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Biomedical subjects

Yujiro Fujino

Publications and source records attributed to Yujiro Fujino.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Comparison of patients with Behçet's disease in the 1980s and 1990s.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical findings in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) seen in 2 different decades (1980s and 1990s) to determine if there has been a shift toward the appearance of less severe disease. DESIGN: Retrospective, comparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred forty patients with uveitis caused by BD who had their first visit and at least a 4-month follow-up at the uveitis clinic of University of Tokyo Hospital between January 1980 and December 1999 were enrolled. METHODS: Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the date of the first visit. The clinical profiles were then compared between the 1980s group (133 patients, observed for 33.5+/-26.4 months) and the 1990s group (107 patients, observed for 46.9+/-32.6 months). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of ocular attacks per year, visual outcomes, and the percentage of patients who had cyclosporine or cyclophosphamide therapy. RESULTS: Age of onset, type of inflammation, incidence of secondary glaucoma, and surgical history of glaucoma and cataract did not differ between the 1980s and the 1990s. Conversely, in patients in the 1990s, the number of ocular attacks per year and the percentage of patients with cyclosporine or cyclophosphamide therapy decreased significantly. Furthermore, the percentage of eyes with good visual acuity (VA) (?20/30) increased, and the percentage of eyes with poor VA (<20/200) decreased significantly at both the first and the last examinations. There was a trend for less bilateral disease and fewer genital ulcers in the 1990s as well. CONCLUSIONS: Through a study of Japanese patients, we confirmed that the clinical outcomes of BD, especially judging by the number of ocular attacks per year and VA, indeed improved during the 1990s.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Histopathological findings in cytomegalovirus retinitis].

PURPOSE: We examined eyeballs collected from autopsied acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, and analyzed the precise pathogenesis of CMV retinitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eyeballs were fixed with 10% buffered formalin embedded in paraffin. CMV antigens were investigated by histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses. Histopathological findings were compared with funduscopic images. RESULTS: CMV antigens remained in the necrotic area of the retina and many CMV immediate early antigens existed in intact parts of the inner retina showing almost intact structure, and around retinal vessels. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that CMV infects the inner retina first via the retinal vessels, although funduscopic examination may appear normal. It extends through the neuronal cells and glial cells horizontally and Muller cells vertically. CMV severely damages the retinal structure.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed2003

Effects of a new dexamethasone-delivery system (Surodex) on experimental intraocular inflammation models.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effects of a new biodegradable dexamethasone drug delivery system, Surodex, in two experimental intraocular inflammation models; endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) and experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU). METHODS: Surodex was inserted into the right anterior chambers (ACs) of rats. In the EIU experiment, protein concentration, cell infiltration, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the aqueous humor were measured 24 h after injection. Eyes were evaluated histopathologically. In the EAU experiment, firstly, Surodex was administered at various days after immunization. Then, Surodex was administered on day 9 and eyes were evaluated histopathologically. Intraocular cytokine levels (IFN-gamma and IL-4) were investigated. RESULTS: In the EIU experiments, eyes with Surodex exhibited significantly reduced inflammation compared with contralateral controls. Protein concentrations, cell infiltrations, as well as MPO activity were reduced. In the EAU experiments, all rats with Surodex given on days 0 or 7 showed no or significantly reduced inflammation in both eyes. Rats treated on day 12 developed reduced inflammation only in the treated eyes. IFN-gamma levels were significantly lower in the eyes with Surodex, whereas IL-4 was not detectable. CONCLUSIONS: This new, biodegradable corticosteroid drug-delivery system is highly effective in suppressing intraocular inflammation, and should be a useful tool to manage uveitis in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Plasma and whole-blood chemokine levels in patients with Behcet's disease.

BACKGROUND: Chemokines are a family of chemoattractants of leukocytes that play a critical role for leukocyte recruitment in various inflammatory diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the involvement of chemokines, interleukin-8 (IL-8) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in the peripheral blood, with a special reference to disease activities of the patients with Behçet's disease (BD). METHODS: The study population consisted of totally 55 patients with BD who had panuveitis (20 patients with active BD, 35 patients with inactive BD) as well as 19 healthy volunteers as control. Disease activity was defined according to the existence of ocular inflammation. IL-8 and MCP-1 concentration levels in the plasma and whole-blood samples were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Whole-blood samples were obtained by lysing cell membranes of peripheral blood cells. RESULTS: Most of the plasma IL-8 samples were below the detectable limit. Whole-blood IL-8 levels were readily measured. The levels in the patients with active BD were significantly higher than the other two groups. The patients with active and inactive BD showed higher plasma and whole-blood levels of MCP-1 than controls. The plasma and whole-blood MCP-1 levels of the samples collected at the same time showed a linear correlation. CONCLUSION: A close relationship was found to exist between the cell-associated IL-8 and the disease activity, while a persistent role of MCP-1 was observed in BD. Measuring the whole-blood levels of chemokines is useful for monitoring the disease activity.

Adolescent↗