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Biomedical subjects

M Fujisawa

Publications and source records attributed to M Fujisawa.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

[Disappearance of essential neck tremor after pontine base infarction].

Mechanism of essential tremor remains unknown. Central oscillators, postulated in thalamus, inferior olive, and spinal cord are thought to be important to form rhythmicity, and finally to stimulate spinal or medullary motor cells, leading trembling muscle contraction, tremor. Among several subtypes of essential familial tremor, including hand tremor, neck tremor, and voice tremor, essential neck tremor is a common disorder, and its pathophysiology seems different from that of typical essential hand tremor, since patients with essential hand tremor are responsive to beta blocker, whereas those with neck tremor are usually not. We experienced a 41-year-old left handed woman with essential neck tremor in whom neck titubation disappeared shortly after pontine base infarct. She was our patient in the outpatient clinic with the diagnosis of essential neck tremor. The tremor developed when she was teenage, and has been localized in the neck muscles. Alcohol intake had apparently diminished it transiently. Her mother also had the tremor in her neck. She was admitted to our hospital with sudden onset of right-sided limb weakness and speech disturbance. Neurological examination showed right hemiparesis including the ipsilateral face, scanning speech, and cerebellar limb ataxia on the same side. In addition, there was no tremor in her neck. Brain MR imaging revealed a pontine base infarct at the level of middle pons, which was consistent with paramedian artery territory. The hemiparesis and speech disturbance improved almost completely after treatment, and her neck tremor has never occurred in one year follow-up. In our patient, efficacy of alcohol imply that essential neck tremor and hand tremor had same central nervous pathway including central oscillator in common, and descending cortical fibers is seemingly associated with diminishing patient's tremor. Pathophysiology of essential neck tremor was discussed with reviewing previous literature.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer].

We studied 81 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. Ten, 57 and 14 patients were clinically diagnosed with stage T1, T2 and T3, respectively. Pelvic lymph node dissection was performed prior to prostatectomy in all cases. The neurovascular bundle was preserved in 21 patients. Compared with pathological stage, the accuracy rate of clinical staging in T1, T2 and T3 was 40, 46 and 64% respectively. Approximately half of the patients clinically diagnosed with stage T2 were pT3. The positive rate of lymph node in pT2 and pT3 was 3.3 and 37% respectively, showing a marked difference between these two pathological stages. The 3-year non-recurrence rates were 89% in patients with pT2 and 79% in pT3. In the well differentiated carcinoma group, no patients had recurrence for up to 3 years. All of the patients with infiltration (INF) gamma showed recurrence within 3 years. Fifty-five patients had no problem on urination post-operatively, while the other 23 patients had a mild or moderate incontinence and the remaining 3 patients had a small urine stream. Regarding erectile potency, 4 out of 18 evaluable patients were potent.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Alteration of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testis axis in oligozoospermic men with normal gonadotropin levels.

BACKGROUND: Serum basal hormone levels such as lutenizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone, which is important to regulate testicular function, do not necessarily indicate the normal integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis and the static measurement is not enough to detect the endocrine disorder. The dynamic measurement of gonadal hormone by GnRH test is considered to be more helpful to understanding the endocrine regulation of spermatogenesis. In this study, we performed GnRH test in oligozoospermic patients with normal levels of LH and FSH to examine the subtle alteration of hypothalamic-pituitary-testis axis. METHODS: GnRH test was performed in 41 patients with oligozoospermia and normal gonadal hormone levels. RESULTS: The responses of LH and/or FSH were excessive in most patients in spite of their normal gonadotropin levels. The patients with sperm concentration < 10 x 10(6)/ml had significantly higher peak levels of both LH and FSH than did those with sperm concentration > 10 x 10(6)/ml. In the patients with normal peak levels of both LH and FSH, sperm concentration was significantly higher than those with exceeded peak levels of FSH and/or LH after GnRH test. No significant differences were observed in estradiol, testosterone, free testosterone, or prolactin (PRL) levels between patients with normal responses and abnormal responses of LH and/or FSH. CONCLUSIONS: The feedback control of gonadotropin release from testis was worse in more severely oligozoospermic patients, although the precise mechanism of feed back still remains unknown.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[The expression of the E-cadherin in human urinary bladder carcinoma].

