Kiku Nakao

Takayasu's Arteritis Clinical Report of Eighty-four Cases and Immunological Studies of Seven Cases

The manifestations of Takayasus arteritis of the aorta were studied in 84 patients. The extent of the involvement of the aorta was classified on aortographic examination in 54 patients and from the clinical manifestations in 30. Involvement of the aorta was classified as: (1) arch type in 47 cases; (2) extensive type (whole aorta and its branches involved) in 27 cases; and (3) descending thoracic and abdominal type (only descending thoracic and abdominal aortas involved) in 10 cases. The three types resembled one another in clinical manifestations and laboratory findings except for ischemic signs which varied with the type of lesion and a slight difference in the ratio of male to female patients. Generalized, cardiac and pulmonary symptoms were noted by about two thirds of the patients in the early stage. About one third complained of local pain. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were high values during the active stage of this disease. The hemagglutination test using tannic acid-treated erythrocytes was positive in five of seven cases. It is not clear yet that circulating anti-arterial antibodies are the direct cause of Takayasus arteritis.

BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN IN RATS POISONED WITH AN ALKYLMERCURY COMPOUND, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE INHIBITION OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN BRAIN CORTEX SLICES

The incorporation of [U‐14C]leucine into the protein of brain cortex slices from rats poisoned with methylmercury thioacetamide was markedly inhibited before the development of neurological symptoms and when the oxygen consumption, aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis and sulphydryl enzyme activities were unchanged.

δ-Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity in erythrocytes for the evaluation of lead poisoning

The δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) dehydratase activity in erythrocytes, the urinary output of ALA, coproporphyrin and lead, and the level of lead in the blood were determined simultaneously in workers exposed to lead poisoning. The decrease of ALA dehydratase activity in lead poisoning (0.263 ± 0.081 μmoles PBG/ml erythrocyte/h as compared with 0.920 ± 0.162 for normal value) correlates very closely (p < 0.01) with the raised blood level of lead and urinary output of ALA, and significantly (p < 0.05) with the duration of exposure to lead. However, poor correlations were found between the decrease in ALA dehydratase activity and the increased urinary outputs of coproporphyrin and lead. Erythrocytes obtained from patients with other neurological and hematological disorders showed normal activity of ALA dehydratase. Reduced glutathione was effective for the recovery of the decreased ALA dehydratase activity in lead-poisoned erythrocytes in vivo. It is concluded that the determination of ALA dehydratase activity in erythrocytes offers an excellent measure for the evaluation of lead poisoning and that administration of reduced glutathione seems to be useful for treating patients with lead-poisoning.

Effect of nicotinic acid administration on plasma growth hormone concentrations.

Summary Serial plasma glucose, NEFA, and HGH concentrations were measured in normal male subjects following saline injection (Group 1, 9 cases), nicotinic acid injection (Group 2, 5 cases), and nicotinic acid plus heparin injection (Group 3, 4 cases) for 180 minutes. There was no appreciable change of plasma glucose in all groups. In Group 1 there was no significant change of plasma, NEFA and HGH. In Group 2, plasma NEFA showed an initial decrease followed by the secondary rise at 180 minutes, and plasma HGH showed a marked rise at 120 minutes and/or at 180 minutes. In Group 3, plasma NEFA did not show significant reduction and plasma HGH showed no significant changes. From the results obtained, it was suggested that the lowering of plasma NEFA levels by nicotinic acid administration can stimulate the secretion of HGH, and an assumption was made that plasma NEFA could be at least one of the factors in regulating HGH secretion. It was also suggested that plasma HGH may, at least in part, participate in inducing the secondary rise of plasma NEFA following the injection of nicotinic acid.

A simple method for the quantitative analysis of urinary delta-aminol evulinic acid to evaluate lead absorption

Wada, O., Toyokawa, K., Urata, G., Yano, Y., and Nakao, K. (1969).Brit. J. industr. Med.,26, 240-243. A simple method for the quantitative analysis of urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid to evaluate lead absorption. A procedure is given for the rapid, quantitative determination of urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Interfering substances are removed by n-butanol extraction. After pyrrole formation with ethyl acetoacetate, Ehrlichs reagent is added to produce the chromophore, which is then extracted with chloroform and measured spectrophotometrically or by comparison of the depth of colour with standard colour solutions. The recoveries were about 91% and the results agreed well with those obtained using ion-exchange column chromatography (r=0·985). This assay is simple, dependable, and suitable for large-scale screening of industrial workers exposed to lead poisoning, because the critical level of urinary ALA (20 mg./l. urine), which indicates dangerous lead absorption, gives a convenient absorbance.

