Biomedical subjects

H Soh

Publications and source records attributed to H Soh.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Serum levels of soluble CD23 in patients with bullous pemphigoid.

In this study, we tested the serum levels of soluble CD23 (sCD23) in 27 bullous pemphigoid (BP) patients and compared them with the disease activity. Soluble CD23 is the cleaved portion of the low affinity Fc receptor for IgE (Fc epsilon RII/CD23) which has an affinity for IgE and regulates IgE synthesis. Although bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a subepidermal blistering disease characterized by IgG class autoantibodies against the basement membrane of stratified squamous epithelia, several IgE-related phenomena have been reported. Recently, we have shown that Fc epsilon RII-expressing and IgE-bearing cells are detectable in the lesional skin and concluded that an IgE-Fc epsilon RII/CD23 system may be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. The serum level of sCD23 in BP patients was significantly higher than healthy controls (p < 0.01). In 11 out of 12 patients, the alteration of serum sCD23 levels correlated well with the disease activity. Thus the serum level of sCD23 is useful as a new parameter for assessing the level of disease activity in BP. High levels of sCD23 may represent part of an IgE-mediated immune reaction which may play a role in the pathogenesis of BP.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗

PubMed1995

[Experience with the Groshong port in a home TPN patient--a case report].

We experienced a home TPN patient using Groshong port. A 45-year-old woman, recurrent pancreatic head cancer, was treated with home TPN. The Groshong port was inserted via external jugular vein and stayed at home for 8 months with home TPN. Lipid emulsion was administered twice a week. After administration of lipid emulsion, 20 ml of saline was injected and catheter lock was performed with only saline. Heparin was not used for catheter lock. After 8 months' home TPN, patient died. We could not find any precipitate in the catheter and reservoir. A unique feature of Groshong port is a pressure-sensitive two-way valve at the intravascular end. The valve of this port opens outward during fluid infusion or bolus injection. During blood withdrawal, the valve opens inward and then closed after the procedure. Because the valve is designed to remain closed between -7 and 80 mmHg, it will not open spontaneously under normal central venous pressure conditions. This valve eliminates the need for heparin flusing. Catheter obstruction during prolonged TPN is a serious complication. Compound of heparin, lipid emulsion and electrolytes, especially calcium is now becoming one of the most important causes of catheter obstruction and catheter removal. We used the Groshong port to prevent catheter obstruction. After 8 months' use of this port, no precipitate was found in this port. We conclude that the Groshong port is useful for home TPN catheter because it can prevent catheter obstruction due to heparin-lipid-electrolytes compound.

Female↗

PubMed1995

[Home parenteral nutrition for terminal cancer patients--when should we tell the truth about their disease and return them to their home with HPN].

Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is a significant way to enable terminally ill cancer patients to live with high quality of life at home. However, the most important condition to perform HPN is the patients' desire to return to their home. For this purpose, we should consider in informing them of the truth of their disease. We had three terminal cancer patients who returned to their home with HPN. Cas 1: 52-year-old woman, recurrent stomach cancer. She did not know her cancer. She stayed at home for 45 days with HPN. Case 2: 46-year-old woman, recurrent stomach cancer. She did not know her recurrence of cancer. She stayed at home for only 15 days with HPN. Case 3: 45-year-old woman, recurrent pancreatic head cancer. She knew her disease and her life expectancy. She had 6-year-old daughter and desired to return home. She stayed at home with HPN for 8 months. As we told Case 3 truth of her disease when she was diagnosed as recurrence of cancer, she lived at home with HPN for 8 months. From the experience of three cases, we may concluded that, the sooner the patients are informed the truth about their disease, the longer they can stay at home with HPN and spend their limited time with high QOL.

Female↗

PubMed1994

The degrees of UVB-induced erythema and pigmentation correlate linearly and are reduced in a parallel manner by topical anti-inflammatory agents.

To examine whether it is possible to evaluate the degree of ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced inflammation by measuring the degree of hyperpigmentation, we investigated the relationship between UVB-induced erythema and the subsequent pigmentation quantitatively. At 24 h and 7 d after irradiation with erythemogenic doses of UVB to the backs of 16 Japanese subjects, the degree of induced erythema (delta erythema index) and that of pigmentation (delta melanin index) were examined by an image analytic method using a videomicroscope interfaced with a computer. The relationship between two indices was linear in each subject, and the correlation coefficient was 0.83 when evaluated using whole data. The slope of the regression line for the delta melanin index against delta erythema index tended to become steeper as non-irradiated skin color became darker (r = 0.63), suggesting that more efficient melanogenesis takes place after the same level of inflammation in the subject with darker skin. Both erythema and hyperpigmentation were suppressed significantly and in a parallel manner by corticosteroids and indomethacin applied topically immediately after UVB irradiation. These results imply that the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation correlates closely with the severity of the prior inflammation and that chemical mediators released in the inflammatory process have considerable influence on the melanogenesis. We conclude that the measurement of UVB-induced hyperpigmentation can be utilized for the assessment of topical anti-inflammatory agents, unless these have direct actions on the tyrosinase activity of melanocytes.

