Biomedical subjects

Y Soma

Publications and source records attributed to Y Soma.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

[Cerebrovascular disorder and the language areas].

Recent progress of imaging techniques has achieved precise descriptions of aphasic syndromes associated with cerebrovascular disorders. Infarction of the left anterior cerebral artery brings about transcortical motor aphasia. Occlusion of each branches of the left middle cerebral artery produces characteristic language symptoms. Recently, cases with infarction of the areas of prefrontal and precentral arteries were reported to manifest fluent aphasia indistinguishable from the classical transcortical sensory aphasia. Rare cases with lesions restricted to the Broca's area (territory of the precentral artery) produces aphasia with normal fluency, word finding difficulty and deficit in sentence comprehension. Classical non-fluent Broca's aphasia is caused by infarctions which at least involves the areas of precentral and central arteries. Aphemia or pure word dumbness results from damages which involves territory of the central artery. Conduction aphasia is most often associated with lesions of the posterior parietal artery territory. As in the case of Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia is a composite of conduction aphasia, pure word deafness, transcortical sensory aphasia, and alexia with agraphia. The lesion of Wernicke's aphasia naturally involves the areas of all of these aphasic symptoms. Transcortical sensory aphasia is associated with lesions in the posteroinferior temporal region, and is often associated with watershed infarctions of the middle and posterior cerebral arteries. Aphasia which results from putaminal hemorrhage has ambiguous manifestation, and is difficult to be classified into Wernicke-Lichtheim's model. Assessment of its fluency is notoriously difficult. Thalamic aphasia is similar to either anomic aphasia or transcortical sensory aphasia. It was pointed out that classical aphasic syndromes are still valid as cerebral arterial occlusion syndromes, but are insufficient for the purpose of more precise anatomo-clinical correlation.

Aphasia↗

PubMed1996

Functional neuroanatomy of visual object naming: a PET study.

BACKGROUND: The ability to name objects depends partly on visual perception. We used positron emission tomography (PET) to measure activity-related changes in regional cerebral blood flow (r-CBF) in order to identify regions of the brain activated during visual object naming. METHODS: Four right-handed volunteers were recruited. Following an intravenous injection of 15O-labeled water, r-CBF was measured during visual object naming, counting numbers, and resting. PET and MRI images were coregistered, the size of the brain was proportionally adjusted in each axis to Talairach's and Tournoux's atlas, and the comparison of stimulated versus resting blood flow images revealed activated brain regions. RESULTS: In the subtraction of resting from naming, activation was observed in the bilateral primary visual cortex, bilateral fusiform gyrus, left lingual gyrus, bilateral inferotemporal cortex, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral precentral gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, left parietal operculum, and left putamen. In the subtraction of counting from naming, most of the those areas were activated, but no significant activity was observed in the left lingual gyrus, left parietal operculum, or bilateral precentral gyrus (motor cortex). The areas activated with the paradigm included those dedicated to visual perception (primary and associate visual cortex), visual recognition (inferior temporal cortex), and phonological output (Broca's area). CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that the major neural network from occipital lobe to frontal cortex, which is mainly involved in the ventral visual pathway, demonstrated activation in these tasks. Result of this study will serve as base line data for analyzing the findings in patients with impaired visual perception.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Autoantibodies to mitochondrial 2-oxo-acid dehydrogenase complexes in localized scleroderma.

Sera from patients with localized scleroderma frequently produce cytoplasmic staining by indirect immunofluorescence, although the antigen remains to be determined. We studied the prevalence, antigen specificity and associated clinical characteristics of anti-cytoplasmic antibodies in localized scleroderma. Serum samples from 60 patients with localized scleroderma were examined by indirect immunofluorescence analysis and immunoblotting. By immunofluorescence analysis on HEp-2 cell substrate, seven of 60 (12%) patients were shown to be positive for anti-cytoplasmic antibodies. Among these, six patients with generalized morphea had anti-mitochondrial antibodies as shown by immunoblotting: they showed reactivity with the E2 component of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC), with protein X, and with the E2 component of alpha-oxo-glutarate dehydrogenase complex, while two of them showed reactivity with PDC-E1 alpha. One of these patients who was positive for anti-PDC-E1 alpha antibody showed laboratory abnormalities, suggesting the presence of primary biliary cirrhosis. The age of disease onset was significantly higher in these six patients than in those without anti-mitochondrial antibodies. Furthermore, five of them were classified into generalized morphea with multiple plaque lesions but without linear lesions (multiple plaque type). These observations suggest that major antigens for anti-cytoplasmic antibodies in patients with localized scleroderma are mitochondrial enzymes, 2-oxo-acid dehydrogenase complexes. Patients with anti-mitochondrial antibodies may comprise a unique subset of localized scleroderma designated multiple plaque type of generalized morphea of older onset.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Measurement of anticardiolipin antibodies by ELISA using beta 2-glycoprotein I (beta 2-GPI) in systemic sclerosis.

