Determination of hypotaurine and taurine in blood plasma of rats after the administration of L-cysteine.

A method for the simultaneous determination of hypotaurine and taurine was developed. The method consisted of the elimination of urea, which interfered with the determination of hypotaurine, by immobilized urease, and determination of hypotaurine and taurine with an amino acid analyzer. The analyzer equipped with a cation-exchange column was operated at 32 degrees C with 0.2 M sodium citrate buffer, pH 2.8. Using this method, the dynamics of hypotaurine and taurine in blood plasma of rats was studied after the intraperitoneal injection of L-cysteine. The concentration of cysteine reached the maximum 1 h after L-cysteine loading. The concentration of hypotaurine and taurine increased in parallel and reached the maximum 2 h after L-cysteine loading. These changes seem to indicate the precursor-product relationship of these substances and the rapid conversion of hypotaurine to taurine in vivo.</p

Excretion of 3-Mercaptolactate-Cysteine Disulfide, Sulfate and Taurine in human Urine before and after Oral Administration of Sulfur-containing Amino Acids.

The excretion of 3-mercaptolactate-cysteine mixed disulfide [S-(2-hydroxy-2-carboxyethylthio)-L-cysteine, HCETC], sulfate and taurine in the urine of normal adults was investigated before and after oral administration of L-cysteine and related sulfur-containing amino acids. Before the loading of amino acids, the excretion (mean +/- SD) per kg of body weight per day of HCETC, free sulfate and taurine was 0.096 +/- 0.042, 305.7 +/- 66.1 and 31.9 +/- 8.7 mumols, respectively. After the loading of L-cysteine (800 mumols/kg of body weight), the average excretion in the 24-h urine of HCETC increased 2-fold and that of taurine increased 1.6-fold. The average excretion of free sulfate after the L-cysteine loading was 989.4 +/- 145.1 and 388.8 +/- 51.6 mumols/kg per day in the first and second 24-h urine, respectively, indicating that the sulfur corresponding to 85% of the L-cysteine loaded was excreted as free sulfate in 24 h. Administration of L-cystine (400 mumols/kg) resulted in similar results. The increase in HCETC after L-cysteine or L-cystine administration indicates that L-cysteine is metabolized in part through the transamination pathway (3-mercaptopyruvate pathway) and that an equilibrium exists between the intake and excretion of sulfur in humans.</p

コウカセイ エシセイ ジュウカクエン オ ハッショウ シタ カガク チシ シュウイエン ノ 1レイ

We present a case of pericoronitis of lower wisdom tooth leading to descending necrotizing mediastinitis. A 52-year-old man visited our hospital because of swelling and pain in buccal region on the right side in spite of chemotherapeutics at a practicing physician, whose diabetic nephropathy had been treated with dialysis treatment by the same physician. Orthopantomography elucidated an impacted wisdom tooth of the right side mandible and osteosclerosis around there. CT revealed inflammatory thickening of subcutaneous fat tissue from buccal to cervical region. In the blood examination, the values of WBCs, RBCs, platelets, CRP, AST, LDH, TG, BUN, creatinine, GLU, K and Ca increased abnormally, while those of hemoglobin, MCV，MCH，MCHC, albumin, Cl, decreased extraordinarily. Immediate medication of antibiotics was worked out under a clinical diagnosis of pericoronitis of lower wisdom tooth, periostitis of the mandible and cervical cellulitis. Nevertheless, rapid inflamation progressed downward; mediastinal abscess was found by CT image taken 6 days later from the beginning of the therapy. Immediately, extraction of pathogenic teeth, cervical drainage, and transcervical and transthoracic mediastinal drainage were performed under a diagnosis of descending necrotizing mediastinitis. Moreover, bacterial examination was performed using a pus specimen derived from abscess; α-Streptococcus and Prevotella intermedia were detected. CT taken 2 weeks later from the beginning of the therapy revealed continuing bilateral pleural and pericardial effusion in spite of intensive care. Unfortunately he was died of multi organ failure caused by septic shock a month later from the beginning of the therapy

