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Biomedical subjects

N Kikuchi

Publications and source records attributed to N Kikuchi.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

[The isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria and the pulmonary infections of nontuberculous mycobacteria in the general hospital].

In the past eight years, we experienced 94 cases of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolation from the specimens of sputum, gastric juice, pleural fluid and fiberoptic bronchoscopic procedure at Chiba Kaihin Municipal Hospital. The species of NTM were M. avium complex (MAC) in 23, M. gordonae in 15, M. kansasii in 12, M. fortuitum in 8, M. chelonae in 7, etc.. The number of isolation of NTM has increased, and it is worthwhile to mention that it had exceeded the number of isolation of M. tuberculosis since 1991. We experienced 28 cases of pulmonary infections caused by NTM during the same period. Thirteen cases were by M. avium complex, 11 cases by M. kansasii, one case by MAC and M. kansasii, one case by M. chelonae and two cases by unidentified NTM. Pulmonary infections by NTM also gradually increased. Thirteen cases (46.4%) had underlying diseases in the respiratory system. Most of them were progressive diseases with cavities and were easily diagnosed by mycobacterial examinations of the specimens such as sputum or gastric juice. We were unable to diagnose 12 cases (42.9%) by mycobacterial examinations. Most of them had no underlying diseases and showed small lesions without cavitation on the chest X-ray. Eight cases were diagnosed by the histopathological examination of TBLB (transbronchial lung biopsy) specimens. In such cases, these procedures were also useful for the early diagnosis. This study indicated the increase of the isolation of NTM and the pulmonary infections by NTM. Once the infections are established, they are progressive, and the early diagnosis of these infections are thought to be important.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Clinical efficacy of arbekacin on MRSA pneumonia].

Arbekacin sulfate (ABK) was administered by intravenous drip to pneumonia patients infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and the efficacy and the safety were objectively evaluated by the executive committee. The daily dose was determined in principle as 150-200 mg, two times a day, 30-90 minutes drip infusion, and the dose was to be changed at each special occasion. Combined therapy with other antibiotics was scheduled in severe cases at a decision of the physician in charge. Data of 18 cases were accumulated. The efficacy could be evaluated for 12 cases (4 cases with ABK alone, and 8 cases with combined therapy), and the safety was evaluated for 18 cases. The clinical efficacy was: excellent, 1; good, 4; fair, 5; and poor, 2. The efficacy rate was 41.7%. The bacteriological effect was: eradicated, 2 (16.7%); decreased, 2; and no change, 8. There found no side effects except 3 cases of abnormal laboratory data, two abnormal renal functions(11.1%) and one abnormal hepatic function (5.5%). In one of the renal disorders, decreased dose of ABK improved the function. In the other case, the impaired renal function lasted until death by heart failure. In the case of abnormal function, discontinuing the ABK therapy improved the hepatic function. In the 4 out of 5 cases that showed excellent or good clinical efficacy, patients recovered within relatively early days of ABK therapy. The average days for recovery was 7.8.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Effects of exhaustive concentric and eccentric exercise on murine skeletal muscle.

C57BL/10SnJ mice were run to exhaustion on a treadmill at a 20 degrees incline, uphill or downhill. Contractility, morphology, and histology were evaluated in the soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles at days 0, 3, and 7 postexercise. Serum creatine kinase was elevated immediately postexercise (681% increase downhill and 225% increase uphill). After uphill running, the soleus had a significant increase in cross-sectional area (CSA) and decreased tetanic tension/CSA and twitch contraction time through day 7. The EDL showed increased CSA, decreased tetanic and twitch tension, and increased fatigue at day 0 only, with no other contractile abnormalities. After downhill running, the EDL showed reduced tetanic and twitch tension, but no fatigue or morphometric differences, whereas the soleus showed no significant abnormalities. No significant muscle histopathology was observed at any time following uphill or downhill running. This study indicates that both exhaustive eccentric and concentric exercise may produce significant impairments in muscle contractility without inducing histopathology. Exhaustive concentric exercise also induces muscle swelling and may preferentially impair slow twitch fibers.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Effect of cyclosporine on liver regeneration after orthotopic reduced-size hepatic transplantation in the rat.

