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Biomedical subjects

N Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to N Watanabe.

At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Tumor necrosis factor and interferon-gamma augment anticolon antibody- dependent cellular cytotoxicity in ulcerative colitis.

The effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon (IFN)-gamma on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) was investigated. ADCC activity was measured by the 51Cr release assay, using peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy subjects as effector cells and RPMI 4788 cells derived from human colon cancer as target cells. ADCC activity under sera from healty subjects remained low whether or not the effector cells were pretreated with TNF (100 U/ml, 16h). Under sera from UC patients, ADCC activity of 13.9%, compared to 9.6% when pretreatment was deleted. The effect of IFN pretreatment (100 U/ml, 16h) was also examined under sera from UC patients; in that experiment activity rose to 26.8%, in comparison to a 10.7% when IFN-gamma pretreatment was deleted. Finally, when the effector cells were pretreated with both TNF and IFN-gamma (100 U/ml of each, 16h) the ADCC activity under sera from UC patients was higher than when either TNF or IFN-gamma were used alone. These results suggest that TNF and IFN-gamma, by increasing ADCC activity in UC lesions, are involved in cell injury in the colonic epithelium. IFN-gamma appears to increase ADCC activity by increasing the number of high affinity monocyte Fc gamma RI receptors, while TNF increases ADCC activity by a different mechanism.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1996

Prevalence of hypertension and rate of blood pressure control as assessed by home blood pressure measurements in a rural Japanese community, Ohasama.

A cross-sectional community survey using home blood pressure measurements was performed in northern Japan to estimate the prevalence of definite hypertension, white coat hypertension and the success of blood pressure control in patients receiving antihypertensive drugs. A total of 1334 subjects (mean age +/- SD, 53.8 +/- 17.3 years; 8-91 years) participated in the screening and home blood pressure measurement program. They measured blood pressure at home at least 3 times (mean measurement frequency, 20.8 +/- 8.3 times). Of these 1334 subjects, 314 (65.1 +/- 8.9 years) were taking drugs (treated group) while 1020 (50.3 +/- 17.8 years) were not (untreated group). The WHO criteria were used to categorize screening blood pressure. Criteria for diagnosis of hypertension by home blood pressure measurements were as follows: definitely hypertensive (systolic blood pressure > or = 144 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure > or = 89 mmHg) and normotensive (104 < systolic blood pressure < or = 131 mmHg and 60 < diastolic blood pressure < or = 79 mmHg). Of the 1018 subjects identified as normotensive on screening measurements, home measurements indicated that 73 (7.2%) were hypertensive and 765 (74.7%) were normotensive or lower. Of the 112 subjects identified as hypertensive on screening measurements, home measurements showed that 42 (37.5%) were hypertensive and 30 (26.8%) were normotensive or lower. Of the 314 treated subjects, 45 (14.3%) were identified as hypertensive by screening measurements and 88 (28.0%) as hypertensive by home measurements. Only 20 (44.4%) of the former 45 subjects were also defined as definitely hypertensive by home measurements. Of the 1020 untreated subjects, 67 (6.6%) were hypertensive by screening measurements and 84 (8.2%) by home measurements. Only 22 (32.8%) of the former 67 subjects were classified as hypertensive by home measurements. Of the 67 untreated subjects identified as hypertensive by screening measurements, 20 (29.9%) were normotensive or lower by home measurements, suggesting that these subjects were "white coat" hypertensives. The study first confirmed based on the large community data that there are large discrepancies between screening (casual) blood pressure and home blood pressure measurements for recognition of hypertension and normotension. Determination of blood pressure levels by home blood pressure measurements may predict prognosis of hypertension differently from that by screening blood pressure measurements. Further prospectively study is needed to validate the prognostic value of home blood pressure measurements.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Evaluation of non-uniform attenuation correction using simultaneous transmission and emission computed tomography--basic analysis with myocardial phantom].

