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Biomedical subjects

T Yasaki

Publications and source records attributed to T Yasaki.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Allergenic activity of heated and ovomucoid-depleted egg white.

BACKGROUND: No egg white products have been clearly proven to be hypoallergenic. The role of egg white proteins in allergic reactions to eggs is still debatable. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the importance of ovomucoid, an egg white protein, in the development of allergies to egg white. METHODS: We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge in subjects with high levels of IgE antibodies for egg white to compare the allergenicities of heated and ovomucoid-depleted egg white, freeze-dried egg white, and heated egg white. Levels of IgE antibodies for egg white, ovomucoid, ovalbumin, ovotransferrin, and lysozyme were measured in serum by RAST. RESULTS: Twenty-one of 38 subjects with positive challenge responses to freeze-dried egg white had negative challenge responses to heated egg white, whereas 16 of 17 subjects (94.1%) with positive responses to heated egg white did not respond to the heated and ovomucoid-depleted egg white challenge. The subjects with positive challenge responses to freeze-dried egg white tended to have higher IgE antibody values to ovomucoid than those with negative responses. IgE antibody levels to ovomucoid were significantly higher in subjects with positive responses to a challenge with heated egg white than in those with no response. There were no significant differences in the levels of IgE antibodies to the other proteins, except ovomucoid, in the negative-response and positive-response groups in challenge tests with freeze-dried and heated egg white. CONCLUSION: The heated and ovomucoid-depleted egg white preparation was less allergenic than heated or freeze-dried preparations. Ovomucoid has a more important role in the pathogenesis of allergic reactions to egg white than other proteins in egg white.

Allergens↗

[Long-term follow-up study of children with minimal change nephrotic syndrome].

We conducted a long-term follow-up study of 37 children with biopsy-proved minimal change nephrotic syndrome during a period of over 6 years from onset to adulthood. These patients were classified into 4 groups of 13 infrequent relapsers, 17 frequent relapsers, 3 non-responders and 4 no-relapsers according to the International Study of Kidney Disease in Children (ISKDC). All patients were treated with conventional prednisolone therapy. Two cases of infrequent relapsers, 7 cases of frequent relapsers and 1 case of non responders relapsed in adult life. Two cases of infrequent relapsers and 1 case of frequent relapsers relapsed in adult life after remission for 5 or more years. We concluded that minimal change nephrotic syndromes in childhood should be followed up over a long duration in adult life, evenly in cases with good steroid responsiveness.

Child↗

[Assessment of allergenic activity of heated and ovomucoid-depleted egg white].

We investigated allergenic activity of heated and ovomucoid (OM)-depleted egg white by RAST inhibition tests, skin tests and and oral challenge tests. Freeze-dried egg white, OM and ovalbumin (OA) were coupled with CNBr-activated paper discs. Freeze-dried, heated, and heated and OM-depleted egg white antigens were used as inhibitors in RAST inhibition tests. Freeze-dried egg white significantly inhibited the IgE-binding to freeze-dried egg-white-, OM- and OA-discs. Heated egg white showed a significant inhibition against only OM-disc, but heated and OM-depleted egg white didn't effectively suppress IgE-binding to all discs. Fifty-six patients were subjected for skin tests and 27 patients for oral challenge tests with freeze-dried egg white, heated egg white and heated and OM-depleted egg white. Eighteen of 25 subjects with positive prick tests results to freeze-dried egg white showed negative results to heated egg white. Four of 7 cases with positive prick test results to heated egg white gave negative results to heated and OM-depleted egg white. 20-minutes patch tests showed almost similar results to prick tests. Four of 8 subjects showing positive oral challenge tests with freeze-dried egg white were negative to heated egg white. All of 4 with positive oral challenge tests by heated egg white were negative results to heated and OM-depleted egg white. These evidence indicated that heated and OM-depleted egg white was more hypoallergenic than heated egg white.