In order to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of beta 2-GPI-dependent anticardiolipin antibodies (beta 2-GPI/aCL) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), serum samples from 80 patients with SSc, 20 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 120 healthy control subjects were examined by ELISA using purified beta 2-GPI. IgG isotype beta 2-GPI/aCL was present in eight of 80 patients with SSc (10%), and the presence of beta 2-GPI/aCL IgG was significantly correlated with the presence of isolated pulmonary hypertension (PH). Furthermore, levels of beta 2-GPI/aCL IgG were significantly correlated with levels of mean pulmonary arterial pressure. These data suggest that IgG isotype beta 2-GPI/aCL might be a serological indicator of the severity of PH in patients with SSc.

Antibodies, Anticardiolipin↗

PubMed1996

Anti-ribosomal P protein antibodies in a Japanese patient with systemic sclerosis.

A 56-year-old Japanese woman developed Raynaud's phenomenon and digital ulcerations at the age of 50. She showed rapid and diffuse skin sclerosis; visceral involvement was mild. She showed no symptoms or laboratory findings suggestive of other collagen diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome. Based on the clinical and histological findings, she was diagnosed as having diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (SSc). The patient's serum produced nucleolar and cytoplasmic staining by indirect immunofluorescence analyses on HEp-2 cell substrate and reacted with P0, P1 and P2 proteins in immunoblotting using purified ribosomal antigens. She was negative for anti-topoisomerase I, centromere, and U1RNP antibodies. Antiribosomal P protein antibodies are considered highly specific for systemic lupus erythematosus; this is the first case report of an SSc patient with anti-ribosomal P protein antibodies. The clinical features of SSc patients with these antibodies need to be clarified by an accumulation of cases.

Autoantibodies↗

PubMed1996

[Motor initiation difficulty of right upper extremity induced by tactile-stimulation after infarction in the left anterior cerebral artery territory].

We report a patient who manifested motor initiation difficulty of the right upper extremity, which was caused by tactile-stimulation on his right palm or back. The patient was a 62-year-old right-handed man, who showed reduction of spontaneous speech, slight paresis in the right lower extremity, and left unilateral ideomotor apraxia. He initially showed grasping reflex in the right hand, which disappeared in a month. MRI revealed infarction in the left medial frontal lobe and anterior-half of the corpus callosum. He complained that he was not able to initiate to move his right hand after his right palm or back touched something. He showed no paresis, no abnormal muscle tonus, no involuntary movement. Detailed examination revealed that it was an initiation disturbance caused by tactile-stimulation on his right palm or back. We concluded that this phenomenon, motor initiation difficulty, is one of the disturbances among motor process such as motor initiation, maintainance, and termination. The medial frontal lobe seems to manage the execution of motor process, therefore, lesions in the frontal lobe cause disturbance of motor process. And tactile-stimulation has a close relation to the reaction through the medial frontal lobe, thus, frontal lobe lesion may cause a misinteraction which retrieves a wrong reaction from a certain stimulation.

Arm↗

PubMed1996

A case of generalized pustular psoriasis followed by bullous disease: an atypical case of bullous pemphigoid or a novel bullous disease?

