A case of primary aldosteronism due to unilateral adrenal hyperplasia.

The case of a patient with primary aldosteronism due to unilateral adrenal hyperplasia (UAH) is reported. A 43-year-old man with an 8-year history of hypertension presented at our institution with hypokalemia, increased plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), and suppressed plasma renin activity (PRA). An abdominal CT scan showed almost normal adrenal glands with slight enlargement in the left gland.

Loss of ions in cavity ionization chambers.

Ion losses due to initial recombination, volume recombination, and back diffusion were each determined by measurements and calculations for different size cylindrical ionization chambers and spherical ionization chambers. By measuring signal currents from these ionization chambers irradiated with (60)Co gamma rays, two groups of ion losses were obtained. (Group 1) Ion loss due to initial recombination and diffusion, which changes proportionally to the inverse of the voltage applied to the ionization chambers; (and group 2) ion loss due to volume recombination, which changes proportionally to the inverse of the square of the applied voltage.

Identification of a novel WFS1 mutation (AFF344-345ins) in Japanese patients with Wolfram syndrome.

Wolfram syndrome (WFS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by early onset diabetes mellitus, progressive optic atrophy, sensorineural deafness and diabetes insipidus. Affected individuals may also have renal tract abnormalities as well as neurogical and psychiatric syndromes. WFS1 encoding a transmembrane protein was identified as the gene responsible for WFS.

Identification of an AraC-like regulator gene required for induction of the 78-kDa ferrioxamine B receptor in Vibrio vulnificus.

We previously reported that the 78-kDa outer membrane receptor for ferrioxamine B is induced in iron-starved Vibrio vulnificus cells when desferrioxamine B was supplied exogenously. Based on its N-terminal amino acid sequence, a candidate gene for the ferrichrome B receptor was detected in the V. vulnificus CMCP6 genomic database.

Functional VEGF C-634G polymorphism is associated with development of diabetic macular edema and correlated with macular retinal thickness in type 2 diabetes.

Since vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has a strong effect on induction of vascular permeability, VEGF is an attractive candidate gene for development of diabetic macular edema (ME). Among the 378 patients with type 2 diabetes studied, 203 patients had no retinopathy, 93 had non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and 82 had proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). ME was present in 16 patients with NPDR and 47 patients with PDR.

Efficacy of glimepiride in Japanese type 2 diabetic subjects.

We investigated the efficacy of glimepiride, a third-generation sulfonylurea (SU), in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients in whom glycemic control had been inadequate with a conventional SU, gliclazide or glibenclamide. A total of 172 Japanese type 2 diabetic patients (HbA1C > or = 7.0%), maintained on a conventional SU, were randomly assigned to the 3rd SU group (SU treatments switched to glimepiride) or the 2nd SU group (treatments not changed).

Angular dependence of the wall correction factor for air kerma measurements using cylindrical cavity chambers.

The dependence of the results of air kerma measurements on the orientation of the cylindrical cavity chamber used for beam standardizations is reexamined. The wall attenuation correction factors for the (60)Co and (136)Cs air kerma measurements were obtained for various irradiation angles by extrapolation of the dependences of experimental data and by Monte Carlo simulations. Applying the correction based on extrapolation does not provide an angle-invariant air kerma rate, as desired.

Glimepiride enhances intrinsic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Glimepiride, a third-generation sulfonylurea (SU), exerts its effects mainly by stimulating insulin secretion but has also been shown to have pleiotropic effects. Recent clinical studies showed glimepiride to enhance insulin sensitivity. In the present study, to clarify the mechanism by which insulin resistance is improved, we investigated the effects of glimepiride on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR gamma) activity, using cultured adipocytes and muscle cells.

Spatiotemporal analysis of NO production upon NMDA and tetanic stimulation of the hippocampus.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous neuromessenger. Although increasing evidence reveals significant physiological effects of NO in the hippocampal synaptic plasticity, the spatial distribution of NO production has remained largely uncharacterized due to the poor development of techniques for real-time NO imaging. In this work, using a NO-reactive fluorescent dye, diaminorhodamine-4M (DAR-4M), time-dependent heterogeneous NO production is demonstrated in hippocampal slices upon N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) stimulation or tetanic stimulation.

Regulation of adiponectin receptor gene expression in diabetic mice.

Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived factor that plays pivotal roles in lipid and glucose metabolism in muscle and liver. The following two adiponectin receptor types were recently identified: AdipoR1 is abundantly expressed in muscle, whereas AdipoR2 is predominantly expressed in the liver. To clarify the regulation of adiponectin receptor gene expression in diabetic states, we examined mRNA levels of AdipoR1 in the muscles of diabetic animals by Northern blotting.

Pathological approach to breast conserving therapy.

There is no uniformly accepted definition of a positive margin in breast conserving surgery. In 1999, the Japanese Breast Cancer Society created the Guidelines for Breast-Conserving Treatment (GBCT). At that time, we did a questionnaire survey about the definition of margin status.

Pro12Ala substitution in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 is associated with low adiponectin concentrations in young Japanese men.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) has been shown to play an important role in adipocyte differentiation. A Pro12Ala substitution in PPAR gamma 2 has been reported to decrease receptor activity in vitro and to be associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in the general population. Recently, a PPAR response element (PPRE) was identified in the adiponectin promoter, suggesting that decreased PPAR gamma activity may lead to lower adiponectin levels.

