A case of crush syndrome occurring during alcohol withdrawal: extended disturbance of consciousness with development of persistent Korsakoff's psychosis.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Nishi.
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We hypothesized that changes in the pharmacokinetics of lidocaine might reveal changes in portal circulation induced by catecholamines. Isolated perfused rat liver (IPRL) was selected as an experimental model, since experimental conditions in this model could be regulated. The liver was perfused with a recirculating system at a constant flow rate of 20 ml/min. Two milligrams of lidocaine was administered along with one of three drugs, dopamine, norepinephrine or adenosine triphosphate. The fractional transfer rate constants, k21 and k12, from medium to liver and liver to medium, respectively, and ke, the elimination rate constant, were calculated using a two-compartment model with the SAAM II program. Curves of decay of lidocaine from the recirculating medium consisted of a fast and a slow component. Norepinephrine and high-dose dopamine significantly increased k12, while low-dose dopamine significantly increased k21 and ke compared with control values. Thus, norepinephrine and high-dose dopamine increased lidocaine transfer rate from liver to medium, while low-dose dopamine increased the transfer rate from medium to liver and the rate of elimination from liver. These findings suggest that norepinephrine and high-dose dopamine inhibit hepatic drug uptake and that low-dose dopamine improves uptake in IPRL.
It has been reported that the Trp 64 Arg mutation of the human beta3-adrenergic receptor (beta3-AR) gene is related to an earlier age of onset of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and features of insulin resistance and weight gain in morbidly obese patients. However, such findings have not been consistent in varying ethnic populations. In the present study, we investigated the frequency of the Trp 64 Arg mutation of the human beta3-AR gene in Japanese control subjects (n = 253) and in NIDDM (n = 314) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) patients (n = 100). We compared the frequency of the mutation with the body-mass index (BMI) in these groups and with the metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of glucose in the NIDDM patients. A Trp 64 Arg mutation was observed in 36.7%, 31.6%, and 37.0% of the control, NIDDM, and IGT subjects, respectively. The frequency of the homozygotes for the mutation was 4.3%, 4.8%, and 3.0%, respectively. Neither the genotype frequency (Trp/Arg, Arg/Arg) nor the frequency of the mutated allele was significantly different among the three groups. The BMI of the subjects with the mutation was not significantly higher than that of the subjects without the mutation in each group. Furthermore, the allele frequency (A) was not different among the subjects with different BMIs (BMI < 22.0, 22.0 < or = BMI < or = 26.4, BMI > 26.4) in each group. In a separate group of NIDDM patients, the MCR of the subjects with intermediate BMIs (22.0 < or = BMI < or = 26.4) with the mutation tended to be lower than that of those without the mutation. In addition, the MCR of the subjects with the mutation in this group was significantly lower compared with that of those with a BMI less than 22. These results indicate that the Trp 64 Arg mutation of the beta3-AR gene may not contribute to the development of NIDDM or be a determinant of obesity in the Japanese population. However, the mutation may contribute to insulin resistance in NIDDM patients with an intermediate BMI.
Clonidine has both analgesic and sedative actions, and it has been used in a variety of settings as a sedative, or both. We administered oral clonidine with intravenous ketamine to a burn patient to control severe pain. Clonidine produced good analgesia and sedation. In addition, clonidine counterbalanced the sympathetic stimulation of ketamine by virtue of its action in reducing sympathetic outflow. The combination of these two drugs may be useful for burn patients with hypertension or myocardial ischemia.
