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Biomedical subjects

Takashi Abe

Publications and source records attributed to Takashi Abe.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Clinical evaluation of dendritic cell vaccination for patients with recurrent glioma: results of a clinical phase I/II trial.

PURPOSE: To investigate the safety and the immunologic and clinical responses of dendritic cell therapy for patients with recurrent malignant glioma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Twenty-four patients with recurrent malignant glioma (6 grade 3 and 18 grade 4 patients) were evaluated in a phase I/II clinical study of dendritic cell therapy. All patients were resistant to the standard maximum therapy. The patient's peripheral blood dendritic cells were generated with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, plus interleukin 4 with or without OK-432, and pulsed with an autologous tumor lysate. Dendritic cells were injected intradermally, or both intratumorally and intradermally every 3 weeks. RESULTS: The protocols were well tolerated with only local redness and swelling at the injection site in several cases. Clinical responses were as follows: 1 patient with partial response, 3 patients with minor response, 10 patients with stable disease, and 10 patients with progressive disease. The patients whose dendritic cells were matured with OK-432 had longer survival times than the dendritic cells from patients without OK-432 maturation. The patients with both intratumoral and intradermal administrations had a longer survival time than the patients with intradermal administration only. Increased ELISPOT and delayed-type hypersensitivity responses after vaccination could provide good laboratory markers to predict the clinical outcome of patients receiving dendritic cell vaccination. The overall survival of patients with grade 4 glioma was 480 days, which was significantly better than that in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the safety and clinical response of autologous tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cell therapy for patients with malignant glioma. Dendritic cell therapy is recommended for further clinical studies in malignant glioma patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A preliminary study on application of portable monitoring for diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea.

Portable monitoring (PM) for diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea has developed recently. Many studies were performed in the laboratory setting, with simultaneous polysomnographic recordings or required technical assistance in the home setting. And the data were automatically analyzed. In this study, we attempted to evaluate whether PM could be useful in fully unattended home setting, and whether the auto analysis of the data is reliable. Home setting examination by Stardust II, a novel PM device, was performed unattendedly on consecutive 62 patients who complained of snoring. The questionnaire survey on the difficulty of fitting and operation, and the discomfort was conducted by visual analog scale. Automatically and manually analyzed results were compared. The examination was successfully performed by all subjects. The difficulty of fitting and operation, and the discomfort were 2.9+/-1.9, 1.8+/-1.2 and 3.6+/-2.1, respectively. Auto analysis differed significantly from manual analysis not only in apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), but also in the construction of sleep disordered respiratory events. Although AHI in automatic and manual analysis had a good correlation (r=0.949; P<0.001), their agreement was poor, especially in mild and moderate cases. However, setting AHI=50 as a cut-off point in auto analysis, sensitivity and specificity could reach 100% and 92.5%, respectively. Accordingly, PM is useful to identify obstructive sleep apnea in an unattended home setting condition. Considering the significant difference between automatic and manual analysis, we suggest that the data analysis should be performed manually.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Direct cloning of genes encoding novel xylanases from the human gut.

The aim of this study was to identify a novel 1,4-beta-xylanase gene from the mixed genome DNA of human fecal bacteria without bacterial cultivation. Total DNA was isolated from a population of bacteria extracted from fecal microbiota. Using PCR, the gene fragments encoding 5 different family 10 xylanases (xyn10A, xyn10B, xyn10C, xyn10D, and xyn10E) were found. Amino acid sequences deduced from these genes were highly homologous with those of xylanases from anaerobic intestinal bacteria such as Bacteroides spp. and Prevotella spp. Self-organizing map (SOM) analysis revealed that xynA10 was classified into Bacteroidetes. To confirm that one of these genes encodes an active enzyme, a full-length xyn10A gene was obtained using nested primers specific to the internal fragments and random primers. The xyn10A gene encoding the xylanase Xyn10A consists of 1146 bp and encodes a protein of 382 amino acids and a molecular weight of 43,552. Xyn10A was a single module novel xylanase. Xyn10A was purified from a recombinant Escherichia coli strain and characterized. This enzyme was optimally active at 40 degrees C and stable up to 50 degrees C at pH 6.5 and over the pH range 4.0-11.0 at 25 degrees C. In addition, 2 ORFs (ORF1 and ORF2) were identified upstream of xyn10A. These results suggested that many unidentified xylanolytic bacteria exist in the human gut and may contribute to the breakdown of xylan which contains dietary fiber.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

Gasless laparoscopic surgery using a new intra-abdominal fan retractor system: an experience of 500 cases.

