Smoking behaviour and personality: a population-based study in Japan

Abstract Aims . The aim of our study was to determine whether the previously reported findings also apply to a general population in Japan and whether, among current smokers, such personality characteristics can be correlated with the age they started to smoke and their present daily consumption of cigarettes . Design . Cross-sectional survey . Setting . Miyagi prefecture, in northern Japan . Participants . 20 538 residents in Miyagi, aged 40-64 years . Measurement . A self-administered questionnaire involving smoking status (current, ex- and non-smokers) and patterns and the Japanese version of the short-form Eysenck Personality QuestionnaireRevised (EPQ-R) . Findings . (1) Current and ex-smokers were higher on Extraversion and Psychoticism than non-smokers for both genders. (2) Heavy smokers were higher on Psychoticism than light smokers and those who started to smoke prior to the legally permitted age were higher on Psychoticism than those who did not . Conclusions . (1) Our study confirmed that the findings which had been previously reported in selected samples in western countries also apply to a general population in Japan; (2) current smokers were found to be heterogeneous in terms of Psychoticism when the age they started to smoke and their present daily consumption of cigarettes were taken into account.     

CASE REPORT: Fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis after living related-donor renal transplantation

A 43-year-old man underwent living related-donor renal transplantation because of chronic renal failure in 1991. During the transplant period, both donor and recipient were seronegative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The donor was seropositive for antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination. After transplantation, FK506 and methylprednisolone had been administered to the patient as immunosuppressants. In 1993, HBsAg appeared in his serum. His alanine aminotransferase level elevated gradually during 1995 and then in 1996, general fatigue, ascites and jaundice developed. At this time his serum was positive for hepatitis B e antibody, contained more than 100000 Meq/mL HBV-DNA and 100% precore mutant. Despite subsequent intensive therapy, liver dysfunction progressed and this patient died of hepatic failure 2 months following admission. At autopsy, the liver exhibited cholestasis, fibrosis extending from the portal tracts, mild inflammation and hepatocytes with a ground-glass appearance. In addition, HBsAg and hepatitis B core antigens had accumulated in the hepatocytes. Consequently, the final diagnosis was fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis (FCH) due to precore mutant HBV infection contracted after renal transplantation. It is unclear when and where the recipient liver became HBV infected. Nevertheless, after renal transplantation, while receiving immunosuppressive drugs, HBV appeared to have the potential to cause hepatic failure and FCH may have been a fatal complication for the recipient.     

Bepridil Prevents Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation by a Class III Antiarrhythmic Drug Effect

YOSHIDA, T., et al .: Bepridil Prevents Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation by a Class III Antiarrhythmic Drug Effect. Background: Bepridil, a multiple ion-channel blocker, has been reported to prevent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). The f-f interval of PAF during treatment with bepridil versus class Ic antiarrhythmic drugs was compared. Methods: Fifty-two patients with PAF were randomized to bepridil, 200 mg/day   (n = 14)   versus flecainide, 100 to 200 mg/day   (n = 15)   or pilsicainide, 75 to 150 mg/day  ( n = 23)   . The drug was considered effective when symptomatic episodes of PAF were decreased to < 50% during a follow-up of 2 to 6 months. The f-f interval was measured in 12-lead ECGs of initial PAF episodes. Results: Bepridil and Ic were effective in 10 of 14 (71.4%) and 24 of 38 patients (63.2%), respectively (ns). In the Ic group, the f-f interval was longer in successfully   (114 ± 48  ms)   than in unsuccessfully   (68 ± 25  ms)   treated patients   (P = 0.002)   . In the bepridil group, the f-f interval was shorter in successfully   (84 ± 27  ms)   than unsuccessfully   (155 ± 68  ms)   treated patients   (P = 0.015)   . When comparing unsuccessfully treated patients, the f-f interval in the bepridil group was significantly longer than in the Ic group   (P = 0.007)   . Conclusions: Bepridil was as effective as Ic drugs in the prevention of PAF. Because it was more effective in smaller (functional) than larger (anatomical) reentrant circuits, the effect of bepridil was considered to be mainly attributable to a class III antiarrhythmic action. (PACE 2003; 26[Pt. II]:314–317)     

