Valproate lowered the amplitude of visual and somatosensory evoked potentials in two cases of untreated juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

Abstract  The amplitude of flash visual evoked potential (F-VEP) and somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) was found to be initially slightly higher in two untreated patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Patients were studied before and after complete control of seizures with valproate. In both patients valproate prolonged the latencies of the waves IV and V and lowered the amplitudes of waves V and VI of the F-VEP. The N20–P25 amplitude in SEP in both patients was also lowered by valproate. These results may suggest that slightly higher cortical excitability in untreated JME was controlled by valproate.     

Successful induction of immune tolerance by continuous infusion of recombinant factor VIII in a haemophilia A patient with high-inhibitor titres

The successful and persistent abolition of the inhibitor is of significant clinical benefit, as it allows for the restoration of the usual treatment with clotting factor concentrate. We describe a successful induction of immune tolerance by continuous infusion of recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) in a 5-year-old boy with severe haemophilia A and high-responding inhibitor. He had previously been subjected to immune tolerance induction (ITI) with rFVIII at 100 units (U) kg(-1) three times weekly. One year after the beginning of therapy tolerance was not achieved and a high titer of inhibitor was detected (15 Bethesda Units). The patient had a sudden onset of severe neck pain. The diagnosis of spinal epidural haematoma was revealed by magnetic resonance imaging, and emergency laminectomy with evacuation of the haematoma was required. The patient received sequential therapy for surgery first as bolus rFVIII injection of 500 U kg(-1) in order to overwhelm the inhibitor and then as continuous infusion at 6 to 12 U kg(-1) hour(-1) to avoid bleeding episodes in the postoperative period. After the 3 weeks of continuous infusion, the inhibitor became undetectable. Thereafter, prophylactic treatment with rFVIII was started three times weekly, and the inhibitor has remained undetectable for 6 months. The, present case suggests that continuous infusion of rFVIII may be an effective therapy to induce immune tolerance.     

Power Doppler imaging of hepatic tumours: Differential diagnosis between hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic adenocarcinoma

We evaluated the usefulness of power Doppler imaging in the differential diagnosis between hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic adenocarcinoma. Forty-seven patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 18 patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma were evaluated using power Doppler imaging. The colour signals of hepatic tumours were graded as follows: 1, colour signals only in the marginal area; 2, small dot or dotted line colour signals within the tumours; 3, continuous solid line colour signals within the tumours. The grade 3 colour signals were classified in the following three patterns; winding line pattern, stretched line pattern and mixed pattern. The colour signals of hepatocellular carcinoma were grade 1 in seven patients, grade 2 in 11 and grade 3 in 29. The colour signals of metastatic adenocarcinoma were grade 1 in three patients and grade 3 in 15. Of the 29 hepatocellular carcinoma patients with a grade 3 signal, 26 patients had winding line patterns and three had mixed patterns. Of the 15 metastatic adenocarcinoma patients with a grade 3 signal, 12 patients had stretched line patterns and three had mixed patterns. In conclusion, power Doppler imaging is useful in the differential diagnosis between hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic adenocarcinoma to evaluate the colour signal pattern within the tumour.     

大豆异黄酮对α-葡萄糖苷酶和α-淀粉酶的抑制作用

[目的 ]研究大豆异黄酮类对α 葡萄糖苷酶 (EC 3.2 .1.2 0 )和α 淀粉酶 (EC 3.2 .1.1)的抑制作用 ,以期为揭示大豆异黄酮类在糖尿病中的作用及机理提供依据 .[方法 ]以C18柱层析和高效液相色谱法分离大豆异黄酮类 ,以薄层色谱法、高效液相色谱法和核磁共振检测各组分 ,并用比色法测定各单体组分对酵母α 葡萄糖苷酶和猪α 胰淀粉酶的抑制活性 .抑制酶活性 5 0 %时所需的抑制剂浓度定义为半抑制浓度 .[结果 ]大豆异黄酮具有很强的α 葡萄糖苷酶抑制作用 ,其半抑制浓度值为 2 0～ 15 0μmol/L,其中金雀异黄素的为最强 ,而大豆异黄酮葡萄糖苷形式对α 葡萄糖苷酶的抑制活性较其游离配糖体形式为弱 ,其半抑制浓度值为 2 0 0～ 6 0 0 μmol/L .大豆异黄酮及其糖苷形式均具有α 淀粉酶抑制作用 ,当抑制剂浓度为 1g/L时 ,对α 淀粉酶的抑制率为 10 %～ 2 0 % .大豆异黄酮的丙二酰葡萄糖苷形式则无α 葡萄糖苷酶和α 淀粉酶抑制作用 .[结论 ]大豆异黄酮类具有α 葡萄糖苷酶和α 淀粉酶抑制活性 ,且呈剂量依赖性 .表明 ,食用富含异黄酮类的大豆及其制品对改善非胰岛素依赖型糖尿病症状、防止血糖升高有利     

