Biomedical subjects

M Kikuchi

Publications and source records attributed to M Kikuchi.

1,284 records · Page 72Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Perchloric acid, toxicolor, endospecy, and miconazole in the early diagnosis and treatment of fungemia.

As a procedure for the diagnosis of fungemia, Toxicolor and Endospecy (limulus tests using a synthetic chromogenic substrate) were used to measure (1----3)-beta-D-glucan (beta-glucan), which is a membranous component of fungus. The plasma samples were pretreated with a new perchloric acid method. These methods permit measurement of the beta-glucan within about two hours. Patients in whom fungemia was diagnosed were effectively treated with miconazole.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of IPM/CS in gram-negative bacillus infections: use of an endotoxin-specific assay.

The subjects were 26 patients hospitalized with severe trauma or burns. Twice daily for seven to 14 days, 1 gm of IPM/CS (a 1:1 combination of imipenem and cilastatin sodium) was administered by intravenous drip infusion to each patient. Clinical outcome was rated excellent in nine patients, good in 12, and fair in five. Bacteria, isolated in 21 of the 26 patients, were eliminated in 18 and decreased in three. Mean endotoxin levels, assessed by the Endospecy method, were reduced from 167.8 pg/ml before treatment to 5.1 pg/ml after treatment. No treatment side effects were noted.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas involving Waldeyer's ring: a proposal for clinical categorization.

The clinicopathologic data of 97 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas involving Waldeyer's ring were retrospectively reviewed. Age, sex, the site of involvement within Waldeyer's ring, and Rappaport's histological classification played little role in the prognosis. Although the Ann Arbor staging classification was the only factor that correlated with the patients' prognoses (stage I vs stage II, p less than 0.01; stage II vs stage III + IV, p less than 0.02), it is not considered the ideal classification. The survival rates of stage II patients, who comprised about 60% of the entire group, was quite different due to their cervical node status. That is, 33 patients with bulky cervical nodes (4 cm in diameter or more) or bilateral cervical nodes had significantly poorer survival rates than 24 patients with small unilateral cervical nodes (p less than 0.001). The survival curve of the former group was similar to that of the stage III and IV patients, whereas the survival curve of the latter group was similar to that of the stage I patients. Lymphography, which was performed for 72 patients in this series, is not considered essential. From these results, we recommend the categorization of patients with malignant lymphomas involving Waldeyer's ring into two major groups according to cervical and inguinal node status in order to assess treatment methods. That is, patients with bulky or bilateral cervical lymph nodes or those with inguinal lymphadenopathy and patients without any lymphadenopathy or those with minimal unilateral cervical nodes alone.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of the light-dark cycle on humoral and cell-mediated immune responses of mice.

When groups of Balb/c mice were immunized with SRBC, a thymus-dependent antigen, at a time interval of 4 h, the number of PFC in the spleen 4 days after immunization exhibited a marked circadian rhythm with an acrophase at -129 degrees (p less than 0.01), while the hemagglutination titers against SRBC also showed a circadian variation with an acrophase at -121 degrees (p less than 0.01). However, the immune response in C3H/HeN mice against PVP, a thymus-independent antigen, especially serum antibody HA titers, did not show a significant circadian rhythm, and the amplitude of the variation was less than that found in Balb/c mice immunized with SRBC. The cell-mediated immune response, contact hypersensitivity to PC, in mice had a marked circadian rhythm with the timing of the challenge of the antigen (acrophase at -129 degrees). From these data it is suggested that the thymus or thymus-derived lymphocytes may play an important role in the circadian rhythm in both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Triiodothyronine decreases the accumulation of 1,2-diacylglycerol in rat hearts.

1,2-Diacylglycerol (DAG) is an intracellular signal mediator that may initiate protein synthesis and cardiac hypertrophy via activation of protein kinase C. The amounts of 1,2-DAG and its fatty acid components in the myocardium was assessed and compared with the concentrations of RNA and DNA in cardiac hypertrophy induced by administering triiodothyronine (T3) with and without cycloheximide, an inhibitor of protein synthesis. After the first injection of T3 no cardiac hypertrophy was observed, and there were no differences in myocardial 1,2-DAG content or in RNA and DNA concentrations. Cardiac hypertrophy was present on days 3 and 7 after a daily injection of T3. Myocardial RNA concentration was increased by 26% on day 3 and by 34% on day 7, whereas the myocardial 1,2-DAG content was decreased by 8% on day 3 and by 24% on day 7. Pretreatment with cycloheximide of T3-treated rats prevented the development of cardiac hypertrophy, but elevated the RNA concentration and lowered the 1,2-DAG content compared with the findings in T3-treated rats. Analysis of the fatty acid components of 1,2-DAG revealed that the amounts of 16:0, 18:1 and 18:2 were decreased, accompanied by an elevation of RNA concentration and a decrease in 1,2-DAG content. It seems that RNA synthesis preceded the alteration in 1,2-DAG. These findings suggest that 1,2-DAG is not involved in the initiation of cardiac hypertrophy induced by T3, but is affected by the enhanced concentration of RNA resulting from the introduction of thyroid hormones into the myocardium.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Expression of laminin in HCC treated with transcatheter arterial embolization. Usefulness of laminin staining as a post-surgical detection procedure at the tumor invasion boundary.

The distribution of laminin was studied in sixty surgically resected hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) using immunoperoxidase procedure. When increased, laminin patterns consisted of thick basement membranes, organized in a trabecular pattern, and were lined by sinusoid structures. A marked increase of laminin was seen in 63.4% of well differentiated HCC, and in only 9.1% of poorly differentiated HCC. No laminin positive cases were found among 8 cases of adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) containing HCC foci. Thus, laminin patterns in HCC may be related to the degree of tumor differentiation. At the tumor-non tumor boundary, differential expression of laminin has made it possible to discriminate overt cancerous regions from normal tissues. Thus, laminin status proved to be an effective marker for tumor invasion in well-differentiated, laminin positive tumors. Assessment of HCC by laminin staining, together with a thorough and precise pathological examination of viable tumor cells after TAE treatment, may be recommended as a detection procedure for tumor invasion and for the transition from AH to the premalignant condition which culminates in HCC.

Adolescent↗