These experiments were undertaken to study the effects of cyclosporine A (CsA) on liver regeneration after an isogeneic orthotopic reduced-size hepatic transplantation (RSHT) in rats. Male Wistar rats were treated with or without a daily injection of CsA beginning 24 hr before surgery and were subjected to a 68% partial hepatectomy. A isogeneic orthotopic reduced-size hepatic transplantation was performed in recipient rats pretreated with or without CsA. A daily injection of CsA was continued until the recipient rats were sacrificed. Animals were sacrificed at various time points (12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 hr) postoperatively. The incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) into the DNA of the remnant hepatocytes was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining with a monoclonal antibody against BrdU. CsA (10 mg/kg/day) significantly augmented BrdU incorporation into hepatocytes after hepatectomy. The maximum labeling index (LI) was observed at 24 hr after hepatectomy. In contrast, the maximum LI in the recipient rats not receiving CsA was seen at 36 hr after RSHT, and 10 mg/kg/day of CsA decreased the LI at 36 hr after RSHT. A lower dose of CsA (3 mg/kg/day), however, significantly increased the LI in the recipient rats (P < 0.01), and it reached a peak at 24 hr after RSHT when compared to the transplant recipients not receiving CsA. The time course of the increase in the LI in the transplant recipient rats receiving 3 mg/kg/day of CsA was similar to that observed in the rats after hepatectomy. This dosage improved the delay in the reduced-size hepatic transplant LI reaching its peak.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Effect of cyclosporine on distribution of macrophage subpopulations in rat hepatic allograft.

Macrophage subpopulations infiltrating the grafts of ACI(RT1a) to LEW(RT1(1)) orthotopic rat liver transplants treated with or without immunosuppressive therapy were studied using immunohistochemical staining. LEW recipients of ACI liver transplants experienced severe acute graft rejection, with a mean survival of only 10.2 +/- 0.7 days. An indirect immunoperoxidase technique on cryostat sections of the liver grafts was used to determine the localization of macrophage subpopulations infiltrating the grafts, as defined by specific anti-rat macrophage monoclonal antibodies, designated TRPM-1 (pan-macrophage), TRPM-3 (activated macrophage) and Ki-M2R (tissue macrophage). TRPM-1+ or TRPM-3+ cells gradually increased on days 5 and 7 in the untreated hepatic allografts, whereas no significant changes in the number of these cells were observed in the isografts. Treatment with cyclosporine (CsA) greatly decreased the number of these two different types of cells infiltrating the hepatic allografts, compared to the untreated hepatic allografts or the isografts. The time course of the accumulation of these cells in the allografts treated with CsA showed a similar pattern; the cells increased gradually by day 5 and thereafter decreased. This pattern is different from that observed in the untreated allografts or in the isografts. There was no significant difference in the number of Ki-M2R+ cells between the untreated hepatic allografts and the isografts. However, the number of the Ki-M2R+ cells in the hepatic allografts treated with CsA was much less than that of either the untreated allografts or the isografts. These findings suggest that a progressive relative increase in host TRPM-3+ macrophage is a characteristic feature of ongoing first-set rejection in the rat hepatic allograft.2+ allograft, even when compared with the isografts.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Herniation of calcified cervical intervertebral disc causes dissociated motor loss in a child.

Herniation of the calcified nucleus pulposus is a rare complication of intervertebral disc calcification in children. Surgical intervention is rarely indicated in the majority of such cases. This paper reports a 12-year-old boy with a calcified nucleus pulposus at C7-T1 which had ruptured into the spinal canal, causing dissociated motor loss. Anterior discectomy and fusion were performed and the patient's muscle weakness markedly improved after surgery.

Cervical Vertebrae↗
PubMed1993

Chemotaxis of leptospires to hemoglobin in relation to virulence.

A guinea pig-lethal line of Leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni strain Shibaura, but not an avirulent line of the same strain, moved in larger numbers toward hemoglobin than toward distilled water (control) in a U-shaped polypropylene tube. L. interrogans serovar lai strains 017 and KH-1, which were also guinea pig lethal, showed a similar move to hemoglobin. No such move toward hemoglobin was shown by 14 avirulent strains of L. interrogans (with one exception) or any of the 8 strains of L. biflexa tested.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Seroepidemiological evidence that shearing wounds are mainly responsible for Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in sheep.

Anti-Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis toxin titers were examined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 3 to 5 month intervals in sheep of three age groups (lambs, 1- and 2-year-old sheep). A significant increase in the ELISA-positive ratio was found only in July, 3 months after shearing, in 1- and 2-year-old sheep. A decrease in the positive ratio was found in the same month in lambs, possibly due to a decrease in maternal antibodies. Since the 1- and 2-year-old sheep had been sheared in April, it was considered that the increase in the positive ratio in July might be closely related to the shearing in April.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

[Immunocytochemical and ultrastructural study of saphenous vein, internal thoracic artery, and right gastroepiploic artery in coronary artery bypass grafting].