Simultaneous transmission emission protocol (STEP), developed for the non-uniform attenuation correction of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was evaluated using the cardiac phantom prepared with and without a myocardial wall defect. Emission computed tomography (ECT) of the cardiac phantom using 201Tl was acquired. Transmission data (TCT) were taken using a line source of 99mTc. Myocardial images with STEP method were superior in the homogeneity of intramyocardial radioactivity and spatial resolution to the conventional SPECT images. This is an excellent method because of the accurate matching position between TCT and ECT images and shortening the examination time by simultaneous data acquisition. It would be clinically useful for diagnosing various myocardial diseases.

Heart↗
PubMed1996

Grade II astrocytoma visualized by technetium-99m-ECD SPECT.

We present a case of primary brain tumor demonstrating increased uptake of 99mTc-ECD. Astrocytoma (Grade II) showed significantly increased cerebral blood perfusion on dynamic images and homogeneously increased uptake on static images with 99mTc-ECD brain SPECT. There seems to be some difference in perfusion and mechanism of tumor uptake among the cerebral blood flow imaging agents (99mTc-ECD, 99mTc-HMPAO and [123I]-IMP) and 201TI-chloride.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Organ specificity of tumor markers and its application for clinical diagnosis].

Several tumor markers are produced by the limited organ and have the advantage for the determination of the origin. However, many tumor markers are produced by various organs and are not specific to cancer but associated with cancer. therefore, combination assays using different categories of tumor markers are necessary to increase the efficacy of cancer-diagnosis and to determine the origin of tumor.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed1996

[Methodology and clinical usefulness of radioimmunoimaging using radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies].

Radioimmunoimaging is a functional diagnostic radiology mainly using radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies. The radioimmunoimaging may offer the specific targeting of human malignant tumors. Presently available radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies clinically yield an average sensitivity of more than 70% with an average specificity of more than 80% in colorectal and ovarian cancers. The radioimmunoscintigraphy has been demonstrated to be more accurate than methods based on the morphological imaging for the detection of local recurrence in the pelvis. A combination of functional (radioimmunoimaging) and morphological (CT, MRI, etc) images are expected to offer the early detection of recurrent and metastatic diseases.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1996

[A case of carcinomatous peritonitis for which combination therapy of 5-FU, leucovorin and cisplatin was effective].

This case report describes a case of carcinomatous peritonitis which showed a good response to the combination therapy of 5-FU, leucovorin and cisplatin. A 55-year-old man was admitted with complaints of meteorism due to ascites fluid. Ascitic examination showed a high concentration of CEA and CA19-9, and adenocarcinoma cells. Laboratory and radiological examination did not reveal the origin of the carcinoma, and laparotomy suggested an appendiceal origin. The combination chemotherapy with 5-FU, leucovorin and cisplatin was conducted for a total of 11 courses for 2 years with good QOL until his death. This therapy was suggested to be useful for inoperable carcinomatous peritonitis.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1996

Intracellular localization of antigens recognized by anti-vimentin monoclonal antibodies (mAbs): cross-reactivities of anti-vimentin mAbs with other cellular components.

