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Biomedical subjects

T Kondo

Publications and source records attributed to T Kondo.

At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources

Cytotoxic activity of bryonolic acid isolated from transformed hairy roots of Trichosanthes kirilowii var. japonica.

Bryonolic acid was isolated in high yield from transformed hairy root cultures of Trichosanthes kirilowii var. Japonica. Bryonolic acid exhibited cytotoxic activity to various tumor cells in vitro, independent of cell type. Normal cells such as rat hepatocytes are less sensitive to bryonolic acid. The appearance of a DNA ladder was detected in the bryonolic acid-treated HL-60RG cells, indicating that cell death triggered by bryonolic acid is due to apoptosis.

Animals↗

Effects of vitamin B6 deficiency on the conversion ratio of tryptophan to niacin.

To investigate how vitamin B6 (B6) deficiency affects the whole metabolism of tryptophan-niacin, rats were fed for 19 days with each of the following four kinds of diets; a complete 20% casein diet (control diet), the control diet without B6, the control diet without nicotinic acid, and the control diet without nicotinic acid and B6, and the urinary excretion of such tryptophan metabolites as kynurenic acid, xanthurenic acid, nicotinamide, N1-methylnicotinamide, N1-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide, and N1-methyl-4-pyridone-3-carboxamide each and the enzyme activities involved in tryptophan-niacin pathway were measured. The urinary excretion of kynurenic acid decreased while that of xanthurenic acid increased drastically in the two B6-deficient groups, when compared with the B6-containing groups. These results indicate that the rats fed with the B6-free diets were in the vitamin-deficient state. The conversion ratio was calculated from the ratio of the urinary excretion of sum of nicotinamide, N1-methylnicotinamide, N1-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide, and N1-methyl-4-pyridone-3-carboxamide, to the Trp intake. The ratio was statistically lower in the B6-free diet than in the B6-containing diet under the niacin-free conditions.

Animals↗

Karyotypic analysis in the process of immortalization of human cells treated with 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide.

The establishment of a model system of neoplastic transformation of normal human cells has been attempted with a chemical carcinogen, 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO). In the course of these experiments, it was noticed that immortalization of human cells is a multi-step process involving several mutational genetic events. Thus, chromosomal changes which occurred during the process of immortalization of human fibroblasts were examined. To accomplish immortalization, fibroblasts obtained from an embryo were repeatedly treated with 10(-6) M 4NQO from primary culture to passage 51 (59 treatments in total). Before immortalization, some chromosomes (especially, chromosomes 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 19, and 20), were lost at a relatively high frequency. After immortalization, the chromosomes distributed so broadly in the triploid to hypotetraploid region without a distinct modal number or without marker chromosomes that it was difficult to identify the specific chromosomes related to the immortalization of human cells. No specific structural chromosomal changes were detected. Although the significance of such chromosome changes in relation to immortalization is not clear, the loss of some specific chromosomes suggests that genes which are involved in cellular aging and which suppress immortalization may have been lost in the immortalization process.

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide↗

Parkinson's disease: from etiology to treatment.

We review the recent progress in the research of the etiology, pathogenesis and treatment of Parkinson's disease. It has been postulated that mitochondrial respiratory failure and oxidative stress are two major contributors to nigral cell death in Parkinson's disease. Loss of mitochondrial complex I and the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex in the substantia nigra has been reported. Evidence to indicate oxidative stress includes a high dopamine content, increase in superoxide dismutase activities, increase in iron, and decrease in glutathione in the substantia nigra. The question posed is which one occurs first. We believe mitochondrial respiratory failure occurs first, because slowing down of the electron transport induces an increase in the formation of activated oxygen species. The primary cause of Parkinson's disease is still unknown, but we believe the interaction of environmental toxins and genetic predispositions is important. In this respect, molecular genetic studies on familial Parkinson's disease are very important.

Parkinson Disease↗

Lumbar adhesive arachnoiditis following attempted epidural anesthesia--case report.

A 30-year-old female experienced a sudden sharp pain radiating down to the left leg from the lower back at epidural intubation for anesthesia at childbirth. She continued to complain of pain in the left leg afterwards. Magnetic resonance images demonstrated a conglomeration of adherent nerve roots due to lumbar adhesive arachnoiditis. Microsurgical dissection of adherent nerve roots was performed. Her symptoms disappeared after surgery, but soon recurred, being less severe and responsive to anti-inflammatory agents. Lumbar adhesive arachnoiditis should be considered for differential diagnosis in patients presenting with back and leg pain syndrome.