We describe a 31-year-old Japanese woman with generalized pustular psoriasis treated with PUVA who subsequently developed a bullous disease. Throughout the disease course, there was no phase of psoriasis vulgaris. Although several reports describe coexistence of psoriasis vulgaris and bullous disease such as bullous periphigoid, coexistence of generalized pustular psoriasis without any phase of psoriasis vulgaris and bullous disease is rare. As for the bullous disease, direct immunofluorescence study showed IgG and C3 deposition along the basement membrane zone. Indirect immunofluorescence disclosed IgG antibasement membrane zone antibodies. Indirect immunofluorescence on 1 mol/l sodium chloride-split skin demonstrated linear IgG staining almost exclusively on the dermal side of the split. Western immunoblot analysis revealed that the antibody was directed to neither epidermolysis bullosa acquisita antigen nor bullous pemphigoid antigens. Considering the unusual clinical course, we suspect the possibility of a novel autoimmune blistering disease.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

[P300 findings in patients with corticobasal degeneration].

An auditory discrimination paradigm was employed to elicit the P300 component of the event-related potentials from three patients with clinically diagnosed corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Presenile and senile dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT), vascular dementia (VD) and age-matched control subjects were also examined. All patients with CBD manifested limb kinetic apraxia, hemiparkinsonism and mild dementia. Brain MRI revealed marked parietal atrophy, which was predominant in contralateral to the extremities with severe motor dysfunction. 123I-IMP SPECT analysis showed asymmetric reduction of cerebral blood flow, in accordance with the MRI findings. The P300 latencies in the two CBD patients were markedly prolonged compared to those of DAT and VD patients, although they were not as severely demented as DAT and VD patient. It should be noted that the P300 was not detected in one patient with CBD. The latencies of the N100 were not significantly different among the all groups. These abnormal findings of the P300 may be characteristic in CBD, and, furthermore, may be associated with the parietal lobe atrophy and low blood flow in cortex and thalamus revealed by brain MRI and SPECT.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

[Preclinical and clinical studies on the efficacy of bifonazole in patients with tinea pedis at 10 years after approval. Part 1. Susceptibility to bifonazole of clinical isolates of dermatophytes].

An investigation was carried out to determine whether or not here had been any changes in the susceptibility of clinically isolated strains of Trichophyton metagrophytes and Trichophyton rubrum (both leading causes of tinea) to bifonazole, an imidazole derivative and antifungal for topical use. Susceptibility was measured in 107 strains of these fungi isolated from clinical samples during a study on the treatment of tinea pedis with Mycospor cream in 1995, 42 strains isolated and stored in 1990, and 39 strains isolated and stored prior to development of the drug. The results are as follows: (1) There was no distinct difference in the susceptibility to bifonazole of T. mentagrophytes strains isolated before 1986 and those isolated in 1990 or 1995. (2) T. rubrum strains isolated before 1986 were slightly more susceptible to bifonazole than those isolated in 1995, while the 1990 strains were slightly less susceptible than the 1995 strains, but the difference was not significant. (3) The highest MICs of bifonazole for all the T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum strains isolated from before 1986 and those in 1995 were relatively low, being 2.5 micrograms/ml and 1.25 micrograms/ml, respectively. These results suggest that no resistance or reduced susceptibility to bifonazole has emerged among clinical isolates of dermatophytes since the development of the drug.

Antifungal Agents↗

PubMed1996

[Fundamental and clinical studies on the efficacy of bifonazole in patients with tinea pedis at 10 years after approval. Part 2. Clinical evaluation].

The usefulness of bifonazole (Mycospor), a topical imidazole antifungal agent approved 10 years ago, was evaluated for the treatment of tinea pedis. Mycospor cream was applied by 141 patients with tinea pedis once daily for 4 233ks, and the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions (as well as any correlations with susceptibility of isolates and the mycological activity of the agent against these isolates) were studied. The results were then compared to those of a previous study. The following results were obtained. 1. Mycological activity Mycological examination results became negative in 63.2% (36/57) of the patients with plantar tinea pedis, in 94.1% (32/34) of those with interdigital tinea pedis, and in 74.7% (68/91) of all tinea pedis patients. 2. Mycological activity and MIC No correlation was found between the MICs of bifonazole against the pathogenic fungi and the rate of eradication on mycological examination. 3. Improvement of symptoms The improvement rates for local symptoms were 82.5% for plantar tinea pedis, 85.7% for interdigital tinea pedis, and 83.7% for all tinea pedis. 4. Clinical efficacy Good clinical efficacies were found in 61.4% of the patients with plantar tinea pedis, in 88.6% of those with interdigital tinea pedis, and in 71.7% of all patients. 5. Safety Regarding adverse reactions, what seemed to be contact dermatitis was reported in 5 out of 127 cases (3.9%). The reaction decreased or disappeared in all cases. 6. Usefulness Mycospor was found to be useful in 64.9% of patients with plantar tinea pedis, in 88.6% of those with interdigital tinea pedis, and in 73.9% of all tinea pedis patients. 7. Comparison with former results The results obtained in the present clinical study were comparable to those obtained in patients with tinea pedis treated in a double-blind comparative study conducted during the development of as a new topical antifungal agent. From the above results, Mycospor cream was confirmed to be still useful, although it has been used widely for the topical treatment of cutaneous mycoses in the past 10 years since its approval.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

