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Biomedical subjects

S Higa

Publications and source records attributed to S Higa.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

An improved method for determination of plasma norepinephrine: isolation by boric acid gel and assay by selected ion monitoring.

An accurate and time-saving method for the determination of norepinephrine in human plasma is described. The whole device focused on an improvement in the pretreatment. One ml of human plasma was applied to a boric acid gel column without deproteinization and pH adjustment, and norepinephrine was eluted with 2 ml of a 1.3 M acetic acid in methanol solution. The pentafluoropropionic derivative of norepinephrine was analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry using deuterated norepinephrine as an internal standard. The level of plasma norepinephrine in healthy subjects at recumbency was 297 +/- 95 pg ml-1 (mean +/- SD). The lower limit of sensitivity was 25 pg ml-1 of norepinephrine in plasma.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Effect of infused L-threo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylserine on adrenergic activity in patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy.

L-threo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylserine (DOPS), an immediate precursor amino acid of (-)-norepinephrine, was used as a pharmacological tool to investigate the pathophysiology of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system in Type 1 familial amyloid polyneuropathy. Patients with the well-established disorder showed an enhanced pressor response to L-threo-DOPS under conditions that produced no change in normal subjects. While octopamine induced a brisk pressor response, L-threo-DOPS produced a slow and prolonged change in blood pressure, with a marked concomitant increase in urinary excretion of norepinephrine. A slight increase in urinary excretion of total metanephrine was observed in both groups, but there was no significant increase in serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity. Since infusion of dilute norepinephrine into patients also produced a markedly hypersensitive response, the characteristic pressor response to L-threo-DOPS was indicative of denervation supersensitivity of adrenergic receptors to norepinephrine formed enzymatically from L-threo-DOPS.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Catecholamine metabolism in familial amyloid polyneuropathy.

In order to evaluate the involvement of the peripheral autonomic nervous system in the pathogenesis of type 1 familial amyloid polyneuropathy, the urinary excretion rates of catecholamines and serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DB/) activity were examined in 22 patients at various clinical stages. Changes in both indices were closely linked to the progression of the illness; urinary excretion rates of catecholamines were first decreased in patients suffering from moderate autonomic dysfunction, while serum DBH activity was significantly reduced only in patients with far advanced disease. These findings suggested that patients with advanced disease might be suffering from a chronic deficiency of catecholamines in the peripheral sympathetic nerves. Administration of L-dopa, however, failed to improve the clinical manifestations.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

A case of new dysautonomia-like disorder found in Japan. I. Clinical and metabolic studies.

A case of new dysautonomia-like disorder in a Japanese infant is reported. The patient showed almost all of the essential criteria for the diagnosis of familial dysautonomia. Results of pharmacologic tests and urinary excretion patterns of catecholamines and their metabolites were also compatible with the disorder. But he lacked some important clinical findings, such as lifelong hypolacrimia, skin blotching, excessive sweating and labile blood pressure. Precise observations of clinical features and literatures on non-Jewish cases of familial dysautonomia lent evidence that this case suffered from a new dysautonomia-like disorder.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Endometrial carcinoma coexisting with pregnancy, presumed to derive from adenomyosis: a case report.

Endometrial carcinoma coexisting with pregnancy is rarely observed. We report here the case of a 35-year-old woman with an endometrial carcinoma that was diagnosed 6 months after childbirth. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a cystic mass attached to the uterus, with a papillary projection on the wall of the mass. The patient underwent complete surgical extirpation and five postoperative courses of adjuvant chemotherapy, given that the tumor contents had leaked into the peritoneal cavity when the capsule of the tumor ruptured intraoperatively. Microscopic examination revealed an endometrioid adenocarcinoma in the muscular layer close to the uterine serosa that was presumed to derive from adenomyosis. Further investigation is required to elucidate the pathogenesis of endometrial carcinoma in association with pregnancy and adenomyosis.

Adenocarcinoma↗