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Biomedical subjects

Y Tsushima

Publications and source records attributed to Y Tsushima.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

MR detection of microhemorrhages in neurologically healthy adults.

T2*-weighted gradient-echo (GE) magnetic resonance images frequently demonstrate small hypointense lesions in patients with systemic hypertension and spontaneous hematomas. These lesions have been suspected to represent subclinical microhemorrhages. We examined the incidence of these lesions in neurologically healthy adults, and the factors associated with them. Axial T2*-weighted GE images (TR = 1,000 ms, TE = 30 ms, flip angle = 20 degrees) were obtained in addition to conventional T1- and T2-weighted spin echo images in 450 neurologically healthy Japanese adults (289 men and 161 women; age 52.9 +/- 7.7 years, range 24-84). The overall incidence of small hypointense lesions was 3.1% (14/450), and these lesions were closely related to systemic hypertension (P < 0.0001) and heavy cigarette smoking (>20 cigarettes per day; P=0.003). Although the incidence of hypointense lesions was lower in neurologically healthy adults than in the reported incidence in patients with a hemorrhagic history, the presence of these lesions was related to the risk factors for primary intracerebral hemorrhage even in the neurologically healthy adults.

Adult↗

[Ventricular free wall re-rupture after surgical treatment of ventricular free wall rupture due to acute myocardial infarction; report of a case].

An in-hospital 72-year-old male with complaint of anterior chest pain was presented with shock. Pericardial effusion was confirmed by echocardiography, and therefore, he was brought to the operating room immediately with diagnosis of ventricular free wall rupture. The repair was performed using fibrin glue, fibrin sheet, and pericardial patch. His post-operative course was uneventful until massive bleeding came through the chest tube on the 5th day from the initial surgery. The emergency sternotomy was made again for hemostasis. In the re-operation, an approximately 20 mm laceration along the proximal circumflex artery was found and this was successfully repaired with 2 pledgetted horizontal mattress sutures. It is important and necessary to treat a postoperative patient taking care of re-rupture.

Aged↗

Does the presence of distant and local malignancy alter parenchymal perfusion in apparently disease-free areas of the liver?

Our objective was to investigate if hepatic arterial (HAP) and portal venous perfusion (PVP) in apparently normal areas of liver, as measured by functional CT, are affected by the presence of extra- and intrahepatic malignancy Three patient groups were compared: A, controls with no malignancy (N = 10); B, extrahepatic malignancy without liver involvement (N = 12); and C, subjects with metastases elsewhere in the liver (N = 13). HAP, PVP, and a CT hepatic perfusion index (CT-HPI) calculated as HAP/(HAP + PVP) were calculated on a section free of metastatic disease, using a previously published method. Figures for PVP were (median and interquartile range) in group A were 1.06 (0.9-1.30), in B 1.03 (0.81-1.09), and in C 0.75 (0.54-1.02) ml/min/ml; for HAP group A values were 0.07 (0.052-0.078), in B 0.07 (0.053-0.147), and in C 0.12 (0.091-0.146) ml/min/ml and for CT-HPI Group A values were 4.9% (4.8-6.6%), in B 5.6% (3.8-13.6%), and in C 14.3% (10.4-15.4%). Significant differences in all indices were seen between groups A and C. A significant difference (P = 0.017) was seen between groups B and C in the CT-HPI values. In conclusion, patients with liver metastases show abnormal blood flow in apparently normal liver compared to controls. This difference was not seen in subjects with malignancy without liver metastases. Possible explanations would be either the unmasking of occult metastatic disease or vasoactive or mechanical effects due to liver malignancy.

Adult↗

Determination of glomerular filtration rate per unit renal volume using computerized tomography: correlation with conventional measures of total and divided renal function.

