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Biomedical subjects

S Nakazawa

Publications and source records attributed to S Nakazawa.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

[Usefulness of DIC-CT in choledocholithiasis].

In order to assess the efficacy of helical CT in drip-infusion cholangiography (DIC-CT) for diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, 82 patients with biliary diseases, including 25 patients with a definite diagnosis of choledocholithiasis obtained by direct cholangiography, were investigated by DIC-CT and EUS. Comparative investigation showed that, of the 25 cases, 94.7% could be imaged by DIC-CT and 87.5% by EUS, with respective sensitivities of 94.7% and 87.5%. The specificities in both cases were 100% and accuracies were 97.8% with DIC-CT and 96% with EUS respectively. Therefore, in diagnosis the choledocholithiasis, DIC-CT displays similar diagnostic efficiency as EUS or ERC, and can be recognized as the non-invasive and useful procedure for pre-operative diagnosis of cholecystolithiasis.

Biliary Tract Diseases↗

Clinical and biological aspects of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 62 infants: retrospective analysis of the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group.

BACKGROUND: As a first step to formulate a new treatment strategy for refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants, clinical results and immunophenotypic and cytogenetic data were analyzed and compared with those from overseas. METHODS: There were 62 infants with ALL who were treated between 1977 and 1995 at 30 institutions affiliated with the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group. Clinical and laboratory data obtained from these infants (all under 1 year of age) were retrospectively studied. RESULTS: The morphological diagnoses were FAB-L1 for 51 patients (82.2%) and FAB-L2 for 11 patients (17.8%). Hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were found in 40 (70.0%) and 40 patients (68.3%), respectively. The mean (+/- SEM) leukocyte count at diagnosis was 205,900 +/- 35,700/microL. The involvement of the central nervous system was evident in nine of 36 patients who were subjected to lumbar puncture, while three of these nine patients were free of neurological symptoms at diagnosis. Thirty-one patients (55.4%) were CD10 negative and 14 (25.0%) were CD10 positive. Thirty-one of 47 patients (65.9%) exhibited chromosomal abnormalities, including 28 patients (59.6%) with 11q23 abnormalities. Rearrangements in the MLL gene were found in nine of 13 infants (69.2%) examined. Translocation of 11q23 and/or MLL gene rearrangement (11q23/MLL) was significantly associated with the absence of the CD10 antigen. Hyperleukocytosis of more than 50,000/microL and 11q23/MLL gene rearrangements were related to a poor prognosis. The probability of an event-free survival in 62 infants was 13.1 +/- 4.8% at 48 months. CONCLUSIONS: New therapeutic strategies and large-scale cooperative prospective trials are needed to improve the prognosis of ALL in infants.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11↗

[Developmental changes of awareness during passive and active attentions: evaluation of serial event-related potentials (N130, N180, P250)].

Serial event-related potentials (ERPs), especially the negative components before P300, were recorded to evaluate the developmental changes of awareness, or intentional attention. In this study, 36 healthy children (5-16 years of age) and eight healthy adults (19-37 years) were told to perform two attentive paradigms: passive and active. Each test condition consisted of 16 electrical stimuli. Four trials were averaged in sequence and then evaluated as serial four blocks. With repetition in both passive and active attentive paradigms the amplitude of N130 was not attenuated until six years old. During active attention, N180 remained undiminished in adolescents and adults. The amplitude of P250 decreased with repetition during passive attention in children over seven years old, but was not attenuated during active attention in adults. These results suggest that N130 reflects the orienting reflex, and that N180 is associated with the process to maintain awareness.

Adolescent↗

[Quantitative measurement of prefrontal lobe volume on three dimensional magnetic resonance imaging scan].

This article describes the measurement of the frontal and prefrontal lobe volumes on three dimensional (3-D) MRI in 13 children aged 5 months to 14 years and in 3 adults aged 27 to 39 years. The 3-D MRI data were acquired by the fast spoiled gradient recalled (SPGR) sequence using a 1.5 T MR imager. The frontal and prefrontal lobe volumes were measured by the volume measurement function of the Workstation. We confirmed that this technique to analyze segmental brain volumes achieved acceptable levels of reliability and accuracy. There was an increase in the frontal and prefrontal lobe volumes with advancing age, being rapid between 8 and 15 years of age. The prefrontal to frontal lobe volume ratio also increased gradually, with spurts between 8 and 15 years of age. This approach may be particularly useful for studies on patients with frontal and prefrontal lobe dysfunctions.