AIMS: This study was performed to demonstrate that measurement of the clearance of indocyanine green (ICG) following portal vein administration (CLpv) is more useful than that following peripheral vein administration (CLiv) for evaluating intrinsic clearance and hepatic blood flow. METHODS: Eight patients, aged 55.9 +/- 8.8 years, who underwent partial hepatectomy were studied. ICG was administrated to all patients via peripheral and portal veins before and after enflurane anaesthesia and soon after surgery. ICG concentrations were measured by h.p.l.c. Non-compartmental analysis was applied to the ICG time-concentration data obtained. The area under the curve (AUC), clearance (CL), mean residence time (MRT) and volume of distribution (V) were calculated using this method of analysis. RESULTS: CLpv was significantly decreased from 26.4 +/- 13.2 ml kg(-1) min(-1) before anaesthesia, to 19.5 +/- 7.0 (P < 0.05) and 12.7 +/- 5.3 (P < 0.01) ml kg(-1) min(-1), respectively, during anaesthesia and after partial hepatectomy; These values were 72.1% (P < 0.01) and 48.5% (P < 0.01) of that observed at percutaneous transhepatic portography (PTP). CLiv was significantly decreased from 14.6 +/- 5.3 ml kg(-1) min(-1) before anaesthesia, to 9.4 +/- 3.6 (P < 0.05) and 9.8 +/- 4.1 (P < 0.05) ml kg(-1) min(-1), respectively, after partial hepatectomy and 12 h after operation; These values were 68.9% (P < 0.05) and 73.5% (P < 0.05) of the value at PTP. The other pharmacokinetic parameters examined, V and MRT, did not change significantly during anaesthesia or after surgery. CONCLUSION: The clearance of ICG after portal administration was useful for estimating hepatic blood flow and intrinsic clearance in perioperative management of liver surgery.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been rediscovered as a proinflammatory cytokine, pituitary hormone, and glucocorticoid-induced immunoregulator. We have recently identified the expression of MIF in adipocytes and found that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha stimulates its secretion from 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Since adipocytes are regarded as a potential source of various biologically active substances, we examined in more detail the effect of TNF-alpha on MIF expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes in the present study. We found that TNF-alpha induced MIF mRNA in dose- and time-dependent manners. After stimulation with TNF-alpha, the amount of intracellular MIF protein was unchanged or slightly decreased, concomitant with increased release of this protein into the extracellular space. This observation indicates that TNF-alpha stimulates MIF secretion from the constitutively expressed intracellular pool of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and promotes de novo synthesis of MIF. From evaluation of the mechanism of MIF gene expression, we found that tyrosine kinase inhibitors, either genistein or herbimycin A, suppressed the MIF mRNA induction by TNF-alpha. The results suggest the possibility that upregulation of MIF mRNA expression by TNF-alpha is mediated by a tyrosine kinase-dependent pathway. Taken together, the present observations shed light on the role of MIF in the metabolism of obesity and diabetes.
To elucidate the relationship between glomerular deposition of protein S (PS) and renal lesions or dysfunction, 30 patients with various glomerulopathies were examined. Glomerular PS deposition was found in 20 patients (group A), and other 10 patients showed no deposition (group B). PS was found mainly along the capillary loops and segmentally in the mesangium. Group A showed significantly more severe proteinuria than group B (p < 0.05). Group A patients showed significant decreases in glomerular filtration rate (p < 0.01). Patients in group A had significantly lower plasma levels of plasmin-alpha2-plasmin inhibitor complexes (p < 0.05) and thrombin-antithrombin III complexes (p < 0.01) than those in group B. Group A showed significant decreases in the mean values of plasma total PS (p < 0.01) and protein C (PC) antigens (p < 0.01) and C4b-binding protein (C4bp; p < 0.05) as compared with group B patients. There was a positive correlation between plasma PS and C4bp (p < 0.02). Histologically, group A showed a significantly higher incidence of glomerular deposition of factor XIII (subunit a), alpha2-plasmin inhibitor, PC (p < 0.05), and C4bp (p < 0.01). The present study demonstrates that glomerular PS deposition indicates the existence of PC and C4bp in the glomeruli and suggests that the glomerular PS deposition may modify the activation of fibrinolytic and coagulation systems within the glomeruli in various glomerulopathies.
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To clarify the current status and issues encountered by physical, occupational, and speech therapists in in-home medical care, a mail survey was conducted in 1996 of 1,292 physicians in the Tokyo metropolitan area who were presumed to have in-home patients. Of the 656 respondents, 243 physicians (37.0%) stated that therapists were involved in treatment of their patients, with 223 of the therapists being physical therapists, 42 being occupational therapists, and 25 being speech therapists. Of the 243 responses, 75 answered that they themselves provided instructions to the therapists, 58 stated that while other physicians were involved in instructing the therapists but the therapists reported to them, and 115 answered that there was no relationship between physicians and therapists. For reasons why the physicians did not request services of therapists for their patients, responses were that the patients had no need for the therapists, that they did not know where to ask for therapist services, and that they did not need the therapists because their own instruction was adequate. Of the 243 physicians, 209 (86.0%) pointed out the advantages of therapists visits, such as patients and families welcomed these services, they resulted in improvement of functions and status of patients, and family members also experienced improvement of health. On the other hand, 118 (48.6%) pointed out disadvantages, such as unfamiliar instructors, and unclear specialties of the therapists.
