[Evaluation of potentially influential factors for positron emission tomography image quality in liver signal-to-noise ratio utilizing a delivery ¹⁸F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose study on Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂-positron emission tomography/computed tomography].

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of body habitus, blood glucose level and injected dose, respectively, with BGO (Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂) positron emission tomography (PET) image quality using commercially available 2-deoxy-2-[¹⁸F] fluoro-D-glucose (FDG). We also evaluated the relationship between PET image quality and acquisition time for each weight group.

Method: One hundred twenty-five patients (66 male, 59 female) were enrolled in the study.

English version of the concluding report published in 2001 by the Advisory Committee on Atopic Dermatitis Severity Classification Criteria of the Japanese Dermatological Association.

The Japanese Dermatological Association established an advisory committee in 1995 to develop a severity scoring system for atopic dermatitis (AD). Its interim and concluding reports were published in Japanese in the Japanese Journal of Dermatology (108: 1491-1496, 1998 and 111: 2023-2033, 2001). Because of the strong demand for an English version, we have decided to publish the reports in English.

English version of the interim report published in 1998 by the members of the Advisory Committee on Atopic Dermatitis Severity Classification Criteria of the Japanese Dermatological Association.

The Japanese Dermatological Association established an advisory committee in 1995 to set up severity scoring systems for atopic dermatitis (AD). Its interim report was published in Japanese in the Japanese Journal of Dermatology (108: 1491-1496, 1998) by Chairman Hikotaro Yoshida. Because of the strong demand for an English version, we have decided to publish the report in English.

Diagnosis of myocardial viability by fluorodeoxyglucose distribution at the border zone of a low uptake region.

Purpose: In cardiac 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) examination, interpretation of myocardial viability in the low uptake region (LUR) has been difficult without additional perfusion imaging. We evaluated distribution patterns of FDG at the border zone of the LUR in the cardiac FDG-PET and established a novel parameter for diagnosing myocardial viability and for discriminating the LUR of normal variants.

Materials And Methods: Cardiac FDG-PET was performed in patients with a myocardial ischemic event (n = 22) and in healthy volunteers (n = 22).

[Case of urticaria due to cochineal dye in red-colored diet].

We herein describe a 33-year-old female who recurrently exhibited urticaria accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea and dyspnea after taking red-colored food. From her history, we suspected the cochineal dye, the commonly used natural red dye in red-colored food and beverage, to be the cause of her symptoms. Oral provocation test using cochineal dye-stained red-colored boiled-fish-paste induced urticaria and respiratory symptoms.

Fixed eruption due to quinine: report of two cases.

Fixed eruption is a characteristic condition with recurrent an erythematous macule in the same location. Because fixed eruption is caused by medical drugs in the majority of cases, it is not so difficult to identify suspicious material by interview. However, it may be difficult in cases in which food additives are responsible.

[DXA, QUS, and radiogram].

In this article, an outline of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), quantitative ultrasound (QUS), and radiogram, and their characteristics, problems, and assessment of osteoporosis in the elderly were reviewed. It is well known that both DXA and QUS are available to risk assessment of fractures. However, because lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) is overestimated in the elderly complicated with fracture, deformity, and osteosclerotic change in the lumbar vertebra (e), some cases are unsuitable to measurement of BMD with lumbar DXA.

[Diagnostic criteria of male osteoporosis].

With coming of aged society, male patients with osteoporosis are increasing, and it is important to prevent and treat them. In male osteoporosis, secondary osteoporosis is relatively common as an etiology, and therefore it is necessary to exclude secondary causes, when it will be diagnosed. In female a rapid decrease of bone mineral density (BMD) is observed after menopause, while in male such changes are not.

Mesenchymal-epithelial interactions in the skin: aiming for site-specific tissue regeneration.

Since trunk skin (or non-palmoplantar skin) is less durable under mechanical stress than sole skin (palm, plantar or palmoplantar skin), conventional trunk-derived skin grafts (including the trunk dermis) commonly result in erosion and ulceration when transplanted on to plantar wounds caused by various injuries including, diabetes mellitus or collagen diseases (including systemic sclerosis, polyarthritis nodosa and rheumatoid arthritis). However, trunk-derived epidermis can adopt a plantar phenotype, characterized by keratin 9 expression, hypopigmentation and thick suprabasal layers, through factors derived from plantar dermal fibroblasts in the wounds. Thus, intractable plantar wounds with exposed bones can be treated with the combination of bone marrow exposure, occlusive dressing and epidermal grafting.

Fas gene mutations in mycosis fungoides: analysis of laser capture-microdissected specimens from cutaneous lesions.

Fas (APO-1/CD95) is a transmembrane protein which mediates programmed cell death (apoptosis). Cells with a mutated Fas gene are resistant to apoptosis and thus accumulate in lesional tissues. This might provide a basis for the development of neoplasias.