Monoclonal antibodies were raised against immunoaffinity-purified fusion regulatory protein (FRP)-1 complex from membrane fraction of HeLa cells. Immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation studies showed all ten antibodies reacted with a 55 kDa band of cell lysate and purified vimentin. Interestingly, one of the antibodies (mAb57) cross-reacted with purified tropomyosin and myosin. Further analyses using vimentin chemically cleaved by 2-nitro-5-thio-cyanobenzoic acid, and lambda gt 11 cDNA which encoded a partial sequence of vimentin indicated that six mAbs recognized epitopes between amino acids 1 and 313 and the other four mAbs recognized epitopes in the area between residues 314 and 326. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy using 3% formalin-fixed, 0.1% Triton X-100 treated HeLa cells revealed that seven antibodies stained various intracellular components other than vimentin, while three antibodies stained vimentin filaments alone. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis showed one of the antibodies (mAb25) clearly stained the surface of unfixed HeLa cells. All immunofluorescent findings were the same when HeLa, baby hamster kidney (BHK) and murine L229 cells were examined. These results indicate that we could obtain unique anti-vimentin mAbs which show cross-reactivities with previously undescribed cell surface and intracellular molecules including tropomyosin and myosin. Taken together, there are two possibilities that explain our findings: (1) The unknown molecules may have structural similarity to vimentin. (2) Our anti-vimentin mAbs can react specifically with structurally distinct epitopes present on both unknown molecules and vimentin. In either case, our cross-reactive mAbs, which recognized undescribed epitopes on vimentin, maybe provide useful tools for studying intermediate filaments and related cellular components.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[Evaluation of differential media in Helicobacter pylori culture].

Culture is one of the important methods for detecting Helicobacter pylori(Hp). Culture method is generally lower sensitive in comparison with other Hp detection methods. However, culture is necessary for determination of MIC and analysis of bacteriological characteristics. Several culture media are now commercially available for Hp. In this study, we compared commercial media with our original medium. Original medium for Hp culture was most sensitive and showed no false-positive results compared with other commercial media.

Culture Media↗
PubMed1996

[A basic and clinical evaluation of a new immunoradiometric assay kit for human serum tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA)].

A new immunoradiometric assay kit (IRMA) of human serum tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) based on combination monoclonal antibodies was evaluated. Using a new TPA-IRMA, the procedure of TPA measurement was faster and the range of measurement was more wide than a conventional TPA-IRMA. 89% (76/85 cases) of patients with malignant tumor and 96.4% (27/28) of patients with metastatic malignant tumor were positively detected. This assay of new TPA-M kit is sensitive to the level of serum TPA which is corresponding to a therapy. It is concluded that a new TPA-IRMA is very useful in monitoring and assessing malignant tumors.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Independent thallium-201 accumulation and fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose metabolism in glioma.

UNLABELLED: SPECT with 201TI is an effective procedure for evaluating the malignancy of glioma. Our goal was to investigate the diagnostic relevance of both 201TI SPECT and [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET and the relation between 201TI uptake and glucose metabolism in glioma using comparative SPECT and PET studies. METHODS: Thallium-201 SPECT and FDG dynamic PET studies were performed in 20 patients with untreated glioma (5 with glioblastoma, 5 with anaplastic glioma, 10 with low-grade glioma). Thallium-201 uptake in the tumor was estimated using the 201TI index, defined as the ratio of 201TI uptake in the tumor to that in the contralateral normal brain on SPECT images obtained 15 min after intravenous injection. We measured regional glucose metabolic parameters, including rate constants and regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose utilization (rCMRgl), in the tumor. We then compared the regional 201TI index and glucose metabolic parameters with the histologic characteristics, malignancy and computed tomographic/ magnetic resonance imaging findings. In addition, we investigated the correlation between the 201TI index and glucose metabolic parameters. RESULTS: Thallium-201 SPECT showed abnormal 201TI uptake in all patients with glioblastoma and anaplastic glioma. Thallium-201 indices of glioblastoma (202.6 +/- 22.1%) and anaplastic glioma (176.6% +/- 26.6%) were significantly higher than that for low-grade glioma (106.7% +/- 13.8%). The rCMRgl value of glioblastoma (17.6 +/- 3.5 mumole/100 g/min) was also significantly higher than that for low-grade glioma (10.8 +/- 4.5 mumole/100 g/min), although rCMRgl showed a large variability in both high- and low-grade glioma. Rate constants of FDG kinetics had no correlation with histological grade of glioma. Some patients with high-grade glioma, however, showed false-negative results with FDG-PET because of high normal brain uptake of FDG. Conversely, most low-grade glioma could not be localized by 201TI SPECT. There was no correlation between the 201TI index and glucose metabolic parameters. CONCLUSION: Thallium-201 indices and rCMRgl values for glioblastoma were higher than those for low-grade glioma. Thallium-201 uptake in the tumor may be independent of increased glucose transport or metabolism. Thallium-201 SPECT and FDG-PET are complementary in the diagnosis of glioma, although 201TI SPECT is more significantly correlated with the malignancy of glioma.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1996

[Three siblings with interstitial pneumonia].

