Prophylactic intra-arterial administration of fasudil hydrochloride for vasospasm following subarachnoid haemorrhage.

PURPOSE: We evaluated patients treated with prophylactic intra-arterial administration of fasudil hydrochloride (IAF) after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 1998 and December 2012, 92 patients with aneurysmal SAH were treated with IAF for angiographic vasospasm without ischemic symptoms after their follow-up angiography. Patients comprised 50 women and 42 men, aged 24-83 (mean 56.6) years. IAF consisted of 15 mg of fasudil hydrochloride dissolved in 20 ml physiological saline and injected through a catheter during approximately 15 min, after diagnostic angiography. The clinical outcome was evaluated using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) at discharge and ischemic lesions resulting from vasospasm were assessed on computed tomography (CT) scan at discharge. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients underwent surgical clipping and 44 patients underwent endovascular coiling. Angiographic improvement was observed in all patients (100 %). At discharge, 76 (83.0 %) of 92 patients showed good recovery on GOS. Nine patients developed progression of delayed ischemic neurological deficits (DIND) and three of these patients had ischemic lesions on CT scans. No patient had any significant changes in vital signs or any other adverse effects resulting from IAF. CONCLUSION: IAF therapy was safe and effective for patients with vasospasm following SAH. Prophylactic IAF therapy may prevent symptomatic vasospasm.

Pneumatosis intestinalis in the small bowel of an adult: report of a case.

We present the case of a 70-year-old man found to have pneumatosis of the small intestine. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan detected massive intramural air in the entire circumference of the small intestine without any venous gas. During emergency surgery, 80 cm of the small bowel was removed. The pathological findings of thrombi in the resected specimen thus indicated that surgical intervention should be immediately performed in patients with pneumatosis throughout the small intestine. CT was useful for confirming the presence of intramural gas in pneumatosis of the small intestine. The presence of a massive amount of intramural gas in the entire small intestine circumference on the CT findings is thus considered to be an early indication of bowel infarction.

Synthesis of 6-acetamido-5-amino- and -5-guanidino-3, 4-dehydro-N-(2-ethylbutyryl)- 3-piperidinecarboxylic acids related to zanamivir and oseltamivir, inhibitors of influenza virus neuraminidases.

[reaction: see text] 6-Acetamido-5-amino- and -5-guanidino-3, 4-dehydro-N-(2-ethylbutyryl)-3-piperidinecarboxylic acids (8 and 9) have been synthesized starting from natural siastatin B, a bacterial neuraminidase inhibitor isolated from Streptomyces culture in a stereospecific fashion. These compounds are related to zanamivir and oseltamivir, inhibitors of influenza virus neuraminidases.

[Morpho-metrical features of the pelvis in standing posture].

The morpho-metrical features of the human pelvis differ according to gender, particularly with regard to size and shape, and bipedal standing posture appears to have been a major determinant of pelvic structure. In standing posture, the three points of the right and left superior anterior iliac spines and pubic tubercle are in contact with the vertical frontal plane. In this situation, the superior anterior iliac spine is lower than the superior posterior iliac spine. From a lateral view, the vertical line from the body's center of gravity passes through the center of the hip joint or acetabulum. The anatomical or biomechanical problem has been whether the line of gravity passes through the promontory or the center of auricular surface. To clarify this point, the three points of the acetabular center, promontory and auricular center were examined as to how they are positioned in relation to each other and the distance of each on the vertical frontal plane. Those measurements are as followed: A) distance between vertical frontal plane and promontory, B) distance between vertical frontal plane and anterior margin of auricular surface, C) distance between vertical frontal plane and mid-point of auricular surface computed from (B + D)/2, D) distance between vertical frontal plane and posterior margin of auricular surface, E) distance between vertical frontal plane and mid-point of acetabulum, F) inclination angle of the pelvis. From the results, the acetabular center and promontory are in alignment with the vertical line. The auricular center is positioned further back than the acetabular center or promontory. In this situation, the mean angle of inclination of the pelvis was found to be 63 degrees in 16 Japanese male specimens. The means of the other Japanese populations are into range of 63 degrees to 66 degrees in the males. If the auricular center coincides with the acetabular center, it is possible the angle of inclination of the pelvis would exceed 63 degrees. The frontal plane in contact with the right and left superior anterior iliac spines and pubic tubercle is not vertical. The morphological features clarified in the present study are that the promontory and acetabular center are in vertical alignment when viewed laterally and that the angle of inclination of the pelvis is 63 degrees.

Anti-viral and anti-tumor effects induced by an attenuated Marek's disease virus in CD4- or CD8-deficient chickens.

