PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K Inoue

Publications and source records attributed to K Inoue.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

A method for evaluating color stability of light-cured composite resins using an experimental filter.

The purpose of this study was to investigate a method for evaluating color stability of light-cured composite resins using an experimental filter that simulates human enamel. The light transmission coefficients and their spectral distributions from 400 to 600 nm of twelve enamel specimens were measured. The experimental filter was designed so that its light transmittance characteristics were similar to those of enamel. Color stability tests for ten shades of two light-cured composite resins, which were irradiated directly and indirectly through the experimental filter with a light source, were performed. Despite different irradiation procedures, most materials exhibited significant color changes in the color stability test. Although the differences were small, the group of specimens irradiated indirectly through the filter showed significantly higher color differences in comparison with those irradiated directly. Our results indicate that the light attenuating effect of enamel affects the color stability of light-cured composite resins.

Color↗
PubMed2000

Relative induction of mRNA for HMG CoA reductase and LDL receptor by five different HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors in cultured human cells.

The effect of various 3-hydroxy-3 methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors on the induction of HMG-CoA reductase and low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor mRNA were quantitatively determined in the cultured human hepatoma cell line Hep G2 by means of a ribonuclease protection assay. Lipophilic inhibitors including mevastatin, simvastatin, atorvastatin and NK-104 were able to increase the levels of mRNAs for HMG-CoA reductase and the LDL receptor, but the hydrophilic inhibitor pravastatin was not effective in Hep G2 cells as had previously been reported. The LDL receptor mRNA was induced by NK-104 most effectively between 0.1 to 10 microM among the lipophilic inhibitors, whereas the degrees of induction of HMG-CoA reductase mRNA by these inhibitors did not differ significantly from each other. When cells were treated with a 200-fold excess of the IC50 concentration of each inhibitor, NK-104 was able to induce LDL receptor mRNA most effectively. These results indicate that the effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on the upregulation of mRNA for reductase and LDL receptor are different from each other and among these lipophilic inhibitors. NK-104 is most effective in inducing LDL receptor mRNA in Hep G2 cells.

Atorvastatin↗
PubMed2000

[Depression during interferon therapy in renal cell cancer patients--comparison with chronic hepatitis C patients].

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Depression is well known as one of the psychiatric complications of interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic active hepatitis C. We compared the psychiatric status during interferon therapy between patients with renal cell cancer (RCC) and those with chronic active hepatitis C. METHODS: The psychiatric status of 40 patients with renal cell cancer, 36 who were subjected to radical nephrectomy and 4 who were not because of the presence of distant metastasis and other complicated underlying diseases, was assessed by psychiatrists before and at 2, 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the start of IFN therapy according to the major depressive episode diagnostic criteria listed in the DSM-III-R and the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS). The mental aspect was measured using the Eysenk Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) before IFN therapy, and the results were compared with those obtained in 85 hepatitis C patients evaluated according to the same protocol for psychiatric assessment. RESULTS: Eight of the 40 patients were diagnosed as having depression before IFN therapy and 5 of them became even more depressed 2 weeks after the start of IFN therapy. Nine patients were found to be depressed after the start of IFN therapy, 7 of them were diagnosed before 4 weeks of therapy. All the patients needed treatment for depression: discontinuation of IFN therapy in 4, decrement of the IFN dose in 8, and psychiatric drug medication in 13. The patients who suffered from depression had significantly higher scores in neuroticism (EPQ) before IFN therapy than those who did not become depressed. There was no difference in age, sex or cancer stage between the two groups. The occurrence of depression in RCC patients was the same as that observed in hepatitis C patients receiving IFN therapy. But in RCC patients the depressive state was diagnosed earlier and was more severe than that observed in hepatitis C patients. CONCLUSION: Urologists should be aware of the psychiatric symptoms of RCC patients under IFN therapy just as in hepatitis patients. The depression in RCC patients was considered to be related to the cancerous disease itself which may explain its higher degree of severity, as compared to hepatitis C patients.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Past and present in myocardial protection.

