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Biomedical subjects

Yukihito Fukumura

Publications and source records attributed to Yukihito Fukumura.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Latex agglutination test for ferritin measurement.

Ferritin is an indispensable parameter in the diagnosis of latent iron deficiency anemia or siderosis. In this study, we evaluated the utility of a reagent for ferritin measurement in a latex agglutination (LA) test, using general chemistry analyzers. The intraassay coefficient of variation (CV) was 0.8-3.4% and the interassay CV was 0.0-0.7%. Linearity was observed up to 1100 ng/mL. The effective sensitivity value was 4.0 ng/mL. In addition, good results were obtained with the prozone test, the effects of interferences, correlation with the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) method, and functional assay sensitivity. A significant positive correlation with C-reactive protein (r=0.586, P<0.001) was found. When compared with liver-related biochemical parameters (asparate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT)) in patients with impaired liver function, ferritin varied in parallel with the liver-related parameters. This assay system was able to measure ferritin accurately over a wide range, and thus could be used to diagnose cancer, siderosis, and iron deficiency anemia. The LA assay system can be employed for measurement with general chemistry analyzers, with rapid and convenient execution. In addition, the LA test allows the simultaneous measurement of other markers of iron deficiency anemia, so clinicians can rapidly obtain examination results.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Hormone replacement therapy causes a decrease in hepatocyte growth factor in hypertensive women.

OBJECTIVE: Serum hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is associated with blood pressure. We investigated whether the serum HGF level differs between hypertensive and normotensive postmenopausal women (PMW) and whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) alters the serum HGF level and blood pressure in hypertensive and normotensive PMW. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. METHODS: A total of 33 PMW with mild to moderate essential hypertension controlled by antihypertensive treatment (mean age, 57 +/- 6 years) and 23 normotensive PMW (mean age, 57 +/- 7 years) received continuous HRT (0.625 mg of conjugated equine estrogen combined with 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate) once a day orally for 12 months, and we measured serum HGF levels and blood pressure before and 12 months after the start of HRT. RESULTS: The baseline serum HGF level was significantly higher in hypertensive PMW than in normotensive PMW. HRT significantly decreased the serum HGF level in hypertensive subjects, from 2.85 +/- 0.64 pmol/l to 2.49 +/- 0.65 pmol/l (P < 0.001), but not in normotensive subjects. HRT did not change blood pressure in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Serum HGF level before the start of HRT was higher in the hypertensive PMW than in the normotensive PMW. Furthermore, HRT decreases serum HGF without decreasing blood pressure in hypertensive PMW. The HRT-induced decrease in serum HGF was greater in hypertensive PMW than in normotensive PMW, and the decrease was independent of blood pressure changes.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

[Studies on electroencephalographic changes after liver transplantation].

EEG was performed before and after surgery in the patients who received living donor livers at our hospital between 1999 and 2001. There were ten patients (6 men and 4 women) and mean ages were 37.0 years. Their disorders were citrullinemia, biliary atresia, liver cirrhosis, and liver cell cancer. EEG was performed at 17 sites according to 10-20 international methods. Power spectra analysis using FFT was also performed. We classified the ten patients into Group A, one patient; Group B, three patients; and Group C; five patients based on EEG basal activity before the operation. Eight of ten patients showed improvement in EEG findings, and two patients showed no change after the operation. One patient of these two patients did not show improvement in liver function after the operation. The other developed cerebral infarction after the operation. EEG is useful for the evaluation of brain function after the liver transplantation.

Adult↗