A Japanese Case of Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy with the m.13051G>A Pathogenic Variant.

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is one of the hereditary optic neuropathies and is principally caused by three frequent mitochondria deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) pathogenic variants (m.11778 G>A, m.3460 G>A, and m.

Clinically Diagnosed Occult Macular Dystrophy Habouring an m.14502T>C Mitochondrial DNA Mutation Associated with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy: Case Report and Literature Review.

A 29-year-old female with no family history presented with bilateral progressive blurred vision. Her symptoms appeared at 12-years-old and her visual acuity had since deteriorated from 0.6 to 0.

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy with diffuse white matter changes mimicking gliomatosis cerebri: illustrative case.

Backgrouind: Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a mitochondrial disease characterized by bilateral severe subacute central vision loss and a mutation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The findings on cranial magnetic resonance imaging of patients with LHON vary from subtle to multiple white matter changes. However, they rarely present with diffuse infiltrative white matter changes.

Relationship between communicative and critical health literacy, health information sources, and participation in health checkups among middle-aged Japanese community residents.

We assessed the relationship between health literacy and participation in health checkups among middle-aged Japanese community residents. Additionally, we explored the health information sources related to participation in health checkups among those with low, medium, and high health literacy. This mail survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 2020 and included 33,902 community residents with National Health Insurance (NHI), aged 40-64 years from five cities in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Association between Recommendations from Public Health Nurses, Medical Professionals, and Family Members and Participation in Health Checkups among Middle-aged Community Residents with National Health Insurance.

Introduction: Participation in specific health checkups is low in Japan, especially among middle-aged community residents with municipal National Health Insurance (NHI). This study explored associations between recommendations from public health nurses, medical professionals, and family members and participation in specific health checkups among middle-aged Japanese community residents with NHI.

Methods: This mail survey was conducted in 2020, and it included 33,902 community residents with NHI aged 40-64 years from five cities in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Infrared spectroscopic observation of the McLafferty rearrangement in ionized 2-pentanone.

The McLafferty rearrangement is a well-known process in mass spectrometry. In ionization of organic molecules containing a carbonyl group, β cleavage occurs following transfer of a hydrogen atom of aliphatic CH at the γ position to the carbonyl group. Although the McLafferty rearrangement has undergone numerous mass spectrometric investigations, no spectroscopic investigation of the enolized radical cation generated in the hydrogen atom transfer has been carried out.

Urine miR-21-5p as a potential biomarker for predicting effectiveness of tadalafil in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Aim: To investigate whether urine levels of miRNAs that regulate the function of endothelial cells are associated with effectiveness in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients treated with a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, tadalafil.

Patients & Methods: We measured urine levels of three miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-126-5p & miR-155-5p) in 55 BPH patients before and after tadalafil administration to understand its effectiveness.

Results: Baseline urine miR-21-5p level was an independent predictor of response to tadalafil in multivariate regression analysis (odds ratio: 0.

The prognostic role of brain natriuretic peptides in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Although plasma concentrations of brain natriuretic peptides (BNP) increase in hemodialysis (HD) patients as well as patients with cardiovascular diseases (CD), the clinical significance of BNP in HD patients has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the pathophysiological significance of BNP in HD patients.

Methods: Plasma BNP concentrations were measured in 164 HD patients after HD and 14 healthy volunteers.

Evolving role of Antennapedia protein in arthropod limb patterning.

Evolutional changes in homeotic gene functions have contributed to segmental diversification of arthropodan limbs, but crucial molecular changes have not been identified to date. The first leg of the crustacean Daphnia lacks a prominent ventral branch found in the second to fourth legs. We show here that this phenotype correlates with the loss of Distal-less and concomitant expression of Antennapedia in the limb primordium.

Interleukin-6, tumour necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1beta in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

As regulators of malignant cell behaviour and communication with stroma, cytokines have proved useful in understanding cancer biology and developing novel therapies. In renal cell carcinoma, patients with inflammatory reactions are known to have poor prognosis. In order to elucidate the relation between renal cell carcinoma and the host, serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6, tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1beta, were measured.

[Effects of cernitin pollen-extract (Cernilton) on inflammatory cytokines in sex-hormone-induced nonbacterial prostatitis rats].

Cernitin pollen-extract (Cernilton, CN) is a preparation made from eight kinds of pollen and has been used for various prostatic diseases in Japan and Europe. We reported previously that CN possessed a recovery action on the sex-hormone-induced nonbacterial prostatitis in rats. To clarify the possible mechanism of action of CN, we investigated the effects of CN on inflammatory cytokines (IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha) in the same model.

Antitumor Effect on Murine Renal Cell Carcinoma by Autologous Tumor Vaccines Genetically Modified with Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor and Interleukin-6 Cells.

