PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Kusano

Publications and source records attributed to N Kusano.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

[Study of Legionella pneumophila detection by two step polymerase chain reaction].

We studied the usefulness of two sets of primers in macrophage infectivity potentiator gene sequence of Legionella pneumophila. PCR by 1st step primers produced 649 bp DNA bands and 2nd step primers 489 bp DNA bands. Two step PCR by these primers produced 489 bp DNA bands specific for L. pneumophila. Two step PCR detected 10 fg of pure DNA extracted from L. pneumophila, Philadelphia-1 strain. PCR sensitivity by these primers was superior to former primers reported by us using intratracheal aspirates collected from the patient with L. pneumophila serogroup 2 pneumonia.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

[An animal model of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and therapeutic efficacy of interferon-gamma in this model].

To evaluate the efficacy of drugs for treatment, we tried to make an animal model of Pneumocystis carinii (P. carinii) pneumonia. Specific pathogen free (SPF) rats immunosuppressed with corticosteroid were intratracheally inoculated with P. carinii. Six weeks after the inoculation, the lung sections of infected rat lung showed increased numbers of P. carinii in the alveoli and thickening of alveolar septa with mononuclear cell infiltration. From 7 to 9 weeks after inoculation, the intensity of infection became more severe, and some rats died at this period. Then, to evaluate drug efficacy in this model, we finished the drug therapy by the 6th week and used the number of P. carinii in the lung and the inflammation score as an indicator of drug efficacy. In this P. carinii pneumonia animal model, both sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim clinically established anti P. carinii drug and interferon-gamma which is one of the lymphokines mainly produced by T lymphocytes indicated therapeutic and synergistic efficacy against P. carinii pneumonia.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Detection of Legionella spp. in cooling tower water by the polymerase chain reaction method.

The presence of Legionella spp. in cooling tower water was investigated by using the polymerase chain reaction. Total Legionella spp. detection was performed with 20-mer 5S rRNA complementary DNA sequence primers, and specific Legionella pneumophila detection was performed with 20-mer and then 21-mer macrophage infectivity potentiator gene sequence primers. Of 27 cooling tower water samples, 25 were positive for Legionella spp., and 14 of these contained L. pneumophila.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMed1993

[Clinical studies of ofloxacin 300 mg once a day administration in chronic respiratory tract infections].

Forty patients with chronic respiratory infections were randomly assigned to 2 groups to compare the effect of once daily administration of 300 mg each and 3 times daily administration of 600 mg each of ofloxacin (OFLX). Twenty patients were administered with 300 mg OFLX a day and 18 cases received 600 mg. The number of underlying diseases in the 300 mg group was greater than that in the 600 mg group. The ratios of general amelioration of clinical symptoms were 80.0% in the 300 mg group and 88.9% in the 600 mg group. For bacteriological effects, the eradication rate was 80.0% in the 300 mg group and it was 84.6% in the 600 mg. The incidence of side effects in the 300 mg group was 0% and that of the 600 mg group was 5.6% (1 patient) but the symptom was mild. The incidence of abnormal laboratory test results was 15.0% in the 300 mg group and it was 11.2% in the 600 mg group, but all of these abnormalities were slight and transient. The safety rates in the 300 mg and the 600 mg groups were 95.0% and 94.4%, respectively. Efficacy rates in the 300 mg and the 600 mg groups were 80.0% and 88.9%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in all the results between the 2 treatment groups, and the both treatments were highly effective. From the above results, we consider that once daily administration of 300 mg is a useful therapy in respiratory tract infections.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Bacteriological and clinical studies in 23 cases of thoracic empyema--the role of oral streptococci and anaerobes].

The bacteriology of empyema fluid and the clinical background of 23 cases from July 1987 through July 1992 were studied. Nineteen cases were male and 4 female, with a mean age of 59.6 years (range; 33 to 84 y.o.). There were 15 cases of community-acquired infection and 8 of nosocomial infection. Acute pneumonia and/or lung abscess developed into empyema in 19 cases. Sixteen cases had associated predisposing conditions, such as diabetes, chronic bronchitis, disorders with dysphagia, and excess alcohol intake. Forty-one strains were isolated from empyema in 22 cases. The predominant organisms, in order of prevalence, were "Streptococcus milleri" group (11 strains), Peptostreptococcus spp. (6), Prevotella spp. (6), Fusobacterium spp. (5) and other viridans streptococci (3). The majority of streptococcal infections, which were primarily caused by "S. milleri" group, were mixed with anaerobes and/or aerobes/facultatives. These results demonstrate that oral streptococci, especially "S. milleri" group, and anaerobes play a significant role as pathogens in empyema.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Detection of Legionella pneumophila using a nested polymerase chain reaction].

