A New Bioassay Method for Measurement of Angiotensin II
Using Isolated Bovine Adrenal Cells
: Clinical Application on the Plasma Renin Activity
TAKESHI KAKO, MASANORI TANAKA, MASUO NONOYAMA,
AKIRA TATEMATSU and HIROSHI YOGO
pg(s) 1 - 5
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A new bioassay method for measurement of angiotensin II was clinically applied to determine
the plasma renin activity (PRA) in normal subjects and hypertensive patients. Angiotensin II was
extracted by a modified procedure reported by Boucher et al. Levels of angiotensin II extracted
from 17 blood samples were independently determined by our new bioassay method and the rat
pressor assay. The new Imethod could determine the minimum level of PRA of 0.25 ng. According
to the new bioassay method, mean PRA levels for 9 normal subjects were 63.6±48.7 ng/dl, 177.7±
99.3 ng/dl, and 172.3±124.3 ng/dl at 1 hr after supine position, 1 hr after upright position with
administration of 80 mg furosemide, and 2 hrs after upright position, respectively. Correlation
coefficient of PRA levels between two bioassay methods was r=0.85 (p=0.005). It was concluded
that the new method for PRA might be more reliable and much simpler than the rat pressor assay
for clinical applications.
Induction of Ovulation with Human Menopausal Gonadotropin;
with Special Reference to Ovarian Hyperstimulation
Syndrome and Hormone Excretion
OSAMU NARITA, YOICHl SHIMOSUKA,MASATOSHI SUZUKI, TAKASHI KIMURA,
TAKASHl GOTO, KOJI HIGASHIDE and YUTAKA TOMODA
pg(s) 7 - 13
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HMG-hCG therapy was performed on 109 patients who had previously received various forms of
treatment but had failed to ovulate or become pregnant. From among the 109 patients, 80 (73.4%)
succeeded in ovulation and 37 (33.9%) became pregnant. Ten patients with high FSH and low estrogen
levels before the therapy failed to ovulate and were believed to have amenorrhea of ovarian origin.
This indicated the importance of measurements of gonadotropin and estrogen prior to therapy with
exclusion of patients in whom hMG-hCG therapy is expected not to be effective. Signs of ovarian
hyperstimulation syndrome, such as ovarian enlargement, ascites and hydrothorax, were seen in 58%
of 245 treated cycles. Our study revealed that there was remarkable increase in the levels of estrogen
and progesterone in the majority of patients who presented clinical signs of ovarian hyperstimulation.
indicating superovulation as the main cause of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome which was confirmed at operation.
The Role of the Tonic Stretch Reflex during Standing in Man
RYUICHI HIBINO
pg(s) 15 - 24
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Relationships between shifts of the center of gravity and electromyographic activities (EMGs)
were investigated in man during standing. The EMG was mainly obtained from the gastrocnemius
and soleus muscles (GS), but other muscles, such as hamstring, tibialis anterior and quadriceps
muscles were also included. The shift of gravity center was measured as a change in foot pressure.
A forward shift of the gravity center by voluntary leaning produced an increase in EMG activity
of the GS, whereas a backward leaning caused an opposite effect, Le., the EMG was suppressed
during a backward shift of the gravity center. The same relationship was obtained when the gravity
center was shifted by forward or backward pushing of the body.
Rhythmic tilting of the pressure measuring plate, on which the subject was standing, also
increased the EMG activity of GS during the forward shift of gravity center, at a tilting frequency
of less than 0.5 Hz. However, this relationship was deteriorated when tilting frequency was
increased to more than 1 Hz.
When mechanical vibration (100 Hz) was applied to bilateral Achilles tendons, the gravity
center was gradually shifted backward and oscillatory flucturation of the gravity center appeared.
The EMG activity of GS was not increased by vibration, but decreased in parallel with a backward
shift of the gravity center.
The EMG activity of the GS during a forward shift of the gravity center is considered to be
due to the tonic stretch reflex caused by stretch of the GS resulting from dorsiflexion of the
ankle joint. However, the vibratory stimulus which increases the muscle tone if the GS is not
engaged in standing is ineffective in causing the stretch reflex. The failure to observe the stretch
reflex by vibration may be explained by assuming that during standing when many other muscle
are sending informations on the posture, a functionally heterogenous information, such as the
afferent impulses produced by vibration of one muscle, is suppressed at the spirnal cord by a
supraspinal center.