A case of intractable diarrhea firmly suspected to have autoimmune enteropathy

Protracted diarrhea with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypothyroidism in a 9 month old Japanese girl who was firmly suspected to have autoimmune enteropathy (AIE) is reported. Her severe secretory diarrhea failed to respond to intensive antidiarrheic treatment and was gradually improved with steroid therapy. The circulating autoantibodies to enterocytes in her serum were detected by indirect immunofluorescence technique and the impaired suppressor T (Ts) cell function was proved by plaque forming assay using bead-separated CD4 or CD8 T cells together with CD19 B cells. The anti-enterocyte antibodies were exclusively of immunoglobulin M (IgM) class and were detected with the progress of the protracted diarrhea. Maximum antibody titer was obtained at the onset of DM and the disappearance of autoantibodies was associated with the resolution of the clinical symptoms and signs. The helper functions of adult CD4 T cells to induce Ig-secreting cells from adult and the patient were strikingly suppressed by adult CD8 T cells. However, the CD8 T cells from the patient lost the ability to inhibit the induction of these Ig-secreting cells when stimulated with adult CD4 T cells. Moreover, the patient's CD8 T cells stimulated rather than suppressed the induction of Ig-secreting cells from the patient when stimulated with the patient's CD4 T cells. These results suggest that the impaired Ts cell function in this patient might play some immunological role in the pathogenesis of AIE     

Nipradilol, a new β-blocker with vasodilatory properties, in experimental portal hypertension: A comparative haemodynamic study with propranolol

The haemodynamic effects of nipradilol, a new non-selective β-adrenoreceptor blocker with vasodilating actions like nitroglycerin, were examined in rats with portal hypertension due to portal vein stenosis. Portal hypertensive rats were divided into five groups receiving infusion of placebo, 3 mg of propranolol, 300, 600 and 1200 μg of nipradilol. At its highest dose, nipradilol achieved a reduction of 34.4 ± 4.4% in heart rate which was similar to that in the propranolol group (36.5 ± 2.4%). Also for other systemic haemodynamic parameters, the nipradilol 1200 μg group exhibited changes not significantly different from those in the propranolol group; mean arterial pressure (- 13 vs - 14%), cardiac index (- 37 vs - 31%) and systemic vascular resistance (+ 29 vs+ 32%). In contrast to the similar changes in the systemic circulation, a 1200 μg dose of nipradilol lowered portal pressure significantly more than propranolol (- 4.3 ± 0.6 vs - 2.9 ± 0.2 mmHg, P≤ 0.05). Nipradilol then reduced portal blood flow by 22% (P≤ 0.05) without a significant change in portocollateral resistance. On the other hand, propranolol not only caused a reduction in portal blood flow of 30% (P≤ 0.01), but also an increase in portocollateral resistance of 21% (P≤ 0.05). The results suggest that nipradilol may ensure a more effective control of portal hypertension than propranolol, presumably via its venodilatory action on portocollateral vessels.     

Hyperbaric oxygen stimulates cell proliferation and normalizes multidrug resistance protein-2 protein localization in primary rat hepatocytes

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) has been used for many clinical treatments, including primary liver non-function. However, the cellular mechanism by which HBO treatment ameliorates liver function is not understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to elucidate this cellular mechanism using primary cultured rat hepatocytes in in vitro studies. Hepatocytes were treated with HBO at 1 day after plating, and the morphological and functional characteristics of bile canaliculi formed in cultured hepatocytes were observed by time-lapse microscopy. Multidrug resistance protein-2 localization was observed by confocal laser microscopy. In cultured hepatocytes, the labeling index in the HBO group at 2 days after treatment was significantly higher than that in the control group. In addition, the proliferating cellular nuclear antigen level in the HBO group was significantly higher than that in the control group. The contraction of the bile canaliculi in the HBO group was slower than in the control group and the dilatation of bile canaliculi in the HBO group was much larger than in the control group. Multidrug resistance protein-2 in the HBO group was localized at the apical membrane. These results show that HBO stimulates hepatocytes to proliferate and HBO normalizes multidrug resistance protein-2 localization to the apical membrane, which could dilate bile canaliculi.     