We evaluated the usefulness of a Nested PCR method for detecting Legionella pneumophila. This method resulted in L. pneumophila specific detection as far as we evaluated. The first and second step PCR achieved the sensitivity as small as 10 pg and 10 fg of the target DNA, respectively. In the detection from Legionella seeded sputa, the method could detect 0.1 cfu/ml of the bacteria, and it took about 12 hours to detect the target DNA. We demonstrated that the Nested PCR method was superior in sensitivity and rapidity for isolation of the bacteria to the conventional using low pH treatment and selective media for Legionella.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

[Mechanism of acquired resistance against Legionella--blastogenic responses of murine spleen lymphoid cells following the stimulation with Legionella antigens].

We have tried to characterize the blastogenic responses of murine spleen lymphoid cells from BALB/c mice immunized with Legionella pneumophila serogroup (SG) 1 (Philadelphia 1 strain) and non-treated mice. Lymphoid cells from immunized mice showed stronger blastogenic responses following stimulation with concanavalin A or formalin-treated L. pneumophila SG1 whole cell antigen than those showed by lymphoid cells from non-treated mice. These cells from immunized mice also responded strongly when stimulated in vitro with other SGs of L. pneumophila, while these responded weakly when stimulated with other species of Legionella. Serum antibody titers of immunized mice against each SG of L. pneumophila were examined and the cross reactions were also recognized. However, the relatedness of serum antibody titers and the blastogenic responses against each serogroup of L. pneumophila was small. The epitopes recognized by the cellular immunity might be different in part from those recognized by serum antibodies, and investigations should be made on what the cellular immunity recognizes and how it works.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[Clinical evaluation of imipenem/cilastatin sodium in the internal medicine].

Fifty-two patients with moderate or severe infections associated with internal medicine were treated with imipenem/cilastatin sodium (IPM/CS) and the efficacy and the safety of this drug were evaluated. There were 20 patients with pneumonia, 10 with acute exacerbation of chronic respiratory tract infections, 9 with sepsis, 2 with pyothorax, 3 with intraabdominal infection, 2 with urinary tract infection, 1 with pulmonary abscess, 1 with infective endocarditis, 4 with fever of unknown origin. Forty-four patients were evaluable for the efficacy. Clinical efficacies were excellent in 12 patients, good in 26, fair in 3 and poor in 3. The overall clinical efficacy was 86.4%. The efficacy rate was 63.6% in patients previously treated and 93.9% in patients previously untreated with other antibiotics. Bacteriologically, Staphylococcus aureus (8 strains), Streptococcus pneumoniae (5), Streptococcus pyogenes (1), other Gram-positive coccus (1), Klebsiella pneumoniae (8), Haemophilus influenzae (4), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3), Serratia marcescens (3), Escherichia coli (3), Branhamella catarrhalis (1), Citrobacter freundii (1), Klebsiella oxytoca (1), Enterobacter sp. (1), and Peptostreptococcus sp. (1) were eradicated. P. aeruginosa (3) and Acinetobacter sp. (1) decreased. S. aureus (1), S. epidermidis (1), P. aeruginosa (5), and S. marcescens (1) persisted or appeared. The eradication rate was 83.7%. Six patients showed adverse reactions including general fatigue 1, epigastralgia 1, eruption 1, eosinophilia 1 and elevation of S-GOT 2. But all of the adverse reactions were mild or slight, and transient. These findings indicate that IPM/CS is a useful and safe drug against bacterial infections in internal medicine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection--significance of MRSA in respiratory tract infection].

We have examined background factors in MRSA infection in cases in which S. aureus had been isolated from sputa. The incidence of isolation of S. aureus was high and still increasing in expectorated sputa, and causative organisms in the cases of pneumonia and autopsied lungs. A significant correlation was observed between high incidence of isolation of S. aureus and abuse of third-generation cephems. MRSA isolation rates of inpatients was higher than that of outpatients. Among the inpatients such cases with severe underlying diseases and prolonged admission showed the highest incidence of isolation of MRSA. There seemed to be a correlation between distribution of patients with S. aureus and that of rooms with S. aureus in the air. This suggests nosocomial infection. Although MRSA was frequently isolated from sputa, most cases showed no signs of infection, and this suggested that they had been transient colonization. Such antimicrobial agents as rifampicin, teicoplanin, vancomycin reveal excellent antibacterial activity against MRSA and minocycline, ofloxacin were moderately effective. The physician must be informed of the significance of MRSA, because their understanding of MRSA still remains insufficient.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1990

[Nosocomial infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus].

