甲状腺機能亢進症の発症にインターフェロン療法の関与が示唆されたC型慢性活動性肝炎の1例

金沢大学医学部附属病院内科（旧第一内科）We report a case of chronic active hepatitis type C associated with hyperthyroidism following a long-term interferon therapy. A 49-year-old man, who had received 1,440 ml of blood transfusion for massive bleeding from the gastric ulcer, was diagnosed as posttransfusion hepatitis 40 days later. While antibodies to thyroid microsomal antigen was positive, he was euthyroid state at the onset of hepatitis. A total of 474 MU of recombinant IFNﾎｱ was injected subcutaneously for 12 months. Nine months after the end of the therapy, finger tremor and body weight loss appeared. Laboratory data revealed overt hyperthyroidism. Thyroid stimulating antibodies, TSH receptor antibodies and antinuclear antibodies appeared following interferon therapy, as well as antibodies to thyroid microsomal antigen and islet cell surface antigen, which had been positive since the beginning of the therapy. Recently, various autoimmune responses have been shown to appear in the course of long-term interferon therapy, which will be of great clinical significance in the management of chronic type B and C hepatitis

Seismic Exploration Using Active Sources at Kuchierabujima Volcano, Southwest Japan

Seismic exploration using artificial sources was conducted at Kuchierabujima volcano, southwest Japan in November 2004 by 40 participants from 9 national universities andJapan Meteorological Agency to investigate the subsurface seismic structure. The exploration was the 11th joint experiment under the National Project for Prediction of Volcanic Eruptions. A total of 183 temporal stations equippedwith a 2 Hz vertical component seismometer (including 75 3component seismometers) and a portable data logger were deployed on Kuchierabu Island. Dynamite shots with charges of 10-115 kg were detonated at 19 locations, and seismic signals were successfully recorded. To reveal the P-wave velocity structure, 2955 arrival times of the first motion were picked from the seismograms, and 2187 were classified into ranks A and B. From the record sections and the arrival time data, characteristics reflecting the geological structure were identified. Refracted waves of 5 km/s were observed at stations＞5km from the shot points. Apparent velocities near the shot points depend on the surface geology around the shots. P-wave arrived earlier at stations near the summits. Strongly scattered waves were observed similarly near the summits