PURPOSE: Previous studies suggest that functional computerized tomography (CT) can measure glomerular filtration rate (GFR) per unit renal volume. We compared this index with conventionally determined GFR measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 16 men and 8 women 63.3 +/- 14.9 years old (range 31 to 88) were studied using with contrast enhanced CT. A single slice of kidney was scanned sequentially after bolus injection (0.5 to 1.0 ml. per second(-1)) of 20 ml. iopamidol (300 mg. iodine per ml.(-1)). GFR per volume of kidney was calculated using a Patlak graphical analysis, and this index was multiplied by renal volume on CT to yield global GFR (ml. per minute(-1)). Divided function was also calculated. GFR and divided renal function were calculated in all cases from radioisotope renography with 99m diethylenetetraminepentaacetic acid. In 12 subjects in whom 24-hour urine collection was possible GFR was also calculated from creatinine clearance. RESULTS: A strong correlation was observed between divided renal function, expressed with respect to the right kidney calculated from CT (52.7 +/- 14.8%, range 19.9% to 97.4%) and by radioisotope renography (51.7 +/- 14.6%, range 18.9% to 92.6%, r = 0.97, p <0.0001). A strong correlation (r = 0.92, p <0.0001) was also seen between global GFR determined by CT (80.1 +/- 43.9 ml. per minute(-1), range 38.2 to 197.9) and creatinine clearance (72.4 +/- 47.5, range 14.6 to 168.5), and was stronger than the correlation between the radioisotope and creatinine clearance method (r = 0.67, p = 0.02) in the same patients. CONCLUSION: Functional CT using nonionic contrast material can measure GFR normalized to renal volume and is an accurate alternative to conventional methods of renal function evaluation.

Adult↗

Ischaemic ileal stenosis following blunt abdominal trauma and demonstrated by CT.

We report a case of blunt abdominal trauma in which delayed ischaemic ileal stenosis occurred. A 24-year-old man presented with symptoms and signs of bowel obstruction 2 weeks after blunt abdominal trauma. Enhanced CT clearly demonstrated a stenotic ileal loop with mural thickening, associated with a mesenteric haematoma. This abnormal ileal loop was resected.

Abdominal Injuries↗

Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in environmental water in Hokkaido, Japan.

Control of cryptosporidiosis is important in public health. Rivers that are polluted with Cryptosporidium and drinking water that is treated for drinking water production from polluted rivers could result in the waterborne disease of cryptosporidiosis. We carried out an epidemiological study of natural water supplies in Hokkaido, one of the largest dairy prefectures in Japan. To detect Cryptosporidium oocysts in environmental water, the filtration method was used for 28 samples, which were collected from 10 rivers. A method adapted from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) filtration method using a cartridge filter has been used for the collection of samples. Oocysts were separated from a pellet by discontinuous sucrose gradient method. Twelve samples were collected from 10 rivers and parasites were purified by iron (III) flocculation method. Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were identified with the immunofluorescence antibody technique using DIF kit (Cellabs Pty. Ltd., Sydney/Australia). We detected Cryptosporidium oocysts in 6 out of 10 rivers sampled. Fifty percentage (14/28) of the samples were Cryptosporidium-positive. The average number of Cryptosporidium oocysts was 16.73/100 L (max. 80/100 L).

Animals↗

Relationship between stroke and asymptomatic minute hemorrhages in hypertensive patients.

Asymptomatic small hemorrhages were identified in hypertensive patients by T2*-weighted gradient echo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to investigate the relationship between hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage and asymptomatic minute hemorrhages. Forty-eight patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction with hypertension (these diseases were defined as stroke) were treated in National Defense Medical College from April 1998 to February 2000. All patients had no past history of stroke or head injury, underwent MR imaging within 6 months of the stroke attack, were aged from 40 to 80 years, and had no diagnosis of aneurysm, angioma, or moyamoya disease. Patients were divided into the infarction group and hemorrhage group. All foci over 2 mm in size appearing as hypointense on T2*-weighted MR imaging and unrelated to stroke areas were defined as minute hemorrhages. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to sex, age, and history of diabetes mellitus. The incidence of minute hemorrhages in the hemorrhage group (21/26) was greater than in the infarction group (9/22, p < 0.01). The incidence of minute hemorrhages in the basal ganglia (18/26) was greater in the hemorrhage group than in the infarction group (4/22, p < 0.001). Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage may be preceded by asymptomatic minute hemorrhage.

Adult↗

[Tension pneumothorax after simultaneous bilateral lung resection].

A 72-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray film. Chest CT showed a mass 6 cm in diameter in left S1 + 2, and a small round mass in right S2. Left side mass was diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma by transbronchial biopsy, but right side mass was unidentified. We performed partial resection for a right S2 mass with VATS, and then left upper lobe lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection simultaneously. Pathological examination revealed the right mass was hamartoma. He discharged on 16 postoperative days uneventfully. But 3 days after he was sent to our hospital on emergency because dyspnea and unconscious. Chest X-ray revealed right side tension pneumothorax, then he was recovered by chest tube insertion. At re-thoracotomy we confirmed air leakage was occurred from a ruptured bulla that was leaved at first operation.

