Stigmatizing perception of mental illness by Japanese students: comparison of different psychiatric disorders.
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
T Kitamura
Publications and source records attributed to T Kitamura.
The negative inotropic effect of beta3-adrenoceptor stimulation in the beating guinea pig heart.
Although beta3-adrenoceptors (ARs) have been extensively characterized in brown and white adipocytes, their actions in the beating heart are unclear. We examined the effects of a beta3-AR agonist, BRL37344, on cardiac function and calcium transients in Langendorff-perfused guinea pig hearts by simultaneously measuring left ventricular (LV) pressure and Ca2+-dependent indo-1 fluorescence. BRL37344 induced a dose-dependent negative inotropic effect at concentrations from 10(-11) to 10(-8) M. Maximally, LV developed pressure decreased to 80+/-2%, +dP/dt to 81+/-2%. and -dP/dt to 81+/-3% of their respective control values (p < 0.01). The amplitude of the Ca2+ transient also decreased (to 92+/-3% of the control level; p < 0.01). The BRL37344 dose-response curve was not altered by nadolol (10(-5) M), a potent beta1- and beta2-AR antagonist, but completely suppressed by bupranolol (10(-6) M), a potent beta1-, beta2- and beta3-AR antagonist. To assess the potential role of a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) pathway, we determined whether the NOS inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), modified the contractile response to BRL37344. L-NAME (10(-7) and 10(-4) M) attenuated the negative inotropic effects on LV developed pressure by 35 and 50%, suggesting that beta3-AR stimulation induces a negative inotropic effect on guinea pig hearts partly through a decrease in the Ca2+ transient and partly by the NOS pathway.
Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
Psychosocial factors regulating natural-killer cell activity in recurrent spontaneous abortions.
PROBLEM: The preconceptional natural-killer cell (NK) activity predicts subsequent miscarriage among women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). Psycho-neuro-immuno-endocrine network has recently been proposed as a mechanism for abortions. We therefore examined which psychosocial factors influenced the NK activity among women with RSA. METHOD OF STUDY: We measured the preconceptional NK activity of 61 women with a history two consecutive unexplained first-trimester miscarriages and no live births. We also administered semi-structured interviews and a battery of self-report questionnaires to assess their social support, personality, self-esteem and psychiatric symptoms. RESULTS: The preconceptional NK activity was negatively correlated with the women's neuroticism personality trait (r= -0.32, P = 0.01) and current depressive symptoms (r = -0.26, P= 0.05), and positively correlated with their self-esteem (r = 0.34, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to several substances such as transforming-growth-factor beta and granulocyte-macrophase colony-stimulating factor, we found that low neuroticism, low depression scale score and high self-esteem contributed to high NK activity among women with RSA.
Abortion, Habitual↗
Assessment of poliovirus eradication in Japan: genomic analysis of polioviruses isolated from river water and sewage in toyama prefecture.
Seventy-eight poliovirus strains isolated from river water and sewage in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, during 1993 to 1995 were characterized by the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method and by partially sequencing the VP3 and VP1 regions of the viral genome. Of these isolates, 36 were identified as Sabin vaccine strains, and 42 were identified as vaccine variant strains that had less than 1.4% nucleotide divergence from the Sabin strains, including 7 isolates with patterns different from those of Sabin strains as determined by PCR-RFLP analysis. These findings suggest that wild-type poliovirus was not circulating in Toyama Prefecture.
Fresh Water↗
A putative G protein-coupled receptor, RDC1, is a novel coreceptor for human and simian immunodeficiency viruses.
More than 10 G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been shown to act as coreceptors for infection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), HIV-2, and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). We have isolated HIV-1 variants infectious to primary brain-derived CD4-positive cells (BT-3 and BT-20/N) and U87/CD4 glioma cells that are resistant to T-cell line-tropic (T-tropic), macrophage-tropic (M-tropic), and T- and M-tropic (dualtropic) (X4, R5, and R5X4) HIV-1 strains. These primary brain-derived cells were also highly susceptible to HIV-2(ROD), HIV-2(SBL6669), and SIV(mndGB-1). A factor or coreceptor that determines the susceptibility of these brain-derived cells to these HIV and SIV strains has not been fully identified. To identify this coreceptor, we examined amino acid sequences of all known HIV and SIV coreceptors and noticed that tyrosine residues are well conserved in their extracellular amino-terminal domains. By this criterion, we selected 18 GPCRs as candidates of coreceptors for HIV and SIV strains infectious to these brain-derived cells. mRNA expression of an orphan GPCR, RDC1, was detected in the brain-derived cells, the C8166 T-cell line, and peripheral blood lymphocytes, all of which are susceptible to HIV-1 variants, but not in macrophages, which are resistant to them. When a CD4-expressing cell line, NP-2/CD4, which shows strict resistance to infection not only with HIV-1 but also with HIV-2 or SIV, was transduced with the RDC1 gene, the cells became highly susceptible to HIV-2 and SIV(mnd) strains but to neither M- nor T-tropic HIV-1 strains. The cells also acquired a low susceptibility to the HIV-1 variants. These findings indicate that RDC1 is a novel coreceptor for several HIV-1, HIV-2, and SIV strains which infect brain-derived cells.
