Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor genotypes in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes.

We investigated killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypes in 92 patients with young-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (YT1DM: < or =35 years old), 112 patients with adult-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (AT1DM: >35 years old) and 240 control subjects. There were no differences in the frequency of KIR genotypes between controls and all the patients with T1DM or patients grouped according to age at onset of the disorder. However, when the subjects were classified into three groups according to combinations of the presence or absence of KIR3DS1/KIR3DL1 and its ligand human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-Bw4, or KIR2DL1 and its ligand HLA-C group 2, the genotype distribution was significantly different between the patients with AT1DM and controls [chi(2)= 5.993, 2 degrees of freedom (d.f.), P= 0.0500]. These data suggest that KIR polymorphisms may be associated with the age at onset of T1DM.

Association between alcohol consumption and serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate concentration in men with Type 2 diabetes: a link to decreased cardiovascular risk.

AIMS: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Both light-to-moderate alcohol consumption and higher serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are associated with reduced CVD mortality, raising the possibility of DHEA as a causal intermediate in CVD and alcohol consumption. METHODS: Relationships between alcohol consumption and serum DHEA sulphate (DHEA-S) concentration, carotid atherosclerosis as evaluated by carotid ultrasonography and major cardiovascular risk factors were investigated in 404 consecutive men with Type 2 diabetes. Patients were divided into three groups according to mean ethanol consumption per week: non-drinkers, light-to-moderate drinkers (< 210 g per week) or heavy drinkers (> or = 210 g per week). RESULTS: Plasma HDL-cholesterol was positively associated with the degree of alcohol consumption. Intima-media thickness (0.92 +/- 0.21 vs. 1.09 +/- 0.35 mm, P < 0.0001) and plaque score (3.0 +/- 3.3 vs. 5.2 +/- 4.9, P = 0.008) were lower in light-to-moderate drinkers than in non-drinkers. Serum DHEA-S concentrations were higher in light-to-moderate drinkers (1264.2 +/- 592.2 ng/ml, P < 0.0001) and heavy drinkers (1176.2 +/- 607.6 ng/ml, P = 0.0100) than in non-drinkers (956.8 +/- 538.6 ng/ml). In a subgroup aged 60-75-year-old patients (n = 277), serum DHEA-S concentrations were higher in light-to-moderate drinkers (1126.8 +/- 502.5 ng/ml, P = 0.0121) than in non-drinkers (937.9 +/- 505.1 ng/ml). Also, in a subgroup without CVD (n = 339), serum DHEA-S concentrations were higher in light-to-moderate drinkers (1328.5 +/- 593.7 ng/ml, P < 0.0001) than in non-drinkers (970.1 +/- 540.7 ng/ml). CONCLUSIONS: Higher serum DHEA-S concentrations in light-to-moderate drinkers may represent part of the link between light-to-moderate alcohol consumption and lower CVD mortality.

Extraperitoneal bladder rupture secondary to rectal impalement.

Impalement injury to both the urinary bladder and the rectum is a rare occurrence. A 45-year-old man was referred to our hospital because he had been stabbed through the internal femoral skin by a steel bar. Retrograde cystography and computed tomography failed to demonstrate bladder rupture. We carried out cystoscopy (CS) because of the existence of gross hematuria and found a penetrating wound in the posterior wall. Colon fiberscopy revealed two wounds in the rectum, one of which communicated with the bladder. A diagnostic laparoscopy revealed no associated injuries in the peritoneal cavity. Vesicorectal injury was diagnosed and treatment included transanal closure of fistulas and indwelling ureteral and urethral catheters. Postoperative CS revealed complete closure of the injury.

A case of neuroleptic malignant syndrome in a patient with hemodialysis.

A 63-year-old man with chronic renal failure who had received hemodialysis three times per week for 4 years developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome 10 days after taking amoxapine. His condition was characterized by muscle rigidity, elevation of body temperature and altered consciousness. Although he was treated with dantrolen and supportive care as well as discontinuation of amoxapine, his condition rapidly deteriorated, resulting in death. Because the pharmacokinetics of drugs, especially those such as antidepressants, in patients with chronic renal failure has not been fully clarified, one should be careful about giving such patients these drugs.

