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Biomedical subjects

T Kitamura

Publications and source records attributed to T Kitamura.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources

Suppressive effects of human herpesvirus 6 on in vitro colony formation of hematopoietic progenitor cells.

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) has been reported to be involved in bone marrow failure after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). To elucidate the role of HHV-6 in the marrow failure, we examined the comparative effect of two variants of HHV-6 (HHV-6A and HHV-6B) and human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) on in vitro colony formation of hematopoietic progenitor cells in methylcellulose semi-solid media. Progenitor cells prepared from cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMNCs) were infected with one of these viruses at various multiplicity of infection (MOI), and were subjected to methylcellulose colony assay. Formation of both granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) and erythroid (BFU-E) colonies was MOI-dependently suppressed after infection with the Z29 strain of HHV-6B. Although HHV-6A suppressed the formation of BFU-E colonies as efficiently as HHV-6B, the former did not exhibit significant suppressive effect on the formation of CFU-GM colonies at an MOI 1. HHV-7 had no effect on hematopoietic colony formation at all. Based on frequent positivity of viral DNA in single colonies obtained from HHV-6-infected progenitor cells by polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization, direct effects of HHV-6 on the hematopoietic progenitor cells are suggested as the cause of the suppression rather than indirect effects via accessory cells of the bone marrow.

Bone Marrow Diseases↗

Premenstrual mood changes and maternal mental health in pregnancy and the postpartum period.

To investigate the relationship between premenstrual mood changes and maternal mental health in the perinatal period, a prospective questionnaire survey of 1,329 women was carried out. Women with a premenstrual mood changes (irritability) before pregnancy showed significantly higher Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores than those without it, throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period (6 time points: early, middle, and late pregnancy, 5 days, 1 month, and 6 months after childbirth). In addition, women with premenstrual irritability had greater anxiety about pregnancy and delivery, were more reluctant to accept mother roles, and felt their babies (fetuses or neonates) were more vulnerable. These findings suggest that premenstrual mood change is correlated with unstable mental health throughout the perinatal period.

Adolescent↗

Validity and reliability of Structured Interview for Competency Incompetency Assessment Testing and Ranking Inventory.

The Structured Interview for Competency and Incompetency Assessment Testing and Ranking Inventory (SICIATRI) is a structured interview guide to assess the competency for giving informed consent to treatment among psychiatric and medical patients. The competency levels of 48 psychiatric and medical inpatients were assessed by SICIATRI. A relatively high- inter-rater reliability of the SICIATRI items (over half of the items had kappa > or = .60) and concurrent validity (sensitivity = .83, specificity = .67 as measured against the global judgement of competency rating by the attending physician) were obtained. In addition to its brevity (it takes about 20 minutes to complete), these findings may warrant application of this instrument in a clinical setting.

Adult↗

Lack of evidence for the transmission of JC polyomavirus between human populations.

Human polyomavirus JC virus (JCV), the causative agent of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, is ubiquitous in humans, infecting children asymptomatically then persisting in renal tissue. Since JCV DNA can readily be detected from urine, it should be a useful tool with which to study the mode of virus transmission in humans. Based on this notion, we examined the extent to which JCV was transmitted from the American to Japanese populations in Okinawa Island, Japan. (A population of about 50 000 American soldiers and families have been stationed in Okinawa since 1945.) Four JCV types (A to D) were identified in American populations in U.S.A., whereas only type B was prevalent in elder Japanese in Okinawa who had reached adulthood by 1945. Thus, types A, C, and D served as indicators of the transmission of JCV from American to Japanese populations. We then examined whether types A, C, and D were detectable in Japanese in Okinawa aged 30-50 years who may have been in contact with Americans during childhood. However, all the 125 isolates from the younger Japanese population were type B without exception. From this finding, we concluded that JCV is rarely transmitted between human populations.

Adult↗

A peculiar form of multiple cystic dilatation of the intrahepatic biliary system found in a patient with biliary atresia.

