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Biomedical subjects

T Tanizawa

Publications and source records attributed to T Tanizawa.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Improvement in atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia in patients in whom Helicobacter pylori was eradicated.

BACKGROUND: Glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia are precancerous lesions; whether Helicobacter pylori eradication affects these lesions is controversial. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether H. pylori eradication is associated with improvement in glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia after at least 1 year. DESIGN: Single-blind, uncontrolled prospective trial. SETTING: Academic gastroenterology clinic in Japan. PATIENTS: 163 consecutive patients with dyspepsia and H. pylori infection. INTERVENTION: One-week course of a proton-pump inhibitor and antibiotic therapy. MEASUREMENTS: Endoscopic examination with antral and corporal biopsy was done before treatment and at 1 to 3 and 12 to 15 months after treatment. Gastritis, atrophy, and metaplasia were graded according to the updated Sydney System. RESULTS: In the 115 patients in whom H. pylori was eradicated, inflammation and mean neutrophil activity had decreased by 1 to 3 months, and both glandular atrophy in the corpus and intestinal metaplasia in the antrum had decreased by 12 to 15 months. Glandular atrophy in the corpus improved in 34 (89%) of 38 patients with atrophy before treatment, and intestinal metaplasia in the antrum improved in 28 (61%) of 46 patients who had metaplasia at baseline. In the 48 patients in whom eradication was unsuccessful, no significant histologic changes were observed. CONCLUSION: In the year after successful H. pylori eradication, precancerous lesions improved in most patients.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗
PubMed2001

Molecular characterization of the genomic breakpoint junction in the t(11;18) (q21;q21) translocation of a gastric MALT lymphoma.

The t(11;18) translocation, fusing the API2 and MALT1 genes, is one of the most frequent chromosomal translocations associated with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas. The translocation breakpoints have been cloned and characterized at the mRNA sequence level. Although the genomic organization of the API2 gene has been described, hitherto the genomic sequence of MALT1 remains unknown. To gain some insight into the mechanism that generates this translocation, we cloned and sequenced an API2-MALT1 fused transcript as well as genomic DNA of the t(11;18) translocation from a MALT lymphoma. We localized the API2 breakpoint within intron 7. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the genomic breakpoint junction possesses the consensus heptamers of immunoglobulin V(D)J recombination signal sequences, all the matches being completely present on the API2 allele and five of seven matches on the MALT1 allele. These data suggest that the translocation in the MALT lymphoma might have been mediated in part by an aberrant V(D)J recombination event.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Early changes of bone histology and circulating markers of bone turnover after parathyroidectomy in hemodialysis patients with severe hyperparathyroidism.

AIMS: There have so far been no reports on the changes in bone histology in the early period after parathyroidectomy and autografting (PTX-AG). We investigated the effects of PTX-AG on bone histology during the initial 12 weeks after undergoing these surgical procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed bone histomorphometry 3 times (before as well as 4 and 12 weeks after PTX-AG) in 6 patients and 2 times (before and 4 weeks after PTX-AG) in 3 hemodialysis patients. In addition, the circulating parameters of bone metabolism were also assessed before and after PTX-AG in all 9 patients. The changes in the histomorphometric (static) parameters between pre-surgery and 4 weeks after surgery and those between 4 weeks and 12 weeks after surgery were assessed by the t-test while changes in the circulating parameters of bone metabolism were analyzed by Friedman's test. RESULTS: Bone formation parameters including carboxy terminal propeptide of human type I procollagen (PICP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and intact osteocalcin (i-OC) were all extremely high before surgery. These parameters initially increased after PTX-AG and thereafter gradually declined. In contrast, the circulating bone resorption parameters including tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and deoxypyridinoline (Dpyr) were also extremely high at baseline but markedly declined after operation. Osteoid-related parameters including osteoid volume (OV/BV), osteoid surface (OS/BS), and osteoid thickness (O.Th) all initially increased at 4 weeks after PTX-AG. In contrast, osteoblast surface (Ob.S/BS), osteoclast surface (Oc.S/BS), eroded surface (ES/BS), and fibrosis volume (Fb.V/TV) all decreased at 4 weeks after surgery, while Ob.S/BS decreased further at 12 weeks in cases 1-6. Although bone mineralization was ongoing at 4 weeks after surgery, both the mineral apposition rate (MAR) and bone formation rate (BFR) remained below the mean for normal individuals. CONCLUSIONS: The circulating bone formation parameters and osteoid-related parameters showed an initial increase after PTX-AG. The concomitant decline in the circulating bone resorption parameters reflected the reduction in bone resorption. BFR decreased, but bone mineralization did not stop after PTX-AG.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed2000