[Relation between defect in comprehension and frontal lobe lesion].

We assessed anatomical findings and language defects in 14 right handed patients who had fluent aphasia following left frontal lobe lesion. From the onset of aphasia all of the patients showed fluent speech and excellent repetition but difficulty in word finding and impairment in language comprehension. We administered to all of the patients the Western Aphasia Battery, a 50-item pointing task using line drawings representing single words selected from among common Japanese words for language training for aphasics, and the Token Test. Anatomical analysis was performed using brain CT and/or MRI. The patients were divided into three groups on the basis of the extent of impairment in comprehension of single words: one group showed no impairment, another showed slight impairment and the other showed severe impairment. The lesion site differed among the groups. Each group had a different lesion site. We concluded the following: first, lesions in Brodmann's areas 6 and 9 produce impairment in comprehension of single words, with lesions extending to anterior to Broca's area producing more impairment than those without the extending lesions. Second, lesions in the frontal lobe produce impairment in comprehension of complex sentences.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Differential chemotactic responses mediated by platelet-derived growth factor alpha- and beta-receptors.

We have performed a modified Boyden chamber chemotaxis assay using NRK-49F cells under serum-free condition, in order to characterize the chemotactic activity of recombinant platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AA, -AB, and -BB. All three PDGF isoforms showed similar chemotactic activity on NRK cells expressing both PDGF alpha- and beta-receptors. A checkerboard analysis revealed that PDGF-AA was a true chemoattractant for NRK cells, indicating that alpha-receptors could transduce signals for the chemotactic response. We then examined the inhibitory effects of PDGF isoforms in the upper chamber on NRK cell migration to PDGF in the lower chamber. When higher concentrations of PDGF-AB or -BB were present in the upper chamber, cell migration to any of the PDGF isoforms was completely blocked, whereas PDGF-AA in the upper chamber could not induce complete inhibition of the chemotactic migration to PDGF-AB or -BB. Even when 100 ng/ml of PDGF-AA was present in the upper chamber, NRK cell migration to 5 ng/ml of PDGF-AB in the lower chamber was not completely blocked. These findings suggest that the chemotactic response induced by ligand binding to PDGF beta-receptor may be different from that induced by ligand binding to PDGF alpha-receptors.

Blotting, Western↗

PubMed1995

Reduction in risk of mortality from colorectal cancer by fecal occult blood screening with immunochemical hemagglutination test. A case-control study.

Fecal occult blood testing by immunochemical hemagglutination has been shown to be superior to the Hemoccult test, both in sensitivity and in specificity. The test has been widely used as a tool for population screening in Japan, but there has been no study to evaluate the efficacy of screening using this test. A case-control study to evaluate the screening was conducted in study areas where no previous and no other concomitant colorectal cancer screening had been performed. Case series in the study were 193 cases who died of colorectal cancer. Three controls were selected randomly from the list of individuals who were alive at the time of diagnosis of the corresponding case and had been living in the same area as the case, matched by gender and by age. Odds ratios (OR) of dying of colorectal cancer for those screened within 1, 2 and 3 years of case diagnosis vs. those not screened were 0.40 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17-0.92], 0.41 (95% CI 0.20-0.82), and 0.48 (95% CI 0.25-0.92), respectively. OR increased towards 1.0 as the duration during which screening histories were compared was extended, and showed similar tendencies when analyzed by number of years since the most recent screening history. These results suggest that colorectal cancer screening by the immunochemical fecal occult blood test would reduce mortality from colorectal cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Elevated plasma endothelin levels in systemic sclerosis.

