[Accuracy of COPD questionnaires in the general health check-up setting].

To evaluate the accuracy of the International Primary Care Airways Group (IPAG)-COPD questionnaire for detection of airflow limitation in the general health check up setting, we conducted a cross-sectional study in 186 subjects who underwent spirometry and filled out COPD questionnaire with a recommended cut-off level of 17 points. The prevalence of airflow limitation defined as FEV1/FVC < 70% was 3.8%.

Primary hyperparathyroidism presumably caused by chronic parathyroiditis manifesting from hypocalcemia to severe hypercalcemia.

A 67-year-old woman who presented with hypocalcemia compatible with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism gradually changed into a state of primary hyperparathyroidism. The left upper parathyroid gland, which was larger and harder than other glands, was resected. Despite the operation, hypercalcemia and high levels of intact PTH persisted.

A possible role of TARC in antigen-specific Th2-dominant responses in patients with Paragonimiasis westermani.

Background: Paragonimiasis westermani (Pw), a common parasitic zoonosis in Asia, is typically associated with eosinophilia. Th2 cytokines seem to have an important role in the clinical manifestations of this disease. Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) is a potential key regulator of Th2-mediated inflammation.

The expression and functional role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in rat adipocytes.

To clarify whether nicotine has a direct effect on the function of adipocytes, we evaluated nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) expression in adipocytes by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunocytochemistry and the direct effects of nicotine on the production of adipocytokines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis. Receptor binding assays were performed using [3H]nicotine. RT-PCR studies revealed that alpha1-7, 9, 10, beta1-4, delta, and epsilon subunit mRNAs are expressed in adipocytes.

Elevated levels of circulating adhesion molecules in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objective: Recent studies have indicated the importance of cell adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory lung diseases. Our study was designed to determine whether five soluble adhesion molecules including soluble L-, E- and P-selectin (sL-, sE- and sP-selectin), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) in serum reflect the severity of active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and whether there is a distinct profile of these soluble molecules in this disease.

Methodology: Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, we measured the serum levels of these five soluble adhesion molecules in 31 patients with active TB and 11 healthy volunteers.

Fasting plasma ghrelin levels in subtypes of anorexia nervosa.

Ghrelin has a role in regulating eating behavior and energy metabolism in the central nervous system, and has been reported to play an important role in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa (AN). The aim of the present study was to compare fasting plasma ghrelin levels in different subtypes of untreated AN patients. The subjects included 39 female AN patients and 11 female controls.

A role for CD44 in an antigen-induced murine model of pulmonary eosinophilia.

Previous studies established that IL-5-producing CD4(+) T cells play a pivotal role in allergic respiratory inflammation. It was also reported that CD4(+) T cells express higher levels of CD44 in the airway than in peripheral blood of patients with allergic respiratory diseases. We have used experimental pulmonary eosinophilia induced in mice by Ascaris suum (Asc) extract to investigate the role of CD44 in the development of allergic respiratory inflammation.

Critical role of IL-5 in antigen-induced pulmonary eosinophilia, but not in lymphocyte activation.

Infiltration of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells and production of interleukin (IL)-5 in inflammatory regions play a central role in antigen-induced pulmonary eosinophilia. Genetically IL-5-deficient mice lack antigen-induced airway eosinophilia, but little is known about the role of IL-5 in accumulation and activation of CD4+ T cells in the lung and in airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). ASCARIS SUUM extract (Asc) has been used to induce airway eosinophilia and analyze airway inflammation in IL-5 receptor alpha-chain-deficient (IL-5RKO) mice.

Ghrelin-induced food intake is mediated via the orexin pathway.

The hypothalamus regulates energy intake by integrating the degree of starvation or satiation with the status of the environment through a variety of neuronal and blood-derived signals. Ghrelin, a peptide produced in the stomach and hypothalamus, stimulates feeding and GH secretion. Centrally administered ghrelin exerts an orexigenic activity through the neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein systems.

Acute eosinophilic pneumonia with fine nodular shadows.

A 19-year-old woman presented with acute onset of cough and dyspnea. She started smoking two weeks before the appearance of symptoms. On admission, arterial blood gas analysis on room air breathing revealed PaO2 55 Torr.

Anti-cachectic effect of ghrelin in nude mice bearing human melanoma cells.

Ghrelin is a novel brain-gut peptide that stimulates food intake and body weight gain. We studied the anabolic effect of ghrelin in a cancer cachexia mouse model. SEKI, a human melanoma cell line, was inoculated into nude mice to examine the effects of ghrelin on food intake and body weight.

Long-term oral nicotine administration reduces insulin resistance in obese rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of long-term oral nicotine administration on insulin resistance in an animal model of obesity. Eight-week-old male Zucker fatty rats (ZFRs) were administered nicotine tartrate dihydrate (4.6 mg/kg/day) in the drinking water.

Habitual binge/purge behavior influences circulating ghrelin levels in eating disorders.

