Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of the Digit.
We report a case of malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the middle finger in a 57-year-old male. The tumour arose from the perionychium of a digit, an extremely unusual occurrence.
Journal Article↗
Biomedical subjects
Y Taniguchi
Publications and source records attributed to Y Taniguchi.
Chronic rheumatoid arthritis complicated by myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated nephritis.
We report a myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive rheumatoid arthritis patient who developed necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis. Steroid therapy was given combined with an immunosuppressant agent, and double-filtration plasmapheresis was started with the aim of removing antibodies from the blood. This therapeutic regimen was found to be useful.
Adult↗
Interleukin-6 localization and the prognosis of IgA nephropathy.
Various cytokines and growth factors may be involved in IgA nephropathy. To clarify whether interleukin-6 was a prognostic factor for this disease, we investigated interleukin-6 positivity of renal biopsy specimens and its relationship with the prognosis. The subjects were 90 patients with IgA nephropathy (42 males and 48 females with a median age of 32.7 +/- 13.8 years). Renal biopsy specimens were stained for interleukin-6 using an enzyme-antibody method. Fifty-two of 90 patients showed glomerular positivity for interleukin-6. Among the patients positive for interleukin-6, 24-hour urinary protein excretion and serum creatinine levels were significantly higher at the time of biopsy than in the patients without interleukin-6 positivity, while creatinine clearance was significantly lower. In the interleukin-6-positive patients without steroid therapy, serum creatinine increased significantly after 1 year (Deltas-Cr; 1.04 +/- 0.45 mg/dl) and creatinine clearance decreased significantly (DeltaCcr; -11.7 +/- 3.2 ml/min) compared to the interleukin-6-negative patients without steroid therapy. Steroid therapy improved 24-hour urinary protein excretion, serum creatinine, and creatinine clearance in the interleukin-6-positive patients, while these parameters worsened without steroid therapy. On the other hand, the IL-6-negative patients showed no differences of clinical parameters irrespective of the presence or absence of steroid therapy. In conclusion, glomerular interleukin-6 positivity may be a prognostic factor and an indicator of the need for steroid therapy in IgA nephropathy.
Adolescent↗
Transforming growth factor-beta1 may be involved in shunt obstruction in patients on chronic hemodialysis.
Obstructed shunt vessels were studied immunohistochemically to clarify the mechanism of shunt obstruction in hemodialysis patients. The subjects were 12 hemodialysis patients with shunt obstruction, and 8 patients newly started on hemodialysis were used as the controls. Cryosections of shunt tissue were prepared and stained for thrombomodulin as well as transforming growth factor-beta1 using the enzyme antibody method. In the obstructed shunt group, the intima was significantly thicker than in the control group. In addition, staining of the intima for thrombomodulin was decreased in the obstructed shunt group when compared with the controls. Staining for transforming growth factor-beta1 was related to intimal thickening and cell proliferation. These results indicate that release of thrombomodulin occurs with vascular endothelial cell damage and that transforming growth factor-beta1 may be involved in intimal hypertrophic change and shunt obstruction.
Adult↗
Hemophagocytic syndrome in a patient with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and membranous nephritis.
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Adolescent↗
Classic polyarteritis nodosa associated with renal amyloidosis.
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Aged↗
Triiodothyronine enhances expression of the interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain.
The effect of thyroid hormone on immune function is unclear. The influence of L-triiodothyronine on expression of the interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy volunteers and YT cells (an interleukin-2 independent natural killer-like cell line) was examined. Concanavalin A stimulation significantly (p<0.05 and p<0.01) increased soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain production when mononuclear cells were cultured with triiodothyronine (1-100 nmol/l) for 3 days. The stimulatory effect of triiodothyronine on interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain expression was greater in the presence of concanavalin A (5 microg/ml) plus interleukin-2 (1 U/ml) than in the presence of concanavalin A alone. Triiodothyronine also significantly (p<0.01) increased interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain expression when YT cells were cultured for 2 days with interleukin-2 (1 U/ml), but did not influence receptor expression when YT cells were cultured with forskolin or 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate, potent activators of signal transduction. In conclusion, triiodothyronine may have an immunomodulatory effect by enhancing expression of the interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the presence of interleukin-2.