Allergens↗

[Exercise-induced acute renal failure observed in a boy with idiopathic renal hypouricemia caused by postsecretary reabsorption defect of uric acid].

Acute renal failure without oliguria developed in an 11-year boy after running exercise. With improvement of his renal function, marked hypouricemia became apparent (0.8-0.9 mg/dl). Increased excretion of uric acid into the urine, increased clearance ratio of uric acid against creatinine (CUA/CCr), normal concentration of plasma xanthine and hypoxanthine, and suppression of CUA/CCr ratio by pyrazinamide loading but not by probenecid, were observed in the patient and his two siblings, suggesting that hereditary abnormalities of reabsorption of uric acid after secretion from the renal tubules resulted in the hypouricemia. The mechanism of acute renal failure in this disease remains unknown.

Absorption↗

Specific IgE antibodies and serum eosinophil cationic protein in children with atopic dermatitis alone.

Both eosinophils and specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) to foods and mites have been considered involved in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). The relationship between eosinophils and specific IgE, however, remains to be elucidated. Blood eosinophil counts, serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and IgE to egg white, cow's milk, soybean, rice and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) were measured in subjects with AD alone or bronchial asthma (BA) alone. Subjects with positive IgE titers (Pharmacia radioallergosorbent test (RAST) units > 0.7) of one or more items were defined as RAST-positive. Immunoglobulin E titers to egg white, cow's milk and soybean of subjects with AD were high in early childhood and declined with aging, whereas the titers of subjects with BA were negative or low. Immunoglobulin E titers to Dp were elevated after 1 year of age in both disease groups. Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels and blood eosinophil counts in the AD and BA groups were significantly higher than those of non-atopic controls. No difference in ECP levels or blood eosinophil counts were observed between RAST-positive and negative groups. It is concluded that IgE to foods such as egg white, cow's milk and soybean might have a role in the pathogenesis of AD of young children, while IgE to mites might be involved in older children. Eosinophils may also participate in AD. However, different mechanisms may be responsible for the rise in specific IgE and high ECP levels and blood eosinophil counts.

Adolescent↗

[Allergen analysis of buckwheat by the immunoblotting method].

Inhalation or ingestion of very small amounts of buckwheat allergen can initiate severe symptoms including wheezing, rhinorrhea, urticaria, vomiting and anaphylactic shock in patients with hypersensitivity against buckwheat. However, few studies of the immunological properties of buckwheat allergen have been made. The aim of the present investigation was to analyze the allergen in buckwheat antigen using the immunoblotting method, radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and RAST inhibition assay. Buckwheat 24 kilodalton protein (BW24KD) was shown by immunoblotting analysis to be the most frequently recognized allergenic component, binding to IgE antibodies from 100% of the patients' sera. There was a significant positive correlation (p < 0.001) between % bindings for BW24KD and buckwheat. In the RAST inhibition assay using patients' sera which showed positive IgE antibodies to buckwheat and BW24KD, there was effective inhibition in a dose-dependent manner between inhibition in a dose-dependent manner between BW24KD and buckwheat. These data indicated that BW24KD was a major allergen in buckwheat antigens. The experiments of SDS-PAGE using digestion buffer with or without 2-mercaptoethanol suggested that BW24KD was a component of heterodimer and the paired components had different molecular weights.

Adolescent↗

[Clinical and laboratory evaluation of pediatric kidney disease].

In infancy, the kidney by itself is immature and the body fluid composition is extremely different from that in adults. Further more, there are various renal diseases in children with characteristics different from those in adults. Thus in childhood, consideration for aging is critical for evaluation of renal function, and diagnosis of the disease. Recently, mass screening for infants or children in kindergarten or school has enabled us to find many children with renal disease, in whom symptoms are not overt. Thus the disease can be treated in an early phase. This may give a better prognosis for such children. To make an early diagnosis of renal disease it is essential to consider what laboratory tests are chosen and how the data accumulated are interpreted. In the present study, individual laboratory tests for the diagnosis of renal diseases and an indication of such tests as well as interpretation of the data are reviewed.