轮叶党参提取物的生化作用

目的 研究轮叶党参提取成分抗血小板凝集、抗氧化及清除自由基的作用.方法 70%甲醇提取,分离成水相和正丁醇相,得到组份F1和F2.在分别加入F1和F2的条件下,按常规测定人血小板凝集率;在低密度脂蛋白的氧化反应体系中分别加入F1和F2,观察其抗氧化性;将F1和F2分别与一种稳定的自由基反应,观察其清除自由基的作用.结果 与对照组比较,F1有明显的降低血小板凝集率的作用(P＜0.01);F1和F2具有很强的抗氧化作用(P＜0.01);F1具有显著的清除自由基作用.结论 非水溶性组分F1具有显著的抗氧化和防止血栓形成的作用,而且其抗氧化作用可能通过清除自由基实现.F2也有相似的作用,但稍逊于F1的作用.     

Significance of Periappendiceal Inflammation in the Patients with Distal Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract: To study the clinical significance of periappendiceal inflammation in patients with distal ulcerative colitis, we reviewed sixteen patients who underwent total colono-scopy from January in 1995 to September in 1998 in our department, and compared the clinicopathological findings in the patients with and without this lesion. Four of sixteen patients (25%) had periappendiceal inflammation. The patients with periappendiceal inflammation tended to be younger and had a significantly shorter duration of disease. Two of the patients with periappendiceal inflammation were one-attack-only type and 2 cases were relapse-remitting type, while all the other cases without this inflammation were relapse-remitting type. The periappendiceal lesion was observed on initial colono-scopy in 3 of the 4 patients. Severity was mild in all patients with periappendiceal inflammation while 4 cases were moderate and 1 case was severe in the other patients. The periappendiceal lesion and main lesion of the patients with periappendiceal inflammation were histological grades 2 or 3, while the main lesion varied up to grades 4 or 5 in the other patients. These findings suggested that distal ulcerative colitis patients with periappendiceal inflammation may have a relatively mild disease course. In addition, periappendiceal inflammation was thought to develop in the early stage of the disease course. (Dig Endosc 1999; 11: 119–124)     

A Type IIc Like Advanced Carcinoma of the Sigmoid Colon —A Case Report—

Abstract: We studied a patient with a sigmoid colon carcinoma, which looked like a type IIc carcinoma when it was, in fact, an advanced carcinoma. This lesion was considered to have developed from an early carcinoma with a depressed appearance. A 79-year-old woman was admitted complaining of a small amount of rectal bleeding. A barium enema examination revealed a flat elevated lesion with converging folds. A colonoscopy revealed a slightly reddish lesion with a central depression 40～50 cm from the anal verge. A biopsy specimen revealed the features of a well differentiated adenocarcinoma. A sigmoidectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. The resected specimen showed a tumor which looked like a so-called type IIc advanced carcinoma, measuring 10×6 mm in size. This lesion was histologically diagnosed as being a well differentiated adenocarcinoma without any adenomatous component. The tumor showed a massive invasion into the submucosal layer and a slight invasion into the proper muscle layer.     

Blocking Effects of Maternal Serum-IgG and Placental Eluate-IgG on Materno-Fetal Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction and Their Individual Specificity*

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to clarify the problem regarding individual specificity of maternal serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and placental eluate IgG that block the unidirectional mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) in which maternal and cord blood lymphocytes (lys) were used as responder and stimulator, respectively. Both maternal serum IgG and placental eluate IgG were found to include blocking antibodies (BA) which showed similar blocking effect on MLR. But, in the case of serum IgG, individual specificity of BA on MLR was observed to be less great in MLR done using whole lys or T-enriched lys of the cord blood as stimulator, whereas it became greatly significant when MLR was done using B-enriched lys of the cord blood as stimulator. This was the case even in MLR done by using unrelated maternal lys as responder. On the other hand, in the case of placental eluate, it was found to be greater when compared to serum IgG even where MLR was done using not only B lys but also T lys as stimulator. It is thus strongly suggested that BA include individual specific antibodies against fetal B lys having HLA-D/DR locus determinants in addition to individually nonspecific antibodies common to pregnancy which may be produced to a “yet unknown fetal antigen.”