Relationship between gastric emptying and an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor effect on postprandial hyperglycemia in NIDDM patients.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between gastric emptying and the efficacy of an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor in NIDDM patients.

Research Design And Methods: Sixteen NIDDM patients (4 patients treated with diet therapy alone and 12 receiving a sulfonylurea) were given 0.6 mg of voglibose daily for 4 weeks.

Insulin resistance in non-obese, non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy.

To investigate the association between insulin resistance and diabetic nephropathy, peripheral insulin sensitivity indices (M/I values) were evaluated via euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp in 45 non-obese, non-insulin-dependent diabetic (NIDDM) subjects. The patients were divided into four groups: 18 with normoalbuminuria (urinary albumin excretion rate [AER] < 30 mg/24 h, stage I), 10 with microalbuminuria (30 < or = AER < or = 300 mg/24 h, stage II), seven with overt proteinuria (AER > 300 mg/24 h, stage III), and 10 with uremia (serum creatinine levels > 2.0 mg/dL, stage IV).

A case of membranous glomerulonephritis associated with gastric cancer.

We describe a patient with gastric cancer and membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN). The patient, a 61-year-old male, was admitted to our Hospital in May, 1996, because of proteinuria and hyperlipidemia persisting for a year. Laboratory examination filled the criteria of nephrotic syndrome and renal biopsy revealed MGN of stage II.

Intrarenal hemodynamic abnormalities in diabetic nephropathy measured by duplex Doppler sonography.

Intrarenal hemodynamics were studied by duplex Doppler sonography in 112 inpatients with type II diabetes mellitus (DM; 65 males, 47 females, 58 +/- 13 years old). The resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) of the interlobar arteries were calculated. The patients were divided into four groups: group I consisted of patients with urinary albumin excretion (UAE) < 20 micrograms/min (N = 42), group II with 20 < or = UAE < 200 (N = 28), group III with UAE > or = 200 (N = 25), and group IV with serum creatinine > or = 1.

Gastric myoelectrical activity in patients with diabetes. Role of glucose control and autonomic nerve function.

Objective: Gastric myoelectrical activity was studied in diabetic patients using electrogastrography (EGG) to elucidate the relationship between glucose control, diabetic autonomic neuropathy (AN), and gastrointestinal motility.

Research Design And Methods: Cutaneous EGG was recorded during 1 h of fasting and 1 h after the ingestion of a standard meal in 57 diabetic patients and 10 healthy subjects. EGG was measured in 12 diabetic patients after glycemic control for 4 weeks.

Osteopontin gene expression and protein synthesis in cultured rat mesangial cells.

It is controversial whether osteopontin (OP) is expressed in glomeruli and involved in glomerular diseases. We examined whether the OP expression is present at gene and protein levels in cultured rat mesangial cells (MCs). Northern blotting revealed a 1.

History of vitamin D treatment of renal osteodystrophy.

Vitamin D treatment was tried when renal osteodystrophy was first recognized in the early 20th century, using vitamin D2, D3, or dihydrotachysterol. Large doses of vitamin D2 or D3 (150,000-500,000 IU) were prescribed by monitoring serum calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase. After the discovery of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, this compound or 1 alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol was applied to the treatment of renal osteodystrophy.

Effect of insulin on urinary phosphate excretion in type II diabetes mellitus with or without renal insufficiency.

We investigated the effect of insulin on urinary excretion of phosphate in type II diabetes mellitus (DM) with respect to the absence or presence of renal insufficiency. A euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp was performed in 37 type II DM patients. Subjects were divided into two groups: group A consisted of patients with serum creatinine levels less than 1.

Idiopathic portal hypertension associated with high serum titer of autoantibodies and liver dysfunction.

Idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) is a condition marked by unexplained portal hypertension. Although a number of immunological abnormalities occur in patients with IPH, liver function is usually normal. We experienced an unusual case of IPH in a 49-year-old woman, who had pronounced splenomegaly.

Case of a parathyroidectomized patient observed longitudinally by ultrasonography. Relationship between the growth rates and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor contents in the parathyroid glands.

Parathyroid glands enlarge gradually with the progression of secondary hyperparathyroidism. The significance of down-regulation of the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D receptor (VDR) in parathyroid glands has been emphasized. Here we report a case in whom the relationship between the growth rates of the parathyroid glands and their VDR content was examined.

Amyloid goiter: radiological study in a case presenting hypothyroidism.

We report herein a case of amyloid goiter associated with rheumatoid arthritis in which hypothyroidism was observed. A 52-year-old housewife who had suffeed from rheumatoid arthritis for 15 years was referred to our hospital because of general fatigue. On admission, a large goiter was observed.

Angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism and renal artery resistance in patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

The present study was carried out to elucidate whether renal hemodynamic changes are associated with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism in patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). We studied 32 Japanese patients with IDDM (aged 15 +/- 3 years in mean +/- SD) without renal failure or retinopathy. Renal hemodynamics were examined by duplex Doppler sonography and arterial resistance index was calculated.

Serum type III, IV collagens and TIMP in patients with type II diabetes mellitus.

We investigated serum levels of type III procollagen aminopeptide (CIII), 7S type IV collagen (CIV), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) in 33 patients with type II diabetes mellitus (DM) without uremia (serum creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dl). The patients were divided into three groups based on measurement of the urinary albumin excretion (UAE) index obtained during two morning outpatient clinic visits: non-proteinuric patients (n = 11), UAE index less than 2.

Heat-insoluble cryoglobulin in a patient with essential type I cryoglobulinemia and massive cryoglobulin-occlusive glomerulonephritis.

We report a case of type I essential cryoglobulinemia with massive cryoglobulin-occlusive glomerulonephritis, in which the clinical course and the physical characteristics of the cryoglobulin were unusual. Nine years before appearance of cryoglobulin, this 54-year-old man noted edema and purpura of the lower extremities. Renal biopsy performed 2 years later showed large amounts of amorphous, weakly eosinophilic, weakly periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive materials occluding the glomerular capillaries.

Influence of high glucose on 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-induced effect on human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells.

Impaired bone formation due to defective osteoblast function, as reflected in a decreased serum osteocalcin (OC) concentration in the patients with diabetes, has been implicated in the development of diabetic osteopenia. The role of hyperglycemia in this decrease in serum OC concentration was investigated. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25[OH]2D3), an active form of vitamin D3, stimulated OC secretion from the human osteosarcoma cell line MG-63 in a dose-dependent manner.

Impaired vitamin D metabolism and response in spontaneously diabetic GK rats.

Several studies of diabetes mellitus patients have demonstrated abnormalities in calcium, phosphate and vitamin D metabolism. In an earlier study, the authors reported impaired renal processing of phosphate in spontaneously diabetic GK rats, an animal model of type II diabetes mellitus. In the present study, which represents an extension of the earlier study, vitamin D metabolism and response are examined in 20-week-old GK rats.

Potentiated 1,25(OH)2D3-induced 24-hydroxylase gene expression in uremic rat intestine.

24-Hydroxylase has been considered a major enzyme regulating metabolism of circulating 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3]. To understand the metabolism of 1,25(OH)2D3 in chronic renal failure, we examined 1,25(OH)2D3-induced 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-24-hydroxylase (24-hydroxylase) gene expression in the intestine of uremic rats. Northern blot and dot blot analyses showed that the induction of duodenal 24-hydroxylase gene expression was 2.

Acute renal failure associated with minimal change nephrotic syndrome in an elderly adult.

We report a 66-year-old man with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) that was associated with reversible acute renal failure (ARF) caused by acute tubular necrosis (ATN). He had a subacute onset of proteinuria and progressive azotemia. Hemodialysis (HD) was required to improved azotemia.

Presence of gene expression of vitamin D receptor and 24-hydroxylase in OK cells.

We investigated the gene expression of 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) receptors (VDR) and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3-24-hydroxylase (24-hydroxylase) in opossum kidney (OK) cells. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction demonstrated the presence of VDR gene expression in OK cells. Northern hybridization, using rat VDR cDNA, also demonstrated a 4.

Effect of aminohydroxypropylidene diphosphonate on the bone metabolism of patients with parathyroid adenoma.

Aminohydroxypropylidene diphosphonate (APD), a potent inhibitor of bone resorption, is used to control hypercalcemia in various diseases. It is less effective, however, in the management of hypercalcemia induced by primary hyperparathyroidism. We investigated the effect of APD on the bone metabolism of five patients with parathyroid adenoma.

Effect of transforming growth factor-beta on extracellular matrix production by cultured rat mesangial cells.

The effects of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) on the protein synthesis and gene expression of collagen I (CI), III (CIII), IV (CIV) and laminin (LM) in cultured rat mesangial cells (MCs) were examined to determine whether or not TGF-beta could modulate the formation of extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents, employing immunocytochemistry, enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) and Northern blotting. Although TGF-beta did not modulate MC proliferation, it induced slight enhancement of immunoperoxidase staining for CIV in the cytoplasm. ELISA demonstrated a significant increase in the amounts of CIV and LM, a tendency for CIII to increase, and a significantly lower amount of CI at 4 days after TGF-beta administration.