Both the certainty of anatomical repair and early complete recovery of cardiac function are essential elements of successful cardiac surgery. Successful operations require adequate visualization of the operative field, arrest and relaxation of the hearts and sufficient operative time. Extracorporeal circulation and aortic cross-clamping are necessary to maintain a bloodless field. However, interruption of coronary perfusion by the aortic clamp produces myocardial ischemic injury, and unclamping induces reperfusion injury. For years, hypothermia was the most commonly used strategy for myocardial protection. However, the practice of warm heart surgery under normothermic extra corporeal circulation has increased recently. Cardiac surgeons now have a variety of myocardial protection strategies from which to choose. We introduce here the history of myocardial protection and our own recent investigations.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗
PubMed2000

Cholestanol induces apoptosis of corneal endothelial and lens epithelial cells.

PURPOSE: To determine whether cholestanol induces cornea endothelial and lens epithelial cell death in vitro. METHODS: Cornea endothelial and lens epithelial cells were cultured in minimum essential media with 10% fetal bovine serum containing 10 microg/ml cholesterol in ethanol, 10 microg/ml cholestanol in ethanol, or 1% ethanol. These cells, stained using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method, were analyzed by laser cytometer. The activities of ICE and CPP32 proteases in cells were also measured. RESULTS: Both cornea endothelial and lens epithelial cells cultured with 10 microg/ml cholestanol showed a significant loss of viability. The nuclei of these cells cultured with 10 microg/ml cholestanol were more frequently stained than those exposed to 10 microg/ml cholesterol or 1% ethanol. Quantitative analysis of apoptotic DNA fragmentation confirmed that the cholestanol induced apoptosis of these cells in a time-dependent manner. The activities of interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme (ICE) and CPP32 proteases for cells cultured with 10 microg/ml cholestanol were significantly higher than those observed in control cells. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro, cholestanol was taken up by corneal endothelial cells and lens epithelial cells, an event that led to apoptosis of these cells.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

A study of colloidal scintigraphy in alcoholic liver diseases: discordance from asialo-scintigraphic findings.

BACKGROUND: Our study was undertaken to check the discordance between findings from 99mTc-Sn colloidal reticuloendothelial scintigraphy (RESS) and 99mTc-GSA asialo-scintigraphy (GSA, a technique for evaluation of liver parenchymal cell density and function) and to analyze the discordance in relation to functional disturbances. We compared data between patients with alcoholic liver diseases (ALD) and patients with viral liver diseases (VLD). METHODS: The subjects of this study were 40 patients with chronic liver disease (17 with ALD and 23 with VLD). We used the liver uptake ratio of the tracer of the Sn colloid (SnL15, %), the liver uptake rate (GSAL15, %), and the Rmax (an indicator of total liver receptors) as indices of liver scans. RESULTS: GSAL15 was sometimes nondiscordant from SnL15. The patients were divided into two groups: the nondiscordant group (26 cases where the balance/sum of the two variables was <25%) and the discordant group (14 cases where the balance/sum was > or =25%). SnL15 was 41.6 +/- 16.2% in the nondiscordant group and 42.7 +/- 16.3% in the discordant group (p = 0.80). GSAL15 was 34.3 +/- 12.1% in the nondiscordant group and 21.5 +/- 8.1% in the discordant group (p = 0.001). Rmax was 0.33 +/- 0.17 in the nondiscordant group and 0.113 +/- 0.008 in the discordant group (p = 0.002). Thus, the SnL15, as determined by RESS, did not differ significantly between the nondiscordant and discordant groups, whereas GSAL15 was significantly unfavorable in the discordant group as compared with the nondiscordant group. SnL15 as determined by RESS did not differ significantly between the ALD group (40.4 +/- 18.7%) and the VLD group (43.5 +/- 15.0%) (p = 0.59), whereas Rmax as determined by GSA was significantly improved in the ALD group (0.34 +/- 0.20) compared with the VLD group (0.20 +/- 0.4) (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Liver cell function was lower in cases that showed discordance between liver cell function and reticuloendothelial function compared with cases without such discordance, although reticuloendothelial function did not differ between discordant and nondiscordant groups. Liver cell function was better in cases of ALD than in cases of VLD, whereas reticuloendothelial function did not differ between the ALD group and the VLD group.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Rifampicin suppresses hepatic CYP2E1 expression and minimizes DNA injury caused by carbon tetrachloride in perivenular hepatocytes of mice.

