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Biomedical subjects

S Akai

Publications and source records attributed to S Akai.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Study on consonant confusion in Japanese patients with sensorineural hearing loss].

The speech discrimination scores of a 57S word list were analyzed in 180 patients with sensorineural hearing loss. Confusion matrices were made on consonant groups of voiceless, voiced and nasal consonants. In succession, the incidence of consonants was compared between the 57S word list and Japanese conversation. Consonants with high incidence in Japanese conversation were t, h, d, g, m, and n. Patients with sensorineural hearing loss are apt to confuse t and h to k, d to b or r, g to b, d or r, m to n or r, and n to m or r. It is effective to correct these instances of consonant confusion, for improving conversational ability in Japanese patients with sensorineural hearing loss.

Hearing Loss, Sensorineural

Monoclonal antibody analysis of keratin expression in carcinomas of sweat glands.

Characteristics of keratins of five carcinomas of sweat gland origin were immunohistochemically investigated with several antikeratin monoclonal antibodies with differing specificities. Specimens were obtained from two cases of mucinous carcinoma of the skin, two cases of classic type of eccrine adenocarcinoma, and a case of eccrine porocarcinoma. The tumor cells of mucinous carcinoma expressed only simple epithelial keratins. In a case of eccrine adenocarcinoma, simple epithelial keratin 19 was diffusely expressed. The expression of the other simple epithelial keratins was confined to the luminal cells, whereas the remaining tumor cells further expressed stratified epithelial keratins. Eccrine porocarcinoma and a second case of eccrine adenocarcinoma did not express simple epithelial keratins, although stratified epithelial keratins were diffusely expressed. These data suggest that carcinomas of sweat glands express various combinations of simple and stratified epithelial keratins. Development of additional data along these lines may help to further define their classification.

Adenocarcinoma

Delta F508 mutation of cystic fibrosis gene is not found in chronic bronchitis with severe obstruction in Japan.

Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) in Japan is a chronic bronchitis observed in nonsmoking adults, with severe obstruction and poor prognosis. DPB shares pathologic and clinical characteristics with mild adult cystic fibrosis (CF), except that CF is frequent in whites (Europeans and Americans of European descent) but not in Japanese. Recently, the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene was identified, and a 3-base pair deletion (delta F508) was confirmed as a major mutation responsible for CF. We extracted genomic DNA from white blood cells of 17 DPB patients and from paraffin-embedded tissues of 4 DPB patients at autopsy. Two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were made in exon 10 of the CFTR gene so that a three-base shorter segment of 78 base pairs was amplified from the CFTR gene with the delta F508 mutation; the DNA segment amplified from the normal gene contains an F508 area with 81 base pairs. Every DNA segment amplified from DPB patients showed a normal 81-base pair length, indicating no DNA sample contained the delta F508 mutation. These results based on delta F508 mutation analysis in the CF gene indicate that DPB may represent a disease different from CF.

Adult

Immunohistochemical alterations in basement membrane components of squamous cell carcinoma.

To investigate alterations in the basement membrane (BM) in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), we investigated 20 tumors. Four had the cytologic characteristics of Bowen's disease (SCC-BD) and 16 did not have them (SCC-NB). Tumors were studied immunohistochemically by double immunofluorescent staining by using mouse monoclonal antibodies to the core protein of heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) and chondroitin 6-sulfate glycosaminoglycan (Ch6S) as well as rabbit antiserum to laminin (LN) and type IV collagen (C-4). In well-differentiated and highly keratinized SCC-NB, LN, C-4, and HSPG could be detected in the tumor nest BM and showed no loss of continuity, but they were largely lost in poorly differentiated and poorly keratinized SCC-NB. This suggests that poorly differentiated SCC-NB cause greater enzymatic degradation of BM components than well-differentiated SCC-NB. Ch6S was detected in parts of the BM of SCC-BD, but it was absent in all SCC-NB examined. It appears that SCC-NB have lost the ability to synthesize Ch6S, and that SCC-BD degrade Ch6S although they continue to produce it. Thus, it appears that in SCC the BM is qualitatively different from that of normal epidermis, and that SCC-BD can be distinguished from SCC-NB by the Ch6S content of the BM.

Antibodies

Cytogenetic analysis of human bile for mutagenicity and co-mutagenicity.

