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Biomedical subjects

J Sugenoya

Publications and source records attributed to J Sugenoya.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Preferred ambient temperature for old and young men in summer and winter.

To investigate the effects of age on thermal sensitivity, preferred ambient temperature (Tpref) was compared between old (71-76 years) and young (21-30 years) groups, each consisting of six male subjects in summer and winter. The air temperature (Ta) was set at either 20 degrees C or 40 degrees C at commencement. The subject was directed to adjust the Ta for 45 min by manipulating a remote control switch to the level at which he felt most comfortable. In the older group, the Tpref was significantly lower in trails starting at 20 degrees C than that starting at 40 degrees C in summer. The fluctuation of Tpref (temperature difference between maximum and minimum Ta during the last 10 min) was significantly wider in the older group in both summer and winter. Repetition of the same experiment on each subject showed a poorer reproducibility of Tpref in the older group than in the younger group in summer. Tympanic and esophageal temperatures of the older group kept falling throughout the trial starting at 20 degrees C in summer. These results suggest that thermal sensitivity is decreased with advancing age and that thermal perception in the elderly, especially to cold, is less sensitive in summer.

Acclimatization

[Laser-Doppler flowmetry].

Laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a non-invasive technique for measuring the tissue blood flow. It has been shown in the skin that LDF discloses blood flow fluctuations due to vasomotor nerve activity. LDF can give measurements of blood flow at various sites of different tissue. Furthermore, LDF may enable selective measurement of blood flow at different depths within the tissue, when the device and the probe are appropriately chosen. Thus, LDF is available for examining vasomotor responses at various tissue sites. For clinical application, a method for calibrating the LDF signal in absolute units should be established.

Autonomic Nervous System Diseases

Dynamic sweating response of man to infrared irradiation in various spectral regions.

In an attempt to detect differences in the thermal effect of infrared irradiation of different wave-lengths, transient sweating response to infrared irradiation in various spectral regions was examined. In Series 1, the ventral or dorsal surface of the nude subject was irradiated repetitively for a period of 4 min (2 min on, 2 min off) by each of three kinds of infrared heaters with main emissivity in 'near-infrared' (NIR; 0.7-2.8 microns), 'intermediate-infrared' (MIR; 1.5-5.8 microns), and 'far-infrared' (FIR; 2.8-25 microns) regions. The sweating response on a non-irradiated area tended to be the greatest with MIR, while the magnitude of the sweating response on the irradiated area showed no consistent differences among various wavelengths. The results infer that MIR stimulated cutaneous thomoreceptors most effectively, while its direct effect on local sweat gland activity was minimal. In Series 2, the effects of 9-12 min irradiations in more restricted ranges of wavelength were compared by the combination of the three kinds of heaters with filters (translucent to wavelength ranges of 1.3-2.7, 2.7-3.5, 3.6-8.0 microns, respectively). The sweating response on a remote area was predominantly greater with the range of 2.7-3.5 microns than with the other wavelength ranges, while the local effect on sweating was minimal with this range. The results of Series 2 reinforce those of Series 1, indicating that the degree of stimulation of cutaneous thermoreceptors and of direct thermal effect on sweat gland activity differ with spectral regions incident on the skin, thus affecting local and remote effects on the sweating response.

Adolescent

The assessment of sudomotor dysfunction in multiple system atrophy.

We studied sudomotor function in 21 patients with multiple system atrophy and in 11 age-matched controls. The extent and severity of the sudomotor deficit was assessed using the quantitative thermoregulatory sweat test. Central sudomotor function was studied by measuring sweating in response to raising body heat and administering thyrotropin-releasing hormone. Postganglionic sudomotor function was studied using the sudomotor axon reflex test evoked by nicotine. We conclude that in multiple system atrophy, thermoregulatory sudomotor dysfunction was more severe in the lower extremities. Heat stimulation increased the frequency of sweat expulsion and sweat rate on the forearm in moderate multiple system atrophy to a similar degree as controls but failed to do so on the thigh. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone enhanced sweating in moderate multiple system atrophy and controls. Results of the sudomotor axon reflex test indicate that in multiple system atrophy there is postganglionic sudomotor dysfunction which may be due to transsynaptic changes. These results suggest that the main lesion responsible for sudomotor dysfunction in multiple system atrophy is within the intermediolateral column cells of the spinal cord.