Endothelin is a novel potent vasoconstrictor peptide produced mainly by endothelial cells. Thrombomodulin is a high-affinity thrombin receptor on vascular endothelial cells that plays an important role as a natural anticoagulant. In this study, we measured plasma levels of endothelin and thrombomodulin in patients with systemic sclerosis or Raynaud's disease. Plasma levels of endothelin and the ratio of thrombomodulin to creatinine were significantly increased in patients with systemic sclerosis compared with normal controls, and there was a positive correlation between these two indicators (r = 0.615, P = 0.004). Moreover, plasma levels of endothelin were significantly higher in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis than in patients with limited systemic sclerosis. In contrast, plasma levels of endothelin in patients with Raynaud's disease were not significantly increased. These results suggest that increased plasma levels of endothelin and thrombomodulin may reflect microvascular damage in systemic sclerosis.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Detection of antiribosomal P protein antibodies in patients with systemic sclerosis.

This study investigated the prevalence and clinical significance of anti-ribosomal P protein (anti-P) antibodies in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Serum samples from 150 patients with SSc were examined by indirect immunofluorescence. ELISA and immunoblotting. Anti-P antibodies were detected in four (3%) patients with SSc. Three of the four patients showed SSc/SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus) overlap syndrome, but psychiatric disorders were not observed in these patients. By longitudinal immunoblotting analysis one patient, who was initially diagnosed with SSc, later developed anti-P antibodies along clinical manifestations of SLE. Our data suggest that anti-P antibodies are uncommon in SSc and that the presence of anti-P antibodies in patients with SSc indicates an overlap with SLE.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Ultrasound measurement of skin thickness in systemic sclerosis.

Sclerotic skin change in systemic sclerosis (SSc) usually accompanies increased skin thickness. In order to quantify the cutaneous changes and to clarify the changes in the 'uninvolved' skin in systemic sclerosis (SSc), we measured the skin thickness on the chest, the forearms and the hands of 79 patients with SSc and 81 healthy controls with a B-mode ultrasound (30 MHz) apparatus. The thickness of the 'uninvolved', as well as the 'involved' skin in patients with SSc was significantly greater than that of healthy controls. Increased skin thickness on the forearms and/or the hands showed a 64.6% sensitivity and a 100% specificity for SSc. These results indicated that the skin which appears to be 'uninvolved' in patients with SSc is already pathologic, as shown by increased thickness. Moreover, measurement of skin thickness may be beneficial in the diagnosis of this disease at an early stage.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Generalized lichen nitidus appearing subsequent to lichen planus.

A 27-year-old man was seen with multiple, small, shiny papules on his shoulders, upper arms, and trunk, and hyperpigmented violaceous plaques on his feet. The former was diagnosed as generalized lichen nitidus and the latter, as lichen planus. It is not likely that the coexistence of the two diseases in this patient is a fortuitous one, since generalized lichen nitidus is a very rare condition. The association of lichen nitidus and lichen planus suggests that lichen nitidus is closely related to lichen planus and that the two diseases may be different manifestations of essentially the same pathogenetic process.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

The stimulatory effects of PDGF and TGF-beta 1 on dermal fibroblast attachment.

We investigated the effects of various growth factors (platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), keratinocyte growth factor (KGF)) on fibroblast attachment to plastic plates. It is thought that cell attachment to plastic plates in vitro may represent the step between cell migration and proliferation in vivo during wound healing. Among the growth factors examined, only PDGF and TGF-beta 1 significantly increased fibroblast attachment to both uncoated and collagen-coated plates in a concentration-dependent manner. The addition of anti-PDGF antibody abolished the enhancing effect of PDGF but not that of TGF-beta 1, suggesting that the effect of TGF-beta 1 is not through the autocrine induction of PDGF-related activities secreted by the fibroblasts themselves. These data suggest that PDGF and TGF-beta 1 regulate fibroblast attachment to the suitable environment in the process of dermal wound healing in vivo.

Adult↗