Aged↗

Multifocal low-signal brain lesions on T2*-weighted gradient-echo imaging.

Multifocal small low-signal lesions on T2*-weighted gradient-echo (GE) MRI are reported to be common in the brain of hypertensive patients. We examined factors associated with these lesions. For one year, we routinely obtained T2*-weighted GE images (TR 1000 TE 30 ms, flip angle = 20 degrees) in all adult patients (314) who underwent brain MRI in our hospital, using a 1.5 T superconducting magnet. Patients with multifocal small low-signal lesions with a known or presumed pathogenesis or any condition which may cause intracerebral haemorrhage, such as brain tumours, were excluded from further analysis. Thus, 191 cases remained (104 men and 87 women; age, 62.8+/-11.0 years, range, 30-89 years). The overall prevalence of multifocal small low-signal lesions on the GE images was 15.2% (29/191); they were commonly in the cerebral white matter and basal ganglia. They were detected in 12 (52.2%) of the 23 patients with prior symptomatic brain hemorrhage, 12 (20.7%) of the 58 with prior symptomatic infarcts, and only five (4.5%) of 110 without a prior stroke. Logistic regression analysis indicated that multifocal small low-signal lesions were significantly correlated with a symptomatic acute brain haemorrhage (odds ratio, 13.17), chronic hypertension (4.00) and a symptomatic acute infarct (3.71). The association with symptomatic acute brain haemorrhage suggests that this finding may represent subclinical microhaemorrhage. The diagnostic potential of this finding to identify individuals at risk of symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage may require further investigation.

Adult↗

Spleen enlargement in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver: correlation between degree of fatty infiltration in liver and size of spleen.

Our purpose was to determine if there is an association between nonalcoholic fatty liver and spleen enlargement. Spleen volume was measured by computed tomography (CT) in 32 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver (23 men and 9 women; age, 41.6+/-12.1, range, 22-69 years) and 34 patients with normal liver (19 men and 15 women; age, 51.1+/-16.2, range, 14-86 years). The values were compared with the patient's demographic data, the liver-to-spleen (L/S) ratio of CT Hounsefield unit measurements, and the results of liver function tests. Diagnosis of fatty liver was made if the L/S ratio was less than 1.0. The mean spleen volume was 73.0+/-24.4 cm3 (range, 21.1-106.1) in normal subjects and 141.2+/-54.1 cm3 (range, 44.1-267.3) in patients with fatty liver (P<0.0001). Multivariate linear regression analysis identified that only the L/S ratio (P<0.0001) and age (P<0.01) were significantly correlated with spleen volume. Using forward selection stepwise regression, the L/S ratio entered first (beta = -0.634) and age second (beta = -0.293). In conclusion, spleen enlargement was commonly seen in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver, and the recognition of this association may halt further attempts to evaluate the cause of spleen enlargement.

Adult↗

Convenient and efficient in vitro folding of disulfide-containing globular protein from crude bacterial inclusion bodies.

We investigated how the folding yield of disulfide-containing globular proteins having positive net charges from crude bacterial inclusion bodies was affected by additives in the folding buffer. In screening folding conditions for human ribonucleases and its derivative, we found that addition of salt (about 0.4 M) to a folding buffer increased the folding yield. This suggested that electrostatic interaction between polyanionic impurities such as nucleic acids and cationic unfolded protein led to the formation of aggregates under the low-salt conditions. Since inclusion bodies were found to contain nucleic acids regardless of the electrostatic nature of the expressed protein, the electrostatic interaction between phosphate moieties of nucleic acids and basic amino acid residues of a denatured protein may be large enough to cause aggregation, and therefore the addition of salt in a folding buffer may generally be useful for promotion of protein folding from crude inclusion bodies. We further systematically investigated additives such as glycerol, guanidium chloride, and urea that are known to act as chemical chaperons, and found that these additives, together with salt, synergistically improved folding yield. This study, suggesting that the addition of salt into the folding buffer is one of the crucial points to be considered, may pave the way for a systematic investigation of the folding conditions of disulfide-containing foreign proteins from crude bacterial inclusion bodies.

Bacterial Proteins↗

A quantitative analysis of head injury using T2*-weighted gradient-echo imaging.

