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Biomedical subjects

Y Ohno

Publications and source records attributed to Y Ohno.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources

[Two cases of testicular tumor with brain metastasis].

During the last 8 years, 70 cases of testicular tumor were treated in our department. Of them 2 cases had brain metastasis. Case 1; A 37-year-old male was admitted with the chief complaint of cough. Retroperitoneal lymph node and lung metastases were discovered (stage IIIB, pT4aN1M1). Resected right testis was diagnosed as embryonal carcinoma, teratoma and STGC histopathologically. After 3 courses of PVB (cisplatinum, vincristine, bleomycin) chemotherapy right hemiplegia occurred and computerized tomographic (CT) scan revealed brain metastasis. His general condition degraded rapidly and he died of brain herniation 3 months after orchiectomy. Case 2; A 32-year-old male was admitted because of right testicular swelling and lung metastases (stage IIIB, pTiN0M1). Pathological examination revealed embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac tumor and teratoma. After 4 courses of chemotherapy with cisplatinum (CDDP), vincristine, methotrexate, peplomycin, and etoposide all lung metastases were disappeared. A few months later left hemiplegia by brain metastasis appeared suddenly. Four additional courses of high dose chemotherapy and resection of brain metastasis was performed. Complete remission continued for 13 months. The prognosis of testicular tumor with brain metastasis was very poor. During the last 8 years, 21 cases of testicular tumor with brain metastasis were reported in the Japanese literature. A follow-up study of prognosis in the literature was performed and discussed.

Adult↗

[Maternal working status and low birthweight: findings from a cohort study].

To explore possible associations of maternal working status with birthweight, a cohort study was conducted from July, 1989 to June, 1991 in 8 general hospitals in the Tokai district. Using a self-administered questionnaire, data on job employment were collected mostly in the first or second trimester. Information on delivery outcome was recorded by doctors, midwives or nurses after child birth. Included in this analysis were 1,360 pregnants who delivered a live singleton without major malformations at gestation of 37 weeks or more. The following major findings emerged. (1) No significant difference in mean birthweight was detected between working and non-working pregnants. (2) Working pregnants were at greater risk of delivering a low birthweight (< 2,500g) baby. (3) Delivery of a low birthweight baby was more frequent in multiparous than nulliparous mothers. (4) The risks of delivering a low birthweight baby significantly differed according to the maternal working status. (5) These results suggest that not only the maternal working factor itself but the working status should be deliberately taken into consideration in order to provide proper prenatal care.

Adolescent↗

[Epidemiological remarks on low serum cholesterol level and cancer risk of all sites].

Epidemiological studies which examine an association between low serum cholesterol level and cancer risk of all sites were reviewed and a summary of major findings are as follows: (1) In most reports, low serum cholesterol level, which associated with cancer of all sites, cancer deaths/incidence occurred within a few years after cholesterol measurement were performed. This short-term association is believed to be a preclinical cancer effect, i.e., preclinical cancer itself reduces serum cholesterol level. (2) A long-term inverse association between serum cholesterol and cancer risk of all sites was observed in some studies. This association cannot be explained by either a preclinical cancer effect or by chance. The epidemiological implications of this association was discussed in depth. (3) A long-term inverse association between serum cholesterol level and cancer mortality/incidence was observed mainly in men, but not in women. In a few studies which reported an inverse association in women, follow-up periods were rather short. (4) A few epidemiological studies conducted in Japan also detected a long-term inverse relationship between serum cholesterol level and cancer risk of all sites in men, but not in women. Since low serum cholesterol level may possibly be a risk factor for cancer of all sites, further investigation involving experimental studies on animals and longitudinal population-based study appear to be necessary for confirmation of this factor.

Adolescent↗

Calcium restriction accelerates salt-induced hypertension in young spontaneously hypertensive rats.

To assess the effect of dietary calcium (Ca) and salt on blood pressure and vascular reactivity, 5-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats were placed on control (1% Ca diet+tap water), high Na (1% NaCl administered in drinking fluid), low Ca (0.2% Ca diet), and low Ca+high Na intake for 3 weeks (n = 8-10). During the observation period, systolic blood pressure increased in all groups, but the increase was markedly enhanced in the low Ca+high Na group. There were no significant differences in body weight and serum electrolytes. On high Na intakes, urine volume and urinary Na excretion increased and plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentration were suppressed, whereas Ca restriction did not affect these values. The dose-response curves of mesenteric arterial beds for in vitro contraction to norepinephrine (NE) were not affected by dietary manipulations. However, the time from maximum contraction to return to baseline levels of contractility by 10(-4) M NE was significantly prolonged in the low Ca+high Na group. These results indicate that Ca restriction accelerates salt-induced hypertension in young spontaneously hypertensive rats, and the cellular impairment in vascular smooth muscle might, at least in part, participate in the enhanced blood pressure elevation under this condition.