By vaccination with an attenuated Marek's disease virus (MDV), strain CVI988, chickens are protected from the development of T cell lymphoma caused by an oncogenic MDV. To clarify the role of T lymphocyte subsets in the protection mechanisms of this vaccine, vaccinated chickens were depleted of T cell subsets by neonatal thymectomy and injections of monoclonal antibodies specific to chicken CD4 and CD8 molecules, and then challenged with an oncogenic MDV, strain Md5. The MDV titers rescued from CD8(+) T cells, which are the main targets for latent infection and subsequent transformation by MDV, was much higher in the CD8-deficient vaccinated chickens than in untreated vaccinated chickens at the early stage of the latent phase. However, the neonatal vaccination prevented lymphoma formation by strain Md5 even in either CD4(+) or CD8(+) T cell-depleted chickens. These results suggest that specific CD8(+) T cell responses induced by the MD vaccine play a crucial role in the prevention of MDV infection during the latent phase, but may not be essential for the prevention of lymphoma formation by an oncogenic MDV.

[Evaluation of peritoneal lavage smears and intraperitoneal administration of anti-neoplastic agents in stage III and IV gastric cancer].

Examinations of peritoneal lavage smears (cy) in gastric cancer surgical stages III and IV are very important for determining the disease stage. We have been carrying out these examinations for 8 years. One hundred sixty patients with gastric cancer were examined. The incidence of cy positivity was higher in T4 than in T3, and higher in P1,2,3 than in P0. We performed intraperitoneal administration of CDDP in 10 patients with gastric cancer using a reservoir (Infuse-A-Port) implanted in the abdominal wall once a week. No difference in survival was observed between patients who received chemotherapy via i.p. and those who received it i.v.

Secular change in the torsional angle of Japanese femora.

The torsion angle of the Japanese femora of the early modern Edo (early and late series) and modern periods were measured. In the modern period, this angle is in males and females significantly larger than in the early series of the early modern Edo period and shows a gradual increase from the early modern Edo to the modern period. It is was always larger in females than in males. This change may be in part due to sedentary habits or living posture of the latter half in the early modern Edo period.

[Successful treatment of hepatic metastasis of gastric cancer with 5'-DFUR and Lentinan].

Satisfactory therapeutic effects are rarely obtained with oral chemotherapy for gastric cancer. We have experienced successful treatment for synchronous hepatic metastasis of gastric cancer with 5'-DFUR and Lentinan. The patient was a 78-year-old female, diagnosed as having gastric cancer with multiple hepatic metastases, who underwent gastrectomy. Immunohistochemistry of the resected specimens with anti-thymidine phosphorylase (dThdPase) antibody yielded positive results for dThdPase in the primary tumor as well as the hepatic metastases. Two months after surgery, administration of 400 mg of 5'-DFUR per day and 2 mg i.v. of Lentinan every other week was started. Four months after discharge, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in plasma showed an abrupt logarithmic decline. Furthermore, a 99% reduction in hepatic metastases was demonstrated by abdominal CT. At present, 22 months after surgery, the patient is managed on an outpatient basis with no complaints of any side effects. Immunochemotherapy using 5'-DFUR and Lentinan may be effective against gastric malignancies expressing dThdPase activity.

Centrifuge microscope as a tool in the study of cell motility.

The centrifuge microscope (CM) is composed of a centrifuge and a microscope optical system designed to observe minute objects, especially living cells, during the application of centrifugal acceleration. Structures and characteristics of various types of CM designed and constructed up to the present and studies done with the CM on cell biology, especially cell motility, are reviewed. These studies include observations of the behavior of cells and cell components in a centrifugal field, determination of the mechanical properties of the cell surface and cytoplasm, microsurgical operations on cells with centrifugal force, and determination of the magnitude and the site of generation of motive force for cell motility.

Flexural rigidity of echinoderm sperm flagella.

The stiffness (flexural rigidity) of live sperm flagella, Triton-demembranated flagella (axonemes), trypsin-digested axonemes, and doublet microtubules of the axonemes in echinoderms was determined from the relationship between their deformation when a stream of medium was applied and the viscous resistance of the medium acting on the flagellum. The stiffness of the flagellum beating in seawater was 5.8 x 10(-21) Nm2 for bending in the direction perpendicular to the beating plane and 4.2 x 10(-22) Nm2 for bending within the beating plane. A similar difference in stiffness from the difference in bending directions was found in reactivated flagella with 1 mM ATP. The stiffness of live flagella immobilized in CO2-saturated seawater and axonemes in ATP-free medium was similar to that of beating flagella for bending in the direction perpendicular to the beating plane. The stiffness of motionless flagella significantly decreased with erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine (EHNA) and vanadate. The trypsin-digestion of motionless axonemes did not change their stiffness. The stiffness of doublet microtubules was 1.4 x 10(-23) Nm2 in 0.1 mM ATP medium and 6.1 x 10(-23) Nm2 in ATP-free medium. These results suggest that doublet pairs lying parallel to the beating plane of the flagellum retain fewer cross-bridges than doublet pairs lying perpendicular to the beating plane.