The authors report a peculiar form of intrahepatic multiple cysts of the biliary system in a patient with biliary atresia (BA). An 11-year-old girl was admitted to our institution to be investigated for repeated cholangitis occurring after the age of 10 years. She underwent a hepaticojejunostomy, caused by Type I (cyst-type) BA, in the neonatal period. The radiological examination results showed multiple cystic dilatation of the intrahepatic biliary system with a vascular structure protruding into the cyst lumen. Such cystic dilatation with a protruding vascular structure has been noted in patients with Caroli's disease and congenital hepatic fibrosis, and ductal plate malformation is shown to be responsible for the cyst formation. The authors postulate that such malformation of the intrahepatic biliary system is related to the cyst formation in our case.

Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic↗

Combined analysis with Bcl-2 and P53 immunostaining predicts poorer prognosis in prostatic carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The objective of the current study is to investigate the relationship between bcl-2 and p53 expression and prognosis in prostatic carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty-six needle core biopsy specimens obtained before any treatment were used for immunohistochemical detection of bcl-2 and p53 positivity. The relationship between these proteins was assessed by serial sections. Associations with Gleason score, clinical stage and patient survival were studied. Additionally, multivariate analysis by Cox proportional hazard model was used to determine the prognostic significance of these proteins. RESULTS: Bcl-2 positivity was found in 20% and p53 in 27% of 146 prostatic carcinomas. Both bcl-2 and p53 positivity were found only in 5%. They were expressed almost reciprocally in the tumors. P53 positivity correlated with high Gleason grade tumors. Bcl-2 positivity correlated with high T stage. Both bcl-2 and p53 positivity correlated with poor survival and short progression-free period. Multivariate analysis revealed that bcl-2 positivity was an independent prognostic indicator (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Bcl-2 and p53 were almost independently expressed in prostatic cancer. Both correlated with malignant phenotypes of prostatic cancer. The combined data from this staining further improved the ability to predict the patient prognosis.

Disease Progression↗

Application of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale among first-visit psychiatric patients: a new approach to improve its performance.

BACKGROUND: Although the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is an internationally popular self-rating scale for depression both in community and clinical settings, extant literature concerning its validity has several shortcomings. The present paper aimed to overcome these problems. METHODS: We applied newer assessment technology of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses and stratum-specific likelihood ratios (SSLRs) and cross-validated the results in the 'training' and 'testing' data sets of 591 patients representing various clinical settings all over Japan. RESULTS: The ROC analyses demonstrated that the CES-D had moderate convergent and discriminant validity to detect major depressive episodes among first-visit psychiatric patients. Selecting single optimal cutoffs, however, failed to arrive at consistent results across various settings. The efficacy of the instrument was most conveniently transportable into clinical practices when converted into SSLRs, which were 0.35 (95% CI: 0.25-0.49) for the score range 0-29, 2.3 (1.8-3.1) for the score range 30-49, and 11.7 (3.1-44.0) for the scores above 50. In addition, the SSLRs proved to be generalizable not only across various clinical settings in our sample but also across psychiatric, primary care and community samples in the published reports. CONCLUSION: Clinicians and clinical epidemiologists can apply the SSLRs of the CES-D to various settings to estimate the probability of suffering from a major depressive episode in a convenient and intuitive manner.

Comorbidity↗

Location of efferent terminals of the primate flocculus and ventral paraflocculus revealed by anterograde axonal transport methods.

Efferents of the flocculus (FL) and ventral paraflocculus (VP) were examined in seven anesthetized Macaca fuscata by anterograde axonal transport method using wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase or phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin. Several major foci of axon terminals were found in the vestibular nuclear complex and cerebellar nuclei. A difference was seen in the location of efferent terminals between the FL and VP. When the tracer covered the FL, labeled axon terminals were located within the medial and ventrolateral parts of the medial vestibular nucleus, superior vestibular nucleus and y-group. When the tracer covered the VP, labeled axon terminals were located within the caudo-ventral part of posterior interpositus and dentate nuclei, in addition to the medial and ventrolateral parts of the medial vestibular nucleus, superior vestibular nucleus and y-group. Labeled terminals were virtually absent in the basal interstitial nucleus of the cerebellum. On the points of neo- or paleo-cerebellar cortex fiber connections, these results correspond to our previous anatomical observations that the FL received mossy fiber afferents mainly from the vestibular system and nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis and very little from the pontine nuclei, whereas the VP received mossy afferents mainly from the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis and pontine nuclei and very little from the vestibular system. These anatomical observations are consistent with a hypothesis in our previous anatomical and physiological study that the primate FL and VP mediate rather different functional roles in the oculomotor control.