AIM: The aim of this study is to report the feasibility of a newly developed intra-abdominal fan retractor system for use in gynecologic laparoscopic surgery. METHODS: Five hundred women undergoing gasless laparoscopic surgery using the abdominal wall lifting device were included in the study. The intraoperative and postoperative courses, and complications were examined. RESULTS: The intra-abdominal retractor system provided adequate exposure in all cases, except for one patient with morbid obesity. Neither the presence of the intra-abdominal retractor blades nor the mechanical arm interfered with the placement of instruments during surgery. No complications related to the use of gasless laparoscopy were encountered in this study period. CONCLUSION: The new intra-abdominal fan retractor system is feasible in gynecologic laparoscopic surgery.

Feasibility Studies↗
PubMed2005

[A case of Giant GIST of the stomach successfully treated with imatinib mesylate neoadjuvant therapy and followed postoperatively].

Since the advent of imatinib mesylate (IM), its clinical efficacy against gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) has been widely acknowledged, and therapeutic strategies for this disease have undergone great changes. We recently experienced a case of giant GIST of the stomach that was successfully treated with IM neoadjuvant therapy prior to surgical resection, but liver metastasis recurred 1 year and 7 months after the operation. The patient was a 65-year-old male who presented at our department with the chief complaints of dizziness, malaise, and fever in April 2002. An abdominal CT revealed a mass with a maximum diameter of 17 cm, as well as a cystic septate mass, 12 cm in diameter, with a thick capsule in the left lobe of the liver. The patient was diagnosed with GIST of the stomach and liver metastasis. Since radical operation was considered difficult at that point, IM (400 mg/day) was started on May 9. The result of treatment was determined to be PR, and radical operation was considered feasible. On March 18, 2003, total gastrectomy and left hepatic lobectomy/S 6 partial lobectomy were performed in the surgery department of our hospital. The postoperative course was favorable and oral administration of IM was resumed soon after the operation. However, the drug was discontinued for financial reasons and a decreased white blood cell count (grade 3) 2 months after the operation. Recurrence in the liver and abdominal wall was found in October 2004, and oral administration of IM was resumed again. Currently, treatment with IM is ongoing. Case reports on the efficacy of IM neoadjuvant therapy are occasionally found in the literature, but there are few reports on its long-term prognosis. We report this case with a discussion of future therapeutic options.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Substrate-induced gene-expression screening of environmental metagenome libraries for isolation of catabolic genes.

Recent awareness that most microorganisms in the environment are resistant to cultivation has prompted scientists to directly clone useful genes from environmental metagenomes. Two screening methods are currently available for the metagenome approach, namely, nucleotide sequence-based screening and enzyme activity-based screening. Here we have introduced and optimized a third option for the isolation of novel catabolic operons, that is, substrate-induced gene expression screening (SIGEX). This method is based on the knowledge that catabolic-gene expression is generally induced by relevant substrates and, in many cases, controlled by regulatory elements situated proximate to catabolic genes. For SIGEX to be high throughput, we constructed an operon-trap gfp-expression vector available for shotgun cloning that allows for the selection of positive clones in liquid cultures by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The utility of SIGEX was demonstrated by the cloning of aromatic hydrocarbon-induced genes from a groundwater metagenome library and subsequent genome-informatics analysis.

Biotechnology↗
PubMed2004

Peak oxygen uptake during running and arm cranking normalized to total and regional skeletal muscle mass measured by magnetic resonance imaging.

The purposes of our study were to determine the peak oxygen uptake (V(.) >O(2peak)) per total or regional skeletal muscle (SM) mass using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to investigate the relationships between SM mass and V(.) >O(2peak) during running and arm cranking. Eight male college swimmers aged 18-22 years [mean (SD) age 20.0 (1.3) years] were recruited to participate in this study. V(.) >O(2) during running and arm cranking were measured using an automated breath-by-breath mass spectrometry system. Contiguous MRI slices were obtained from the first vertebra cervicale to the malleolus lateralis (1.0-cm slice thickness, 0-cm inter-slice gap), resulting in a total of approximately 156 images for each subject. The absolute V(.) O(2peak) and the V(.) O(2peak) per body mass during running and arm cranking were 3.6 (0.6) l.min(-1), 54.4 (5.9) ml.min(-1).kg(-1) and 2.5 (0.5) l.min(-1), 36.9 (5.3) ml.min(-1).kg(-1), respectively. The absolute V(.) O(2peak) was higher ( P <0.05) during running than during arm cranking, but not the V(.) O(2peak) per regional area SM mass. The lower body SM mass was correlated to the V(.) O(2peak) during running ( r =0.95, P <0.001). All measurements and calculated values were expressed as the mean (SD) for the eight subjects. To eliminate the influence of body mass and fat-free mass (FFM), a regression analysis was performed on the mass-residuals of the V(.) O(2peak) during running and the lower body SM mass. The residuals of lower body SM mass were correlated to the residuals of V(.) O(2peak) during running, with respect to body mass ( r =0.90, P <0.001) and FFM ( r =0.82, P <0.05). These results suggest that the MRI-measured lower body SM mass was closely associated to the absolute V(.) O(2peak) during running, independently of body mass or FFM, and that the V(.) O(2peak) per regional SM mass corresponded, regardless of the type of exercise (upper or lower body).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Lack of presaccadic positivity before rapid eye movements in human REM sleep.