SUMMARY: The authors evaluted the efficacy of vaccination with murine renal cell carcinoma (Renca) secreting the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene and interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene for the treatment of Renca tumor. Murine GM-CSF and murine IL-6 genes were introduced and expressed in Renca cells (Renca-GM-CSF and Renca-IL-6). For a prevaccination study, wild-type Renca cells were injected subcutaneously into Balb/c mice that had been vaccinated three times with inactivated wild-type Renca, Renca-GM-CSF, Renca-IL-6, or a mixture of Renca-GM-CSF and Renca-IL-6 cells 7, 14, and 21 days before this tumor inoculation.

Antitumor effect on murine renal cell carcinoma by autologous tumor vaccines genetically modified with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-6 cells.

The authors evaluted the efficacy of vaccination with murine renal cell carcinoma (Renca) secreting the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene and interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene for the treatment of Renca tumor. Murine GM-CSF and murine IL-6 genes were introduced and expressed in Renca cells (Renca-GM-CSF and Renca-IL-6). For a prevaccination study, wild-type Renca cells were injected subcutaneously into Balb/c mice that had been vaccinated three times with inactivated wild-type Renca, Renca-GM-CSF, Renca-IL-6, or a mixture of Renca-GM-CSF and Renca-IL-6 cells 7, 14, and 21 days before this tumor inoculation.

[Experience with partial nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma].

From Sept. 1991 to Jan. 1999, we performed partial nephrectomy on 7 patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for upper urinary tract stones using the Dornier Lithotripter Compact: an experience in Japan.

Between May 1997 and February 1998, 40 cases of renal stones and 40 cases of ureteral stones in 60 males and 20 females were treated with the Dornier Lithotripter Compact. The size of the stones ranged from 5 mm to 80 mm. Three patients required epidural anesthesia and 4 patients required a ureteral stent.

Embolotherapy for venous impotence: use of ethanol.

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of embolotherapy with ethanol for the treatment of venous impotence.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-three patients with venous impotence underwent embolotherapy. The diagnosis of venous impotence was made by means of pharmacocavernosometry and cavernosography.

Epidermoid cyst arising from the spermatic cord area.

Purpose: We report on an epidermoid cyst arising from the spermatic cord area that was confirmed histologically after local excision.

Methods/results: Radiologic studies demonstrated a well-encapsulated solid mass in the left inguinal region, which was adjacent to the left spermatic cord. Tumor resection was then performed.

Human fatty acid omega-hydroxylase, CYP4A11: determination of complete genomic sequence and characterization of purified recombinant protein.

The gene of the human fatty acid omega-hydroxylase, CYP4A11, has been isolated from a human BAC library, and its complete genomic sequence has been determined. The CYP4A11 gene spanned 12,568 bp and contained 12 exons. The known PPAR recognition elements (PPRE), which were reported to be involved in the induction of CYP4A6 by clofibric acid, were not observed within the 5'-flanking region of the CYP4A11 gene.

Antitumor effects of Scutellariae radix and its components baicalein, baicalin, and wogonin on bladder cancer cell lines.

Objectives: To investigate the antitumor effects of Scutellariae radix and its components baicalein, baicalin, and wogonin on human bladder cancer cell lines (KU-1 and EJ-1) and a murine bladder cancer cell line (MBT-2).

Methods: Bladder cancer cells were incubated with various concentrations of the agents. Antiproliferative activity against the bladder cancer cell lines was examined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diplenyl tetrazolium bromide assay.

Augmentation of antitumor activity of 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine by thymosin fraction 5 in mouse bladder cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

5'-Deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5'-dFUrd) is a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FUra) activated by pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase (PyN Pase), mainly by uridine phosphorylase (Urd Pase) in rodents and by thymidine phosphorylase (TdR Pase) in humans, which is preferentially located in tumor tissues compared to normal tissues. It has been reported that PyN Pase is induced by cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) and interferon (IFN). Thymosin is a glycoprotein extract obtained from the calf thymus and is a potent immunopotentiating preparation.

Immunotherapy for lung metastases of murine renal cell carcinoma: synergy between radiation and cytokine-producing tumor vaccines.

We investigated the combination therapy of local radiation of lung metastasis and vaccination with autologous tumor cells that produced interleukin (IL)-2, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) using the mouse Renca pulmonary metastasis model. Wild-type Renca (W/Renca) were transfected with pEF-BOS vector incorporating cDNAs for IL-2, IFN-gamma, or GM-CSF to express these cytokines. W/Renca, IL-2-producing Renca (Renca/IL-2), and IFN-gamma-producing Renca (Renca/IFN-gamma) produced subcutaneous tumor at the injection site in eight of eight, one of eight, and two of eight mice, respectively.

An aureobasidin A resistance gene isolated from Aspergillus is a homolog of yeast AUR1, a gene responsible for inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) synthase activity.

The AUR1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mutations in which confer resistance to the antibiotic aureobasidin A, is necessary for inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) synthase activity. We report the molecular cloning and characterization of the Aspergillus nidulans aurA gene, which is homologous to AUR1. A single point mutation in the aurA gene of A.

[Leiomyoma of the bladder: report of two cases].

We report 2 cases of leiomyoma of the urinary bladder. A 41-year-old female visited our hospital with the complaint of pollakisuria. A solid tumor of the urinary bladder was found by ultrasonography.