Animals↗
Molecular cloning and characterization of a mouse homolog of human TNFSF14, a member of the TNF superfamily.
A member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily, human TNFSF14 (hTNFSF14)/HVEM-L (herpes virus entry mediator ligand) was isolated as a cellular ligand for HVEM/TR2 and human lymphotoxin beta receptor (LTbetaR). TNFSF14 induces apoptosis and suppresses tumor formation. We have isolated a cDNA clone for a mouse homologue of hTNFSF14 by signal sequence trap (SST) screening which we recently developed. The deduced amino acid sequence of the mouse TNFSF14 (mTNFSF14) cDNA comprised 239 amino acid residues and was 77% identical to the hTNFSF14 protein. In Northern blot analysis, 2.1 kb and 4.2kb mTNFSF14 transcripts were detected in spleen and lung, and in heart, respectively. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis localized the mTNFSF14 gene Tnfsf14 to chromosome 17 which is tightly linked with Tnf, Lta, and Ltb.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Reproducibility of cystometry in overactive detrusor.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the reproducibility of cystometry in the overactive detrusor. METHODS: The study sample involved 30 patients of the placebo arm in double-blind clinical trials for an overactive detrusor. They had demonstrated detrusor overactivity and underwent the second cystometry after 2-4 weeks. Nonparametric tests for paired data were used to examine the reproducibility of four variables: volume at first desire to void, volume at first involuntary contraction, cystometric capacity, and the maximum pressure of involuntary contraction. Percent change and within-subject standard deviation were calculated to assess intraindividual variability. RESULTS: The second test results showed a significant and systematic change for the better. Volume variables increased by 10-13% (p<0.01), involuntary contraction was not elicited in 3 cases (10%), and the maximum contraction pressure decreased by 18% in the remaining cases. Intraindividual variability was not small. Seventeen patients (57%) demonstrated > or = 25% change in one or more variables, and the 95% confidence interval of cystometric capacity, for example, was calculated as (x -57, x +57), where x is a test result. No specific patients' demographics were found related to variability. CONCLUSION: Repeat cystometry in the overactive detrusor is not highly reproducible and may be subject to a systematic effect for the 'better'. Whether this is due to the placebo effect or the learning effect could not be determined.
Double-Blind Method↗
Serological diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.
Previously, we reported the specific occurrence of neutralizing autoantibodies against granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from 11 Japanese patients with idiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (I-PAP). The autoantibody was also detected in sera from all 5 I-PAP patients examined. To determine that the existence of the autoantibody is not limited to the Japanese patients, we examined sera from 24 I-PAP patients in five countries and showed that the autoantibody was consistently and specifically present in such patients. Thus, detection of the autoantibody in sera can be used for diagnosis of I-PAP. To establish a simple and convenient method for diagnosis of I-PAP, we developed a novel latex agglutination test using latex beads coupled with recombinant human GM-CSF. GM-CSF binding proteins isolated from the sera using the latex beads were identified as the autoantibodies of IgG(1) and IgG(2). The titer of the autoantibody determined by this test correlated with that determined by ELISA. Agglutination was positive in 300-fold diluted sera from all 24 I-PAP patients, but negative in sera from four secondary PAP patients, two congenital PAP patients, 40 patients with other lung diseases, and 38 of 40 normal subjects. These results establish that the latex agglutination test is a reliable method for serological diagnosis of I-PAP with high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (98%).
Adult↗
Time to recovery of an inception cohort with hitherto untreated unipolar major depressive episodes.
BACKGROUND: Generalisability of existing studies on the naturalistic history of major depression is undermined by overrepresentation of in-patients and tertiary care academic centres, inclusion of patients already on treatment and/or incomplete follow-up. AIMS: To report the time to recovery of an inception cohort of unipolar major depressive episodes. METHOD: A multi-centre prospective follow-up study of patients with a mood disorder, who had been selected to be representative of the untreated first-visit patients at 23 psychiatric settings from all over Japan. RESULTS: The median time to recovery of the index episode after treatment commencement was 3 months (95% CI 2.5-3.6): 26% of the cohort reached asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic status by 1 month, 63% by 3 months, 85% by 12 months and 88% by 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: Our estimate of the episode length was 25-50% shorter than estimates reported in the literature.