Animals↗

[Neuropathological study of battered child syndrome: eight autopsy cases].

The term "battered-child syndrome" was coined by Kempe in 1962. The morphology of brain lesions in abused children is rarely reported in Japan. This clinicopathological entity in the central nervous system is characterized by retinal hemorrhages, subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage. However, reports on microscopic findings of intracerebral lesion are fewer than those on macroscopic findings of scalp, skull and intracranial cavity. This study was performed on 8 cases of battered children who were autopsied. They consisted of six female and two male infants. The age ranged from one week to four years old. The causes of the injuries were shaking in four cases, throwing in three cases, dropping in two cases and strangling in one case, mostly in combination. CT scans were examined for three cases. CT scan revealed acute cerebral swelling and acute subdural hematoma with interhemispheric blood clot in three cases and multiple low density area in one case. Evacuation of the subdural hematoma and external decompression was performed in one case. The survival period from injury to death was one day in four cases, and 2, 3, 9 and 41 days in the others. In the gross anatomical findings there are many excoriations and bruises of the face and scalp in five cases, widespread subcutaneous hematoma in all cases and skull fracture in only two cases. The brain weight was exceedingly heavier than normal brain weight by age in five cases. In the macroscopic findings, there were marked cerebral swelling and cerebral herniation in all cases, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in six cases, and thin widespread acute subdural hematoma with interhemispheric clot in four cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Axons↗

Inhibition of hepatocyte gap junctional communication by 25-hydroxycholesterol may be mediated through free radicals.

25-Hydroxycholesterol, an autoxidation product of cholesterol, has been shown to inhibit gap junctional communication between rat hepatocytes. In this study, we investigated whether free radicals are responsible for the effect of 25-hydroxycholesterol on hepatocytes. Addition of superoxide dismutase, hydroxyl radical scavenger mannitol, or the antioxidants diphenylphenylenediamine and alpha-tocopherol markedly decreased the inhibitory effect of 25-hydroxycholesterol. However, addition of catalase or the catalase inhibitor aminotriazole did not influence the inhibition of gap junctional communication by 25-hydroxycholesterol. Data from this study suggest that free radicals other than hydrogen peroxide are involved in the mechanism of 25-hydroxycholesterol-induced inhibition of gap junctional communication.

Animals↗

[Immunohistochemical determination of endometrial progesterone receptor (PR) content after intrauterine infusion of danazol in rabbits].

Danazol, an isoxazole derivative of 17 alpha-ethinyl-testosterone, has various effects on the female reproductive system. To examine its anti-estrogenic effects through the receptor system and clarify its direct effect on the endometrium in vivo, we applied danazol jelly into the rabbit uterine cavity. Recent studies performed in our laboratory using the ligand-binding assay have shown that danazol administered directly into the uterine cavity is absorbed by the endometrial tissue and exerts its anti-estrogenic effects possibly through progesterone receptors (PR) in the cells. In the present study we examined the variations in endometrial PR content during 7 days after the intrauterine administration of danazol into the rabbit uterine cavity. Immature female white rabbits were used. They were given daily subcutaneous injections of estradiol-17 beta (E2) for 3 days after which their abdomens were opened, and danazol gel was infused into the lumen of the right horn and HPC-jelly was infused into the lumen of the left horn, as the control. Thereafter and until they were killed, the same daily dose of E2 was injected. They were killed 6h, 24h, 3 days, 5 days or 7 days after intrauterine infusion of danazol and PRs were studied immunohistochemically using a specific antireceptor monoclonal antibody (PR-AT 4.14). Six hours after danazol infusion, the PR staining in the glandular epithelium and part of the stroma surrounding the epithelium had declined. On day 3, PR staining declined to its lowest level in the glandular epithelium and stroma. On Day 5, PR staining had been restored in the glandular epithelium but stayed low in the stroma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

[A case of acute suppurative thyroiditis associated with thyroid papillary carcinoma].

