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Biomedical subjects

M Abe

Publications and source records attributed to M Abe.

At least 1,009 records · Page 56Linked to original sources

[Myopathy in acromegaly. Report of two cases].

Acromegaly is often associated with neuromuscular disorders. Most of them are caused by compression of nerves with hypertrophic bone and soft tissues or complications of diabetes mellitus. Myopathy has rarely been reported in the Japanese literature. We report two cases with myopathy out of 14 cases of acromegaly. Case 1 is a 62-year-old woman who developed muscle weakness and atrophy in the shoulder girdle, pelvic girdle and femoral regions after a 10-year history of acromegaly. She showed positive Gowers' sign and normal DTRs. Basal growth hormone (GH) level in plasma was 1076 ng/ml. Electromyograms (EMG) obtained from the deltoid and rectus femoris muscles revealed typical myopathic abnormalities; an excess of small-amplitude, short-duration, polyphasic motor unit potentials. Histological examinations of the rectus femoris muscle showed diffuse atrophy of both type I and type II fibers. She also had bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and bilateral tarsal tunnel syndrome, which were confirmed by nerve conduction studies of median nerves and posterior tibial nerves. A cranial computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated sellar mass with suprasellar extension. She underwent transsphenoidal adenomectomy and radiation therapy. GH level lowered to 29 ng/ml, however, myopathy remained unchanged for 3 years after the surgery. Case 2 is a 38-year-old woman who had undergone partial removal of a pituitary adenoma 9 years after the onset of acromegaly. Basal GH level in plasma before the surgery had been 1694 ng/ml and was still high after the surgery (100-505 ng/ml). The patient developed proximal muscle weakness and atrophy 4 years after the surgery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acromegaly↗

[Treatment of vegetative status with dorsum column stimulation].

UNLABELLED: We have already reported that DCS (Dorsum Column Stimulation) alleviates the clinical symptoms of patients in vegetative status. Since then, we have accumulated information about 23 cases that have been treated by DCS therapy. In this paper, we describe the clinical outcome and compare cases where the treatment was effective with those where it was non-effective to evaluate the indications for further use of this treatment. RESULTS: 1) Eight of these cases showed good clinical improvement. 2) Most of the cases where the treatment was effective were young. Starting neurostimulation early brought about better clinical effects. 3) The clinical effects appeared 1-12 months after the start of the neurostimulation. 4) CT findings in the cases which had been treated effectively showed no marked cerebral atrophy, and no bilateral large diffuse low-density areas not involving the thalamus. Neither did they show any definite and large low-density areas in the brainstem. In conclusion, when the dorsum column was stimulated to treat vegetative status in which CT disclosed none of the abnormal findings described above, it increased r-CBF, enhanced the metabolism of catecholamine, and brought clinical improvement.

Adolescent↗

Treatment of murine SCC VII tumors with localized hyperthermia and temperature-sensitive liposomes containing cisplatin.

The release of cisplatin (CDDP) encapsulated in temperature-sensitive unilamellar liposomes to murine SCC VII carcinoma by localized hyperthermia and the effects of the treatment on tumor growth were studied. A transition temperature of the temperature-sensitive liposomes containing cisplatin (LIP-CDDP) was 41 degrees C. Twenty-four hours after injection of LIP-CDDP, the heated tumors (42 degrees C, 60 min) contained 3.3 times more CDDP than the unheated tumors receiving free CDDP. Although the uptake of liposome-associated CDDP by liver was approximately threefold greater at 1.5 h after injection than uptake of free CDDP, it decreased about 50% over a 24-h period. No difference in uptake of the two forms of CDDP by kidney was observed. The combination of LIP-CDDP and localized heating at 42 or 43 degrees C was more effective relative to the amount of CDDP in delaying tumor growth than that of free CDDP and hyperthermia. Treatment with LIP-CDDP plus local heating resulted in a dose-modifying factor of 5.3 when compared with free CDDP and no hyperthermia. The dose-modifying factor was 2.8 when treatment with LIP-CDDP and heat was compared with treatment with free CDDP and heat. Thus CDDP could be released selectively from the temperature-sensitive liposomes by heat and resulted in both a greater uptake of the drug and a delay in tumor growth.

