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Biomedical subjects

M Otani

Publications and source records attributed to M Otani.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

[Cystic pineocytoma successfully treated with synchronized chemoradiotherapy. Case report].

A case of pineocytoma associated with intraventricular and meningeal metastasis is reported. The patient, a 25-year-old female, was admitted complaining of headache. Computed tomography revealed an irregular-shaped pineal lesion enhanced by contrast medium and accompanied by a cyst. An intraventricular cystic metastatic lesion and meningeal metastasis were also suggested. Biopsy of the pineal region proved the lesion to be a pineocytoma without neuronal or glial differentiation. Ventriculoperitoneal shunting was performed, and radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy (ACNU and vincristine) was administered. This treatment apparently destroyed both the primary and metastatic lesions, and the patient returned to her normal life. In 4 years of follow-up there has been no recurrence of the tumor. Pineocytoma with meningeal metastasis usually has a poor prognosis, but in this case combined radiation therapy and chemotherapy was curative. Although pineocytoma is rarely accompanied by a cyst, in cases of a pineal lesion coexistent with a cyst, a diagnosis of pineocytoma should be considered.

Adult↗

[Appraising the storing of X-ray images].

We compared the cost to store X-ray films among storing them by themselves, utilizing rental stock, converting to microfilm and entering images into optical file system. We used microcomputer and spread sheet system on it for this comparison. Storing X-ray films by themselves is the most inexpensive, but the cost is depend on the price of land. Rental stock is the second. If the price of land is high, microfilm is most inexpensive. Optical file system is much expensive. It is not suit to store X-ray images which are already being stored as X-ray films. Beside of the cost, we should also estimate the factors as accessibility to image, easiness of use the systems etc.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗

[Successful treatment of a patient with fulminant psittacosis].

A previously healthy 40-year-old woman was admitted with severe dyspnea, cough and slight fever. Chest X-ray film revealed bilateral widespread opaque infiltration with ground glass shadows around it. The laboratory examination showed moderate hepatic and muscular injury with disseminated intravascular coagulation. In addition her arterial blood gas showed severe hypoxemia (PaO2: 25 Torr under room air). Moreover, about 1 week prior to admission, 2 baby budgerigars she had been raising for half a year died. Because of this history and multi-organ injuries, this disease was considered to be acute pneumonia owing to fulminant psittacosis causing acute respiratory failure. On the first day of admission, she was intubated and ventilated mechanically with an oxygen concentration (FIO2) of 100%. Subsequently, treatment with intravenous minocycline (400 mg/day), heparin for D.I.C. and corticosteroid were started. Abnormal findings in both chest X-ray and several laboratory parameters improved gradually though fever continued for a week. On the 14th day of her hospital stay, she was weaned from the ventilator successfully and the administration of corticosteroid and heparin tapered. On the 41st day, she was discharged without any symptoms. Results of complement fixation (CF) antibodies against chlamydia on paired sera showed a significant rise from 1:32 to 1:256. Moreover, both IgG and IgM antibodies for Chlamydia psittaci with microplate immunofluorescent antibody technique (MFA) showed an 8 times' rise during 10 days after admission. The definitive diagnosis was made with positive isolation of C. psittaci from both the throat swab of this patient and the spleen and liver of the dead budgerigar by the cell culture method. Psittacosis should always be borne in mind as a possible cause of fulminant pneumonia with acute respiratory failure, and such a situation can be handled successfully if emergency care including mechanical ventilation is available.

Acute Disease↗

Glucose metabolism via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway is not involved in ATP production during spore germination of bacillus megaterium QM B1551. A study with a mutant lacking hexokinase.