The arterial conduits such as internal thoracic artery (ITA) and right gastroepiploic artery (GEA) are widely used in coronary artery bypass surgery because of their resistance to atherosclerosis. In this study, immunophenotypes of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in intima and media of ITA, GEA and saphenous vein (SV) were studied using monoclonal antibodies specific to cytoskeletal proteins; actin (A), vimentin (V) and desmin (V). In addition, the ultrastructures of endothelium of these vessels were examined. The most SMCs in intima and media of ITA and GEA were found positive for (A) and (V) but negative for (D). In contrast, the majority of SMCs both in intima and media of SV were found positive for (A), (V) and (D). The ultrastructure of endothelium of ITA and GEA showed the deeper penetration of cytoplasmic process than SV, which might anchor the endothelium. We suggest the morphological difference of endothelium and phenotypic diversity of SMCs between arterial and venous grafts may account for the different susceptibility to atherosclerotic changes in coronary bypass grafting.

Arteries↗
PubMed1993

[Nontuberculous Mycobacterium pulmonary infection with pleural effusion caused by Mycobacterium kansasii].

A 28 year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of fever, cough and chest pain. A chest X-ray film taken on admission showed infiltrate in the left upper lung field with ipsilateral pleural effusion. Microscopical examinations of stained specimens of sputa and pleural effusions disclosed no acid-fast bacilli. The level of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in pleural effusion was 46.4 IU/l. A tuberculin skin test was moderately positive. The most probable diagnosis was pulmonary tuberculosis with pleural effusion. Isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RFP) were administered on the 5th hospital day and continued to lower the fever and reduce the pleural effusion. The cultured specimens of sputa and pleural effusions yielded Mycobacterium kansasii. After six months of treatment, chest X-ray film showed improvement and the administration of INH, RFP was discontinued without recurrence.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Purification, characterization, cloning, and expression of a glutamic acid-specific protease from Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580.

A glutamic acid-specific protease has been purified to homogeneity from Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580 utilizing Phe-Leu-D-Glu-OMe-Sepharose affinity chromatography and crystallized. The molecular weight of the protease was estimated to be approximately 25,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This protease, which we propose to call BLase (glutamic acid-specific protease from B. licheniformis ATCC 14580), was characterized enzymatically. Using human parathyroid hormone (13-34) and p-nitroanilides of peptidyl glutamic acid and aspartic acid, we found a marked difference between BLase and V8 protease, EC 3.4.21.9, although both proteases showed higher reactivity for glutamyl bonds than for aspartyl bonds. Diisopropyl fluorophosphate and benzyloxycarbonyl Leu-Glu chloromethyl ketone completely inhibited BLase, whereas EDTA reversibly inactivated the enzyme. The findings clearly indicate that BLase can be classified as a serine protease. To elucidate the complete primary structure and precursor of BLase, its gene was cloned from the genomic DNA of B. licheniformis ATCC 14580, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. Taking the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified BLase into consideration, the clones encode a mature peptide of 222 amino acids, which follows a prepropeptide of 94 residues. The recombinant BLase was expressed in Bacillus subtilis and purified to homogeneity. Its key physical and chemical characteristics were the same as those of the wild-type enzyme. BLase was confirmed to be a protease specific for glutamic acid, and the primary structure deduced from the cDNA sequence was found to be identical with that of a glutamic acid-specific endopeptidase isolated from Alcalase (Svendsen, I., and Breddam, K. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem. 204, 165-171), being different from V8 protease and the Glu-specific protease of Streptomyces griseus which consist of 268 and 188 amino acids, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Coexisting diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and outcome of severe head injury.

The importance of coexisting diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and outcome were studied in 107 patients with diffuse and focal brain injury. Comprehensive neuropathological study was undertaken in 26 fatal patients. There was a clear rank order of the mortality rate in the lesion type. The rank order of good recovery and moderate disability was also similar to the inverse of the mortality ranking. The pathological "marker" of DAI, macroscopic lesions in the corpus callosum and dorsolateral quadrant of the upper brainstem and histological evidence of axonal retraction balls, were commonly found not only in patients with diffuse brain injury but also in focal brain injury. The type of intracranial lesion in severe head injury is thus an important factor in determining outcomes and DAI of varying severity is the common subjacent lesion in the fatal patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Monitoring of severe head-injured patients with transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography.

Intracranial haemodynamics were studied in 36 patients with severe head injury and experimental animals with acute intracranial hypertension by the use of TCD ultrasound. The mean flow velocity (FV) in the basal cerebral arteries commonly decreased on the side of the haematoma depending on intracranial pressure (ICP) elevation and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) reduction in focal brain injury. The FV decreased bilaterally and there was no difference between the right and left sides in diffuse brain injury without a clear relationship between the FV and CPP. The FV of the middle cerebral artery and blood flow in the internal carotid artery exhibited flow patterns which changed correlatively depending on CPP reduction in experimental animals. Monitoring with TCD ultrasound is valuable in evaluating compression ischaemia in focal brain injury. But many complicated factors are considerable in diffuse brain injury.

Adolescent↗