Differences between oculomotor control of rapid eye movements (REMs) in REM sleep and that of saccades in wakefulness were examined electrophysiologically in human adults. Fourteen healthy young volunteers participated in the study. Brain potentials were recorded from the scalp and time-locked to the onsets of saccades and REMs during a visually triggered saccade task and natural nocturnal sleep. In wakefulness, presaccadic positivity (PSP) appeared at centro-parietal sites starting about 150 ms before saccades. In REM sleep, no PSP was found but a slow negative potential (pre-REM negativity: PRN) appeared at the prefrontal sites. The findings suggest that the generation of REMs does not involve the cortical process reflected in the PSP but is associated with a different neural process reflected in the PRN.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Substantia innominata: MR findings in Parkinson's disease.

To elucidate MR imaging changes of the substantia innominata in Parkinson's disease (PD), using a 1.5-T superconductive MR unit, the thickness of the substantia innominata was measured on coronal thin-section images in 44 PD patients and 20 age-matched control subjects. We also evaluated the correlation between the thickness of the substantia innominata and mental status in PD patients. Mean thickness of the substantia innominata was 2.3 mm in PD patients, and 2.5 mm in control subjects. Thinning of the substantia innominata was statistically significant in PD patients compared with control subjects, although there were large overlaps. Among the PD patients, thinning was remarkable in cases with dementia. A positive correlation between thickness of substantia innominata and score of Mini-Mental-Status-Examination was also observed in PD patients. Atrophy of the substantia innominata was demonstrated, especially in PD patients with cognitive impairment, on coronal MR images, and this is compatible with the previous pathological reports.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Ultrathin bronchoscopic barium marking with virtual bronchoscopic navigation for fluoroscopy-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To facilitate marking and to reduce its complications, we performed barium marking using an ultrathin bronchoscope with virtual bronchoscopic (VB) navigation before thoracoscopic surgery for small pulmonary peripheral lesions. We then evaluated the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of this technique. DESIGN: A pilot study. SETTING: A tertiary teaching hospital. PATIENTS: The subjects were consecutive patients with small pulmonary peripheral lesions (ie, </= 10 mm) showing a CT scan-confirmed pure ground-glass opacity pattern between December 2001 and August 2003. INTERVENTIONS: VB images to the planned marking sites near each lesion were produced from helical CT scan data. Based on these images, an ultrathin bronchoscope was advanced to the target bronchus under direct vision. Under CT scan and radiographic fluoroscopy, a catheter was inserted to the planned site via the bronchoscope, and barium sulfate suspension was instilled for marking. RESULTS: The subjects were 23 patients (8 men and 15 women) who had a total of 31 lesions. The bronchial branching patterns seen in VB images were highly consistent with those confirmed using the ultrathin bronchoscope. Therefore, the ultrathin bronchoscope could be guided under direct vision to a median of the sixth generation bronchi (range, fourth to ninth generation bronchi) toward the planned marking sites. Marking was achieved without causing complications in any of the patients. The median marking time was 23.5 min, and the median shortest distance between the barium marker and the lesion was 4 mm (within 10 mm in 27 lesions). In patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgery, all barium-marked sites were identified by intraoperative radiographic fluoroscopy, and all lesions were resected. A pathologic examination demonstrated primary lung cancer in 17 lesions (bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, 15; adenocarcinoma, 2), atypical adenomatous hyperplasia in 12 lesions, and pneumonia in 2 lesions. CONCLUSIONS: This method can be readily performed without complications and is a useful marking method before thoracoscopic surgery for small pulmonary peripheral lesions.

Aged↗