A case of Walker-Warburg syndrome.

Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by type II lissencephaly, cerebellar and retinal anomalies, and congenital muscular dystrophy. We report a female diagnosed with WWS based on clinical criteria. This patient was found to have fetal hydrocephalus on ultrasonography at 29 weeks of gestation, and exhibited severe hypotonia, ocular malformations, and hydrocephalus at birth. MRI revealed type II lissencephaly, hydrocephalus, and other severe brain malformations. Genetic analysis was performed to distinguish WWS from severe Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD), which has numerous findings in common. This revealed no expression of the founder haplotype or single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) abnormalities. Since the life expectancy of patients with FCMD is longer, differential diagnosis should be performed precisely.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed2000

Reduction in bone formation and elevated bone resorption in ovariectomized rats with special reference to acute inflammation.

Changes in bone modeling and remodeling in the tibia of growing rats within 30 days of ovariectomy (ovx) were evaluated by histomorphometric, mechanical; and biochemical means. Three days after ovx, suppressed bone formation was seen. This was shown by reduced osteoid volume, osteoblast surface, and bone formation rate in the secondary spongiosa, and a reduced longitudinal growth rate in the growth plate. In addition, the alkaline phosphatase and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity in bone marrow supernatants was suppressed in conjunction with elevated serum sialic acid levels, indicating inflammation. Although estrogen deprivation itself may provoke the inflammatory process, the serum sialic acid level in the ovx group returned to the baseline level within 5 days after surgery, while that of estradiol in the ovx group remained consistently lower. This suggests that surgical stress, not estrogen deprivation, is the primary cause of the inflammatory response shortly after ovx. A significant difference (p < 0.01) between the ovx and sham rats was seen in the osteoclast surface, which peaked on day 7 in the ovx rats. On day 14 postovariectomy, the bone formation rate peaked and remained constant until day 30. In the ovx rats, there was a sustained reduction in the serum albumin level until day 30. Estrogen deprivation may be the primary cause of these changes, because both surgical ovx and medical oophorectomy with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (G(nRHa) reduce the serum albumin level. In numerous studies dealing with changes after ovx in rats, we have observed: 1) a transient reduction in bone formation in relation to inflammatory changes evoked by ovx surgery, and 2) a sustained reduction in the serum albumin level for at least 30 days after ovx that is possibly due to estrogen deprivation.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed2000