Adult↗

Significance of glutathione depletion and oxidative stress in early embryogenesis in glucose-induced rat embryo culture.

Recent studies have demonstrated the protective effects of supplementing free oxygen radical scavenging enzymes against hyperglycemia-induced embryonic malformations. In this study, the glutathione (GSH)-dependent protection system in hyperglycemia-induced embryopathy was investigated. Rat embryos at the early head-fold stage (day 9.5) cultured in 66.7 mmol/l glucose for 48 h showed significant growth retardation and an increase in the frequency of malformations. The concentration of GSH and activity of the rate-limiting GSH-synthesizing enzyme, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS), significantly decreased in embryos exposed to hyperglycemia compared with controls (7.9 +/- 0.6 vs. 12.5 +/- 0.9 nmol/mg protein, P < 0.01 and 13.3 +/- 1.9 vs. 22.6 +/- 1.1 microU/mg protein, P < 0.01, respectively). Decreased activity of gamma-GCS in embryos exposed to hyperglycemia was associated with decreased expression of gamma-GCS mRNA levels. However, the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase did not significantly change in these embryos. Extracellular and intracellular free oxygen radical formations estimated by Lucigenin-dependent chemoluminescence and flow cytometric analysis using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate increased in isolated embryonic cells taken from embryos cultured under hyperglycemia. Supplementation of 2 mmol/l GSH ester into the hyperglycemic culture nearly restored GSH concentration in these embryos (11.9 +/- 0.5 vs. 12.5 +/- 0.9 nmol/mg protein) and reduced the formation of free oxygen radical species leading to almost complete normalization of growth retardation and embryonic dysmorphogenesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Stimulation of thrombopoiesis in mice by fibroblast growth factor 9.

Fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF-9), a novel member of the FGF family, was found to have thrombopoietic activity in vitro and in vivo. In an in vitro megakaryocyte colony-stimulating factor assay, anti-mouse interleukin-6 (IL-6) monoclonal antibody neutralized FGF-9 activity. This suggests that the activity may be exerted via IL-6 induction. BALB/c mice that received subcutaneous FGF-9 injections of 4 to 100 micrograms/day for 2 weeks showed a dose-dependent transient increase in peripheral platelet counts 10 to 12 days after the first treatment. Histologic studies showed a marked increase in megakaryocytes in bone marrow and extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen and the liver. Examination of changes in the DNA content of bone marrow megakaryocytes revealed that the ploidy distribution underwent a marked shift 3 days after FGF-9 injection, with a large increase in the 2N megakaryocyte population. The major modal ploidy shifted from the normal 16N to 2N. The number of megakaryocyte progenitor cells in FGF-9-treated mice increased up to 1.5-fold in the bone marrow and 10-fold in the spleen on day 6. These results indicate that FGF-9 acts on the in vivo proliferation of megakaryocytes.

Animals↗

Modality dependency of familiarity ratings of Japanese words.

Familiarity ratings for a large number of aurally and visually presented Japanese words wer measured for 11 subjects, in order to investigate the modality dependency of familiarity. The correlation coefficient between auditory and visual ratings was .808, which is lower than that observed for English words, suggesting that a substantial portion of the mental lexicon is modality dependent. It was shown that the modality dependency is greater for low-familiarity words than it is for medium- or high-familiarity words. This difference between the low- and the medium- or high-familiarity words has a relationship to orthography. That is, the dependency is larger in words consisting only of kanji, which may have multiple pronunciations and usually represent meaning, than it is in words consisting only of hiragana or katakana, which have a single pronunciation and usually do not represent meaning. These results indicate that the idiosyncratic characteristics of Japanese orthography contribute to the modality dependency.

Adolescent↗

A case of massive adrenal malignant pheochromocytoma: management of a large pheochromocytoma.

