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Biomedical subjects

N Wakata

Publications and source records attributed to N Wakata.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

[A case of carcinomatous autonomic and sensory neuropathy].

A 61-year-old male with carcinomatous autonomic and sensory neuropathy was presented. The disease started with numbness in his lower extremities and loss of sensation gradually developed over the upper extremities within two months. Finally he became unable to walk because of orthostatic hypotension and dystaxia due to loss of deep sensation. Physical examination on admission revealed mydriasis with negative light reflex, orthostatic hypotension, sensory loss of below C-4, areflexia, positive Babinski's sign and sexual impotence. Laboratory examinations revealed serum antineural antibody, elevation of protein and oligoclonal IgG band in the CSF. Sural nerve biopsy specimen showed severe loss of myelinated fibers, especially in the large-sized fibers. The pharmacological functional tests of the autonomic nerves disclosed disturbance of parasympathetic nervous system as well as the postsynaptic fibers of the sympathetic nerves. An instillation test of 2.5% mecholyl solution demonstrated contraction of both pupils. Chest X-ray showed abnormal shadow at the right hilus and transbronchial biopsy revealed small cell carcinoma (oat cell type). Plasma exchange improved orthostatic hypotension and decreased the titer of the antineural antibody. In this case, the autonomic ganglion including the ciliary ganglia and the dorsal root ganglia cells were predominantly involved and such cases have been described as a variant of paraneoplastic syndrome in the literature.

Autonomic Nervous System Diseases↗
PubMed1992

[Myasthenia gravis and steroid therapy].

In the past 20 years, we experienced 242 myasthenic patients in our hospital. Fifty five cases were administered high doses of adrenocorticosteroid hormone for a long time. Among them, we analysed 39 cases with complete clinical records from admission to the present. We analysed 5 additional cases in whom responses to the therapy somewhat unique in that four cases have not shown any improvement until the drug was reduced to certain dosages, and in the 5th case change of method from alternate-day to every day brought good recovery of the symptoms. As a result, adrenocorticosteroid hormone was effective for 100% of the patients in this series. However, complete remission appeared in the above mentioned 10 patients (26%), after 2-3 years' continuous administration. Prognosis was far better in those who showed shorter durations between the onset of the disease and thymectomy or thymectomy than in those of longer one. In these cases, the maximum daily doses were 60-100 mg in alternate-day administration, and the total amount of prednisolone was 9-15 g in individual cases. Through data of these cases, it is recommended that the maximum dosage is to be continued for as long as 2 to 19 weeks with average 7 weeks.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Intermittent long-term adrenocorticosteroid treatment of myasthenia gravis.

It is widely accepted that a long-term, alternate-day administration of adrenal corticosteroids after thymectomy is one of the most effective treatments of myasthenia gravis. However, some patients with myasthenia gravis show a tendency to develop steroid dependency, and require extremely prolonged administration of fairly high doses of steroids. Various types of adverse reactions to steroids are likely to occur in such cases. To avoid this, intermittent, single-dose administration of steroids was performed on a trial basis in the present study. Prednisolone, in doses of 50-100 mg, was given once every 3-7 days in three steroid-dependent myasthenic patients, in one case for up to 6 years. The effects of the intermittent treatment were as good as, and adverse effects less frequently found than in single-dose, alternate-day administration.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Effect of ceruletide on plasma monoamine metabolites in the rabbit.

Ceruletide, a cholecystokinin octapeptide-like substance, has been shown to have some effect on tardive dyskinesia. We, too, previously examined the effect of ceruletide on various types of involuntary movement, and found that responders tended to have high plasma homovanillic acid (HVA) levels. It is generally accepted that both central and peripheral sources make a contribution of plasma HVA. In this study, the response of plasma HVA in rabbits to ceruletide was investigated after pretreatment with debrisoquin sulfate, a drug which selectively blocks peripheral HVA production by inhibition of MAO. As a result, 8 and 50 micrograms/kg ceruletide treatment showed a tendency to decrease plasma HVA levels, but showed no significant differences; however, 140 and 200 micrograms/kg ceruletide showed a significant reduction of plasma HVA. These results are important to the understanding of the mechanism of ceruletide's effect on the brain, as well as to predict the effect of ceruletide on involuntary movements.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[Clinical analysis of myasthenia gravis accompanied by invasive thymoma].

Over the last 20 years, 6 patients with myasthenia gravis and invasive thymoma have been seen in our Department. These patients underwent non-total excision cases. This represents 2.5 percent of 242 myasthenia gravis patients in our series. We can see 17 such patients in the literature in Japan including our cases. The age ranged 20 to 77 years and the ratio of male to female was 10:7. Post-operative therapeutic methods for invasive thymoma included irradiation, steroid therapy and combination chemotherapy. Every method showed good therapeutic results, but steroid therapy and chemotherapy showed especially good therapeutic effects in the early stage of the disease. Though these therapeutic effects were better than those obtained in other malignant tumors, thymomas tended to reappear within several years, when tumors showed no response to any therapeutic method. It is well known that steroid therapy reduces the level of antiacetylcholine receptor antibody, whereas chemotherapy also reduces antiacetylcholine receptor antibody. Over all 5-year survival rate was 53%, and the 10-year survival rate was 29%. Three out of 6 cases of death were due to myasthenic crisis (50%) and 2 out of 6 cases were due to invasive tumor itself (38%). These results suggested that total excision of the thymoma, if possible, and for the remaining tumor, high doses of adrenocorticosteroids and combination chemotherapy seem to be treatments of choice.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Histochemical and biochemical studies on the red and white muscle in rabbit.