In order to investigate contributions by glucose metabolism via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway and that via the direct oxidation route to gluconate to initial ATP production during spore germination, respiratory activity and RNA synthesis were compared between the mutant lacking hexokinase and the parent spores of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551. We found that time courses of those metabolic events were almost identical between those spores, thus clearly indicating that NADH formed by a spore-specific enzyme glucose dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.47) is solely responsible for aerobic production of ATP at this stage.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Immunohistochemical studies on the proliferation of reactive astrocytes and the expression of cytoskeletal proteins following brain injury in rats.

The appearance of reactive astrocytes following brain injury was investigated in 4-week-old rats with special reference to their proliferation and chronological changes in the cytoskeletal proteins. Two days after the injury, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive cells had increased in number around the lesion and spread to the entire ipsilateral cortex by 3 days after the injury. To investigate the distribution of mitotic cells and its chronological change, immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibody to bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was performed. BrdU-positive cells began to appear around the lesion and spread to the entire ipsilateral cortex by 3 days and their distribution was the same as that of GFAP-positive cells. To investigate the association of GFAP-positive cells with cell division, double labeling experiments using [3H]thymidine autoradiography and immunohistochemical staining with antiserum to GFAP were performed. Cells doubly labeled with GFAP and [3H]thymidine were localized in the area adjacent to the lesion, in the molecular layer of the cortex and in the white matter. By contrast, none of the cells were doubly labeled in the IInd to VIth layers of the cortex. Furthermore, only astrocytes in the former areas expressed vimentin transiently from 2 to 10 days after the injury. In the rats administered vincristine, cells arrested during mitosis were found in the regions which express vimentin. From these results, it was suggested that astrocytes in the molecular layer of the cortex and the white matter adjacent to the lesion proliferated in response to the injury and expressed vimentin transiently, then acquired GFAP, and that astrocytes in the IInd to VIth layers of the cortex became reactive astrocytes without mitosis.

Animals↗

Possible synapse formation by embryonic cerebellar tissue grafted into the cerebellum of the weaver mutant mouse.

The weaver mutant mouse is characterized by degeneration of cerebellar granule cells in early post-natal stage. In the present study, the possibility of synapse formation in the weaver mouse cerebellum by implanted granule cells was analyzed immunohistochemically with antiserum against synaptic vesicle protein, Synapsin I. Normal cerebellar tissue, obtained from 15-day-old CBA/JNCij mouse embryos, was transplanted into the cerebellum of 4-week-old weaver mice. 6 weeks after the transplantation, the grafted tissue was clearly detected in the host cerebellum, developing a trilaminar organization. A number of granule-like cells were observed in the folia of the host cerebellum, suggesting that the implanted granule cells may have migrated from the grafted tissue into the host cerebellum. Some areas in the host cerebellum as well as in the grafted tissue were intensely stained by anti-Synapsin I serum, indicating that the implanted granule cells make synaptic contacts with the neuronal cells.

Animals↗

The development of a solitary toxic thyroid nodule following Graves' disease.

A 52-year-old woman developed a toxic, solitary, autonomously functioning thyroid nodule four years after antithyroid drug treatment for Graves' disease. When she was initially seen, a thyroid scan showed the homogeneous enlargement of both lobes with increased uptake. Graves' disease was diagnosed and the patient was treated with methimazole. Thyroid function was well-controlled with medication for 18 months, after which the patient stopped taking the drug for three years. Four years after Graves' disease was diagnosed, the patient again showed symptoms of hyperthyroidism. The etiology was a toxic, autonomously functioning nodule.

Female↗

Primary role of NADH formed by glucose dehydrogenase in ATP provision at the early stage of spore germination in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551.

