[Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the left atrium: a case report and a review of the literature].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Higashi.
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A study has been undertaken to determine the incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis in 57 patients with liver cirrhosis (non-B type) and 93 cases without liver disease, who received blood transfusion during major surgery. A significantly lower incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis (5.3%) was found in patients with liver cirrhosis than in those (17.2%) without liver disease. Two out of three cirrhotic patients with post-transfusion hepatitis progressed to the clinical state of hepatic failure.
The incidence and clinical characteristics of chronic hepatitis in the elderly patient over age 61 were studied in 680 biopsied cases from 1978 to 1984. Twenty four cases of chronic hepatitis in the elderly (4% of the total cases and 8% of all chronic hepatitis patients) were detected; the incidence is much lower than liver cirrhosis. Most of these cases (96%) showed active hepatitis. They had a long-term history of liver damage and negative HBsAg and HBeAg tests. Sixty seven percent of the patients showed block formation of the liver surface and low K(ICG) values (an average of 0.12). Twenty three cases are in good performance status 3 years and 3 months following the diagnosis, but ten cases still show marked fluctuation of serum GOT and GPT activities (greater than 60 IU). K(ICG) values in 16 cases improved from 0.12 to 0.14 on average 3 years after the diagnosis, suggesting that these cases might not progress to liver cirrhosis at least in the near future.
Plasma glucagon-like immunoreactivity (GLI) levels were increased in patients with liver cirrhosis. The levels were not significantly correlated with plasma glucagon immunoreactivity (GI) and serum insulin levels. None of the conventional liver function tests were correlated with the GLI levels, although plasma GI levels were high in cirrhotics with hyperammonemia. A significant correlation between plasma GLI and amino acid levels was not observed in these cases. The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) showed a significant decrease of plasma GI levels in cirrhotics but no change of plasma GLI concentrations: cirrhotic patients with diabetes mellitus or total gastrectomy showed marked increases of GLI levels. Glucagon (Glucagon Novo) injection at a dose of 10 micrograms/kg body weight to cirrhotic patients produced marked increases of both GI and GLI levels rapidly, though the mechanism of GLI elevation could not be clearly explained.
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Twenty-eight male Wistar rats, aged 7 weeks, were subjected to a vigorous exercise regimen of running for 5 weeks and 35 rats were selected as their controls. After 5 weeks both exercised and control rats were injected 2 microCi of 14C-mevalonate per 100 g body weight into peritoneal cavities and sequentially sacrificed at 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 180 min after the injections in each subgroup. The exercised rats showed a significantly lower level of serum total cholesterol than the control rats. The activity of HMG-CoA reductase in liver microsome was significantly higher in the exercised rats than in the control rats. No differences existed in intestinal HMG-CoA reductase activity between exercise and control groups. The incorporation of mevalonate into liver cholesterol and serum cholesterol (especially HDL fraction) in the exercised rats were significantly higher compared with these of the control. Furthermore, the exercised rats showed a higher rate of cholesterol synthesis activity in liver. From these results it was concluded that the hepatic lipoprotein cholesterol production was elevated by exercise compared with that of control.
Acute and chronic experimental tricuspid valve stenosis was produced in 20 dogs. Clinical and hemodynamic alterations that resulted from severe anatomic tricuspid valve narrowing were surprisingly mild. In the acute stenosis studies, the normal tricuspid valve area of 8.2 +/- 0.3 sq cm was narrowed to less than 1.0 +/- 0.1 sq cm with a resulting right auricle-right ventricle diastolic gradient of 3.7 +/- 0.7 mm Hg. In chronic studies, a decrease in tricuspid valve area from 7.6 sq cm to 1.6 +/- 0.3 sq cm produced a diastolic gradient of 1.8 +/- 0.2 mm Hg. After 60 days, overt signs of right-sided failure (pleural effusions and ascites) were absent, and histological evidence of passive congestion (liver and spleen) was not recognized. The splanchnic vascular beds appear to act as excellent buffers against increases in right-sided cardiac pressure. We conclude that isolated narrowing of the tricuspid valve must be very severe to cause notable clinical and hemodynamic changes.
Paper electrophoresis and Bio-Gel P-4 column chromatography of the oligosaccharides released from mouse kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase by hydrazinolysis gave fractionation patterns quite distinct from those of the bovine and rat kidney enzymes. Structural studies of the fractionated oligosaccharides by sequential exoglycosidase digestion in combination with methylation analysis showed that mouse kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase contains a series of bisected complex-type asparagine-linked sugar chains with the following oligosaccharides as their outer chain moieties: GlcNAc beta 1----, Sia alpha 2----Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc beta 1----, Gal beta 1----4(Fuc alpha 1----3)GlcNAc beta 1----, and sialylated N-acetyllactosamine repeating sugar chains. Some of these sugar chains were found for the first time in glycoproteins.
