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Biomedical subjects

S Abe

Publications and source records attributed to S Abe.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Pulmonary surfactant protein D in sera and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids.

Pulmonary surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a hydrophilic glycoprotein with a reduced molecular mass of 43 kDa and a member of the C-type lectin superfamily, along with mannose-binding proteins and surfactant protein A (SP-A). We have recently prepared monoclonal antibodies against human SP-D and developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In this study, the levels of SP-D in sera and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids of patients with lung diseases were determined by ELISA, using human recombinant SP-D as a standard. We demonstrated that the concentrations of SP-D in sera are prominently increased in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), interstitial pneumonia with collagen disease (IPCD), and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). Patients with IPF, IPCD, and PAP exhibited levels of serum SP-D 5.1-fold, 7.2-fold, and 7.0-fold, respectively, of those in healthy volunteers; 91.5% of the patients with IPF, 81.3% with IPCD, and 100% with PAP exhibited serum SP-D levels that exceeded the cut-off value (mean + 2 SD of control value). Serum SP-D levels appeared to reflect the disease activity of IPF and IPCD and the disease severity of PAP. High levels of SP-D in BAL fluids were shown in patients with PAP, but not with IPF and IPCD. We conclude that measurement of SP-D in sera can provide an easily identifiable and useful clinical marker for the diagnosis of IPF, IPCD, and PAP, and can predict the disease activity of IPF and IPCD and the disease severity of PAP.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia associated with noncaseating epithelioid granulomas.

A 34 year old Japanese woman was referred to our university hospital due to pulmonary opacities and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy on chest X-ray. She also had uveitis, erythematous skin nodules, and oral and genital ulcers. Laboratory data showed eosinophilia in the circulation and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Histological study revealed massive eosinophilic infiltration and noncaseating epithelioid granulomas in the lung and mediastinal lymph node, without evidence of vasculitis. Pulmonary opacities, lymphadenopathy, and blood eosinophilia promptly improved with corticosteroid therapy. In this patient, idiopathic chronic eosinophilic pneumonia overlapped with features of sarcoidosis and Behçet's disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Lung surfactant protein-A and carcinoembryonic antigen in pleural effusions due to lung adenocarcinoma and malignant mesothelioma.

Lung surfactant protein-A (SP-A) is a major phospholipid-associated glycoprotein in surfactant, and is a useful immunohistochemical marker for lung adenocarcinoma. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has not been immunohistochemically detected in mesothelioma. In pleural effusions due to malignant mesothelioma, very low concentrations of SP-A and CEA can be expected. We studied the value of combined determinations of CEA and SP-A in pleural fluid to distinguish between lung adenocarcinoma and mesothelioma. SP-A and CEA concentrations were measured in pleural effusions from 78 patients with lung adenocarcinoma and 10 with malignant mesothelioma. SP-A concentrations in pleural effusions due to lung adenocarcinoma and mesothelioma were 516 +/- 140 and 16.9 +/- 3.6 ng.ml-1 (mean +/- SEM), respectively. CEA concentrations in pleural effusions due to lung adenocarcinoma and mesothelioma were 239 +/- 92.4 and 1.7 +/- 0.3 ng.ml-1, respectively. SP-A values did not exceed 100 ng.ml-1 in any of 10 mesotheliomas, whilst in 37 of 78 lung adenocarcinomas they did. CEA values did not exceed 10 ng.ml-1 in any of 10 mesotheliomas, whilst in 53 of 78 lung adenocarcinomas they did. Increased values of SP-A and/or CEA were found in pleural effusions from 67 of 78 lung adenocarcinomas. It is concluded that a combination of CEA and SP-A assays in pleural effusions will be helpful for discriminating lung adenocarcinoma from mesothelioma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1995

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma presenting as an endobronchial polyp of the carina.

A 64 year old man was admitted to hospital due to dyspnoea and stridor. A peduncular polyp of the carina was found at bronchoscopy. Histological examination of the tumour after resection with endoscopic electronsurgery revealed malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of myxoid type. With endoscopic neodymiumyttrium aluminium garnet (Nd-YAG) laser surgery, residual tumour was eliminated. To our knowledge this is the first case with malignant fibrous histiocytoma appearing as a polyp of the carina.

Bronchial Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

Diagnosis of pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis by HMB45 in surgically treated spontaneous pneumothorax.

Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (PLAM) is a rare disease with poor prognosis, characterized by an abnormal proliferation of smooth muscle. The patients are females and recurrent pneumothorax is a frequent complication. HMB45 is a monoclonal antibody with specific immunoreactivity for malignant melanoma. Recently, it was reported that some of the smooth muscle cells in PLAM had reactivity for HMB45. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of HMB45 for the diagnosis of PLAM in cystic pulmonary diseases that cause recurrent pneumothorax. We compared immunoreactivity of the specimens obtained by open lung biopsy at surgical resection of bullae in 72 patients. The specimens of five females with PLAM, one female with suspected PLAM, 49 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax (19 females and 30 males), four with pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma (2 females and 2 males), seven with pulmonary emphysema (7 males), and six with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with apical bullous change (2 females and 4 males) were stained with HMB45 and anti-smooth muscle actin. All PLAM cases had HMB45 positive cells, which also stained with anti-smooth muscle actin. The biopsy specimens of a PLAM suspected case also stained with HMB45. None of the specimens from other diseases reacted with HMB45. HMB45 appears to provide a highly specific and highly sensitive diagnosis for PLAM in females. It may also be useful in patients with subtle smooth muscle proliferation. where the diagnosis of PLAM is difficult to confirm by conventional histological examination.

Actins↗
PubMed1995

DNA fingerprinting of animal genomes by CA-repeat primed polymerase chain reaction.

CA-repeat primed polymerase chain reaction (CAP-PCR), using degenerate primers which anneal at the ends of (CA)n sequences in eukaryotic genomes, was attempted to assess its potential to monitor the genomic polymorphisms in various animals. Three mammalian, three avian, one fish and one insect species were examined and all showed primer-specific DNA fingerprints by CAP-PCR. Polymorphic bands observed in a laboratory-bred vole family were segregated in Mendelian manner. The present CAP-PCR DNA fingerprinting therefore is a simple and useful method for examining genomic variations in most animals without prerequisite knowledge of DNA sequences.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The secular trend in the incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage in Miyagi, Japan: 1979-1990.

Since 1978, a stroke registry has been carried out in Miyagi Prefecture (2.2 million in population), Japan. Approximately 2,000 cases of stroke were annually registered through 16 hospitals which have cerebrovascular disease units. The incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage was 17.4 per 100,000 population in 1990. The incidence increased gradually during early 1980's and reached plateau during late 1980's. Further, the trend in the incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage is compared with those in other communities in other countries as well as Japan.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Malignant hemangioendothelioma of the aorta.

We present a rare case of aortic malignant hemangioendothelioma with a mural growth pattern in which the endothelial nature was confirmed by immunohistochemical demonstration of Factor VIII-related antigen. Aortic sarcomas and malignant hemangioendotheliomas in the literature are reviewed.

Aorta↗
PubMed1995

Budgerigar breeders' hypersensitivity pneumonitis presenting as chronic bronchitis with purulent sputum.

A 49-year-old woman complained of cough and a purulent sputum (about 40 ml/day). She kept budgerigars for a period of 30 years, she first noticed a productive cough 10 years previously. Her chest roentgenogram revealed a diffuse reticulonodular pattern. She was diagnosed as having a chronic type of budgerigar breeder's lung associated with chronic bronchitis. Peptostreptococcus anaerobius was cultured from her sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, as well as from droppings of her budgerigar. This is the second case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis presenting as chronic bronchitis with much sputum in Japan.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Increased and decreased choroidal blood flow elicited by cervical sympathetic nerve stimulation in the cat.

The effect of electrical stimulation of the cervical sympathetic nerve on choroidal blood flow in the cat was investigated. Flow at various sites in 30 pentobarbital-anesthetized cats was continuously measured trans-sclerally using a laser Doppler flowmeter. Changes in either direction, increases and decreases, occurred in response to electrical stimulation of the peripheral cut end of the cervical sympathetic nerve. These changes in flow appeared to depend on the site of choroidal blood flow measurement, as decreases were seen at sites with a high baseline blood flow and increases at sites with a low baseline level. Both types of response were reduced when the cats were treated with the alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonist phentolamine, but not by treatment with the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol. The decrease in choroidal blood flow elicited by cervical sympathetic nerve stimulation appears to be mediated via the vasoconstrictor fibers in that nerve. A choroidal blood flow increase may occur as a secondary effect following vasoconstriction of the arterioles elicited by cervical sympathetic nerve stimulation, producing a passive net increase in choroidal blood flow.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
PubMed1995

[Longitudinal study of neuropsychological and cerebral blood flow changes in Alzheimer-type dementia].