Enhanced in vitro percutaneous penetration of salicylate by ion pair formation with alkylamines.

The apparent octanol/water partition coefficient (APC) of salicylate (SA) increased as the concentration of alkylamine (amyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl and nonylamine) in aqueous phase increased, presumably through intermolecular ion pair formation between the negatively charged SA moiety and the alkylamine cation. The true partition coefficient (TPC) and the formation constant (Kf) of the ion pair were calculated from the partition data. The skin permeability of SA increased as the APC of SA increased, when 20-fold molar excess of alkylamine was added to the donor compartment. Permeability of ion pairs (PAB) from the aqueous phase to a shed snake skin was estimated from the permeability data assuming 1:1 ion pair. The methylene group contribution to the free energy of transfer of ion pairs from water to the shed snake skin was less than the reported value for nonionized drugs. This suggests that the ion pair is more polar by nature than nonionized molecules, even if ionic characteristics are masked to some extent by ion pair formation.

[Fibroepithelial polyp of the renal pelvis. A case report].

Benign tumors of the renal pelvis are relatively rare, and only a few reports have been published so far. Recently we experienced a case of a 50-year-old woman with a fibroepithelial polyp in the left pelvis. Drip infusion pyelography and abdominal CT revealed a filling defect and tiny renal stones in the left pelvis under the study of her urinary blood occult. A transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis was suspected, so a left total nephroureterectomy was done. The pathological diagnosis of this tumor was fibroepithelial polyp. As it is said that preoperative diagnosis of such a polyp is difficult, preoperative ureteroscopy or perioperative pathological diagnosis by frozen sections should be attempted. But it is difficult to avoid a nephroureterectomy because low incidence of the disease.

[Effects of anti-androgens on sexual function. Double-blind comparative studies on allylestrenol and chlormadinone acetate Part I: Nocturnal penile tumescence monitoring].

Allylestrenol (ALE) and chlormadinone acetate (CMA) were administered to patients with prostatomegaly by the double-blind method, and the effects of these antiandrogens on their sexual function were objectively compared. Each agent was orally administered to 58 patients in a dosage of 50 mg/day for 12 consecutive weeks. For the objective evaluation of the sexual function, nocturnal penil tumescence (NPT) was measured using an erectometer. For the subjective evaluation the conventional interview method was employed. The levels of hormones relating to sexual function were also determined. A decrease in NPT was noted in both the ALE and CMA groups, but the degree of the decrease was significantly smaller in the ALE group than in the CMA group (p less than 0.001). The results of the interview, revealed a large between the two drug groups; in the CMA group, marked worsening for all items. In the determination of hormones, levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, testosterone and estradiol were decreased in both drug groups, while the prolactin level was increased in both groups. The changes in the testosterone, estradiol and prolactin levels in the CMA group were significantly dominant compared with those in the ALE group. In addition, drop-out cases due to a decrease in the sexual function numbered 7 (12.1%) in the CMA group, while there were no such drop-out cases in the ALE group; the difference in the drop-out rate was thus significant. In conclusion, ALE's effects on the sexual function were concluded to be smaller than those of CMA.

[Effects of anti-androgens on sexual function. Double-blind comparative studies on allylestrenol and chlormadinone acetate. Part II: Self-assessment questionnaire method].

