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Biomedical subjects

K Yagasaki

Publications and source records attributed to K Yagasaki.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Improvement of hyperlipidemia and proteinuria without noticeable growth retardation by feeding a methionine and threonine supplemented low-casein diet to nephritic rats.

We have previously demonstrated that low-casein diets supplemented with cystine and threonine reduced hyperlipidemia and proteinuria in nephritic rats without noticeable protein malnutrition. In the present study, we examined whether or not a low-casein diet supplemented with methionine, sulfur amino acid other than cystine, and threonine would ameliorate the symptoms without protein malnutrition in rats with nephrotoxic serum nephritis by feeding experimental diets for 10 days. A methionine-threonine-supplemented 8.5% casein diet (8.5 CMT), when compared with a basal 20% casein diet, improved hypoalbuminemia as well as hyperlipidemia and proteinuria without noticeable growth retardation and fatty liver induction in nephritic rats. Fecal bile acid excretion and microsomal cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity were enhanced by 8.5CMT feeding. These results suggest that amino acid-balanced low protein diet would have a beneficial effect on the symptoms of nephritis. They also suggest that the hypocholesterolemic action of 8.5CMT may be, at least in part, due to increased fecal bile acid excretion accompanied by elevated microsomal cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Insulin-stimulated polypeptide chain elongation in the soleus muscle of mice.

The effect of insulin on polypeptide chain elongation was examined in soleus muscles isolated from 18 hour-fasted mice. Treatment with insulin for 1 hour increased the elongation rate, which was estimated by the half-transit time. This suggests that insulin stimulated protein synthesis by modifying the elongation rate in addition to the initiation rate.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

[Foveal cone densitometer and changes in foveal cone pigments with aging].

A foveal cone densitometer was built for measuring the kinetics of foveal cone pigments in human eyes. The light from a 500-W xenon lamp was divided into reference, measuring, and bleaching beams, and projected through an optical fiber leading to a modified fundus camera. After the light was projected into the ocular fundus, the reflected light (central 1 degree) was measured by a photomultiplier and the regeneration time and the two-way density were abstracted from the records. The two-way density, which is the decadic logarithm of the measuring-reference beam ratio under bleached conditions divided by the measuring-reference beam ratio under dark conditions, eliminated the artifacts caused by eye movement of blink. Reliable curves were obtained in 45 eyes out of 53 healthy Japanese subjects (age range, 9 to 82 years). The mean +/- standard deviation SD of the two-way density (log) and the time constant (sec) were 0.34 +/- 0.09 and 139.9 +/- 79.3, respectively. The time constant significantly increased with aging.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Effects of low casein and fish oil on hyperlipidemia and proteinuria in nephritic rats.

The effects of amino acid-fortified low casein and fish oil (FO) diets on hyperlipidemia and proteinuria were studied in rats with nephrotoxic serum nephritis. After an antiserum injection, rats were maintained for 14 d on four different experimental diets: a 20% casein diet containing corn oil (CO) or FO, or an 8% casein diet supplemented with cystine plus threonine containing CO or FO. The 8% casein diets reduced urinary protein excretion in nephritic rats without inducing severe growth retardation or fatty liver compared with the basal 20% casein diets. Both the 8% casein diet and the FO diet decreased serum cholesterol, triglyceride and phospholipid levels in nephritic rats, and nonesterified fatty acid levels were decreased by FO feeding. In nephritic animals, hepatic cholesterol synthesis was decreased by the 8% casein diets compared with the 20% casein diets, and tended to be reduced by FO feeding between groups at the same casein levels. No effect of diet was observed on fatty acid synthesis among the nephritic rats. FO administration to the nephritic animals suppressed fecal steroid excretion. While lipoprotein lipase activity was unchanged among the nephritic rats, hepatic triglyceride lipase activity was reduced by either the 8% casein or FO diet. The results suggest that the hypolipidemic action of low casein diets may, at least in part, be due to reduced hepatic cholesterol synthesis and suppressed triglyceride secretion from the liver. They also suggest that the hypolipidemic action of FO may, at least in part, be due to reduced hepatic cholesterol synthesis and decreased fatty acid mobilization from peripheral adipose tissue.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1994

Reduction of hypercholesterolemia and proteinuria in nephritic rats by low-meat-protein diets.

The effects of low-meat-protein diets on hypercholesterolemia and proteinuria were studied in rats with nephrotoxic serum nephritis. After an injection of nephrotoxic serum, rats were given either a 20% meat-protein diet (20M), an 8.5%-meat-protein diet (8.5M), or a valine-(0.05%)-supplemented 8.5%-meat-protein diet (8.5MV) for 12 days. Urinary protein excreted from the 20M-fed, nephritic control rats increased rapidly and linearly during the initial 3 days, and thereafter the high excretion rate was maintained for up to 12 days. Two low-meat-protein diets (8.5M, 8.5MV) commenced to suppress proteinuria 3 days after feeding and the suppression was preserved during the rest of the experimental periods. Compared with the 20M, both low-meat-protein diets significantly improved hypercholesterolemia induced in this nephritic model. These two diets significantly enhanced the fecal excretion of neutral sterols. They caused neither fatty liver nor severe growth retardation. These effects of 8.5MV were identical to those of 8.5M. The results suggest that low-meat-protein feeding, without amino acid supplementation, improves hypercholesterolemia and proteinuria in nephritis without severe protein malnutrition. The results also suggest that the hypocholesterolemic effect of the low-meat-protein diets may be, at least in part, attributed to increased fecal excretion of steroids.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Fundus albipunctatus associated with cone dystrophy.