To examine the correlation between neuropsychological and cerebral blood flow changes in Alzheimer-type dementia (AD), we studied 17 patients with AD longitudinally (intervals ranging from 12 to 40 months). AD patients were divided into a slowly-progressive group (S, 10 patients) and a rapidly-progressive group (R, 7 patients) on the basis of progression rates of symptoms. The perfusion ratio (%) (PR), defined as the activity density in regions of interest normalized to the mean activity density in unaffected regions (cerebellum, primary visual and sensory-motor cortex), was used as a measure of relative regional cerebral blood flow by SPECT. Hasegawa's dementia score (HDS) in both the first and last studies significantly correlated with PR of the temporoparietal lobe, but not PR of the frontal lobe. The PR of the frontal lobe in the first study was significantly decreased in R-group patients compared to S-group patients. However, there was no difference in PR of the temporoparietal lobe between the S and R groups. Though the change in PR (PR (last study-first study)/duration) in the frontal lobe was significantly less in R-group than in S-group patients, there was no difference in the change in PR in the temporoparietal lobe. These results suggest that the degree of intellectual impairment is related to the function of the temporoparietal lobe, that progression is related to function of the frontal lobe, and that frontal hypoperfusion on SPECT may predict relatively rapid intellectual deterioration.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

[Frontal acute extradural hematoma due to contrecoup injury: a case report].

Acute extradural hematoma, a collection of blood between the inner table of the skull and the dura, generally occurs in coup craniocerebral trauma with skull fracture. We report here a case of a 52-year-old female who had had a traffic accident. She suffered a serious wound consisting of a subcutaneous hematoma with skull fracture and so called Battle's sign on the left occipital region but not wounded in any other region. CT scan obtained shortly after the injury demonstrated a thin acute extradural hematoma with intracranial air under the subcutaneous hematoma in the left occipital region, and another hematoma with subarachnoid hemorrhage due to contrecoup head trauma in the right frontal region. We treated her conservatively with a common drip. She sometimes vomited during the several hours after admission. CT scan six hours later showed that the contrecoup extradural hematoma had enlarged. Immediately, we carried out the evacuation of the hematoma with decompressive craniectomy. Her scalp, cranium and frontal skull base over the extradural hematoma were without injury, and multiple small haemorrhages were found to have occurred on the surface of the dura that had been separated from the inner table of the skull. After the operation, the patient recovered consciousness. Contrecoup acute extradural hematoma is very rare. It seems that the appearance of hematoma in our case resulted from the frontal dural separation due to distortion of the cranium brought on by the force of the impact and the subsequent gradual growth of the hematoma under the stimulation of several bouts of vomiting.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1995

[Pharmacokinetic study of intraperitoneally administered plachitin for non-curative gastrointestinal cancer].

Plachitin is a chemical compound of cis-diammine-dichloroplatinum (CDDP) and chitin. Pharmacokinetics and adverse effects of Plachitin for intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IP) were studied in 11 patients who suffered from non-curative gastrointestinal cancers in comparison with 4 patients who underwent IP of CDDP. Five patients were given 300 mg (100 mg as CDDP) of Plachitin which was cotton type on the residual cancer mass (Group A). Six patients were given IP 300 mg of Plachitin particles (Group B). As the control group, 4 patients were given IP 100 mg of CDDP (Group C). The platinum concentrations of serum, urine and intraperitoneal discharge were observed during 3-4 weeks after the treatments and calculated as the CDDP concentration. The serum CDDP levels were below 0.1 micrograms/ml for 4 weeks in Group A and B. In Group A, urine concentrations of CDDP were significantly lower than in Group B and C at 3 and 5 days after the treatment statistically (p > 0.05). But at 14 days after treatment, the urine concentration of CDDP in Group A was higher than in Group C. In Group A and B, the CDDP concentrations of intraabdominal discharge was lower than in Group C statistically (p > 0.05). Nausea was observed only in one patient of Group B and other adverse effects which contained renal sufficiency were not recognized in the three groups. Thus, Plachitin was considered an effective and safe agent for intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1995

Long-term results of operation for carcinoma of the stomach in T1/T2 stages: critical evaluation of the concept of early carcinoma of the stomach.