Adolescent↗

Clonal hematopoiesis in acquired aplastic anemia revealed by rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene-JH region.

We report on a female patient with acquired aplastic anemia whose bone marrow cells showed DNA rearrangement of the immunoglobulin-JH region that disappeared after 1 month with recovery of hematopoiesis through treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and immunosuppressive drugs. The patient is now 2 years and 6 months from onset, and her hematopoiesis is almost within normal limits without medication. This finding provides new data supporting clonal hematopoiesis in acquired aplastic anemia but does not imply that the disease is resistant to immunosuppressive therapy.

Anemia, Aplastic↗

Effect of selenium deficiency on cellular and extracellular glutathione peroxidases: immunochemical detection and mRNA analysis in rat kidney and serum.

To determine the effect of selenium (Se) deficiency on expression of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) 1 and 2, we measured GSH-Px activity in rat serum, liver and kidneys, serum immunoreactive GSH-Px 2, and the mRNAs of kidney GSH-Px 1 and 2. We purified rat GSH-Px 2 and raised polyclonal antibodies. Immunoreactive GSH-Px 2 was measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis. GSH-Px 2 was purified 1470-fold with a specific activity of 250 units/mg. Immunoblotting detected only GSH-Px 2 in rat serum, and much less GSH-Px 2 than GSH-Px 1 in kidney. Immunoblot signal of kidney GSH-Px 1 and 2 decreased progressively in Se deficient rats. Serum GSH-Px activity in Se deficient rats at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks declined to 33, 20, 10, and 9% of the control, while the serum level of immunoreactive GSH-Px 2 was 58, 24, 15, and 10% of the control, suggesting the presence of an inactive protein at week 1. GSH-Px activity declined to 4 and 11% of the control in the liver and kidney at 4 weeks. The mRNAs of kidney GSH-Px 1 and 2 showed similar decreases, and were 24 and 23% of the control at 4 weeks. GSH-Px mRNA levels were better preserved than GSH-Px activity, suggesting that GSH-Px expression was regulated at both pre-translational and translational levels.

Animals↗

Characterization of leukemic cells in CD2/CD19 double positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

In the diagnosis of leukemia, CD2 which is a T-cell associated marker and CD19 which is a B-cell associated marker are widely used to determine the lineage of leukemic cells. It is known that the cells of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) express both CD2 and CD19 in some cases. The origins of these cells are generally thought to be a common precursor for T- and B-lymphocytes. However, cytoplasmic staining of CD3 which is a more specific marker for T-lineage and cytoplasmic staining of mb-1 (CD79a) which is more specific for B-lineage were not performed in previous reports and the determination of the cell lineages of these cells was unclear. We had two cases of ALL whose blasts were CD2/CD19 double positive. The first case was assessed as B-lineage because the cells expressed cytoplasmic CD79a and lacked cytoplasmic CD3. The immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain gene was rearranged. The other cell surface markers including CD22 and HLA-DR also suggested that these cells were B-lineage. The CD2 expression may be a coincidence and should not be taken as a T-cell marker in this case. It was difficult to determine the lineage in the second case because both cytoplasmic CD79a and cytoplasmic CD3 were expressed and neither TCR beta chain nor Ig heavy chain genes were rearranged. The other surface markers were not useful to determine the lineage. We concluded that this case was really an unclassified ALL. Accordingly, cytoplasmic staining of CD3 and CD79a should be carried out in the diagnosis of leukemia when it is difficult to determine the cell lineage.

