Serum Concentration of Myosin Light Chain I and Left Ventricular Shortening Fraction in Neonates

We compared the serum concentrations of myosin light chain I (MLC-I) and left ventricular shortening fraction (LVSF) measured by echocardiography of 13 normal neonates with those of 38 neonates with fetal distress, neonatal asphyxia, or cardiovascular/respiratory diseases not associated with structural abnormalities. The diseased group included 9 neonates with elevated MLC-I concentrations and 18 with low LVSF. Elevated MLC-I concentrations were frequently noted in neonates with transient myocardial ischemia and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, suggesting a high specificity of MLC-I elevation in these diseases. Although echocardiographically determined LVSF identifies the affected sections of the myocardium, it did not allow rating of the severity of the disorder. There was no correlation between MLC-I and LVSF probably due to therapeutic interventions and pulmonary hypertension. Our results suggest that MLC-I is a useful marker of neonatal myocardial diseases

Epidemiological Survey on Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease Developed during Childhood in Japan, and a Case-Control Study on Nutrition during Infancy

An epidemiological survey was performed from 1979 to 1993 on Japanese patients who developed ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) during childhood. A case-control study was also conducted concurrently in order to assess whether artificial feeding during infancy (up to 4 months after birth) could be a risk factor for these diseases. The cumulative number of patients until 1993 was 578 cases for UC (sex ratio, 1.1:1.0) and 260 cases for CD (sex ratio, 1.4:1.0). There was almost no change in the number of new cases of UC and CD per year after 1978, showing cases of around 32 (mean ± SD; 32.1 ± 6.8) per year for UC and 16 (15.7 ± 6.3) per year for CD. A case-control study was performed on 133 cases of UC and 42 cases of CD. The 2 × 2 contingency tables were prepared to calculate the odds ratio, significance and 95% confidence interval. Comparison between the group fed exclusively by breast milk or mixed, and the group fed by artificial (bottle) feeding alone for the development of inflammatory bowel disease, showed the following results: in UC, the odds ratio was 0.53 and the 95% confidence interval was 0.31 to 0.89; and in CD, the odds ratio was 0.30 and the 95% confidence interval was 0.13 to 0.70. These results indicated that breast feeding during infancy until postnatal 4 months might decrease the development of chronic inflammatory bowel disease

Biochemical Functions and mRNA Expression of Rat Hepatocytes in a Bioartificial Liver Module

Evaluation of hepatic functions of the bioartificial liver (BAL) module is essential for developing an optimal BAL system which can be applied to a patient with fulminant hepatic failure. Although hepatic function in BALs has been evaluated only in biochemical activities in previous reports, we assessed a newly designed BAL from a hollow fiber type not only in biochemical activities such as gluconeogenesis, ureogenesis and albumin synthesis but also in the expressions of albumin messenger RNA (mRNA) and cytochrome P450 2B1 mRNA by Northern blot analysis. One to 3 × 108 hepatocytes isolated from adult rats were suspended in hydrated collagen, loaded into a hollow fiber module and perfused with L-15 medium supplemented with various hormones for 2 to 13 days. Both production rates of glucose and urea nitrogen were highest on day 1 (610 ?g glucose/107 cells/h and 76.1 ?g urea nitrogen/107 cells/h, respectively). Ureogenesis was maintained for 8 days in BAL, but gluconeogenesis decreased after 7 days. Albumin production rate increased to day 3, reached its maximum (11.0 ?g/107 cells/h) and then gradually decreased. The expression of albumin mRNA was highest on day 2 and detectable until day 11. Cytochrome P450 2B1 mRNA was detected only on day 2. Northern blot analysis showed that the maintenance period in each hepatic function was different. These results suggested that assessment of the functions at a molecular level was invaluable in the development of a potential BAL for clinical use. It might be necessary to reconstruct the lobular system as well as a 3-dimensional environment for hepatocytes in the BAL to maintain the ability of detoxification such as cytochrome P450s

A Case of Nephrotic Syndrome with Nephrotoxicity Induced by Low-Dose Cyclosporin Treatment

We report a 3-year-old girl with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome (NS) who developed nephrotoxicity by low-dose cyclosporin (CsA) treatment. Initial prednisolone (PSL) treatment and subsequent additional cyclophosphamide treatment were not successful in leading her into remission. The first renal biopsy finding revealed neither a glomerular nor interstitial change. CsA therapy was initiated in addition to ongoing glucocorticoid therapy at 6 months from the time of onset. Proteinuria disappeared 3 weeks later and the patient went into complete remission. After experiencing the first relapse, the patient was gradually weaned from CsA, and treatment continued with 30 to 50 ng/mL of trough concentration. No elevations of the serum creatinine, serum urea, serum potassium, excretion of urinary β2-microglobulin, or urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase were demonstrated in the follow-up. A second renal biopsy specimen obtained 1 year later showed a tubulo-interstitial change, containing tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis, both of which are consistent with the morphological change associated with CsA nephrotoxicity. A follow-up biopsy should be done in order to evaluate the CsA nephrotoxicity, regardless of the treatment dosage

Antisynthetase syndrome: Pulmonary computed tomography findings of adult patients with antibodies to aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases

AbstractObjectivesTo describe the pulmonary CT findings in patients with anti-ARS-antibody-positive interstitial lung disease (anti-ARS-ILD)MethodsThe CT findings of 64 patients with anti-ARS-ILD were retrospectively reviewed. The images were retrospectively reviewed independently by 2 chest radiologists, and the final decision on the CT findings was made by a third chest radiologist.ResultsThere were 16 male and 48 female patients, aged 54.2±13.4 years. Sixteen patients had anti Jo-1, 24 had anti-EJ, 9 had anti-PL-7, 7 had anti-PL-12, 5 had anti-KS, and 3 had anti-OJ antibodies. Overall, 63 patients (98.4%) had CT findings predominantly in the lower lobe; 61 patients (95.3%) showed peripheral opacities, and 47 patients (73.4%) showed peribronchovascular opacities. Ground-glass attenuation, consolidation, and reticulation showed similar distribution patterns. Regarding detailed CT findings, 89.1% of patients had lower volume loss, 76.6% had interlobular septal thickening, and 67.2% had thickening of bronchovascular bundles. The final radiologic diagnoses were as follows: inconsistent with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) in 63 patients (98.4%), which included nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) in 35 patients (55.6%), organizing pneumonia (OP) in 4 patients (6.3%), and OP with fibrosis in 22 patients (34.9%).ConclusionsThe characteristic CT findings of patients with anti-ARS-ILD were areas of ground-glass attenuation and reticulation, predominantly distributed as lower and peribronchovascular lesions, which is compatible with NSIP. One-third of patients showed OP with fibrosis

Identification of 45 New Neutron-Rich Isotopes Produced by In-Flight Fission of a 238U Beam at 345 MeV/nucleon

A search for new isotopes using in-flight fission of a 345 MeV/nucleon 238U beam has been carried out at the RI Beam Factory at the RIKEN Nishina Center. Fission fragments were analyzed and identified by using the superconducting in-flight separator BigRIPS. We observed 45 new neutron-rich isotopes: 71Mn, 73,74Fe, 76Co, 79Ni, 81,82Cu, 84,85Zn, 87Ga, 90Ge, 95Se, 98Br, 101Kr, 103Rb, 106,107Sr, 108,109Y, 111,112Zr, 114,115Nb, 115,116,117Mo, 119,120Tc, 121,122,123,124Ru, 123,124,125,126Rh, 127,128Pd, 133Cd, 138Sn, 140Sb, 143Te, 145I, 148Xe, and 152Ba