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Biomedical subjects

T Imai

Publications and source records attributed to T Imai.

At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources

[Evaluation of digital vibration threshold for asymptomatic ulnar neuropathy in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome].

Quantitative assessment of vibration threshold at 125 Hz of index and little finger tips together with measurements of median and ulnar sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) was performed for 25 limbs of 15 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), 25 limbs of 13 disease controls with neurological symptoms similar to CTS and the nearly same number of limbs of normal controls. There was no significant difference in ulnar SNCV among 3 groups. However, ulnar SNCV at wrist was significantly reduced in patients with CTS as compared with normal value. In 17 limbs with CTS, vibration threshold of index finger tips was significantly increased, and 8 of those limbs were found to have concomitant increase of vibration threshold of little finger tips. Most of patients with increase of vibration threshold of both index and little finger tips were those who used to expose to repetitive mechanical stimuli at the wrist in their occupation. It was concluded that digital vibration threshold is simple to measure yet sensitive enough to detect asymptomatic ulnar neuropathy in CTS.

Adult↗

[Influences of respiratory frequency on breathing mechanics during artificial ventilation in man and animal].

Effects of respiratory frequency on breathing mechanics were examined on 11 surgical patients during artificial ventilation with inhalation of nitrous oxide, oxygen and halothane (GOF). When the respiratory frequency was increased stepwise from 10 to 30/min, the total compliance was significantly reduced stepwise (from 55.42 +/- 9.55 ml/cmH2O to 47.38 +/- 9.31, p less than 0.01). In animal experiment, the respiratory frequency was similarly increased from 10 to 30/min in 11 mongrel dogs under sodium thiamylal anesthesia with air breathing. The total pulmonary compliance decreased significantly from a control level of 13.62 +/- 5.04 ml/cmH2O to a value of 10.96 +/- 3.00 ml/cmH2O which was obtained under the administration of synthetic histamine (betazole hydrochloride) (p less than 0.01). However, the decreases in compliance with histamine were parallel with the control values without the drug treatment. From these results it was assumed that the reduction of the total pulmonary compliance under increased respiratory frequency was due not to changes in small airway but to those in large airway.

Adolescent↗

[A case report of central pontine and extrapontine myelinolysis which occurred during pregnancy and was accompanied by choreic movement].

A 25-year-old female in the 17th week of pregnancy was diagnosed by MRI as having central pontine and extrapontine myelinolysis. Serial observations with MR showed gradual disappearance of the lesions in the pons and striatum. Improvement of the symptoms took place shortly before disappearance of the lesions on MRI pictures. The initial symptoms were consciousness disturbance, cranial nerve palsy and tetraparesis. Before the latter disappeared seven months after occurrence of the disease, all other symptoms gradually improved. They were followed by delayed appearance of choreic movements, which was still remaining one year after discharge. It is rare for a pregnant woman to be attacked by central pontine myelinolysis. Moreover, very few symptoms caused by such extrapontine lesions have so far been reported. Also, a review of the relevant literature by the authors found no other case showing choreic movements. This report is of an extremely rare case of central pontine and extrapontine myelinolysis which occurred during pregnancy and is accompanied by choreic movements.

Adult↗

[A case of multiple small pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas with chronic hepatitis and abdominal vessel abnormalities].

A 63-year-old female was admitted with dyspnea on exertion. She had previously suffered from a large amount of epistaxis. Chest X-ray showed the bilateral diffuse granular infiltrates. Arterial blood analysis revealed severe hypoxemia and pulmonary function test showed reduced function of diffusing capacity. Dynamic radionuclide perfusion scintigraphy performed with 99mTc-labeled MAA demonstrated passage of microspheres through the pulmonary vasculature into the systemic circulation, indicating a right-to-left shunt. Although selective pulmonary wedge angiography did not directly demonstrate pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae, the histopathological findings of TBLB specimens revealed multiple dilated alveolar vessels that microspheres could pass through. In addition, chronic hepatitis, dilatation of splenic vein and spleno-renal anastomosis had been present. This type of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula is said to be a rare dispersed telangiectasic type, associated with a part of Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome and a cause of hypoxemia in liver cirrhosis. We consider that in this case, the chronic hepatitis may have played an important role of developing multiple small pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas.

Arteriovenous Fistula↗

[Ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in guinea pigs].

