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Biomedical subjects

N Kawamura

Publications and source records attributed to N Kawamura.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Staged transsphenoidal surgery for fibrous nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension.

Staged transsphenoidal surgery was performed in seven patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension. Remnant adenomas were present in a supersellar position after complete removal of the intrasellar tumor, and did not descend into the sella because of the fibrous nature in five patients or fibrous nature and dumbbell shape in two. Magnetic resonance images were obtained every 2 weeks following initial surgery. The suprasellar residual adenomas descended into the sella within 2 months in six patients and 1.5 months in one patient. A second transsphenoidal operation was performed 2 months following the initial procedure in four patients, 3 months in one, and 5 months in two. In six of the seven patients, extensive tumor removal was achieved safely and easily by the staged approach. Patients were followed up over 6 to 58 months (mean +/- SD 24.7 +/- 18.9 months). There were no major surgical complications or recurrence of tumor on follow-up images. Our postoperative imaging studies and surgical results demonstrated that staged transsphenoidal surgery is an effective and safe treatment for fibrous nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1997

Sleep characteristics of Japanese working men who score alexithymic on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

This study examined the relationship of sleep characteristics including insomnia with scores on alexithymia in a sample of 171 Japanese working men. Levels of nonrestorative sleep and daytime sleepiness reported on a sleep questionnaire were significantly associated with scores on Depression and Confusion on the Profile of Mood States for Japanese men who had a high mean score on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Mothers' low care in the development of alexithymia: a preliminary study in Japanese college students.

We examined the influences of perceived parental bonding on scores on alexithymia in a sample of 232 college students. Ratings on mothers' care, a scale of the Parental Bonding Inventory were significantly and negatively correlated with scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and also with ratings on Difficulty Describing Feelings but not Difficulty Identifying Feelings and Externally Oriented Thinking. These results were replicated in another sample of 156 college students. Although our findings were based on simple correlations, they suggest that perceived mothers' low care is related to adults' scores on alexithymia, in particular, the construct, Difficulty Describing Feelings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Long-term observation of sensorineural hearing-impaired children with hearing aids].

In the long-term observation (9-22 years) of 45 hearing-impaired children, using our own "Hearing Test Progress Table", 36(80.0%) showed fluctuation of the hearing threshold. Twenty-nine of the 36 patients had acute progression of hearing loss. Three peaks of onset of the acute loss were observed: at age 6, 10, 16 years in girls, 7, 11 and 16 years in boys. Twenty-three of the 45 (51.1%) have been able to maintain their good thresholds throughout these periods, with 14 cases of hearing loss restored by our successful treatment of acute sensorineural hearing losses (1-6 times). Twenty-two of the 45 children (48.9%) could not maintain their initial thresholds: gradual hearing deterioration in 7 of the 22, and acute hearing loss (1-10 times) in the remaining 15 cases. Although these 15 patients could not maintain their initial hearing thresholds until the end of the observation period, active treatments for their acute losses were successful in the early period, and almost all patients were able to maintain their initial hearing thresholds until graduation from elementary school. Our "Hearing Test Progress Table" is based on the results of pure tone audiometry for each frequency on every audiometry test. The management (including guidance and treatment) using the table is very effective.

Child↗
PubMed1997

Pyralomicins, novel antibiotics from Microtetraspora spiralis. IV. Absolute configuration.

The absolute configurations of pyralomicin la and pyralomicin 2a were determined by X-ray crystallographic analyses of crystalline 7'-O-p-bromobenzoylpyralomicin 1a and 2'-O-p-bromobenzoylpyralomicin 2a derived from pyralomicin 1a and pyralomicin 2a using anomalous scattering of the bromine atom. The absolute configurations of pyralomicins 1b approximately 1d and 2b approximately 2e were suggested to be the same as pyralomicin 1a and pyralomicin 2a, respectively, by comparing the circular dichroism spectra.

Actinomycetales↗
PubMed1997

[Myelogenous leukemia in children. ANLL9205 study by Children's Cancer and Leukemia Study Group (CCLSG)].

Treatment results were evaluated in 45 children with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) treated on the ANLL-9205 protocol of the Children's Cancer Leukemia Study Group (CCLSG, Japan). In this protocol, terarubicin (THP-ADR), vincristine and continuous infusion of cytosine arabinoside (Ara C) were applied for remission induction therapy (AVC), and VP16+ high dose Ara C were used sequentially for 32 or 48 weeks. Eleven patients received stem cell transplantation. Thirty-eight out of the 43 eligible patients (88.4%) achieved complete remission, and the overall 3-year event-free survival (EFS) was 55.6% (S.E.,10%). This favorable response was attributed mainly to the high induction rate of patients with the M5, M7 FAB subtypes and higher WBC counts (> or = 10 x 10(9)/L). There was no difference in the 3-year EFS of these patients who discontinued treatment between 32 weeks and 48 weeks. Serious toxicities were not observed in this study. These findings suggest that the ANLL-9205 protocol is an effective and safe treatment regimen for childhood AML. When comparing the treatment period of 32 or 48 weeks, the difference was not statistically significant.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1997

[The gene therapy for a patient with ADA deficiency; report of the first gene therapy trial in Japan].

