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Biomedical subjects

M Kuga

Publications and source records attributed to M Kuga.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Rapid determination of bovine lactoferrin in dairy products by an automated quantitative agglutination assay based on latex beads coated with F(ab')2 fragments.

UNLABELLED: This study evaluated an automated immunoassay for bovine lactoferrin (LF) in dairy products based on latex beads coated with F(ab')2 fragments. METHODS: F(ab')2 fragments were obtained by pepsin digestion of rabbit anti-bovine LF (IgG fraction) and polystyrene latex beads were coated with the F(ab')2 fragments. We used the beads to develop a rapid and homogeneous light scatter immunoassay employing an autoanalyzer (the Automated Latex assay). The Automated Latex assay was easy to perform and could rapidly determine bovine lactoferrin in lactoferrin-supplemented products. It was sensitive enough for testing products and showed good precision.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Gustatory changes associated with the menstrual cycle.

We studied changes in the palatability and gustatory functions as they correlate with the menstrual cycle in 30 healthy females with regular menstrual cycles. The gustatory function was investigated by conducting electrogustometry and by the filter-paper disk method with taste solutions in the follicular and luteal phases of the same subjects. The responses to a questionnaire revealed that appetite was enhanced prior to menstruation in 14 cases (46.7%). The results of electrogustometry showed that the threshold in the domain of the chorda tympani nerve was 0.3 +/- 3.4 dB in the follicular phase and -0.9 +/- 2.8 dB in the luteal phase. Although the threshold in the luteal phase indicated a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05), the difference was so small that the change could not be subjectively discriminated. The threshold in the domain of the glossopharyngeal nerve was 2.6 +/- 4.0 dB in the follicular phase and 1.7 +/- 3.9 dB in the luteal phase, with no significant difference between the two values. Gustatory thresholds as obtained by the filter-paper disk testing were not significantly different between the follicular and luteal phases. Thus, although the taste function may change through the menstrual cycle, changes in gustatory thresholds are minimal and remain within the normal range.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[An assessment of physical and psychological stress of patients with facial paralysis].

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between the appearance of facial paralysis and physical or psychological stress. Subjects were 55 patients (23 men, 32 women) with facial paralysis (32 with Bell's palsy, 23 with Ramsay Hunt syndrome) who visited the Department of Otolaryngology, Nihon University Itabashi Hospital, from August 1994 to March 1996. At the time of the initial visit, patients were asked if they had any physical or psychological stress one week before the occurrence of facial paralysis. The degree of psychological stress was rated by Niina's Psychological Stress Response Scale 50 Items Revised (PSRS-50R). Answers were obtained from 52 of the 55 subjects. Forty patients (76.9%) reported that they had felt physically fatigued, suggesting some type of relationship between the occurrence of facial paralysis and physical stress. Twenty-seven patients (51.9%) reported the existence of psychological stress. However, the evaluation of psychological stress by PSRS-50R did not reveal a high level of psychological stress in any patient, indicating lack of a strong relationship between the occurrence of facial paralysis and psychological stress. Stepwise regression analyses were made to study the relationship between the degree of paralysis at the time of the initial visit and factors which affect the prognosis of the paralysis. Those patients who reported physical fatigue before the appearance of facial paralysis had more abnormal values on the nerve excitability test than those who did not report such fatigue.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Plasma endothelin level in the acute stage of Bell palsy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the plasma endothelin level in the acute stage in patients with Bell palsy (based on the hypothesis that endothelin, which is a potent vasoconstrictor, may play a role in the mechanism of the onset of facial nerve paralysis and in view of the fact that the etiology of Bell palsy is still a maze of unknowns). DESIGN: The study involved 62 patients with the acute stage (tested within 10 days of onset) of Bell palsy (i.e., idiopathic acute peripheral facial paralysis) and an additional 36 healthy persons who served as control subjects. To determine the content of endothelin, 2 ml of plasma samples was collected from each subject. Endothelin-1 was extracted and analyzed by a radioimmunoassay by using anti-endothelin-1 antibody. SETTING: Nihon University Itabashi Hospital, a referral and institutional center in Tokyo, Japan. RESULTS: The patients who were suffering from Bell palsy exhibited a statistically significant (P < .01) increase in the endothelin level compared with that in the 36 normal control subjects. An age-matched comparison (ranges, 20-29 years and 30-39 years) of patients with Bell palsy with normal control subjects revealed a significant difference between the normal group and the group with Bell palsy in the plasma endothelin level for both age groups that were tested (P < .01). The mean value of the endothelin level in patients with Bell palsy was maximal on day 5, and the percentage of patients with abnormally elevated endothelin levels was 100% from days 6 to 9. CONCLUSION: Endothelin, which has potent vasoconstrictive effects, may contribute to the pathogenesis of the microcirculatory impairment that occurs in patients with Bell palsy, mainly by promoting secondary ischemia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1996

[A study of changes in gustatory sense during pregnancy].