Nocardia shimofusensis sp. nov., isolated from soil, and Nocardia higoensis sp. nov., isolated from a patient with lung nocardiosis in Japan.

Three actinomycete strains isolated from soils and one strain isolated from a patient with lung nocardiosis in 1999 and 2001 in Japan have been provisionally assigned to the genus Nocardia on the basis of morphological criteria. These isolates were further investigated to determine their specific taxonomic status. Detailed chemotaxonomic characterization and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of these isolates confirmed that they belong to the genus Nocardia.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene is associated with diabetic macular edema in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: We examined the endothelial nitric oxide (eNOS) gene polymorphisms to assess its possible association with diabetic retinopathy and macular edema.

Research Design And Methods: A total of 226 patients with type 2 diabetes and 186 healthy subjects were studied. Type 2 diabetic patients consisted of 110 patients without retinopathy, 46 patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, and 71 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

[Total care for patients with metabolic syndrome].

Insulin resistance plays an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome and hence an improvement of insulin resistance is important in the treatment of metabolic syndrome. Oral hypoglycemic agents such as thiazolidinediones and biguanides improve glycemic control by reducing insulin resistance. Furthermore, it has been clarified that they also have anti-dyslipidemic, anti-hypertensive and anti-atherosclerotic actions.

Correction of permeability with pore radius of tight junctions in Caco-2 monolayers improves the prediction of the dose fraction of hydrophilic drugs absorbed by humans.

Purpose: To improve predictions of fraction dose absorbed (Fa) for hydrophilic drugs, a correction of paracellular permeability using the pore radius of tight junctions (TJs) in Caco-2 monolayers was performed.

Methods: The apparent permeability coefficient (P9app)) of drugs was measured using the Caco-2 assay and the parallel artificial membrane permeation assay (PAMPA), and values were corrected with the pore radius of TJs.

Results: An equation for calculating the pore radius of TJs from the P(app) of lucifer yellow was obtained.

Significance of human neutrophil antigen-2a (NB1) expression and neutrophil number in pregnancy.

Background: Expression of human neutrophil antigen-2a (HNA-2a) is greater in women than in men. The size of the HNA-2a-positive neutrophil population increases with pregnancy.

Study Design And Methods: T he relationship between HNA-2a expression on neutrophils and monocytes, and their relative numbers, was investigated.

Angle dependence of signal currents from cylindrical ionisation chambers.

A signal current from a cylindrical ionisation chamber with an ionisation volume of 62.7 cm3, 40 mm in diameter and 50 mm long, peaked when the chamber was lixed at 0 degrees and at 90 degrees in 137Cs and 60Co gamma ray fields for source-chamber distances of 1 m and 2 m. A smaller ionisation chamber showed a small peak at 0 degrees in both fields but not at 90 degrees.

Efficacy of prophylactic use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in autoimmune neutropenia in infancy.

Purpose: Most children with autoimmune neutropenia (AIN) have a benign clinical course because of the spontaneous resolution of neutropenia. The authors observed the clinical course of AIN in infancy accompanied by the prophylactic use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) during neutropenia.

Patients And Methods: Eight infants with AIN were followed by serial tests for antineutrophil antibodies and management of infectious complications.

Hippocampal cytochrome P450s synthesize brain neurosteroids which are paracrine neuromodulators of synaptic signal transduction.

Hippocampal pyramidal neurons and granule neurons of adult male rats are equipped with a complete machinery for the synthesis of pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone, 17beta-estradiol and testosterone as well as their sulfate esters. These brain neurosteroids are synthesized by cytochrome P450s (P450scc, P45017alpha and P450arom) from endogenous cholesterol. Synthesis is acutely dependent on the Ca(2+) influx attendant upon neuron-neuron communication via N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors.

Prediction of passive intestinal absorption using bio-mimetic artificial membrane permeation assay and the paracellular pathway model.

The purpose of this study was to construct and examine the prediction model for total passive permeation through the intestinal membrane. The paracellular pathway prediction model based on Renkin function (PP-RF) was combined with a bio-mimetic artificial membrane permeation assay (BAMPA), which is an in vitro method to predict transcellular pathway permeation, to construct the prediction model (BAMPA-PP-RF model). The parameters of the BAMPA-PP-RF model, e.

Resveratrol, a natural product derived from grapes, is a new inducer of differentiation in human myeloid leukemias.

A natural product, resveratrol (3,4,40-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a phytoalexin found in grapes and other food products, is known as a cancer chemopreventive agent. We studied the in vitro biological activity of this compound by examining its effect on proliferation and differentiation in myeloid leukemia cell lines (HL-60, NB4, U937,THP-1, ML-1, Kasumi-1) and fresh samples from 17 patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Resveratrol (20 microM, 4 days) alone inhibited the growth in liquid culture of each of the 6 cell lines.

Human neutrophil antigen-2a expression on neutrophils from healthy adults in western Japan.

Background: Human neutrophil antigen-2a (HNA-2a)-specific MoAb, which is necessary to prepare panel neutrophils and to determine the phenotype of patients' neutrophils, has been produced in many laboratories in Japan. The frequency of the HNA-2a-positive population in western Japan is unknown.

Study Design And Methods: A cell line secreting an HNA-2a-specific MoAb, TAG4, was established.