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Biomedical subjects

T Umeda

Publications and source records attributed to T Umeda.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Reduction of leptin precedes fat loss from running exercise in insulin-resistant rats.

Serum concentrations of leptin, a hormone secreted into the circulation by adipocytes, correlate with body mass index. Circulating of leptin is thought to signal the brain in patients with hyperinsulinemia, a condition reported to be preventable and testable by exercise training. In the present experiments, sucrose-fed rats had reduced concentrations of leptin in portal venous blood after 4 weeks of nonforced wheel-running exercise (1.1 +/- 0.1 vs. 6.2 +/- 1.8 ng/mL, in nonexercised sucrose-fed rats, P < 0.05). Mesenteric and subcutaneous fat stores were similar between groups. After 12 weeks of exercise, portal vein levels of leptin concentrations (5.2 +/- 2.1 vs. 9.9 +/- 0.8 ng/mL, P < 0.05) and mesenteric and subcutaneous fat all were reduced in the exercise group. These results suggest that short-term running exercise reduces circulating leptin before any reduction of adipose mass, and this reduction in the concentration of leptin available to its receptors has beneficial effects on the metabolism of fat and carbohydrates.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1999

A compression and transmission system of ultrasonic image sequence for telemedicine.

OBJECTIVE: A newly developed compression and transmission system of ultrasound image sequence for telemedicine is proposed for transmitting ultrasonic image sequence in real time via IP-connected computers for telemedicine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the compression method, the characteristics of ultrasound images were taken into account. Only sound data were essential, and the histogram of the images had two narrow distributions around black-and-white areas. The sound data, therefore, were run length encoded and then transmitted. In the transmission, UDP/IP was employed with a time weight insertion among the packets so as not to overflow the data buffers of computers in this system to derive the maximum transmission performance up to the network capacity. The decompression method was the same as the generation of the sector scan images from the sound data, so that natural ultrasound image sequence could be obtained. RESULTS: This system was evaluated by transmitting the ultrasonic image sequence of the heart via ISDN (1. 5 mbps). Although this system completely specialized in compression and transmission of the ultrasound sector scan image sequence, a relatively good performance in the frame rate and the image quality was achieved, compared with the previous systems (H.260, JPEG, and MPEG-1).

Heart Diseases↗
PubMed1999

Trends in HIV and AIDS based on HIV/AIDS surveillance data in Japan.

BACKGROUND: In recent years a decline in the number of new AIDS cases has been observed in several industrialized countries. It is important to know whether these recent trends observed in North America and Europe are also occurring in Japan. METHODS: The number of people reported with HIV and AIDS by nationality, route of infection, and sex was calculated based on the HIV/AIDS surveillance data available in Japan through December 1997. The effect of reporting delay, which was defined as those HIV and AIDS cases reported in the calendar year following diagnosis, on the trends was examined. The coverage rate in reporting HIV cases was estimated as the ratio of the reported AIDS cases with prior report as an HIV-positive to the total number of reported AIDS cases. RESULTS: The cumulative number of reported cases of HIV among Japanese and non-Japanese residents of Japan up to the end of 1997 were 1,300 and 1,190, respectively. The cumulative number of reported cases of AIDS among Japanese and non-Japanese up to the end of 1997 were 758 and 298, respectively. The number of reported cases of HIV among Japanese was found to be still increasing, with the major contribution from male cases. The increasing trend in the number of reported AIDS cases among Japanese began to slow in 1996 and 1997. The number of reported cases of HIV among non-Japanese residents of Japan peaked in 1992, and has decreased since then, and remained constant after 1994. In contrast, the number of reported AIDS cases among these non-Japanese tended to increase gradually. There was a slight reporting delay for people with HIV and AIDS. The estimated coverage rate in reporting HIV cases tended to decrease in 1996 and 1997 (1/7.2, 1/10.2, respectively). We point out several reasons for this recent decline and suggest the possibility of an ostensible decline in the estimates. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the number of people with HIV among Japanese has continued to increase, and that the increase in the number of AIDS cases among Japanese is now slowing.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1999

Histological factors associated with initial bone metastasis of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