BACKGROUND: The significance of nodal metastasis in patients with early gastric cancer (ECG) (T1) is unknown. It has been suggested that patients with T2, N0 carcinoma of the stomach have a comparable survival rate to patients with T1 carcinoma of the stomach. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review and survival analysis of 321 patients with T1/T2 adenocarcinoma of the stomach treated between 1979 to 1991 were performed. RESULTS: Patients were divided into four groups: group 1, 214 patients with node-negative EGC (T1, N0); group 2, 13 patients with node-positive EGC (T1, N+); group 3, 49 patients with node-negative T2 disease (T2, N0); and group 4, 45 patients with node-positive T2 disease (T2, N+). Excluding deaths from causes other than recurrence, the survival rate for patients in groups 1 and 3 was 100 percent, in contrast to the ten-year survival rate of 72.7 percent for group 2 and 62.5 percent for group 4 patients (p < 0.001, groups 1 versus 2, groups 3 versus 4). The ten-year survival rate for patients with node-negative T2 disease (group 3, 100 percent) was significantly better than that of patients with node-positive EGC (group 2, 72.7 percent) (p < 0.001). Although differences in the survival rates were noted according to lymphatic or venous invasion and whether or not patients had EGC or T2 carcinoma, the most significant factor was lymph node invasion. CONCLUSIONS: The postoperative survival rate for patients with node-positive EGC was poorer than that for those with node-negative T2 carcinomas. Reevaluation of the concept of EGC may be necessary. Post-operative chemotherapy does not appear necessary in patients with T2, N0 disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1995

[Digital analysis of pulmonary nodules--potential usefulness of computer-aided diagnosis for differentiation of benign from malignant nodules].

Digital analysis of 80 plain chest radiographs was done to differentiate benign from malignant pulmonary nodules. Each of 80 radiographs had a solitary pulmonary nodule, of which 40 were benign and the other 40 were malignant. Radiographic features of nodules were visually evaluated. Frequencies of the radiographic features described below were significantly different between benign and malignant nodules: irregular shape, vague density, well-defined contour, spicular formation, and vascular convergene. To digitally evaluate the density characteristics, two kinds of concentric circular windows were used, to allow analysis of intra-nodular, marginal and surrounding regions of the nodules. Seventeen digital parameters were obtained by computerized analysis with the windows. There were significant differences in six digital parameters; three of density gradient (one of intra-nodular and two of marginal regions), one DCF-N (directional contrast filter for nodule) output of intra-nodular region, and two of density entropy values of intra-nodular and surrounding regions. Density gradient parameters of marginal regions are believed to represent the features of nodular shape and spicula formation. With these six parameters, 70% of benign nodules and 85% of malignant nodules were correctly discriminated. These results suggest that computer-aided diagnosis may be used to differentiate benign from malignant nodules.

Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted↗
PubMed1995

[Differential diagnosis of Alzheimer-type dementia and vascular dementia based on neuroimaging study].

A new method for differential diagnosis of Alzheimer-type dementia (AD) and vascular dementia (VD) based on neuroimaging studies was developed by Hayashi's quantification theory II. Fifty-five patients with AD and 36 patients with VD underwent both SPECT and MRI studies. Both images in each subject were scored according to the extent of hypoperfusion in areas including frontal and temporoparietal regions and the severity of deep white matter lesions and medial temporal lobe atrophy. The scores of AD and VD patients were significantly different, and this difference was considered to contribute most to the differential diagnosis of AD and VD. The weight of each score of SPECT and MRI items was computed, and the sum of the weights was calculated as a score for each subject to best distinguish AD from VD patients. This method was designed to simplify the calculation of the sample scores, and the sum of the weights was established so that a positive score (0 < or =) indicated the probability of AD, while a negative score (< 0) indicated the probability of VD. The correct diagnosis rate was 91% (50/55) for AD and 89% (32/36) for VD, for an overall discrimination of 90%. The present method seemed to be practically useful in the differential diagnosis of AD and VD.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Pulmonary cryptococcal infection in an untreated patient with sarcoidosis.

A 36-year-old housewife was referred to our hospital in March, 1993. Her chest X ray films showed mediastinal and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy. She was confirmed to have pulmonary sarcoidosis. We did not administer any medications for her. Four months after the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, opacities with cavitation appeared on the chest X ray. Histologic findings of lung biopsy specimens revealed granulomas with the existence of encapsulated Cryptococci. We administered an antifungal drug, itraconazole. The opacities were greatly improved by the medication. We report focal pulmonary cryptococcal infection in an untreated patient with sarcoidosis.

Adult↗