Validation of the Japanese version of the Dementia Screening Questionnaire for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Dementia in people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) is difficult to detect because of preexisting cognitive deficits. An effective screening method is required. The Dementia Screening Questionnaire for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (DSQIID) was developed as an observer rating tool to screen dementia in people with ID. The aim of this study was to verify the screening accuracy of the DSQIID for Japanese people with ID. METHODS: Four-hundred ninety-three subjects with ID participated in this study. Caregivers who had observed the participants for more than 2 years scored the Japanese version of the DSQIID (DSQIID-J) of the participants. Three doctors examined participants directly and diagnosed dementia using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria. To identify the key screening items that predict dementia, the specificities of a single and pairs of items with 100% sensitivity were evaluated relative to the dementia diagnosis. RESULTS: Of 493 participants, 34 were people with Down syndrome (DS), and 459 were people without DS. Seventeen participants were diagnosed with dementia. The suitable cut-off score of the DSQIID-J was 10/11 (sensitivity 100% and specificity 96.8%) for screening dementia. The inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the DSQIID-J were excellent. Regarding key items, there was no single item with 100% sensitivity, and the best two-item combination was the pair of 'Cannot dress without help' and 'Walks slower' (sensitivity 100% and specificity 93.5%). CONCLUSIONS: We identified several important question items of the DSQIID-J related to the diagnosis of dementia in people with ID. The DSQIID-J is a useful screening tool for dementia in adults with ID.

Primary reattachment of avulsed skin flaps with negative pressure wound therapy in degloving injuries of the lower extremity.

Large avulsed skin flaps of the lower extremity caused by degloving injuries eventually develop skin necrosis in most cases. The current treatment option involves excision of the degloved skin and reapplication as a full- or split-thickness skin graft. We considered that reattachment of avulsed skin flaps without excision would be theoretically beneficial, since some circulation may remain around the connected pedicle and thus facilitate graft take. Furthermore, securing the skin to the original anatomic position is much easier using retained landmarks. We treated a total of 12 patients (13 cases) with degloving injuries of the lower extremity. In all cases, the avulsed skin flap was defatted and sewn back to the original position, then negative-pressure wound therapy was applied over those grafts as a bolster for approximately 7 days. Most of the avulsed skin flap took excellently, particularly close to the connected pedicle. Nine cases did not need any additional surgical procedures. Four cases required secondary skin graft for a small area of open wound due to partial necrosis of the defatted skin, as well as the raw surface left by the primary skin defect in the initial operation. Primary reattachment of the avulsed skin flaps without excision is convenient and efficient to cover the open wound over the exposed fascia and periosteum in degloving injuries. This would potentially offer a better alternative to definitive wound closure.

Hypertension-induced cerebral atherosclerosis in the cholesterol-fed rabbit.

Foam cell lesions were found in cholesterol-fed rabbits with induced hypertension, particularly in intimal cushions at branching sites, where permeability to horseradish peroxidase was enhanced. Permeability to horseradish peroxidase was enhanced at the edge of intimal cushions without foam cell accumulation. This finding suggests that permeability is increased before foam cell infiltration. No foam cell lesions were observed in the intima of cerebral arteries distant from branching sites, but insudation of plasma constituents here caused endothelial cells to separate from the subendothelial matrices. Foam cell lesions were absent from the cerebral arteries in normotensive cholesterol-fed rabbits.

Effects of hypertension and hypercholesteremia on the permeability of fibrinogen and low density lipoprotein in the coronary artery of rabbits. Immunoelectron-microscopic study.

In an attempt to elucidate the effects of hypertension and/or hypercholesteremia on atherogenesis, with special reference to permeation and deposition of fibrinogen and low density lipoprotein (LDL) in the coronary artery, we studied electron-microscopically the localization of fibrinogen and LDL. In the untreated control rabbits, fibrinogen was localized in the caveolae and vesicles of the endothelial cells and in very small amounts in the subendothelial spaces of the coronary artery. Hypertension or hypercholesteremia was related to an enhanced insudation of fibrinogen into the subendothelial spaces of the coronary artery. The insudation of fibrinogen seemed to have occurred by way of vesicular transport and, to some extent, by junctional transport. LDL was localized only in the caveolae and vesicles of the endothelial cells of the coronary artery in the untreated control rabbits. LDL was deposited in the subendothelial space of the hypercholesteremic rabbits, with or without hypertension. Despite the lack of clear-cut and direct evidence, the insudation of LDL into the intima appeared to be enhanced by way of vesicular transport.

Cerebral and aortic atherosclerosis in Hisayama, Japan.

This study of autopsy cases in the general population of the town, Hisayama, describes the incidence and severity of aortic and cerebral atherosclerosis in Japan. Atherosclerosis was more severe in the aorta than in the cerebral arteries of all age groups and its disparity became more conspicuous with age. In hypertensive cases, atherosclerosis was more severe in both the aorta and the cerebral arteries from and beyond the 6th decade of age. The severity of atherosclerosis in the aorta in those with systolic hypertension was lower under the age of 79 and higher after the age of 80 than in diastolic hypertension; the cerebral arteries were afflicted similarly by the two forms of hypertension. The serum cholesterol level correlated better with the severity of aortic than cerebral atherosclerosis.