Patient 1: A 64-year-old woman was admitted for further examination after reticulonodular shadows were found on a chest X-ray film. Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) was diagnosed. Patient 2: The 60-year-old sister of patient 1 was admitted for further examination after reticulonodular shadows were found on a chest X-ray film. IIP was diagnosed. About half a year later, her proximal interphalangeal joints had become swollen and the result of a rheumatoid hemagglutination test was positive. Therefore, the pneumonia was suspected to have been caused by a collagen-vascular disease (CVD), rheumatoid arthritis. Patient 3: The 64-year-old brother of patient 1 was examined. A chest X-ray film revealed reticulonodular shadows that were strongly suggestive of IIP. The remaining three siblings were examined. In a 62-year-old sister, the chest X-ray film was normal, but the level of anti-nuclear antigen was elevated. The fact that the level of this antigen was high in these four siblings and that the 60-year-old sister later suffered from rheumatoid arthritis suggested the presence of a factor predisposing to CVD in these siblings. The interstitial pneumonia in these siblings may have been related to CVD.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1996

[CD7, HLA-DR, CD38 positive acute undifferentiated leukemia with subcutaneous tumor and thymoma].

A case of acute undifferentiated leukemia (AUL), accompanied by subcutaneous tumor and thymoma is reported. The analysis of immunophenotype showed that the leukemic blasts were positive for CD7, HLA-DR, CD38 and CD34 in 17.5% but negative results were obtained for other lymphoid and myeloid antigens. The leukemic blasts had a rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) gene and T cell receptor delta (TCR-delta) chain gene chromosomal abnormality, 47, XY, +8, t(13; 17) (q12; q21), -17, +M was observed. In general, the CR rate is low and prognosis is poor in patients with AUL. In our case, CR was not achieved by the therapy with JALSG-ALL87 protocol, but was achieved by subsequent treatment with high dose ara-C therapy and combination chemotherapy including intermediate-dose ara-C, mitoxantrone, etoposide and prednisolone.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗
PubMed1996

[Clinical usefulness of three-D cerebral mensional MR imaging in the diagnosis of medullary venous malformation].

Medullary venous malformation (MVM) is one of the most common vascular malformations encountered pathologically. In fact, it is generally discovered incidentally during the workup of other disorders. In 18 cases (19 lesions) of MVM, we evaluated retrospectively the diagnostic value of CT and MRI. We set four evaluations, excellent, good, fair and poor, to assess the diagnostic value of each imaging method. Contrast enhanced CT and pre-contrast MRI could detect the abnormality in 80% of the cases, but it was difficult to demonstrate the umbrella like medullary vein. Contrast enhanced MRI showed the umbrella sign in 60%. Images reformated with three-dimensional (3-D) MR imaging were better able to demonstrate this structure. Medullary vein collection, drainage into a single central vein and termination into a superficial cortical vein or a dural sinus were clearly demonstrated in all cases. Thus, all cases were diagnosed correctly as MVM. Contrast enhanced 3-D MR imaging was superior to other imaging techniques except angiography.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[In vitro antimycobacterial activities of pyrazinamide analogs: results of screening tests].

