[Relationship between serum gamma-GTP isozymes and alcohol intake].
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Y Murai
Publications and source records attributed to Y Murai.
Study on digestibility and energy availability of pulses (peanuts and kidney beans) in men.
Four male Japanese students were fed a semisynthetic diet that included rice and whole eggs as protein sources for seven days (basal diet period), and in the following seven days (test diet periods), peanuts and then, kidney beans replaced part of the sugar in the basal diet. Urine and feces were collected throughout the periods and the contents of nitrogen, fat and energy in these excreta were determined. The results obtained were: 1) Digestibility of protein was 95.1 +/- 7.9% for peanuts and 84.8 +/- 3.7% for kidney beans. 2) Digestibility of fat was 83.5 +/- 8.5% for peanuts and 82.4 +/- 9.1% for kidney beans 3) The ratio of the total available energy to intake energy (Net Energy Availability) was 86.1 +/- 6.3% for peanuts and 84.8 +/- 3.1% for kidney beans.
Adult↗
[A case of deletion of the short arm of chromosome 18 associated with chronic polymyositis].
A case of deletion of the short arm of chromosome 18 (18p- syndrome) associated with chronic polymyositis is described. The patient was a 37-year-old woman, who had psychomotor retardation in her early childhood. She started to notice a difficulty in raising both arms at 14 years of age and furthermore, she developed a gait disturbance due to weakness of the proximal muscles of the lower extremities from 34 years of age. Her parents were first cousins. On physical examination, she showed many dysmorphic features, such as short stature, round face, hypertelorism, low nasal bridge, small chin, high arched palate, abnormal dentition, short and webbed neck, and broad chest. Neurological examination revealed a low intelligence (IQ 47), severe proximal muscle weakness with moderate proximal muscle atrophy in all extremities, a waddling gait, and decreased or absent deep tendon reflexes of all extremities except for bilateral ankle jerks. Serum creatine kinase and myoglobin levels were slightly elevated. Needle EMG study showed fibrillation potentials at rest and polyphasic and low amplitude motor unit potentials of short duration on volitional activity in the affected muscles. Muscle biopsy demonstrated a variation in fiber size, necrotic fibers and mononuclear cell infiltration. These findings were compatible with those of chronic polymyositis. In addition, cytogenetic findings revealed 46.XX.18p- karyotype, although her parents had no chromosome abnormality. She had no immunological abnormality except for a positive rheumatoid factor and elevation of CD4/CD8 ratio on lymphocyte subset analysis in peripheral blood.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adult↗
[Acute cerebellar ataxia with sympathotonic orthostatic hypotension following Epstein-Barr virus infection--a case report].
A 21-year-old man with acute cerebellar ataxia and sympathotonic orthostatic hypotension, following Epstein-Barr (EB) virus infection, was reported. He noticed unsteady gait 2 weeks after the development of cough, nausea and vomiting. On admission, he was unable to sit and walk due to truncal ataxia and orthostatic hypotension with marked tachycardia. Limb ataxia of moderate degree was also noted. The blood pressure was 112/42 mmHg, and the pulse rate was 64/min in supine position, and 5 minutes after standing, they were 82/42 mmHg and 128/min. In laboratory studies, no atypical lymphocytes were detected in the peripheral blood. However, the titers of antibodies, VCA-IgM, against EB virus, were x80 and x160 in serum, respectively. And the titer of VCA-IgM subsequently decreased to the normal level in two months. They were negative in the cerebrospinal fluid. The results of the autonomic function studies revealed dysfunctions of the sympathetic post-ganglionic nerves, especially of alpha-adrenergic system, with preservation of beta-adrenergic system. He recovered from cerebellar ataxia and from sympathotonic orthostatic hypotension 3 and 8 months after the onset, respectively, without residuals.
Acute Disease↗
[Cutaneous thermal-cooling and -warming detection thresholds in distal extremities of normal subjects].
The cutaneous thermal-cooling and -warming detection thresholds were evaluated on the dorsal side of the right distal forearm and on the dorsum of the right foot in 134 normal subjects (66 men and 68 women) without sensory symptoms and signs, aged from 11 to 87 years by using a Thermal Threshold Tester (Vickers Medical International, England). The normative data for the clinical evaluation of the severity and the pathologic process of the sensory disturbance of the patients were obtained. The data obtained included 1) the mean of each threshold and 2) its upper limit value of 95% confidence interval for each decade. The mean of each threshold was significantly increased with aging (P less than 0.0001). Therefore, the cutaneous thermal-cooling and -warming detection thresholds of the patients with sensory disturbances should be compared with the normative data adjusted for the age of each subject obtained in this study. Based on the evaluation, repeated six times for three weeks, of each threshold of six volunteers (ages from 21 to 66), high reliability of each threshold (intraclass correlation coefficient from 0.78 to 0.96) was observed.
