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Fukumi Furukawa

Publications and source records attributed to Fukumi Furukawa.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

A rare case of autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3.

A 57-year-old female was admitted to our hospital suffering from a lower lip tumor, small ulcers in the arms and alopecia of the head. Because she had type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) for the past 3 years, she was referred to our department of internal medicine for its treatment. Her endogenous insulin secretion was much decreased despite the short duration of diabetes. Glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA) and islet cell antibodies (ICA) were both positive. Therefore, she was diagnosed as having slowly progressive form of type 1 DM. Type 1 DM is sometimes complicated with autoimmune disorders. After further examinations, she was diagnosed as having Sjögren's syndrome, Graves' disease and autoimmune neutropenia (AIN). According to the histological examinations of the lip tumor and peripheral site of the skin ulcer, the patient was diagnosed as having carcinoma spinocellulare and chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus. The examination also showed positive anti-intrinsic factor and anti-ribonucleoprotein (RNP) antibodies. She is a rare case of an autoimmune polyglandullar syndrome (APS) type 3 simultaneously manifesting these seven diseases with multiple autoimmune antibodies.

Alopecia↗
PubMed2002

Unique therapeutic effects of the Japanese-Chinese herbal medicine, Sairei-to, on Th1/Th2 cytokines balance of the autoimmunity of MRL/lpr mice.

Sairei-to, one of the Japanese-Chinese herbal medicines has been used for the treatment of various diseases, especially collagen disease and edema in nephrotic syndrome. However, the mechanism of the therapeutic effects remains uncertain. Therefore, we investigated the immunological changes of skin, kidney, spleen cells and serum in autoimmune-prone MRL/lpr, MRL/n and C57BL/6J mice treated with Sairei-to. In MRL/lpr mice treated with Sairei-to, the improvement of proteinuria, reduction in the number of hematoxylin bodies in kidney, and reduced serum levels of blood urea nitrogen were observed. These results indicate that Sairei-to can improve or inhibit the progression of lupus nephritis. The proportion of CD19 and the serum levels of IgG1, which is one of the pathogenesis of lupus dermatoses and lupus nephritis, were significantly reduced in Sairei-to-treated MRL/lpr mice. Therefore, it is suspected that the B cell function was suppressed by Sairei-to. In addition, CD4/8 ratio in spleen cells and the degree of lymphoproliferation in MRL/lpr mice also decreased. Interestingly, IL-4 producing spleen cells were increased significantly by ELISPOT assay, and IFN-gamma mRNA expressions were reduced in Sairei-to-treated MRL/lpr mice. Regarding the Th balance, an imbalance towards Th1 predominance may play a significant role in MRL/lpr mice, and the Th1 axis was suppressed and the Th2 axis became predominant in Sairei-to-treated MRL/lpr mice. On the other hand, Th2 cell type immunoglobulins (IgG1) were suppressed. These results suggested that Sairei-to is potential for impairing shifted Th1/Th2 balance and hypergammaglobulinemia resulting in therapeutic effects.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Comparison of anti 60 and 52 kDa SS-A/Ro antibodies in the pathogenesis of cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Anti SS-A/Ro antibodies are involved in the pathogenesis of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) in a part through antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). However, it is still obscure which and how anti 60 and anti 52 kDa Ro antibodies are involved. To address the issue, we examined both types of anti Ro antibodies of sera from patients with systemic LE (SLE) or discoid LE (LE). The titer of anti 60 kDa antibody in SLE was significantly much higher than that of DLE or control. The positive ratio of DLE showed more higher tendency than control, but it was not statistically significant. The similar tendency was observed in the titer of anti 52 kDa antibody. An association between the anti 60 kDa antibody and the anti 52 kDa antibody was statistically significant in SLE patients. Although the relative index (RI) was statistically significant in DLE, they included many negative sera, which biased the statistics. Both anti 60 kDa antibody and anti 52 kDa antibody could induce significant ADCC of ultraviolet B (UVB) light-irradiated keratinocytes from neonatal foreskins and/or normal adults, in which anti 60 kDa antibody showed higher cytotoxicity than anti 52 kDa antibody. The autologous combination studies (keratinocytes and monospecific anti 60 or anti 52 kDa antibody from patients) suggested anti 60 kDa antibody was more potent to induce ADCC activity than anti 52 kDa antibody. Taken together, it is likely that anti 60 kDa antibody dependent keratinocyte damage plays more significant role in the pathogenesis of SLE skin lesions than anti 52 kDa dependent damage. However, both type antibodies seemed to have little contribution to the pathogenesis of DLE skin lesion.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Therapeutic effects of antibacterial treatment for intractable skin diseases in Helicobacter pylori-positive Japanese patients.