A sixty-one-year-old female was admitted to our hospital in October 1988 because of fever and a right neck mass associated with redness and tenderness. The size of the thyroid mass had gradually increased over 3 months. Two masses were detected in the thyroid by ultrasonography and MRI. She has positive thyroid autoantibodies, high CRP levels and high erythrocyte sedimentation rates. While she had normal white blood cell counts, massive neutrophils were obtained from her thyroid mass by aspiration biopsy, indicating acute suppurative thyroiditis. However, we could not find any bacteria to cause suppurative thyroiditis either in the blood or in thyroid aspirates. Serum levels of thyroid hormone were slightly elevated but she did not complain of any thyrotoxic symptoms. Radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU) of the thyroid gland was markedly decreased (2%/24h). Following treatment with antibiotics, her inflammation and symptoms immediately improved, and pus spontaneously ran from the collapsed thyroid mass. Then serum thyroid hormone levels and RAIU were normalized and the right thyroid mass disappeared. She was discharged in December 1988. There were no signs of recurrence of suppurative thyroiditis until now. She received a pharyngo-esophageal barium examination in search of the route of infection 4 times, but no fistula was revealed. However, as her left thyroid mass consistently remained thereafter, an operation of the left thyroid mass was performed in December 1989. The histologic examination of the resected thyroid revealed the coexistence of encapsulated follicular adenoma, minute papillary carcinoma and chronic thyroiditis. There are few reports of such a case having a combination of suppurative thyroiditis, thyroid cancer and chronic thyroiditis observed in an elderly female.

Acute Disease↗

An unusual profile of musk xylene-induced drug-metabolizing enzymes in rat liver.

We have demonstrated previously that musk xylene, a non-mutagenic carcinogen, is a novel and specific inducer of CYP1A2 in rats (Iwata et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun 184: 149-153, 1992). In the present study, the effects of musk xylene (50, 100 or 200 mg/kg body weight, i.p., for 5 consecutive days) on both Phase I and Phase II metabolizing enzymes in rat liver were investigated further and more completely. Among the mixed-function oxidases monitored, 7-ethoxycoumarin deethylase and 7-pentoxyresorufin depentylase activities were increased at all dose levels from 1.6- to 1.7-fold and 2.6- to 3.1-fold, respectively. Benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase activity was increased significantly at only the 200 mg/kg dose level of musk xylene (1.5-fold). Regarding Phase II enzymes, activities of both cytosolic DT-diaphorase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were increased up to 2.0- to 2.4-fold by musk xylene in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot analysis revealed that the changes in these activities were caused by increases in the amounts of DT-diaphorase and GST Ya subunit. Microsomal UDP-glucoronyltransferase (UDPGT) activity assayed with p-nitrophenol as substrate was increased 1.6- to 2.0-fold. These results show that musk xylene induces both Phase I cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidase (CYP1A2 specific) and Phase II metabolizing enzyme systems (DT-diaphorase, GST Ya subunit and UDPGT) in rat liver.

Animals↗

Association of alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, and occupational status with the risk of idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

To investigate the association of alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, occupation, and other factors with the development of idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head, a nationwide multicenter case-control study was conducted in Japan during 1988-1990, comparing 118 cases with no history of systemic corticosteroid use with 236 controls matched for sex, age, ethnicity, clinic, and date of initial examination. The risks of developing femoral head necrosis associated with potential risk factors were estimated by adjusted relative odds obtained by a conditional logistic regression model. The elevated relative odds were observed for occasional drinkers (relative odds = 3.2, 95% confidence interval 1.1-9.2) and regular drinkers (relative odds = 13.1, 95% confidence interval 4.1-42.5) with a significant dose-response relation (p < 0.001). For current drinkers, the relative odds were 2.8, 9.4, and 14.8 for < 320, 320-799, and > or = 800 g/week of ethanol intake, respectively. An increased risk was found for current smokers (relative odds = 4.7, 95% confidence interval 1.5-14.5), but a linear increasing trend in the cumulative effect of smoking was not evident at 20 pack-years or over. A weak but significant dose-response relation was observed for daily occupational energy consumption (p < 0.05). The present study confirmed the strong association of alcohol intake and positive association of cigarette smoking and suggested the role of heavy physical work.

Adult↗

Conformation of deltorphin-II in membrane environment studied by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculations.

Two-dimensional homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn spectroscopy and NOESY (nuclear Overhauser effect and exchange spectroscopy) 1H-NMR techniques have been used to obtain complete proton resonance assignments and to perform a conformational investigation of deltorphin-II (Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Glu-Val-Val-Gly-NH2), a naturally occurring delta-selective opioid peptide, in the membrane-mimetic micelles of perdeuterated dodecylphosphocholine. This was done in order to examine conformational characteristics that would be closely related to the selectivity towards the delta-opioid receptor. With the use of the proton-proton distances derived from NOESY measurements, 50 possible three-dimensional structures were generated by means of distance-geometry calculations, and 25 of them were subjected to the molecular-dynamics simulations of 10 ps, which were energetically constrained for the NOE interproton distances. Most of the possible conformers simulated showed a common feature such that the conformation of deltorphin-II is characterized by the S-shaped back-bone structure in which the turn conformation of the Val-Val-Gly-NH2 sequence is located under the helically folded conformation of the N-terminal Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Glu sequence. The possible relationship between this conformational characteristic and the delta-opioid-receptor selectivity has been discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Multilineage response in aplastic anemia patients following long-term administration of filgrastim (recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor).