We describe five unrelated patients in whom the typical signs of fundus albipunctatus were accompanied by colour vision defects, bull's eye or similar macular lesions, and severely diminished full-field cone electroretinograms indicating widespread damage to cones outside the macula. All patients had noticed night blindness from childhood. Signs of retinitis punctata albescens, a disease of similar appearance but with characteristics resembling retinitis pigmentosa, were absent. We cannot be sure whether these patients represent a process of fundus albipunctatus or a distinct disease entity or a casual combination of fundus albipunctatus and cone dystrophy.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Electroretinographic monitoring of retinal function during eye surgery.

We performed a pilot study of electroretinographic monitoring of retinal function during eye surgery performed with local anesthesia. A contact lens with a built-in light-emitting diode was sterilized and used as both a stimulus source and a recording electrode for 30-Hz flicker electroretinograms. Each recording required 7 seconds, during which the operating light (but not the room light) was switched off. Electroretinograms recorded during surgery on 10 patients with minimal retinal abnormality were evaluated for the effects of light adaptation caused by regular exposure to an operating light source or operating microscope. The fluctuations of the amplitude and peak time were small, indicating that this technique can be used to monitor retinal function during eye surgery. Some results during retinal and vitreous surgeries are shown.

Contact Lenses↗
PubMed1990

Effects of dietary methionine and glycine on serum lipoprotein profiles and fecal sterol excretion in normal and hepatoma-bearing rats.

The effects of concurrent addition of methionine (Met) and glycine (Gly) to a 20% casein diet on serum lipoprotein profiles and fecal sterol excretion were studied in male Donryu rats with or without subcutaneous implantation of an ascites hepatoma line of AH109A cells. The hepatoma-bearing rats fed on the 20% casein diet had a notable elevation in the very-low-density lipoprotein + low-density lipoprotein (VLDL + LDL)-cholesterol (Ch) level with a slight but significant decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-Ch level when compared to the hepatoma-free (normal) rats fed on the same diet. The dietary addition of 1.2% Met and 2.5% Gly in combination suppressed the hepatoma-induced elevation in the (VLDL + LDL)-Ch level with a prevention of the hepatoma-induced decrease in the HDL-Ch level. The addition of the two amino acids also lowered significantly the (VLDL + LDL)-Ch level without affecting the HDL-Ch level in tumor-free rats. Fecal excretion of both neutral and acidic sterols were reduced with growth of the hepatoma. The dietary addition of Met and Gly exerted no or little influence on neutral sterol excretion in both the tumor-free and -bearing states, but it enhanced acidic sterol excretion into feces in both states, especially in the hepatoma-bearing state at the last stage of feeding. These results suggest that the excretion and catabolism of Ch might be impaired in hepatoma-bearing rats with growth of the tumor, and that the supplemental Met and Gly in combination might enhance Ch catabolism by stimulating either synthesis or conjugation of bile acids, leading to a reduction of the (VLDL + LDL)-Ch level in the normal and hepatoma-bearing states.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Effects of dietary supplemented amino acids on endogenous hypercholesterolemia in rats.

Effects of additions of amino acids to a 20% casein diet on serum cholesterol (Ch) were studied in hypothyroid and hepatoma-bearing rats with endogenous hypercholesterolemia as well as in normal rats. In normal Wistar rats, methionine (Met) was hypercholesterolemic at the "nutritional" level (0.2-0.4%), but hypocholesterolemic at the "excess" level (1.2-2.4%). In Wistar rats with hypothyroidism induced by thiouracil, the addition of excess (1.2%) Met to the 20% casein diet reduced an endogenous hypercholesterolemia due to hypothyroidism by suppressing an elevation in (VLDL + LDL)-Ch with no significant influence on HDL-Ch. In Donryu rats received a subcutaneous implantation of AH109A cells (an ascites hepatoma line), either 1.2% Met, 1.2% cystine (Cys), or 1.2% Met and 2.5% glycine (Gly) in combination improved a hepatoma-induced hypercholesterolemia and abnormal serum lipoprotein profiles by suppressing a hepatoma-induced increase in (VLDL + LDL)-Ch. From Ch turnover studies in hepatoma-bearing rats, an impaired catabolism of Ch in the liver was suggested to be one cause for the hepatoma-induced elevation in (VLDL + LDL)-Ch. One of the dietary manipulations. met and Gly in combination (Met + Gly), was found to improve the impaired Ch catabolism, this leading to a reduction of the (VLDL + LDL)-Ch level by Met + Gly in hepatoma-bearing rats.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1990

[Modification of an automated perimeter for dark- and light-adapted perimetry].