To clarify the characteristics of renal pathology and its correlation with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), renal biopsy findings from 158 Japanese RA patients with urinary abnormalities and/or renal dysfunction were analyzed retrospectively in the period between 1979 and 1996. Urologic abnormality and urinary tract infection were ruled out in all patients. Light and immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy were performed in all patients. Mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MesPGN) was diagnosed in 54 patients, membranous nephropathy (MN) in 49, and secondary amyloidosis (AM) in 30. Renal dysfunction was more frequent in patients with AM (22/30) than in patients without (40/128). Forty of 49 MN patients developed renal disorders during DMARDs therapy. The prevalence of DMARD-related MN increased during the period of observation. The fact that DMARDs are of very frequent use in recent Japanese RA patients may reflect the prevalence of MN in this study. Two thirds of patients with MesPGN developed renal disorders when no DMARDs were used. One half of 54 MesPGN patients demonstrated IgA glomerulonephritis (GN) by IF. The prevalence of primary renal diseases in Japan may reflect the frequency of IgA GN in Japanese RA patients. Furthermore, diffuse thinning of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) was observed in 30 of 81 patients with electron microscopy. RA itself may underlie the pathogenesis of GBM thinning, and drugs used for RA treatment may also accelerate the development of this lesion. In conclusion, although MesPGN, MN, and AM may be relatively more common, IgA GN and GBM thinning also were other frequent entities in Japanese RA patients. No correlation was observed between DMARDs and renal disorders excepting MN.
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Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been rediscovered as a proinflammatory cytokine, pituitary hormone, and glucocorticoid-induced immunoregulator. A survey of tissue distribution revealed that MIF expression is not limited to T lymphocytes, but exists in several other tissues; however, its presence in adipose tissue has never been investigated. In this study, we examined the expression of MIF in adipose tissue using the rat epididymal fat pad and murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Northern and Western blot analyses revealed the expression of MIF mRNA and MIF protein, respectively, in both the fat pad and the adipocyte cell line. In immunohistochemistry, a positive staining reaction with an anti-rat MIF antibody was detected largely in the cytosol of adipocytes of the epididymal fat pad. To examine the production and release of MIF by adipocytes, we examined its content in the culture medium of the 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The results showed that MIF content was 1.6 +/- 0.48 ng/ml (mean +/- SD) after 24 hr culture, and the content was increased up to 9.7 +/- 2.8 ng/ml by stimulation with TNF-alpha (50 nM). Since TNF-alpha produced in adipocytes is known to induce insulin resistance, the results suggest the possibility that MIF plays an important role in the mechanism of insulin resistance often observed in obesity and diabetes via regulation of TNF-alpha expression.
We have isolated the human homologue of the mouse germ cell-specific transcript Tpx2, which we had previously mapped to mouse chromosome 17. Sequence analysis shows that the human gene is part of the DAZ (Deleted in Azoospermia) family, represents the human homologue of the mouse Dazla and Drosophila boule genes, and is termed DAZLA. Like Dazla and boule, DAZLA is single copy and maps to 3p25. This defines a new region of synteny between mouse chromosome 17 and human chromosome 3. Unlike DAZ, which has multiple DAZ repeats, DAZLA encodes a putative RNA-binding protein with a single RNA-binding motif and a single DAZ repeat. DAZLA is more closely related to Dazla in the mouse than to the Y-linked homologue DAZ (88% identity overall with mouse Dazla compared to 76% identity with the human DAZ protein sequence). Southern blot analysis showed that DAZLA is autosomal in all mammals tested and that DAZ has been recently translocated to the Y chromosome, sometime after the divergence of Old World and New World primates. To investigate the evolutionary relatedness of DAZLA and DAZ further, their partial genomic structures were obtained and compared. This revealed that the genomic organization of both genes in the 5' region is highly conserved. DAZLA is a new member of the DAZ family of genes, which is associated with spermatogenesis and male sterility. Familial cases of male infertility in humans show an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. It is possible that some of these families may carry mutations in the DAZLA gene.
The obese (ob) gene encodes a fat cell-derived circulating satiety factor (leptin) that is involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis. In the present study, we examined effects of i.c.v. injection of recombinant human leptin on food intake and body weight gain in rats. We also studied effects of direct microinjections of leptin into the arcuate nucleus (Arc), ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), and lateral hypothalamus (LH). A single i.c.v. injection of recombinant human leptin (0.25-2.0 micrograms/rat) reduced significantly and dose-dependently food intake and body weight gain in rats. Microinjections (0.125-0.5 microgram/site) into the bilateral Arc, VMH, and LH caused dose-related decreases in food intake and body weight gain as compared with vehicle-treated groups with a rank order of potency; Arc > VMH = LH. The present study provides the first direct evidence that the Arc is a primary site of satiety effect of leptin.
