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Biomedical subjects

K Tajima

Publications and source records attributed to K Tajima.

At least 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources

Epidemiological analysis of the distribution of antibody to adult T-cell leukemia-virus-associated antigen: possible horizontal transmission of adult T-cell leukemia virus.

About 20% of healthy inhabitants in the endemic area of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) in Nagasaki Prefecture showed a positive antibody to adult T-cell leukemia virus (ATLV)-associated antigen (ATLA), while none of the inhabitants in a non-endemic area in Aichi Prefecture showed a positive anti-ATLA. The age-specific positive rate of anti-ATLA in the endemic area increased with age, especially in females. The positive rate of anti-ATLA among inhabitants older than 40 years was 21% in males and 36% in females. From epidemiological analyses of the mode of anti-ATLA reactivity among married couples and some family members and relatives with positive and negative anti-ATLA, two routes of transmission of ATLV were suggested. One route is from parents to children, either vertically or horizontally, and the other route is horizontal transmission between spouses, especially from husband to wife. The presence of some vectors of ATLV in the endemic area of ATL is discussed.

Adult↗

Current status of PEP bleomycin studies in Japan.

1. The therapeutic effects of pepleomycin seem superior to those achieved with bleomycin against squamous cell carcinoma and malignant lymphoma. 2. In basal cell epithelioma, carcinoma in situ (e.g., actinic keratosis, Bowen's disease), adenocarcinoma (e.g., mammary and genital Paget's disease), and adult soft tissue sarcoma, pepleomycin as well as bleomycin was clinically ineffective. 3. Of the two cases of stage IV malignant melanoma, pepleomycin combined with MeCCNU and VCR exerted a moderate effect against multiple disseminated skin metastases in one, and a slight effect against a VI rib metastasis in the other. 4. The sorts of side effects of pepleomycin were almost the same as those of bleomycin. Lung toxicities were less frequent under pepleomycin treatment than those under bleomycin treatment.

Adolescent↗

Spontaneous activity in the trachea of dogs treated with indomethacin: an experimental model for aspirin-related asthma.

1 Electrical and mechanical properties of smooth muscle cells or of neuro-effector transmission in the smooth muscle layer of the dog trachea, were studied after treatment with indomethacin, by means of the double sucrose gap, microelectrode or tension recording methods. 2 After several subcutaneous injections of indomethacin (1.0 mg/kg daily), 6 out of 12 dogs were coughing and wheezing. 3 Smooth muscle tissues dissected from the trachea of the coughing dog showed spontaneous electrical and mechanical activities at the frequency of 8-15 per min. These spontaneous electrical and mechanical activities were completely suppressed by treatment with atropine (10(-6) M), isoprenaline (5 X 10(-7) M) or prostaglandin E2 (10(-9) M) but not by tetrodotoxin (1.5 X 10(-6) M). 4 Direct muscle stimulation induced oscillatory potential changes followed by tension development in the trachea of the indomethacin-treated dog. 5 In the indomethacin-treated dog, mean membrane potential of the tracheal smooth muscle cells was -52.4 mV, and in the control trachea, the potential was -59.0 mV. 6 In the trachea from control dogs, the amplitude of test e.j.ps after conditioning e.j.ps was always smaller than the conditioning e.j.p., at any time interval between the two stimuli. In the trachea from indomethacin-treated dogs, facilitation phenomena were observed. 7 In the trachea from the indomethacin-treated dog, prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) or PGE2 (10(-10)-10(-9) M) markedly suppressed the amplitude of the e.j.p. but did not affect the facilitation phenomenon. 8 These results indicate that endogenous prostaglandins play important physiological roles in the feed-back inhibitory mechanisms for acetylcholine release from the nerve terminals during the resting and active states. 9 The results are also discussed in relation to the genesis of aspirin-induced asthma in man.

Animals↗

Actions of indomethacin and prostaglandins on neuro-effector transmission in the dog trachea.