Protective Effect of Coenzyme Q10 against Carbon
Tetrachloride-induced Liver Injury
SATORU SUGIYAMA, MASAYASU KITAZAWA, TAKAYUKI OZAWA,
KOHJI SUZUKI and YOHEI IZAWA
pg(s) 25 - 27
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Hepatotoxicity of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was caused by its lipoperoxidative action.
Administration of a-tocopherol, a conventional anti-oxidant, was revealed to be effective in preventing liver injury induced by CCl4.
We demonstrated that Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has anti-oxidative activity, as well as
α-tocopherol. This experiment was done to investigate whether or not CoQ10 prevents
liver injury induced by CCl4.
Trend in Prescription Rates of Drugs
Suspected to Induce Haematopoietic Disorders
in a Population in Nagoya
HIROSHI OKADA, YOSHIYUKI OHNO, KUNIO AOKI and TETSUO KUROISHI
pg(s) 29 - 39
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To clarify the frequencies of administration of the drugs possibly related to the haematopoietic
disorders, three surveys were conducted in the periods of April-September 1972, October 1975
-March 1976, and October 1977-March 1978 by reviewing the health insurance receipts for the
civil servants in Nagoya, Japan.
Major findings are as follows.
(1) Those who visited medical institutions at least once in the survey period of 6 months
accounted for 71.9%, 62.2% and 70.1% among the total civil servants in the first, second and
third survey, respectively. Among them, the relevant drugs were prescribed in 69.2%, 68.7% and
50.6%, correspondingly.
(2) The prescription rates of chloramphenicols were 13.3%, 7.9% and 0.08% in the first, second
and third survey. The corresponding figures were 1.2%,9.3% and 2.2% for thiamphenicols, 15.3%,
9.2% and 12.3% for sulfonamides, 40.0%, 51.5% and 40.9% for antipyretics, analgesics and sedatives.
(3) The frequencies of a drug prescribed with other drugs in combination changed over years.
Chloramphenicols were prescribed less frequently with sulfonamides and more frequently with
penicillins, cephalosporins and thiamphenicols. The prescription of thiamphenicols with cepha-
10sporins increased over years.
(4) The prescription rates were different by age in individual drugs. The prescription rates were in
general lower in the age group of 20-29 years than in the older age groups throughout three
surveys.
(5) Average durations of prescription tended to decrease between 1972 and 1977 in such drugs as
sulfonamides, penicillins and cephalosporins.
(6) The rates we surveyed are of prescription and not of actual ingestion; therefore, the rates
shoud be deemed as the reference of the ingestion rates in a general population.
Epidemiology of Urinary Bladder Cancer:
International Variation in Mortality
YOSHIYUKI OHNO and KUNIO AOKI
pg(s) 41 - 64
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To evaluate the epidemiological features and etiological backgrounds of bladder cancer, we
examined. the mortality statistics (l968/69~1974/75) for 26 populations in the world. Major findings are virtually unchanged age-adjusted mortality rates in the majority of countries, moderate
male predominance over years and over countries, relatively younger deaths in Balkan States and
Asian countries than in most European and Oceanian countries, very similar increase gradient of
age specific death rates irrespective of the mortality levels, and almost identical risks for bladder
cancer deaths in the birth cohorts born after around 1900. The countries with high mortality in
both sexes are characterized by more aged population, manufacturing, recently moderate industrialization, high energy consumption, and less frequent deaths from infective and parasitic deseases;
in contrast, the countries with low mortality in both sexes by less aged population, agriculture,
recently remarkable industrialization, low energy consumption, and more frequent deaths from
infective and parasitic diseases.
Possible determinants for the international variation in the mortality and universal male predominance in bladder cancer are discussed. Suggested by the present analysis are the etiological
roles of both environmental factors and host predisposition, and the equilibrium of the host-environmental interactions in bladder cancer deaths.