Adolescent↗
[The effect of the thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) on the motor speech disorder in spinocerebellar degeneration].
A prospective study regarding the effect of TRH on the motor speech disorder of three patients with spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD), the first with hereditary cortical cerebellar atrophy, the second and third with sporadic olivo-ponto-cerebellar atrophy, was performed. The effect was analyzed by using speech evaluation, such as the auditory impression, the questionnaire of the consciousness for verbal communication, the phonetic evaluation and the acoustic analysis. The results of the analysis and the mechanism of the improvement of the motor speech disorder are discussed. Only the first patient showed a remarkable improvement subjectively. In addition, the improvement of phonation and articulation was demonstrated quantitatively in the evaluation of the first patient. On the other hand, by phonation analysis using VISI-PITCH, it was seen that there were a decrease in the perturbation of the voice pitch and an increase in voice range in all three patients. Therefore, it was concluded that the improvement of phonation plays a major role in the improvement of the motor speech disorder. Such improvement of the phonation seems to have resulted from the improvement of coordination, mainly due to the normalization of the muscle tone of the larynx by TRH administration. Although a remarkable beneficial effect of TRH may be obtained in exceptional patients of SCD, the mechanism of such an effect of TRH should be more extensively studied using the quantitative clinical evaluation of phonation and articulation.
Articulation Disorders↗
Selective clean-up method using an immunoaffinity column following radioimmunoassay of prostaglandin F2 alpha in biological fluids.
A selective clean-up method using an immunoaffinity column followed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed for determining prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) in human urine and plasma. Polyclonal antibody raised against PGF2 alpha, obtained from rabbits, was coupled to a tresyl-activated support based on a synthetic hydrophilic resin, TSKgel Tresyl-Toyopearl 650M, and used as the stationary phase for the immunoaffinity column. A human urine or plasma sample was introduced to this column, and PGF2 alpha was eluted with methanol-water (50:50, v/v) after the column had been washed. The eluate was subjected to competitive RIA for PGF2 alpha. The cross-reactivities of the RIA to a number of endogenous prostanoids, except PGD2, were negligible and the sensitivity was 4 pg/tube (p less than 0.05), giving a detection limit of 40 pg/ml when 1 ml of plasma or urine was available. The recoveries of plasma and urine samples were 98-108% and 96-106%, respectively, and their assay variances were 7-23%. The concentrations of endogenous PGF2 alpha in plasma and urine used here were estimated to be 72 and 98 pg/ml, respectively. This method should be very useful for various biological samples because of its good specificity, sensitivity, reliability and reproducibility.
Chromatography, Affinity↗
[Sensory ataxia in peripheral neuropathies--etiological and pathological analysis of four cases].
Among 85 neuropathy patients admitted and studied in the Department of Neurology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, from 1979 to 1990, four patients suffering from sensory ataxia are reported with special reference to their etiological and pathological conditions. All of them were classified as having immune-mediated neuropathy. The first patient, a 56-year-old woman, was diagnosed as having chronic progressive ataxic sensory neuropathy. Her symptoms became progressively worse over a nine-year period after onset, but no evidence of cancer has been revealed. The positive rheumatoid factor was the only other feature noted. The second patient, a 63-year-old woman, after extensive laboratory studies, including the biopsy of the lymph node at the bifurcation of the bronchus in search of the cancer, was diagnosed as having subacute sensory neuropathy with small cell carcinoma of the lung. Chemotherapy was completed without subsequent obvious clinical benefits. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed on autopsy 29 months after the onset. The symptoms of the first patient were indistinguishable from those of the second patient, especially in the early clinical stage. In both patients, the proprioceptive sensations were severely affected and the disturbance of the proprioceptive sensations seemed to be almost parallel with the ataxia signs. The main site of the lesion seemed to be the neuron in the dorsal root ganglion in the first patient, as well as in the second patient who showed a marked loss of neurons in the dorsal root ganglion considered to be the primary lesion on autopsy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Ataxia↗
Asbestos fiber analysis in 27 malignant mesothelioma cases.
