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Biomedical subjects

K Tashiro

Publications and source records attributed to K Tashiro.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Disparity between tidal and static volumes of immature lungs treated with reconstituted surfactants.

We biologically assessed functions of several reconstituted surfactants with the same minimum surface tension (2-3 mN/m) as "complete" porcine pulmonary surfactant (natural surfactant) but with longer surface adsorption times. Administration of natural surfactant (adsorption time 0.29 s) into the lungs of surfactant-deficient immature rabbits brought a tidal volume of 16.1 +/- 4.4 (SD) ml/kg during mechanical ventilation with 40 breaths/min and 20 cmH2O insufflation pressure. In static pressure-volume recordings, these animals showed a lung volume of 62.4 +/- 9.7 ml/kg at 30 cmH2O airway pressure and maintained 55% of this volume when the pressure decreased to 5 cmH2O. With two reconstituted surfactants consisting of synthetic lipids or isolated lipids from porcine lungs plus surfactant-associated hydrophobic proteins (adsorption times 0.57 and 0.78 s, respectively), tidal volumes were < 38% of that with natural surfactant (P < 0.05), but static pressure-volume recordings were not different. Care is therefore needed in estimating the in vivo function of surfactant preparations from minimum surface tension or static pressure-volume measurements.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Eight-year follow-up study of bromocriptine monotherapy for Parkinson's disease.

An 8-year nationwide study of bromocriptine monotherapy and combination therapy with bromocriptine and levodopa in Parkinson's disease is reported. Fifteen patients were on bromocriptine monotherapy, and 44 patients on bromocriptine combined with levodopa for a certain time during an 8-year period. By judging from Hoehn and Yahr's grading, 4 of the 15 patients in the monotherapy group were in a better condition than before treatment, while 7 cases remained in the same grading, and only 4 showed deterioration. On the other hand, 26 of 44 patients on combination therapy showed more advanced grading at the end of 8 years compared to the stage at the onset of the trial. Maintenance doses of bromocriptine in the two groups were 12-13 mg per day, and levodopa doses were kept at a relatively low level (310-370 mg per day) during this study period. Whether dopamine receptor agonists have neuroprotective effect or not is extremely difficult to prove in human subjects, but this type of long-term follow-up study might give some clues as to these important questions.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Local increase in polymorphonuclear leukocyte elastase is associated with tumor invasiveness in non-small cell lung cancer.

The production of tumor cell proteases is implicated in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. To determine whether lung cancer cells can produce polymorphonuclear leukocyte elastase (PMN-E), we measured the concentration of immunoreactive (ir)-PMN-E in the conditioned medium of seven lines of non-small cell lung cancer cells, EBC-1, LC-1sq, LK-2, A-549, PC-3, RERF-LC-MS, and RERF-LC-OK, and three normal lung epithelial cell lines, CCD-8Lu, WI-1003, and LL-24, by using a recently developed enzyme immunoassay (EIA). We measured the concentration of ir-PMN-E in extracts of 40 non-small cell lung cancers, and evaluated its association with the clinicopathologic findings in these patients. The ir-PMN-E level in the culture medium increased with time in six of the seven lines of lung cancer cells; the exception was PC-3. No detectable ir-PMN-E was secreted into the culture medium of the three lines of normal lung epithelial cells. The ir-PMN-E was detected in tissue extracts from 34 to 40 specimens at concentrations ranging from 0.11 to 15.5 micrograms/100 mg of protein. When 40 specimens of lung cancer were categorized by clinical stage of disease, the ir-PMN-E concentration was significantly higher in stage IIIB vs stages I, II, or IIIA. Similarly, the ir-PMN-E concentration was significantly higher in stage IIIA than in stage I. Evaluation of correlations between the ir-PMN-E concentration and patient characteristics showed that the ir-PMN-E level was significantly higher in T3 and T4 tumors than in T1 or T2 tumors. Analysis of prognostic factors in a group of 101 patients with non-small cell lung cancer demonstrated that those with high ir-PMN-E had a significantly shorter overall survival vs those with a low ir-PMN-E at the cutoff point of 3.5 micrograms/100 mg of protein. Multivariate analysis showed that ir-PMN-E was a significant porgnostic factor for early death (hazard ratio, 4.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.65 to 9.95) (p = 0.005), suggesting it was an independent marker for prognosis. Results suggest that the local production of PMN-E may be involved in the tumor invasion associated with a poor prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Prevalence of Parkinson's disease in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan.

The prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) was investigated in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. A pilot case-finding study was carried out to estimate the prevalence in the entire island of Hokkaido (population = 5,643,647) initially, then we surveyed the prevalence at one of the smaller cities, Iwamizawa City (population = 80,417). We ascertained 5,342 cases with PD in Hokkaido and 77 cases in Iwamizawa City, estimating the crude prevalence of 94.7/100,000 in Hokkaido (June 30, 1993) and 95.8/100,000 in Iwamizawa City (April 1, 1994), respectively. We calculated that the crude prevalence rate of PD in Japan in currently close to 100/100,000, but the age-adjusted prevalence is still low, compared with those in Europe and North America.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[What is brain's senility?].

Japan is the nation of the highest longevity in the world, average length of life being 76.57 years old for man and 82.98 for woman in 1994, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan. How to cope with normal or abnormal senility is the matter of utmost interest at present time. Therefore, this symposium was very important, and was open not only for physicians, but for citizens. The five expert lecturers made the excellent presentations on these difficult topics from basic to clinical standpoints. The participants were all impressed by these up-to-date talks and discussions throughout the sessions.

Aging↗
PubMed1996

[Clinical study on urinary cytology in renal pelvic and ureteral tumors].

We analyzed the urinary cytology of 126 patients with renal pelvic and ureteral cancer who were initially treated during the last 10 years. Cytological specimens were stained by the Papanicolaou techniques. Urinary cytology was classified according to the Papanicolaou's classification. Classes IV and V were defined as positive. The cytologic findings were compared with the grade, shape, size, number and stage of tumors. The positive rates were 49.2% in renal pelvic and ureteral cancers. Higher positive rates were observed in high grade, non-papillary and large (> or = 3 cm) tumors. No correlation existed among the positive rates and number or stage of the tumor.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[A case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) associated with demyelinating peripheral neuropathy].

A 41-year-old man had common cold on April 10, 1991. Five days after this illness he developed fever, dysarthria, visual field impairment, gait disturbance and consciousness disturbance followed. On admission in another hospital, cerebrospinal fluid showed 341/mm3 cells (303 mononuclear cells, 33 polynuclear cells, 5 red cells), protein of 238 mg/dl, and sugar of 59 mg/dl. One month later, the neurological examinations revealed flaccid paraparesis, decreased deep tendon reflexes in the lower extremities, bilateral positive Babinski and Chaddock reflexes, positive Beevor sign, stocking type superficial sensory disturbance, diminished vibration sense in the lower extremities and neurogenic bladder. Eight months later, he improved to be able to walk by himself, but decreased Achilles tendon reflexes, bilateral positive Babinski and Chaddock reflexes and paresthesia over both feet were noted neurologically. Nerve conduction study revealed reduced conduction velocities at tibialis anterior nerves, sural nerves and no response on both deep peroneal nerves. A 1 micron thick epon section of a biopsied sural nerve with toluidine blue stain showed a decreased number of myelinated fibers (6394/mm2) with many thinly myelinated fibers and Renaut bodies. There was no edema nor cell infiltration. Electronmicroscopical findings of their ultrathin sections showed many collagen pockets, denervated Schwann cell clustering and a few onion bulb formations. Teased fiber preparations suggested segmental demyelination and remyelination in many fibers. This case could be regarded as a case of ADEM associated with demyelinating peripheral neuropathy, and the possibility of the simultaneous demyelinating process in the central and peripheral nervous system was discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[A case of chronic bromvalerylurea intoxication with episodic neurological manifestations such as optic neuropathy ophthalmoplegia and ataxia].

A 28-year-old man presented with a bilateral visual loss of acute onset, and was diagnosed as having optic neuropathy by an ophthalmologist. It disappeared spontaneously within 2 months. A visual loss at the left side relapsed ten months later, followed by a dysarthria, horizontal defective saccade, ataxia, and mild weakness of four extremities, which also subsided within one month only by multi-vitamin therapy. These signs recurred episodically with characteristic clinical features of dysarthria, horizontal ophthalmoplegia, defective saccade, ataxia, and weakness, during the next year. Clinical features mimicked those of various neurological disorders, especially multiple sclerosis, Wernicke encephalopathy, brainstem encephalitis, Fisher syndrome, disorders of amino acid metabolism and episodic ataxia. Tablets of bromvalerylurea were incidentally found at the bedside and bromides were detected in his sera. Drugs containing bromides are now easily available without prescription, so we should keep the intoxications of those drugs in mind in facing undiagnosed patients with various episodic neurological symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Reliability and factorial structure of a rating scale for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis].

