Antinociceptive effects of intrathecal L-type calcium channel blockers on visceral and somatic stimuli in the rat.

Unlabelled: L-type calcium channels can modulate neuronal transduction in the spinal cord. However, their role in noxious information processing in animals that are physiologically intact has not been elucidated. We evaluated the effects of L-type calcium channel blockers diltiazem and verapamil on somatic and visceral nociception at the level of the spinal cord.

Microparticle resins as a potential nasal drug delivery system for insulin.

The application of various resins for the nasal delivery of insulin was examined in rabbits. Intranasal administration of human insulin (28 U, 1 mg) mixed with fractionated sodium polystyrene sulfonate powder (an anionic resin with a particle size of 20-45 microns) caused a rapid increase of the plasma insulin level 413.0 +/- 71.

[Circulatory collapse during laparoscopic cholecystectomy].

A 52 year-old female without any cardiac disease underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Anesthesia was induced with thiamylal and maintained with nitrous oxide and isoflurane. Epidural anesthesia was also used during surgery.

Elevation of the serum Fas ligand in patients with hemophagocytic syndrome and Diamond-Blackfan anemia.

Fas ligand (FasL) is a membrane protein that is expressed in activated T cells and natural killer cells. FasL binds to Fas on target cells and induces apoptosis. There exists a soluble form of FasL (sFasL), and sFasL also induces apoptosis of Fas-bearing cells.

Flow cytometric analysis of IL-6 receptors on peripheral lymphocytes in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Interleukin-6 receptors (IL-6R) and interleukin-1 receptors (IL-1R) on lymphocyte surfaces were analyzed, using flow cytometry and dye-labeled IL-6 and IL-1 beta, to examine the clinical and immunological significance of these receptors. Incubation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the presence of mitogen resulted in a remarkable increase of lymphocytes expressing the IL-6 and IL-1 beta receptors on the cell surface. The increase in lymphocytes bearing these cytokine receptors may reflect an increase in stimulated lymphocytes.

Analysis of serum cytokine levels in primary biliary cirrhosis patients and healthy adults.

By using commercially available ELISA kits, serum IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels in healthy adults, and the levels of various cytokines in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis or chronic viral liver diseases, were investigated. IL-6 levels of healthy subjects were distributed in a wide range, and the distribution pattern was similar to those of the patients. TNF-alpha levels tended to be low in females in their 30s, but there were no abnormalities in the patients.

[Measurement of functional residual capacity by nitrogen washout during mechanical ventilation].

A medical gas analyzer AMIS 2000 SP, which is a mass spectrometer, incorporating a fractional residual capacity (FRC) measuring program based on a nitrogen washout method, has been introduced recently. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and the reproductivity of the FRC measuring system in a clinical situation. FRC was measured by this system connected to a ventilator (Bennet 7200ae).

Anaesthetic management of caesarean section in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome.

Purpose: This case report describes the anaesthetic management for Caesarean section in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome.

Clinical Features: A woman with myelodysplastic syndrome underwent Caesarean section on two occasions. The first Caesarean section was performed at age 20 yr using general anaesthesia with nitrous oxide-oxygen and fentanyl.

[Regional difference in the etiology of liver cirrhosis in Iwate].

To assess regional differences in the etiology of liver cirrhosis in Iwate, we analyzed 324 patients with liver cirrhosis treated at various hospitals. The etiology was HCV 44.8%, HBV 11.

Effect of fentanyl on heart rate variability during mechanical ventilation.

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the effect of fentanyl alone on heart rate variability (HRV) during mechanical ventilation using power spectral analysis. Arterial baroreceptor reflex was also tested with pharmacological manipulation to assess the contribution of vagal baroreceptor reflex modulation of HRV during fentanyl anesthesia.

Method: Ten patients participated in this study.

[A malpositioned CVP catheter].

A 2-year-old boy was scheduled for patch closures of ASD and VSD. After anesthesia induction, infection of a double lumen central venous catheter (5 Fr, Arrow) was tried into the superior vena cava through the right jugular vein by Seldinger's method. We confirmed the placement of the catheter by drawing a small amount of blood.

An effective intradermal hepatitis B vaccination.

Small dose intradermal (i.d.) inoculation methods of hepatitis B vaccine have been reported to be effective and economical.