The asbestos body counts per 5 gm wet lung tissue in 27 (23 pleural and 4 peritoneal) malignant mesothelioma cases derived from 19 autopsy and 8 surgical cases were, according to our own criteria, low level exposure in 13 cases (48.2%), moderate level exposure in 2 cases (7.4%), and high level exposure in 12 cases (44.4%). In our previous study on 235 consecutive autopsy cases, the low level exposure was considered to be environmental, the moderate level was secondary or blue collar, and the high level was occupational. In the present study, about half of the cases examined (44.4%, high level exposure) are closely related to some occupational asbestos exposure and the other half (48.2%) to environmental exposure. The type and size of asbestos fibers from the 12 cases of high level exposure were analyzed and the characteristics were compared with those of cases of low level exposure without lung cancer or mesothelioma. Most fibers analyzed (98%) were longer than 5 microns and thicker than 0.10 micron by our counting rules. In the control group, predominant fibers were tremolite or actinolite. In all the 11 pleural mesothelioma cases, the content of amosite fibers was significantly higher than in the controls. In one case of peritoneal mesothelioma, incipient asbestosis was found and the predominant fibers were crocidolite. It is suggested that the presence of amosite and crocidolite is linked to mesothelioma. The mean lengths of amosite and crocidolite, as detected by our resolution capabilities, were 36.0 and 20.9 microns, and the mean diameters were 0.51 and 0.27 micron, respectively. Both amosite and crocidolite fibers had high aspect ratios (94.2 and 115.4).
Adult↗
Inhibitory period following motor potentials evoked by magnetic cortical stimulation.
Following motor potentials evoked (MEPs) by magnetic cortical stimulation, there is a transient suppression of muscle action potentials (inhibitory period). We recorded MEPs, the inhibitory period, V1 waves and F waves from the abductor pollicis brevis muscle in 20 normal subjects and in 17 patients with spastic hyperreflexia due to cerebral infarction. The duration of the inhibitory period increased in correspondence with increasing stimulus intensity and did not necessarily depend on the amplitude of the MEPs. The duration of the inhibitory period elicited by a twin coil, which can stimulate the motor cortex locally, was shorter than by a single coil. The mean duration of the inhibitory period was significantly shorter in patients with spastic hyperreflexia than in normal subjects, and it correlated with the amplitude of F waves. The effects of the inhibitory period on V1 waves were different from its effects on F waves in one patient with large V1 and F waves. The amplitudes of V1 waves recorded during the inhibitory period were approximately 30-50% of the maximal amplitude of V1 waves, but F waves were not smaller. The inhibitory period is probably caused primarily by central inhibitory mechanisms.
Action Potentials↗
Overproduction of voltage-dependent Na+ channels in the developing brain of genetically seizure-susceptible E1 mice.
We used E1 mice, a ddY mouse-derived, autosomal mutant strain and a model of hereditary sensory-precipitated epilepsy, to test the hypothesis that epileptic susceptibility may be associated with the activity of voltage-dependent ion channels. We examined the saxitoxin binding capacity of the receptor site 1 of the Na+ channel alpha-subunit, the expression activity of the Na+ channel mRNA, the veratridine-induced 22Na+ influx in the brain synaptosomes, and the regional distribution of Na+ channels in the brain. Compared with control ddY mice, in E1 mice which have not experienced seizures, the number of Na+ channels in the brain synaptosomes increased by approximately 20% starting at the fourth postnatal week through the adult stage as determined by [3H]saxitoxin binding assay. Northern blot hybridization analysis showed excess expression of Na+ channel mRNA (by 30-40%) coincidentally with Na+ channel increases. Regional analysis using the saxitoxin binding assay demonstrated approximately 1.3-fold denser distribution of Na+ channels in the cortex and cerebellum but not the hippocampus and midbrain including thalamus of E1 mice compared to ddY mice. Scatchard plot analysis for saxitoxin binding in the cortex of E1 mouse brains revealed higher maximum binding capacity (Bmax) values (ddY, 4.43 +/- 0.28 pmol/mg protein; E1, 5.43 +/- 0.25 pmol/mg protein) without a change in Kd (ddY, 1.05 +/- 0.03 nM; E1, 1.03 +/- 0.01 nM). Lastly, veratridine-evoked 22Na+ influx, sensitive to tetrodotoxin, was increased approximately 45% in the cortical synaptosomes in six-week-old E1 mice.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Aging↗
HAM/TSP attributable to blood transfusion.
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Age Factors↗
A study on conformationally restricted sangivamycins and their inhibitory abilities of protein kinases.
Conformational restrictions of sangivamycin, a rather selective inhibitor of PKC, could be achieved by the use of the steric effect and the gauche effect of the substituents on the ribofuranose moiety. The conformational deviations obtained by these methods were found to nicely correlate with the inhibitory ability of PKC.
Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
[Quantitative evaluation of tongue atrophy on midsagittal magnetic resonance images (MRIs)].