Adolescent↗
The clinical efficacy of neuroendoscope in surgical treatment for deafferentation pain.
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is one of the most minimally invasive and effective treatments for intractable pain. We report the efficacy of a very small diameter neuroendoscope on setting the electrode to the proper site in the epidural space. Our cases include thalamic hemorrhage, and each patient had unilateral intractable pain on L1 or less as the main complaint. They had been treated for over two years in other hospitals, but no significant relief was achieved. Because each patient had been given frequent epidural blocks, the adhesion in the epidural space was expected. In Group A (3 cases), we used very small diameter neuroendoscope to dissect adhesion in the epidural space and to make optimal space for lead placement under direct vision. Conventional lead placement under fluoroscopy was performed in Group B (3 cases). Medtronic's PISCES lead system was used for SCS. In Group A, stimulation and pain regions matched in all cases, and good pain relief was also achieved. In Group B, however, stimulation and pain regions matched incompletely and the increase in stimulation caused stimulation on the pain-free side.
Aged↗
Isolation of T-cell antigens by retrovirus-mediated expression cloning.
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3T3 Cells↗
CT-Guided acetic acid injection therapy for aldosterone-producing adrenocortical adenoma: a preliminary report of three cases.
We reported the preliminary outcomes of CT-guided percutaneous injection therapy for aldosterone-producing adrenocortical adenoma (APA). Five sessions of injection therapy, 4 percutaneous acetic acid injections (PAI) and 1 percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) were performed in 3 patients with APA. A small amount of acetic acid or ethanol solution was injected via a needle placed precisely inside the tumor. The procedure was frequently monitored by repetitive CT scanning. The follow-up period ranged from 5 to 27 months. After the treatment, hypertension was normalized or controlled by a low dose of conventional anti-hypertensive drug. In 2 of 3 cases the plasma aldosterone levels were normalized. Although temporary symptoms of alcoholic intoxication were observed in the single session of PEI, the 4 sessions of PAI were associated with no adverse symptoms or complications. Although this study covers only short-term results in 3 patients, CT-guided PAI appears to be a safe and effective treatment and may be a promising alternative as a simple and far less invasive therapy for APA.
Acetic Acid↗
Collaborative work to evaluate toxicity on male reproductive organs by repeated dose studies in rats 15). Two-week and 4-week administration study of methyl methanesulfonate (MMS).
This study was conducted to assess whether a 2-week treatment period is as effective as 4-week treatment for detection of drug-induced toxicity on the male rat reproductive organs using methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). A two-week study at dose levels of 20 or 40 mg/kg and a 4-week study with 20 mg/kg were conducted. The results can be summarized as follows. No deaths and no apparent clinical signs were observed. Body weights and food consumption were decreased at 40 mg/kg in the 2-week study along with testis and epididymis weights. In the 4-week study, epididymis weights were decreased at 20 mg/kg. The rats treated with 20 mg/kg in the 4-week study and those treated with 40 mg/kg in the 2-week study showed decrease of germ cells, exfoliation of germ cells, vacuolar degeneration of Sertoli cell and cell debris in epididymal ducts on histopathological observation. MMS impairment of spermatogenesis was confirmed by stage analysis. It was concluded that a treatment period of 2 weeks is sufficient to allow evaluation of toxic effects of MMS on the male reproductive organs.
Administration, Oral↗
Pituitary stone--case report.
A 50-year-old male with acromegalic features presented with a pituitary stone in a growth hormone-secreting adenoma. Endocrinological examination showed "low growth hormone acromegaly." The serum growth hormone level responded to the thyrotropin-releasing hormone test and was not suppressed by oral glucose loading. Neuroimaging revealed an adenoma including a large calcification (pituitary stone) located in the right lateral wing. The adenoma with stone was totally removed by transsphenoidal surgery. The patient regained almost normal response of serum growth hormone. Histological examination showed the stone was composed of thick calcification surrounded by necrotic adenoma tissue and chronic hemorrhage. Large intratumoral pituitary stone is very rare, although calcification is sometimes observed in the adenoma capsule. The long history of this disease and previous apoplexy within the tumor may have caused the pituitary stone in this patient.
Acromegaly↗
[Antigen-specific T cells transduced with interleukin-10 ameliorate experimentally induced arthritis without impairing the systemic immune response to the antigen].
