Antihepatotoxic actions of ginsenosides from Panax ginseng roots.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Sanada.
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Recently, the study of the physiological role of the essential trace elements is being emphasized. Some environmental and disease factors has been demonstrated to perturb trace element homeostasis. A number of recent studies have described alterations in serum copper levels (SCLs) and serum zinc levels (SZLs) in human cancer patients and the relationship between the magnitude of their perturbation and disease activity. This report describes SCLs, SZLs and SCL/SZL ratios in patients with malignant neoplasms of the urogenital tract at various clinical stages and the relationship of the levels of these trace elements to disease activity. According to SCLs before treatment, patients with renal cell carcinoma appeared to be separated into two groups, normal SCL group and higher SCL group. In the higher SCL group, patients generally displayed increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP, alpha 2 globulin, beta 2 microglobulin, ferritin and CEA. In this group, SCL was a useful index of disease activity. In the normal SCL group, SCLs remained within normal limit even in patients with advanced disease. In renal cell carcinoma, SZLs did not reflect disease activity. In transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract, patients with metastasis had significantly elevated SCLs and significantly decreased SZLs, compared with normal controls or patients without metastasis. In transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, no distinct relationships were observed between these trace elements and extent of malignancy. But there was a trend toward increasing SCLs and decreasing SZLs with progressing stage and SCL/SZL ratios fairly reflect stage of disease. Patients with prostatic cancer had nearly normal SCLs and SZLs, although there were a few exceptions. Testicular cancer patients with distant metastasis had significantly elevated SCLs and initially high SCLs decreased in patients responding to therapy and increased again in relapse. SZLs and, hence, SCL/SZL ratios had no relationship to activity of testicular cancer. Currently there is no satisfactory way of following the progress of malignancies of the urogenital tract except prostatic cancer with elevated acid phosphatase and non-seminomatous testicular tumors until the secondary tumor can be detected radiographically. Our study suggests that these trace element might be a useful indicator of disease activity of some of the urogenital malignancies.
The exact relationship between seminal plasma zinc and fertility is not known. Zinc is secreted mainly by the prostate, and zinc concentration in seminal plasma is regarded as an excellent indicator of prostatic secretory function. However, low zinc concentration may result not only from poor secretory function of the prostate but also from dilution due to excessive secretion of seminal vesicular fluid. This assumption is supported by the present result that zinc concentration was inversely correlated with fructose concentration. Therefore zinc concentration is thought to reflect prostatic function in proportion to seminal vesicular function. Total amount of zinc in seminal plasma seems to be an appropriate indicator for prostatic secretory function. In the present study, concentrations and total amount of zinc were examined in seminal plasma of men with various fertility problems. There were no significant differences between men with normal spermodiagram and those with abnormal spermodiagram, seminal inflammation or varicocele in concentration or total amount of zinc. No changes were observed in any of them after various therapies including oral zinc sulfate. However, the percentage of men with normal spermodiagram was low in the group with extremely low or high zinc concentration and total sperm count tended to increase with increase in total amount of zinc. Furthermore, the spermatozoal motility was better in the prostatic fraction than in the vesicular fraction of split ejaculates, and the percentage of men with decreased motility and normal sperm concentration was significantly high in the group with lower zinc concentration or decreased total amount of zinc. These observations indicate that prostatic secretion has a stimulatory effect on spermatozoal motility. The secretory activities of the prostate and the seminal vesicle are generally known to be closely controlled by androgens, but our findings indicate that the secretory functions of these accessory organs are independent because there was no correlation between total amount of zinc and fructose. Analysis of the relative concentrations in prostatic secretion, split ejaculates, and seminal plasma confirmed an almost exclusively prostatic origin of zinc. As part of the routine andrologic examination, measurement of concentration and total amount of zinc in seminal plasma is useful for evaluating prostatic function, but measurement of acid phosphatase, magnesium, calcium or potassium will provide almost as much information, since they also seem to be secreted primarily by the prostate.
