Living related renal transplantation for end-stage renal disease after liver transplantation from a brain-dead donor

We report a case in which a living related renal transplantation was successfully performed for end-stage renal disease that had progressed after a liver transplantation from a brain-dead donor for liver cirrhosis associated with type C hepatitis. Because the transplanted liver function had been excellent with the use of tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil, the same immunosuppressive agents with prednisolone were employed for the renal transplantation. Both grafts are functioning well without recurrence of hepatitis at 10 months after the renal transplantation. From our experience, renal transplantation should not be contraindicated even if the patient has undergone liver transplantation or has hepatitis C viral infection.     

Atrioventricular Septal Defect in Rat Fetuses Induced by Administration of Bisdiamine

ABSTRACT A high incidence of atrioventricular septal defect was induced in rat fetuses by administration of N, N -his (dichloroacetyl)-1, 8-octamethylenediamine, bisdiamine, to pregnant Donryu rats. Induction of atrioventricular septal defect was highly dependent on day of bisdiamine administration. When bisdiamine was administered singly on day 9.4 of gestation or consecutively on days 9 and 10 of gestation, the incidence of atrioventricular septal defect in fetuses increased. Survival rate decreased with increase in the amount of bisdiamine administered. Normalized incidence ⁵ for atrioventricular septal defect, which was calculated as a product of incidence and survival rate, was as high as 54.5% when 175 mg bisdiamine was administered on day 9.4 of gestation. Atrioventricular septal defect thus formed was of the complete type associated with either persistent truncus arteriosus or tetralogy of Fallot, indicating that the conotruncal portion was unexceptionally malformed. The present model is useful for analysis of development and pathogenesis of atrioventricular septal defect and also contributes to clarifying the normal development of atrioventricular valves and septa.     

A partially degraded form of human plasminogen in circulating blood

Summary A method for separate measurement of the amounts of the native form and partially degraded form of plasminogen and plasmin in human circulating blood was devised based on their different mobilities on disc polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The relative amounts in the circulating blood as estimated by the method were as follows: 78.5% native form, 6.1% partially degraded form and 15.5% plasmin, in the resting state of healthy adults. The partially degraded form increased to about 50% after strenuous exercise load. The present study showed that relatively large amounts of the partially degraded form can be produced in the circulating blood, even though abundant plasmin inhibitors exist there. These data suggest that the partially degraded form may play an important role in thrombolysis in vivo.     

Restraining factors affecting setting expansion of phosphate-bonded investments

Abstract — The effects of several factors on the setting expansion of a phosphate-bonded investment used in a steel casting ring were studied. The results show that the setting expansion under the conditions analyzed can be characterized only as a most unreliable means to partly compensate for the solid thermal contraction of casting alloys in a precision-requiring technique.     

Pathogenesis of a Bisdiamine-Induced Malformation Complex in Rat Resembling DiGeorge Syndrome

Abstract Administration of the antispermatogenic agent bis-diamine (N, N'-bis-(dichloroacetyl)-1, 8-octamethylenediamine) to pregnant rats produced a malformation complex resembling DiGeorge syndrome in man. The malformations consisted of hypoplasia or aplasia of the thymus, persistent truncus arteriosus, tetralogy of Fallot, aberrant subclavian artery and other cardiovascular anomalies, as well as hypoplasia of the parathyroid gland, thyroid gland, and the spleen. The malformation complex appeared with a high incidence when the drug was administered on day 9.5 or day 10 of gestation.
Since the connective tissues of the thymus, aorticopulmonary septum, smooth muscles of the media of the aortic arch artery, and connective tissues of the parathyroid and the thyroid glands, are of neural crest origin, and since the time of their migration is around day 10 of gestation, we postulate that the action of bis-diamine might be involution of the migration of the neural crest cells and of its pathways.
We further suggest from the findings of persistent atrioventricular canal and hypoplasia of the spleen, that the drug must have also affected the growth of mesenchymal cells, which originate from the endocardial epithelial cells.     

Clinical observation of 14 cases of childhood polyarteritis nodosa in Japan

An epidemiological survey of childhood polyarteritis nodosa was conducted at 1290 hospitals followed by a secondary survey of hospitals that had therapeutic experience with the disease. Fourteen cases obtained from these surveys were studied clinically. The male-female ratio was 4:3. The mean age at onset was 10.6 years. To established the diagnosis, skin biopsy was performed in 43%, retrograde aortography in 21%, and kidney biopsy in 14% of cases. Non-specific symptoms such as fever (86%), skin eruption (50%), arthritis (50%), myalgia (50%), abdominal pain (43%) and hypertension (36%) were often noted as clinical findings at the initial visit. Throughout the clinical course, symptoms considered to be caused by local angiopathy, including interrupted blood circulation, were frequently noted. On blood tests, no specific findings other than acute inflammatory reaction were observed. Steroid preparations were used for treatment in all cases but one, and about half of them are presently free from steroids. Immunosuppressants were administered in 10 cases. As for prognosis, all patients are alive, but untoward sequelae were noted in 36% of cases. The results of the present survey reinforced the difficulty of establishing a final differential diagnosis because specific findings were scarce for this disease, as stated in previous reports. Establishing a method for early diagnosis by gathering and analyzing more data in detail will be necessary in the future.