Animals↗

[A successful treatment of spontaneous carotid cavernous fistula causing hemorrhagic infarction treated by detachable balloon].

A rare case of hemorrhagic infarction associated with carotid-cavernous fistula is reported. The patient was a 74-year-old female. CT scan showed hemorrhagic infarction of the left superior temporal gyrus, irregular vascular enhancement of the bilateral front-temporal lobe, and dilatation of the cavernous sinus. Left carotid angiogram revealed a high-flow left-sided CCF, cross filling to the right cavernous sinus, and intracavernous aneurysm. Bilateral front-temporal cortical veins were visualized early in the arterial phase. In this case, there was a direct shunt between the internal carotid artery and the cavernous sinus, and venous hypertension. Therefore urgent treatment using detachable balloon catheters was performed. Postoperative digital subtraction angiography revealed the disappearance of CCF. In conclusion, in CCF with cortical venous drainage there is a high possibility of developing hemorrhagic infarction. Only immediate detachable balloon occlusion can improve the outcome in elderly patients.

Aged↗

[Results of radiation therapy for medulloblastoma].

Results of radiation therapy for cerebellar medulloblastoma at Kyoto University Hospital were reviewed. Between 1962 and 1988, 30 patients with histologically-proven medulloblastoma completed radiotherapy. Before 1971, the treatment volume was either the posterior fossa only or posterior fossa plus spinal axis, but after 1972, it was extended to include the entire neuraxis. The mean dose was 48 Gy to the posterior fossa, 36 Gy to the whole brain, and 25 Gy to the spinal axis. The 5-year survival rate and 5-year relapse-free survival rate estimated by the Kaplan-Meier's method were 36% and 37%, respectively, for total cases, but were as high as 79% and 80%, respectively, for the recent 10 patients. This improvement in the treatment results appeared to be due to extensive tumor resection and improved radiotherapy technique, and not to the use of chemotherapy. The prognosis was significantly better in patients treated with craniospinal irradiation than in those otherwise treated. There was a trend towards better survival in patients who received 50 Gy or more to the posterior fossa or 24 Gy or more to the spinal axis, compared to the patients who received lower doses to each site. No significant morbidity of radiotherapy was seen. Four of the six surviving patients who were treated below age 12 have a mental retardation and/or a short stature, but one patient treated at age 5 has a normal growth and a good intelligence. From these analysis, it is recommended to irradiate craniospinal axis and posterior fossa up to 25-35 Gy and 50-55 Gy, respectively.

Adolescent↗

Sequence analysis of the 5' region of the human DF3 breast carcinoma-associated antigen gene.

DF3 antigen is a high molecular weight glycoprotein detectable in human breast carcinomas. Recent studies have demonstrated that the gene coding for the DF3 core protein consists in part of highly conserved 60 base pair tandem repeats. The present work extends these findings by identifying the region of the DF3 gene 5' to the repeats. The results of primer extension studies demonstrate that the transcription start site of the cDNA is 384 base pairs upstream to the first tandem repeat. Comparison of the cDNA and genomic sequences has demonstrated that the sequences transcribed upstream to the repeats are interrupted by the presence of an intron at 124 bases after the start site. We have also identified the putative promoter region of the DF3 region. This region has several elements, including a TATA sequence and multiple GC boxes, that may be involved in the regulation of DF3 gene transcription.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Clinical results of hyperthermia alone in the treatment of refractory human tumors].