We examined immunohistochemically the expression of E-cadherin which is Ca2+ dependent intercellular adhesion molecules in bladder carcinoma and investigated the correlation among the expression of E-cadherin, pathological examination, clinical findings and course. Fifty cases of bladder carcinoma were examined except one squamous cell carcinoma. The pattern of the immunohistochemical staining by E-cadherin antibody were classified into 4 groups as follows. The tumor, over 75% of which cells were stained like normal epithelium, was regarded as (2+). When from 50% to 75% of the carcinoma cells were stained, it was (+). When from 25% to 50% of the carcinoma cells were stained, it was (+/-). The tumor showing that under 25% of the cells were stained or lack of staining was regarded as (-). It was demonstrated that the percentage of positive staining was significantly lower in cases of high grade or high stage tumors compared with those of low grade or low stage. As the pattern of invasion, 88% of the cases showing INF alpha was observed as (2+) or (+), while all cases with INF gamma showed (+/-) or (-). The patients with superficial tumors showing (+/-) or (-) tended to have the higher local recurrence rate of the carcinoma compared with those showing (2+) or (+) staining. Immunoblotting analysis demonstrated no evidence of gross alteration of E-cadherin molecules between normal and carcinoma cells of the bladder. In conclusion, the decrease of E-cadherin expression may contribute to the tumor grade and invasiveness of bladder carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Local expression of cytokine messenger RNA in rat model of Escherichia coli epididymitis.

PURPOSE: In order to investigate whether cytokines play an important role in the regulation of host defense against bacterial epididymitis, we examined the local expression of cytokine mRNA in a rat model of Escherichia coli epididymitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Escherichia coli was inoculated into the spermatic cord of the rats and provoked epididymitis. At 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours postinfection (p.i.) epididymides were harvested. We examined interleukin-6 (IL-6) and other inflammatory cytokine mRNAs in epididymides by Northern blotting and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Histopathological findings and immunohistochemistry for IL-6 were also examined. RESULTS: Infected epididymides expressed IL-6 mRNA maximally at 6 hours p.i. and then the signal decreased by Northern blotting. mRNA for IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha also increased within 6 hours by RT-PCR. Histopathological examination showed that no inflammatory cells were observed at 6 hours p.i. and that inflammatory changes were most prominent at 72 hours p.i. Epididymal epithelium expressed IL-6 locally in response to local bacterial infection by immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSIONS: mRNA for IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha is expressed locally in response to bacterial infection before inflammatory cell infiltration. This rapid expression in the epithelial cells may be important in host defense to local genital infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Interindividual variation in carboxylesterase levels in human liver microsomes.

Microsomal carboxylesterase activities in 12 human livers were determined using 10 kinds of carboxylesterase substrates (p-nitrophenylacetate, p-nitrophenylpropionate, p-nitrophenylbutyrate, butanilicaine, isocarboxazid, palmitoyl-coenzyme-A, malathion, clofibrate, acetanilide, and phenacetin). There were large individual differences in the 12 humans based on experimental results in the past several years in our laboratory. We found that all human liver microsomes have RH1-immunoreactive carboxylesterase, and the carboxylesterase content in liver also showed large individual differences. The RH1-immunoreactive carboxylesterase concentration correlated well with those of p-nitrophenylesters, clofibrate, butanilicaine, and isocarboxazid, and anti-RH1 immunoglobulin G strongly inhibited human liver hydrolase activity. These findings indicate that one major carboxylesterase isozyme that is immunoreactive with anti-RH1 in human liver microsomes has catalytic activity on major carboxylesterase substrates, and thus hydrolase activity in human liver depends on the expression level of this carboxylesterase isozyme. These observations should be useful in understanding the action of carboxylesterases on drug metabolism in humans.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Inhibition of growth of human small cell lung cancer by bromocriptine.

Bromocriptine, a dopaminergic agonist, inhibited the growth of human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) implanted as tumor xenografts in athymic nude mice; the effect was dose dependent. In mice bearing a SCLC with ectopic vasopressin production, plasma levels of human vasopressin-associated neurophysin decreased concomitantly. Electron microscopy of tumor tissues revealed marked degenerative changes, including pyknosis, densely aggregated chromatin masses, and vacuolization of cytoplasm after bromocriptine treatment. When a SCLC cell line, NCI-H69, was grown in semisolid medium, bromocriptine inhibited its clonal growth in a dose-related manner. Coincubation with dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, metoclopramide, or domperidone, completely blocked the inhibitory effect of bromocriptine. Receptor studies with a dopamine D2 receptor ligand, [125I]iodosulpride, showed high affinity binding sites on the membranes of SCLC cells. These results indicate that SCLC cells are enriched with dopamine D2 receptors, which may mediate the growth-inhibitory effect of bromocriptine on SCLC. Dopaminergic agonists may be useful in the medical treatment of SCLC.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Mutual interaction between host and graft tissues in embryonic neural transplantation.

The differentiation of AChE-positive cells in embryonic neural grafts from various brain regions into the hippocampus after fimbria-fornix transection was investigated. Rat fetal cell suspensions of basal forebrain, hippocampus, mesencephalon or cortex were prepared from fetuses of either embryonic day 14 (E14) or day 19 (E19) gestational age, and these were transplanted into the rat brain after unilateral fimbria-fornix transection. Dense acetylcholinesterase (AChE) positive fibres were observed in both E14 and E19 basal forebrain grafts. These fibres were also found in E14 hippocampal grafts. However E19 hippocampal grafts did not have any AChE-positive fibres. These results suggest that E14 hippocampal grafts might be affected by the host brain tissues and differentiate into cholinergic neurones.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1994

Purification and characterization of a cell growth factor from a human leukemia cell line: immunological identity with ferritin.

