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Biomedical subjects

Takahiro Fujioka

Publications and source records attributed to Takahiro Fujioka.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Efficacy of a glycyrrhizin suppository for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C: a pilot study.

Intravenous administration of glycyrrhizin has potential efficacy on decreasing serum aminotransferase levels in patients with chronic hepatitis. However, patients receiving this treatment are recommended to attend hospital regularly for several years. To improve the quality of life for these patients, we developed a glycyrrhizin suppository. In this pilot study, we examined the most effective and safe material contents of the suppository and revealed clinical efficacy for patients with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C comparing intravenous administration of glycyrrhizin. As content combinations of the suppository, a mixture of 300 mg of glycyrrhizinic ammonium salt and 60 &mgr;g of sodium capric acid, with pH neutralization, was confirmed to be most effective and safe condition, based on analysis of serum glycyrrhizin levels and the grade of rectal irritations in tested patients. The efficacy on decreasing serum alanine aminotransferase levels for 12-week administration of the suppository in 13 patients with chronic hepatitis C was similar to that in another 13 patients intravenously administered glycyrrhizin. Moreover, no serious side effects were observed. In conclusion, the usage of the newly developed suppository of glycyrrhizin can improve the quality of life for chronic hepatitis C patients, especially those who do not respond with viral clearance to interferon therapy. Using this suppository, larger and longer-term studies are needed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Detection, using a novel method, of a high prevalence of cryoglobulinemia in persistent hepatitis C virus infection.

To elucidate precisely the prevalence and significance of cryoglobulinemia in hepatitis C, we examined the prevalence of serum cryoglobulin (CG) among 232 consecutive hepatitis C virus carriers (23 asymptomatic carriers, 164 with chronic hepatitis, 45 with cirrhosis), 30 consecutive hepatitis B virus carriers and 100 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. We used a gel-diffusion procedure that detects CG with greater sensitivity and specificity than the conventional precipitation method. Among the 232 patients, 166 were tested for the presence or absence of CG by the precipitation method also, which showed 60 (36.1%) patients to be positive for CG. On the other hand, 164 of the 232 patients (70.7%) were positive for CG using the diffusion method. 5 (16.7%) of the 30 HBV carriers and 2 (2%) of the healthy volunteers also were positive for CG using the gel-diffusion procedure. CG was detected more frequently among the patients with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis than the asymptomatic carriers. In spite of the high prevalence of CG positivity, only one patient had symptoms related to cryoglobulinemia. Positivity for CG was not related to viral serogroup, viral load or the presence of antinuclear antibody, but it was related closely to CH50: 58 of 63 (92.1%) patients with lower levels of CH50 were positive for serum CG. In conclusion, cryoglobulinemia is a very common feature of chronic hepatitis C.

Journal Article↗