A modified automated projection static perimeter which can measure thresholds with lights of three different wavelengths in light-adapted as well as in dark adapted state is described. With the modifications described, this instrument can evaluate relative states of rod and cone mechanisms respectively within the visual field range of 72 degrees. These modifications also enable dark-adapted two-color static perimetry quantitatively across the visual field including profile measurement. Results obtained from normal subjects with these techniques permit assessment of the sensitivity in dark and light and also determination of photoreceptor mediation in the dark. These techniques can evaluate rod and cone dysfunctions separately unlike other retinal function tests, and may show that different mechanisms even in one clinical entity of retinal dystrophies, as well as retinal degenerations, can be demonstrated.

Adaptation, Ocular↗
PubMed1989

Cone-rod dystrophy. Phenotypic diversity by retinal function testing.

Three patterns of visual dysfunction were identified in patients with autosomal recessive or simplex cone-rod dystrophy using rod and cone electroretinography and light- and dark-adapted static threshold perimetry. In the first pattern, there was a central rod and cone scotoma with eccentric fixation, mild peripheral retinal dysfunction equally affecting rod and cone systems, and slow progression. The second pattern, which was relatively more severe, also showed a central rod and cone scotoma and eccentric fixation; however, there was more cone than rod dysfunction detected by electroretinography, and function was lost in the peripheral visual field before it was lost in the midperipheral field. A third pattern, which was rapidly progressive, showed central unsteady fixation and no measurable cone function. Patches of rod function were retained in the central and inferotemporal regions of the visual field. Most of the patients studied fit within the three patterns and the patterns were consistent within families.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Interocular asymmetry of visual function in heterozygotes of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa.

Heterozygotes of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa were studied with full field rod and cone electroretinography and light adapted kinetic perimetry. Twelve parameters from the electroretinograms (ERGs) and two parameters from the kinetic visual fields of both eyes of 22 heterozygotes were measured and statistical comparisons made with results from female control subjects. Rod and cone ERG amplitude parameters were significantly lower and cone timing delayed in the heterozygotes. Most of the ERG parameters that were abnormal in measured value also showed significantly greater interocular differences compared with controls. Kinetic visual fields with both V-4e and I-4e test targets were smaller in heterozygotes than in controls. Only with the I-4e target, however, were interocular differences significantly larger in the heterozygotes. For the I-4e target and many of the ERG parameters, using the interocular difference in conjunction with the measured parameter value from a single eye significantly increased the efficacy of discrimination between heterozygotes and controls; for some ERG parameters, the interocular difference alone provided the best separation of the two groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Bull's-eye maculopathy and negative electroretinogram.

The authors studied four patients with a bull's-eye maculopathy and otherwise normal fundus. A single-flash electroretinogram (ERG) with an intense white light stimulus in the dark showed a normal a-wave but reduced b-wave amplitude (negative ERG). Other findings common to all four patients were initially normal visual acuity, subsequent progressive decrease in visual acuity, mild to moderate deficiency of color vision, normal peripheral visual field, relatively well preserved cone ERG, normal 30-Hz flicker ERG, normal EOG, near emmetropia and selective involvement in males. Cone dystrophy, retinitis pigmentosa, congenital retinoschisis, congenital stationary night blindness, and Batten's disease were excluded. The correlation between this disease and benign concentric annular macular dystrophy is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Rod and cone psychophysics and electroretinography: methods for comparison in retinal degenerations.

Methods have been developed to compare full field rod and cone electroretinograms with results of rod and cone static perimetric measurements across the visual field. In a limited number of patients with retinal degeneration, including two subtypes of retinitis pigmentosa, there were close relationships between electroretinographic and psychophysical parameters. Maximum b-wave amplitude and visual field area were highly correlated, as were electroretinographic and perimetric measures of sensitivity loss. Future application of the methods to large numbers of patients with typical retinitis pigmentosa may help elucidate different mechanisms of retinal degeneration.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

On- and off-responses in photopic electroretinogram in complete and incomplete types of congenital stationary night blindness.

The on- and off-responses of photopic electroretinogram (ERG) were recorded by rectangular light stimuli in 13 patients with complete type and 9 patients with incomplete type of congenital stationary night blindness. The positive on-response (b-wave) was significantly smaller in both types than in normal subjects (P less than 0.001). The rapid off-response was normal in complete type patients, but was significantly smaller in incomplete type patients than in normal subjects (P less than 0.001). Since the rapid off-response mainly reflects the decay of the late receptor potential of the cones, incomplete type patients may have a visual disturbance in the cone itself. Normal rapid off-response with abnormal on-response in complete type patients suggests the existence of a photopic visual disturbance in the middle retinal layer. These results strongly suggest that these two types of congenital stationary night blindness have a different pathogenesis in the photopic visual pathway.

Adolescent↗