Administration, Topical↗

PubMed1993

The effect of ultraviolet (UVB and PUVA) radiation on the expression of epidermal keratins.

Using a panel of monoclonal antibodies directed against keratins (PKK2, CK8.12 and KL1), the effects of ultraviolet B (UVB) and psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) irradiation on keratin expression in guinea-pig skin were examined immunohistochemically. Following irradiation, whether by UVB or PUVA, rapid alterations in the distribution pattern of keratins were observed in the epidermis. The alterations included the induction of basal cell-type keratins (PKK2 and CK8.12 staining) in the suprabasal layers, with concomitant reduction of the suprabasal-type keratins (KL1 staining). These alterations in keratin expression were observed during the period when DNA synthesis appears to be accelerated by ultraviolet light exposure (5 h-5 days after UVB, and 2-10 days after PUVA irradiation). Therefore, these changes are probably reflections of a proliferative or regenerative state of keratinocytes. This explanation was supported by the result of an experiment involving tape stripping of the epidermal horny layers, which also accelerates DNA synthesis by keratinocytes. Immunohistochemistry appears to be a useful and sensitive method of detecting the effect of ultraviolet light on keratinization.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

IgE and its related phenomena in bullous pemphigoid.

This study was designed to analyse IgE and its related phenomena in bullous pemphigoid (BP). We analysed 17 BP sera by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and immunoblotting (IB) using a monoclonal antibody to IgE. In addition, inflammatory cells in lesional skin from 11 patients with BP were analysed by the alkaline phosphatase-anti-alkaline phosphatase (APAAP) technique using monoclonal antibodies to IgE and Fc epsilon RII/CD23. IgE class anti-basement membrane zone (BMZ) autoantibody was detected in nine of 17 sera (52.9%) by IIF. IgG class anti-BMZ antibody could block the BMZ-binding reactivity of IgE class antibody. Titres of IgE class autoantibody in the sera ranged from 1:40 to 1:320, and statistically correlated with serum IgE levels. Two of 11 sera contained an IgE class autoantibody which recognized a 230-kDa BP antigen by IB. By radio-allergosorbent test (RAST), IgE-specific antibodies to an extended series of common inhalant and food allergens were detectable in six sera with high concentrations of total IgE (over 3,300 IU/ml). IgE-bearing and Fc epsilon RII-expressing cells were demonstrated in the upper dermis and along the BMZ in seven of 11 biopsy specimens by the APAAP technique. The distribution and number of IgE-bearing cells in the lesions were similar to those of the Fc epsilon RII-expressing cells. These results suggest that both IgE-mediated immune responses and autoimmunity characterize BP as distinctive features.

Antibody Specificity↗

PubMed1992

[Limits of duration of chest tube drainage in the first episode of spontaneous pneumothorax].

We treated three patients with spontaneous left pneumothorax who underwent a long period of chest tube drainage before surgery. Case 1 was a 61-year-old man. On day 13 after drainage started, much air leakage occurred and surgery was done the next day. Case 2 was a 57-year-old man. Drainage failed to allow the air leakage to seal. The patient did not consent to surgery for about a month, but on day 38 after drainage started, he underwent surgery. Case 3 was a 19-year-old man. First, chest tube drainage was successful and he was extubated on day 16. However, pneumothorax recurred the next day. Liver dysfunction delayed surgical treatment, and the patient underwent surgery on day 54 after the first drainage. Postoperatively, he developed wound infection of the chest tube route and aseptic pleurisy of unknown origin. Limits of duration of unsuccessful chest tube drainage for the first episode of spontaneous pneumothorax are controversial. These cases suggest that when two weeks of chest tube drainage is unsuccessful, surgery should be undertaken in view of postoperative complication and social indications.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

The distribution of IgG subclass autoantibodies in bullous pemphigoid analysed by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting.

The distribution of IgG subclasses in bullous pemphigoid (BP) autoantibodies in 14 BP sera and four biopsies was analysed by immunofluorescence (IF) and immunoblotting (IB). Three clones of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to each IgG subclass were used. All 14 sera showed linear fluorescence in the basement membrane zone with IF, and 240 kDa and/or 180 kDa protein bands in human epidermal extract were detected by IB using a polyclonal antibody to total IgG. BP antibody in IgG4 subclass was found to be predominant, as it was detected most frequently and intensively in all positive sera and lesions studied by both techniques. In the IgG1 to IgG3 subclasses, a range of proportions of positive sera was obtained among MoAbs to the same IgG subclass in both techniques. However, one MoAb could detect IgG1 subclass BP antibody with a high frequency in both techniques. No difference in IgG subclass distribution of BP antibodies was observed during the course of the disease. In each serum, any IgG subclass of BP antibody recognized the identical BP antigen(s). These results suggest the predominance of IgG4 subclass and the possible presence of IgG1 subclass in BP antibodies.