Child↗

16-kilodalton rice protein is one of the major allergens in rice grain extract and responsible for cross-allergenicity between cereal grains in the Poaceae family.

Cross-allergenicity between five cereal grains including rice, wheat, corn, Japanese millet (Panicum crus-galli L. var. frumentaceum Trin.) and Italian millet (Setaria italica Beauv. var. germanica schrad.) was examined by radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and RAST inhibition assay. There were significant close correlations between every combinations of RAST values for the five cereal grain extracts. RAST inhibition assay of each extract against RAST discs coupled with other cereal grain extracts indicated marked cross-reactivity of IgE binding between these cereal grain extracts. Rice protein 16KD (RP16KD) was shown to be one of major allergens in rice grain extracts by immunoblotting analysis, histamine release assay from human leukocytes and RAST inhibition. Next, the involvement of RP16KD in the cross-allergenicity between these cereals was investigated. RAST values for RP16KD significantly correlated with that for Italian millet as well as rice but not with those for corn and wheat. There was a trend of positive correlation between RAST values for RP16KD and Japanese millet. In the RAST inhibition assay using sera with positive RAST for these five cereal grain extracts and RP16KD, RP16KD inhibited IgE binding to these all cereal discs in a dose-dependent manner. Similarly, all of the five cereal grain extracts showed an effective decrease in IgE binding to the RP16KD disc. These results indicated possible participation of IgE binding structure on RP16KD in cross-allergenicity between these cereal grain extracts in the Poaceae family.

Allergens↗

Rice protein 16KD--a major allergen in rice grain extract.

The allergenic activity of Rice protein 16 KD (RP16KD) isolated from water soluble rice proteins was examined by radioallergosorbent test (RAST), RAST inhibition and histamine release assay. All of the 31 sera which showed positive RAST values for rice grain extract were positive for RP16KD RAST. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation (r = 0.56, p less than 0.01) between these RAST values. PR16KD effectively inhibited IgE binding to the rice grain extract disc in RAST inhibition assays using 4 sera with positive RAST values for both antigens. In 17 subjects with positive RAST values for rice grain extract, a significant positive correlation (r = 0.53, p less than 0.05) was found between the maximum percent histamine releases from their leukocytes by rice grain extract and RP16KD. These data strongly suggest that RP16KD is one of the major allergens of rice grain.

Allergens↗

[Relationship between immediate hypersensitive reactions by buckwheat ingestion and specific IgE for rice in subject with positive IgE-RAST for buckwheat].

IgE-mediated mechanisms are important in immediate hypersensitive reactions (IHR) to buckwheat. However, a part of subjects with high IgE for buckwheat show no IHR to buckwheat ingestion. Inspite of cross-allergenicity between buckwheat and rice, rice ingestion rarely induces IHR even in subjects with high IgE for rice unlike buckwheat-induced IHR. We speculated that there were some relationships between the presence of IHR to buckwheat and recognition of cross-allergenic determinants on buckwheat components with rice components. We examined IgE-RAST for rice in 58 subjects with positive IgE-RAST for buckwheat. IgE-RAST for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp), egg white and cow's milk as unrelated antigens with rice were also assessed for a comparison. Subjects (n = 33) without IHR to buckwheat showed higher IgE-RAST values for rice than those (n = 25) with IHR, whereas there were no differences in IgE-RAST values for Dp, egg white and cow's milk between two groups with and without IHR. IgE-RAST values for buckwheat showed significant close correlations to those for rice in subjects without IHR to buckwheat but not in those with IHR. There were no significant correlations between IgE-RAST values for buckwheat and for Dp, egg white or cow's milk in both groups with and without IHR. These results suggested that the IgE from subjects without IHR to buckwheat recognized cross-allergenic determinants with rice on the buckwheat components.

Adolescent↗

[Allergic individuals to Japanese cedar or orchard grass consist of two subgroups based on the sensitization to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus].