Adult

Identification of sudomotor activity in cutaneous sympathetic nerves using sweat expulsion as the effector response.

In a warm environment at ambient temperatures between 25 degrees and 38 degrees C (relative humidity 50%-60%) the relationship between sympathetic activity in cutaneous nerves (SSA) and pulses of sweat expulsion was investigated in five young male subjects. The SSA was recorded from the peroneal nerve using a micro-electrode. Sweat expulsion was identified on the sweat rate records obtained from skin areas on the dorsal side of the foot, for spontaneous sweating and drug-induced sweating, using capacitance hygrometry. Sweat expulsion was always preceded by bursts of SSA with latencies of 2.4-3.0 s. This temporal relationship between bursts of SSA and sweat expulsion was noted not only in various degrees of thermal sweating but also in the sweating evoked by arousal stimuli, or by painful electric stimulation. The amplitude of the sudomotor burst was linearly related to the maximal rate of increase of the corresponding sweat expulsion, the amplitude of the expulsion and the integrated amount of sweat produced for the duration of the expulsion. The results provide direct evidence that sweat expulsion reflects directly centrally-derived sudomotor activity.

Adult

Effects of thyrotropin releasing hormone on human sudomotor and cutaneous vasomotor activities.

At an ambient temperature of 34-41 degrees C (rh = 40%) forearm sweat rates were measured by capacitance hygrometry in 9 male volunteers. Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) was infused intravenously at 0.1 mg.min-1 for 20 to 30 min. Sweat rate increased rapidly within a minute after initiation of TRH infusion, decreased rapidly after the peak sweat rate was attained in 2-5 min of TRH infusion, and then levelled off in 6-10 min near the level before TRH infusion. Core temperature (Tre, Tty) started to decline at the time of the peak sweat rate and levelled off almost coincidentally with the levelling off in sweat rate. Average values for the rate of sweat expulsions (Fsw), sweat rate and mean body temperature (Tb) were obtained from the data of the last 10 min period of TRH infusion. The regression line for the relationship of Fsw to Tb shifted during the TRH infusion to the left of the line for the control; that of sweat rate to Fsw hardly shifted. At an ambient temperature of 24-27 degrees C TRH produced vasodilation as evidenced by an increase in skin blood flow (measured by means of thermal distribution), an increase in amplitude of the photoelectric plethysmogram and an elevation of skin temperature in the finger tips. It is suggested that TRH may act, either directly or indirectly, on the central thermoregulatory mechanism (or on the thermoreceptive mechanism) to lower the reference temperature for heat dissipation.

Adult

Effect of facial cooling during heat acclimation process on adaptive changes in sweating activity.

On assumptions that tympanic temperature (Tty) reflects brain temperature and that the latter can be lowered by cooling of the face, effect of facial cooling during acclimation process on adaptive changes in sweating activity was examined, in comparison with the results of our previous studies on heat acclimation with controlled hyperthermia. Face fanning, by which Tty was clamped at approximately 37.1 degrees C, was combined with either of the following 9-day acclimation procedures: 90-min heating in a "Sauna box," keeping mean skin temperature slightly above 40 C, or 90-min exercise on a bicycle, clamping rectal temperature (Tre) at approximately 38 degrees C. Each procedure was imposed on the same four male subjects on different occasions, two of whom had participated in our previous experiments. Sweat tests, carried out before and immediately after the completion of the procedure, consisted of measurements of local sweat rates, whole body sweat rate, Tre, Tty, and skin temperatures on 5 areas, and of calculations of mean body temperature (Tb) and the rate of sweat expulsions (Fsw, as an indicator of central sudomotor activity). No or only a slight increase in sweating activity was observed following the acclimation procedures with face fanning, whereas similar procedures without face fanning had resulted in substantial enhancement of sweating activity in most of the cases, which had been attributed mainly to adaptive changes in central sudomotor activity (as indicated by a shift of the regression line relating Fsw to Tb). Similar results were obtained in an additional series of experiments, where the effects of 9-day 90-min exercise in heat, clamping Tre at approximately 38.2 degrees C, with and without facial cooling, were compared with each other in a subject. From the above results it is inferred that Tty reflects brain temperature and that enhancement of sweating activity induced by repeated heat load is strongly impeded, if not accompanied, by an elevation of brain temperature.