We studied the time related changes of airway hyperresponsiveness induced by ozone inhalation (2.9 ppm, 30 min) in guinea pigs. In unanesthetized and spontaneously breathing guinea pigs, the respiratory resistance was measured by a forced oscillation technique. The respiratory resistance and respiratory frequency were unchanged until 24 hours after ozone inhalation. In mechanically ventilated guinea pigs, airway responsiveness to inhaled methacholine was determined using a modification of the Konzett-Rössler technique, and after methacholine challenge bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed for cell yield. At 1 hour and 3 hours after ozone inhalation, airway responsiveness was increased significantly, but returned to the control level at 6 hours. In the BAL fluid, there was a significant increase in neutrophils at 3 hours after ozone inhalation and thereafter. In the separated groups, before air or ozone inhalation, human serum albumin (HSA) was administered intravenously, and BAL was performed 1 hour after inhalation. In the ozone inhalation group, the concentration of HSA in BALF was increased significantly compared to the air inhalation group. These results suggest that airway hyperresponsiveness induced by ozone inhalation may occur before the influx of neutrophils into the airways and may depend on some structural changes such as submucosal and mucosal edema induced by the enhancement of capillary permeability.

Air Pollutants↗

FAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase from Mycobacterium smegmatis: activation of the lipid-depleted inactive enzyme by a phospholipid analogue, di (triethyleneglycoltetradecylether) phosphate.

A novel phospholipid analogue, di (triethyleneglycol-n-tetradecylether) phosphate was synthesized and its activation ability for a phospholipid-requiring enzyme, Mycobacterium smegmatis malate dehydrogenase, was examined. The results showed that the newly-synthesized phospholipid analogue a high ability, nearly equal to that of natural beef heart cardiolipin, for the activation of the lipid-depleted inactive enzyme; whereas both simple di-n-octylphosphate and di-n-tetradecylphosphate were found to have poor activation abilities. These results strongly suggest that a slightly hydrophilic region between the phosphate group and the two alkyl chains of an anionic phospholipid is important for the best activation of M. smegmatis malate dehydrogenase.

Animals↗

[Morphological study on open bite patients].

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the morphological features of open bite patients who have also disharmony of anteroposterior relations between maxilla and mandible. Lateral head films of 40 adult females with open bite were used. The samples were classified into three groups by ANB angle. Three groups were as follows. 1. Type I open bite (12 subjects, 1 degree less than or equal to ANB less than or equal to 4.5 degrees). 2. Type II open bite (13 subjects, ANB less than 4.5 degrees). 3. Type III open bite (15 subjects, ANB less than 1 degree) The normal samples was the longitudinal data of females in our department. Skeletal and dental variables were calculated and compared norm versus type I open bite, type I open bite versus type II open bite and type I open bite versus type III open bite, respectively. The following results were obtained. 1. Disharmony of the vertical dimensions in type I open bite was mainly due to long anterior lower facial height which was accompanied by large gonial angle as compared with norm. 2. There were no difference in anteroposterior position of the maxilla and nasal floor in all three open bite groups. 3. There were no difference in anterior and posterior facial height between type I and type II open bite. However, type II open bite showed the backward rotation of the mandible accompanied by over eruption of upper first molars. 4. Type III open bite showed longer anterior lower facial height which was caused by excessive mandibular growth than type I open bite. 5. Upper incisors showed labial inclination as compared with norm in all three open bite groups. However, lower incisors showed labial inclination in type II open bite and lingual inclination in type III open bite as compared with type I open bite. As a result, the inter-incisal angle was small in type II open bite and large in type III open bite as compared with type I open bite. These results suggested that the dentoalveolar factors were large in type II open bite and the skeletal factors were large in type III open bite as compared with type I open bite.

Cephalometry↗

[Clinical studies on 228 renal transplants].

We studied patient survival and graft survival rates by dividing 228 renal transplants into seven groups according to their immunosuppressive regimen and the degree of histocompatibility. Both patient survival and graft survival rates of HLA identical sibling (Id Sib), living related transplantation with cyclosporin (CYA), transplantation with donor-specific transfusion and anti-lymphocyte globulin (DST.ALG) and cadaveric transplantation with cyclosporin (CYA.Cad) groups were better than those of living related transplantation with ALG, without DST (ALG), living related transplantation with azathioprine and steroid (Non-DST.Non-ALG) and cadaveric transplantation without cyclosporin (Conv.Cad) groups. The incidence and severity of acute rejection were lower in Id Sib, CYA, DST.ALG and CYA.Cad groups than in other groups. The incidence of infections was the highest in Conv.Cad group and that of fatal infections was higher in ALG, Non-DST.Non-ALG and Conv.Cad groups than in other groups. These results indicated that acute rejection and infection were two important factor that influenced the survival rates of these patients. Up to now, the graft survival rate of CYA.Cad group has been much improved as compared to that of Conv.Cad group and was better than those of ALG and Non-DST.Non-ALG groups. The fact urges us to promote more cadaveric renal transplantation in our country by virtue of ciclosporin.