A multicenter trial of mizoribine compared with placebo in children with frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The use of corticosteroids or cytotoxic/immunosuppressive agents such as cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, and cyclosporine for the treatment of frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome (FRNS) is limited because of their adverse effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mizoribine, a relatively new immunosuppressive drug developed in Japan, in children with FRNS. METHODS: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial was carried out in children, from 2 to 19 years old, with FRNS. At relapse, patients were treated with prednisolone. According to a dynamic allocation, mizoribine or a placebo was concurrently administered to each patient. Prednisolone was gradually tapered and discontinued within 12 weeks. The test drug was maintained for 48 weeks. The primary end point was the relapse rate (the total number of relapses/the total treatment days for all patients). Analyses were performed according to the intention-to-treat principle. RESULTS: The primary analysis was conducted on 99 mizoribine- and 98 placebo-treated patients. The relapse rate was lower in the mizoribine group than in the placebo group (0.0055 vs. 0.0067; ratio 0.81, 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.05, P = 0.12). The hazard ratio of the cumulative remission rate between the two groups was 0.79 (95% CI, 0. 57 to 1.08). In the subgroups consisting of patients 10 years old or younger, the relapse rate ratio between the mizoribine subgroup (54 patients) and the placebo subgroup (57 patients) was 0.66 (95% CI, 0. 44 to 0.94, P = 0.017). The hazard ratio of the cumulative remission rate between the two subgroups was 0.56 (95% CI, 0.37 to 0.85, P = 0. 007). Hyperuricemia was the most common adverse event with mizoribine (16%), but was transient. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the placebo, mizoribine significantly decreased the relapse rate and prolonged the remission period in the subgroup consisting of patients 10 years old or younger. This drug may be useful in young children with FRNS who generally relapse more frequently than older children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Endoscopic and histological comparison of nonulcer dyspepsia with and without Helicobacter pylori infection evaluated by the modified Sydney system.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to identify endoscopic features associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in patients with nonulcer dyspepsia. METHODS: A total of 50 infected patients with nonulcer dyspepsia who underwent endoscopy with antral and corporal biopsies and 50 patients matched for age and sex but with nonulcer dyspepsia without H. pylori were reviewed retrospectively by three endoscopists blinded to the H. pylori status and the patient's history. The endoscopic findings of gastritis, classified by a modification of the Sydney system as present or absent, were evaluated, and the histological severity was graded by the updated Sydney system. RESULTS: For endoscopic features, the odds ratio was 53.1 (95% confidence interval, 6.8-414.9) for edema, 18.8 (5.8-60.5) for erythema with reddish streaks excluded, 0.0275 (0.0002-0.477) for reddish streaks, 17.4 (0.97-313.7) for friability, 14.2 (5.1-40.0) for exudate, 17.2 (2.2-137.6) for flat erosions, 2.54 (0.81-7.94) for raised erosions, 40.1 (2.3-694.5) for rugal hypertrophy, 19.1 (2.4-151.6) for rugal atrophy, 96.2 (23.4-395.9) for a vascular pattern, 0.125 (0.010-1.06) for bleeding spots, and 21.0 (2.6-166.5) for nodularity. The histological severity of inflammation, neutrophil activity, and atrophy in the antrum and corpus and of metaplasia in the antrum was greater in the infected patients than in the noninfected patients. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic features associated with H. pylori were a vascular pattern, edema, rugal hypertrophy, nodularity, rugal atrophy, erythema with reddish streaks excluded, flat erosions, and exudate. These endoscopic features were associated with the histological findings of inflammation, neutrophil activity, atrophy, and metaplasia.

Atrophy↗
PubMed2000

[Regional differences of in vivo proton MR spectroscopy in developing human brain].

The purpose of this study was to clarify regional differences in proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in the developing human brain. Proton MR spectra were obtained from 24 infants aged 0 to 24 months old. Proton MR spectroscopy was performed on a 1.5 Tesla clinical MR unit using a 3D-chemical shift imaging sequence (3D-CSI). MR spectra obtained from voxels in frontal white matter and those in parietal white matter were compared. The NAA/Cho ratios of the frontal region were lower than those of the parietal region at birth but increased rapidly during the first six months of life. The rate of increase was reduced in the second year of life. In contrast, NAA/Cho ratios in paracentral areas were already high at birth but increased slowly through the first two years of life. Cho/Cr ratios of the frontal region were stable during the first year of life and started to decrease in the second year of life. In the parietal region, Cho/Cr ratios were decreased throughout infancy. Regional differences in 1H-MRS spectra were apparent during infancy, and these differences were suggested to reflect regional differences in the maturation of the developing human brain.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Treatment with active vitamin D metabolites and concurrent treatments in the prevention of hip fractures: a retrospective study.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of treatment with active vitamin D metabolites and other concurrent medication on the prevention of hip fractures in elderly women. We inspected the medical records of the entire female population over 65 years of age on Sado Island, and followed a total of 11,377 women for a 3-year period. Of these, 1208 osteoporotic patients were treated with either 1,25-(OH)2D3 or 1 alpha-(OH)D3. The 765 patients who received the minimum effective dosage for more than 6 months made up the 'treatment group'. Nearly half these patients were also treated with either calcitonin or calcium. The 443 patients who received treatment with active vitamin D metabolites, but at a dosage or for a duration that did not meet the criteria for the treatment group, were deemed the 'ineffective group'. The remaining 10,169 women were the 'non-treatment group'. Fractures in the non-treatment group occurred at a rate of 39.8 fractures/10,000 person-years. The rate in the treatment group was 10.8, which was significantly lower (p = 0.039). Interestingly, the fracture rate after ceasing treatment was 52.1, which was significantly higher (p = 0.002) than the rate in patients receiving treatment. No statistical differences in the fracture rate were found between the ineffective, non-treatment and post-treatment groups. A reduction in the fracture rate was observed only in the treatment subgroup that did not also receive calcitonin (p = 0.042), and not in the subgroup that also received calcitonin therapy (p = 0.333). However, there was no statistical difference in the hip fracture rates between these two subgroups (p = 0.157) and the actual number of fractures was minimal (0 vs 2). Therefore, in this study, the advantage of treatment with active vitamin D alone over combined treatment with calcitonin seems to be marginal. IN CONCLUSION: (1) treatment with active vitamin D metabolites and with combined therapy may be marginally effective in preventing hip fractures, and (2) stopping the treatment clearly increases the risk of hip fractures.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1999