Adolescent↗

Relationships between an index of body fat distribution (based on waist and hip circumferences) and stature, and biochemical complications in obese children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical utility of a new age-adjusted measure of body fat distribution (based on waist and hip circumferences) and stature, in relation to biochemical complications in obese children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, clinical study. The formula to calculate the common standard deviation score (SDS) of waist-to-hip ratio/height (WHR/Ht) was obtained from the data of control children. The relationship between WHR/Ht SDS, as the age-adjusted measure, in obese children and their clinical laboratory data was evaluated. SUBJECTS: Outpatient obese Japanese children (102 boys and 75 girls) and control children (508 boys and 549 girls), ranging in age from 6-15 y. MEASUREMENTS: Height, body weight, waist girth, hip girth, triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, as anthropometric measures. Percent overweight, percent body fat, waist girth, WHR and WHR/Ht SDS as criteria for obesity. Clinical laboratory analyses for fasting blood samples of obese children. RESULTS: The WHR/Ht SDS closely correlated with age in obese children, thus reflecting the progress of abdominal obesity during growth. The obese boys were more hyperlipidaemic than the girls were, although the percent overweight was similar in both genders. The percent overweight, percent body fat, waist girth and WHR/Ht SDS all correlated well with triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and insulin in boys, whereas only waist girth and WHR/Ht SDS showed a close correlation with TG and insulin in girls. The obese subjects were subdivided according to the number of abnormal values observed in TG, ALT and insulin. For obese boys, all five indices of obesity were higher in the groups with complications than in the group without. In the girls, only the WHR/Ht SDS constantly differed between subgroups. WHR/Ht SDS most obviously distinguished the groups with complications from the other group with a wide margin of difference (2-fold in boys and > 2-fold in girls) in the mean values. CONCLUSION: The WHR/Ht SDS can serve as an index predicting the occurrence of biochemical complications in obese children ranging from the age of 6-15 y.

Adipose Tissue↗

Leukemic cells with 11q23 translocations express granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) receptor and their proliferation is stimulated with G-CSF.

We report a 20-month-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia with the 11q23 translocation whose blasts markedly increased in peripheral blood after intravenous granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration, but disappeared after stopping G-CSF. The in vitro study showed that the leukemic cells separated from this patient expressed G-CSF receptor (G-CSFR) and an addition of G-CSF stimulated their proliferation by 3H-thymidine incorporation assay (stimulation index, 4.9). To clarify whether or not leukemic cells with 11q23 translocations generally express G-CSFR and show proliferative response to G-CSF, we performed the similar in vitro experiments using eight leukemic cell lines with 11q23 translocations. We found that all cell lines examined expressed G-CSFR (20-98%) and proliferation of seven leukemic cell lines was significantly enhanced in response to G-CSF (stimulation index >1.5 in five cell lines), suggesting a possible participation of the G-CSF/G-CSFR interaction in the process of growth regulation of leukemic cells with 11q23 translocations.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Endoscopic MRI.

We used a new magnetic resonance endoscope with a small radiofrequent (RF) coil attached to the tip. After insertion of the instrument into the second portion of the duodenum, patients were placed in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Fast spoiled gradient-recalled acquisition (SPGR) pulse sequences were used for this method. After plain scans, six axial scans were performed after intravenous injection of 20 ml of gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) contrast medium. We performed endo-MRI on 22 patients, 13 with pancreatic carcinoma, four with pancreatic cystoadenoma, and five with other diseases. In the patients with pancreatic carcinoma, tumors were delineated as low-intensity masses after injection of contrast medium. Dilated main pancreatic ducts were clearly defined. In eight patients with carcinoma of the head of the pancreas, tumors were clearly defined in seven (87.5%) cases. In the eighth case, motion artifact prevented acquisition of a clear image of the pancreas. For diagnosis of invasion of the portal vein, the sensitivity of endo-MRI was 80%, the specificity was 100%, and overall accuracy was 87.5%. The new technique of endo-MRI allows the precise diagnosis of pancreatic tumors.

Carcinoma↗

Transient increase in CD45RO expression on T lymphocytes in infected newborns.

Although infections are a significant cause of mortality and long-term morbidity of newborns, the early diagnosis of neonatal infections remains difficult. It has been shown recently that up-regulation of CD45RO expression on umbilical cord lymphocytes might be a good indicator for intrauterine viral infections. To evaluate clinical relevance of changes in CD45 isoforms to the diagnosis of neonatal infections, we examined CD45RA and CD45RO expression on total, CD4+, and CD8+ lymphocytes from newborns. Lymphocytes from 55 newborns who were hospitalized in Kiyose Metropolitan Children's Hospital or Yamanashi Medical University Hospital were analyzed. Newborns were classified into three groups according to the possibility of bacterial or viral infection; I ("no" infection, n = 24), II ("possible" infection, n = 17), and III ("definite" infection, n = 14). Results were compared between two of three groups. The CD45RO expression on total or CD4+ lymphocytes in group III (bacterial 12, viral 2) was significantly higher than that in group I or II. Particularly, the CD45RO expression on CD4+ lymphocytes was always greater than 10% in group III, and showed no overlap with the respective value in group I. After termination of infection, the increased CD45RO expression in group III gradually returned to normal levels. These results indicate that not only viral but also bacterial infections trigger transient and reversible changes in CD45 isoform expression by neonatal CD4+ T lymphocytes. This may be a novel marker for the early diagnosis of neonatal infections.