The Modified Norris Scale is a rating scale for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which consists of two parts, the Limb Norris Scale and the Norris Bulbar Scale. The Limb Scale has 21 items to evaluate extremity function and the Bulbar Scale has 13 items to evaluate bulbar function. Each item is rated in 4 ordinal categories. Considering the habitual difference, we translated the English scale into Japanese one with minor modification, and added more detailed explanations for all categories of each item. Then we examined reliability and factorial structure of the translated scale. The subjects were 23 patients with motor disturbance and each subject was rated twice by 2-4 neurologists. As a measure of reliability, the Kappa coefficient proposed by Cohen (1960) and Kraemer (1980) was calculated for each item and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was evaluated for total scores of each of two scales. To analyze the factorial structure, the factor analysis was carried out. The minimum and the maximum Kappa values were .70 and .97 for intra-rater reliability of the Limb Scale's items, .60 and .83 for inter-rater reliability of the Limb Scale's items, .41 and 1.00 for intra-rater reliability of the Bulbar Scale's items and .26 and .81 for inter-rater reliability of the Bulbar Scale's items, respectively. Concerning the factorial structure, the contribution of the first factor was 83.6% for the Limb Scale and that for the Bulbar Scale was 66.7%. This indicates unidimensionality of both Scales. The ICCs for the total scores were .97 (95%C.I. .95-.99) for the Limb Scale and .86 (.73-.93) for the Bulbar Scale, respectively. On the basis of these results, the Scale has unidimensionality and high reliability enough for practical use.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[MRI changes in spontaneous intracranial hypotension].

We report MRI changes in a spontaneous intracranial hypotension(SIH). The patient was 29-year-old woman, who developed headaches in upright position, nausea, and vomiting preceded by pressure feeling of ears. Neurological examination was unremarkable except for hyperreflexia in the lower extremities. Lumbar punctures revealed very low opening pressure, a mild elevated CSF protein and a mild pleocytosis. No evidence of underlying systemic or neoplastic diseases was noted. The brain and cervical MRI showed diffuse and continuous pachymeningeal enhancement with gadolinium. Her symptoms gradually improved within two months without any treatment, and follow-up MRI showed resolution of the abnormalities within five months. The dural enhancement with gadolinium seen in the SIH should be kept in mind in case of hypertrophic pachymeningitis of unknown etiology, and be differentiated from such diseases as hypertrophic pachymeningitis associated with infectious, neoplastic diseases or sarcoidosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Postgraduate training in neurology].

Neurology is considered to be an independent special medical field closely related to internal medicine, neurosurgery and psychiatry clinically, and various basic neurosciences. Neurology training programs between U.S.A. and Japan were compared, and the possibility of Japanese training programs were proposed.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1995

The murine lymphotoxin-beta receptor cDNA: isolation by the signal sequence trap and chromosomal mapping.

To isolate novel molecules involved in intercellular signaling during mouse embryogenesis, we employed the signal sequence trap (SST) method, a newly developed strategy for cloning secreted proteins and type I membrane proteins. We constructed an SST cDNA library of mouse embryonic heart mRNA, screened 2000 clones, and acquired 1 positive clone that appeared to contain the signal sequence. Homology searches revealed that this clone encodes the mouse lymphotoxin-beta receptor (LT beta-R). The deduced amino acid sequence of the mouse LT beta-R was 66% identical to that of the human LT beta-R. Northern analysis of various organs in adult mice showed that expression levels of LT beta-R mRNA were strong in lung, liver, and kidney, moderate in heart and testis, but weak in brain, thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes. Since the mouse LT beta-R was already expressed in 7-day-postcoitus embryo, the LT beta/LT beta-R system might have some functions in early embryogenesis. We performed chromosomal mapping of the murine LT beta-R gene by linkage analysis with recombinant inbred mouse strains and found that its locus is very close to the tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 gene on chromosome 6.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Structure and chromosomal localization of the human stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF1) gene.

Stromal cell-derived factors 1 alpha and 1 beta are small cytokines belonging to the intercrine CXC subfamily and originally isolated from a murine bone-marrow stroma cell line by the signal sequence trap method. cDNA and genomic clones of human SDF1 alpha and SDF1 beta (SDF1A and SDF1B) were isolated and characterized. cDNAs of SDF1 alpha and SDF1 beta encode proteins of 89 and 93 amino acids, respectively. SDF1 alpha and SDF1 beta sequences are more than 92% identical to those of the human counterparts. The genomic structure of the SDF1 gene revealed that human SDF1 alpha and SDF1 beta are encoded by a single gene and arise by alternative splicing. SDF1 alpha and SDF1 beta are encoded by 3 and 4 exons, respectively. Ubiquitous expression of the SDF1 gene, except in blood cells, was consistent with the presence of the GC-rich sequence in the 5'-flanking region of the SDF1 gene, as is often the case in the "housekeeping" genes. Although genes encoding other members of the intercrine family are localized on chromosome 4q or 17q, the human SDF1 gene was mapped to chromosome 10q by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Strong evolutionary conservation and unique chromosomal localization of the SDF1 gene suggest that SDF1 alpha and SDF1 beta may have important functions distinct from those of other members of the intercrine family.

Amino Acid Sequence↗