Attempting to find new drugs, which are more effective than pyrazinamide against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and also active against M. avium complex (MAC), we synthesized various pyrazinamide analogs and pyrazine derivatives and assayed their antimycobacterial activities in vitro against M. tuberculosis, M. avium and M. intracellulare. As is well known, pyrazinamide is more active in acidic medium than in neutral medium, but the growth of mycobacteria in acidic media is poor and inconsistent. Our preliminary experiments revealed that the relative antimycobacterial activities of test-drugs compared with pyrazinamide were essentially the same in pH5.5 medium as in pH6.0 medium. Therefore, Middlebrook 7H9 broth adjusted to pH6.0 was used throughout the present studies. Among 39 compounds synthesized, four drugs were insoluble in any of the solvent suitable for culture experiments and could not be tested, and remaining 35 compounds were screened. The growth of mycobacteria was followed by measuring the optical density at 530 nm (OD), and the OD of the culture in the presence of 200 micrograms/ml of the test-drug (OD-TD) was compared with that in the presence of pyrazinamide (OD-PZA). Each test-drug was ranked as A, B, C, D or E according to the ratio (OD-TD/OD-PZA) x 100%, if the ratio was equal to or less than 10%, 11-20%, 21-40%, 41-60% or 61-80%, respectively. Any drugs showing the ratio above 80% were excluded from further examinations. For M. tuberculosis, 11 drugs were ranked as A and 4 more as B. For M. avium, 2 drugs were ranked as A and 2 more as B. For M. intracellulare, 5 drugs were ranked as A and 2 more as B. Among highly ranked ones, 4 compounds, namely, pyrazinoic acid noctyl ester, pyrazinoic acid pivaloyloxymethyl ester, pyrazine thiocarboxamide and N-hydroxymethyl pyrazine thiocarboxamide were ranked as A against M. tuberculosis and M. intracellulare, and ranked as A, B or C against M. avium, and considered as hopeful candidates of new antimycobacterial drugs. Their bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal activities against M. tuberculosis as well as M. avium and M. intracellulare have been studied in details and reported in a separate paper. In vivo activities against murine experimental tuberculosis of these 4 drugs is now under investigation. Further, two drugs, N-hydroxy pyrazinamide and N-hydroxy pyrazinamide-4-oxide were ranked as A against M. tuberculosis and ranked A or B against M. intracellulare, and their more precise in vitro antimycobacterial activities are now under examination.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed1996

Influence of foveal afterimage on non-visually induced pursuit eye movements.

Smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEMs) were measured during trials with an acoustic target, a somatosensory target (finger tip), and an imaginary target. Under these non-visual conditions the induced SPEMs were investigated both with and without a foveal afterimage. Ten normal subjects were examined. Considerable inter-individual differences were observed in performance of the non-visual SPEMs. However, the presence of an afterimage did not influence SPEMs during acoustic or somatosensory pursuit. It is concluded that the capacity for "visualization" may not involve the ability for non-visual SPEMs. As in imaginary target condition the subjects could not elicit SPEM without the afterimage, clearly the memory of target motion alone cannot generate SPEMs. The afterimage may help the subject to convert the memory of target motion into the perception of virtual target motion.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1996

Influence of superimposed optokinetic stimulus on smooth pursuit eye movements elicited by sinusoidal spot target oscillation.

In 6 healthy subjects, smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEMs), elicited by sinusoidal spot target oscillation, were measured against three different backgrounds: dark, stationary texture (texture), and texture background movement in-phase with the spot target (coupled). Spot-target oscillation frequencies ranging between 0.2 to 1.6 Hz and peak velocities ranging between 19 to 75 degrees/s were employed. SPEM gain did not differ significantly among the three backgrounds below 0.8 Hz. However when at 1.6 Hz it responded to a peak velocity of 75 degrees/s, the gain for the "coupled" background condition was greater than that for the "dark" condition, which in turn was greater than the gain for "texture". However, SPEM phase delays were found to be similar for the three background conditions. Since the responses during "coupled" and "texture" backgrounds are most likely elicited by rapid-rise optokinetic reflex (OKR) interaction it can be concluded that SPEMs and the rapid-rise OKR system have the same latency (response) time.

Adult↗