Neuro-effector transmission in the smooth muscle layer of the dog trachea was studied in vitro using the micro-electrode and double sucrose gap methods.1. Electrical field stimulations with short duration (50-100 musec) applied to the whole tissue produced an excitation of the intrinsic nerves, and evoked excitatory junction potentials (e.j.p.s) followed by twitch tension development and subsequent long lasting relaxation of the smooth muscle tissue.2. The effects of field stimulations were abolished by tetrodotoxin (2 x 10(-7)m), and atropine (1.7 x 10(-5)m) selectively blocked both the e.j.p. and twitch tension. On the other hand, propranolol (1.9 x 10(-5)m) suppressed the generation of the prolonged relaxation evoked by the field stimulations.3. E.j.p.s recorded by the double sucrose gap method showed gradual and continuous reduction in amplitude during prolonged exposure in Krebs solution (1-2 hr), and there were no changes in the membrane potential or in the input membrane resistance.4. With application of indomethacin (10(-5)m), a gradual and continuous reduction in the amplitude of e.j.p. was no longer observed, and (after the initial increase in the amplitude) e.j.p.s with a constant amplitude were obtained during 1-1.5 hr. Indomethacin (10(-5)m) modified neither the resting membrane potential nor the input membrane resistance of smooth muscle cells.5. After pre-treatment with indomethacin, low concentrations (10(-11)-10(-8)m) of prostaglandin E(1) or E(2) (PGE series) markedly suppressed the amplitude of e.j.p. with no changes in the resting membrane potential or in the input membrane resistance.6. During the repetitive field stimulation at the stimulus frequency of 0.1-1 Hz, the amplitude of the e.j.p.s was gradually reduced (the depression process). The depression was not affected by applications of prostaglandins, indomethacin or alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blockers.7. These results indicate that in the dog tracheal smooth muscles, the endogenous PGE series may play an important role in feed-back inhibitory mechanisms, at the nerve terminals related to acetylcholine release.

Animals↗

A hypothesis on the etiology of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.

The results of the nationwide survey performed by the T- and B-cell Malignancy Study Group revealed that adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) was prevalent in limited zones in Kyushu, mainly in coastal areas, warm in winter and humid in summer. It was found that the geographical distribution of filariasis was very similar to that of ATLL. It is known that filariasis affects lymphatic vessels and results in several lymphoreticular ailments, and microfilaria is transmitted by mosquitoes infected with some kinds of not yet fully identified viruses. From analyses of the time trends of the average weight and height of school children by prefecture, it is suggested that the nutritional condition of inhabitants in Kyushu might have been poorer than that of inhabitants of other areas in Japan, especially in the past. In order to elucidate the etiology of ATLL, relevant geographic-pathological information and other related information was accumulated and an etiological hypothesis was formulated. It was hypothesised that repeated exposure to filarial antigen and some viruses might have played an important role in the etiology of ATLL and that undernutrition had also contributed to the progression of ATLL.

Adult↗

[Atlanto-axial, Atlanto-occipital dislocations, developmental cervical canal stenosis in the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (author's transl)].

Clinical, biological, histopathological and laboratory data are reported on a 13-year-old male with atlanto-axial, atlanto-occipital hypermobilities, cervical canal stenosis, hypoplastic atlas and hypoplastic first rib in the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. He developed frequent attacks of sudden tetraplegia or tetraparesis and numbness below C2 due to trivial neck injuries. Examination revealed marked hypermobilities of all joints the cutis elastica (Fig. 1), spastic tetraparesis and fasciculation of the tongue. Occipito-atlantal hypermobility measured by Wiesel and Rhothmans' method revealed 5 mm horizontal translation (Fig. 2). Anterior and lateral dislocations of atlanto-axial joints were marked due to laxicity of the joint. Posterior decompression of C1, laminotomy of C2,3, occipito-C2 fixation with autogenous iliac "board (3 X 6 cm, rectangular board) graft" yielded favorable results with 15 months follow-up. To our knowledge, this is the first patient reported with this unusual combinations.

Adolescent↗