Metabolic events involved in energy metabolism were studied in order to evaluate the ATP-forming ability of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores at the very early stage of germination. When heat-activated spores were germinated on glucose as a sole substrate, its oxidation into gluconate (catalyzed by glucose dehydrogenase, EC 1.1.1.47), the accompanying NADH formation, oxygen uptake, and RNA synthesis were initiated immediately after germination, even when anaerobic breakdown of 3-phosphoglycerate (an ATP source for spores) and the subsequent glucose metabolism via the phosphorylating pathway were impaired by potassium fluoride (KF). In contrast, fructose metabolism and the accompanying metabolic events did not begin until a few minutes after triggering of germination, and those events were entirely abolished by KF, indicating that fructose metabolism is initiated exclusively via its phosphorylation by the ATP derived from endogenous 3-phosphoglycerate. Thus those results provided further evidence for our previous proposal (Otani et al (1987) Microbiol. Immunol. 31: 967-974; Sano et al (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 151: 48-52) that the first molecules of ATP in germinating spores can be efficiently generated via aerobic oxidation of NADH, which is formed by glucose dehydrogenase. Fluorescence monitoring of NADH in germinating spores also supported this conclusion.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

A prospective, randomized controlled study on the treatment of stage C and stage D prostatic cancer with estracyt in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents.

The present study was designed to investigate the efficacy of various combinations of chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of prostatic cancer in a group refractory to antiandrogenic therapy (Group 1) and in a previous untreated group (Group 2). Therapeutic combinations of Estracyt (E) + Peplomycin (P) + Doxorubicin (Do) and P + Do + 5 FU (F) in Group 1 and E + P, Honvan (Ds) + P and E in Group 2 were carried out. The main objectives of this study were estimations of the efficacy of E and P in relation to the refractory cases of Group 1 and the efficacy of the combination E + P, in Group 2. This is the first such prospective, randomized, controlled study to be carried out in Japan in relation to prostatic cancer. The results obtained in the present study indicated that chemotherapeutic regimens including E provide some enhanced efficacy, but that the efficacy with regard to refractory cases is poor (23.1-27.3%), as has been reported of studies conducted in the USA and Europe. With regard to previously untreated cases, the E + P regimen achieved a relatively higher response rate than the other treatments (72.7 vs 44.5 or 50.0%). In the comparison of survival times and survival curves, there were no statistically significant differences among the various treatment subgroups. A comparison of survival curves revealed the interesting finding that the PAP-related response showed a clear correlation to the survival curves of Group 2 patients.

Aged↗

[Investigation of marking procedure for markers in deep-seated organs by proton beam therapy].

To obtain, an accurate outline of a tumor lesion in deep-seated organs with X-ray images in proton therapy, an implantation procedure of markers to determine the margins of the lesion has been developed. Nonradioactive Au grains were used as the markers and produced sufficiently clear images. The procedure consists of implanting the markers with a specially designed injector for endoscopic, palpative and intraoperative approaches to the lesions, which was performed without any adverse effects. Due to application of this procedure, the accuracy of treatment planning and pinpointing the site of the treatment field has improved greatly.

Brachytherapy↗

[Folliculo-stellate cells in normal human adenohypophyses and in pituitary adenomas].

Nine normal human adenohypophyses and 155 cases of pituitary adenoma of various endocrinological types were studied for existence of folliculo-stellate cells (FSCs) by an immunohistochemical method using the antibody for S-100 (S-100 protein). In all normal materials, S-100 positive FSCs were distributed throughout the glands, constituting 0.9-4.0% of the adenohypophysial cells. FSCs were morphologically characteristic showing a few slender cytoplasmic processes which extended among the other endocrine cells. On the other hand, FSCs were recognized in 13 cases (8%) of the adenomas, which we called FSC-containing pituitary adenomas. In them, S-100 positive FSCs existed diffusely in the tissue and increased in number, but did not differ in appearance from those in the normal gland. We also examined immunoreactivity of FSCs for the anti-GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) antibody. GFAP positive cells showed a greater number than S-100 positive cells in the normal glands, but a smaller number in the adenomas. Ultrastructural features of FSCs were observed in the tumor by an electron microscope. We studied clinical aspects of these FSC-containing adenomas, expecting some common features. However, we found no rules in age, sex, endocrinological type, tumor size, previous therapy, intraoperative finding of the tumor, and recurrence. So far, the function of FSC has not been clearly elucidated, and the present study did not contribute in this respect. The property of FSCs which proliferate in some adenomas is enigmatic. They may be entrapped normal cells, or reactive hyperplastic cells, or neoplastic cells. We considered them reactive hyperplastic cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenoma↗