Acclimatization

Local effect of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide on human sweat-gland function.

Physiological significance of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), a putative co-transmitter of the cholinergic neuron innervating sweat glands, was investigated by its local effect on drug-induced sweating. VIP, methacholine chloride (MCH), or VIP plus MCH dissolved in 0.1 ml of 0.9% NaCl solution to a specified concentration was injected intradermally at the center of a forearm test area of 15 cm2 and the sweat rate was recorded continuously by capacitance hygrometry. In a cool environment (Ta, 23 degrees C), VIP failed to cause sweat secretion, but increased the rate of MCH-induced sweating, most markedly at a concentration of 10(-5) g/ml, where the rise in local skin temperature was the greatest. On an area anesthetized by nerve block in a hot environment (Ta, 35 degrees C), the effect was less obvious and less consistent, indicating that the sweat-facilitatory effect of VIP is reduced under the condition of passive cutaneous vasodilation. It may be postulated that VIP plays a role in securing ample oxygen supply to functioning sweat glands, especially with a relatively high cutaneous vasoconstrictor tone.

Adult

Characteristics of central sudomotor mechanism estimated by frequency of sweat expulsions.

Each of six male subjects was exposed during rest to at least ten different thermal environments (Ta, 22-44 degrees C; rh, 40%). Local sweat rates from both forearms were continuously recorded in a steady state of each exposure, using capacitance hygrometry. In the absence of spontaneous sweating, localized sweating was induced by intradermal administration of pilocarpine. Sweat expulsions synchronous at the two test areas were counted and their frequency (Fsw) was calculated. For each of additive and multiplicative combinations of Tcore (Tre, Tty) and Ts, the best combination for estimation of thermal input to the sudomotor center was determined using multiple regression analysis. Approximately 0.75Tre + 0.25Ts or 0.85Tty + 0.15Ts, and (Tre-36.33) (Ts-33.13) or (Tty-36.42) (Ts-32.24) were obtained for the additive and multiplicative combinations, respectively. The correlation coefficient (r) for the relationship of Fsw to the obtained best combination, either additive or multiplicative, and that of Fsw to Tb were almost comparable to each other. It is considered that Tb can be used as an approximation of thermal input and that the characteristics of frequency of sweat expulsion is a useful index for determining whether and how much the central sudomotor mechanism is involved in the change of sweat rate in response to various thermal and non-thermal stresses.

Adult

Body surface potential distributions in posterior ventricular pre-excitation.

Waveform of the QRS complex during ventricular pre-excitation is subject to the influence of both the site of pre-excitation and the time of pre-excitation relative to that of excitation via the normal AV path. This paper reports a case in which lead V1 of the electrocardiogram (ECG) could be altered from an R to an rS pattern by the administration of atropine sulfate. The provable mechanism was that of reduced conduction time in the normal AV path with altered time phase of normal excitation and pre-excitation. This mechanism was simulated in experiments on dogs and yielded similar findings. Body surface mapping in both the patient and the dogs provided evidence that pre-excitation could be recognized by that means with varied time phase of normal excitation and pre-excitation. It was demonstrated that the QRS complex of right sided precordial leads could be altered from an R to an rS pattern by altering the time phase of normal excitation and pre-excitation of the posterior ventricular wall. This alteration was related to the degree to which negative potentials on the anterior chest wall due to right ventricular breakthrough of normal activation developed in relation to the time of pre-excitation.

Action Potentials

Antiarrhythmic effects of L-penbutolol and DL-propranolol. Comparison of the effects of these two drugs on conductivity and excitability in canine heart in vivo.

The effects of l-penbutolol and dl-propranolol on A-V conduction, on excitability of ventricular muscle, and on ventricular tachycardia threshold in acute ischemia were compared, using anesthetized dogs. 1. L-penbutolol (100 microgram/Kg) and dl-propranolol (100 microgram/Kg) prolonged A-V conduction and reduced excitability of ventricular muscle significantly. L-penbutolol less prolonged A-V conduction than dl-propranolol. 2. Both l-penbutolol (50 microgram/Kg) and dl-propranolol (50 microgram/Kg) significantly prevented the lowering of ventricular tachycardia threshold in acute ischemia. These beta-blocking drugs are effective in the treatment of arrhythmia and l-penbutolol could be used safely, because of its weaker inhibition on A-V conduction.