Since the first gene therapy clinical trial for an ADA deficient patient was performed in September 1990, 10 ADA deficient patients have been enrolled in gene therapy clinical trial. We have been performing the first gene therapy trial in Japan for a 5 year boy with ADA deficiency since August 1995. Activated T cells from the patient's peripheral mononuclear cells were transduced by a retrovirus vector, LASN, which contained cDNA of human ADA gene, and re-infused to him intravenously after 7-11 days. We have already performed 10 cycles of the therapy for the patient. Here, we report the successful results of the gene therapy with laboratory and clinical evaluation. Furthermore, we overview the results of gene therapy for ADA deficient patients which were recently reported from 4 other groups.

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1997

[Treatment results in childhood acute myeloblastic leukemia--a report of clinical trials of a past decade from the Japanese children's Cancer and Leukemia Study Group (CCLSG)].

Treatment results were evaluated in 167 children with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) treated on four protocols (ANLL 861, 8912, 9205, APL-ATRA) of the Children's Cancer Leukemia Study Group. In the ANLL 9205 protocol, anthracycline was used with a continuous infusion of cytosine arabinoside, followed by an intensive sequential post remission chemotherapy of short duration, 42/46 patients (91.3%) achieved complete remission, and 58.8% of these patients projected a 3-year disease free survival. These results were apparently superior to those obtained with the ANLL 861 & 8912 protocols, which used conventional doses of multi drugs followed by a moderate post remission chemotherapy of long duration. This favorable response with the ANLL 9205 protocol was attributed mainly to the high induction rate of patients with the M4 and M5 FAB subtypes, as compared to those in the previous two protocols (91.3% in ANLL 9205 vs 57.9% in ANLL 861 + 8912; p < 0.05). No significant difference in the patients outcome was found between the chemotherapy group and allogenic bone marrow transplantation group in the ANLL 9205 study. The patients with the M3 FAB subtype treated with the APL-ATRA protocol which consisted of an alternative use of all-trans retinoic acid and chemotherapy significantly prolonged event free survival as compared with the patients treated with ANLL 861/8912 protocols without all-trans retinoic acid.

Anthracyclines↗
PubMed1996

Studies on disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: synthesis of novel quinoline and quinazoline derivatives and their anti-inflammatory effect.

In the course of our study aimed at developing new types of DMARDs (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs), we found that quinoline derivative 1a had a potent anti-inflammatory effect in an adjuvant arthritis (AA) rat model, starting from the potent bone resorption inhibitors justicidins as the lead compounds. Further modification of 1a was performed, and various quinoline and quinazoline derivatives having a heteroaryl moiety on the alkyl side chain at the 2-position of the skeleton were prepared. These compounds were evaluated for anti-inflammatory effects using the AA rat model. Most of these compounds, especially those having an imidazole or a triazole moiety on the 2-alkyl chain, exhibited a potent effect. Among the compounds synthesized, ethyl 4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-6,7-dimethoxy-2-(1,2, 4-triazol-1-yl-methyl)quinoline-3-carboxylate (12d), having an ED50 value of 2.6 mg/kg/day (anti-inflammatory effect in an AA rat model, po), was selected as a candidate for further investigation. In vitro, 12d inhibited mitogen-induced proliferation at 10(-7)-10(-5) M but not prostaglandin E2 production at 10(-5) M. Moreover, 12d preferentially inhibited the IFN-gamma production by Th1-type clones over the IL-4 production by Th2-type clones. This preferential suppression of Th1 cytokine production is considered the essential immunomodulating action of 12d for the present. Synthesis and structure-activity relationships for this novel series of quinoline and quinazoline derivatives are detailed.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Glycated Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase in rat lenses: evidence for the presence of fragmentation in vivo.

Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) exists in tissues of rats as both glycated and non-glycated forms when separated by boronate acid column chromatography. Glycated Cu.Zn-SOD is most abundant in rat lenses compared to other tissues. In normal rats lens levels of glycated Cu.Zn-SOD showed a gradual increase with age, whereas in diabetic rats substantial increases were observed. Immunoblotting analyses, using anti-hexitol lysine IgG, indicated that glycated Cu.Zn-SOD contains Amadori products. Moreover, Cu.Zn-SOD in lenses was site-specifically fragmented probably because of glycation. This the first report of a fragmented protein, such as Cu,Zn-SOD, occurring in vivo.

Aging↗
PubMed1996

Complications of childhood Sjögren syndrome.

UNLABELLED: Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a common disorder in adults and involves both glandular and extraglandular systems. We report here four cases of childhood SS complicated by chronic thyroiditis, interstitial nephritis or sweat gland inflammation. Additionally, in one of these cases, the central nervous system was involved. All of these complications are common in adult cases. CONCLUSION: Childhood SS is a systemic "ductilitis" or "exocrinopathy" with complications which are commonly observed in adult cases.