A 69-year-old man was referred to our hospital for a left abdominal tumor measuring about 30 cm in diameter. Laboratory examination revealed an elevation of norepinephrine in plasma and of its metabolites in urine. CT scan disclosed a huge cystic tumor in the retroperitoneal space and an enlarged aortocaval lymph node, suggesting a diagnosis of malignant pheochromocytoma. The hemodynamic studies showed low blood volume and high vascular resistance, and therefore, he was treated with vasodilators and volume expansion. His hemodynamic status normalized and a complete excision was performed. Pathological examination revealed that the patient had a pheochromocytoma with metastasis to a lymph node. The total weight of the tumor was 5,930 g. Since pheochromocytomas can become a large with a risk of malignancy, they should be surgically excised as completely as possible with further treatment after making a definite diagnosis.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

[A 49-year-old man with progressive dysarthria, dysphagia, and left hemiparesis].

We report a 49-year-old man who presented progressive dysarthria, dysphagia, and left hemiparesis. The patient was well until June 28th of 1993 when he noted 'weakness' in his both legs; despite his weakness, he could play golf on that day. In the beginning of July, he noted difficulty in swallowing solid foods. He was admitted to the neurosurgery service of our hospital on July 15th of 1993 and a neurologic consultation was asked on July 17th. Neurologic examination at that time revealed an alert but somewhat childish man who appeared to have some difficulty in paying attention to questions. He was disoriented to time and showed difficulty in recent memory and calculation. Higher cerebral functions were intact. The optic fundi were normal; pupils were isocoric and reacted to light promptly; ocular movements were intact, however, he showed difficulty in convergence. Facial sensation and facial muscles were intact. He had no deafness. He showed slurred speech and difficulty in swallowing solid foods. The remaining cranial nerves were intact. Motor-wise, he was able to walk normally and no weakness or atrophy was noted. Mild ataxia was noted in the finger-to-nose and the heel-to-knee test on the left. Muscle stretch reflexes were normal and symmetric, however, the plantar response was extensor bilaterally. Sensation was intact and no meningeal signs were noted. General routine laboratory findings were unremarkable. CSF was under a normal pressure containing 1 cell/microliter, 68 mg/dl of protein, and 54 mg/dl of glucose. Cranial CT scan showed low density areas involving the pons, midbrain, left thalamus, and the left parietal cortex. In MRI, these areas presented low signal intensity in T1-weighted images and high signal intensity in T2-weighted in images. The brain stem appeared swollen. Gadolinium enhancement was negative. He was given a course of steroid pulse with 1 g/day of DIV methylprednisolone for three days followed by oral steroid. He showed only temporary improvement in swallowing. In the subsequent course, he showed progressive deterioration in dysarthria and dysphagia. A biopsy was performed on the left parietal lobe lesion. After biopsy, he was treated with steroid and glycerol without improvement. A course of chemotherapy with procarbazine, MCNU, and vincristine was given; he did not respond to chemotherapy. His left hemiparesis deteriorated. He developed aspiration pneumonia from dysphagia and expired on October 22, 1993. The patient was discussed in a neurologic CPC, and the chief discussant arrived at the conclusion that the patient had astrocytoma grade III involving the pons, midbrain, thalamus, and the parietal cortex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Brain Neoplasms↗

[A 86-year-old woman with dementia, gait and speech disturbance, and right hemiparesis].

We report a 86-year-old woman who developed dementia, gait disturbance, speech disturbance, and right hemiparesis. The patient was well until March of 1979 when upon wakening up on one morning she noted slurring of her speech and weakness in her left upper and lower extremities. These symptoms cleared up during the next several months, however, she noted weakness in her left leg again in May 1985. In 1988, her posture became stooped and she walked in small steps. In 1990, she developed memory disturbance and difficulty in naming. In March 1993, she developed weakness in her right hand; she was treated with aspirin and amantadine HCl, however, she deteriorated during the next two week period, and was admitted to our hospital on March 27, 1993. On admission, she appeared alert, however, she could not answer verbally to questions; she could only utter unintelligible sounds. Apparently she was markedly demented. Her blood pressure was 170/98 mmHg, and general physical examination was unremarkable. Cranial nerves were grossly normal except for marked non-fluency in her word expression. She could not stand or walk, and apparently her right upper and lower extremities were paralyzed with some contracture. Deep reflexes were normally active without asymmetry. Chaddock sign was positive bilaterally. Sensory examination was difficult. Pertinent laboratory examination included WBC 13,000/microliters, BUN 152mg/dl, creatinine 3.75mg/dl, CRP 20.1mg/dl; a chest X-ray film revealed pneumonic shadow in the upper and the middle right lung fields. Cranial CT scan revealed multiple lacunar infarctions in both basal ganglia and cerebral white matters; periventricular lucency was also noted. She was treated with antibiotics and intravenous fluid. Acid-fast bacilli were recovered from sputum, and she was transferred to another hospital for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. After its treatment she returned to our hospital on July 8, 1993, when her condition was complicated with aspiration pneumonia. On admission, she was semicomatose, and no intelligible words were heard. Right facial paresis of the central type was noted. She was unable to stand or walk, and her right upper and lower extremities were paretic. Deep reflexes were increased with extensor toe sign on the right. She was treated with chemotherapy and intravenous fluid, however, her clinical course was complicated with respiratory as well as urinary tract infections. She developed cardiac as well as renal failure and expired on September 25, 1993.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aged↗