Differential registration of two types of radionuclides on macroautoradiograms for studying coronary circulation: concise communication.

Double-radionuclide autoradiography proved to be feasible using combinations of Tc-99m and I-125, or Tc-99m and C-14. Because of the short half-life of Tc-99m (6 hr), we first registered Tc-99m on x-ray film. Given an adequate Tc-99m:I-125 activity ratio of 20:1, the exposure duration for Tc-99m was still too short for I-125 to blacken the x-ray film. The pure emission from C-14 is completely absorbed by a thin aluminum sheet--hence no problem there. After the decay of Tc-99m, therefore, it was entirely feasible to continue autoradiography with I-125 (T1/2 = 60.2 days) or C-14 (T1/2 = 5730 yr). Based on these conditions, we applied (a) tracer microspheres labeled with I-125 and Tc-99m to define the respective perfusion areas of the left anterior descending, septal, and left circumflex coronary arteries of the beating heart, and (b) Tc-99m pyrophosphate and C-14 antipyrine to demarcate respectively the localization of the infarct-avid substance and the regional blood flow. We verified the first procedure with postmortem angiography and the second with histochemistry.

Dissecting aneurysm: a clinicopathologic and histopathologic study of 111 autopsied cases.

One hundred eleven autopsy cases of dissecting aneurysm were collected from western Japan. The ratio of males to females was 3:2 and the sixth and seventh decades of life were most frequently affected. All 11 cases of Marfan's syndrome were in patients under 40 years of age. DeBakey's type III dissections showed a male predilection and more severe atherosclerosis than in control cases. Many patients with types I and II dissections died of hemorrhage in the acute phase, while many patients with type III dissection died in the subacute or chronic phase, and half of the patients died of diseases other than hemorrhage. Hypertension was recognized in 73.7% of the 95 cases which showed no other obvious risk factors. Histologic examinations suggested that cystic medial necrosis was related to the pathogenesis of the disease in Marfan's syndrome, but was not so apparent in non-Marfan's syndrome. Laminar medial necrosis was found in many cases, but was considered to be a secondary ischemic change following dissection, as supported by other investigators. There were only a few cases in which dissection seemed to be directly caused by atherosclerosis.

Prognostic factors and value of adjunctive nephrectomy in patients with stage IV renal cell carcinoma.

We reviewed 57 cases of Stage IV renal cell carcinoma to clarify the factors influencing prognosis and to evaluate the value of nephrectomy. Cumulative survival from the initial diagnosis was analyzed with respect to the patients' age, sex, side of primary tumor, initial performance status (PS), site of metastasis, and nephrectomy. Overall survival for the patients was 51 percent at one year, 22 percent at three years, and 11 percent at five years. Age, sex, and side of primary tumor had no influence on survival. Improved survival was correlated with good PS, metastases limited to single organ, and removal of the primary tumor. With regard to histopathologic features in nephrectomized patients, low grade and stage were correlated with longer survival. These factors should be considered in the analysis of results of future clinical trials of metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

The vasotoxicity of the lysosomal contents from the renal cortex.

The retained proteins (fraction B: rich in renin) and the not retained proteins (fraction A: no renin activity) were obtained from the concanavalin A affinity column chromatography of the lysosomal contents from the hog renal cortex. Intraperitoneal injection of fraction A, B and highly purified renin produced angionecrosis of fibrinoid type of the small arteries and arterioles in the bilaterally nephrectomized rats. The angionecrosis producing activity (vasotoxicity) as well as vasopressor activity of fraction B were prevented completely by the oral administration of SQ14225. Although fraction A demonstrated no renin activity, intraperitoneal injection of fraction A produced gradual and transient elevation of blood pressure and fibrinoid necrosis which was milder and less consistent as compared with fraction B. The vasotoxicity as well as the transient vasopressor activity of fraction A were completely abolished also by the previous administration of oral SQ14225.

Is isoniazid-hepatotoxicity induced by the metabolite, hydrazine?

The effects of rifampicin (RMP) on isoniazid (INH) metabolism in rabbits were examined from the viewpoint of extensive hepatitis. After the RMP pretreatment, no remarkable changes were observed in the plasma levels of INH as well as its metabolites, acetylisoniazid (AcINH), acetylhydrazine (AcHz) and diacetylhydrazine (DAcHz) with the exception of hydrazine (Hz). After an oral administration of INH or Hz hydrate, the stochastic examination showed that the AUC0-8hr values of Hz plasma levels in RMP pretreated groups were significantly less than those in the control rabbits. RMP treatment was also shown to induce rabbit liver cytochrome P-450 activity. Histological studies demonstrated that Hz causes more remarkable hepatic necrosis in rabbits pretreated with RMP than in the control rabbits. These observations could suggest that Hz is a key intermediate of INH-hepatitis through the transformation of some hepatotoxic species by microsomal oxidation that is facilitated by RMP.

[Extracapsular tumor invasion in renal cell carcinoma: with special reference to limitation of surgical enucleation].

