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Biomedical subjects

Y Fukuda

Publications and source records attributed to Y Fukuda.

At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Long-term administration of natural interferon-alpha in patients with chronic hepatitis C: relationship to serum RNA concentration, HCV-RNA genotypes, histological changes and hepatitis C virus.

To virologically assess the efficacy of interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis C, either 5 or 10 MU/day natural interferon-alpha (IFN alpha) was administered to 57 patients with chronic hepatitis C for 38 weeks. A complete and sustained response (CR-SR), as evidenced by the absence of serum hepatitis C virus (HCV)-RNA during the administration period and at 6 months after the final administration of IFN alpha and normal GPT level at 6 months after final administration, occurred in 42.6% (23/54) of subjects. Liver tissue was histologically evaluated using the histological activity index (HAI) score before and after the administration period. In CR-SR cases, significant improvements (P < 0.01) occurred in periportal necrosis, intralobular necrosis, portal inflammation and total score. A comparison, by HCV genotypes, revealed that CR-SR occurred in 60% (9/15) of subjects with type 2a and 30.3% (10/33) of subjects with type 1b. A comparison by virus concentration revealed that CR-SR occurred in 71.4% (15/21) of those subjects having a virus concentration of < 10(5) copies/mL, but in only 24.2% (8/33) of those having a virus concentration of > 10(5) copies/mL. Analysis by a multiple logistic model revealed a strong correlation between the therapeutic effect of interferon therapy and the pre-administration virus concentration (P = 0.0061) and genotype (P = 0.0015). These results suggest that the pre-administration virus concentration and genotype are both key factors affecting the therapeutic effect of interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis C and that the therapeutic effect of interferon is satisfactorily high, irrespective of virus concentration, in subjects with type 2a HCV, but varies depending on virus concentration in subjects with type 1b.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Serum hyaluronic acid reflects the effect of interferon treatment on hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Changes in serum hyaluronic acid (HA) in 35 patients treated with interferon (IFN) were studied and the histological change in fibrosis was analysed. Serum HA levels and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA were followed from the start of therapy to 12 months after completion of treatment. Histological changes in pre- and post-treatment liver biopsies were assessed using a modified Knodell's scoring system. The serum levels of HA (r = 0.79; P < 0.0001) correlated with the degree of fibrosis more closely than with that of amino terminal peptides of type III procollagen (PIIIP; r = 0.45; P < 0.05) or type IV collagen (IV-C; r = 0.42; P < 0.05). Only complete responders (CR) had a significant decrease in serum levels of HA and IV-C (P < 0.05), in parallel with histological improvement (P < 0.01). Neither partial responders (PR) nor non-responders (NR) had significant changes in histological scores and in serum levels of fibrotic markers. Significant differences were observed between CR and NR, both in HA levels (P < 0.01) and PIIIP levels (P < 0.05) 12 months after the cessation of treatment. These results suggest that serum HA is an indicator of the extent of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C. Serial determinations of serum HA levels may be of use for monitoring the histological response of hepatic fibrosis to IFN treatment in chronic hepatitis C.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Idiopathic adulthood ductopenia.

In 1981, a 26 year old man occasionally demonstrated elevated serum transaminase concentrations. He had no history of medication, or a personal or family history of jaundice, except for prolonged physiological jaundice as a neonate. Serum hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis C virus antibody and anti-mitochondrial antibody were absent. A wedge biopsy specimen revealed ductular proliferation, mild inflammation of the portal area and disappearance of bile ducts from 80% of the portal tracts. Serial sections demonstrated a vanishing bile duct. Endoscopic retrograde choledochopancreatography, portography and arteriography demonstrated no abnormalities. In 1994, the patient died of hepatic failure following a 12 year observation period. He was subsequently diagnosed with idiopathic adulthood ductopenia on the basis of the criteria proposed by Ludwig.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Case report: multiple systemic lymph node metastases from a small hepatocellular carcinoma.