Acidosis, Renal Tubular↗
PubMed1996

Role of P-selectin in the early stage of the Arthus reaction.

P-selectin is rapidly translocated to the surface of endothelial cells and platelets following exposure to chemical mediators such as histamine, thrombin and complement factors. The Arthus reaction is caused by vascular injury which is initiated by the local deposition of the immune complex followed by the activation of complement and release of chemical mediators. In this report, the role of P-selectin in the early stage of reverse passive Arthus reaction in rat using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against rat P-selectin will be investigated. Intravenous administration of the mAb ARP2-4 significantly attenuated paw edema 1 h after challenging it with antigen by 31.5% (1 mg/kg) and 44.7% (3 mg/kg), respectively. Edema formation was also reduced by sulfatide (73.1%, 50 mg/kg) and inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6) (72.9%, 30 mg/kg), which have been reported to block P-selectin-mediated neutrophil adhesion. Moreover, neutrophil accumulation into the inflammatory site in the Arthus reaction was inhibited by anti-P-selectin mAb. P-selectin expression was detected along vessel walls prior to neutrophil accumulation, as determined by immunohistochemical staining using the antibody. In addition, the expression of P-selectin mRNA was induced 4 h after deposition of immune complex. From these results, we concluded that P-selectin plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the Arthus reaction especially in the early stage by recruiting neutrophils into sites of inflammation.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Acute electrical stimulation of lateral hypothalamus increases natural killer cell activity in rats.

Natural killer cell (NK) activity in WKA and SD rats was found to be significantly higher following electrical stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) compared to sham operated. There was no such difference between sham operated rats and those receiving electrical stimulation in the frontal cortex as a control. Operations were performed under sodium pentobarbital anesthetic, and NK activity against YAC-1 target cells was measured 20 h later using 51Cr release assay. The LH area stimulated is a potent reward center and that stimulation of this point increased NK activity opens the possibility that pleasure might play a role in cellular immunity.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Effects of caffeine on event-related potentials: comparison of oddball with single-tone paradigms.

We investigated the acute effects of caffeine (500 mg) on event-related potentials (ERP) in 10 healthy subjects using standard oddball and single-tone paradigms. Event-related potentials were recorded before oral ingestion of caffeine or placebo and 30 min and 210 min after. The oddball paradigm, but not the single-tone paradigm, showed that the P300 amplitude and the area were significantly increased 30 min after ingestion of caffeine and significantly decreased 30 min after ingestion of placebo. The effects of caffeine disappeared at 210 min. Neither the P300 latency nor the reaction time changed significantly with the oddball paradigm. However, the reaction time was shortened 30 min after ingestion of caffeine with the single-tone paradigm. These findings suggest that the caffeine-induced increase in the P300 amplitude may have resulted from the increased allocation of attentional resources to the discriminating process which was not, however, accompanied by facilitation of the process and that caffeine may specifically stimulate the discriminating process involved in the oddball paradigm. In addition, the simple psychomotor performance of buttonpressing in response to a tone signal was accelerated by caffeine.

Caffeine↗
PubMed1996

Plasma glutathione peroxidase deficiency caused by renal dysfunction.

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity was determined in the plasma of 118 healthy persons, 18 nondialyzed patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), 20 patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD), and 58 patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Serum creatinine levels in the nondialyzed CRF patients revealed a highly significant negative correlation (r = -0.71, p < 0.001) with plasma GPx activity. Immunoblot analysis revealed that the plasma (extracellular) GPx protein was reduced or undetectable in patients with low plasma GPx activity. Plasma GPx activities in the HD and CAPD patients were reduced to 44 and 23% (female), and to 70 and 45% (male) of the sex-matched control values, respectively. In contrast, erythrocyte (cellular) GPx activity was not decreased in the nondialyzed CRF patients and the dialyzed patients. Plasma selenium concentrations were within the normal range in these patient groups. These results indicate that the plasma GPx activity largely depends on renal function.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Direct fermentative production of acyltylosins by genetically-engineered strains of Streptomyces fradiae.

A tylosin-producer, Streptomyces fradiae, was transformed with plasmids carrying genes from Streptomyces thermotolerans that are involved in acyl modification of macrolide antibiotics. A transformant with pMAB3, in which macrolide 4"-O-acyltransferase gene (acyB1) and its regulatory gene (acyB2) are subcloned, produced several types of 4"-O-acyltylosins. A transformant with pAB11 delta EH containing macrolide 3-O-acyltransferase gene (acyA) in addition to the above two genes produced 3-O-acetyltylosin and 3-O-acetyl-4"-O-acyltylosins. Among the products of the latter transformant, 3-O-acetyl-4"-O-isovaleryltylosin (AIV) was detected as a minor component. When L-leucine, a precursor of isovaleryl-CoA, was added to the medium at the late stage of the fermentation, AIV content among the total macrolides increased ten-fold and AIV became a main product. This fact suggests that a high level of endogenous isovaleryl-CoA may be essential for the selective production of AIV by S. fradiae carrying pAB11 delta EH.

Acylation↗