BACKGROUND: Rifampicin has been shown to increase during activities of serum transaminases and to decrease in cytochrome P-450-mediated monooxygenase activities in livers of mice treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Although these findings suggest that rifampicin prevents hepatocyte damage caused by CCl4, detailed information on the protective effects is not available. METHODS: We injected first rifampicin and then CCl4 into mice and examined denaturation and fragmentation of hepatocyte DNA by in situ nick translation, in situ end labeling, and in situ hybridization. Furthermore, expressions of p53, a cytoplasmic marker for apoptosis, and bcl2, an anticell death factor, were examined immunohistochemically. In addition, a major ethanol-inducible P-450 isoform in liver homogenates or microsomes, CYP2E1, was examined by Western blotting, because the enzyme metabolizes CCl4 and forms free radicals to injure perivenular hepatocytes in which the enzyme is restrictedly expressed. RESULTS: Rifampicin prevented the denaturation and fragmentation of DNA caused by CCl4 in perivenular hepatocytes except for those located within two or three cell layers surrounding the central venule. Furthermore, CYP2E1 decreased in liver homogenates or microsomes from rifampicin-treated animals. It is therefore likely that rifampicin suppresses expression of CYP2E1 and protects CCl4-mediated DNA damage of hepatocytes by inhibiting formation of free radicals. In addition, perivenular hepatocytes except for those surrounding the venule showed negative immunoreaction for p53 and bcl2 in rifampicin+CCl4-treated animals. CONCLUSIONS: The drug did not alter the mechanism of cell death from necrosis to apoptosis and did not promote recovery of hepatocytes from CCl4-mediated damage.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effects of alcohol consumption on histological changes in chronic hepatitis C: a clinicopathological study.

BACKGROUND: To assess the effects of alcohol on the histological changes in chronic hepatitis type C, we performed histopathological examination on liver biopsy specimens by using a semiquantitative method. METHODS: Subjects were 91 patients with chronic hepatitis type C and 32 with alcoholic liver disease. The patients with chronic hepatitis type C were classified into three groups according to the total amount of alcohol intake: nondrinkers, moderate drinkers, and heavy drinkers. For each patient, we evaluated pathological changes of several items and awarded scores from 0 to 2 points, with severe to moderate scoring 2 points, mild 1, and negative 0; the total score was then compared between groups. The evaluated histological changes included virus-related histological changes (V1, inflammatory cell infiltration; V2, lymphoid follicle formation; and V3, bile duct damage) and alcohol-related changes (A1, perivenular fibrosis; A2, stellate/pericellular fibrosis; and A3, fatty change). RESULTS: The total scores of the hepatitis C virus-related histological changes were significantly lower in patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD group) (p < 0.05). However, we found no significant difference between the different alcohol intake groups. The total score for alcohol-related histological changes significantly increased in line with increases in total alcoholic intake regardless of the presence or absence of hepatitis type C virus infection (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that both alcoholic-related liver damage and virus-related liver damage have specific features; in a addition, alcohol was found to have little effect on the histological liver damage observed in chronic hepatitis type C.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[Resected case of thymic cyst with primary lung cancer].

Thymic cyst is a rare and benign tumor of mediastinal tumor. A 77-year-old male was pointed out the tumor shadow on Chest X-ray film and diagnosed lung cancer. On admission some examination was performed and revealed mediastinal tumor accidentally. Primary lung cancer was completely resected and mediastinal tumor was extirpated. Pathological examination revealed lung cancer (poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma) and thymic cyst. Many methods of examination were tried for diagnosis of thymic cyst, but couldn't diagnose exactly before its resection. Some of the patients with thymic cyst was reported to develop SVC syndrome or change to malignant tumor. Therefore we think complete resection is the best treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Interleukin 8 expression regulates tumorigenicity and metastases in androgen-independent prostate cancer.