Extrahepatic lymph node metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are usually observed in patients with advanced and poorly differentiated HCC. We encountered a patient with multiple, systemic lymph node metastases from a small HCC (18 mm in diameter), which was nodular and had a capsule at the time of resection (a partial hepatectomy of the postero-inferior subsegment of the right lobe of the liver). Widespread lymphadenopathy resembling malignant lymphoma developed 2 months after surgery. A biopsy specimen from a supraclavicular lymph node revealed metastatic HCC. The patient died 2.5 months after the detection of the lymphadenopathy. Lymph node metastases can occur in small HCC less than 2 cm in diameter and may adversely affect the long-term prognosis of patients with these curatively resectable small HCC.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1996

Trial of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on a Japanese patient with a peroxisome biogenesis defect.

A female Japanese patient diagnosed with peroxisome biogenesis defect (PBD), who had hypotonia and craniofacial dysmorphism, was given supplementation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Accumulation of very long chain fatty acids was revealed, and a diagnosis of PBD was made at 2 months of age because of the absence of peroxisomes, a defect in peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes and a decreased level of DHA in the erythrocytes. Supplementation of DHA was introduced at 3 months of age. For the first several months, psychomotor development was fairly good. The patient could laugh, brush off a blanket and play with toys at 6 months of age. However, neurological regression and convulsions occurred after 7 months of age. After recurrent respiratory infections and disturbance of the circadian rhythm, the patient died of liver failure and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy at 20 months of age. DHA may have a favorable effect on the early development of patients with PBD, but neurological deterioration cannot be prevented. Patients with a milder phenotype would be better candidates for DHA supplementation.

Docosahexaenoic Acids↗
PubMed1996

A long-term follow-up study of interferon treatment for chronic hepatitis C in Japanese patients with congenital bleeding disorders.

Twenty-one HIV negative Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C who had congenital bleeding disorders, 15 hemophilia A, 3 hemophilia B, 1 von Willebrand's disease, 1 afibrinogenemia and 1 thrombasthenia, were treated with 9 million units 3 times a week of natural interferon (IFN)-alpha for 6 months. They were followed, biochemically and virologically, for at least 18 months after therapy discontinuation to evaluate the long-term results. Liver biopsy, hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotyping and quantification of viral load by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed to identify the predictors of a favorable response to IFN treatment. One male patient with hemophilia A dropped out because of general fatigue and was excluded from evaluation. Ten (50.0%) patients continued to be HCV RNA negative in serum together with normal ALT levels throughout the study. Subtype 1b and a high level of viremia significantly associated with an unfavorable outcome on the response to IFN although liver histology was not definitive for predicting the response. We concluded that a 6-month treatment with high doses of natural IFN-alpha was effective in inducing a long-term response without relapse of viremia in 50% of chronic hepatitis C patients with congenital bleeding disorders and that HCV subtype and pretreatment level of viremia were useful predictors of the response to IFN in treating such patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Anti-toxoplasma antibody levels in the main-land raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus, in southeastern Kanagawa prefecture].

Naturally-occurring toxoplasma infection has been observed for years in various kinds of wild animals. However, the infection situation has not been well characterized due to a lack of research. In present study, latex fixation tests were conducted for 109 main-land raccoon dogs (67 males and 42 females) all of which were kept in Kanazawa Zoo in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture between 1991-1994 to measure levels of toxoplasma antibodies. The test results indicated 20 positive samples out of the total 109, an 18.3% positive rate. This demonstrates that toxoplasma infection exists in the raccoon dog population in Kanagawa Prefecture, and that the raccoon dog could be a source of spread of toxoplasma infection. We believe there is significant reason to continue the investigation as a part of a prophylaxis for zoonotic diseases.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Substantially complete removal of the 34kDa allergenic soybean protein, Gly m Bd 30 K, from soy milk of a mutant lacking the alpha- and alpha'-subunits of conglycinin.