Animals

Interpretation of the body surface isopotential maps of patients with right bundle branch block. Determination of the region of the delayed activation within the right ventricle.

Body surface isopotential maps were produced by computer processing of the 85 electrocardiograms obtained from the entire thorax of 28 patients with complete or incomplete right bundle branch block (RBBB). We divided the map patterns into the following 3 groups. Type I map pattern (10 cases): at the early stage of QRS, the maximum was located in the left chest. It shifted to the left from the normal position; at the instant of 44 msec, on the average, after the onset of QRS breakthrough minimum appeared over the left chest. Its appearance was delayed and its site shifted to the left as compared with the normal; at the late stage, the positive zone covered extensively the right chest and the right back; terminally, the maximum was positioned along the right parasternum. Type II map pattern (13 cases): at the early stage of QRS, the maximum was in the left chest as in Type I; breakthrough minimum appeared at 38 msec on the average, later than in the normal, but the site of breakthrough minimum varied from the left chest as in Type I to the midsternal region as in the normal; at the late stage, the positive zone covered the upper part of the right chest and the right back, less extensively than in Type I; the terminal maximum was in the upper sternal region. Type III map pattern (5 cases): the map pattern passed normally until the late stage, but thereafter a small positive zone survived over the upper sternal region. In Type I the delayed activation was presumed to occur all over the right ventricle, in Type II mainly over the smaller area of the right anterior free wall, and in Type III over the localized area of the outflow tract. Patients with complete RBBB showed Type I pattern. Patients with incomplete RBBB showed Type II or Type III pattern, although electrocardiograms failed to differentiate Type II patients from Type III patients. These findings suggest that the electrocardiographic pattern of incomplete RBBB probably arises from the various mechanisms.

Adult

Body surface isopotential maps. Clinical application to the diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

This paper is a review of recent work relating body surface isopotential maps to the detection of the site and extent of myocardial infarction in cases which are either indetectable or difficult to diagnose through the use of standard 12 lead ECGs. According to the difference of the site and extent of myocardial infarction, the characteristic maps are obtained. Through the use of body surface isopotential maps, the significant clinical information may be obtained in a number of cases, and we can do better with mapping than without it in the evaluation of patients with myocardial infarction.

Adult

Experimental study of myocardial infarction through the use of body surface isopotential maps: ligation of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery.

This investigation was undertaken to diagnose the location and extent of myocardial infarction with the use of maps which give significant information about the ventricular activation process. Myocardial infarction was experimentally caused by ligation of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery. All classes were classified into three groups (A,B, and C) according to the location and extent of infarction. The map of each group had its own characteristics, as follows. In Group A no pisitive potentials appeared on the left anterior chest surface all through ventricular depolarization. In Group B, like Group A, the negative area occupied the whole left anterior chest surface in the early stage. But in the later stages there appeared a positive area on the left anterior surface. As to Group C, there was no abnormality in its early stage, but in its middle stage, the negative area was found on the left anterior chest surface. Thus the sequential maps can be helpful in diagnosing the location and extent of myocardial infarction, and will be applied to clinical use much more.

Animals

Diagnosis of high posterior infarction: experimental study through the use of body surface isopotential maps.

This investigation was designed to diagnose high posterior infarction easily through the use of body surface isopotential maps. High posterior infarction was experimentally caused by ligation of the branch of the circumflex artery of the canine left coronary artery. Each dog had a series of maps recorded before and four weeks after experimentally induced myocardial infarction. The common features of maps in high posterior infarction are: 1) The positive area expanded into the dorsal surface so slowly that, in the middle stage of the ventricular depolarization, a large area of the dorsal surface was still covered by the negative area. 2) from the middle to the late stage, the absolute value of the minimum significantly decreased and absolute potential of the dorsal surface also significantly decreased. In conclusion, we propose that it is possibile to diagnose high posterior infarction through the use of maps.

Animals