Interleukin 8 (IL-8) is mitogenic and chemotactic for endothelial cells. Within a neoplasm, IL-8 is secreted by inflammatory and neoplastic cells. The highly metastatic PC-3M-LN4 cell line overexpresses IL-8 relative to the poorly metastatic PC-3P cell line. We evaluated whether IL-8 expression by human prostate cancer growing within the prostate of athymic nude mice regulates tumor angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis. PC-3P cells were transfected with the full-length sense IL-8 cDNA, whereas PC-3M-LN4 cells were transfected with the full-sequence antisense IL-8 cDNA. Control cells were transfected with the neomycin resistance gene (Neo). In vitro, sense-transfected PC-3P cells overexpressed IL-8-specific mRNA and protein, which resulted in up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) mRNA, and collagenase activity, resulting in increased invasion through Matrigel. After antisense transfection of the PC-3M-LN4 cells, IL-8 and MMP-9 expression, collagenase activity, and invasion were markedly reduced relative to controls. After orthotopic implantation, the sense-transfected PC-3P cells were highly tumorigenic and metastatic, with significantly increased neovascularity and IL-8 expression compared with either PC-3P cells or controls. Antisense transfection significantly reduced the expression of IL-8 and MMP-9 and tumor-induced neovascularity, resulting in inhibition of tumorigenicity and metastasis. These results demonstrate that IL-8 expression regulates angiogenesis in prostate cancer, in part by induction of MMP-9 expression, and subsequently regulates the growth and metastasis of human prostate cancer.

Androgens↗
PubMed2000

[A case study of alpha feto protein (AFP)-producing gastric carcinoma with multiple liver metastases, in which chemotherapy was effective enough to once save a life in rapid decline].

A 57 year-old man visited our hospital with general fatigue and a sensation of abdominal fullness. He had lost 10 kg in body weight during the previous 3 months. Between admission and the time the diagnosis of AFP-producing gastric carcinoma with multiple liver metastases was made, his condition deteriorated quickly due to the rapid growth of the liver metastases. Combined chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin and 5-FU was given, and was so effective that the patient recovered well and both serum AFP level and the size of the swollen liver decreased markedly. However, about a month after being discharged, he experienced a relapse and was readmitted. After obtaining informed consent, chemotherapy consisting of methotrexate and 5-FU was started. Though the level of tumor markers and LDH decreased significantly, he died of hepatic failure. We think that this case is worthy of notice because it shows the effectiveness and limitations of chemotherapy in a situation where the condition of a patient is deteriorating quickly due to rapid extension of an AFP-producing gastric carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2000

[An autopsy case of thymic carcinoma producing various tumor markers and the examination of 222 autopsy cases of thymic malignant tumor in Japan].