Substantially complete removal (99.78%) of the allergenic soybean protein, Gly m Bd 30 K, was attained by applying simple centrifugation at 10,000 x g and at pH 4.5 in the presence of Na2SO4 to defatted soy milk from a genetically mutated soybean cultivar (Tohoku 124) which lacked the alpha- and alpha'-subunits of conglycinin. The removal rate was ten times higher than that (97.44%) from a normal soybean cultivar of I.O.M. grade.

Allergens↗
PubMed1996

Purification, characterization, and crystallization of single molecular species of beta-conglycinin from soybean seeds.

Four major molecular species of beta-conglycinin, alpha 3, alpha 2 beta, alpha beta 2, and beta 3, were isolated and purified from seeds of an alpha' subunit-deficient strain of soybeans (Glycine max). All components were found to be homogeneous by high pressure liquid chromatography, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and amino acid and amino terminal sequence analyses. The amino acid compositions of the alpha 3 and beta 3 components agreed fairly well with the compositions deduced from the cDNA sequences, and all of the components were highly glycosylated. The alpha 3 and beta 3 components were compared regarding their secondary structures. The secondary structure of the alpha 3 component deduced from CD measurements showed a higher alpha-helix content than that of the beta 3 component. The beta 3 component was crystallized by decreasing the ionic strength from 0.5 to 0.14 in phosphate buffer, pH 7.3, and the crystals grew to a size (1.0 mm x 0.2 mm x 0.2 mm) suitable for X-ray crystallographic analysis. A preliminary X-ray analysis showed that the crystal belonged to an orthorhombic crystal system having the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and unit cell dimensions of a = 185.1 A, b = 107.9 A, and c = 97.6 A.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Marked arteriosclerosis of the descending aorta in a teenager with interruption of the aorta.

Marked arteriosclerosis localized to the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta was observed in a 19-year-old girl with interruption of the aorta (type A) and a ventricular septal defect. She died from rupture of saccular aneurysm of the pulmonary trunk. The descending thoracic and abdominal aorta showed marked thrombogenic, lamellar thickening of the intima. In contrast, no significant arteriosclerosis was detected in the ascending aorta. Several factors including diffuse sludging of blood, mural thrombosis and hemodynamic changes, in close association with polycythemia, are hypothesized to be causative factors in the development of this lesion.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Infantile acute monocytic leukemia with tumor formation in the skin expressing adhesion molecules as seen by electronmicroscopy.

We report a case of infantile acute monocytic leukemia associated with solid tumors in the skin. Light microscopy showed that the tumor cells were mainly spindle-shaped and arranged in tandem. Immunohistochemical staining showed that fibronectin was detected in the extracellular matrix (and partially on the surface of tumor cells), integrin alpha 5 beta 1 on the cell surface, and vinculin and actin were detected in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. Electron microscopy showed that the tumor cells had perpendicular transmembranous fibrils and closely situated collections of cytoplasmic microfilaments beneath the cell membrane suggesting fibronexus-like structures. We conclude that the expression of fibronectin, integrin alpha 5 beta 1, vinculin, cytoplasmic actin and fibronexus-like structure in leukemic cells indicate these cells possess an adhesive function. The mechanism of formation of the extramedullary solid tumors in this patients involved these adhesion molecules of the tumor cells.

Bone Marrow↗
PubMed1996

HLA-A and -B genotyping in living related one haploidentical kidney.

Sixty-five haplo-identical living-related renal transplant pairs were subjected to comparative studies for HLA class-I typing suitability between the DNA and serological methods. Our HLA-A genotyping method was highly resolutive and allowed assigning 33 serologically blank specificities and subdividing some HLA-A serological specificities, of which A2 discrimination was considered to be indispensable for the matching analysis because of its high frequency among Japanese. Our HLA-B genotyping method made it possible to identify the 17 serologically blank specificities despite their "low resolutive" capacities. Analysis of 14 DRB1-compatible pairs suggested that HLA-A and -B compatibilities had beneficial effects on the long term graft survival. It was concluded that HLA-A and -B should be genotyped for the matching analysis of the kidney transplant pairs to obtain satisfactory graft outcome.

Alleles↗