Introduction: The aim of the study was to explore the association between urate-lowering agents and reduced response to erythropoietin-stimulating agents in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease G5.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study in Japan between April and June 2013, enrolling patients aged 20 years or older with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of ≤15 mL/min/1.73 m2.
Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is the leading cause of healthcare-associated infectious diarrhea in the developed world. Retrospective studies have shown a lower incidence of C. difficile infection (CDI) in Japan than in Europe or North America.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur current study demonstrated that the marine peroxy sesquiterpenoids isolated from the Okinawan soft coral sp. have an antitumor activity in human colon cancer cell (HCT) 116 colon cancer cells with their induction of apoptosis due to H₂O₂ production derived from the compounds. This study clarified that peroxy sesquiterpenoids ( and ) inhibited anti-apoptosis proteins, such as B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL) and phosphoAkt (pAkt).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA simple, practical, and rapid access to quinoxalin-2-ones , 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxalines , quinoxalines , and quinoxalin-2(1)-ones has been achieved, based on the copper-catalyzed quinoxalinone formation of 2-haloanilines and amino acids followed by their reduction and oxidation. The olfactory properties and lipid accumulation inhibitory activity in cultured hepatocytes of the quinoxaline derivatives were also evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, the isolates of the peroxy sesquiterpenoids (1-3) from the Okinawan soft coral, Sinularia sp., indicated cytotoxicity in HCT116 colon cancer cells. The apoptotic cells with a nuclear condensation were detected in the presence of these compounds, then the caspase 3/7 activity was induced, indicating that the compounds have a potential antitumor activity by apoptosis-induction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThree cadinane-type sesquiterpenoids, endoperoxide (1) and hydroperoxides (2, 3) together with three known sesquiterpenoids (4-6) were isolated from an Okinawan soft coral, Sinularia species. Structures of these isolates were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses (NMR, IR and MS) and molecular modeling. In addition, the isolates 1-3 as new compounds were examined for biological activities, resulting that they have antibacterial activity and weak cytotoxicity against HCT116 cells as well as anti-inflammatory effect on LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated RAW 264.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new rare casbane-type diterpenoid 1 and two new cembrane diterpenoids 2, 3 were isolated from an Okinawan soft coral, Lobophytum sp., together with four known cembrane diterpenoids 4-7. Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data (1D and 2D NMR, IR, and MS) and a molecular modeling study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated the effects of geranium essential oil (GEO) on anaphylaxis. GEO can exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, but its roles in allergic reactions are incompletely understood. Here, we used mouse cells to show that GEO inhibited the degranulation of cultured mast cells (CMCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnterobacteriaceae producing extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) are distributed worldwide. In this study, 114 ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae were isolated by analyzing 1672 clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae collected from an Okinawa prefectural hospital in Japan between June 2013 and July 2014. The overall prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae was 6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the present study was to investigate the biological activity of 20 essential oils (EOs) derived from herbal plants and citrus fruits. The in vitro anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory activities of these oils were investigated, and the EO which was found to have the strongest activity of the 20 EOs examined, was investigated further to identify its components and bioactive compounds. The in vitro anti-allergic activity was determined by measuring the release of β-hexosaminidase from rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells treated with the calcium ionophore, A23187.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated odour-active trace compounds in roasted Brazilian Arabica coffee. Aroma dilution extract analysis (AEDA) applied to the volatile oil extracted from roasted coffee brew revealed 34 odour-active compounds. Among these, a pungent-smelling unknown odour-active compound was determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives The association of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy with opportunistic infections in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients has been reported. The goal of this study was to clarify the clinical characteristics and the risk factors of RA patients who developed Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) during etanercept therapy. Methods We conducted a multicenter, case-control study in which 15 RA patients who developed PCP were compared with 74 RA patients who did not develop PCP during etanercept therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, the biological activity of 20 essential oils (EOs) from herbal plants and citrus fruits were investigated in terms of mammalian DNA polymerase (pol) inhibitory activity, cancer cell (human colon carcinoma, HCT116) growth inhibitory activity, antiallergic activity, as anti-β-hexosaminidase release activity in rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells treated with calcium ionophore A23187, and antioxidant activity by a lipophilic-oxygen radical absorbance capacity method. These EOs showed patterns of inhibition of pol α, a DNA replicative pol, similar to their cancer cell growth inhibitory activity, and their inhibitory activity on pol λ, a DNA repair/recombination pol, by the EOs showed correlation with anti-β-hexosaminidase release activity. Among these EOs, chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The association of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy with opportunistic infections in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients has been reported. The goal of this study was to clarify the clinical characteristics and the risk factors of RA patients who developed Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) during etanercept therapy.
Methods: We conducted a multicenter, case-control study in which 15 RA patients who developed PCP were compared with 74 RA patients who did not develop PCP during etanercept therapy.
Eyelid dermatitis and/or periocular dermatitis (ED/PD) is commonly seen in a variety of skin diseases such as seborrheic dermatitis, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, but is most often associated with allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). Here, a case of ACD in an 82-year-old man is described; he used 0.1% diclofenac sodium eye drops and exhibited pruritic erythema on the eyelids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare skin tumor that usually occurs on the head, neck, or extremities of elderly patients; it has a high incidence of local recurrence, regional lymph node metastasis, and subsequent distant metastasis. We report a MCC that developed rapidly on the left corner of the upper lip of a 100-year-old woman. An incisional skin biopsy was performed to confirm MCC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors describe a very rare case of intravascular large B-cell lymphoma in a woman whose ruptured distal middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms were filled with lymphoma cells. A 69-year-old woman who had undergone artificial graft replacement for an aortic aneurysm presented with transient left hemiparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a small fresh cerebral infarction in the right frontal lobe, although major cervical and cerebral arteries were shown to be intact on MR angiography.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Individuals affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occasionally develop lymphoproliferative disorders (RA-LPD). To study the molecular changes underscoring the RA-LPD, mutations of p53 and Bak gene were analyzed in RA-LPD with (MTX-LPD) or without methotrexate treatment for RA (non-MTX-LPD).
Methods: Histology and immunophenotype were immunohistochemically examined in 32 cases of MTX-LPD and 21 of non-MTX-LPD.
Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol
September 2004
The human P1/P50 midlatency auditory evoked potential and the auditory startle response (SR) have been used for investigating sensory gating and sensorimotor modulation which is impaired in various psychiatric diseases. In the present study, we demonstrated that auditory stimulation was capable of eliciting excitation of flexor and extensor neurograms from the hindlimb nerves in the paralyzed decerebrate cat, a phenomenon which corresponds to a "fictive" startle response (FSR). Previous studies have shown that the SR consists of distinct excitatory components, "early" and "late", separated by an inhibitory phase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe frequency of NK-cell related neoplasms was estimated among lymphoproliferative diseases diagnosed and treated in Osaka, Japan, from 1999 to 2003. The total number of registered cases was 1,400, among which 1,092 patients were diagnosed as having malignant lymphomas. There were 987 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 105 (9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe link between P50 suppression and psychometric schizotypy was previously reported in non-clinical English-speaking subjects; however, whether a similar relationship exists within a different ethnic sample is unknown. Furthermore, whether such a relationship can also be accounted for by such basic personality characteristics as extraversion or neuroticism has not yet been reported. In the present study, we investigated the correlations of P50 suppression with psychometric schizotypy, and with extraversion or neuroticism among non-clinical Japanese.
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