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Biomedical subjects

T Horikoshi

Publications and source records attributed to T Horikoshi.

168 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Aicardi syndrome with holoprosencephaly and cleft lip and palate.

This 14-day-old Japanese girl demonstrated the classic features of Aicardi syndrome, including infantile spasms, agenesis of the corpus callosum, chorioretinopathy, microphthalmia, vertebral anomalies, electroencephalographic abnormalities, and severe mental retardation. Furthermore, she had a cleft lip and palate and a severe brain malformation due to semilobar-type holoprosencephaly. This patient is the second reported with Aicardi syndrome and associated cleft lip and posterior palate; she is the first patient with an additional severe brain malformation due to semilobar-type holoprosencephaly.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Normal values of urinary excretion and serum concentration of 5-S-cysteinyldopa and 6-hydroxy-5-methoxyindole-2-carboxylic acid, biochemical markers of melanoma progression.

The urinary excretion of the pheomelanin precursor 5-S-cysteinyldopa (5-S-CD) has been used as a tumour marker for metastatic melanoma. The eumelanin-related metabolite 6-hydroxy-5-methoxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (6H5M12C) is also excreted at high levels in some melanoma patients. In order to compare normal values, we measured urinary excretion and serum concentration of 5-S-CD and 6H5M12C in 33 Japanese normal subjects. The mean values of 5-S-CD and 6H5M12C in urine were 0.45 and 0.39 mumol/day, respectively, and those in serum 4.3 and 3.6 nmol/l. Levels of these markers in urine were much more variable than those in serum. We have adopted 1.5 mumol/day and 10 nmol/l as the upper limits for normal ranges of the urinary excretion and serum concentration, for both markers. No significant differences were found between men and women. There were no correlations among the four markers. The urinary excretion of both markers showed significant decrease in elderly subjects as compared with middle-aged subjects, while the serum concentration showed no age-dependent differences. These results suggest that the levels of 5-S-CD and 6H5M12C in serum are more reliable as tumour markers for the estimation of melanoma progression than those in urine.

Adult↗

Cyclosporin in psoriasis: continuous monotherapy versus intermittent long-term therapy.

Using two methods (continuous monotherapy and intermittent therapy) for the treatment of psoriasis with cyclosporine, we observed the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions of each treatment method for more than 36 months to evaluate the clinical usefulness of both methods. Thirty-seven cases were analyzed and the following results were obtained: 1) The PASI score evaluated at each visit was maintained between 5 and 10 by both treatment methods and the improvement rate was more than 70%, while there was no difference in the daily dose between the two treatment methods; 2) The period required to achieve remission tended to be prolonged by intermittent therapy, while no change was observed with continuous monotherapy; 3) The period up to relapse tended to become shorter with both treatment methods but this tendency was more marked with intermittent therapy; 4) E-PAP(evaluation for prognosis with averaged PASI) was lower in the continuous monotherapy group and the patients were more satisfied; 5) The incidence of adverse reactions was similar to that reported in previous studies, with no difference between the two treatment methods in this regard; 6) A significant increase in BUN levels was observed in elderly patients; 7) There were only three cases in which the drug was discontinued due to exacerbation and adverse reactions. Based on the above findings, continuous monotherapy seems to be of greater clinical usefulness than intermittent therapy.

Adult↗

Proteasomal RNase activity in human epidermis.

The proteasome is a cytoplasmic high-molecular-weight structure composed of several smaller protein and RNA subunits. It has been associated with non-lysosomal pathways of intracellular degradation, expressing multicatalytic proteinase activities and specific RNase activity. By standard methods, we have isolated andpartially purified proteasomes from human epidermis. We obtained the expected multiple 24-32 kDa subunits by SDS-PAGE, and evidence of RNA. Proteasomes degraded casein, as well as chromogens for t-PA and trypsin but not for chymotrypsin, these proteolytic activities overlap, but do not coincide with those observed in other organs. We found that human epidermal 28 S and 18 S rRNAs were degraded, but yeast RNA was not. By means of zymography, we demonstrated, for the first time, that RNase activity persists after dissociation of the proteasome on the gel and that it co-localizes to the same range of molecular weight subunits as the proteinase activity.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