Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale

Abstract The reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (JY-BOCS) were determined by 20 raters for 12 Japanese patients with obsessive compulsive disorder at four institutions. Interrater reliability for the total JY-BOCS score was excellent, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was high (ICC = 0.960). Internal consistency was also excellent (Cronbach's α= 0.889). Concurrent and discriminant validity of the JY-BOCS was examined by comparing the scores on the JY-BOCS with those on the Maudsley Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and scales for depression and anxiety. A slight correlation was found between scores on the JY-BOCS and MOCI, but no significant correlations were found between scores on the JY-BOCS and those on scales for depression or anxiety.     

Conformation of tetragastrin in DMSO

A conformation analysis of tetrapeptide in DMSO was carried out by the Monte Carlo simulation including the solvent effect in the energy function. The lowest energy conformations in the zwitterionic and cationic states are a similar compact form, in which the two aromatic rings are close to each other. The distance distributions between the specified atoms in the molecule show that most conformations in the local energy minima are similar to this folded conformation, although there is another type of conformation of interest, which has an extended form with the two separate aromatic rings. Such results are consistent with the NMR and CD experiments, and suggest that the compact form of tetragastrin is essential as a biological active conformation. The folded structure is stabilized by the solute-solvent interaction. In particular, the non-bonding interactions between the solute and solvent molecules cause a folding effect on the molecular conformation in total. This study is a first case taking account of the solvent effect into the conformation analysis of tetragastrin.     

Clinical investigation of the ICD-10 subcategories for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract  To examine the validity of ICD-10 subcategories for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was applied to 53 OCD patients. The ratios of Y-BOCS compulsions subscore to obsessions subscore were calculated. The group with ratios around one consisted of patients diagnosed in three subcategories (F42.0, F42.1 and F42.2). This suggests that subjective subcategorization such as ICD-10 may be inadequate to differentiate between predominantly obsessive and compulsive patients compared with differentiation by quantitative assessment such as the Y-BOCS ratio. Thus, in selecting the appropriate therapeutic methods, we emphasize the usefulness of quantitative assessment in clinical settings.     

Large Duodenal Tumor with Positive K-ras Mutation Mimicking Lateral Spreading Tumor of the Colon — a Case Report

Abstract: A 69-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with discomfort on swallow ing. Endoscopic examination revealed a large elevated tumor with multiple nodules at the end portion of the duodenal bulbus. The diagnosis obtained by biopsy was tubular adenoma with severe atypia. Upper gastrointestinal series and CT showed a tumor ap proximately 3.5 cm in diameter and the possibility of malignancy could not be ruled out. Partial duodenectomy was performed. Macroscopically the tumor measured 4.7X 3.1 cm. Endoscopic appearance and operational specimen of the tumor mimicked so-called lateral spreading tumor (LST) of the colon, which spreads horizontally and cir-cumferentially along the wall. Microscopically the tumor involved the mucosal and sub-mucosal layers, with no invasion of the muscular layer. Pathological diagnosis of the resected specimen was a borderline lesion between well-differentiated adenocarcinoma and adenoma with severe atypia. Using polmerase chain reaction and hybridization protection assay (PCR-HPA), we identified a point mutation at codon 12 of the K-ras onco-gene from glycine (GGT) to alanine (GCT). The tumor stained negative for p53 on immunohistochemistry, and PCR non radioisotopic single strand conformational polymor phism (non RI PCR-SSCP) for the analysis of exons5–8 of the p53 gene was also negative. This case seemed to be a duodenal epithelial tumor mimicking colonic LST with a rather benign nature despite its large size. (Dig Endosc 1999; 11: 70–75)     

Interleukin-6 inhibits the chemotaxis of human malignant plasma cell lines

The chemotaxis of human malignant plasma cells is promoted by two extracellular matrix proteins (ECMs): fibronectin (FN) and laminin (LN). We examined the effect of the supernatant from a bone marrow stroma cell line, KM-101, on the chemotaxis of human malignant plasma cell lines to assess the chemotaxis-regulatory roles of the bone marrow microenvironment. Five human malignant plasma cell lines, FR4ds, OPM-1ds, U266/B1, RPMI-8226 and ARH-77 showed different profiles of the expression of β1 integrins of FN and LN receptors. FR4ds, OPM-1ds and U266/B1 cells showed chemotaxis promoted by FN (Ch^FN) and LN (Ch^LN). ARH-77 cells showed Ch^FN but not Ch^LN. RPMI-8226 cells did not show either Ch^FN or Ch^LN. The supernatant from KM-101 cells inhibited the chemotaxis of each of these cell lines regardless of whether the chemotaxis was promoted by FN or LN. Among the cytokines produced by KM-101 cells, it was postulated that IL-6 mediated this inhibitory effect because anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) and anti-IL-6 receptor MoAb significantly reversed the inhibition. Recombinant IL-6 (rIL-6) also exhibited a similar inhibitory effect. Because anti-gp130 MoAb significantly reversed the chemotaxis inhibitory effect of rIL-6, the inhibitory signal is probably transduced via the signal transducing receptor component, gp130. The chemotaxis-regulatory effect is another previously unrecognized function of this pleiotropic cytokine, IL-6. High levels of IL-6 in the bone marrow microenvironment of patients with multiple myeloma appears to be favourable for the localization of myeloma cells there.