Sperm and its soluble extract cause transient increases in intracellular calcium concentration and in membrane potential of sea urchin zygotes.

Fertilization is known to initiate a transient increase of intracellular calcium concentration and an accompanying change of membrane potential in sea urchin eggs. If the fertilization membrane and hyaline layer are removed, sperm can again enter fertilized eggs (refertilization). We have found that Ca2+ and voltage transients were repeatedly induced in fertilized eggs during refertilization. Similar changes were also obtained by external application of a soluble extract of sperm to fertilized eggs. This sperm extract caused no changes in unfertilized eggs. The active factor in the sperm extract survives heating (100 degrees C, 10 min) and incubation with pronase. Its molecular weight is less than 1300.

[The expression of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), neural invasion and recurrence patterns in rectal cancer--a study using anti-NACM (neural cell adhesion molecule) antibody].

Neural invasion may be one of the main causes of local recurrence, but its mechanism has not been sufficiently clarified. We previously reported that the expression of NCAM on cancer cells was correlated with neural invasion in pancreatic cancer. In this study, we examined the neural affinity of rectal cancer cells and the relationship between neural invasion and recurrence patterns of rectal cancers. A total of 64 rectal adenocarcinoma were examined. Specimens from 17 patients (27%) revealed perineural invasion. The incidence of neural invasion increased with the frequency of venous invasion and the degree of lymph node metastasis, but not significantly. The incidence of the expression of NCAM in rectal cancer cell was 45.3 percent. Neural invasion of rectal carcinoma was significantly related to the expression of NCAM (p < 0.05). NCAM immunocytolocalization was classified into the focal type, and the diffuse type. Concerning the recurrence type, 8 of 9 cases that developed local recurrence showed either presence of neural invasion or expression of NCAM. Liver metastasis was associated with absence of neural invasion or NCAM expression. The expression of NCAM may contribute to local recurrence, whereas the absence of NCAM may predict liver metastasis.

Oscillation of intracellular free calcium in cleaving and cleavage-arrested embryos of Xenopus laevis.

Changes in the intracellular free calcium levels in the cortical region of cleaving Xenopus eggs were examined using semi-synthetic aequorin. We detected periodic oscillations in the free calcium levels accompanying the cleavage cycle as early as the first cleavage onward. The calcium levels began to increase at early interphase and were maximal during metaphase of mitosis. Eggs injected with colchicine to inhibit cleavage showed periodic oscillations in the calcium levels similar to those of normal eggs. This fact indicates that the furrowing process is not necessary for the periodic changes in the intracellular free calcium levels, but the changes are associated with the autonomous periodic cytoplasmic activity which controls cell cycle events.

Right-left differences in the lengths of human arm and leg bones.

Right-left differences in the maximum length of the humerus and radius, and the femur and tibia of the leg in an archaic population were investigated. The materials consisted of skeletons dated to the Neolithic Jomon period excavated in eastern Japan. The results obtained in this study were compared with those of four other populations. Dominant side in the arm and leg bones were found to be dissimilar based on the mean right-left differences. The arm bones of right side were significantly longer than those of left. The leg bones of the left side were longer than those of the right. Mean right-left differences of female arm bones were usually greater than those of males. Obvious sex-differences could not be seen for leg bones. The mean right-left differences of the humerus seemed to be more variable than those of the other three bones.

Site-specific mechanisms of initiation by chelated iron and inhibition by alpha-tocopherol of lipid peroxide-dependent lipid peroxidation in charged micelles.

