The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-3329
Print ISSN : 0040-8727
ISSN-L : 0040-8727
Volume 195, Issue 3
November
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
Regular Contributions
  • Tirtha Raj Koirala, Keiko Nakagaki, Takuo Ishida, Shuko Nonaka, Satoko ...
    2001 Volume 195 Issue 3 Pages 141-151
    Published: 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: December 22, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    HIV-1 infection is often complicated by the dysfunction of central nervous system (CNS). Degenerative neuronal changes as well as neuronal loss have been documented in individuals with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes similar CNS manifestation and FIV infected cats provide an animal model for human immunodeficiency virus infection in humans. In this study, we examined the brain of FIV-infected cats and controls with immunohistochemical techniques using antibodies to microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2) and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). We found a significant decrease in expression of MAP-2 and GAD in neurons of infected animals compared to controls. In contrast, the expression of neurofilaments and glial fibrillary acidic protein was rather increased. The changes observed in the brain were similar to those seen in humans undergoing the normal aging process as well as those suffering from neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease and other dementing disorders. These changes in the feline brain give insight into the deleterious effects of FIV on the CNS.
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  • Shoji Watabe, Masayuki Hara, Misa Yamamoto, Minoru Yoshida, Yoshimi Ya ...
    2001 Volume 195 Issue 3 Pages 153-161
    Published: 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: December 22, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We examined the effect of peptides or protein on the proteolytic and ATPase activities of mitochondrial ATP-dependent LON protease purified from bovine adrenal cortex. Peptides/proteins including angiotensin I which stimulated ATPase activity without hydrolysis of any peptide bonds stimulated proteolysis of 125I-labeled substrates at low concentrations; whereas at high concentrations they competitively inhibited proteolysis, thus displaying a biphasic activity profile. All peptides and proteins thus examined stimulated degradation of 125I-labeled substrates. When an ATP analog was substituted for ATP, only inhibition; i.e., no stimulation, of proteolysis by unlabeled peptides was observed. Without activator peptides, degradation of [125I]peptides was higher in the presence of an ATP analog than that in the presence of ATP. ADP, a product of the ATPase reaction, inhibited the proteolytic activity in the absence of an activator peptide but not in its presence. From analogy to E. coli ATP-dependent protease La (LON), we suggest that the activator peptides stimulated the proteolysis by releasing enzyme-bound ADP.
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  • Akio Hoshi, Hiromi Watanabe, Masatoshi Kobayashi, Momoko Chiba, Yutaka ...
    2001 Volume 195 Issue 3 Pages 163-169
    Published: 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: December 22, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Trace elements in sweat during sauna bathing were assessed. Sweat collected by the whole body method was compared with that collected by the arm bag method. The sweat samples were collected from ten healthy male adults aged 22-26 years, by heat exposure in dry sauna bathing (60°C, 30 minutes). Concentrations of major (Na, Cl, K, Ca, P and Mg) and trace (Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, Cr and Mn) elements in sweat tended to be lower in the arm bag method than in the whole body method. It was found that Ca, Mg, Fe and Mn concentrations in the arm bag method were significantly lower than those in the whole body method. The amount of trace elements in sweat measured by the arm bag method was less than that by the whole body method; significant differences were observed in Fe and Mn amounts. These observations suggest that excretion of trace elements by sweating induces trace element decrease. Therefore, athletes and workers who work in a hot environment and sweat much habitually should ingest adequate amounts of trace elements.
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  • Kenji Yasuoka, Kenji Harada, Masamichi Tamura, Manatomo Toyono, Mieko ...
    2001 Volume 195 Issue 3 Pages 171-179
    Published: 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: December 22, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of low-dose dobutamine on left ventricular (LV) functional and coronary flow reserves using transthoracic echocardiography. The study group consisted of 30 children aged from 5 months to 16 years (mean 4.8±4.4 years). Echocardiographic studies were repeated before and during dobutamine infusion (5 μg/kg per minute). The peak diastolic velocity in the left descending coronary artery (LAD) was recorded by pulsed-Doppler under the guidance of color Doppler flow mapping. The coronary flow velocity (CFV) response was calculated as the ratio of LAD peak flow velocity at dobutamine infusion to basal LAD peak flow velocity. Left ventricular contractility was calculated by two-dimensionally directed M-mode echocardiography. The rate-corrected mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening (mVcfc) and LV end-systolic wall stress (ESS) were used as indices of contractility. Adequate spectral Doppler recordings of the LAD peak flow velocity for the assessment of CFV response were obtained in 26 of 30 patients (87%). The LAD peak flow velocity at dobutamine infusion increased significantly compared with the basal values. The CFV response in the younger children was low and increased significantly with age. The CFV response did not show significant correlations with the changes in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, rate-pressure product, nor ESS during dobutamine infusion. However, a significant relationship between the CFV response and the percent change of mVcfc was observed. In the present study using high frequency transthoracic echocardiography, we demonstrated the age-related changes in CFV response and LV functional reserve by dobutamine infusion. Responses of LV contractility and coronary flow to dobutamine are less sensitive in younger children and increased with increasing age.
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  • Makoto Uchino, Shuji Mita, Hiroshi Satoh, Teruyuki Hirano, Kimiyoshi A ...
    2001 Volume 195 Issue 3 Pages 181-189
    Published: 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: December 22, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    To clarify the lesions responsible for sensory disturbance in Minamata disease (MD), we clinically investigated the characteristics of sensory disturbance. In all patients with the classical type MD, two-point discrimination was severely disturbed, but the involvement of superficial sensation was relatively mild. On short-latency somatosensory evoked potential study, the component corresponding to N20 was completely absent with normal N9, N11, and N13 components. Although 14 of 38 chronic MD patients demonstrated intact superficial sensation, 10 of these 14 showed mild to moderate disturbance in two-point discrimination. The two-point discrimination in chronic MD patients was significantly high irrespective of the disturbance of superficial sensation. These findings suggest that the sensory disturbance of MD patients may mainly be caused by a lesion in the sensory cortex rather than in the peripheral nerves. However, other foci could be also responsible for the sensory impairment, since 9 of 38 chronic MD patients showed intact two-point discrimination.
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Case Report
  • Hiroya Mizutamari, Atsushi Masamune, Tohru Asakura, Yutaka Nagasaki, A ...
    2001 Volume 195 Issue 3 Pages 191-195
    Published: 2001
    Released on J-STAGE: December 22, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We report a 25-year-old male with hemosuccus pancreaticus associated with hereditary pancreatitis. He was originally diagnosed as having familial chronic pancreatitis at the age of 12, because his brother was also diagnosed as having pancreatitis. No history of pancreatitis was found in their parents. The patient was admitted because of a growing pancreatic pseudocyst. While he had undergone conservative treatment for the pseudocyst, computed tomography incidentally revealed a pancreatic pseudoaneurysm. Endoscopic examination revealed spontaneous bleeding from the major papilla. Interventional embolization was successfully performed. An R122H mutation in the cationic trypsinogen gene was identified in this patient, his brother, and his mother, indicating that they have hereditary pancreatitis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of hemosuccus pancreaticus associated with hereditary pancreatitis. Mutational screening is useful for the diagnosis of hereditary pancreatitis, especially in patients whose diagnosis is inconclusive based on the traditional clinical criteria.
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