Quantitation of serum carotenoid concentrations in healthy inhabitants by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Serum carotenoid concentrations in healthy subjects by age and sex were investigated, as determined by two high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Serum 'carotene' concentrations were 0.655 +/- 0.499 mumol/l 35.2 +/- 26.8 micrograms/dl) for 227 males, and 1,395 +/- 0.780 mumol/l (74.9 +/- 41.9 micrograms/dl) for 370 females. In addition, serum concentrations of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lycopene were obtained from another sample included 356 males and 567 females living in the same area. alpha-Carotene for 356 males was 0.085 +/- 0.096 mumol/l (4.6 +/- 5.2 micrograms/dl), beta-carotene was 0.555 +/- 0.491 mumol/l (29.8 +/- 26.4 micrograms/dl), and lycopene was 0.372 +/- 0.273 mumol/l (20.0 +/- 14.7 micrograms/dl), respectively. Serum concentrations of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene as well as concentrations of lycopene in these inhabitants were significantly higher for females than for males (p less than 0.001).

Adult↗

Gluconate metabolism in germinated spores of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551: primary roles of gluconokinase and the pentose cycle.

The metabolic pathway of gluconate, a major product of glucose metabolism during spore germination, was investigated in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551. Compared to the parent, mutant spores lacking gluconokinase could not metabolize gluconate, whereas the revertant simultaneously restored the enzyme activity and the ability to metabolize it, indicating that gluconokinase was solely responsible for the onset of gluconate metabolism. To identify a further metabolic route for gluconate, we determined 14C yields in acetate and CO2 formed from [14C]gluconate, and found that experimental ratios of 14CO2/[14C]acetate obtained from [2-14C]gluconate and [3,4-14C]gluconate were not compatible with the ratios predicted from the Entner-Doudoroff pathway. In contrast, when CO2 release caused by recycling (approx. 30%) was corrected, the ratios almost agreed with those from the pentose cycle. Comparison of specific radioactivities in acetate also supported the conclusion that gluconate was metabolized via the pentose cycle, subsequently metabolized via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway, and finally degraded to acetate and CO2 without a contribution by the Krebs cycle.

Acetates↗

Effect of thiamine on the excretion of subcutaneously injected lead in rats.

The effect of thiamine on the excretion of lead in feces was investigated using rats injected subcutaneously with lead acetate and thiamine pyrophosphate. The amount of lead excreted increased with the amounts of thiamine administered, while lead concentrations in blood, liver and femur also increased. The amount of lead excreted in feces decreased, however, with administration of oxythiamine and vanadium. These results suggest that excretion of lead in feces is enhanced by thiamine and that it promotes evacuation of lead from the body.

Animals↗

Effect of food intake on blood lead concentration in workers occupationally exposed to lead.

Results from a cross-sectional study showed the concentration of lead in the blood of male workers, aged 20-55 years, occupationally exposed to lead in a steel factory, to be negatively correlated with the daily nutritional content of dietary fiber, iron and vitamin B1 (thiamine) intake. Furthermore, in experiments with rats injected subcutaneously with lead acetate, lead levels in blood and femur of animals on a vitamin-rich laboratory chow were lower than those fed a general laboratory chow. Moreover, in the group fed the vitamin-rich chow, lead excretion in feces increased, while excretion in urine did not. These results suggest that lead excretion from the body may be increased by a high intake of nutrients such as thiamine, iron and fiber, that lead excretion in feces via bile may be enhanced by a large intake of vitamins such as thiamine and that accordingly the lead concentration in the blood of the workers is reduced.

Adult↗