Allylestrenol (ALE) and chlormadinone acetate (CMA) were administered to patients with prostatomegaly by the double-blind method, and a self-assessment questionnaire method developed by the authors was used to study the influence of these two antiandrogens on their sexual function. Each test drug was orally administered to 58 patients, in a daily dosage of 50 mg for 12 consecutive weeks. The questionnaires consisted of 6 categories each consisting of 5 questions, or 30 questions in total. The 6 categories were "sexual desire," "erectile capacity" and "ejaculation," which relate to the sexual function, and "living environment (including the frequency of sex)," "dysuria" and "dummy (personality)." Each question was graded into 0-10 points, and each patient was requested to circle the number which best described his status. The scores were compiled and statistically analyzed. Many patients were senile. Evaluable answers were obtained for 99 (85.3%) of the 116 patients. Factor analysis based on the preadministration scores confirmed the contents of the questionnaires to be appropriate for the objectives of the present study. Multiple regression analysis revealed a high correlation between the self-assessment scores and objective data (nocturnal penile tumescence values; NPT values) when dropout cases due to a decrease in the sexual function and non-replying cases were excluded. The self-assessment questionnaire method was concluded to be as useful an objective test method as the NPT measurement for examining the sexual function. Aggravation of the "frequency of urination during night" was conspicuous in the CMA group, and there was a significant difference (p less than 0.05) in this parameter between the two groups. Except for this parameter, dysuria was improved in both administration groups, and there was no significant difference in the efficacy of the two drugs. Both drugs tended to suppress overall sexual function, but the suppression was less severe in the ALE group. Especially the suppression was significantly (p less than 0.05) lower in the ALE group regarding the 3 parameters of "contact sexual arousal," "contact erection" and "morning erection", which are included in the category of "sexual desire" or "erectile capacity." Also, suppression of "frequency of sex" and "intensity of sexual desire" tended to be lower in the ALE group at a level of significance of p less than 0.1. Regarding questions in the category of "ejaculation," the incidence of non-replies was high in both groups, but its rate was higher in the CMA group.

[The therapeutic effect of norfloxacin on chronic prostatitis].

The clinical efficacy of norfloxacin (NFLX) was evaluated in 74 patients having chronic prostatitis with the subjective symptoms suggesting the inflammations of prostate and more than five white bloodcells (WBCs)/hpf in their prostatic secretions (EPS). Of these, gram negative rods with greater than or equal to 10(3)CFU/ml (GNR group) were isolated from the EPS in 10 patients (13.6%) and gram positive cocci with greater than or equal to 10(3) CFU/ml (GPC group) were obtained in 46 patients (62.2%). E. coli (70.0%) was the most frequent strain isolated among GNR group and S. epidermidis (40.4%), S. aureus (19.1%), E. faecalis (17.0%) and S. haemolyticus (14.9%) were frequently isolated among the GPC group. The overall clinical efficacy of NFLX was determined at the second and fourth week by the three factors, (1) the effect on bacteria, (2) WBCs in the EPS and (3) the subjective symptoms in the patients with bacteria of greater than or equal to 10(3) CFU/ml being isolated. The overall clinical effectiveness rate was 71.4% and 100%, respectively, in the GNR group. In the GPC group, its rate was 79.3% and 88.0%, respectively. The patients with no bacteria or less than 10(3) CFU/ml isolated from the EPS had an overall clinical effectiveness rate of 89.8% at the second week and 90.0% at the fourth, when it was evaluated by the effect on WBCs and subjective symptoms. In the effect of NFLX on bacteria in the EPS, it eliminated them in 75.0% and 83.9% at the second and fourth week, respectively, of all patients with GNR or GPC of greater than or equal to 10(3) CFU/ml isolated from the EPS. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of NFLX against E. coli isolated from the EPS was distributed from 0.025 microgram/ml to 3.13 micrograms/ml with most below 0.1 microgram/ml. Those against all other GNR were below 0.78 microgram/ml. NFLX showed good antimicrobial activities against GPC with most of MIC being distributed from 0.78 microgram/ml to 1.56 micrograms/ml. NFLX produced the highest eradication rate in bacteriological response not only against GNR such as 100% at the first, the second and fourth week but GPC as 89.2%, 93.8% and 96.0%, respectively. In the effect of NFLX on WBCs in EPS, 40-50% of patients got free from the inflammation of prostate by NFLX treatment. This became prominent in the GNR group as the treatment was continued although not in the GPC group. The subjective symptoms were improved by NFLX treatment in most of the patients.