Synchronous Germ Cell Tumors of the Bilateral Testes: A Report of a Case and a Review of the Japanese Literature

Bilateral testicular germ cell tumor is a rare entity clinicallyand pathologically. However, simultaneous development of thetumor in the contralateral testis is not so rare in proportionas generally expected. Herein we report a case of a synchronouslyoccurring tumors of the bilateral testes and discuss the possiblepathogenesis of this rare condition.     

Serum Cholesterol in Children with Hepatoma

Among some features of primary hepatoma in infants and children,the authors noticed remarkable hypercholesterolemia (over 500mg/dl) in 5 cases among 10. The patients with remarkable hypercholesterolemia(over 500 mg/dl) were all less than 2 years old. And in oldercases only one revealed hypercholesterolemia (less than 500mg/dl). Relationship between histological types of the tumor and theserum cholesterol level was then studied. Hypercholesterolemiawas observed in those cases in which fetal type was the majorcomponent of the tumor. A histological type of one case, inwhich the age was less than 2 years and no hypercholesterolemiawas observed, was purely anaplatic. Estimation of the serum cholesterol is valuable not only inthe diagnosis but also in careful follow up of case with primaryhepatoma in infants and children, since in cases with hypercholesterolemiathe serum cholesterol levels fluctuated in parallel with thesize of the tumor. It decreased after hepatectomy and increasedagain with recurrence of the tumor. Hepatoma is one of the common malignant tumors found in adultsin Japan. Edmondson (1956) wrote that there was a strange absenceof reported cases of liver cell carcinoma in childhood in thoseparts of the world where there was high frequency of liver cellcarcinoma. However, since the first case of primary hapatomain a child was reported in 1910 by Miwa, Tokyo University, morethan 100 cases of this type of malignant tumor have been onrecord in Japan. In National Cancer Center Hospital, a total of 12 cases of primarycarcinoma of the liver in infants and children was observedamong 310 cases of childhood cancer from June, 1962 to June,1969. The number of the cases of childhood primary hapatomais same as that of Wilms' tumor and as about half as that ofneuroblastoma. Measurement of serum cholesterol is a rather routine biochemicalanalysis. The authors found that some cases of primary hepatomain infants and children showed a remarkably high level of serumcholesterol for no obvious reason. However, the serum cholesterollevel is not necessarily high in all the cases of primary hepatomain infants and children. The authors evaluated the level of serum cholesterol in thiskind of hepatoma on the basis of other liver function tests,ages, histological findings and clinical courses. Kanagawa children's Medical Center, Minamiku, Yokohama     

Antigens of Human Trophoblast: Trophoblast-Lymphocyte Cross-Reactive Antigens on Platelets*

ABSTRACT: Human and rabbit antibodies to trophoblast-lymphocyte cross-reactive (TLX) antigens were employed in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to identify and characterize the TLX alloantigen system on human platelets. Neither washing nor extraction in chaotrope or acid altered platelet TLX. The antigen was significantly changed by pronase and trypsin digestion, but Folch extraction yielded antigen in the hydrophilic interface, suggesting carbohydrate. Rabbit antibodies prepared to HLA-negative human syncytiotrophoblast TLX antigens were shown by platelet ELISA to have the same specificity and similar allotypy as anti-TLX antibodies from secondary (2°) spontaneously aborting women. Patients with normal pregnancies before becoming 2° aborters had both IgG and IgM antibodies to TLX. Anti-TLX in patients who never had a normal pregnancy were predominantly IgG. ELISA reactions performed with different concentrations of protein in the buffers detected anti-TLX activity in buffers containing high protein concentrations. This has been observed in studies of blocking antibodies in graft-versus-host disease and immune responses to tumor cells. Platelet TLX offers a new genetic and immunological approach to study similarities of the host-parasite relationships in pregnancy, transplantation, and cancer.