バッシゴ シュッケツ オ ケイキ ニ シンダン サレタ コウレイシャ ニオケル センテンセイ ケツユウビョウ A ﾉ 1レイ

Hemophilia A is often diagnosed by gingival change, traumatic injuries, or bleeding after extraction in childhood, but rarely in senior age. We experienced that a 66 year-old man was diagnosed as hemophilia A by bleeding after tooth extraction. He was referred to our hospital for control the bleeding after tooth extraction. Although we tried to stop bleeding by local hemostasis, we repeated to bleed several times. Then we examined the level of hemorrhage factors. As a result, the patient was diagnosed as moderate hemophilia A, and he received recombinant factor VIII intravenously. After that, the bleeding had been stopped completely

Replication study of the association of SNPs in the LHX3-QSOX2 and IGF1 loci with adult height in the Japanese population; wide-ranging comparison of each SNP genotype distribution

Adult height is a highly heritable trait involving multiple genes. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified that SNP rs12338076 in the LHX3-QSOX2 locus, and rs1457595 and rs17032362 in the IGF1 locus are associated with human height in the Japanese population (Okada et al. (2010)[9]). We performed a replication study to examine the associations between these three SNPs and adult height in the Japanese population based on autopsy cases. However, it was not possible to confirm that all these SNPs influenced adult height in the study population. We first conducted a wide-ranging survey of these three SNPs in the above genes using nine different populations including Asians, Africans and Caucasians, and demonstrated that the genotypes of rs12338076 and rs17032362 were distributed in an ethnicity-dependent manner; even within Asian populations, the genotype distributions of the SNPs differed widely. Although there are differences in height distribution between different populations, possibly due to genetic factors and/or gene-environmental interactions, the contradictory results of the association study and ethnic differences in genotype distribution allow us to assume that these height-related SNPs in the genes may contribute to adult height to a slight extent, at least in the Japanese population. It is anticipated that the present information will be useful for developing a reliable tool for personal identification through elucidation of the genetic basis of human height

The relationship between atopic dermatitis and indoor environmental factors : a cross-sectional study among Japanese elementary school children

Objectives: This study aimed to determine that home environmental factors were associated with atopic dermatitis in Japanese elementary school children. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 4,254 children in 12 public elementary schools in Sapporo city in Hokkaido, Japan were examined. Atopic dermatitis was defined using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. The questionnaires also contained 14 questions about the child’s home environment. To obtain multivariate-adjusted ORs for atopic dermatitis in relation to the home environment, we controlled for possible confounders including gender, school grade, parental history of allergies, number of siblings, and whether the child was firstborn. The study participants were then divided into two groups according to gender, and a stratified analysis was performed to obtain adjusted ORs for atopic dermatitis in relation to the home environment. Results: The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in our sample was 16.7 %. Using fully adjusted models, the risk factors for atopic dermatitis were found to be the household use of a non-electric heating system without a ventilation duct to the outside (compared to the use of an electric heating system), having visible mould in the house, having a mouldy odour in the house, and condensation on the windowpanes in the house odds ratios (OR 1.25–1.54). In our stratified analysis, having visible mould and having a mouldy odour in the house were relevantly found to be risk factors for boys (OR 1.28–1.64). However, these associations were not found among girls. Conclusions: To improve children’s health, further study is needed to corroborate the findings

Randomised controlled pilot study in Japan comparing a home visit program using a Functioning Improvement Tool with a home visit with conversation alone

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of a home visit program using a Functioning Improvement Tool (FIT) compared with a home visit using conversation alone. Methods: Twenty-eight participants (mean age, 78.6±7.5 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 13) or control (n = 15) group for 3 months. The intervention group received a 60-minute FIT home visit program; the control group received a 30-minute home visit using common conversational techniques. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores were evaluated. Results: The FAB score was significantly improved in the intervention group compared with the control group (2.5 vs -0.5, P = 0.02). Conclusions: Our FIT home visit program may help prevent dementia. Further studies with larger samples and longer follow-up periods are needed to assess the long-term effectiveness of an FIT home visit program on dementia prevention (UMIN-CTR number, UMIN000004767.