Clinical significance of serum glutathione reductase in various clinical conditions, especially in liver diseases.

Serum glutathione reductase activity was measured in various conditions including acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, malignant neoplastic diseases, and obstructive jaundice. A statistically significant elevation of the enzyme activity was found in all of these clinical conditions above normal value, especially in patients with acute hepatitis, some liver cancer, and malignant biliary obstruction. Comparison with other liver function tests showed the existence of statistically significant correlations of serum glutathione reductase with SGOT, SGPT and alkaline phosphatase in acute hepatitis, and with alkaline phosphatase in cirrhosis.

Aging and hydroxproline content in human heart muscle.

Hydroxproline content was chemically determined in 45 human hearts obtained at autopsy, in order to know possible correlations between aging and hydroxyproline content in the heart muscle. There were no significant differences in the mean total hydroxyproline content between the epicardium and the endocardium, between left and right ventricles, nor between young, middle and old age groups. The hydroxyproline content in NaCl-soluble fraction decreased, and that in TCA-soluble fraction and in residue fraction increased with age.

Treatment of adult acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia using intermittent combination chemotherapy with daunomycin, cytosine arabinoside, 6-mercaptopurine and prednisolone-DCMP two step therapy.

A regime of treatment of acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia in adult, employing DMCP protocol, especially two step method consisting of daunorubicin, cytosine arabinoside, 6-mercaptopurine and prednisolone is described. Out of 32 adult patients with ANLL treated with DCMP regime 26 (81.3%) achieved complete remission.

Roentgenological and endoscopic findings of malignant lymphoma.

Roentgenological and endoscopic characteristics of malignant lymphoma of the stomach were studied referring to the gross pathological appearance of the tumors. Based on the results obtained, we classified malignant lymphoma of the stomach into four types, i.e.

Cytological diagnoses of early gastric cancer.

To evaluate the clinical value of gastric cytology in the detection of stomach cancer, the results of cytological examinations in 417 cases of early cancer of the stomach in which cancer cell infiltration was limited to the mucosa or submucosa were analyzed. The cytological examination revealed positive for cancer cells in 93% of these cases, and therefore it is concluded that this method is not only useful but indispensable for the diagnosis of early cancer of the stomach. The gastric cytology proved to be more reliable than the endoscopic and X-ray examinations in terms of detection rate of the early gastric cancer.

Role of the kidney in gastrin metabolism.

Fasting blood gastrin level among various clinical entities was measured by means of radioimmunoassay. Hypergastrinemia of various degrees was found in some cases of chronic renal failure. During angiography arteriovenous difference of gastrin level was investigated in the kidney in 22 patients without renal diseases.

Fasting therapy for psychosomatic diseases with special reference to its indication and therapeutic mechanism.

It has been well known that the fasting therapy which was invented in Medical School of Tohoku University reveals an excellent effect upon various kinds of psychosomatic diseases, but its therapeutic mechanism and suitable indication are not yet explained completely. In order to corroborate these problems, this study was undertaken on 262 cases of psychosomatic diseases in the field of internal medicine. It is a complete fasting for 10 days with nothing by mouth except for drinking water, and 500 ml of parenteral fluid containing vitamins are administered intravenously every day.

Histo-clinical classification and follow-up study of gastric polyp.

Gastric polyp was found in 1,616 cases or 0.23% of 711,455 persons through the gastric mass-survey. They were classified into 3 groups: hyperplastic polyp in 61%, gastric polyposa in 34%, and polyp composed of metaplastic epithelium with marked atypism (ATP) in 5%.

Long-term corticosteroid therapy of idiopathic aplastic anemia.

The results of a long-term corticosteroid therapy performed in 55 patients with idiopathic aplastic anemia are reported. Of these patients, cure was attained in 20 patients, remission in 5, and improvement in 10. The duration of the treatment of cured cases ranged from 138 to 1109 days with a median of 522 days.

Minute gastric cancer.

Nineteen cases of minute early gastric cancer were diagnosed under endoscopical examinations. Diagnosis was established by endoscopic biopsy in 18 cases, and exceptional one case of type IIb was incidentally found. Some of the endoscopic characteristic features of superficial depressed minute cancer were mentioned.

A diagnostic re-evaluation of electric skin resistance, skin temperature and deeper tenderness in patients with abdominal pain.

Diagnostic re-evaluation of measurement of electric skin resistance (ESR), skin temperature (ST) and deeper tenderness (DT) was performed in patients with abdominal pain due to pancreatitis, cholecystopathy and duodenal ulcer. These determinations were conducted when the pain was complained of and after the pain ceased by paravertebral anesthesia. ESR was decreased on the opposite tender points of the abdominal walls as compared with those values of the healthy abdominal walls.

Continuous secretin infusion with pancreozymin pretreatment as a pancreatic function test.