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During the screening of natural and physiological products for their Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-activating potency, we found that a considerable number of human semen specimens obtained from infertility clinics (30 cases) possess a marked capacity to induce EBV early antigen (EA) in non-producer Raji cell system when assayed in combination with n-butyrate. The EBV EA-inducing activity of the semen samples was comparable to that of the most efficient EBV EA inducers, the plant diterpene esters such as 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Since many, if not all, of such active agents show overlapping with the tumor promoters in their biological reactions, these findings may provide a new insight for assessing the role of semen in the etiology of certain types of human genital malignancies.
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We report a 71-year-old woman who was initially admitted because of a ruptured internal carotid aneurysm, and found to have an aneurysm of the terminal portion (A5 portion) of pericallosal artery. Both of the aneurysms were surgically treated at one stage operation. A saccular aneurysm of the pericallosal artery was verified at operation. Right internal carotid angiography disclosed that medial part of the right anterior cerebral hemisphere was supplied by the right callosomarginal artery, and that unpaired pericallosal artery made a trifurcation at A5 portion, where the saccular aneurysm arose. According to Baptista's classification, anomaly of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) in this patient was bihemispheric ACA type. Distal ACA aneurysms almost always locate at or near the genu of corpus callosum, either in pericallosal-callosomarginal or in pericallosal-frontopolar junction. In reviewing the literature, we were able to find 14 cases, including ours, of aneurysms located beyond either pericallosal-callosomarginal junction or the genu of corpus callosum. Also the possible role of hemodynamic stress caused by vascular anomaly for aneurysm formation are discussed.
Herein we report a 36-year-old man with hyperparathyroidism and a past history of internal irradiation to the thyroid. Twelve years previously at age 24 years he had received 8 mCi of radioactive iodine for Graves' disease. An additional dose of 4 mCi was required 3 years later. A right lower parathyroid adenoma (28 X 23 X 20 mm, 5.7 g) was found at neck exploration. Although the association of external ionizing radiation to the head and neck and the subsequent development of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands has been described in recent years, there are only 4 cases in the literature of parathyroid surgery for hyperparathyroidism secondary to earlier treatment with radioactive iodine for Graves' disease. In a long-term follow-up of 180 patients treated with radioactive iodine for Graves' disease, neither hypercalcemia nor hypophosphatemia was found. Whether internal radiation therapy can be a causative factor in the development of hyperparathyroidism should be elucidated in future. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that patients whose hyperthyroidism has been treated with radioactive iodine should have their serum calcium levels examined at 5-year intervals.
The incidence of traumatic intracranial aneurysms are rare. In review of literature, only six cases of traumatic aneurysms in posterior fossa are reported. The patient, 15-year-old girl, was admitted on Dec. 18th, 1979, presented with unconsciousness after a traffic accident. She was developed impaired consciousness and left hemiparesis with right hemotympanum and nasal bleeding. Skull film showed an occipital linear fracture and a laminal fracture of the atlas. CT scan demonstrated traumatic subarachnoid, intraventricular hemorrhage and pneumocephalus. After accident, she regained consciousness with conservative therapy, but she deteriorated on the 10th hospitalized day. On the 17th day, lumbar puncture and CT scan revealed recurrent subarachnoid and intraventricular hemorrhage. The saccular aneurysm on the lateral medullary segment of the right posterior inferior cerebellar artery was obtained by cerebral angiogram on the 35th day. The configuration and size of the aneurysm was easily demonstrated by CT scans and cerebral angigrams. On the 43rd day, the clipping of the common trunk of the right posterior inferior cerebellar artery was employed. Her postoperative course was uneventful and she was discharged on the 97th day in good condition. This aneurysm was suggested to be induced by severe head injury with clinical ad operative findings. With the introduction of CT scan, CT scan is more available diagnostic modality than cerebral angiography in the follow up study with severe head injuries. And in the absence of pathological CT scan findings, suspicion of traumatic cerebrovascular impairments such as aneurysm should be paid. As the conservative management of traumatic intracranial aneurysms carries high mortality rate up to 30-50%, the prompt diagnosis and direct surgical intervention are recommended.
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