For the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, efficient drug delivery methods to the inflamed joints need to be developed. Since T cells expressing an appropriate autoantigen-specific receptor can migrate to inflamed lesions, it has been reasoned that they can be employed to deliver therapeutic agents. In order to examine the ability and efficiency of such T cells as a vehicle, we employed an experimentally induced model of arthritis. Splenic T cells from DO 11.10 T cell receptor transgenic mice specific for OVA were transduced with murine IL-10. Adoptive transfer of the IL-10-transduced DO 11.10 splenocytes ameliorated OVA-induced arthritis, in spite of the presence of around 95% non-transduced cells. Using GFP as a marker for selection, the number of transferred cells needed to ameliorate the disease was able to be reduced to 10(4). Preferential accumulation of the transferred T cells was observed in the inflamed joint, and the improvement in the disease was not accompanied by impairment of the systemic immune response to the antigen, suggesting that the transferred T cells exert their antiinflammatory task locally, mainly in the joints where the antigen exists. In addition, IL-10-transduced DO 11.10 T cells ameriolated mBSA-induced arthritis when the arthritic joint was co-injected with OVA in addition to mBSA. These results suggest that T cells specific for a joint specific antigen would be useful as a therapeutic vehicle in rheumatoid arthritis for which the arthritic autoantigen is still unknown.
Animals↗
Patients' desire to participate in decision-making in psychiatry: a questionnaire survey in Japan.
Japanese national sentiment has been described as paternalistic, which has potentially wide-ranging implications for the manner in which psychiatric patients should participate in medical decision-making. To examine the extent and possible determinants of the desire to participate in medical decision-making among Japanese people, we distributed a packet of questionnaires to 747 (nonmedical) university students and 114 of their parents. The questionnaires included an imaginary case vignette of psychotic depression. The participants were asked whether they would want various types of medical information, i.e., diagnosis, aetiology, treatment, outcomes, medical charts, etc., disclosed to them were they in such a psychiatric condition. Also included was the 1995 Scale for Independent and Interdependent Construal of the Self by Kiuchi. More than half of the participants wanted all the types of medical information disclosed to them. Those participants who wanted to have all types of information disclosed to them (n = 413) as compared to those who did not want to know at least one type of information (n = 445), tended to be male and to have an educational background in psychiatry (9.7% vs 5.4%) as well as an assertive attitude as indicated by a higher score on Independence on the Scale for Independence and Interdependent Construal of the Self. These results suggest that the Japanese in this sample are more likely to want to make an autonomous contribution to the psychiatric decision-making process and that less desire for information can be predicted by some demographic and personality factors.
Adolescent↗
Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Temperament and Character Inventory.
The Temperament and Character Inventory was translated into Japanese, and, to confirm the psychometric properties of the inventory, three samples were recruited from a nonpatient population. In nonpatient population A (N = 555), the full version (240 items) of the inventory with dichotomous measuring, along with the General Health Questionnaire and the Social Desirability Scale, were distributed to the subjects. Factor analyses of the subscales showed that the factor structure of the inventory was consistent with Cloninger's theory. Correlations of the scale scores with the General Health Questionnaire and the Social Desirability Scale scores were almost negligible, indicating that the scale is resistant to the current psychopathology and response bias. In this and the other two university student samples (ns = 395 and 377), Cronbach coefficients alpha of the scale scores were substantially high except for the short version (125 items) of the inventory with dichotomous measures. The Japanese version of the inventory appears to have internal reliability and content and construct validity in a Japanese population.
Adolescent↗
[The effects of sleep position change in sleep apnea syndrome].
Changing the sleep position from supine to non-supine is a simple but effective treatment for some patients with sleep apnea syndrome. In the present study, we compared the clinical data for good responders (GRs), those who responded well to the sleep position change, with those for poor responders (PRs), and also evaluated the effect of surgical treatment on the positional improvement of ventilation in the PR group. Forty-one adult patients with sleep apnea syndrome (mean age: 47.1 years, mean obesity index: 125.8%) were divided into two groups based on their polysomnographic responses to sleep position change. Thirty-two patients were classified as the GR group, whose apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in the non-supine position declined to less than half of their AHI in the supine position, and nine whose non-supine AHI remained greater than half of their supine AHI were classified as the PR group. The AHI and the desaturation index (DI) for the PR group were significantly higher than those for the GR group, and the obesity index was also higher in the PR group. For the eight PRs who had surgical therapy, their polysomnographic data improved much more in the non-supine position than in the supine position. Of six patients whose total AHI was still 10 or more after surgery, four changed into GRs. The combination of surgery and sleep position change seemed to be an effective treatment even for patients with a little improvement before surgery.
Female↗