[Surgical treatment of metastatic lung tumor from colorectal cancer].

We have experienced thirty-one operations of metastatic lung tumors from colorectal cancer. Various factors affecting prognosis are studied based on 5-year survival in this report. Overall 5-year survival rate was 32%. Statistical significance was present in the relationship between the prognosis and both maximum diameter of lesions and the disease free intervals (DFI) after surgery for metastatic lesions. Though not significant, sex, stage of primary lesion, nodal involvement, surgical procedure, postoperative serum CEA were likely affecting factors on the prognosis. In contrast, there were no relationship between the prognosis and following factors: age, location of the metastatic lesion, DFI after the operation for primary lesion and chemotherapy. Although pulmonary metastasis is essentially an index of the advanced state of malignant diseases leading to poor prognosis, long-term survivors were encountered in our series of surgical treatments for pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancers. It was concluded to be important to make efforts to extend the indication for surgical treatment, since the appropriate selection of patients revealed to give excellent results from our experience of colorectal cancer. In order to improve the prognosis, early detection of pulmonary metastases is quite important, since the incidence of nodal involvement proved to be higher in lesions with larger diameter resulting in inferior survivals from the present study. In addition, low incidence of nodal involvement in small-sized lesion may support possible applicability of thoracoscopic surgery in the excision of metastatic tumors locating at peripheral lesion.

Adult↗

[Elastase].

Elastases are unique among the proteases in that they are capable of hydrolyzing the scleroprotein elastin. The enzymes include pancreatic elastases 1 (Protease E) and 2, and neutrophil elastase. These three elastases also have esterase and amidase activity toward synthetic substrates such as succinyl-trialanine-p-nitroanilide. Although the three enzymes are similar to each other in enzyme activity, they are quite different in immunoactivity. Therefore, each elastase has its own specific immunoassay either by RIA or EIA. Serum immunoreactive pancreatic elastases reflect disease conditions of pancreatic diseases, especially acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. On the other hand, serum neutrophil elastase increases in various inflammatory diseases or conditions.

Humans↗

[A 51-year-old man with early onset parkinsonism].

We report of 51-year-old man with early onset parkinsonism. The patient was well until 38 years of age, when he noted a difficulty in the use of his right leg; this difficulty improved after he received a medicine from his physician. He did not take medicine regularly, and he noted difficulty in standing up from a chair and in rolling over at age 40. Tremor was not a feature, but he noted slowness in his movements at age 42; at age 49, he noted diurnal fluctuation in his symptoms and at times he experienced hallucination. He was admitted to our hospital in September of 1992 for the first time when he was 50-year-old. At that time, neurologic examination revealed an alert and somewhat bradyphrenic man; Hasegawa dementia rating scale was 20/30. Cranial nerves were intact except for masked face and small voice. He showed stooped posture and small step gait cogwheel rigidity was noted in the four limbs more on the left; tremor was absent. Deep reflexes were within normal range and the sensation was intact. As he showed diurnal fluctuation in his symptoms, his medication was switched to levodopa 3,000 mg/day without a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor. He was discharged for out patient follow up. But he did not take drugs regularly, and his neurologic condition deteriorated; he was admitted to another hospital. Neurologic examination at that time was essentially similar to that of his first admission to our hospital, except that he showed more severe rigidity and akinesia; again tremor was not detected. His cranial CT scan showed a mild ventricular dilatation without cortical or brain stem atrophy. During his hospital stay, he developed episodes of oculogyric crisis during peak dose of levodopa, and orthostatic hypotension. He developed pneumonia and expired on October 28, 1993. He was discussed in a neurological CPC, and the chief discussion arrived at the conclusion that the patient had early onset Parkinson's disease of Lewy body type. As differential diagnoses, early onset parkinsonism without Lewy body, pure form of diffuse Lewy body disease, pallidoluysian atrophy, and other conditions were considered; however, all of those possibilities were excluded. Early onset parkinsonism without Lewy body would have much earlier onset than this patient, and diffuse Lewy body disease would show more profound dementia 13 years after the onset. Pallidoluysian atrophy would be complicated with some dystonic features. Post-mortem examination showed marked discoloration and degeneration of the substantia nigra. The degeneration was most prominent in the ventrolateral tier of the substantia nigra.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Brain↗