Previous studies have reported that fasting plasma ghrelin concentrations play an important role in the pathophysiology of eating disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between plasma ghrelin levels and frequency of abnormal eating behaviors, nutritional parameters in eating disorders. Fasting blood samples were obtained in 40 female anorexia nervosa (AN) patients, 21 restricting type (AN-R) and 19 binge-eating/purging type (AN-BP), in 31 bulimia nervosa (BN) patients, 18 purging type (BN-P) and 13 non-purging type (BN-NP), in 15 female healthy volunteers (control) before the initiation of active treatment.

[Comparison of bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from nonspecific interstitial pneumonia and from ordinary interstitial pneumonia].

We studied cell findings in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of 13 patients with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and 20 with ordinary interstitial pneumonia (UIP). NSIP and UIP were difficult to distinguish by high-resolution CT. Surgical lung biopsies were performed in all patients.

The role of the gastric afferent vagal nerve in ghrelin-induced feeding and growth hormone secretion in rats.

Background & Aims: Visceral sensory information is transmitted to the brain through the afferent vagus nerve. Ghrelin, a peptide primarily produced in the stomach, stimulates both feeding and growth hormone (GH) secretion. How stomach-derived ghrelin exerts these central actions is still unknown.

[A case of cortical deafness following bilateral putaminal hemorrhage].

A 59-year-old man had suffered from consciousness disturbance and right hemiplegia in December, 1996. He was diagnosed as left putaminal hemorrhage and his symptoms improved by conservative treatment. After one week since the onset, when he became alert, he noticed deafness.

Increased fasting plasma ghrelin levels in patients with bulimia nervosa.

Objective: Fasting plasma ghrelin levels play an important role in the pathophysiology of the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa (BN) also has been associated with abnormal neuroendocrine regulation. Thus, we examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and plasma ghrelin concentrations in patients with BN for the first time.

Clinical features and neuropathological findings of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with a His46Arg mutation in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase.

We examined the characteristic clinical features of one family of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) with a His46Arg mutation in the enzyme Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1). The disease duration for this family was 18.1 +/- 13.

Elevated plasma procoagulant and fibrinolytic markers in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: There is clinical and pathological evidence of thrombosis in pulmonary vessels of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of hypercoagulability and determine the extent of this abnormality in COPD patients.

Patients And Methods: We measured plasma levels of thrombin antithrombin III complex (TAT), fibrinopeptide A (FPA), tissue plasminogen activator-plasminogen activator inhibitor (tPA-PAI): markers of coagulation-fibrinolysis-system, and also beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG): a marker of platelet activation, in 40 COPD patients and in 20 control subjects.

Serial change in 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: We performed 123I-MIBG (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy twice in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) to investigate whether MIBG distribution was improved by pertinent clinical control. To determine the influential factors for MIBG distribution, we investigated the association between various clinical parameters and the serial change in MIBG uptake parameters.

Patients And Methods: Twenty NIDDM patients with no cardiac disorders were evaluated.

Elevated levels of alpha-defensins in plasma and BAL fluid of patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis.

Study Objectives: To investigate the role of neutrophil peptides named alpha-defensins in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

Patients: Thirty-seven patients with TB and 25 healthy subjects.

Measurements And Results: Concentrations of alpha-defensins (human neutrophil peptide [HNP]-1, HNP-2, and HNP-3) were measured by radioimmunoassay in plasma and BAL fluid (BALF).

Characterization of orexins (hypocretins) and melanin-concentrating hormone in genetically obese mice.

Orexins (hypocretins) and the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) are neuropeptides localized to the lateral hypothalamic area and are potential regulators of energy homeostasis. Using highly sensitive radioimmunoassay for orexins and MCH, we determined their contents in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) of genetically obese ob/ob and db/db mice and their controls, C57BL/6J and C57BL/KSJ. The orexin contents in the lateral hypothalamus significantly increased in the ob/ob mice, whereas the orexin contents significantly decreased in the db/db mice.

Plasma ghrelin levels in lean and obese humans and the effect of glucose on ghrelin secretion.

Ghrelin, a novel GH-releasing peptide isolated from human and rat stomach, stimulates food intake and GH secretion. We determined plasma ghrelin concentrations in patients with simple obesity, anorexia nervosa, and type 2 diabetes mellitus by RIA. We also studied plasma ghrelin responses to glucose load and meal intake and obtained a 24-h profile of circulating ghrelin in humans.

Ghrelin is present in pancreatic alpha-cells of humans and rats and stimulates insulin secretion.

Ghrelin, a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide isolated from human and rat stomach, is a 28-amino acid peptide with a posttranslational acylation modification that is indispensable for stimulating growth hormone secretion by increasing intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. It also functions in the regulation of feeding behavior, energy metabolism, and gastric acid secretion and motility. Using two different antibodies against the NH(2)- and COOH-terminal regions of ghrelin, we studied its localization in human and rat pancreas by immunohistochemistry.