Bone is one of the most common sites of recurrence of breast cancer. Therefore, it would be clinically very useful if breast cancers with a high probability of bone metastasis (BM) could be identified by histopathological examination of the primary lesions. To elucidate histological characteristics associated with predisposition to initial BM, we examined nine histopathological parameters in the primary lesions of 110 invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) of the breast with 0 to 3 regional node metastases. These cases had recurrence between 4 months and 10.1 years after the initial radical surgery. The first metastatic site was bone in 24 cases, whereas other sites were involved in 86 cases. IDCs growing in a strand growth pattern or with fibrotic focus (FF) had a significantly higher frequency of initial BM than those growing in a non-strand growth pattern or without FF, respectively. Strand growth pattern was a significant predictor of the initial BM in multivariate analysis. In all 54 IDCs that developed BM during the follow-up period, osteolytic metastasis was significantly more frequent in the group with FF than in that without FF. This study demonstrated that strand growth pattern and the presence of FF are significant histopathological factors associated with initial BM. The combination of those predictive factors along with prognostic factors may provide a useful approach to identify patients at high risk for initial BM, enabling early treatment for the recurrent cancer.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1999

Bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis with autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease successfully treated by conservative method.

Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is an uncommon and potentially life-threatening necrotizing inflammation of the renal parenchyma. EPN associated with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPCK) is extremely rare. We report such a case of bilateral EPN with ADPCK that was successfully treated with conservative methods. To our knowledge, our case is only the second to document bilateral EPN occurring with ADPCK and the first one to be treated successfully with conservative methods.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1999

[Evaluation of dissolution behavior for the products containing tegafur and uracil].

Generic drugs are widely used with the object of cost saving in many Japanese therapeutic scenes now. The products containing the same active ingredient(s), even if they are innovative drugs or generic ones, must be designed to possess the equivalent quality. In this report, we observed the dissolution behavior patterns of three generic drugs that contain Tegafur and Uracil, drugs A, B, and C, and compared them with that of an innovative product, UFT. Drugs B and C were similar to UFT in the dissolution rate of Tegafur, but drug A was not. On the dissolution rate of Uracil, all the generic products, drugs A, B and C, did not amount to the level equivalent to that of UFT. Therefore, these generic products did not indicate the same dissolution behavior pattern as UFT. It was suggested that the pharmaceutical technology used in the manufacture was not equivalent even if the products of the same dosage form contain the same kind and content of the active ingredient(s).

Capsules↗
PubMed1999

Association between alcohol intake and subjective health: the Sotetsu Study.

Subjective health and alcohol intake are important predictors of mortality. There have been few epidemiological studies, however, of the relationship between alcohol consumption and subjective health among the Japanese. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and subjective health. The study subjects were 2,020 Japanese male employees, who were free from serious disease conditions. The data on subjective health and alcohol consumption were obtained by means of self-reported questionnaire. The subjects who responded "poor health" in the answer to the question about the subjective health status were considered to be in ill-health. Ethanol intake per day was calculated by multiplying the frequency of drinking by the ethanol intake per drinking occasion and summing up for each alcoholic beverage. Age, smoking status, physical activity, and sleeping hours were treated as confounding factors. As a result, subjects who consumed 25-36 or 49 g ethanol or more per day had a significantly lower risk of self-rated ill-health compared with those who had never drunk, and a significantly inverse trend was found independent of age, smoking status, physical activity, and sleeping hours. In conclusion, moderate drinkers have a lower risk of self-rated ill-health among Japanese male employees investigated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Determination of 7alpha-hydroxycholesterol in dog plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

A new method was developed for the determination of 7alpha-hydroxycholesterol (7-HC) in dog plasma by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. 7-HC extracted with organic solvent from plasma was purified with Bond Elut 2OH and converted to a sensitive fluorescent derivative containing double coumarin groups at the C-3 and C-7 positions of the steroid nucleus with 7-methoxycoumarin-3-carbonyl azide. After removal of the excess reagent with Bond Elut NH2, the 7-HC derivative was separated by reverse-phase HPLC method. The detection limit of the authentic 7-HC-3,7-coumarin derivative was 4 pg (S/N = 5), approximately four times less than that of the 7-HC-3-anthroyl derivative yielded by reaction of 7-HC with 1-anthroylcyanide. The newly developed method was used to investigate the effects of consecutive oral administrations of cholestyramine (CA) on 7-HC levels in dog plasma. The plasma 7-HC levels of the CA-treated group were two times greater than those of the control group.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Comparative analysis of CD80 and CD86 on human Langerhans cells: expression and function.