Peripheral quantitative computed tomography of the femoral neck in 60 Japanese women.

Peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) is able to evaluate trabecular and cortical bone separately, and to determine geometric properties from cross-sectional images for noninvasive assessments of mechanical strength. In order to assess the diagnostic value of pQCT of the femoral neck, 60 healthy women were examined with a new pQCT machine, XCT-3000 (Norland-Stratec, Germany), which is suitable for direct measurement of the hip. The region of interest chosen was the center of the femoral neck. pQCT of the distal radius and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the lumbar spine and femoral neck were also performed. The study demonstrated that total bone mineral density (BMD) (femoral MD) and trabecular BMD (femoral-TBD) decreased with advancing age. Percent cortical area showed a small but significant decrease with advancing age and % trabecular area increased slightly. Both the endosteal perimeter and the periosteal perimeter were relatively constant with aging. Bone strength index (BSI) and stress-strain index (SSI), which reflect the mechanical strength of bone, declined with advancing age, especially after menopause. Femoral TBD correlated strongly with femoral neck BMD by DXA and L2-L4 BMD by DXA but femoral-CBD did not correlate with femoral neck BMD by DXA. Volumetric BMD of the femoral neck and distal radius were closely correlated. It is concluded that (1) cortical thinning occurs with aging by endocortical resorption and loss of femoral-TBD; (2) loss of femoral-CBD occurred at a slower rate than radial CBD, perhaps due to the weight-bearing effect; (3) biomechanical parameters such as the BSI and SSI may reflect increasing fragility of the femoral neck in pre- and postmenopausal women; (4) pQCT of the femoral neck had diagnostic value at least equivalent to that of DXA or pQCT of the distal radius.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1999

Local effects of transforming growth factor-beta1 on rat calvaria: changes depending on the dose and the injection site.

Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) has opposite effects on osteoblastic cells in vitro, namely an inhibitory or stimulatory effect on cell differentiation. Because these effects are dependent on TGF-beta1 concentration or culture condition, we investigated whether the in vivo effects of TGF-beta1 on bone formation in infant rat calvaria were affected by the dose or the injection site. Human platelet-derived TGF-beta1 was injected subcutaneously onto the periosteal surface of parietal bone of 4-week-old rats at doses of 5 or 20ng/100microl per animal for 14 days, and the local effect on bone formation was examined by bone histomorphometry. TGF-beta1 treatment for 7 days decreased the mineral apposition rate, bone formation rate, and elongated mineralization lag time at the injection site. This change became more prominent when treatment continued for 14 days. These changes were restricted to the TGF-beta1-exposed area. Multiple subcutaneous injections of a relatively high dose (200ng/100microl per animal) of TGF-beta1 induced woven bone formation, in addition to marked inhibition of bone formation rate and prolongation of mineralization lag time. On the other hand, direct exposure of TGF-beta1 in the subperiosteal layer induced woven bone with periosteal cell proliferation even at a single injection of a low dose (5 or 50ng/25 microl) of TGF-beta1. In conclusion, the in vivo effects of TGF-beta1 on bone formation varied depending on its concentration and injection site. Also, subcutaneous injection of relatively low doses of TGF-beta1 inhibited local lamellar bone formation.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Number of osteoprogenitor cells in human bone marrow markedly decreases after skeletal maturation.

Pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells in bone marrow differentiate to osteoblast progenitor cells. When the bone marrow cells are cultured in vitro, they form colony-forming units-fibroblastic (CFU-Fs) with exhibiting osteoblastic features such as expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and formation of calcified nodules ex vivo. This article describes the effect of growth, maturation, and aging of the skeleton on human CFU-Fs harvested from human iliac bone marrow. Human bone marrow cells were harvested from the ilia of 49 women, and were cultured ex vivo for examination. The 49 subjects ranged in age from 4 to 88 years and were without metabolic bone disease. These aspirated bone marrow cells from human ilium exhibited osteoblastic phenotype such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, expression of osteocalcin (OSC) and parathyroid hormone-receptor (PTH-R) mRNA, and the formation of calcified nodules in vitro. The number of ALP-positive CFU-Fs and the ALP activity were quantified. The highest levels of ALP-positive CFU-Fs were observed in the young group, particularly in those under 10 years of age. The levels of ALP-positive CFU-Fs declined sharply after 10 years of age; those above 20 years of age exhibited a lower number of ALP-positive CFU-Fs, with a gradual decline with increasing age. These results indicate that change in the number of ALP-positive CFU-Fs may be associated with skeletal growth and maturation. The results also show that osteoblastic features such as ALP activity and capability of formation of calcification nodules were maintained even in the older subjects. These findings suggest that decreased activity of bone formation in the aged subjects could be, in part, caused by the decreased number of osteoprogenitor cells differentiating into osteoblasts because the number of ALP-positive CFU-Fs was one of the indices exhibiting bone-forming activity in the human marrow stromal cells.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Microstructure of the trabecula and cortex of iliac bone in primary hyperparathyroidism patients determined using histomorphometry and node-strut analysis.

The purpose of this study was to use histomorphometry to compare the microstructure of trabecular and cortical bone in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PH) with that seen in osteoporosis. Histomorphometric and node-strut analyses of iliac bones were performed on 11 female patients with PH (61.3 +/- 8.0 years old) and 61 age-matched female patients with involutional osteoporosis (OP) (63.6 +/- 5.6 years old). Cancellous bone volume (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), and wall thickness (W.Th) were not significantly different in these two groups. The bone formation rate (BFR) tended to be higher in the PH group than in the OP group. The number of nodes (N.Nd/TV) and node-to-node strut length (Nd.Nd/TV) were significantly higher in the PH group than in the OP group. The number of termini (N.Tm/TV) and terminus-to-terminus strut length/total strut length (Tm.Tm/TSL) were significantly lower in the PH group; cortical porosity was significantly higher in the PH group than in the OP group. No correlation was found between age and N.Nd in the PH group, but there was a negative correlation between age and N.Nd in the OP group. Our results show that trabecular connectivity was maintained while cortical porosity deteriorated in patients with PH compared with OP. These results suggest that there are microstructural differences between PH and OP in cancellous and cortical bone that result from the bone remodeling sequence in humans.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Changes in cortical width with bone turnover in the three different endosteal envelopes of the ilium in postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Histological indicators of bone turnover were compared in the three endosteal envelopes (cancellous, endocortical, and intracortical) of iliac bone specimens obtained from 82 osteoporotic women, to assess the correlation between bone turnover and bone volume in different remodeling sites. Although there was a significant but weak correlation between the mineral apposition rate (MAR), a histological indicator of bone formation at the basic multicellular unit (BMU) level, and the three endosteal envelopes, the bone formation rate corrected for bone surface (BFR/BS) and mineralizing surface (MS/BS), indicators of the rate of bone formation reflecting activation frequency, in the cancellous and endocortical envelopes was more closely related to the rate in the intracortical envelope. The endocortical BFR/BS and MS/BS were higher than the rate in the cancellous envelope (1.6-2.1 times and 2.0-2.4 times, respectively), indicating a higher turnover rate in the endocortical envelope. According to stepwise regression analysis of the significant determinants contributing to bone mass, several histological determinants relating to bone turnover were identified: (1) trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) was a positive determinant, whereas age and cancellous bone volume referent BFR (BFR/BV) were negatively correlated determinants of the cancellous bone volume (BV/TV) (R2 = 0.50, p < 0.001); and (2) the endocortical wall thickness (W.Th) of the given side and the cortical width (Ct.Wi) of the opposite side were positive determinants, whereas the cancellous osteoid surface (OS/BS), cancellous MAR, and endocortical eroded surface (ES/BS) of the given side were the negatively correlated determinants of the Ct.Wi of the thicker cortex (R2 = 0.62, p < 0.001). In the thinner cortex, the endocortical W.Th of the given side and Ct.Wi of the opposite side were only used as the positive determinants of the Ct.Wi of the given side (R2 = 0.55, p < 0.001). In addition: (3) a significant but weak correlation was found using the intracortical BFR/BV as a positively correlated determinant of the cortical porosity (Ct.Po) in the thicker cortex (R2 = 0.17, p < 0.01). Although these histological determinants do not fully explain the mechanisms of bone loss, an increased rate of bone turnover contributes to bone loss not only in the cancellous and intracortical envelopes, but also in the endocortical envelope, indicating increased endocortical bone resorption in osteoporosis.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Three-dimensional microstructural analysis of human trabecular bone in relation to its mechanical properties.