Aged↗

PubMed1991

Localized pemphigoid shares the same target antigen as bullous pemphigoid.

A case of localized pemphigoid is described in which the lesions were only on the lower legs. Immunoblotting of the patients' serum reacted with a 240-kDa polypeptide identical to one of the bullous pemphigoid antigens. IgG1 was detected in the lesional skin and IgG1 and IgG4 in the patient's serum. These observations suggest that the immunopathological mechanisms in the blister formation in localized pemphigoid are similar to those found in more widespread bullous pemphigoid.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

The ratio of lipidperoxides to superoxide dismutase activity in the skin lesions of patients with severe skin diseases: an accurate prognostic indicator.

We studied 35 patients with active inflammatory skin diseases, measuring the levels of lipidperoxides and of the oxygen radical scavenging enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in biopsy specimens of skin lesions. Lipidperoxide levels were markedly elevated in all patients. In fifteen patients with disease that was severe and highly resistant to therapy, SOD activity was only slightly increased, in comparison with normal controls. In contrast, in the twenty patients with mild disease that responded well to therapy, SOD activity was markedly elevated. The ratio of lipidperoxide levels to SOD activity was thus an accurate prognostic indicator, being elevated only in the group not responding to treatment. These findings suggest that the severity of allergic inflammatory skin disease and/or the response to treatment may in part be governed by the degree to which the patient's SOD activity is up-regulated in response to the generation of tissue-damaging substances such as lipidperoxides. Interestingly, our studies revealed the SOD activities of both normal and inflamed skin to be unexpectedly high; our data suggest that SOD plays a critical role in protecting the skin from the effects of oxygen radicals and ultraviolet light.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

[Preparation of progesterone secreting cells from rat ovaries by a density gradient].

Isolation of progesterone secreting cells from the ovaries of immature rats pretreated with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMS) was conducted by a simple procedure which combined the collagenase digestion with a density gradient method. After digestion of the ovarian tissue slices by the enzyme, the residue was gently pressed and placed on a sucrose density gradient. Three bands appearing in the tube after centrifugation were designated as S-1, S-2 and S-3 from the top to the bottom, respectively. The S-1 cells from the ovaries at 6 days after PMS secreted the greatest amount progesterone, i.e. approximately 430 ng per 10(5) cells during the 18th incubation. Progesterone secretion from the S-2 cells was less than 48% of that from the S-1 cells. A physiological interrelation between the S-1 and S-2 cells remains unexplained by the present experiment. The luteal cells were yellow, spheroidal and 15 to 40 mus in diameter. Many vesicle-like particles were found on the cell surfaces. Progesterone secretion from the prepared cells was stimulated significantly by hCG in vitro. This result indicates that progesterone secreting cells isolated by the collagenase-sucrose density gradient preserve their native function as luteal cells. The procedure for preparation of luteal cells in the present report may provide a suitable model for in vitro studies on the corpus luteum.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

[Estrogen and progesterone interactions on the estrogen receptor and thymidine kinase in the immature rat uterus].

In medical clinics or experiments, progesterone (P) has been used for treatment of adenomatous hyperplasia or cancer of the endometrium. In the present paper, effects of P in combination with or without estradiol-17 beta (E2) on the estrogen receptor (ER) and thymidine kinase (TK) activity in immature rat uterus are described. P has been reported to interfere with the replenishment of the cytoplasmic ER of the rat uterus. In the present study, no translocation of the cytoplasmic ER to the nucleus was found after the injection of P, whereas P slightly enhanced the wet weight and the TK activity of the uterus. The TK activity increased 20 to 30 times the control level at 30 hours after the injection of E2. However, the enzyme activity induced by E2 was inhibited by P which was approximately 1,000-fold or more dose of E2. This enzyme was separated into isozymes by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Induction of the specific TK isozyme, which was induced by E2 in immature rat uterus and closely related to DNA synthesis, was found to be inhibited by P.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Indwelling catheter retraction because of pendulous breast.

Long-term home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is an established treatment for chronic intestinal failure. A reliable and safe vascular access is of fundamental importance to HPN patients. We have typically used a right atrial catheter attached to a subcutaneous port. We present a case of right atrial catheter retraction in a large-breasted woman with short bowel syndrome. The catheter was retracted and coiled around the reservoir in the subcutaneous pocket by motion of the patient with large breasts. Displacement of right atrial catheters is a rare but recognized complication. To avoid this complication in obese patients with large breasts, the positional changes of the breast should be determined. and the reservoir should be implanted in the area of least motion along the sternum.

Aged↗