Retrospective analysis of patients with refractory tumors which were treated with hyperthermia alone in five institutions was performed. Hyperthermia was applied to 30 refractory tumors including 19 deep-seated tumors for a total of 427 sessions by 8 MHz or 13.56 MHz radiofrequency capacitive heating devices. Of the 30 tumors treated, 3 (10%) showed complete regression and 2 (7%) more than 50% regression. Although tumor regression was observed in small tumors, large deep-seated tumors did not respond to heat alone. Thus, response rate of hyperthermia alone was lower than expected, although subjective improvement by hyperthermia was noted in 53% patients. We consider that hyperthermia should be combined with radiation or chemotherapy whenever possible.

Adult↗

Biotinylation of human interleukin-2 for flow cytometry analysis of interleukin-2 receptors.

We designed a method to analyze receptors for interleukin-2 (IL-2R) using biotinylated IL-2 (b-IL-2). To optimize the condition of biotinylation of IL-2 for flow cytometry, the degree of biotinylation was controlled by monitoring the relative biotin contents in b-IL-2 with a newly developed ELISA. The b-IL-2 prepared by incubating 150 micrograms IL-2 in 150-300 micrograms/ml N-hydroxysuccinimidyl biotin retained biological activity and was appropriate for flow cytometry analysis. Positive fluorescence appeared in the IL-2R-bearing cell lines but not in those without IL-2R. This binding was inhibited by preincubation of the cells with unlabelled IL-2. The b-IL-2 bound to both low and high affinity IL-2Rs, but the binding to the latter was more intense. The advantage of this method is that expression of IL-2Rs of these two categories of affinity can be separately monitored.

Antibody Affinity↗

Histological analysis of the effect of hyperthermia on normal rabbit hepatic vasculature.

The effects of hyperthermia on rabbit hepatic vasculature were studied histologically. To investigate heat-induced vascular damage in the central veins, portal veins, and hepatic arterioles, the left lobes of rabbit liver were heated locally for 30 min in the range of 40-46 degrees C. Hyperthermia was induced by an 8-MHz radiofrequency current heating device using a needle type interstitial applicator. This device allowed application of heat to a central area of 10 x 10 mm no more than 1 degree C below the preset temperature. Within the area of 1 cm2, the percentage of damaged (ruptured or thrombosed) vessels was estimated for each type of hepatic vasculature. Vascular damage following hyperthermia continued up to 24 h after heating for the three types of hepatic vasculature. Central veins were the most thermosensitive followed by portal veins, whereas hepatic arterioles were the most thermoresistant. The temperature causing 50% vascular damage 24 h after heating was 41.5-42.5 degrees C, 42.5-43.5 degrees C, and 44-45 degrees C for central veins, portal veins, and arterioles, respectively. This differential thermal responsiveness of hepatic vasculature may be attributed to the histological structure of the vessels.

Animals↗

Calpain proteolysis of free and bound forms of calponin, a troponin T-like protein in smooth muscle.

Calponin, a novel homologue of troponin T, purified from chicken gizzard was found to be one of the most susceptible proteins among smooth muscle contraction-associated proteins to hydrolysis by calpain I purified from human red blood cells. The high susceptibility of calponin was comparable to that reported for troponin T. The rate of degradation of calponin, unlike caldesmon and myosin light chain kinase, was accelerated when bound to calmodulin. When calponin existed as a bound form in both reconstituted actin filament and native thin filament, the rate of proteolysis was markedly retarded, indicating close association of calponin with actin filament. These observations are compatible with the view that calponin is an integral part of the actin-linked contractile machinery in smooth muscle.

Animals↗

Structural analysis of the DF3 human breast carcinoma-associated protein.