Animals↗

Quantitative evaluation of sympathetic nervous system dysfunction in patients with reflex sympathetic dystrophy.

The sympathetic nervous system function in 20 patients with reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) of one upper extremity was examined by a non-invasive laser Doppler method to assess fingertip blood flow and vasoconstrictor response to deep inspiration. We observed an increased blood flow but an unchanged vasoconstrictor response in the affected hand in stage 1 of the disorder, but in stage 2 there was a decreased blood flow and a stronger vasoconstriction following an inspiratory gasp. Skin blood flow and vasoconstrictor response returned to normal following successful treatment of the condition. These results suggest that in RSD patients the sympathetic nervous system function is altered and is different in the various stages. The objective method used in our study may be of value in the diagnosis and management of RSD.

Adult↗

Identification and characterization of a novel gene (neurorep 1) expressed in nerve cells and up-regulated after axotomy.

A novel gene, designated neurorep 1, was isolated by differential hybridization screening from a complementary DNA library constructed from the rat facial nucleus whose nerve had been transected seven days before sampling. In situ hybridization revealed that this gene was up-regulated in the repair stage after axotomy. The deduced protein, Neurorep 1, consists of 293 amino acid residues, and its molecular mass is approximately 34,000. Protein sequence motif search indicates that this protein has an ecto-5'-nucleotidase consensus sequence at the carboxyl terminal region. In vitro studies showed that Neurorep 1 significantly increased the activity of ecto-5'-nucleotidase, which is considered to be involved in regeneration and repair of the central nervous system. Neurorep 1 might play a significant role in the repair process of nerve tissues by its regulation of ecto-5'-nucleotidase activity.

5'-Nucleotidase↗

Small-bowel obstruction during enzymatic treatment of gastric bezoar.

A 66-year-old woman had a sudden onset of small-bowel obstruction during enzymatic treatment for gastric persimmon bezoar. Oral enzymatic therapy is the most effective method of treatment for large phytobezoars when endoscopic extraction is not possible. However, this report suggests that a further endoscopic intervention may be necessary in case the dissolved bezoars cause small-bowel obstruction during this form of therapy.

Aged↗

Transmission of human herpesvirus 7 through multigenerational families in the same household.

BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) closely resembles HHV-6 and to a lesser degree cytomegalovirus. HHV-7 infection is usually acquired during early childhood. Primary infection can cause a roseola-like illness but in most cases it is only mildly symptomatic. The majority of adults are seropositive and in contrast to HHV-6 and cytomegalovirus infection, they continue to secrete the virus in their saliva for many years. The mode of intrafamilial transmission of this virus is not well-understood. METHODS: Saliva samples for virus isolation and DNA restriction analysis were obtained from all 47 members of 6 Japanese families, including 4 families with 3 generations living in the same household. RESULTS: HHV-7 was isolated from 43 of 47 saliva samples collected from children and adult members of the 6 families (91.5%). In one family the restriction patterns of the maternal grandmother, the mother and the children were similar, and the patterns of the paternal grandmother and the father were similar. In another family the patterns of the father and 5 of 6 children were similar, and those of the mother and the other child were similar. Altogether similar HHV-7 restriction profiles with his or her mother were found in 48% of offspring, and similar profiles with his or her father were found in 28% of offspring. CONCLUSIONS: The results strongly suggested horizontal transmission of HHV-7 from grandparents to parents to children through close contact within a household. Either parent could transmit HHV-7 to the children.