The NADH-dependent lathosterol 5-desaturation reaction that forms 7-dehydrocholesterol is biphasic, an initial burst followed by steady state. The steady-state phase is slower than the burst phase, because the latter diffusion of the lathosterol substrate within the microsomal membrane must occur before the next reaction can take place [Y. Takakuwa, H. Nishino, Y. Ishibe, and T. Ishibashi (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 27889-27893]. In the present study, changes in the structure and function of the membrane were examined by measurement of the Arrhenius activation energy of lathosterol 5-desaturase at various temperatures between 2 and 45 degrees C. At the burst phase, there was a lack of discontinuity in the Arrhenius plots at the presumed phase transition temperature for the microsomal membrane. However, the plots of the activities of the steady state showed breaks at around 17 and 32 degrees C. It was concluded that phospholipid phase transition affects the steady-state phase but not the burst phase. Furthermore, treatment of microsomes with low concentrations of deoxycholate, known to perturb the membrane integrity, resulted in a break of the activation energy of the burst phase. These results have revealed further evidence for our previous model suggesting interaction between the substrate and enzyme within the microsomal membrane via lateral diffusion.
maf is a family of oncogenes originally identified from avian oncogenic retrovirus, AS42, encoding a nuclear bZip transcription factor. We have isolated two maf related cDNA clones, maf-1 and maf-2, from a rat liver cDNA library. Comparison of the sequence homologies of the proteins encoded by maf-1 and maf-2 with those of c-maf and chicken mafB indicated that maf-1 and maf-2 are the rat homologues of mafB and c-maf, respectively. Both genes are expressed at low levels in a wide variety of rat tissues, including spleen, kidney, muscle and liver. Immunohistochemical studies and in situ hybridization analyses show that maf-1 and maf-2 are strongly expressed in the late stages of chondrocyte development in the femur epiphysis and the rib and limb cartilage of 15 day old (E15) embryo in rat. Cartilage cells, induced by subcutaneous implantation of bone morphogenic protein, also expressed maf-1 and maf-2. In situ hybridization analyses of E15 embryos show that both genes are expressed in the eye lens and the spinal cord as well as the cartilage. However, the expression patterns of maf-1 and maf-2 in lens and spinal cord are different.
We evaluated the effect of intra-arterially infused papaverine solutions of various concentrations on cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid haemorrhage. A total of 90 vascular territories in 46 patients with symptomatic cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage were treated with intra-arterial infusions of papaverine. In all patients, papaverine was infused at the top of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Of the 90 vascular territories, 30 vascular territories in 14 patients were treated with an infusion of 0.1-0.2% (weight/volume) papaverine (Group 1), 30 vascular territories in 16 patients were treated with a 0.4% (w/v) papaverine infusion (Group 2), and 30 vascular territories in 16 patients were treated with an infusion of 0.8-2.0% (w/v) papaverine (Group 3). Among the three groups, we compared the vasodilatory effects of papaverine by assessing the angiographical and clinical improvements following the treatment. When 0.4% (w/v) papaverine was infused, 24 vascular territories (80%) were successfully dilated and 7 patients (44%) showed a marked reversal of neurological deficits due to vasospasm. Therefore, 80 mg/20 ml (0.4% (w/v)) papaverine infused over a 10-minute period proved to be a beneficial concentration. Transient focal neurological deficits due to the infusion of papaverine occurred in 1 Group 1 patient (7%), 1 Group 2 patient (6%), and 7 Group 3 patients (44%). Highly concentrated papaverine had a higher risk of temporary deterioration. In conclusion, the papaverine concentration of 0.4% (w/v) infused at the top of the ICA was a safe and adequate concentration for treating cerebral vasospasm.
Leptin is an adipocyte-derived blood-borne satiety factor that acts on its cognate leptin receptor (Ob-R) in the hypothalamus, thereby regulating food intake and energy expenditure. To explore whether mutations in the Ob-R gene cause obesity in humans, we have searched for mutations in the gene for Ob-Rb, a biologically active receptor isoform, in obese Japanese subjects. We have also examined associations between such mutants and obesity in the Japanese. Genomic DNAs were used as templates in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers selected to amplify exons 2 to 20 of the human Ob-Rb gene. Direct sequence analysis of the PCR products revealed 7 nucleotide sequence variants (Lys109Arg, Gln223Arg, Ser343Ser, Ser492Thr, Lys656Asn, Ala976Asp, and Pro1019Pro) in the Ob-Rb coding region from 17 obese Japanese subjects with a family history of obesity (BMI 39.3 +/- 8.4 kg/m2). No missense and nonsense mutations were found such as those in Zucker fatty (fa/fa) rats and Koletsky (fa[k]/ fa[k]) rats. Nucleotide substitutions occurred at relatively high frequencies at codons 109, 223, 976, and 1019 (79, 91, 100, and 85%, respectively). Allele frequency of each variant determined by PCR-RFLP and PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism analyses showed no significant differences between 47 obese (BMI 35.1 +/- 6.5 kg/m2) and 68 non-obese (BMI 21.6 +/- 2.2 kg/m2) subjects. The present study represents the first report of sequence variants of the Ob-Rb gene in the Japanese and provides evidence against either obesity-causing mutations or association of sequence variants with obesity in obese Japanese subjects.