Recombinant hepatocyte growth factor accelerates cutaneous wound healing in a diabetic mouse model.

We examined effects of recombinant hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on cutaneous wound healing, using a full-thickness cutaneous excision model in diabetic mice. Topical administration of HGF, as well as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), promoted the rate of wound closure and re-epithelialization. Both HGF and bFGF enhanced expansion of the granulation tissue and stimulated neovascularization on day 7 postwounding, wherein the increase in microvessel density in HGF-treated wounds was higher than that in bFGF-treated wounds.

Mesenchymal-epithelial interactions in the skin: increased expression of dickkopf1 by palmoplantar fibroblasts inhibits melanocyte growth and differentiation.

We investigated whether or not the topographic regulation of melanocyte differentiation is determined by mesenchymal-epithelial interactions via fibroblast-derived factors. The melanocyte density in palmoplantar human skin (i.e.

CD4+ T-lymphocyte-induced Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in a patient with severe hypersensitivity to mosquito bites and Epstein-Barr virus-infected NK cell lymphocytosis.

Background: Natural killer (NK) cell lymphocytosis associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection often shows severe hypersensitivity to mosquito bites (HMB) characterized by intense local skin reactions and systemic symptoms such as high fever, lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. However, the induction mechanism of HMB is still unclear.

Observations: We investigated a typical case of HMB with EBV-positive NK cell lymphocytosis.

Vesiculobullous dermatomyositis with panniculitis without muscle disease.

Vesicles and bullae formation is rare in dermatomyositis. We describe a 60-year-old woman who presented with vesiculobullous dermatomyositis with panniculitis and no muscle disease.

Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome caused by saprodontia: a case report.

A 24-year-old female patient with Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome (MRS) in association with saprodontia is reported. She presented with lower labial swelling and left facial edema. Histological examination of the involved oral mucosa showed a noncaseating epithelioid granuloma.

Enhancement of immunity against VZV by giving live varicella vaccine to the elderly assessed by VZV skin test and IAHA, gpELISA antibody assay.

The enhancement of immunity against varicella-zoster vaccine (VZV) by subcutaneous injection of a live varicella vaccine was assessed by the VZV skin test for cell-mediated immunity (CMI), and immunoadherence hemagglutination assay (IAHA) and gpELISA antibody assays in the elderly people of 50-79 years of age. A total of 127 subjects were examined: 79 aged 50-59, 25 aged 60-69, and 25 aged 70-79. All were seropositive by the gpELISA assay (one was seronegative in the IAHA antibody assay).

Identification of androgen-inducible TGF-beta1 derived from dermal papilla cells as a key mediator in androgenetic alopecia.

We attempted to establish a coculture model of human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) from androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and keratinocytes (KCs) to study the pathomechanism of AGA. Since expression of mRNA for the androgen receptor (AR) decreased during subcultivation of DPCs in vitro, we transiently transfected the AR expression vector into the DPCs and cocultured them with KCs. In this coculture, androgen inhibited the growth of KCs by 50%, indicating that the DPCs produce diffusible growth suppressive factors into the medium in an androgen-dependent manner.

Evaluation of provocation test monitoring palmoplantar temperature with the use of thermography for diagnosis of focal tonsillar infection in palmoplantar pustulosis.

Background: Since focal tonsillar infections are often associated with palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP), provocation tests have been performed for preoperative evaluation of tonsillectomy. However, these tests have not been fully established.

Objectives: To introduce a more sensitive operative indication for tonsillectomy to the patients with PPP, we have monitored the temperature after provocation tests at palmoplantar sites, as measured by thermography, and we hypothesized that this methodology may lead to a more sensitive marker for tonsillectomy.

Induction of T-cell-mediated skin disease specific for antigen transgenically expressed in keratinocytes.

Transgenic mice were generated to establish an animal model for T-cell-mediated autoimmune skin disease. A membrane-bound form of OVA (mOVA) was specifically expressed under the control of the keratin 5 (K5) promoter in the epidermal and hair follicular keratinocytes of mice. Syngeneic, wild-type mice rejected the skin grafts of K5-mOVA mice with the generation of OVA-specific CTL.

Vitamin D and the skin.

Vitamin D was originally discovered as a factor that regulates calcium and bone metabolism. Recent advances in investigation have shown that vitamin D also functions as a regulator of cellular growth and differentiation in various tissues. The skin is not an exception from such effects of vitamin D; it is regarded as a site of its activation and action.

The inhibitory effect of androgen and sex-hormone-binding globulin on the intracellular cAMP level and tyrosinase activity of normal human melanocytes.

The effect of androgens on human melanocytes has not been well clarified. We studied the effects of androgens on normal human melanocytes in the presence or absence of sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), which complexes with those hormones. Immunohistochemically, testosterone and SHBG co-localized on the cell membrane.