Cells, Cultured↗
Effect of practice in bilateral and unilateral reaction-time tasks.
The effects of practice on bilateral and unilateral reaction times (RTs) for thumb flexion tasks were investigated. Four female and 23 male students were divided into 4 groups who practiced a task under a single condition: unilateral (with either the right or left hand), bilateral, or control. Unilateral and bilateral groups practiced 20 trials 3 days a week for 6 weeks. For the left hand, the RT shortened following practice in the Unilateral-left and Bilateral groups; however, the interaction of the practice group by task was not significant. For the right hand, the RT shortened following practice, but neither the interactions of the practice group by task nor the practice group by measurement time were significant. The changes in the bilateral RTs with practice were significantly correlated with the change of the unilateral-left RT but were not significantly correlated with the change of the unilateral-right RT. As a result, no significant change in bilateral deficit was found. There was no lateral specificity in the effect of practice on RT.
Adult↗
Right hemispheric contribution to motor programming of simultaneous bilateral response.
The purpose of this study was to verify the hypothesis that the motor program which integrates the left- and right-hand responses in the bilateral reaction time (RT) task is located in the right hemisphere. 8 female and 50 male students performed bilateral simultaneous RT tasks to lateralized light stimuli. Uncrossed RT based on the relationship between the unifying center in the right hemisphere and hemifield stimulus was shorter than crossed RT for the bilateral response. Therefore, the hypothesis was supported. Some areas of the right hemisphere contributed to unification of the movements of the right and left hands for bilateral movements in reaction time.
Adult↗
New members of the macrosphelides from Microsphaeropsis sp. FO-5050 IV.
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Animals↗
Factors influencing arteriovenous fistula dysfunction in Japanese patients on chronic hemodialysis.
Arteriovenous fistula dysfunction is a constant problem in chronic hemodialysis patients. We investigated the factors influencing fistula dysfunction in 184 patients on chronic hemodialysis. Stepwise regression analysis and Cox proportional hazards model were used to assess the relationship between fistula dysfunction and age, sex, duration of hemodialysis, diabetes mellitus, hematocrit, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, Kt/V, prothrombin time, blood pressure, anticoagulant therapy, dose of erythropoietin, calcium channel blocker therapy, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy. Fistula dysfunction showed a significant relationship with a low systolic blood pressure, a low hematocrit, the presence of diabetes mellitus, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy. These results suggested that treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors may help to prevent fistula dysfunction.
Adult↗
Endoneurial microvasculature of chronically transected sciatic nerves in diabetic rats.
To characterize the morphology of the endoneurial microvasculature of degenerating nerves under hyperglycemia, the morphology of endoneurial microvessels in transected sciatic nerves was examined in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Three months after transection, the fascicular area and median vascular luminal area at the proximal level of the distal stump were significantly larger in diabetic than in control animals, whereas the number of vessels per fascicle was the same in the two groups. Arterioles in various stages of development were found in the centrifascicular region in some transected nerves. Serial sections revealed that these vessels originated from transperineural arterioles. The frequency and magnitude of vascular wall thickening were both greater in diabetic rats. These results suggest that the endoneurial microvasculature responds abnormally to nerve injury under hyperglycemia.
Animals↗
A case of aortitis syndrome and IgA nephropathy: possible role of human leukocyte antigens in both diseases.
A 51-year-old woman, who had both aortitis syndrome (Takayasu arteritis) and IgA nephropathy, presented with hypertension, fever, a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, high C-reactive protein and serum IgG levels, proteinuria, and renal dysfunction. Renal arteriography showed stenosis and poststenotic dilatation at the origin of the right renal artery, as well as tortuosity of the left renal artery branches and marked atrophy of the left kidney. Renal biopsy showed IgA nephropathy with deposits of IgA, C3, and fibrinogen in the glomeruli and arteriolosclerosis. The present patient had human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B 52, which is reported to be related to the aortitis syndrome, as well as HLA-DR 4, which is possibly related to IgA nephropathy, suggesting that HLA status may be involved in the pathogenesis of both diseases.