Cytogenetic analysis was used to test whether or not human bile induced chromosome abnormalities in lymphocytes grown in culture. Bile was obtained from gallbladders resected for various reasons such as cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, polypus and cancers of the biliary tract, stomach and pancreas. After adding human bile to a final concentration of 25 microliters/ml or 12.5 microliters/ml, the culture medium was incubated at 37 degrees C for 72 hr. Air-dried slides were stained with conventional Giemsa and the numerical and structural chromosome abnormalities were scored. Positive and negative controls in terms of chromosome abnormalities were established by using 0.03 micrograms/ml mitomycin C (MMC) and 0.9% normal saline, respectively. Cytogenetic analysis was successfully performed in 6 out of 10 bile samples (60.0%). Bile alone did not induce numerical or structural chromosome abnormalities. Structural abnormalities increased significantly in the 25 microliters/ml bile + 0.03 micrograms/ml MMC group, compared with the 0.03 micrograms/ml MMC group: 36.0% vs. 20.7% in the chromatid-type gaps and breaks, 27.8% vs. 22.7% in the chromosome-type gaps and breaks, and 8.3% vs. 3.2% in the exchange-type abnormalities. It is likely that the interaction between bile and MMC is synergistic rather than additive.

Adult

Synthetic anthracyclines: regiospecific total synthesis of D-ring thiophene analogues of daunomycin.

The key anhydride 2-acetoxy-[2-carboxy-5-(trimethylsilyl)thiophen-3-yl]acetic acid anhydride (8), prepared from (2-carboxythiophen-3-yl)acetic acid (5), underwent a strong base-induced cycloaddition reaction with the chloroquinone acetal (11) to give the 7,7-ethylenedioxy-2-trimethylsilyl-6,7,8,9- tetrahydroanthra[2,3-b]thiophene-5,10-dione (12) regioselectively. Similarly, the regioisomeric 8,8-ethylenedioxy-2-trimethylsilyl-6,7,8,9-tetrahydroanthra[2,3-b] thiophene- 5,10-dione (30) was obtained by the strong base-induced cycloaddition reaction of 8 with the chloroquinone acetal (29). These cycloadducts (12 and 30) were converted to D-ring thiophene analogues (28 and 38) of daunomycin (1a). Another D-ring thiophene analogue (42) which has a trimethylsilyl substituent in the D-ring was also prepared.

Animals

Selenium contents in human gallbladder bile.

The selenium contents in human gallbladder bile were analyzed. Thirty-seven subjects were studied; 22 patients with cholelithiasis in Niigata Prefecture and 15 patients (13 with cholelithiasis and 2 with gallbladder polypus) in Kochi Prefecture. Five ml of bile was withdrawn with a syringe from the gallbladder during the operation and stored at -20 degrees C until analysis. For the analysis by gas chromatograph with an electron-capture detector, 0.2 ml of sample was used. The mean selenium contents in bile were 269 +/- 39.0 (mean +/- S.D.) ng/ml for the subjects in Niigata and 285 +/- 84.4 ng/ml in Kochi; without significant difference. Of 37 samples analyzed, the mean content was 276 +/- 61.0 ng/ml.

Adult

HLA antigens in cancer of the gallbladder.

Thirty one patients with gallbladder cancer (GBC) and 32 healthy controls were typed using antisera against 12 HLA-A, 31 HLA-B, 7 HLA-C and 13 HLA-DR antigens. The DR4 frequency of 61.3% (19/31) in GBC was significantly different from that of 28.1% (9/32) in the control (p = 0.00794 by Fisher's exact test). The relative risk and the etiologic fraction were 4.0 and 0.46, respectively.

Adult

[Evaluation of quality of life in arterial infusion chemotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma].

We examined the quality of life in the arterial infusion chemotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma patients using a questionnaire. The questionnaire used a category scale method of five grades. The questions about the quality of life covered ten areas for investigation (appetite, discomfort pain, nausea, daily activities, sleep, fatigue, time with family and friends, thinking about illness and confidence in the treatment). We added up scale points after one week and those after two weeks after the treatment. Patients after one-shot infusion showed aggravated scale points of anorexia and discomfort. Patients after transcatheter arterial embolization showed scale points of abdominal pain, general fatigue and discouragement about illness. Scale points in matters of thinking about illness and confidence in the treatment informed us about confidence in the course of treatment and comprehension of illness by cancer patients. How do we measure the quality of our care? This is difficult, but we thought the rate of being at home in survival might furnish us with much information in respect to the treatment and the quality of our care. In 36 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transcatheter arterial infusion and embolization, the arithmetic mean survival time after treatment was 412.1 days and time at home was 305.6 days. The rate of being at home doing survival time was 74.2% after the arterial infusion chemotherapy in 39 patients. The rate of being at home in 9 cases with one-shot infusion of Adriamycin was 43.5% (111 days); that in 9 cases with infusion of Mitomycin C microcapsules was 86.6% (716 days); that in 17 cases with transcatheter arterial embolization using spongel was 72.0% (234 days),; and that in 4 cases with infusion using implantable reservoir was 84.6% (220 days). In non-resected patients with chemotherapy, the rate of being at home was 20.3% for 61 cases of gastric cancer patients, 30.7% for 11 cases of colon cancer, 9.6% for 14 cases of gallbladder cancer and 39.8% for 112 cases of lung cancer. The arterial infusion and embolization of hepatocellular carcinoma has made it possible to lengthen the time that patients may stay home and thereby assure good quality of life.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

Geographical distribution of biliary tract cancer in Niigata prefecture.

