Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Y Harada

Publications and source records attributed to Y Harada.

At least 739 records · Page 41Linked to original sources

A multi-centre, double-blind study of serrapeptase versus placebo in post-antrotomy buccal swelling.

A multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was carried out to investigate the clinical efficacy of the anti-inflammatory enzyme serrapeptase in a total of 174 patients who underwent Caldwell-Luc antrotomy for chronic empyema. Eighty-eight patients received 10 mg serrapeptase 3 times on the day before operation, once on the night of the operation and 3 times daily for 5 days after operation; the other 86 received placebo. Changes in buccal swelling after operation were observed as a parameter of the response to treatment. The degree of swelling in the serrapeptase-treated patients was significantly less than that in the placebo-treated patients at every point of observation after operation up to the 5th day (p less than 0.01 to p less than 0.05). Maximal swelling throughout all the post-operative points of observation was also significantly smaller in size in the serrapeptase-treated group than in the placebo-treated group. No side-effects were reported.

Adolescent↗

Separate involvement of the spinal noradrenergic and serotonergic systems in morphine analgesia: the differences in mechanical and thermal algesic tests.

Experiments using 3 analgesic tests, the tail-pinch, hot-plate and tail-flick methods, were done to evaluate the roles of the spinal noradrenergic and serotonergic systems in the production of morphine analgesia in rats. To deplete noradrenaline or serotonin in the spinal cord, 6-hydroxydopamine or 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine was given intrathecally. 6-Hydroxydopamine suppressed the antinociceptive effects of morphine injected systemically or intracerebrally (into the nuclei reticularis gigantocellularis and paragigantocellularis or into the periaqueductal gray matter) in the tail-pinch test, but not significantly in the hot-plate and tail-flick tests. Conversely, 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine suppressed the antinociceptive effects of systemically given morphine in the hot-plate test, but not significantly in the tail-pinch and the tail-flick tests. The results not only provide further evidence for the involvement of the descending inhibitory systems in morphine antinociception, but also show that the extent of participation of the spinal noradrenergic and serotonergic systems in the effects of morphine has to be carefully assessed as different analgesic tests (tail-pinch, tail-flick and hot-plate) yield different results.

Animals↗

Recurrent meningitis due to a congenital fistula in the stapedial footplate.

A patient with recurrent meningitis had spontaneous CSF leakage from the fistula of the stapedial footplate. The patient was a 7-year-old boy with profuse CSF otorrhea, proved by myringotomy. A roentgenographic examination and computed tomography scan of the temporal bone demonstrated an abnormal bony labyrinth. During the operation, a leak was found at the fistula of the stapedial footplate. Surgical obliteration of the fistula with temporal muscle and fascia has prevented the recurrence of meningitis.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Otorrhea↗

Activation of plasma kallikrein-kinin system and its significant role in pleural fluid accumulation of rat carrageenin-induced pleurisy.

Rat pleurisy was induced by intrapleural injection of lambda-carrageenin. The pleural exudate began to be accumulated 1-3 h after carrageenin administration and showed a peak at 19 h. The levels of prekallikrein and high-molecular-weight (HMW), but not low-molecular-weight (LMW), kininogen in the pleural fluid were markedly decreased when compared with those in plasma. Prekallikrein in rat plasma was activated by incubation with carrageenin in vitro. Captopril increased the plasma exudation significantly at 1-5 h. Depletion of prekallikrein and HMW kininogen in rat plasma by preadministration of bromelain caused marked inhibition of the plasma exudation at 1-24 h. The rest of the plasma exudation after bromelain was further decreased by simultaneous pretreatment of rats with both bromelain and aspirin. These results clearly indicate that plasma prekallikrein was activated in the pleural cavity and bradykinin released was responsible for plasma exudation during the entire course of this pleurisy.

Animals↗

The anti-inflammatory mechanism of MK-447 in rat carrageenin-induced pleurisy.