To obtain information on the role of iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation in the presence of the small amount of lipid peroxide in deterioration of biological membranes, we examined factors affecting peroxidation of fatty acids in charged micelles. Peroxidation of linoleic acid (LA) was catalyzed by Fe2+ via reductive cleavage of linoleic acid hydroperoxide (LOOH) in negatively charged sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles, but not in positively charged tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) micelles. However, this Fe2(+)-induced, LOOH-dependent lipid peroxidation could be induced in TTAB micelles in the presence of a negatively charged iron chelator, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). The linoleic acid alkoxy radical (LO.) generated by the LOOH-dependent Fenton reaction was also trapped by N-t-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone at the surface of TTAB micelles in the presence of NTA, but not in its absence. The degradation rates of two spin probes, N-oxyl-4,4'-dimethyloxazolidine derivatives of stearic acid (5-NS and 16-NS), were investigated to determine the site of production of radicals formed during LOOH-dependent lipid peroxidation. The rate of consumption of 16-NS during the LOOH-dependent Fenton-like reaction was higher in TTAB micelles containing LA than in those containing lauric acid (LauA), although the rates of formation of LO. in the two types of fatty acid micelles were similar. The rates of 5-NS consumption in LA and LauA micelles were almost the same and were as low as that of 16-NS consumption in LauA micelles. 16-NS was more inhibitory than 5-NS of LOOH-dependent lipid peroxidation, and this inhibition was associated with its higher consumption of 16-NS than of 5-NS. alpha-Tocopherol inhibited NTA-Fe2(+)-induced LOOH-dependent lipid peroxidation in TTAB micelles, and was oxidized during this inhibition process. The rate and amount of alpha-tocopherol oxidized by the LOOH-dependent Fenton reaction were higher in LA micelles than in LauA micelles. alpha-Tocopherol inhibited the consumption of 16-NS during NTA-Fe2(+)-induced LOOH-dependent lipid peroxidation more effectively than that of 5-NS. The distribution of the chromanol moiety of alpha-tocopherol was studied by the fluorescence quenching method. There was no difference between Stern-Volmer plots of the quenchings of alpha-tocopherol fluorescence by 5-NS and 16-NS. From these results, we discuss the mechanism of induction of LOOH-dependent peroxidation of LA and the mechanism of the antioxidant effects of alpha-tocopherol on it from the viewpoint of site-specific reaction.

Mechanical properties of the cortex before and during cleavage.

The changes in stiffness of the cell before and during cleavage reported previously for various kinds of echinoderm eggs are classified into three types. There is no general rule that cleavage starts when the stiffness attains a maximum or a minimum. Because the stiffness of the cell surface is much greater than that of the mitotic apparatus, the change in stiffness of the cell represents mainly the change in stiffness of the cell surface. The tension at the cell surface changes in parallel over the entire surface before the onset of cleavage. After the onset of cleavage, the tension at the furrow surface becomes greater in the direction parallel to the furrow than perpendicular to it. A remarkable change in mechanical properties occurs at the furrow surface simultaneously with the onset of cleavage. Judging from the temporal and spatial coincidence between this change and the formation of the contractile ring reported previously in sea urchin eggs at the onset of cleavage, it is concluded that this change is due to the formation of the contractile ring that generates the motive force for cleavage.

Effect of glucocorticoid replacement on tumor growth after adrenalectomy in mice.

We studied the effects of glucocorticoid replacement on tumor growth after adrenalectomy of Meth A sarcoma in mice. Tumor growth was inhibited in the adrenalectomized mice when a minimum dose of corticosterone, 0.3 mg/day, was given for replacement, and higher doses led to an even greater inhibition. Corticosterone had no effect on tumor growth in the irradiated mice. Sinecomitant immunity in the case of growth of the retransplanted excised tumor was compromised in the adrenalectomized mice. In vivo neutralization and immunosuppressive activities were absent in the spleen cells of the adrenalectomized mice. It would thus appear that adrenalectomy suppresses tumor growth by mechanisms other than glucocorticoid ablation. For optimum tumor control, glucocorticoid replacement after adrenalectomy should be in excess of the minimum daily requirements.

Sarcoma-180 cells are more sensitive to heat than are mouse normal tissues: esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, spleen, and kidney.

Sensitivity of various mouse tissues to heat was determined using mouse sarcoma-180 (S-180) cells and normal tissues: esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, spleen, and kidney. The in vitro succinate dehydrogenase inhibition (SDI) test was used. The succinate dehydrogenase (SD) activity of tissue fragments was assayed, following exposure to a temperature of 43 degrees C (heat treatment) or 37 degrees C (control) for 1, 2, 5, or 10 hr. The sensitivity to heat treatment was estimated by the percentage of SD activity of the heat-treated cells, compared to that of the control cells. The decrease in SD activity following exposure to heat varied with the tissue. The SD activity decreased to a greater extent in the S-180 cells than in the normal tissues. In the normal tissues, the order of sensitivity to heat was stomach, spleen, large intestine, small intestine, esophagus, kidney and liver. These results show that hyperthermia is tissue selective, hence heat treatment of a malignant lesion should be carefully designed.