The difference in the aggregation mechanism between normal and hyperlipidemic rabbits was studied by kinetic analysis of changes in the number of residual single platelets in adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation. When ADP was added to platelet rich plasma (PRP) obtained from normal rabbit, the number of single platelets decreased exponentially, but with PRP from hyperlipidemic rabbit, it decreased hyperbolically. However, the aggregation of platelets isolated from plasma of hyperlipidemic rabbit and resuspended in normal plasma showed an exponential decay, while that of normal rabbit platelets resuspended in hyperlipidemic rabbit plasma showed a hyperbolic decay. The results suggested that these aggregation mechanisms are altered mainly due to changes in the plasma components, such as the cholesterol levels.
Two-dimensional electrophoretograms of extracts of [3H]glucosamine-labeled human renal cancer cells demonstrated a series of components (Mr 48,000 and 30,000) that are only poorly expressed in similarly labeled normal kidney epithelial cell cultures [S. Ogata, R. Ueda, and K. O. Lloyd (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 78, 770-774]. These characteristics are also exhibited by [3H]Man-labeled samples and by concanavalin A-binding glycoproteins from [35S]Met-labeled cells. It is now shown that these species are the precursor chain (Mr 48,000) and native heavy chain (Mr 30,000) forms of the lysosomal enzyme, cathepsin D. These results were obtained by precipitation with a specific anti-cathepsin D serum and by binding of the components to pepstatin-Sepharose. Cathepsin D heavy chain is heterogeneous, having three major species with pI's of 5.7, 5.3, and 4.9; all forms are glycosylated with high mannose-type chains [approximate size: Man5(GlcNAc)2] and are partially phosphorylated. Despite these indications of dissimilarities in cathepsin D levels, the actual levels of total acid protease activity were not significantly higher in renal cancer cells than in normal kidney epithelial cells.
An analytical method was devised to determine the entire course of the adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) release from blood platelets based on a continuous measurement of firefly luciferase luminescence. The equation of the release reaction was derived after due consideration of substrate (ATP) consumption and product (oxyluciferin) inhibition on the luciferase reaction as follows: Ct = Vt X (Km/Vmax) X (1 + It/Ki) + It, where Ct is the total concentration of the released ATP at time t, vt is the velocity of the luciferase reaction at time t and is directly measured, It is the concentration of oxyluciferin at time t, and Vmax, Km and Ki are constants. Ct of the gel-filtered platelet suspension (GFP) could be determined by substituting vt and It as functions of t. The effects of albumin and temperature on the reaction were also studied.
Infusion of an ammonium acetate solution into dogs during mannitol-induced reversible opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) resulted in a marked rise in intracranial pressure with exclusion of Evans blue dye. This indicated cytotoxic brain edema. These findings suggest a role for hyperammonemia in cerebral edema during acute liver failure.
Extremely high concentrations of hepatic acetaldehyde were induced in rats by the intragastric administration of ethanol and cyanamide, an aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor; and these high levels were maintained for 4 weeks. Liver function tests, including mitochondrial ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OCT) and GOT activities, were within normal limits, and no increase in either hepatic triglyceride or collagen contents was observed. These results suggest that hepatotoxic effects of ethanol are not derived from the high acetaldehyde levels in the liver.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the maximum limits of a simple topical cooling method with preservation of graft viability following orthotopic transplantation. Coronary vascular washout was performed with cold potassium-verapamil cardioplegia. The heart was then removed, suspended in the same solution, and stored at 4 degrees C. The experimental material was divided into three groups according to the preservation time: 24 h in group I (six animals), 36 h in group II (five animals), and 48 h in group III (three animals). All six animals in group I and four of five animals in group II maintained a stable recipient circulation after transplantation. No animals in group III could be taken off cardiopulmonary bypass. Contraction band injury after transplantation was more frequently observed in the group II grafts than in those of group I. In conclusion, the combination of coronary vascular washout with cold potassium-verapamil cardioplegia and storage at 4 degrees C in the same solution may preserve the canine heart for 24-36 h, as demonstrated by cardiac function immediately after orthotopic transplantation.
The viability of the heart was assessed following orthotopic transplantation. Following coronary vascular washout with cold potassium-verapamil cardioplegia, the heart was removed, immersed in the same solution, and stored at 4 degrees C for 24 hours in Group I (6 animals), 36 hours in Group II (5 animals), and 48 hours in Group III (3 animals). All six animals in Group I and four of five animals in Group II maintained a stable recipient circulation for the acute phase of 2 hours after transplantation, without cardiopulmonary bypass. For the dogs in Group III, cardiopulmonary bypass was vital. Contraction band injury after transplantation was more frequently observed in the Group II grafts than those of Group I. We conclude that the combination of coronary vascular washout with cold potassium-verapamil cardioplegia and storage at 4 degrees C in the same solution may preserve the canine heart for up to 24 to 36 hours, as demonstrated by post-orthotopic transplantation function.