BACKGROUND: T2*-weighted gradient-echo imaging (T2*-GE) is useful for detecting small hemorrhages. METHODS: Thirty-four patients were prospectively examined, first by magnetic resonance imaging (1.5 T) and then by T2-weighted fast spin echo (T2-FSE) and T2*-GE. Thereafter, the correlations between the T2-FSE or T2*-GE findings and the clinical or computed tomography findings were analyzed. RESULTS: The number of lesions detected by T2*-GE was 14.5 +/- 16.3 (mean +/- SD, n = 34), which was significantly (p < 0.001) greater than that detected by T2-FSE (5.6 +/- 5.6, n = 34). The findings of T2*-GE correlated positively with both the duration of unconsciousness (R2 = 0.74,p < 0.0001) and with Glasgow Outcome Scale (R2 = 0.81, p < 0.0001), whereas those of T2-FSE did not show any significant correlation. T2*-GE imaging could also detect all areas responsible for focal neurologic signs 1 month after in. jury, whereas T2-FSE imaging detected only 22 of 33 such signs. CONCLUSION: T2*-GE was found to be useful for evaluating the clinical symptoms of head injury.

Adolescent↗

Apoptosis, bcl-2 expression and p53 accumulation in myelodysplastic syndrome, myelodysplastic-syndrome-derived acute myelogenous leukemia and de novo acute myelogenous leukemia.

Apoptosis and its dysregulation have been implicated in dysplastic and ineffective hematopoiesis and the neoplastic transformation of bone marrow in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). To explore the role of apoptosis in hematological disorders, we examined the frequency of apoptotic cells by the in situ end labeling method in bone marrow specimens from 37 patients with MDS [refractory anemia (RA) 10 cases, RA with excess of blasts (RAEB) 27 cases including 12 cases with leukemic transformation], 12 patients with MDS-derived acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and 13 patients with de novo AML. In addition, we investigated the relationship of apoptosis to the immunohistochemical expression of bcl-2 and p53 in these cases, and the association of apoptosis, bcl-2, and p53 with the leukemic evolution of MDS by examining sequential bone marrow samples of the same patient from the time of initial diagnosis to the time of overt leukemia. The percentage frequency of apoptotic cells was significantly greater in MDS (RA: 9.46 +/- 2.99%, m +/- SD; RAEB: 5. 60 +/- 3.09) as compared with those in MDS-derived AML (0.62 +/- 0. 37), de novo AML (0.28 +/- 0.11) and controls (1.00 +/- 0.59). On the other hand, the cases of RAEB with leukemic transformation exhibited a lower frequency of apoptotic cells and a higher frequency of bcl-2- and p53-positive cells than those without transformation. When the RAEB cases transformed to AML, the frequency of apoptotic cells was significantly reduced (2.96 +/- 1. 54 --> 0.62 +/- 0.37), while the frequencies of bcl-2-positive cells and p53-positive cells were greater (10.88 +/- 3.66 --> 30.54 +/- 7. 14, and 20.21 +/- 6.21 --> 32.34 +/- 14.71, respectively). In contrast to MDS-derived AML, over a half of de novo AML cases showed few p53-positive cells. These findings corroborate the earlier notion that apoptosis may play a substantial role in dysplastic and ineffective hematopoiesis in MDS. It is also suggested that the suppression of apoptosis associated with enhanced bcl-2 expression and p53 accumulation increases the probability of developing leukemia in MDS, and that oncogenetic development might be different between MDS-derived AML and de novo AML.

Adolescent↗

[Surgical treatment of intracardiac tumors in 25 patients].

For most intracardiac tumors, operation is the only means of therapy. In our institute, we have aggressively performed operation for intracardiac tumors regardless of histological type because resection for tumor had a beneficial effect on the hemodynamics with congestive heart failure. Twenty-five cases of cardiac tumors were operated upon from 1980 through 1998. The follow-up period ranged from 2 months to 19 years. The histological diagnoses of the tumors were as follows: benign tumors 24 (myxoma 21, papillary fibroelastoma 1, fibroma 1, angiomyolipoma 1) and malignant tumor (angiosarcoma 1). There was one hospital death in this series. In the New York Heart Association classification, the cardiac performances of intracardiac benign tumors after operation were Class I or II. The results of surgical treatment of intracardiac benign tumors were satisfactory both in short-term and in long-term. On the other hand the long term result of malignant tumor was extremely poor. A patient with angiosarcoma died 8 months later due to bone metastasis.

Aged↗