We have succeeded in long-term cultivation of a human erythroleukemia cell line, K-562-T1 (T. Okabe, M. Fujisawa, and F. Takaku, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 453-455, 1984). The cells grown in a protein-free chemically defined medium have been shown to produce cell growth factors (A. Mihara et al., In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol., 23: 317-322, 1987). In this study, we have purified a cell growth factor from the conditioned medium that stimulates the proliferation of human leukemia cells, HL-60. In the purified factor, two major protein bands of 24 kDa and 22 kDa were identified on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. The 22 kDa protein was stained with a monoclonal antibody to the light chain of ferritin. The growth-promoting activity of the purified factor was coprecipitated with a monoclonal antibody to the light chain or heavy chain of human ferritin. These results suggest that K-562-T1 cells produce a cell growth factor that is related to ferritin.

Culture Media, Conditioned↗
PubMed1994

Purification of a cell growth factor from a human lung cancer cell line: its relationship with ferritin.

We have purified a cell growth factor from a human lung cancer cell line, T3M-30, which was established in a protein-free chemically defined medium. The factor, designated carcinoma-derived growth factor (CD-GF), stimulated proliferation of a variety of cells, including human leukemia cells, HL-60, and melanoma cells, SK-28. Half-maximum stimulation by the purified CD-GF was achieved at a concentration of 40 ng/ml. In the purified CD-GF, two major protein bands of 24 kDa and 22 kDa were identified on a SDS polyacrylamide gel. The partial amino acid sequences of the 24 kDa protein were determined from two peptide fragments obtained by V8 protease treatment. The partial sequences were identical to those of heavy chain of human ferritin. The activity of the purified CD-GF was coprecipitated completely with a monoclonal antibody to heavy chain of ferritin. Ferritin has been considered to inhibit cell growth. However, human heart ferritin was capable of stimulating the growth of HL-60 cells. These results suggest that CD-GF is related to ferritin and ferritin is a growth factor of HL-60 leukemia cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Endoscopic resection of large colorectal polyps using a clipping method.

PURPOSE: In conventional endoscopic snare polypectomy, bleeding and perforation are the principal concerns. To prevent these complications, we employ an endoscopic clipping technique using the HX-3L clipping apparatus. METHODS: With this method, clips are used to clamp the base of a polyp. A snare is hung peripheral to the clips. The polyp is then resected by coagulating and cutting with an electric current. RESULTS: Neither bleeding nor perforation during or after polypectomy has occurred, nor have complications related to the use of clips developed. Gigantic polyps were not resected piecemeal, but rather were resected en bloc facilitating a clear determination of cancer on the surface of the resected site. Endoscopic clipping permitted site marking for colonoscopic surveillance. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the clipping method has many advantages and is a useful technique in colonoscopic polypectomy.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The significance of gonadotropin-releasing hormone test for predicting fertility after varicocelectomy.

To predict the surgical outcome in 30 infertile men with varicocele, endocrinologic evaluation by the GnRH test was performed before and 6 months after the high ligation of the left internal spermatic vein. Semen analysis was performed and the levels of basal T and PRL were examined preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. In the pregnancy group, the preoperative excessive response of LH to the GnRH test decreased significantly after surgery. Significant reduction in the LH response is considered to be a valuable parameter for predicting fertility.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

False aneurysm of the ascending aorta with fistula to the right atrium. Noninvasive diagnosis by computed tomographic scan and two-dimensional echocardiography with successful repair.

A 57-year-old Japanese man presented with symptoms of congestive heart failure 9 years after aortic valve replacement. On auscultation, a continuous murmur was heard at the left lower sternal border. Chest radiograph showed moderate cardiomegaly and a widened upper mediastinum. Computed tomographic scans showed a dilated ascending aorta, in which there was no intimal flap, and also showed a large mass which compressed the right atrium. Two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography revealed abnormal continuous blood flow directed from the dilated ascending aorta to the right atrium and no periprosthetic leak. At operation, a false aneurysm of the ascending aorta which originated from the aortotomy suture line and a fistula from the aorta to the right atrium were confirmed. The fistula was closed with pledgeted sutures, and the ascending aorta was replaced with a collagen-coated double woven velour dacron graft. The patient recovered uneventfully. Computed tomographic scan and two-dimensional echocardiography are complementary techniques for reliable non-invasive assessment of the complexity of an aortic aneurysm.

Aneurysm, False↗