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Volume 188 (1999)
- Issue 4 Pages 275-
- Issue 3 Pages 189-
- Issue 2 Pages 103-
- Issue 1 Pages 1-
Volume 188, Issue 3
July
Displaying 1-9 of 9 articles from this issue
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Regular Contributions
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Eiji Manabe, Kiyoshi Aoyagi, Hiroki Tachibana, Tai-ichiro Takemoto1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 189-202
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIntra-abdominal adiposity is associated with unfavorable serum lipid profiles (high total cholesterol or triacylglycerol, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) in obese people. However, the relation in mainly nonobese Japanese population is not well known. We examined the relationship between intra-abdominal adiposity measured by ultrasonography and body fat distribution with serum lipids in Japanese people living in an island in western Japan. Mainly nonobese healthy individuals (98 men, 72 premenopausal and 182 postmenopausal women) aged between 33 and 69 years were examined. Accumulation of intra-abdominal fat (Pmax) and abdominal subcutaneous fat (Smin) was measured by ultrasonography. We also measured triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, and the concentrations of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. In men and postmenopausal women, Pmax correlated significantly with the majority of serum lipids after adjusting for age, body mass index and smoking habit. In premenopausal women, Pmax correlated significantly with only total cholesterol, but marginally with triacylglycerol and HDL/total cholesterol ratio after adjustment. Our findings suggest that intra-abdominal adiposity is related to unfavorable lipid profile in both genders among mainly nonobese Japanese population.View full abstractDownload PDF (881K) -
Kenji Kikuchi, Katsuhiro Nishino, Hiroshi Ohyu1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 203-215
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSCentral norepinephrine (NE) has been shown to play a beneficial role in amphetamine-facilitated recovery of behavior. To give insight into understanding the mechanism, the present studies were conducted to examine (a) the effects of L-threo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylserine (L-DOPS) combined with benserazide (BSZ; a peripheral aromatic amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor) and L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), precursors of NE and dopamine (DA), respectively, on the recovery from beam-walking performance deficits in rats subjected to unilateral sensorimotor cortex ablation injury, and (b) the relationships between the behavioral recovery and the frequency of postoperative training and the size of ablation injury. It was found that the combined treatments with L-DOPS and BSZ promoted the recovery of locomotor function as early as 24 hours after injury. L-DOPA alone, however, did not facilitate behavioral recovery. The results of assay for the tissue levels of NE and its major metabolite (3-methoxy-4-hydoxy-phenylethylene glycol; MHPG) in the brain using high-pressure liquid chromotography showed MHPG, but not NE, significantly increased in the cerebellum and the hippocampus. The behavioral recovery was also significantly correlated with the frequency of training subsequent to injury, but inversely with the size of cortex ablation. These results suggest that NE is likely to modulate functional recovery in this rodent model.View full abstractDownload PDF (827K) -
Hiromi Kikuchi, Satoru Iwane, Akihiro Munakata, Ken Tamura, Shigeyuki ...1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 217-225
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSWe determined the levels of 15 elements in drinking water from 34 water treatment plants in Aomori Prefecture and studied how element levels relate to colorectal cancer incidence by district. Colorectal cancer incidence was calculated from the data of Aomori Colorectal Cancer Registry. Multiple regression analysis was performed by using age-adjusted incidences of rectal cancer and colon cancer by gender as object variables and each element level as an explanatory variable. The standardized partial regression coefficient was significant in gold (p<0.01), magnesium (p<0.01), selenium (p<0.01) and tin (p<0.05) for age-adjusted rectal cancer incidence in men as objective variable; in gold (p<0.05), calcium (p<0.01) and phosphorus (p<0.01) with age-adjusted colon cancer incidence in men as the objective variable; and in sodium (p<0.05), phosphorus (p<0.05), tin (p<0.05) and strontium (p<0.01) with age-adjusted colon cancer incidence in women as the objective variable. These results confirm the need to further study trace elements in drinking water and food, and relationship to colorectal carcinogenesis.View full abstractDownload PDF (521K) -
Naofumi Inada, Toshihiro Itoh, Kohtaroh Yamamura1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 227-238
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSTo test the adequacy of equal energy principle (EEP), guinea pigs were exposed to impact tone. The changes in electrophysiological data, namely endocochlear potential (EP) and the change in K+ ion and Na+ ion concentrations in the endolymph were investigated. The frequency of impact tone was 1 pulse/second or 1 pulse/3 seconds. The steady state tone had Leq24h=100, 95, 90 or 85 dB, and impact tone had Leq24h=95, 90 or 85 dB. The results are the following. Both steady state and impact tone exposure cause changes of electrophysiological data. The effects on the absolute value of negative EP induced by impact tone exposures were smaller than that of steady state tone of the same Leq. The rate of pulses was also an important factor for impact tone exposure. Impact tone exposure of 1 pulse/second caused smaller absolute value of negative EP than that of 1 pulse/3 seconds. The K+ ion concentration time course in the endolymph remained similar to the control (Exp. 1) only in Exp. 8 (85 dB; the lowest steady state noise exposure in our experiments), but no decrease in the K+ ion concentration was detected in the other experiments, suggesting an alteration in the K+ ion flow. The Na+ ion concentration time course was also influenced showing no increase in Na+ ion concentration compared to the control (Exp. 1c) and the lowest steady-state exposure experiment (Exp. 8c). Our experimental results suggest that both the K+ ion and Na+ ion movement are altered by tone exposure. We found also that the different types of noise exposure with the same Leq value does not exhibit the same changes. Leq24h is not an accurate damage risk criteria.View full abstractDownload PDF (835K) -