A change in gustatory function is generally well known as one of the manifestations in the early stage of pregnancy. However, there have been comparatively few studies of the changes in taste and gustatory function resulting from pregnancy. In particular, so far there have been no reports of investigations of two or more pregnant women in which gustatory sense in the same pregnant woman was examined serially over time. In this study, gustatory tests were performed over time on pregnant women having a normal course, so as to examine in detail the changes in gustatory function resulting from pregnancy. Selected for this study were 97 healthy pregnant women (ranging in age from 21 to 36 years, with an average of 27.9 +/- 3.2 years). Gustatory tests were performed by electrogustometry and the filter-paper disk method over the areas of the chorda tympani nerve and glossopharyngeal nerve. Of the 97 subjects, gustatory tests could be performed serially with time throughout the duration of pregnancy in 32 subjects (from 21 to 34 years old, with an average age of 28.3 +/- 2.9 years), and changes in gustatory sense with progress in pregnancy were analyzed statistically. In addition, serum trace elements were measured in 72 of the subjects. Thirty non-pregnant healthy women (from 18 to 34 years old, with an average age of 24.8 +/- 4.3 years) were used as control. The gustatory test was performed by the same person in all cases. An increase in gustatory threshold was observed in pregnant women as compared with that of non-pregnant women. Especially, a tendency of a marked decrease was noted in gustatory function in the first trimester. A marked change in secretion of hormones in the early stage of pregnancy is considered to be the underlying cause of such a decrease in gustatory function. The serum zinc level was in the normal range in the early stage of pregnancy, but it tended to decrease over the period from the midtrimester to the third trimester. Therefore, it is difficult to explain dysgeusia in the early stage of pregnancy as being associated with a deficiency of zinc.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Evaluation of gustatory threshold changes in healthy subjects].

Changes in gustatory thresholds were examined in 30 healthy volunteers by conducting electrogustometry and the filter-paper disc method, three times with a 4 week or longer interval. Gustatory thresholds, obtained from either method, notably decreased in the second and the third examination in many subjects. In chronological observations by using the electrogustometry, changes of 6 dB or less in the chorda tympani nerve area or 8 to 10 dB less in the glossopharyngeal nerve area were considered to be not significant. In the filter-paper disc method, the threshold changes with one concentration grade of test solution were observed at high frequency, while the threshold changes with two concentration grades or more were very rare, however all changes were significant. In the filter-paper disc method, changes of the gustatory threshold in one or two kinds of tastes were relatively frequently observed. However, the gustatory thresholds of three or four kinds of tastes rarely changed simultaneously even by one concentration grade of those taste solutions. If such multiple changes of the taste thresholds occur, even when each taste threshold changed only by one concentration grade, it was as a significant change.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

A case report of facial nerve palsy associated with chickenpox.

We examined a very unusual patient who developed peripheral facial palsy with chickenpox. A survey of the English literature revealed that eight such patients had been reported, but the period between the appearance of the vesicles of varicella and the facial nerve palsy ranged from five days before to 16 days after the eruption development. We presume that the route of infection was neurogenous in patients who had palsy after the appearance of the eruptions, but haematogenous in patients who had palsy before the appearance of vesicles. The two patients whose infection route was presumed to be haematogenous, had a poor prognosis.

Chickenpox↗
PubMed1993

Anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in patients with facial paralysis.

Ninety-eight patients with facial paralysis were studied by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) employing two types of Borrelia burgdorferi antigen, namely sonic extract and flagellum protein of B. burgdorferi. IgG or IgM antibodies were detected by sonic extract ELISA in 22 (32.4%) of 68 patients with Bell's palsy, and in 2 (10.0%) of 20 patients with varicella-zoster virus infection. This difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). A positive reaction was more frequent with the sonic extract antigen, while the positive rates were significantly increased in Bell's palsy patients with hyperglobulinemia (P < 0.05). IgM antibodies were also significantly more frequently observed in patients who developed Bell's palsy between October and March (P < 0.05). Since none of the patients had a history suggestive of Lyme disease, some kind of non-specific reaction and certain undefined factors linked to a positive reaction against B. burgdorferi could be involved in Bell's palsy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma. Ultrastructural, immunohistochemical, and DNA cytofluorometric study of a case.

A case of right frontal pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma that occurred in a 7-year-old boy is reported clinicopathologically. The patient underwent surgery on September 29, 1988. Histologic diagnosis of pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma was made because, in addition to the unique pleomorphic histologic features, positive glial fibrillary acidic protein in immunohistochemical staining and characteristic ultrastructural features, i.e., cytoplasmic intermediate fibrils and lipid vacuoles, basal lamina, and abundant reticulin networks were demonstrated. The DNA cytofluorometric analysis of the nuclei of the tumor cells disclosed the main mode to be diploid with polyploid classes (4, 8, 16, and 32C) without any aneuploidy. Despite the presence of many pleomorphic nuclei, DNA histogram of the tumor disclosed very few DNA synthetic cells indicating a biologically inactive nature of the tumor. The patient is still alive and totally asymptomatic 20 months postoperatively.

Astrocytoma↗
PubMed1987

Chondrocalcinosis of the temporomandibular joint. Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease.

A case of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) arthropathy of the temporomandibular joint, seen in a 54-year-old woman, is reported. The patient presented an eight-year history of diffuse swelling with tenderness over the right preauricular region. Surgical exploration of the right temporomandibular joint disclosed calcified masses that were identified as CPPD crystalline materials by histologic and infrared spectrophotometric studies. The occurrence of CPPD arthropathy of the temporomandibular joint is very rare, and this is only the fourth report of such a case, to our knowledge.

Calcium Pyrophosphate↗