Although both CD80 (B7-1) and CD86 (B7-2/B70) have been recently identified in cultured human Langerhans cells (LC), little is known of the role and regulatory properties of CD80 and CD86 on human LC. We present here the results of a study comparing the expression and function of CD80 and CD86 in human LC using the T-helper type-1 cytokines IL-2 and interferon gamma (IFN)-gamma, and the T-helper type-2 cytokines IL-10, IL-4 and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Freshly isolated human LC expressed little CD80 and CD86 in vitro, but the expression of both molecules was rapidly induced during a 72-h incubation with cytokines and the expression of CD86 occurred much earlier and more strongly than that of CD80. The expression of both CD80 and CD86 was upregulated by GM-CSF and downregulated by IL-10, and the expression of CD86, but not that of CD80, was upregulated by both IL-4 and IFN-gamma. Finally, pretreatment of LC with GM-CSF and IFN-gamma, but not with IL-4, enhanced the alloreactive T-cell proliferation induced by the LC, and IL-10 pretreatment of LC decreased their capacity for alloreaction. These results indicate that the expression of both CD80 and CD86 on human LC may be regulated by these cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, GM-CSF, IFN-gamma and IL-10) secreted from helper T cells infiltrating into the inflammatory microenvironment.

Antigen Presentation↗
PubMed1998

Habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure: A study of self-defense officials in Japan.

The study aims to examine the relationship between habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure. The subjects were 3336 male self-defense officials aged 48-56 years, who received a preretirement health examination at the Self-Defense Forces Fukuoka Hospital between October 1986 and December 1992. Average coffee intake in the past year was ascertained by a self-administered questionnaire. A significant inverse relation between habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure was found with and without adjustment for alcohol use, cigarette smoking, body mass index, glucose tolerance, and green tea intake. Green tea, another major source of caffeine intake in Japanese, was unrelated to blood pressure. The adjusted mean differences per cup of coffee consumed per day were -0.6 mmHg (95% confident interval [CI]: -0.9 to -0.3, p = 0.0001) in systolic blood pressure and -0.4 mmHg (95% CI: -0.5 to -0.2, p = 0.0002) in diastolic blood pressure. Habitual coffee drinkers had lower blood pressure than non-drinkers at any levels of alcohol use, cigarette smoking, obesity, and glucose intolerance. Our findings consolidate the previous observation that habitual coffee consumption was associated with lower blood pressure.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1998

Prostaglandin E1 antagonizes hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction but reduces systemic blood pressure in dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) directly inhibits hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction in dogs. DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal study. SETTING: University research laboratory. SUBJECTS: Six mongrel dogs in vivo. INTERVENTIONS: The left thorax of anesthetized and ventilated dogs was opened and the left lower lobe was separately ventilated. The tip of the thermodilution pulmonary artery catheter was introduced into the left lower lobe pulmonary artery. The left lower lobe was ventilated with hyperoxic (95% oxygen and 5% CO2) or hypoxic (95% nitrogen and 5% CO2) gas. By manipulating the occluders placed on both pulmonary arteries, blood flow in the left lower lobe was regulated. Continuous pressure-flow plots for the left lower lobe were then obtained. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Measurements included continuous pressure-flow plot generation, thermodilution cardiac output and blood flow in the left lower lobe, and blood gas analysis. Alveolar hypoxia of the left lower lobe caused blood flow in the left lower lobe to decrease from 371.8 +/- 63.4 to 95.0 +/- 23.4 mL/min and shifted the pressure-flow plot to the right, with a decreased slope and with an increase in the pressure-axis intercept. Subsequently, systemic venous infusion of PGE1 at a rate of 0.3 microg/kg/min had no effect on the pressure-flow plot configuration, blood flow in the left lower lobe, pulmonary vascular resistance, systemic vascular resistance, and PaO2. However, there was a decrease in the pressure-axis intercept of the pressure-flow plot. Infusion of PGE1 at a rate of 3.0 microg/kg/min (high-dose) during hypoxia reduced pulmonary vascular resistance and systemic vascular resistance by 19% and 25%, respectively, and returned the pressure-flow plot toward normal while blood flow in the left lower lobe increased to 122.6 +/- 21.0 mL/min. Consequently, PaO2 decreased from 270 +/- 31 to 144 +/- 32 torr (36.0 +/- 4.1 to 19.2 +/- 4.3 kPa). CONCLUSION: High-dose PGE1 essentially inhibits hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, at the expense of a deterioration in pulmonary gas exchange and systemic blood pressure in dogs.