The present multicenter study was undertaken to confirm whether filgrastim/recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) could mobilize residual multipotential stem cells by its G0-shortening effect in patients with aplastic anemia (AA) and induce a multilineage response. Twenty-seven patients with acquired severe or moderate AA received long-term administration (2 to 12+ months) of rhG-CSF in doses from 100 to 400 micrograms/body/day by s.c. injection or 250 to 1,500 micrograms/body/day by i.v. infusion. Twenty-six out of the 27 evaluable patients showed a substantial increase in neutrophils associated with a recovery of myeloid precursors in bone marrow within one month of therapy. Interestingly, 10 out of the 27 patients showed a dramatic improvement in severe anemia after two to ten months of therapy. Moreover, severe thrombocytopenia improved after two to four months of therapy in three out of these ten patients accompanied by a significant increase in megakaryocytes in bone marrow. Clonal cultures of bone marrow cells revealed a recovery in myeloid as well as erythroid precursors in most of these ten patients. In two patients who showed a trilineage response, mixed and megakaryocyte colony formations also recovered. These results suggest that long-term administration of rhG-CSF mobilizes myeloid, erythroid, megakaryocyte and multipotential progenitor cells and induces a multilineage response in some patients with AA.

Adolescent↗

Relations between lead exposure and peripheral neuromuscular functions of lead-exposed workers--results of tapping test.

In this study, four experiments using the tapping test were conducted to evaluate the possible subclinical effects of lead exposure on the neuromuscular systems of lead workers at some transfer printing factories in Japan. Decreases in the tapping ability appeared coincidentally with higher blood lead levels. The recovery of the tapping ability after 30 sec rest in the groups of 30-45 micrograms/dl and above 45 micrograms/dl PbB was worse than that in the group with less than 29 micrograms/dl PbB. The recovery of the decreased tapping ability after 60 sec rest was better even in the group with 30-45 micrograms/dl PbB. The tapping ability for 0-10 sec at the first tapping test was sustained after 30 or 60 sec rest in the group with the PbB below 29 micrograms/dl; however, the tapping ability at the second and third tapping test decreased in the two groups with the PbB level above 30 micrograms/dl. The decreased finger tapping speed may be functional evidence of low-grade motor neuropathy among the workers with higher levels of lead absorption.

Adult↗

Influenza A modification of endotoxin-induced otitis media with effusion in the guinea pig.

A total of 120 Hartley strain guinea pigs were used to investigate the possible role of influenza A in endotoxin-induced otitis media with effusion. Intratympanic inoculation of 0.2 ml physiologic saline solution containing 10(4) plaque-forming units (PFU)/ml of influenza A suspension or 100 ng/ml lipopolysaccharide failed to induce either middle ear effusions or mucociliary pathologies in the tubotympanum. In contrast, intratympanic inoculation 100 ng/ml endotoxin resulted in prolonged mucociliary dysfunction and middle ear effusions when 0.2 ml 10(4) PFU/ml of influenza A was inoculated in the tympanic cavity. The inference is drawn that an influenza A infection might predispose the middle ear to endotoxin-induced otitis media with effusion.

Animals↗

Studies on transmission of hepatitis C virus from mother-to-child in the perinatal period.

To elucidate whether breast milk, vaginal discharge and contamination with maternal blood at birth are possible routes of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV), we examined HCV RNA in the cord and peripheral blood of infants, and in the blood, vaginal discharge, and breast milk of anti-HCV seropositive mothers. From July 1991 to July 1992, we studied 20 healthy pregnant women, who were seropositive with the Ortho anti-HCV EIA, and their infants. Using a sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR), we investigated the presence or absence of hepatitis C virus in the above-mentioned specimens. Moderate elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was observed in only one woman in the first and third trimesters. The nested PCR and subsequent Southern hybridization detected 0.5-5.5 copies of HCV c-DNA. HCV RNA was detected in 17/20 blood samples (85%), 7/14 vaginal discharge samples (50%) and 4/10 cord blood samples (40%). However, no HCV RNA was identified in the peripheral blood of infants or breast milk. The mother-to-child transmission of HCV at delivery or via breast milk does not appear to contribute much to maintaining the global HCV reservoir.

Adult↗