Adult↗

[Analysis of factors influencing the accuracy of ejection fraction measurement based on the thermal washout technic--investigation in a model heart].

Evaluation of ejection fraction and ventricular volume is more difficult in the right side of the heart than in the left side. Thermal washout method in the right ventricle with the aid of a rapid response thermistor made it possible in the clinical practice, but its accuracy is uncertain. We attempted to elucidate what factors could influence the accuracy of the measurement of the right ventricular ejection fractions in a model circuit and artificial heart equipped with two one-way valves. Findings are as follow: 1) By ventricular injection of the cold water it is possible to evaluate the ejection fractions more accurately than by atrial injection. The latter technique measured the ejection fraction 8.4% lower than the actual values. 2) The first ejection fraction measured will be the most accurate among the serially obtained ejection fractions using a thermal washout curve. 3) When the ejection fraction is high, the ejection fractions calculated from the later part of a thermal washout curve will be falsely low. 4) When the cold water is injected through the catheter running in the circuit, the effect of the catheter cooling could not be neglected and ejection fraction will be measured falsely low. The temperature change is so small in the later part of the descending limb of the thermal washout curve, that the effect of catheter cooling and ventricular cooling will be exaggerated and the calculation of the temperature change will be measured falsely high. This seems to be the cause of our findings in this research.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Hot Temperature↗

[Selective brushings for all branches of the bronchi: diagnostic values thereof in patients with roentgenographically occult lung cancer and borderline lesions].

Selective brushings were conducted for all the respective segmental bronchi in both lungs of 105 patients with positive or suspected positive indications of lung cancer as revealed by sputum cytology. As a result, borderline lesions, 16 cases with 18 lesions and lung cancer, 51 cases with 58 lesions, were diagnosed. The percentage of localized lesions was 47.1% for Class III cases, 82.4% for Class IV cases and 100% for Class V cases; on the whole, identification was possible in 62.9% of all the cases. Comparison of the diagnoses made before and after all the branch brushings showed that, after the brushings, the rate of localization increased from 14.7% to 47.1%, and diagnosis of borderline lesions is also possible. Regarding the results obtained at the first examination, the rate of localization increased from 64.1% to 93.9%, and in particular, an improvement from 0% to 88.9% was noted for those cases where bronchoscopic findings had not been obtained. Based on the above results, it was concluded that the application of this brushing method is of value in the following cases: diagnosis of cases otherwise difficult to diagnose, detection of borderline lesions, and diagnosis of concurrent multiple primary lung cancer. In addition, this brushing method has made possible the detection of multiple intraepithelial lesions, leading to a more precise diagnosis of cells of the respiratory system in the near future.

Bronchi↗

[Colon bladder replacement after total cystectomy].

Although ileal conduit diversion is widely accepted in the treatment of the patients undergoing radical cystectomy, many patients would prefer other alternatives which allow continence. and urination through the urethra. We describe a new procedure in which a segment of detuburalized right colon is used as a continent reservoir. Eight patients, 7 after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer and one after total exenteration for rectal cancer, have undergone colon bladder replacement. New created bladder had a capacity of 300 to 600 ml. All patients could pass urine through the urethra but one is on self-catheterization. Five of the 8 patients had no residual urine. Three months after operations 4 were totally continent and 3 were satisfactorily dry during daytime but slightly enuretic. Excretory urography showed no abnormalities in their upper urinary tract. Considering the "quality of life' of a patient, this procedure can be an ideal option for selected patients.

Aged↗

[Autotransplantation of parathyroid glands in thyroid carcinoma surgery and their postoperative function].

Total removal and subsequent autotransplantation of parathyroid glands were carried out in operations for thyroid carcinoma in 25 cases. For the purpose of fine dissection of paratracheal lymph nodes, before thyroidectomy more than 2 parathyroid glands were found and transplanted into greater pectoralis muscle. The patients who underwent surgery were studied for more than one year following operation to determine the short term and long term outcomes of the procedure. None of the patients received prophylactic calcium supplement therapy except for hypocalcemic symptoms. In thirteen patients, the parathyroid function was almost completely restored within 3 weeks without any postoperative substitution therapy, with an obvious surge in the plasma PTH level on 5P.O.D. The serum Ca level started to elevate on 7P.O.D. and recovered to 97.4% of the preoperative value 3 weeks after transplantation. As for the 12 patients who exhibited hypocalcemic symptoms, Ca lactate and hydroxycholecalciferol were administered for only 24.7 and 17.0 days, respectively. Serum levels of Ca and P, as well as the index of bone mineral content, were all within the extremely excellent range even one year after operation. None of the patients was on a substitution regimen. These results suggest that autotransplantation is a valuable alternative for the preservation of the parathyroid function in operations for thyroid carcinoma.

Adult↗