The autopsy of a 76-year-old Japanese female patient, which revealed thymic carcinoma with various tumor markers such as NSE, CYFRA, and CA-125, is presented. The patient died from hepatic failure because the liver was overtaken by the tumors. At autopsy, the thymic carcinoma was found to have metastased only in the liver. From microscopical analyses and electron microscopical findings, we diagnosed poorly differenciated squamous cell carcinoma of thymic origin. In the histochemical analyses, the tumor cells were positively stained in CA 125, CA 19-9, EMA, NSE, AE 1, AE 3, CEA, S-100, glimerius and Bcl-2. These date suggest that the tumor cells produced various tumor markers. In 222 autopsy cases of thymic malignant tumor observed in Japan over a period of 4 years, the dominant pathohistological image was squamous cell carcinoma. It is interesting that the greatest number of combined malignant tumors with thymic malignancies were thyroid papillary carcinomas.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Relationship between p53 overexpression and the proliferative activity in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Relationship between p53 protein overexpression and clinicopathological findings and the proliferative activity was studied in 50 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (34 biopsy and 16 surgically resected cases) using immunohistochemistry. Overexpression of p53 was observed in 26.5% of biopsy cases and 31. 3% of surgically resected cases. Investigation of the relationship between the p53-positive rate and the clinical stage of HCC showed that it was significantly higher in Stage IV (the most advanced cancer; 54.5%) than in Stage I/II/III (13.0%) (p<0.05). Examination of the relationship between the p53-positive rate and tumor differentiation in the biopsy cases showed that p53 was positive in 9.1% of well differentiated carcinomas, 21.4% of moderately differentiated carcinomas, and 55.6% of poorly differentiated carcinomas, indicating that p53 positivity increased as tumors became less differentiated. The p53-positive rate of poorly differentiated carcinoma (55.6%) was significantly higher than that of well and moderately differentiated carcinoma (16.0%) (p<0.05). In the surgically resected cases, p53 overexpression tended to be more frequent in the less differentiated parts of each tumor nodule. In cases with nodule in nodule pattern of HCC, the p53-positive rate was different among nodules with the same level of differentiation. Examination of tumor cell proliferative activity using the proliferating cell nuclear antigen L.I. showed that this indicator was significantly higher in the p53-positive tumors than in the p53-negative tumors (52.7+/-32.4% vs. 32.4+/-15.3%: p<0.05). These results suggest that p53 overexpression may be involved in determining the dedifferentiation and the proliferative activity of HCC. Examination of the surgically resected cases confirmed that p53 overexpression became heterogeneous during the multistep carcinogenesis and growth process of HCC, which is considered to develop from a single cell. This finding suggests that p53 overexpression may be involved in tumor progression.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Endoscopic subureteral glutaraldehyde cross-linked collagen injection for the treatment of secondary vesicoureteral reflux: comparison with primary vesicoureteral reflux in adults.

PURPOSE: We assessed the effectiveness of endoscopic subureteral glutaraldehyde cross-linked collagen injection for treating vesicoureteral reflux in patients with vesicoureteral disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All 51 ureters studied had grade II or greater vesicoureteral reflux. We treated 18 patients (24 refluxing ureters) with secondary and 17 adults (27 refluxing ureters) with primary vesicoureteral reflux. The primary group served as controls to establish normal urination. A total of 14 patients with secondary vesicoureteral reflux had a low compliant autonomous bladder, including 11 with myelodysplasia and 3 after pelvic surgery and radiotherapy. One patient had an unstable bladder due to cerebral palsy and 3 had anatomical abnormalities of the urinary tract. We evaluated the estimated reflux-free rate in the secondary and adult primary vesicoureteral reflux groups. RESULTS: Repeat injection was required in 24 ureters because of recurrent reflux. Average injected volume in the secondary and primary groups was 2.72 and 2.88 ml. per refluxing unit, respectively. The estimated reflux-free rate after the initial injection decreased gradually to about 35% in each group, while 12 and 24 months after the last injection it remained constant at 70% in the secondary group but decreased from 84.7% to 62.1% in the primary group. The percent of late recurrence was higher in the primary group. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term efficacy of the endoscopic correction of vesicoureteral reflux in the secondary group was similar to that in the primary group. Thus, endoscopic subureteral glutaraldehyde cross-linked collagen injection is useful for treating complicated secondary vesicoureteral reflux as a minimally invasive procedure. It is considered optional treatment of primary vesicoureteral reflux to avoid long-term prophylactic treatment.

Absorbable Implants↗
PubMed2000

Linkage of autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia with mental impairment and thin corpus callosum to chromosome 15A13-15.

To date, three loci for autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia (ARHSP) linked to chromosomes 8p12-q13, 16qter, and 15q13-15 have been characterized. We have clinically characterized 13 Japanese ARHSP families and performed genetic linkage analyses. All 13 families were classified as having the "complicated" form, which manifests with mental impairment and thin corpus callosum. Linkage to the 8p12-q13 and 16qter loci was excluded, although 10 of the 13 families showed marker data consistent with linkage to the 15q13-15 locus. The multipoint LOD score of the 10 families linked to chromosome 15 was above 9.00 in the 3-centimorgan segment flanked by D15S994 and D15S659, with a maximum multipoint LOD score of 9.68 at a position 1.2 centimorgans telomeric from D15S994 to D15S659. We have shown that ARHSP with thin corpus callosum, a subtype of recessive spastic paraplegia, maps to chromosome 15q13-15.

Adolescent↗