In order to understand the pathology of incontinence, it is important to investigate urinary symptoms, urological and neurological examinations and urodynamics. There are two kinds of incontinence. One is true incontinence in which urine passes through urethra, and the other is false incontinence due to the ectopic opening of the ureter, for example to the vagina. The former includes stress incontinence, urge incontinence, reflex incontinence, overflow incontinence and total incontinence. Stress incontinence occurs with the sudden increase of abdominal pressure such as cough, running and exertion. The cause of stress incontinence is thought to be weakening of pelvic floor muscles after delivery or aging. In these patients, the bladder base and urethra move downwards and backwards, which make the posterior vesico-urethral angle more than 120 degrees. Treatment of stress incontinence includes pelvic floor exercise, administration of alpha-stimulants which increase the tonus of the internal sphincter and surgery to elevate the urethra. Urge incontinence is observed when detrusor instability occurs. It is also seen in patients with neurological diseases such as multiple cerebral infarction or with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Treatment of urge incontinence includes administration of anticholinergics to decrease bladder hyperreflexia. Reflex incontinence is seen in patients with spinal cord disorders. It occurs due to reflex contraction of detrusor and the treatment involves administration of anti-cholinergics. Overflow incontinence is seen in patients with voiding difficulties due to BPH. It occurs when residual urine increases and when the intravesical pressure exceeds urethral pressure on body movement. Treatment for this is intended to improve voiding difficulties. Total incontinence occurs when total sphincter function is damaged. It is observed when the external sphincter is injured during transurethral resection of prostate. Treatment includes administration of alpha-stimulants or placement of an artificial urinary sphincter. False incontinence is seen in the patients with uretero-vaginal fistula. Reimplantation of ureter into the bladder base is treatment of choice.

View full abstract

In order to elucidate the frequency of hyperbilirubinemia associated with sepsis in the elderly, as well as in clinical and histological characteristics, a total of 117 autopsy cases with sepsis were analyzed retrospectively. Based on the clinico-pathological findings, 48 cases with primary hepato-biliary, cardiac, hematological and shock complications, were excluded because these disorders were thought to affect liver function tests. Four cases out of the remaining 69 cases, 5.8% of the total, showed hyperbilirubinemia above 2mg/dl (average 4.1mg/dl), which was thought to be associated with sepsis itself. In these 4 cases, disproportionately high levels of blood total bilirubin were characteristic compared to changes of GOT, GPT, LDH, ALP and γ-GTP levels. Blood culture of these 4 cases revealed Gram-negative organisms in 3 cases and Gram-positive in 1 case. Histological findings of the liver included cholestasis, Kupffer cell hyperplasia and cell infiltration in the sinusoid and portal areas, however these findings were mild and nonspecific. It is important to recognize the presence of hyperbilirubinemia associated with sepsis in order to properly treat febrile elderly patients with hyperbilirubinemia.

View full abstract

In order to clarify the influence of living alone on depressed mood and subjective sensation of well-being in the elderly, we studied 113 elderly (60 years old or more) living in Chibu village on Oki island. The subjects were divided into two groups, 33 subjects (Single group) who were living alone (mean age 74.1 years) and 80 subjects (Married group) who were married and lived with their spouses (mean age 69.0 years). For the measurement of depressed mood and subjective sensation of well-being the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Morale Scale were used. The SDS score of the Single group was significantly higher than that of the Married group. The incidence of depression was higher in the Single group than in the Married group, but the difference was not of statistical significance. The Morale Scale score in the Single group was significantly higher than in the Married group. Subjects in the Single group felt more lonely than those in the Married group, but not significantly so. There was a highly significant correlation between the SDS score and the Morale scale score. We concluded that, in the elderly, living alone is more depressing and less satisfying than living with a partner.

View full abstract

Although endoscopy is widely used for safe and accurate examinations of gastroduodenal disease cases, several investigators reported arterial oxygen desaturation occurring during endoscopy. Endoscopy-induced oxygen desaturation is hazardous because it increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmia. This study is designed to investigate whether gastroduodenal endoscopy causes remarkable oxygen desaturation in elderly patients in comparison with younger ones and to study whether nasal oxygen administration can prevent it. Forty-four patients over 61 years old and 37 patients younger than 60 were divided into two groups, to one of which 100% oxygen (2l/min) was administerd through nasal prongs. During endoscopy, blood pressure, pulse rate, and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO₂) were recorded at one-monute intervals by a pulse oximeter. Intubation of the endoscope caused a transient drop in oxygen saturation both younger and older patients with greater drops in older subjects (1.7±0.4% in the young and 3.3±0.8% in the old groups). In the older groups, two out of 20 patients who had no oxygen administration showed a saturation decrease of over 7%. On the other hand, no younger subject showed such a large degree of oxygen desaturation. Oxygen administration effectively prevented the endoscopy-induced desaturation both in younger and in older patients. In summary, the results of this study suggested that older subjects had a greater decrease of oxygen saturation during gastroduodenofiberscopy and that oxygen administration is useful to prevent the endoscopy-induced desaturation.

View full abstract

Findings in patients in whom brain stem lesions were suspected were studied by a high-field-strength (1.5T) MR imager. MR scans were obtained in 97 patients over a 10-month period. The mean age was 71 years (range, 39-94 years). A high incidence of infarction and lesions showing a high signal on T2-weighted image, but an almost normal signal on the T1-weighted image were observed at the pons in elderly cases. Furthermore, cases in which these two findings were observed, had a high incidence of lesion at other regions than pons. Cases with a past history of hypertension had higher incidence of lesions at the pons than normotensive patients (α<0.01). These findings suggest that MRI examination in the elderly could detect a high incidence abnormal lesions at the brain stem as well as in basal ganglia.

View full abstract

A case of flunarizine hydrochloride (FZ)-induced severe urinary retention and meteorism which resulted from sphincter spasm of the urinary bladder and the anus is presented. An 81-year-old female had received 10mg/day FZ orally for 12 months before hypokinesia and general fatigue developed. Physical examination revealed slight rigidity of the extremities, abdominal distention and spasm of the anal sphincter muscle. Laboratory examinations showed uremia (BUN 88mg/dl, Creatinine 16.8mg/dl) and abdominal X-ray demonstrated marked distention of the small and large bowels. Renal failure improved within 2 days after massive urination using a urethral catheter. Abdominal distention was improved by the ileus and anal tubes. The difficulties of urination and defecation and decreased mobility of the extremities were resolved one month after the cessation of FZ. No organic changes were detected in urinary, intestinal and neurological systems by cystoscopy, CT, MRI and gastrointestinal fiberscopy. Serum concentration of FZ was 42.5ng/ml on admission but decreased slowly to 17.9ng/ml 80 days later. Serum half life was calculated to be 55 days which was 3 times longer than that healthy younger volunteers.

View full abstract

Intraarterial infusion of thrombolytic agent is useful in the treatment of obstructive arterial diseases in various vessels. However, few studies have shown that this treatment is useful for aortic occlusion. We report the case with complete recanalization in the lower abdominal aorta following intraaortic infusion of a thrombolytic agent. A 59-year-old man was admitted because of weakness and pain in the bilateral lower limbs at rest. Aortography showed complete occlusion of the abdominal aorta proximal to the inferior mesenteric artery. Both external arteries were supplied via rich collaterals. He was treated by intraaortic urokinase infusion of 2, 100, 000 units. Total recanalization in the abdominal aorta and both common iliac arteries was obtained. Intraaortic infusion of urokinase was shown to be effective treatment of occlusion in the abdominal aorta.

View full abstract