Effects of allergen controlled cosmetics on hyperpigmented dermatitis

Prior to the late 1970s, cosmetic dermatitis was quite common in Japan. Once sensitizers were established, in cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, and other commonly used substances, effective treatment was only possible if the cycle of recrudescence could be broken. The Allergen Controlled System accomplished this by preventing contact with the main contact sensitizers.Although the number of cases of pigmented cosmetic dermatitis has declined because of restrictions on the use of several major sensitizers, the Allergen Controlled System remains an effective treatment for the cases that still occur.     

Bacteriological study of cefminox in the field of obstetrics and gynecology

Cefminox (CMNX, MT-141), a new cephem antibiotic, was determined of its antibacterial activity against 304 clinical isolates with following results. CMNX was inferior to CEZ or CMZ in the activity against 78 isolates of Staphylococcus sp., but it was superior to these antibiotics in the activity against 104 isolates of E. coli. Against 53 isolates of Bacteroides sp., CMNX showed higher activity than CEZ or CMZ. In the activity against 69 isolates of Peptococcus sp. and Peptostreptococcus sp., CMNX was almost equal to CEZ.     

Evaluation of lumbar tap test combined with mean cerebral blood flow measurement and electroencephalographic topography on idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients

PURPOSE: To improve the diagnostic precision of the lumbar tap test (LTT). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty one patients (mean age, 65.4 years; male to female ratio, 12:19) suspected of having idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) were used in the study. They underwent LTT (20-30 ml of cerebrospinal fluid was drained through a puncture with a 18 G needle; evaluation within 3 days after LTT). Based on changes in symptoms after LTT, including dementia (evaluated according to the duration of time needed to accomplish No. 7 items in the N method psychofunction test) and gait disturbance (evaluated according to the duration and the number of steps needed to walk 4 m in a straight line), mean cerebral blood flow (mCBF) monitored with 133Xe-CT, and electroencephalographic topography (EEG-T). The patients were divided into symptom-improved [LTT (+)] and no change [LTT(-)] groups. Changing patterns of EEG-T and mCBF after LTT and the efficacy of V-P shunt at 1 month after shunt administration (effective: E; non-effective: NE) were analyzed and compared. Changing patterns of EEG-T and mCBF after LTT were categorized as improvement of both parameters (type A), that of mCBF only (type B), that of EEG-T only (type C), and no change in either parameter (type D). RESULTS: (1) Twenty patients were classified as LTT(+) and eleven as LTT(-). (2) The false positive rate was 25% (5/20) for LTT(+); the false negative rate was 27.3% (3/11) for LTT (-). (3) In all the patients, in relation to changing patterns of EEG-T and mCBF, 100% of type A patients (9/9), 75% of type B (6/8), 42.9% of type C (3/7), and 0% of type D (0/7) responded to shunting. (4) Increased rates (IR) of mCBF in 17 patients with improvement of mCBF were 24.2 +/- 10.6% in E patients and 8.9 +/- 5.2% in NE patients, demonstrating a significantly higher percentage in E patients (p < 0.005). The borderline of IR between E and NE was around 15%. CONCLUSION: (1) Although quantitative evaluation of symptoms (dementia and gait disturbance) before and after LTT, 27.3% of false negative and 25% of false positive were recognized. (2) According to changing patterns of EEG-T and mCBF after LTT, all type A patients responded to shunting (E), whereas type D patients were all categorized as NE. (3) When the IR of mCBF was 15% or more after LTT, such patients all responded to shunting. (4) The diagnostic precision of LTT in efficacy evaluation is improved when this test is combined with EEG-T and mCBF, in addition to quantitative evaluation of symptoms.     

Sustained spatial disturbance of bile canalicular networks during regeneration of the steatotic rat liver

BACKGROUND: Although it is generally considered that livers with moderate steatosis can be safely used in the setting of living-donor liver transplantation, the effect of the regenerative process of such a graft on postoperative liver function is incompletely understood. We assessed the morphologic and functional alterations during the regeneration of fatty liver, with special reference to the biliary system. METHODS: Wistar rats with normal or fatty livers induced by a choline-deficient diet were subjected to 70% partial hepatectomy (PH). The regenerated liver weight and serum parameters were compared. Furthermore, to assess the spatial alterations of bile canalicular networks, the distribution of AGp110, a fibronectin receptor that localizes on the apical (bile canalicular) membrane of the hepatocytes, was analyzed immunohistochemically. RESULTS: The serum albumin levels of the fatty-liver rats decreased significantly after 24 hours, and this continued until day 7. The increase in the total bile acid levels of the fatty-liver group was higher and more prolonged compared with that of the normal-liver group. At 24 hours after PH, discontinuity of the AGp110-positive canalicular network was evident in both groups. At 7 days after PH, the typical AGp110-positive canalicular network was almost restored in the normal-liver group. In contrast, the fatty-liver group showed sustained discontinuity of canalicular networks at the same time point. CONCLUSIONS: The livers with moderate steatosis are associated with prolonged cholestasis after 70% PH, and this was caused, in part, by sustained spatial disturbance of bile canalicular networks during the regenerative process.     

Measurement of carpal canal and median nerve pressure in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a compression neuropathy wherein the median nerve is compressed inside of the carpal canal. Its diagnosis is made clinically, electrophysiologically, and sometimes by carpal canal pressure measurement. The objective of surgical management of this condition is the decompression of the median nerve. We usually measure carpal canal pressure preoperatively and postoperatively using a continuous infusion technique for diagnoses as well as for postoperative evaluation of decompression following our Universal Subcutaneous Endoscope system procedure. To evaluate whether our procedure effectively decompressed the median nerve, we measured intraneural pressure preoperatively and postoperatively in the resting position, with active power grip, and in the Okutsu test position. Correlation between the carpal canal pressure and intraneural median nerve pressure was statistically analyzed using the Kendall rank correlation coefficient (n = 157 hands). A significant correlation was present preoperatively in resting position and postoperatively with active power grip and in the Okutsu test position. Because of this correlation, we conclude that our endoscopic operative procedure effectively decompresses the median nerve and that simple carpal canal pressure measurement is sufficient to confirm diagnoses and to evaluate the status of postoperative decompression.     

Taurine alters respiratory gas exchange and nutrient metabolism in type 2 diabetic rats

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of taurine supplementation on respiratory gas exchange, which might reflect the improved metabolism of glucose and/or lipid in the type 2 diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Male OLETF rats (16 weeks of age) were randomly divided into two groups: unsupplemented group and taurine-supplemented (3% in drinking water) group. After 9 weeks of treatment, indirect calorimetry and insulin tolerance tests were conducted. The amounts of visceral fat pads, tissue glycogen, the blood concentrations of glucose, triacylglycerol, taurine, and electrolytes, and the level of hematocrit were compared between groups. A nondiabetic rat strain (Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka) was used as the age-matched normal control. RESULTS: The indirect calorimetry showed that the treatment of OLETF rats with taurine could reduce a part of postprandial glucose oxidation possibly responsible for the increase of triacylglycerol synthesis in the body. Taurine supplementation also improved hyperglycemia and insulin resistance and increased muscle glycogen content in the OLETF rats. Supplementation with taurine increased the blood concentration of taurine and electrolyte and fluid volume, all of which were considered to be related to the improvement of metabolic disturbance in OLETF rats. DISCUSSION: Taurine supplementation may be an effective treatment for glucose intolerance and fat/lipid accumulation observed in type 2 diabetes associated with obesity. These metabolic changes might be ascribed, in part, to the alteration of circulating blood profiles, where the improved hyperglycemia and/or the blood accumulation of taurine itself would play roles.