To elucidate the feasibility of surgical enucleation, the incidence of extracapsular tumor invasion in 30 cases of renal cell carcinoma with a diameter less than 5 cm was examined, based on the classification of extracapsular tumor invasion into three patterns, namely microinvasion, nodular invasion, and daughter tumors. Of the 30 cases of renal cell carcinoma, 22 cases (73%) revealed extracapsular tumor invasion. And the incidence of microinvasion, nodular invasion and daughter tumors was 7 cases (23%), 9 cases (30%) and 6 cases (20%), respectively. But the incidence of these three patterns of extracapsular tumor invasion correlated neither with the size of renal cell carcinoma nor with pT classification. There was a tendency for extracapsular tumor invasion to occur near the renal hilar site of the renal cell carcinoma, where the tumor vessels were rich, penetrated and twined around the tumor capsule, resulting in the disruption of the tumor capsule. These three patterns of invasion was located within 1 cm in distance from the tumor capsules in all cases. In conclusion, because of limited radicality achieved by tumor enucleation even in the case of pT1, partial nephrectomy was recommended in the presence of a normal contralateral kidney.

[The significance of bacillus Calmette-Guerin in the therapy of carcinoma in situ of the bladder].

We treated ten patients with carcinoma in situ of the bladder (primary type, 6 and secondary type, 4) by intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy. All patients received 8 weekly instillation, and among them 3 patients were followed by additional instillation monthly for 7 months. Complete regression (negative biopsies and cytology study) was observed after 8 weekly instillation in all patients. To elucidate the mechanism of action of BCG on carcinoma in situ, the biopsied specimens after BCG instillation were examined light and electronmicroscopically. It was speculated that BCG might act on cancer cells in two ways: one was sloughing and denudation of the cancer cells by acute tuberculous cystitis, and the other was a role of the macrophages through immune reaction. In our study, the toxicity and complications seemed to be much severer than previously reported. Vesicoureteral reflux was observed in 6 patients. Decreased bladder capacity noted in all patients, among them radical cystectomy and colocystoplasty were performed in 2 patients under the diagnosis of bladder contracture. Although complete regression was observed in all patients after 8 weekly BCG instillation, the duration being free from cancer cells was variable. And we also discussed on the additional therapy in such patients in the literature.

[Preoperative embolization using absolute ethanol for renal cell carcinoma--including the questionnaire survey in Japan].

The usefulness of transvascular embolization before radical nephrectomy using absolute ethanol was studied in thirty-two cases with renal cell carcinoma, among them, 30 cases received radical nephrectomy one day after transvascular embolization. And a nation wide questionnaire survey regarding the embolization was also reported. These results were as follows: 1. The infarcted areas were very extensive and among 28 cases examined, 26 cases showed more than 75% of infarct in the whole area of the cortex. 2. Among 32 cases, 22 cases complained of no pain after the embolization using absolute ethanol only by the preventive epidural administration of analgesics. 3. The questionnaire survey showed that the embolization before radical nephrectomy was performed in 62% of the hospitals as a whole, including 81 hospitals (41%) in which the embolization was performed case by case. In the whole of hospitals, 21% performed the embolization principally by evaluating the significance of the embolization. On the other hand, 19% of the hospitals did not perform by the reason of no significance of the embolization on the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. As shown in this questionnaire survey, the significance of the embolization before radical nephrectomy was still debatable in our country. 4. In 62% of the hospitals where the embolization is carried out, as a whole, the period from embolization to the nephrectomy was 3-7 days. And in 42% of the hospitals as a whole absolute ethanol was principally used as an embolizing agent. In conclusion we believe that absolute ethanol was useful and should find further application as an embolizing agent before the radical nephrectomy.

[Treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma with a combination of interferon alpha and gamma].

A total of 29 patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma entered a pilot study of combination therapy with interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma). IFN-alpha (HLBI: 3 x 10(6) IU, BALL 1:5 x 10(6) IU, IFN-alpha-2a: 9 x 10(6) IU or IFN-alpha-2b: 6 x 10(6) IU) was given intramuscularly every day and IFN-gamma (IFN-gamma-1a: 3 x 10(6) JRU) was given intravenously by drip infusion 3 times a week (every 2-3 days). The treatment was continued for 3 months as the induction therapy, and then the tumor response was evaluated. Of the 22 evaluable patients, 4 achieved a partial response (PR), 10 showed no change (NC), and in 8 the disease had progressed (PD) during the therapy. Thus, the overall response rate was 18.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1-34.3%]. A favorable response tended to be obtained in patients with good performance status or small pulmonary metastases, or in those who had no prior therapy with IFN-alpha, who received this treatment immediately subsequent to radical nephrectomy, or who received IFN-gamma as much as possible according to this regimen. Toxicity was evaluated in 28 patients: fever, general fatigue, anorexia, leukocytopenia and impaired liver function were frequently noted, and 3 patients were withdrawn from the study because of such adverse effects. In patients who had a PR or NC, the same dosage of IFN-alpha was continued to be given intramuscularly 2-3 times a week (every 2-4 days) as the maintenance therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)