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Biomedical subjects

M Maehara

Publications and source records attributed to M Maehara.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

The diagnostic value of pneumoperitoneogram for splenomegaly in chronic liver diseases.

The splenic enlargement is an important symptoms of portal hypertension, and various attempts have been made to objectively describe it. But, endoscopic diagnosis for splenomegaly in chronic liver diseases may be sometimes difficult for these uncharacteristic appearances. The pneumoperitoneography was performed in 141 chronic liver diseases just before laparoscopic procedure, size and form of the spleen on X-ray film were measured and analysed. We have compared these results with the laparoscopic findings (the gross appearance of liver and spleen, the degree of portal hypertension, etc), the patterns on scintigram and the histological findings of the liver. There were fairely good correlation between the splenic findings on radiogram and above factors, especially the size of the spleen was gradually increased according to the degree of portal hypertension and the fibrous change of the liver specimens. In conclusion, the findings of spleen on pneumoperitoneogram were valuable for diagnosis of splenomegaly in chronic liver diseases.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Moyamoya disease presenting with chorea.

Three children with moyamoya disease are reported whose initial and predominant manifestations were choreic movements. Two of the patients presented with unsteady gait and the other with clumsiness. Choreic movements were recurrent and were often triggered by excitement, emotional tension, or crying. They occurred unilaterally or bilaterally and often alternated between the right and left. Moyamoya disease must be considered in the differential diagnosis of acquired chorea in children.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The network properties of bipolar-bipolar cell coupling in the retina of teleost fishes.

Retinal bipolar cells exhibit a center-surround antagonistic receptive field to a light stimulus (Werblin & Dowling, 1969; Kaneko, 1970), and thus constitute an early stage of spatial information processing. We injected Lucifer Yellow and a small biotinylated tracer, biocytin, into bipolar cells of the teleost retina to examine electrical coupling in these cells. Lucifer-Yellow coupling was observed in one of 55 stained bipolar cells; the coupling pattern was one injected bipolar cell and three surrounding cells. Biocytin coupling was observed in 16 of 55 stained bipolar cells, six of which were ON center and ten OFF center. Although biocytin usually coupled to three to six bipolar cells, some OFF-center bipolar cells showed strong coupling to more than 20 cells. The biocytin-coupled bipolar cells were morphologically homologous. Membrane appositions resembling gap junctions were found between dendrites and between axon terminals of neighboring bipolar cells. In the strongest biocytin-coupled bipolar cells, the contacts between bipolar cells and cone photoreceptor cells were examined after reconstruction of the dendritic trees of five well-stained, serially sectioned OFF-center bipolar cells. Each of these bipolar cells was in contact with different numbers of cones: 11 to 20 for twin cones and two to four for single cones. This implies that, although these bipolar cells belong to the same category, the signal inputs differ among bipolar cells. Numerical simulation conducted on a hexagonal array network model demonstrated that the electrical coupling of bipolar cells can decrease the difference in input (approximately 80%) without causing significant loss of spatial resolution. Our results suggest that electrical coupling of bipolar cells has the advantage of decreasing the dispersion of input signals from cones, and permits bipolar cells of the same class to respond to light with similar properties.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression of nm23-H1 gene and Sialyl Lewis X antigen in breast cancer.

The nm23 gene has been proposed as a candidate tumor metastasis suppressor in some human cancers. Sialyl Lewis X (sLex) has been demonstrated to play an important role in the adhesion of human cancer cells to human vascular endothelium, inducing metastasis. Little information has been reported about the correlation between the expression of nm23 and sialylated carbohydrate antigens. In the present study, 102 surgically resected primary breast cancer tissues were sectioned and stained with antibody against nm23-H1 and sLex. Of the 102 cases, 39 (38.2%) cases with a reduced expression of nm23-H1 were observed, and the numbers of sLex-positive cases were 61 (59.8%), respectively. The reduced expression of nm23-H1 and the positive expression of sLex were significantly associated with lymph node involvement. Among the 100 patients who underwent curative surgery, the disease-free survival rate was significantly correlated to both the nm23-H1 and sLex expressions. No interrelated expressions were found between nm23-H1 and sLex. In multivariate analysis using Cox regression model, combination assay of nm23-H1 and sLex expression emerged as independent significant prognostic factors. These results suggest that nm23-H 1 gene and sLex may be involved in different steps of the metastatic process in human breast cancer, and immunohistochemical detection of the combination of sLex and nm23-H1 may be a biologic marker of prognostic significance.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