This study was undertaken mainly to establish the quantitative parameter to evaluate the tongue atrophy on midsagittal MRIs and to show the clinical usefulness of such quantitative evaluation. Midsagittal MRIs of the tongue of consecutive 103 patients were analyzed. They were classified into 67 patients showing normal size (group without atrophy), 11 patients showing atrophy (group with atrophy) and 25 patients showing unsatisfactory MRIs with artefacts based on the routine evaluation. The patients in the group without atrophy did not show any pathologic processes to produce tongue atrophy on clinical findings. The area and perimeter of tongue and oral cavity, and the ratio of tongue area to oral cavity area and the ratio of tongue perimeter to oral cavity perimeter on midsagittal MRIs were obtained in each patient of groups with and without atrophy by using quantitative image analysis system. In the group without atrophy, regression analysis of the data on age was made and the 95% confidence interval of the data for age was obtained. No evidence that the tongue becomes atrophic with aging was obtained in the group without atrophy. Patients in the group with atrophy were best separated from those in the group without atrophy statistically when the ratio of tongue area to oral cavity area was regressed on age. Among 11 patients in the group with atrophy, 6 patients were not regarded as having tongue atrophy on clinical neurological examinations. Therefore, the evaluation of midsagittal MRIs is clinically useful.
Adolescent↗
[Morphometric analysis of normal human sural nerves for systematic clinical application].
To obtain normative data on the sural nerve for clinical evaluation of the pathologic process and severity of the various peripheral nerve disorders, a morphometric analysis was made on 30 control sural nerves from normal volunteers, and from patients and cadavers with no evidence of peripheral nerve involvement. The ages of volunteers, patients and cadavers ranged from 13 to 83 years. The data obtained included 1) the mean frequency of abnormal teased myelinated fibers and its upper limit value of 95% confidence interval, and 2) the mean densities of total, large and small myelinated fibers and of unmyelinated fibers and their lower limit value of 95% confidence interval for each decade. The linear correlation between the age and each of the frequencies of abnormal teased myelinated fibers and the densities of total, large and small myelinated fibers and of unmyelinated fibers were statistically significant (P less than 0.01). Therefore, the morphometric data obtained from the disease nerve should be compared with the normative data adjusted for the age of the subject described in this study.
Adolescent↗
Motor potentials evoked by magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex in normal subjects and patients with motor disorders.
Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by magnetic coil stimulation of motor cortex were studied at rest and during maximum voluntary muscle contraction in 20 normal subjects and 42 patients with motor disorders. MEP parameters employed in this study included: onset latency, amplitude, MEP/M wave amplitude ratio and background EMG/MEP area ratio. Maximum voluntary contraction increased the amplitude of MEPs compared to the size of M waves elicited by peripheral nerve stimulation. A reduced MEP/M wave amplitude ratio had a higher correlation with pyramidal tract involvement than did a prolonged MEP onset latency. Analysis of MEP parameters may help in the differential diagnosis of cerebral infarction, ALS and cervical spondylotic radiculomyelopathy. The inhibitory period which follows MEPs during voluntary contraction was observed in all subjects; the mean duration in normal subjects was 126.6 +/- 29.5 msec. The mean duration of the inhibitory period in patients with cerebral infarction, ALS and cervical spondylotic radiculomyelopathy was 73.9 +/- 41.7 msec, 79.5 +/- 54.5 msec and 85.1 +/- 36.5 msec, respectively. These values were significantly shorter than in normal subjects.
Adult↗
Biochemical abnormalities in developing E1 mouse.
Complex biochemical abnormalities were found in the early developmental stage of the E1 mouse. First, the E1 mouse has abnormal levels of specific amino acid concentration within a week from birth. Second, an unusual expression of poly(A)+ RNA from the one-day newborn liver of the E1 mouse was detected by use of Cot 100 DNA as a probe. Third, sodium channels are increased in synaptosomes and at the mRNA expression level of the 3 or 4-week-old E1 mouse brains, compared with the ddY mouse. These results suggest that the biochemical abnormalities described in this study may affect greatly the epileptogenesis of E1 mouse.
Age Factors↗
[The evaluation of serum creatine phosphokinase for estimation of energy expenditure in human subjects].
We investigated the relationship between serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity and energy expenditure in young adults and evaluated whether serum CPK activity is a useful index of energy expenditure. These data were obtained from 225 (men: 94, women: 131) healthy young adults. The results of the survey were as follows: In men, there was a statistically significant correlation between serum CPK activity and energy expenditure (r = 0.370; p less than 0.01; y = 1986.0 + 8.2x), energy expenditure/body weight (r = 0.270; p less than 0.01 y = 35.4 + 0.06x) and daily activity index (r = 0.357; p less than 0.01; y = 0.38 + 0.0030x) In women, there was a statistically significant correlation between serum CPK activity and energy expenditure (r = 0.207; p less than 0.05; y = 1895.0 + 3.0x), and daily activity index (r = 0.194; p less than 0.05; y = 0.432 + 0.0017x). The higher the proportion of exercising subjects, the higher was the serum CPK activity. These results suggest that measurement of serum CPK activity can be used to evaluate energy expenditure.
Activities of Daily Living↗