In order to understand the pathogenic relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and skin diseases, we examined the serum levels of IgG antibody against H. pylori and then performed gastroscopic examinations in Japanese patients with chronic skin diseases. These H. prylori-positive patients were treated with antibacterial eradication therapy, and therapeutic efficacy was evaluated. A total of 198 patients who were resistant to conventional therapies were randomly selected. They included 50 cases with chronic urticaria, 32 with pruritus cutaneous, 74 with atopic dermatitis, 15 with nummular dermatitis, 17 with prurigo chronica multiformis, 6 with psoriasis vulgaris, and 4 with erythroderma. Positive anti-H. pylori antibody was detected in 102 out of these 198 patients; more than half of the ones with chronic urticaria, pruritus cutaneous, nummular dermatitis, and prurigo chronica multiformis had positive antibodies. Gastroscopy was then performed in 48 cases with positive antibodies. Eradication therapy was effective in 60% of the patients with chronic urticaria, in 58% with pruritus cutaneous, in 54% with nummular dermatitis, and in 50% with prurigo chronica multiformis. In chronic skin diseases, persistent infection with H. pylori may be an eruption trigger and may cause deterioration of the disease into an in tractable and chronic form.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗
PubMed2002

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a heritable disease characterized by dermal, ocular, and vascular lesions that result from degeneration of the elastic fibers. Recently, the ATP-binding cassette subfamily C member 6 (ABCC6) gene has been demonstrated to be responsible for PXE, and 43 mutations have been identified to date. However, it is still unknown now mutations in the ABCCC6 gene can lead to manifestations of PXE.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Lupus erythematosus associated with C1 inhibitor deficiency.

We report here a patient with skin lesions of lupus erythematosus (LE) associated with a type 1 hereditary C1 inhibitor deficiency. She had not experienced any episodes of angioedema. A histological examination of the affected skin lesions demonstrated liquefaction of the basal cell layer in the perifollicule. Direct immunofluorescence staining revealed the granular deposition of IgM along the dermo-epidermal junction. Blood laboratory examinations revealed low levels of CH50, C1q, C4, C2 and C1 inhibitor, but the C3 and C5 levels were within normal limits. Similar reductions in the C1 inhibitor levels were observed in 2 out of 3 sisters. Although one sister has been asymptomatic until now, the other has suffered from SLE. The antinuclear antibody titer was negative initially, but has changed to positive. The skin lesions became pigmented following topical corticosteroid therapy, but the deficient complement component levels remained unchanged. We also reviewed 23 cases in the literature of hereditary C1 inhibitor deficiency associated with SLE, DLE, LE-like eruption, and SCLE and discussed several common characteristics such as a female predominance, a high incidence of antinuclear antibodies, cutaneous manifestations, and photosensitivity.

Complement C1 Inactivator Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Topical FK506 (tacrolimus) therapy for facial erythematous lesions of cutaneous lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis.

Tacrolimus is a prototype of a class of topical immunosuppressive agents with great potential for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. Topical tacrolimus therapy was applied to facial skin lesions in 11 cases of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (LE) and dermatomyositis. Of the 11 patients, 6 (3 systemic LE, one discoid LE and 2 dermatomyositis) showed a marked regression of their skin lesions after tacrolimus therapy, but 4 patients (3 discoid LE and one dermatomyositis) were resistant to the therapy. A good response was observed for facial erythematous lesions with edematous or telangiectatic changes in systemic LE and dermatomyositis. In discoid LE with typical discoid lesions, tacrolimus brought no improvement. Topical tacrolimus will become a new tool for managing the skin lesions of collagen diseases.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pyoderma gangrenosum in a patient with bullous systemic lupus erythematosus.

We report a 55-year-old woman with bullous systemic lupus erythematosus, who later developed pyoderma gangrenosum (PG). Dapsone was effective for the eruption of bullous bullous systemic lupus erythematosus but not for pyoderma gangrenosum. Cyclosporine was effective for the skin lesions of pyoderma gangrenosum. This is the first reported case of PG associated with bullous systemic lupus erythematosus.

Cyclosporine↗