Alprostadil↗
PubMed1998

Ingrown nails: a comparison of the nail matrix phenolization method with the elevation of the nail bed-periosteal flap procedure.

Seventy-five procedures were performed on 62 patients with ingrown nails from 1992 to 1996. Those consisted of 51 nail matrix phenolization methods (NMP) and 24 elevation of the nail bed-periosteal flap procedures (ENF). Ingrown nails were classified into type A (normal nail plate) and type B (incurved nail plate). The duration and intensity of postoperative pain were assessed, and the recurrence rate was monitered. The recurrence rate was 3.9% in the NMP group and 4.1% in the ENF group. Concerning the recurrence rate, there was no statistical significance between ENF and NMP in both types. Postoperative pain intensity was less in the NMP group than in the ENF group in both types (P < 0.01). The same tendency was seen in postoperative pain duration. However, the NMP group had longer duration of wound healing compared with the ENF group in type A (P < 0.01). We conclude that NMP is a recommendable treatment for most ingrown nails.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1998

[A study on the effects of physical load placed on high school baseball managers during midsummer games].

We examined the influence of physical load placed on high school baseball managers during midsummer games under extremely hot and humid conditions. The factors used to determine physical load were the following: body weight, oral temperature, amount of walking, pedometer count, heart rate, and serum biochemical elements. These factors were measured before and after the games. Twenty-two managers participated in this study. All games were played under high temperatures of 32.4 +/- 3.5 (mean +/- S.D) degrees Celsius dry-bulb, 27.1 +/- 3.0 degrees Celsius wet-bulb, 33.8 +/- 3.6 degrees Celsius black-glove, 29.1 +/- 3.3 degrees WBGT, which are likely to cause heart-related illness. The results were as follows. 1. After the games, significant body weight loss and oral temperature rise were found. Those findings were thought to be caused by the rise in oral temperature in a hot environment which was accompanied by hyperhidrosis. 2. The average hemoconcentration ratio based on the changes in total protein during the games was 105 percent, suggesting that hemoconcentration and dehydration were caused by sweating in a hot environment. 3. A significant increase in total protein, albumin, LDH, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, calcium, hemoglobin, and a decrease in triglyceride were observed after the games, which were thought to be influenced by sweating and by increased metabolism in a hot environment. 4. The values of triglyceride, Fe, uric nitrogen, calcium and hemoglobin after the games which were adjusted by the hemoconcentration ratio were significantly lower than those before the games. 5. A prolonged game time caused a significant increase in total protein value during the games and a decrease in hemoglobin between the level before the games and the adjusted level after the games compared with those values in the short game time group. From the above, even though high school baseball managers join in practices in a hot environment and become accustomed to it, we found that they had a great physical load on their bodies during the games in midsummer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

[A study of the effects of physical load on umpires during the national high school baseball games--the effects of physical load on umpires at the Koshien stadium in a summer-heat environment].

This study attempted to measure the physical load on national high school baseball umpires during games played at Koshien stadium under extremely hot and humid conditions in the summer. Thirty-one umpires participated in this study. Thirteen of them were evaluated twice while eighteen were evaluated only once. The factors used to determine physical load were the following: body weight, oral temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and serum biochemical elements. These were measured before and after the games. Heart rate was measured at one-minute intervals. The results were as follows. 1) All the games were played under conditions of extremely high temperatures--32.1 degrees celsius dry-bulb, 27.0 degrees celsius wet-bulb, 36.8 degrees celsius black-globe, 29.5 degrees--WBGT which are likely to cause heat-related illnesses. 2) The physical load of baseball umpires during the game showed a 1.69 percent decrease in average body weight due to perspiration, a 0.43 degrees C increase in oral temperature and an increase in heart rate. An examination of the serum biochemical elements showed that muscle deviation enzymes changed due to muscular activity and blood condensed due to perspiration. The physical load levels of baseball umpires were influenced by extreme heat and physical activity during the game. 3) There were no observable differences in either the amount of physical activity or the extreme heat environment among the umpires of different field positions. But the chief umpire's physical load showed a greater decrease in body weight, more blood condensation due to perspiration as a result of the heavier equipment he wore, more muscular activity and higher energy consumption than his counterparts on the bases. 4) The umpire's heart rates were higher during games than before games. The moment they were on the playing field. Their heart rates rose to an average of 134. It remained above 115 for about two hours, apparently caused by physical activity and heart load.

Adult↗