Adolescent↗

Screening for depression among first-visit psychiatric patients: comparison of different scoring methods for the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale using receiver operating characteristic analyses.

The present paper aims to compare the ability of eight scoring methods for the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), one of the most widely used self-report inventories for depression, to screen for a major depressive episode. The subjects were 591 patients who constituted representative samples of the first-visit patients to 23 psychiatric hospitals and clinics all over Japan. The criterion diagnoses were given by a semi-structured interview with established inter-rater reliability. The eight alternative scoring methods included the conventional Likert method, which gives the weights 0, 1, 2 and 3 to the four anchor points of the CES-D; the presence method, which gives the weights 0, 1, 1 and 1, respectively; the GHQ method, which gives the weights 0, 0, 1 and 1, respectively; the persistence method, which gives the weights 0, 0, 0 and 1, respectively; 10-item version, 5-item version, single-item version and the algorithmic method. On the basis of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, it was found that the traditional Likert scoring method of the full CES-D performed best in detecting major depressive episodes among first-visit psychiatric patients. The presence method, the GHQ method and the 10-item version appeared to have a similar ability. The persistence method, the 5-item version and the single-item version resulted in significantly worse performance.

Adult↗

Biplane planimetry as a new method for prostatic volume calculation in transrectal ultrasonography.

BACKGROUND: We developed a new prostatic volume calculation method using the full information obtained from biplane transrectal ultrasonogram. METHODS: Based on the cross and sagittal contours, a model composed of sequentially arranged copies of the cross sections, which are reduced so that the anteroposterior diameters of the copies fit the contour of the sagittal section, was created. The volume of this model was the sum of the square of the reduced rates of the height multiplied by the area of the maximum cross section and by slice thickness. Sonograms of 150 patients who underwent ultrasonography with a transrectal chair-type probe were used for the comparison of this method with the ellipsoid volume calculation and the prolate ellipse volume calculation methods. The step-section planimetric volume calculation method was used as the gold standard. RESULTS: This new method showed the least difference from the step-section planimetry among the 3 calculation methods evaluated. CONCLUSION: The formula of the new method is very simple, so it is easy for it to be incorporated in ultrasonic consoles that are capable of measuring distance and area.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Inactivation of human viruses by povidone-iodine in comparison with other antiseptics.

Inactivation of a range of viruses, such as adeno-, mumps, rota-, polio- (types 1 and 3), coxsackie-, rhino-, herpes simplex, rubella, measles, influenza and human immunodeficiency viruses, by povidone-iodine (PVP-I) and other commercially available antiseptics in Japan was studied in accordance with the standardized protocol in vitro. In these experiments, antiseptics such as PVP-I solution, PVP-I gargle, PVP-I cream, chlorhexidine gluconate, alkyldiaminoethyl-glycine hydrochloride, benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and benzethonium chloride (BEC) were used. PVP-I was effective against all the virus species tested. PVP-I drug products, which were examined in these experiments, inactivated all the viruses within a short period of time. Rubella, measles, mumps viruses and HIV were sensitive to all of the antiseptics, and rotavirus was inactivated by BAC and BEC, while adeno-, polio- and rhinoviruses did not respond to the other antiseptics. PVP-I had a wider virucidal spectrum, covering both enveloped and nonenveloped viruses, than the other commercially available antiseptics.

Adenoviridae↗

Symptoms of neuroses: profile patterns and factor structure of clinic attenders with non-psychotic functional psychiatric disorders.

Consecutively referred out-patients (n = 102) with non-psychotic functional psychiatric disorders were examined. Nine syndrome scores (panic attack, phobic anxiety, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, dissociative, conversion, somatoform, depersonalization, and depressive) showed patterns corresponding to ICD-10 diagnoses. However, some also showed moderate correlations between each other. Factor analysis revealed that the nine syndrome scores could be accounted for by three factors-anxiety and somatic, depression and obsessive-compulsive, and hysterical. These findings cast doubt on the nosological specificity of the recent categorization of neurotic disorders. Furthermore, the symptom constellations identified in this study may be culture-bound.

Adolescent↗