histologic examination revealed that the outstanding squamous metaplasia developed diffusely in the terminal bronchioles and the alveoli in all lobes of the lungs. Compared with their clinical courses and the resultant detailed pathological findings, the pathogenesis of the conditions was discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