CD3 Complex↗

[A rapid determination of allantoin by high-performance liquid chromatography using tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane-HCl buffer as a mobile phase].

A rapid and simple method for the determination of allantoin in pharmaceuticals by reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography using an ODS column was presented. In general, it is difficult to retain allantoin to the ODS column owing to its very low hydrophobicity. We solved these problems by the use of a Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.5) containing tetra-n-hexyl-ammonium bromide (THAB) as an ion-pair reagent for the mobile phase. Comparatively low concentrations of Tris-HCl buffer (0.9 mM) and THAB (0.5 mM) gave a high capacity factor (k'). As a results of the examination of the chromatographic behavior, it is confirmed that the retention mechanism of allantoin to the ODS column on the present method was not the ion-pair mode, but the ion-exchange mode. Calibration curves for allantoin showed a good linearity in the range of 10 to 400 micrograms/ml (r = 0.9999). The reproducibility (R.S.D., n = 6) was invariably good (0.37%). The lowest concentration of allantoin for the determination was 200 ng per 20 microliters of injection. The present method was successfully applied to the determination of allantoin in commercial eyedrops with good recovery (99.4%). It was found that allantoin in pharmaceuticals could be determined by the present method in short time and without any complicated derivatization.

Allantoin↗

Rhabdomyolysis and myocardial damage induced by palytoxin, a toxin of blue humphead parrotfish.

A 55-year-old man had rhabdomyolysis and myocardial damage induced by palytoxin. Weakness and myalgia of four extremities occurred five hours after eating a fish. Rhabdomyolysis developed and the serum creatine phosphokinase (CK) was elevated to 40,000 IU/l on the 3rd day. Gastric lavage with activated charcoal and forced mannitol-alkaline diuresis therapy were performed. The patient recovered with no complication such as renal failure. In this case, palytoxin was suggested to induce myocardial damage which was demonstrated by an elevation of the myosin light chain level and a change in electrocardiogram.

Acrylamides↗

Tenascin takes part in the progress of pathological severity in cerebral falciparum infection.

We examined plasma level of circulating form of tenascin (TC) in falciparum malaria patients, cerebral malaria and non cerebral malaria, and compared them to uninfected healthy persons. Plasma level of TC examined were significantly higher in malaria patients than in control persons (p< 0.01). The results also show that among malaria patients, TC level was higher in the cerebral malaria patients compare to non cerebral malaria patients (p<0.10). Kinetics of TC level in plasma were related to kinetics of TNF-alpha level. Moreover, patients with higher level of TC showed higher level of parasitized erythrocytes binding ratio. Immunohistochemical study showed that TC was found in the cerebral microvessels of postmortem cerebral tissues from nine cerebral malaria cases. These results provide evidence that plasma level of TC correlates with the severity in cerebral malaria patients.

Brain↗

[Electrophysiologic evaluation of passive and active attentions--I. Topographic analysis of somatosensory event-related potentials].

We studied the topography of somatosensory event-related potentials (SERP) in two different attentive conditions: passive and active. Seventeen healthy right-handed young men, aged 19 to 28 years old (average age; 22.9 years), were requested to perform the following four paradigms in turn. In the passive attentive paradigm, participants were given no specific task when 0.3 Hz electrical stimuli were at random delivered to the right median nerve. In the active attentive paradigm, subjects were required to direct their attention to the regular 0.3 Hz stimuli with all their might. In the control paradigm. 2.0 Hz stimuli were delivered as they listened to their favorite music. Finally, in the oddball paradigm, subjects were instructed to push a button whenever they detected rare stimuli. SERP was recorded at 13 electrodes Grand average topographic amplitude maps from the individual data of the seventeen subjects were made at the latencies of N 60, P 90, N 130 and P 250 for each of the four paradigms. The topographic maps of P 250, the largest positive peak between 200 and 300 msec after the stimuli, showed a significant difference in the distribution of amplitude in the passive and active attentive paradigms compared to the control paradigm. A statistically significant enhancement was noted at the central region in the passive attention, and at the central and frontal regions in the active attention. These results suggest that P 250 consists of two attentive components distinct from selective or discriminative attention. The enhanced positivity at the frontal region during active attention may be associated with expecting the next stimulus and maintaining awareness.

Adult↗