We reviewed 1074 surgically treated patients with biliary tract cancer (gallbladder 564, bile duct 510) in Niigata prefecture in the five-year period from 1982 to 1986. Analyses of regional distributions revealed the incidence of gallbladder cancer to be highest in the Ka-etsu district (northern part of prefecture) and lowest in the Jo-etsu district (south-western part of prefecture). The incidence of bile duct cancer was highest in the district controlled by the most northern public health center and lowest in Chu-etsu district (central part of prefecture). The incidences of gallbladder and bile duct cancers showed regional variations within the prefecture, localization being more pronounced for gallbladder cancer.

Adult

A case-control study of biliary tract cancer in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

A case-control study of biliary tract cancer was conducted in Niigata prefecture where the mortality of the cancer is the highest in Japan. The cases were 109 patients with gallbladder cancer and 84 with bile duct cancer, and the controls were 386 sex- and age-matched neighborhood controls. For gallbladder cancer, a past history of biliary tract disease, a positive family history of cholelithiasis and a taste for oily foods were high risk factors. Intakes of animal proteins and fats such as fish, eggs, meat, etc., ingestion of vegetables and fruits, and taking snacks were low risk factors for gallbladder cancer. For bile duct cancer, a past history of biliary tract disease, a family history of cerebral vascular accident, a thin constitution and taking a small amount of foods were high risk factors, and a family history of heart disease, obesity, intakes of alcohol, animal proteins and fats, or frequent intakes of vegetables and fruits were low risk factors.

Adult

Rec-assay of human bile for mutagenicity and co-mutagenicity.

Spore rec-assay of human bile was conducted by the Bacillus subtilis test system to examine possible mutagenicity and co-mutagenicity. Of 26 samples examined, 8 (30.8%) showed mutagenic activity and 23 (88.5%) enhanced the mutagenic activity of mitomycin C.

Bacillus subtilis

Effects of information conflict and complexity in visual figures on voluntary visual exploration, using structural information theory.

This study was designed to examine the effects of information conflict and complexity on voluntary visual exploration quantitatively. 31 adults viewed each of 16 slides of geometrical figures and places for as long as they wished. The stimuli had two values of information conflict and complexity which had been calculated by means of structural information theory. Free looking times indicated that only when information conflict was low, voluntary visual exploration was positively correlated with complexity. Furthermore, voluntary visual exploration correlated positively with information conflict when complexity was low.

Adult

[Plasma kinetic study following oral administration of leucovorin tablets in patients with gastric cancer--influence of subtotal gastrectomy].

Patients with advanced gastric cancer were treated with methotrexate-5-fluorouracil sequential therapy. In order to rescue of methotrexate toxicity on the normal proliferating tissue, leucovorin was administered orally to outpatients. As the comparative study, we examined plasma kinetics following oral administration of leucovorin (15 mg) in 6 patients with gastric cancer (received subtotal gastrectomy) and 5 normal subjects. In the patients, peak plasma concentrations of d-1-formyltetrahydrofolate and its main metabolite 5-methyltetrahydrofolate were found after 2 hrs. (7.35 X 10(-7) M, 3.09 X 10(-7) M), and in normal controls also both after 2 hrs. (1.01 X 10(-6) M, 4.89 X 10(-7) M). The active folate metabolite persisted for more than 6 hrs. at over 1 X 10(-7) M that could rescue normal tissue from methotrexate toxicity after leucovorin oral administration in the patients received subtotal gastrectomy.

Administration, Oral

[Arterial infusion cancer chemotherapy in liver tumor using implantable reservoir].

Four primary liver tumors and 19 secondary ones (8 gastric, 8 colorectal, 2 esophageal and 1 gall bladder cancer) were treated by intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy intermittently using implantable reservoir. Drugs used in this series were 5-Fluorouracil, Mitomycin C, Adriamycin, and Cis-platinum. They were infused every 2 weeks for outpatients. The antitumor efficacy was evaluated in terms of tumor regression measured by CT scan. The toxicity was slight and temporary. The total response rate was 23.1%, 50% survival period was 7 months, and 1-year survival rate was 24.2%. The response rate was 33.3%, and the 50% survival period was 7 months for 8 gastric cancer patients with liver metastasis. The result was not good, and we must improve the criteria of indication and devise a regimen. But the implantable drug delivery system has made it possible to lengthen the time that patients may stay home and assure good quality of life because of the freedom of movement, normal physical appearance, protection from infection, and reduction of mental burden, due to subcutaneous placement.

Aged