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated in our hospital between 1986 and 1989 were mainly examined for their susceptibility to various antibiotics and coagulase types. The isolation frequency of MRSA among S. aureus isolated from clinical specimens has been steadily increasing; 37.8% in 1986, 49.8% in 1987, 60.6% in 1988 and 63.2% in 1989. This trend was particularly noticeable in the specimens associated with the respiratory tracts. The isolation rate of MRSA in the surgery and pediatrics wards was higher than that in the internal medicine ward. More than 80% of MRSA were coagulase type II, which were multi-resistant to penicillins, cephems, aminoglycosides and macrolides, and sensitive to MINO, new quinolones and VCM. These epidemic strains were also isolated from the nose of medical staff and from air samples in the wards. These findings suggest that the hospital environment including the patients and hospital personnel is extensively contaminated with multi-resistant MRSA of coagulase type II. Measures should be taken for prevention and control of nosocomial infection with MRSA in the whole hospital.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed1990

[The serodiagnosis of tuberculosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with tuberculin purified protein derivative].

Tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) is a relatively crude antigen prepared from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and has species nonspecificity in immunological reaction. It is, however, more readily available than more highly purified materials. Therefore, the detection of IgG antibody to PPD was done by enzymed-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and its diagnostic useful was evaluated in this study. The patients with active tuberculosis had significantly high titer of IgG antibody to PPD compared with healthy persons and the patients without tuberculosis (P less than 0.001). An upper limit of normal set (=cut-off titer) at 2 standard deviations above mean of logarithmic titers in 220 healthy adult subjects would result in positive test reactions on the sera from 78 of 100 patients with active tuberculosis. Although 8 of 39 with atypical mycobacteriosis would be positive, 6 of 7 were distinguished almost with tuberculosis by detecting antibodies to PPD from M. intracellulare and M. kansasii concurrently. The antibody titer increased after chemotherapy would be gradually reduced under the cut-off titer when culture of mycobacteria turned to negative and markers of inflammation became negative. In false-negative cases, 4 were patients with hypo-gammaglobulinemia, 6 were with fresh tuberculosis before chemotherapy, 2 were with negative CRP in all clinical course and 4 were with bacilli needed over 7 weeks culture. From these results, this assay is helpful in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and a useful marker for judgment of clinical improvement, although detection of antibody has its limitations.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[A case report of meningitis and sepsis due to Enterococcus faecium complicated with strongyloidiasis].

A 80 year-old male was transferred to our department on 18th Aug. 1988, for high fever and clouding of the consciousness. He had been treated with steroid hormone (betamethasone 3.0 mg/day for 15 days) for his uveitis. Enterococcus faecium was isolated from both blood and spinal fluid, and then Strongyloides sterocoralis was revealed both in the sputum and stool. Anti-Human T-cell leukemia virus 1 (HTLV-1) antibody was also positive serologically. At first, beta-lactam antibiotics were used for the treatment of purulent meningitis and sepsis, but after performing sensitivity tests for E. faecium, the antibiotics were changed to rifampicin (RFP), fosfomycin (FOM) and ofloxacin (OFLX) for their excellent activity against the organism. After the clinical symptoms, subsided, thiabendazole was used for disseminated strongyloidiasis in daily doses of 2,500 mg for six days initially. The drug was used three times with two week intervals. Both bacterial and parasite infections subsided and no recurrence has been noticed until now. This is the first case of meningitis caused by E. facium complicated with strongyloidiasis.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Dopamine agonist induced self-mutilative biting behavior in monkeys with unilateral ventromedial tegmental lesions of the brainstem: possible pharmacological model for Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.

We have investigated the effects of various dopamine (DA) agonists on induction of abnormal involuntary movements (AIM) in a group of monkeys which had denervated nigro-striatal DA neurons for 10-14 years rendered by a unilateral surgical ventromedial tegmental (VMT) lesion of the brainstem. The surgical lesions were placed when the monkeys were 2-4 years old. The administration of mixed DA agonists, such as L-DOPA, apomorphine (Apo) and abeorphine 201-678, elicit a self-mutilative biting behavior (SMB) of the forelimb digits contralateral to the lesion, and spasticity of the contralateral hindlimb. These dysfunctions resemble, in some aspects, the neurological disturbances associated with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. The SMB behavior was elicited by mixed DA agonists which predominantly stimulate D1, but not D2 DA receptors, and was prevented or abolished by the D1 DA antagonist SCH 23390 or by the D1 and D2 DA antagonist fluphenazine (Flu), but not by the D2 antagonist (+/-)sulpiride. These results suggest that DA agonist-induced SMB behavior is mediated by D1 and/or by both D1 and D2 DA receptor pathways. To study the relationships between HPRT, the defective enzyme in Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, and the DA neuronal systems, we have measured the effects of nigro-striatal DA degeneration and intrastriatal neuronal degeneration on HPRT activity. The unilateral 6-OHDA-induced nigro-striatal DA degeneration does not significantly alter the HPRT activity on the lesioned side of the striatum, while the quinolinic acid-induced intrastriatal neuronal degeneration significantly reduces the enzyme activity. These results suggest that HPRT is localized on intrastriatal neurons which are also known to contain DA receptors. It is postulated that HPRT deficiency in Lesch-Nyhan syndrome results in abnormal guanine nucleotide metabolism which may affect the regulation of DA receptors.

Animals↗