The purpose of this preliminary study is to explore the relationship between elastic modulus, bone mineral density (BMD), and trabecular microstructure in three dimensions. Twenty cubes of trabecular bone were processed from two lumbar vertebrae obtained from one individual. The BMD of each cube was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Each cube was serially scanned by microcomputed tomography to produce three-dimensional data sets. By analyzing these data sets, three-dimensional trabecular microstructural indices of connectivity density and fractal dimension were calculated as well as histomorphometric parameters. The cubes were tested mechanically in a nondestructive manner for measurement of their elastic modulus. This preliminary study showed that: (1) bone mass index is correlated with mechanical properties, with coefficients of correlation ranging from 0.552 to 0.601; and (2) when controlling for BMD, no association could be detected between measures of structural complexity (connectivity density and fractal dimension) and elastic modulus in the craniocaudal direction of human vertebral bodies.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1999

Magnetic resonance imaging of pseudotumors of the craniovertebral junction in long-term hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pseudotumors of the craniovertebral junction (PTCVJ) are observed in long-term hemodialysis (HD) patients. There are neither criteria for diagnosis nor guidelines for screening. We attempted to determine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings that could be used to detect PTCVJ, to determine the prevalence of PTCVJ, and to evaluate whether destructive spondyloarthropathy (DSA) might be a yardstick for selection of patients for MRI examination for PTCVJ. METHODS: MRI were examined in 19 DSA patients (8 males, 11 females, age 61.4 +/- 7.3 years, HD duration 17.0 +/- 4.4 years) and in 20 sex-, age-, and HD-duration-matched non-DSA patients (9 males, 11 females, age 57.5 +/- 6.6 years, HD duration 17.7 +/- 4.9 years). We evaluated MRI characteristics of PTCVJ according those which occur due to rheumatoid arthritis. RESULTS: PTCVJ were characterized as follows: disappearance of fat pads in the upper region (supradental PTCVJ), intensity change of the 'predental triangle' in the anterior region (predental PTCVJ), and thickening of cruciform ligaments (retrodental PTCVJ). The prevalence of PTCVJ among patients undergoing HD more than 10 years was high (26 out of 39; 66.7%). The prevalence of PTCVJ was not different between DSA and non-DSA groups. CONCLUSION: We verified that the above MRI findings might be helpful in the detection of PTCVJ. These findings were observed frequently and independently also in patients with DSA.

Amyloidosis↗