The monoclonal antibody (MAb) DF3 reacts with a high molecular weight glycoprotein detectable in human breast carcinomas and human milk. The present studies have analyzed the structure of DF3 protein produced by human BT-20 and MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells. The size of the DF3 core protein was determined by glycosidase digestion of purified DF3 glycoprotein and by immunoprecipitation after [3H]proline labeling. A core protein size of approximately Mr 160,000 was obtained for DF3 protein in BT-20 cells. In contrast, two DF3 proteins of approximately Mr 160,000 and 230,000 were detectable in MCF-7 cells. Amino acid analysis indicated that DF3 antigen from these cells is relatively rich in threonine, serine, proline, glycine, and alanine. The results also demonstrate that the DF3 epitope resides on the core protein, although reactivity with MAb DF3 was affected by the presence of carbohydrate. Finally, using synthetic peptides, we demonstrate that the DF3 epitope is present within the 20 amino acids encoded by the tandem repeat recently identified from our sequence analysis of a DF3 complimentary DNA.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

[An assessment of therapeutic effects by transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) with degradable starch microspheres (DSM) for hepatic malignant tumors].

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) by using degradable starch microspheres (DSM) as embolic material, 40 microns in diameter and degraded by serum amylase within one hour, was carried out for thirteen cases with hepatic malignancies including eleven cases with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one case with cholangiocarcinoma and one case with metastatic liver cancer. DSM were mixed with anticancer agents and administered through the catheter, which was introduced by Seldinger's method, via the hepatic artery immediately after hepatic angiography in ten cases and through subcutaneously implanted drug delivery system (Port-A-Cath) in three cases. The dose of DSM was 900 mg/body and adriamycin 30-40 mg/m2 or 12-14 mg/m2 were used. The former was administered through the catheter immediately after angiography and the latter through Port-A-Cath for HCC and cholangiocarcinoma. A same dose of DSM and mitomycin C 15-16 mg/m2 was administered for metastatic liver cancer through the catheter immediately after angiography. The administration was repeated weekly in three cases in which Port-A-Cath was implanted, and at five weeks' interval through the catheter immediately after hepatic angiography in the other ten cases. Therapeutic effects were assessed and pharmacokinetics of adriamycin were studied. Results were as follows; 1) Partial response (PR) was obtained in five cases out of eleven cases with HCC (45.5%) and there were three cases with minor response (MR) in the other six cases. Totally, decrease of tumor size was demonstrated in eight cases out of eleven cases (72.7%). 2) In nine cases in which AFP was positive, the titer of AFP was decreased in seven cases (77.8%). 3) No change (NC) was obtained in cholangiocarcinoma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenoma, Bile Duct↗

[Clinical results of thermoradiotherapy of locally advanced and recurrent breast cancers--comparison of results with radiotherapy alone].

From August 1979 through January 1988, 23 breast cancer patients with 25 tumors supposed to be refractory to conventional treatment were treated by thermoradiotherapy. Of the 25 tumors, 10 were locally advanced primary tumors [Group 1], 4 locally advanced recurrent tumors after operation more than 5 cm in maximum diameter [Group 2], and 11 locally recurrent tumors after radiotherapy [Group 3]. The present study was not a formal randomised-trial, but a historical-controlled study. The results were compared with tumors which were treated by radiation therapy alone between July 1962 and August 1979. The historical control groups comprised 11 tumors for Group 1, 17 for Group 2 and 19 for Group 3. Employing 4 types of heating devices (8, 13.56 MHz capacitive RF, 430, 2450 MHz microwave), hyperthermia was administered once or twice a week after irradiation, for 30-60 minutes per session, up to a total sessions of 2-9. Radiotherapy was delivered in fractions of 180 to 200 cGy per day, 5 days per week, up to 28-74.4 Gy in total, or in fraction of 400 cGy, two times per week, up to 28-60 Gy. Tumor temperatures were measured by inserting thermocouples into the tumors. The tumors that did not recur during follow-up of more than 3 months were regarded as locally controlled tumors, and the local control rate was calculated. The local control rate in Group 2 and the local response rate (CR + PRa) in Group 1 were higher than those of the historically controlled tumors. In Group 3, hyperthermia combined with lower total doses of irradiation showed a high local response rate similar to that by radiation therapy alone. Thus local hyperthermia in combination with radiation therapy seems to be more effective than radiotherapy alone for locally advanced and recurrent breast cancers.