This paper deals with a pancreatic function test with the submaximal dose of secretin given by continuous infusion after injection of cholecystokinin-pancreozymin (CCK-PZ) in the submaximal dose. The active elimination of bladder bile by CCK-PZ pretreatment decreased the influence of biliary contamination, and the volume output and the bicarbonate concentration were stabilized by the continuous infusion of secretin. As a result, the coefficients of variation in the volume output and the bicarbonate concentration were calculated to be about 15 and about 5%, respectively.

Clinical evaluation of iron metabolism in pancreatic disease.

In order to estimate the possible influence of pancreatic disease upon iron absorption, fecal analysis was carried out after administration of 5 mg iron labeled with 59Fe. Twelve cases of pancreatic calcification, 7 cases of chronic pancreatitis, 3 cases each of pancreatectomy and miscellaneous diseases, and 52 cases for control were studied. Significant elevation of iron absorption was observed in 4 or 21 patients with pancreatic diseases.

Further studies on lipid-chemical differences between cancerous and adenomatous polypous tissues in the human large intestine.

17 cases of cancer and 18 cases of adenomatous polyp in the large intestine were subjected to lipid-chemical studies of their tissues in order to clarify the biochemical differences between malignant neoplastic growth and benign growth. Cancerous and adenomatous polypous tissues were collected by biopsy or surgical operation together with the respective control tissues. One part of the total lipid extracted from each tissue was separated into triglyceride and phospholipid fraction by a thin-layer chromatography (TLC).

Comparative study on gastric secretory function between benign gastric polyp and elevated type of early stomach cancer with special reference to histological findings of gastric mucosa.

In cases of elevated type of early cancer and benign polyp of the stomach, gastric analysis was performed and the results were compared with histological findings of gastric mucosa. Both clinical entities were found to show lowered acid and pepsin secretory functions reflecting severe and extensive atrophic changes of gastric mucosa. Dissociation in secretory disturbance between acid and pepsin was also noticed.

The lipid-chemical features of the biopsied human liver tissues of patients with malignant neoplastic diseases.

In order to clarify the differences in lipid metabolism between malignant neoplastic and benign cases, livers of patients were biopsied under peritoneoscopy. One half of each sample was subjected to histologic examination and the other half to lipid analyses by means of thin layer chromatography and gas lipid chromatography. Histologic examination was necessary to confirm whether the lipid metabolism in the liver of patients would be influenced by hepatic disease or not.

Effect of total gastrectomy on acid proteolytic zymogens in serum and urine.

Proteolytic pH-activity curve and agar gel electrophoretic pattern of acid proteolytic zymogens in serum and urine were studied in totally gastrectomized patients. In serum, total gastrectomy was found to reduce proteolytic activity markedly, but no appreciable changes could be detected by electrophoretic analysis. In urine, however, in addition to the marked reduction of proteolytic activity, changes were found in electrophoretic pattern after total gastrectomy.

Combination of non-specific immunopotentiation with Corynebacterium liquefaciens and chemotherapy in tumor-bearing mice.

The effect of combining chemotherapeutics (Mitomycin-C, cyclophosphamide, or 5-fluorouracil) and immunopotentiator (anaeobic Corynebacterium liquefaciens) against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in mice was examined. Mitomycin-C and cyclophosphamide were given intraperitoneally 2 days after the inoculation of tumor cells. 5-Fluorouracil was administered intraperitoneally for 7 consecutive days beginning from the second day after inoculation of tumor cells.

Studies on the fibercolonoscopy: with special reference to the latest procedures.

The Machida type fibercolonoscope, or FCS, devised by us is an anterior direct vision type of fiberscope. The most important feature of this new fiberscope consists of a tip of 5 cm size which is capable of being directed by flection up to 120 degrees in any direction and the tip up to 30 cm possessing a fishing-rod-like flexibility and elasticity by means of a special spiral spring. This angle-regulating mechanism makes it possible to insert this instrument along the course of the intestine under direct visual control.

Clinical studies on streptococcal preparation (OK-432) combined with mitomycin-C, 5-FU and cytosine arabinoside in advanced cancer patients.

Streptococcal preparation (OK-432), a new type of anti-cancer agent, was given to the patients with advanced cancer in combination with Mitomycin-C, 5-FU and Cytosine arabinoside. OK-432 was administered intramuscularly with a daily dose of 2.0 KE consecutively or locally into the tumor with a large-dose of 100 KE.

Significance of gastric analysis with particular reference to the diagnosis of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Various criteria in gastric analysis currently used for the diagnosis of the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome were assessed in cases of endoscopically normal gastric mucosa, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer. New criteria consisting of BSV greater than 350 ml/hr, BAO greater than 25 mEq/hr, MAO greater than 60 mEq/hr, and BAO/MAO greater than 0.7 were proposed to differentiate the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and peptic ulcer.