Intrapleural injection of 2% lambda-carrageenin caused the accumulation of exudate up to 19 hr. The rate of plasma exudation, measured by the exuded dye amounts for 20 min in the pleural cavity after intravenous injection of pontamine sky blue, showed a peak at 5 hr. Aspirin (100 mg/kg, i. p.) suppressed the dye exudation up to 5 hr, but did not at 7 hr. This inhibition coincided with the decrease of the PG and TXB2 levels, which were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, in the pleural exudate. In in vitro experiments, MK-447, a phenolic compound, stimulates PG endoperoxide biosynthesis at lower doses and inhibits it at higher doses, acting as a tryptophan-like cofactor required by PG endoperoxide synthetase. This drug (0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg, i. p.) suppressed the dye exudation dose-dependently up to 5 hr, but did not at 7 hr even at a higher dose, in combination with the dose-dependent decrease of the pleural level of PGE2, which was reported to be a major PG among PGs and TXB2 in the exudate in inducing the plasma exudation (Harada et al; Prostaglandins, 23: 881, 1982). Thus, the anti-inflammatory action of MK-447 can be explained by inhibition of PGE2 generation, giving no consideration to the role of oxygen-derived free radicals as a prime mediator in inflammation.

Animals↗

Sem studies of the inflammatory changes of the middle ear mucosa.

Mucosal specimens of the middle ear from patients who had chronic otitis media were studied and compared with normal middle ear specimens using a scanning electron microscope. The epithelia in chronic otitis media were usually thick and those surface structures varied depending on the area in which the biopsy was taken. Moreover, the structure was not uniform even in the same specimen. Some areas showed a great number of secretory cells, while others demonstrated high population of ciliated cells. Areas with loss of the superficial layer were also observed in a few cases. There were less ciliated cells than we expected. They were not evenly distributed, except for the eustachian tube region. Morphologically, most of these ciliated cells seemed to be normal, and a few isolated atrophic ones were also observed. In cholesteatoma cases, squamous epithelia with desquamating, flat and keratinized cells were observed.

Adolescent↗

The calcium component of the action potential in spinal motoneurones of the rat.

Intracellular recordings were made from motoneurones of the neonatal rat (1-14 days old) spinal cord isolated and perfused in vitro. An increase in extracellular Ca2+ concentration from 2 to 20 mM produced an increase in the amplitude of the after-depolarization (a.d.p.), while replacement of Ca2+ by Mn2+ virtually abolished the a.d.p. These changes in the a.d.p. occurred in parallel with those in the after-hyperpolarization (a.h.p.). The amplitudes of the a.d.p. and the a.h.p. were dependent upon the membrane potential: hyperpolarization increased the a.d.p. and decreased the a.h.p.; the opposite effects were produced by depolarization. The presence of Ca2+ spikes was demonstrated either by suppression of the voltage-dependent K+ conductance with tetraethylammonium (TEA) or after blocking the Na+ spike. The Ca2+ spike was all-or-none in nature and blocked by Mn2+ or Co2+. The a.h.p. amplitude was dependent upon the extracellular K+ concentration but also correlated with the amplitude of the Ca2+-dependent response. It is concluded that the a.d.p. is a Ca2+-dependent potential whose amplitude is under normal conditions markedly reduced by the voltage-dependent K+ conductance; the a.h.p. seems to be produced by an increase in the Ca2+-dependent K+ conductance.

Action Potentials↗

Suppressive effect of elcatonin, an eel calcitonin analogue, on excessive urinary hydroxyproline excretion in polyostotic fibrous dysplasia (McCune-Albright's syndrome).

A 12-year-old Japanese girl with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia and endocrine concomitants, was treated with elcatonin, a synthetic eel calcitonin analogue, 10 MRC unit/twice a week given by intramuscular injection. Significant decreases in 24 hr urinary content of hydroxyproline and other amino acids from bone collagen were observed during the course of treatment over 5 months. This biochemical result suggests that the synthetic eel calcitonin analogue exhibits the therapeutic effect in patients with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia by inhibiting bone resorption.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

The human vestibular organs observed by scanning electron microscopy.

In many of the reports dealing with disorders of the human inner ear the histology comes from temporal bone dissection. In the past decade the scanning electron microscope has changed, to a degree, the approach to inner ear investigation. However, many problems remain with adequate preservation of specimens from human temporal bones. Ordinarily, human material is obtained from cadavers at autopsy as soon as possible after death, and postmortem changes are evident. At the Otologic Medical Group, Inc., in Los Angeles, many translabyrinthine operations for acoustic neuromas are performed. This report covers findings from vestibular specimens obtained during surgery for removal of acoustic neuromas (four cases) and during eighth nerve surgery (one case).

Acoustic Maculae↗