Studies on electrolyte metabolism in idiopathic and thyrotoxic periodic paralysis

Abstract A study of arteriovenous serum potassium and sodium changes during an induced attack of periodic paralysis was undertaken in 7 patients with idiopathic periodic paralysis and 6 patients with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis. In both types of periodic paralysis, a constant positive arteriovenous difference of potassium was obtained during the development of paralysis. The findings lend further support to the hypothesis that the cellular migration of potassium from the extracellular space is the mechanism of hypokalemia in both idiopathic and thyrotoxic periodic paralysis.

Purification and some properties of δ-aminolevulinate(ALA) synthetase in rabbit reticulocytes

Abstract ALA synthetase has been purified approximately 4,400 fold from rabbit reticulocytes. The purified enzyme was demonstrated to be homogeneous by disc gel electrophoresis. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 7.6. Isoelectric point was 5.9. The enzyme required pyridoxal phosphate as a cofactor. Iron inhibited, but α,α′-dipyridyl neither inhibited nor activated the activity. Hemin inhibited ALA synthetase activity about 40% at the concentration of 10−5M. Km for succinyl-CoA was 6.0 × 10−5M and Km for glycine was 1.0 × 10−2M.

The determination of urinary testosterone using thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography

Abstract A new method has been devised for the relatively rapid and sensitive determination of testosterone in human urine. One fourth of a 24 hour urine sample was incubated with β-glucuronidase after addition of a tracer dose of 1,2–3H-testosterone for the calculation of recovery and extracted with ethyl ether. The crude extract was subjected to thin-layer chromatography (TLC), eluted, acetylated, subjected to TLC again and analyzed by gas chromatography. This method detected as little as 5 μg of testosterone per 24 hour and the rate of recovery was 54.8±0.4% (Mean±S.E.). The value for normal adult men ranged from 41 to 200 μg/day, showing definite decline with advancing age. While the urinary testosterone exhibits a very low level (5>-8 μg/day) in normal adult women, hirsute women excreted almost as much testosterone as normal adult men.

Relation of the Course of Retinopathy to Control of Diabetes, Age, and Therapeutic Agents in Diabetic Japanese Patients

Follow-up results of the progression of diabetic retinopathy in 364 patients who attended the Diabetes Clinic of the Third Department of Internal Medicine (University of Tokyo) regularly for more than two years were analyzed in relation to their degree of control, age and therapeutic agents. Ophthalmologic examinations were performed by two ophthalmologists without referring to other data. In 289 untreated cases, retinopathy at the initial visit was more frequent and more severe when known duration of diabetes was longer and initial fasting blood sugar was higher. The degree of control was judged by fasting blood sugar values determined frequently and regularly. Progression of retinopathy was significantly more frequent in the fair and poor control groups than in the good control group. In older age groups, progression, especially occurrence of new lesions, was more frequent. Sulfonylurea did not appear inferior to insulin so long as an acceptable degree of control was maintained.

Inhibitory effects of hydrocortisone upon the phytohemagglutinin-induced RNA-synthesis in human lymphocytes.

Abstract The early increase in the incorporation of [ 3 H]uridine into ribonucleic acids of human lymphocytes in vitro , occurring after an addition of phytohemagglutinin, was inhibited by the presence of hydrocortisone in concentrations of 1–100 μg/ml. Similar inhibition was observed with prednisolone in lower concentrations, whereas deoxycholate in concentrations of 10–100 μg/ml had no inhibitory effect. The inhibitory effect of hydrocortisone was considered to be specific for phytohemagglutinin-stimulated RNA synthesis, since hydrocortisone in concentrations as high as 100 μg/ml did not show a significant effect upon the basal RNA synthesis in lymphocytes. Neither phytohemagglutinin nor hydrocortisone showed any significant effect upon the decomposition rate of lymphocyte RNA. Exposure of lymphocytes to hydrocortisone for various periods of time prior to the phytohemagglutinin stimulation showed variable suppressing effects upon the RNA synthesis which followed, depending upon the length of the previous exposure to hydrocortisone.