Adult↗

Isolation of an IgH gene circular DNA clone from human bone marrow.

Circular DNA was obtained from human bone marrow. Then a phage library was prepared and screened by use of two probes of the IgH gene; 5'-DHQ52, containing the 5' flanking region of DHQ52, and JH4.3, containing the sequence from JH3 to the 3' flanking region of JH6. One clone, HBMC-1, that was DHQ52+JH4.3- was obtained. HBMC-1 had the germline IgH region upstream of JH1 and the 3' flanking region of DXP1. A recombination signal sequence flanking the 5' side of the JH1 segment was attached to the recombination signal sequence flanking the 3' side of DXP1 forming a head-to-head structure of two 7mers with 10 nucleotides in-between. HBMC-1 is thus considered to be a circular DNA deleted as a consequence of DXP1-JH1 joining of the IgH gene.

Base Sequence↗

Arterial chemotherapy and transcatheter arterial embolization therapy for non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

An assessment was made on the therapeutic effects of arterial chemotherapy and transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) therapy on 378 cases with non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). For the 191 cases who had undergone arterial chemotherapy, 22% had a 1-year survival rate, 8.9% survived for 2 years, and 4.0% for 3 years. Of these, for the 128 cases who were compatible with our criteria for patient selection, the three survival rates were 31.4%, 12.2% and 5.9% respectively. However, for the other 63 cases, who were incompatible with our criteria, the 1-year survival rate was 1.6% and it was worse for the cases who had received supportive care alone. For the cases who had undergone arterial chemotherapy, the highest survival rates were obtained by the alternate administration of different anticancer agents, and the three survival rates were 39.0%, 13.1% and 4.9% respectively. For the 187 cases who had undergone TAE therapy, the 1-year survival rate was 66.2%, the 2-year survival rate 36.5%, and the 3-year survival rate 21.9%. For the 124 cases with a tumor progression rate of less than 20% in the liver (E1), the survival rates were 77.8%, 50.1% and 30.8% respectively. The peripheral venous drug concentrations of mitomycin C and adriamycin were lower, but were maintained for a longer period in TAE therapy than in arterial chemotherapy. These results suggest that consideration of the criteria for patient selection and the alternate administration of anticancer agents are necessary in arterial chemotherapy, and that the best therapeutic effects can be obtained by TAE therapy combined with chemotherapy for cases of non-resectable HCC because of the chemotherapeutic and ischemic effects on the tumors.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

Radiofrequency (RF) capacitive hyperthermia combined with radiotherapy in the treatment of abdominal and pelvic deep-seated tumors.

Thermal parameters and tumor response were determined in 33 abdominal and pelvic deep-seated tumors which were treated with hyperthermia in combination with radiation therapy. Hyperthermia was applied regionally for a total of 3-14 sessions (mean; 6.4 sessions), using an 8 MHz radiofrequency (RF) capacitive heating device. An average tumor temperature (Tav) of more than 42 degrees C was achieved in 17 (52%) tumors, and intratumor temperatures above 42 degrees C could be maintained for more than 20 min (effective heat session) in 103 (52%) of the 198 heat sessions. Of the 33 tumors, 4 tumors exhibited complete regression (CR), 7 PRa (80-99% regression), 7 PRb (50-79% regression) and 15 NR (less than 50% regression). Tumor response (CR + PRa) was apparently dependent on the thermal parameters. Tumors with Tav of more than 42 degrees C or those receiving more than three effective heat sessions showed a significantly higher response rate than those heated less effectively. This trend was also noted in minimum tumor temperature. As to radiation dose, most of the responders received a total of 60-70 Gy irradiation. The two characteristic features in tumor response in effectively heated tumors, were slow tumor regression and appearance of an intratumor low density area on post-treatment computed tomography.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