Adult↗
Dextran sulfate-cellulose adsorption in the management of a myeloma patient with renal amyloidosis.
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Adsorption↗
Myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis and membranous glomerulonephropathy.
In September 1997, a 68-year-old woman was found to have proteinuria and renal dysfunction. In December 1997, renal biopsy revealed necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis and membranous glomerulonephropathy. We diagnosed myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis and membranous glomerulonephropathy because of the presence of necrotizing cellular crescents and spike lesions in the subepithelial region of the glomerular basement membrane. After steroid therapy, the antibody level and the incidence of cellular crescents showed a decrease. This is a rare case of myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with membranous glomerulonephropathy.
Aged↗
Clinicopathological study of myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated glomerulonephritis.
AIMS: To investigate the potential prognostic factors for myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody- (MPO-ANCA) associated glomerulonephritis. MATERIALS: The clinical and pathological findings were reviewed in 17 patients with this type of glomerulonephritis. METHODS: The relationship between the outcome and various clinical and pathological factors were assessed. The relationship between the blood MPO-ANCA level and cellular crescent formation was also investigated. RESULTS: Patients who died had a significantly lower serum albumin and creatinine clearance than those who survived, but there were no differences of age, blood MPO-ANCA, urinary protein, and serum creatinine levels or cellular crescent formation between the two groups. There was a close relationship between blood MPO-ANCA levels and cellular crescent formation. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoalbuminemia and renal dysfunction may be indicators of a poor prognosis in MPO-ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis. Patients with high blood levels of this antibody and increased cellular crescent formation appear to have active disease, but these factors are not statistically associated with a fatal outcome. Therefore, aggressive treatment may be indicated in patients with active disease initially.
Adult↗
Thoracoscopic surgery for intralobar pulmonary sequestration.
A 47-year-old male with intralobar pulmonary sequestration successfully treated by thoracoscopic surgery was reported. Preoperative selective angiography revealed two aberrant arteries originating from the left infraphrenic artery. Under thoracoscopy, adhesive tissues around the sequestered lung were dissected, aberrant arteries were divided and the sequestered lung was resected. We considered that preoperative detailed analysis of the aberrant artery was very important to safely perform thoracoscopic procedures for pulmonary sequestration.
Angiography, Digital Subtraction↗
Pressure-denatured state of Escherichia coli ribonuclease HI as monitored by Fourier transform infrared and NMR spectroscopy.
Pressure denaturation of Escherichia coli ribonuclease HI (RNase HI) was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy at pD* 3.0 and 25 degrees C. A reversible transition in the pressure range of 0.1-1090 MPa was observed with second-derivative FTIR experiments. A cooperative and gradual denaturation, involving both the secondary and tertiary structures, was observed between 240 and 450 MPa. The two peaks at 1629 and 1652 cm(-1), due to beta-strands and alpha-helices, respectively, did not fully disappear after the denaturation, and are different from the spectra of the random coil peptides. The hydrogen-deuterium exchange rates of the individual backbone amide protons were determined by heteronuclear NMR combined with the pressure-jump technique at 500, 650, and 850 MPa. Although most of the amides protected in the native structure are also highly protected in the pressure-denatured state, the rate constants (0.048 +/- 0.007 min(-1)) for the amide protons at 500 MPa are similar regardless of their locations, which is an indication of the EX1 mechanism of hydrogen-deuterium exchange. The pressure-denatured state of RNase HI at 500 MPa represents a novel denatured state, which is different from a typical molten globule state at atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa), from the viewpoint of the homogeneous rate constants. The observations at 650 MPa are essentially the same as those at 500 MPa. However, at 850 MPa, the amide exchange rates for the highly hydrophobic C-terminal half of alpha-helix I are significantly slower than those for the other part of the protein, which can be interpreted as a hydrophobic collapse centered at the C-terminal half of alpha-helix I.
Amides↗