The addition of phenylephrine contributes to the development of transient neurologic symptoms after spinal anesthesia with 0.5% tetracaine.

Background: Recent reports indicate that transient neurologic symptoms commonly occur after single-injection spinal anesthesia with lidocaine. Information regarding tetracaine has been limited to a single case report. In addition, little is known about the cause of these symptoms or the cofactors that affect their occurrence.

Regional cerebral glucose utilization is modulated by the dosage of apolipoprotein E type 4 allele and alpha1-antichymotrypsin type A allele in Alzheimer's disease.

Twenty Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with defined apolipoprotein E (APOE), alpha1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) and presenilin-1 (PS-1) intronic genotypes were examined to quantify the regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRglc) using positron emission tomography (PET) and 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG). The frontal rCMRglc was significantly increased in patients with the APOE epsilon4 allele in a dose-dependent fashion. In contrast, the temporo-parietal rCMRglc was significantly reduced in ACT type A allele (ACT*A) carriers compared with those in non-ACT*A carriers.

Assembly and regulation of the CD40 receptor complex in human B cells.

CD40 is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily. Studies with human B cells show that the binding of CD154 (gp39, CD40L) to CD40 recruits TNF receptor- associated factor 2 (TRAF2) and TRAF3 to the receptor complex, induces the downregulation of the nonreceptor-associated TRAFs in the cell and induces an increased expression of Fas on the cell surface. Combined signaling through the interluekin 4 receptor and CD40 induces an increased expression of Fas with a commensurate increase in the level of TRAF2, but not TRAF3, that is recruited to the receptor complex.

Multiple Inoculation with Three Attenuated Viruses for the Control of Cucumber Virus Disease.

Multiple inoculation of cucumber seedlings with attenuated isolates of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), and watermelon mosaic virus 2 (WMV-2) somewhat reduced yield loss due to mixed infection by virulent strains of these viruses in field experiments under severe epidemic conditions in 1994 and 1995. In addition, this protective inoculation largely protected grafted cucumber plants from viral wilt syndrome. In greenhouse experiments, no significant differences were observed between single and multiple inoculations in the cross-protection effects of the attenuated viruses against their respective virulent strains.

In vitro effects of sho-saiko-to on production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor by mononuclear cells from patients with chronic hepatitis C.

During the past 2 years, drug-induced interstitial pneumonia was reported in 66 Japanese patients, mainly among chronic hepatitis C patients, undergoing treatment with the Japanese herbal medicine "Sho-saiko-to" (TJ-9). As interstitial pneumonia is also induced by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), we examined the effects of TJ-9 on G-CSF production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In patients with hepatitis B or C, G-CSF production in the absence of any stimulation was significantly lower than healthy controls (p < 0.

[A patient with acromegalic heart disease--a case report].

A perioperative anesthetic management of a 69 year old woman with acromegaly whose clinical course was characterized by severe heart failure is described. The patient showed symptoms of massive cardiomegaly. Endocrine studies indicated that her pituitary tumor was active with hyperproduction of growth hormone.

[Postoperative brain infarction in a patient with the previous asymptomatic brain infarction].

We report a case of a postoperative brain infarction, in which an asymptomatic preoperative brain infarction was also revealed postoperatively. A 63-year-old man with bladder carcinoma was scheduled for the cystoplasty. The patient had no prominent preoperative abnormality.

Effects of the Japanese herbal medicine "Sho-saiko-to" (TJ-9) on in vitro interleukin-10 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with chronic hepatitis C.

"Sho-saiko-to" (TJ-9) consists of 7 herbal components. In Japan, it is widely prescribed to patients with chronic viral liver disease. TJ-9 is known to suppress liver cancer development and possess macrobiotic effects, but its mode of action is not fully understood.

[Anesthetic management using transesophageal echocardiography during removal of a cardiac myxoma].

Removal of a cardiac myxoma can be complicated by mitral stenosis, arterial embolism and so on, all of which may be life-threatening but difficult to diagnose. We describe the use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for the anesthetic management of two patients undergoing removal of a large myxoma in the left atrium (LA). The first case is a 78-yr-old woman, who was suffering from cardiac cachexy with a large LA myxoma.