A case of periodic abdominal pain and fever due to left ovarian abscess.

Tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA) is a late complication of pelvic inflammatory disease. Its diagnosis is difficult because it is occasionally accompanied by atypical symptoms such as abdominal pain and fever. A 45-year-old married woman presented with recurrent abdominal pain and fever.

GABA promotes elastin synthesis and elastin fiber formation in normal human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs).

The multiple physiological effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a functional food component have been recently reported. We previously reported that GABA upregulated the expression of type I collagen in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs), and that oral administration of GABA significantly increased skin elasticity. However, details of the regulatory mechanism still remain unknown.

Effects of GABA on the expression of type I collagen gene in normal human dermal fibroblasts.

We examined the effects of GABA on type I collagen gene expression in normal human dermal fibroblasts. Real-time PCR analysis indicated GABA increased the level of type I collagen transcripts, and suppressed the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1, which is a collagen-degrading enzyme. These results suggest GABA improves the skin elasticity by regulating type I collagen expression.

Amino acid residues important for CMP-sialic acid recognition by the CMP-sialic acid transporter: analysis of the substrate specificity of UDP-galactose/CMP-sialic acid transporter chimeras.

In our previous studies, we demonstrated that chimeric molecules of the CMP-sialic acid (CMP-Sia) transporter (CST) and the UDP-galactose (Gal) transporter (UGT) in which the seventh transmembrane helix-containing segment was derived from the CST could transport both CMP-Sia and UDP-Gal and that the CST-derived seventh transmembrane helix segment was sufficient for the chimera to recognize CMP-Sia in the otherwise UGT context. In this study, we continued to more precisely define the submolecular region that is necessary for CMP-Sia recognition, and we demonstrated that the N-terminal half of the seventh transmembrane helix of CST is essential for the CMP-Sia transport mediated by the chimeric transporters. We further showed that Tyr214Gly and Ser216Phe mutations of a chimeric transporter that was capable of transporting both CMP-Sia and UDP-Gal led to the selective loss of CMP-Sia transport activity without affecting UDP-Gal transport activity.

[A case of Hansen's disease].

With the abolition of Leprosy Prevention Act of 1996, that opportunities examining the Hansen's disease patient with a general medical institution increase is expected. Because we experienced Hansen's disease of a staying in Japan foreigner then in such time, we present it. A case is a man of 50 years old, who is a Filipino of 3 years living in Japan.