[A case of focal encephalitis with psychological symptoms similar to chorea minor].

We reported a patient with choreic movements, emotional lability, and compulsive-obsessive behavior that developed 4 weeks after onset of fever and lasted for several years. There was no evidence of streptococcal infection or rheumatic fever. T2-weighted MRI showed hyperintense lesions in the bilateral caudate nuclei and putamina. A diagnosis of focal encephalitis was made according to initial fever, convulsion, and CSF pleocytosis. Treatments with haloperidol and prednisolone were effective in some degree. The neurobehavioral syndrome as well as the involuntary movements in this patient can be attributed to the striatal damage, which may disrupt the basal ganglia-limbic-frontal lobe tracts. A symptomatic similarity between the syndrome in this patient and chorea minor suggests a striatal damage in chorea minor, where the causative lesions remain unknown.

Affective Symptoms↗

[A 74-year-old man with urinary incontinence, right leg weakness and multiple cranial nerve palsies].

We report a 74-year-old man with a lung cancer, who developed right leg weakness, neurogenic bladder, and multiple cranial nerve palsies. The patient was well until December of 1992, when he was 74-year-old, when he noted transient double vision; in February of 1993, he noted numb sensation and weakness in his right leg. Later in the same month, he developed overflow incontinence of urine and weakness in his right face. He also noted deafness in his left ear (he had a marked loss of hearing in his right ear since childhood because of otitis media). His weakness in his right leg had progressed, and he was admitted to our service on March 19, 1993. On admission, he was afebrile and BP was 130/50 mmHg. General physical examination was unremarkable. On neurologic examination, he was alert and oriented to all spheres; no dementia was noted nor were detected aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia. His optic fundi were unremarkable; ocular movement appeared normal, however, he complained of diplopia in far vision. Sensation of the face was intact. He had right facial palsy of peripheral type; he was unable to close his right eye, and Bell's phenomenon was observed on attempted eye closure. On the left side, he had facial spasm. He had marked bilateral deafness. He had no dysarthria or dysphagia. The remaining of the cranial nerves were intact. Motor wise, he was unable to stand or walk alone; weakness did not appear to account for his difficulty in gait; manual muscle testing revealed 4/5 weakness in his tibialis anterior muscle, 1/5 in the peroneus longus, 0/5 in his extensor hallucis longus and extensor digitorum longus, all on the right side. Brachioradial and quadriceps femoris reflexes were increased to 3/4; plantar response was equivocal on the right side, and flexor on the left. Sensory examination revealed loss of touch and pain sensation in the L5 and S1 distributions in his right leg: vibration and position sensations were also diminished in his right foot. He had overflow urinary incontinence with loss of bladder sensation. Marked nuchal stiffness was noted, however, no Kernig's sign or eye ball tenderness was present. Pertinent laboratory findings were as allows; WBC 8,100/microliters, Ht 42.5%, platelet 326,000/microliters, TP 6.8 g/dl, BUN 16 mg/dl, creatinine 0.54 mg/dl, glucose 95 mg/dl, Na 136 mEq/l, K 4.4 mEq/l, Cl 100 mEq/l; liver profile was normal; CEA 436.6 ng/ml, CA19-93 U/ml; urinalysis was normal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adenocarcinoma↗