One hundred and twenty-six allergic subjects were divided into three groups based on the RAST results for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D.p) and Japanese cedar (J.C.). We compared sex, age of examination for RAST, serum IgE, family history of allergic diseases, prevalence rate of bronchial asthma (BA) and allergic rhinitis (AR), and onset of AR among three groups. No significant difference in the other variables except serum IgE and prevalence rate of BA was found between the group with D.p-positive and J.C.-positive RAST and the group with D.p-positive and J.C.-negative RAST. The group with positive RAST for D.p and J.C. showed lower age of the examination, higher serum IgE, higher incidence of allergic family history, higher prevalence rate of BA, and lower onset age of AR than the group with negative RAST for D.p and positive RAST for J.C. We suggested that in J.C. RAST-positive group there might be two different subgroups distinguished by RAST result for D.p Similar results were obtained from the assessment of RAST for Orchard grass instead of J.C.

Adolescent↗

Atrial fibrillation following methylprednisolone pulse therapy.

Two children, one with renal manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus and the other with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, were treated with methylprednisolone pulses. Neither had previous evidence of underlying cardiac disease. Within 24 h of pulse therapy, they complained of palpitations and developed atrial fibrillation which reversed spontaneously or after anti-arrhythmic therapy. Subsequent serial electro- and echocardiograms were normal. We propose that the arrhythmias were a complication of steroid pulse therapy.

Adolescent↗

Intermittent versus long-term tapering prednisolone for initial therapy in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

Forty-six children with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome were randomly allocated to receive two different prednisolone regimens for initial therapy. Twenty-nine children (group 1) received an intermittent regimen (60 mg/m2/day for 4 weeks, followed by 40/mg/m2/day on 3 days a week for 4 weeks); 17 children (group 2) had a long-term regimen (60 mg/m2/day for 4 weeks, followed by the same dose on alternate days for 4 weeks and the doses tapered by 10 mg/m2, given on alternate days every 4 weeks for 5 months). There was no difference between the two groups in the regimen used to treat relapses, steroid responsiveness, number of patients with relapses, and frequency of toxic reactions to steroids. However, the number of patients with a relapse within 6 months after initial therapy and the number of those with frequent relapses or steroid dependence were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (P less than 0.05 for both). The data indicate that the long-term tapering regimen appears to be both safe and preferable to the intermittent regimen for initial therapy in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

Child↗

Effect of corticosteroids on coagulation factors in children with nephrotic syndrome.

Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and plasma procoagulant activities were studied in 38 children with nephrotic syndrome in the presence or absence of prednisolone therapy. PT was normal but APTT was prolonged during relapse in untreated patients. Increased factors V, VII, VIII, XI and XIII in both treated and untreated and factor IX in treated patients, as well as decreased factors X and XII in untreated patients, were observed during relapse. These coagulation factor changes were unrelated either to the dose of prednisolone or underlying renal histology and normalized with clinical remission. However, plasma levels of factors II, V, VIII, IX, X and XI were still increased in treated patients. The data suggest that corticosteroids shorten APTT, raise both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and therefore have favorable and unfavorable effects on the coagulation system in children with nephrotic syndrome.

Adolescent↗

Effect of dipyridamole treatment on proteinuria in pediatric renal disease.

The effect of dipyridamole on proteinuria was studied in 60 children with various renal diseases. A significant decrease in 24-hour urine protein excretion was observed within a few months after treatment in 32 (53%) of the patients with minimal or moderate mesangial proliferation. The effect was reproducible and parallelled by a reduction in plasma levels of beta-thromboglobulin. Renal function in patients significantly improved with the therapeutical effect. The appropriate dosage was 4-10 mg/kg daily and no serious toxicity was seen despite large dosage and even in long-term application. The data suggest that dipyridamole treatment appears safe and has a beneficial effect on proteinuria dependent on its effect on platelets in renal disease.

Adolescent↗