1. The total amount of triglyceride was 6.00 +/- 0.14 mg/g wet tissue in soleus, 1.50 +/- 0.52 in extensor digitorum longus and 1.83 +/- 0.88 in gastrocnemius muscle. 2. The amounts of triglycerides in the individual types were calculated to be very large, moderate and very small in type 1, 2A and 2B, respectively, when compared with histochemical studies. 3. Differences in fatty acid composition of triglycerides were seen between the soleus and extensor digitorum longus, and gastrocnemius showed intermediate values. 4. These results might be important corresponding to differences in energy metabolism in different fiber types.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Biochemical and histochemical studies on skeletal muscle in rat during the course of development. The biochemical properties of type 2C muscle fiber.

1. Biochemical and histochemical analyses were performed on skeletal rat muscles over the course of development from neonate to adult. 2. A small amount of triglyceride and a large amount of glycogen were found to be contained in neonatal type 2C muscle fiber; based on this finding the main energy metabolism in this fiber was thought to be anaerobic glycolysis. 3. Moreover at 10 days type 2C muscle fiber was shown to contain a large amount of triglyceride. 4. These results suggest that, although histochemical characteristics remain the same, biochemical properties change during the course of muscle development.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Biochemical study on different situations of type 2C fiber in rats].

Type 2C fibers from the soleus, gastrocnemius and extensor digitorum longus muscles of the rats were histochemically and biochemically examined in three different conditions; muscles in the neonatal stage, after neonatal denervation and on regenerating process after bupivacaine induced injury. On histochemical examination, neonatal muscles contained 100% of type 2C muscle fibers in all muscles examined, denervated muscles 94% in soleus, 42% in gastrocnemius and 57% in extensor digitorum longus and bupivacaine treated muscles 90%, 61% and 73% of type 2C fibers, respectively. On biochemical analyses, the triglyceride was the smallest and glycogen the largest in amount in all neonatal muscles, triglyceride was the largest and glycogen low in amount in neonatally denervated muscles, both triglyceride and glycogen were low in amount in bupivacaine treated regenerating muscles. And the fatty acid compositions of triglyceride were also different in different type 2C fibers. These results suggested that though histochemical characteristics are the same, significant differences in biochemical properties are present between type 2C fibers of these three conditions in that there are the smallest amount of triglyceride and the largest amount of glycogen in denervated muscles, are both low amount of triglyceride and glycogen in regenerating fibers.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[Biochemical and histochemical study of type IIC muscle fiber].

Fiber type differentiation of human skeletal muscle starts at approximately 18-28 weeks of gestation, and normally completes at birth. Therefore type IIC muscle fibers are not visualized in the biopsied specimens except for some pathological conditions, such as Werdning-Hoffmann disease or Duchenne muscular dystrophy of which onsets are believed in the embryonal or neonatal period and some motor neuron disease. On the other hand in rat muscle fibers have not differentiated in the neonatal period, and most of them show reaction of type IIC muscle fiber. When we study the specificity of type IIC fiber, rat is the most useful animal. The present study aimed biochemical and histochemical analysis of type IIC fiber in soleus, gastrocnemius and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) at neonatal period, 10 days, 3 weeks, 4 weeks and adult. The ratios triglyceride to total protein were in soleus 0.038 (neonatal), 0.252 (10 days), 0.239 (3 weeks), 0.229 (4 weeks) and 0.145 (adults), in gastrocnemius 0.054, 0.241, 0.118, 0.077, and 0.078, in EDL 0.026, 0.094, 0.071, 0.071 and 0.071. Whereas, the ratios glycogen to total protein were in soleus 0.024 (neonatal), 0.017 (10 days), 0.22 (adults), in gastrocnemius 0.054, 0.025, 0.022, and in EDL 0.016, 0.011, 0.014. Also there was significant difference in the fatty acid composition of triglyceride between neonatal and 10 days in each muscle. These results suggested that the energy metabolism in neonatal muscle depends on anaerobic glycolysis rather than the oxidative phosphorylation and also suggested that, though histochemical characteristics remain the same, biochemical properties change during the course of muscle development.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Lipid storage myopathy in familial hyperlipoproteinemia.

We studied a 23-year-old man with lipid storage myopathy. Five members of his family had hyperlipoproteinemia, and his consanguineous parents had elevated serum creatine kinase levels, although only the father showed clinical evidence of myopathy. The patient's intramuscular carnitine content was slightly reduced, but the reduction was not significant compared with the average value for reported cases with carnitine deficiency. Urinary excretion of carnitine showed good responses to starvation, long-chain fatty acid loading, and corticotropin administration. Therefore, his carnitine metabolism was normal. Administration of corticotropin or carnitine did not bring about any improvement of the symptoms. A connection between lipid storage myopathy and hyperlipoproteinemia was suggested.

Adult↗