Changqing Lin, Chikahiko Numakura, Tohru Ikegami, Masami Shizuka, Miki ...1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 239-244
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSTwo patients with a mild to moderate phenotype of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease were identified to carry the mutations of the connexin (Cx) 32 gene. One of the patient had a novel nonsense mutation of tryptophan at amino acid 132 and the other had a deletion of the Cx 32 gene. Our study indicated that a loss of Cx 32 function contributes to a major pathogenesis of X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.View full abstractDownload PDF (622K)
Case Reports
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Kenji Kikuchi, Masahiro Saito1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 245-256
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSA case of an unusual spinal neuronal tumor is described in a 36-year-old woman presenting with a buttock pain. The spinal tumor was fully characterized by neuroradiological means, and in particular MRI was of significant value in delineating the extension of the tumor within the spinal canal and its exophitic growth pattern. Pathologically, a well circumscribed tumor originating from the intradural filum terminale characteristically comprised both large and small cells, resembling mature and immature neuronal cells, respectively. In addition, two neuronal markers, i.e., chromogranin A (CGA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and other markers such as glial fibrilary acidic protein (GFAP), S-100 protein, HNK-1, tyrosine hydroxylase and beta 2-microgloblin were investigated immunohistochemically. We found that both neuronal cells expressed immunoreactivity for CGA and NSE, and small neuronal cells showed more intense CGA immunoreactivity, indicating an earlier stage of neuronal differentiation. Weakly positive immunoreactivity for HNK-1 was also demonstrated in small neuronal cells, consistent with evidence of maturation along a neuronal differentiation. From these findings a pathological diagnosis of ganglioneuroma was made. This unique group of ganglion-cell spinal tumors is reviewed in the literature and differential diagnosis and immunohistochemical features are discussed.View full abstractDownload PDF (2456K) -
Kazuhiko Sugahara, Hitoshi Togashi, Haruhide Shinzawa, Taku Matsuo, Yo ...1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 257-263
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSFulminant hepatic failure is associated with a high mortality rate. Thus, accurate assessment of hepatic functional reserve and hepatic regeneration is important. We describe a 67-year-old woman who survived subacute hepatic failure. We had an opportunity to monitor the clinical course of the patient using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 99mTc-galactosyl-human serum albumin (99mTc-GSA) and frequent hematological examinations. On admission, prothrombin time was remarkably prolonged (23.1% of control). The liver uptake of 99mTc-GSA was also considerably low. She responded well to treatment. Four weeks after admission, SPECT analysis showed a dramatic increase in liver uptake of 99mTc-GSA, suggesting promotion of hepatic regeneration. Moreover, functional liver volume calculated from the SPECT data showed a marked increase at 4 weeks after admission, whereas CT scan showed no change at that point. This indicated that SPECT with 99mTc-GSA reflected functional hepatocytes more accurately than liver volume determined by CT scan, which cannot exclude nonfunctional hepatocytes. The patient's condition improved in parallel with the improvements in the indices measured by SPECT and hematological examinations. SPECT analysis is practically useful for the prompt assessment of improvement in patients with fulminant hepatic failure.View full abstractDownload PDF (421K) -
Takashi Yokota, Yasuo Yamada, Naoaki Sakata, Shu Kikuchi, Yasuo Kunii, ...1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 265-270
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSEmergency surgery for bowel perforation caused by metastases from lung cancer is rare. Two cases of small bowel perforation due to metastasizing lung cancer are reported. Both patients were admitted as a surgical emergency case. One of the two patients presented herein survived and was discharged from the hospital. Perforated small bowel due to metastatic lung cancer is a highly fatal event that occurs in the late phases of the disease. Despite the poor prognosis, early and appropriate therapy will occasionally yield successful surgical palliation. Patients with known lung cancer who develop abdominal complaints should be examined thoroughly and treated quickly.View full abstractDownload PDF (1082K)
Short Report
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Hajime Nakae, Hideo Inaba, Shigeatsu Endo1999 Volume 188 Issue 3 Pages 271-273
Published: 1999
Released on J-STAGE: July 22, 2005
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSProcalcitonin (PCT), a precursor of calcitonin, and endotoxin were determined in the burn wound sepsis model in which 21 Sprague-Dawley rats were scalded approximately 30% on their back. On day 2 post burn, the wounds were inoculated 1×108 colony-forming units of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. On day 5 post burn P. aeruginosa was detected by blood culture in 10 of the 21 rats (47.6%). The mortality rate 7 days after burn was 90.5%. Significant correlations were observed between serum endotoxin levels and serum PCT levels on day 5 post burn (r=0.860, p<0.001). It was suggested that endotoxin may induce the release of PCT and that measuring the levels of PCT may be useful in diagnosing burn wound sepsis.View full abstractDownload PDF (193K)
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