Muscle blood flows by means of hydrogen gas clearance method were measured on hindlimb muscles in sedentary control (nE) and exercised (Ex) spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) . SHR and Wistar control rats (WCR) were divided into two groups at 7 weeks of age ; SHRnE, SHREx and WCRnE, WCREx. Exercised rats were bred in cages with rotating wheels capable of running voluntarily for additional 10 weeks. Body weights of exercised groups in both SHR and WCR were lower than those of sedentary controls, whereas food consumptions of exercised rats tended to be more than those of sedentary controls. Ratios of the heart weight to the body weight of SHR and WCR were higher in exercised groups. There was no significant difference in systolic blood pressure obtained by an indirect tail-cuff method between exercised and sedentary control SHR. Resting blood flows in both M. Gastrocnemius and M. Soleus showed lower values in SHR groups than those in WCR groups. Postexercise blood flows at 1 Hz and 5 Hz were higher in exercised groups. These results suggest that peripheral adaptability of blood flow control to the exercise is still normal on hindlimb muscles in SHR.

We report a case of female urethral cancer. A 67-year-old female complained of a pain in the left buttocks. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a urethral tumor, which invaded the bladder wall and left buttocks tissue. Transurethral resection was performed. Histopathological examinations revealed squamous cell carcinoma of the urethra. The case was diagnosed as stage D4 urethral cancer according to the Grabstald's classification. Radiotherapies with a total dose of 57.5 Gy were performed on the primary and invaded sites. However, she died 6 months after the radiotherapy.
Female ; seconds ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Procedures on Urethra ; Primary

  A 55-year-old male complained about urinary frequency, micturition pain, and right abdominal pain. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed severe vesicorectal fistula which was induced by either bladder carcinoma or rectal carcinoma. Total pelvic exenteration was performed. Histopathological examination revealed rectal adenocarcinoma with invasion of the urinary bladder. Twelve months after the surgery, the patient exhibited no sign nor symptom of local recurrence or metastatic disease.

Objective : Carvedilol is a non-selective β blocker with an α blocking activity. Since this drug is highly fat-soluble, it can pass through the blood-brain barrier, and thus may induce depression and lower QOL. In the present study, physicians and pharmacists collaborated to evaluate the antihypertension effect of carvedilol and post-administration changes in QOL. Furthermore, the relationship between QOL and antihypertension effect was analyzed.
Design : Self-controlled study.
Patients and Methods : Subjects were outpatients with hypertension above the age of 70 years who visited one of 42 medical institutions in Japan between April 1995 and March 1996. A total of 243 patients were registered, and 10-20 mg of carvedilol was administered once a day for six months. Pharmacists assessed the QOL of these patients by asking 82 questions on three separate occasions : before administration and one and six months after administration. The antihypertensive effect of this drug was investigated in patients in whom all three QOL questionnaires were collected. The main test items were antihypertensive effect, changes in QOL (subjective QOL with a special emphasis on patient psychology), and the relationship between antihypertensive effect and QOL. The antihypertensive effect of this drug was statistically analyzed by a paired t-test, and changes in QOL were statistically analyzed using generalized estimating equations.
Results : All three QOL questionnaires were collected from a total of 146 patients. Their pre-administration systolic blood pressure was 159.6±1.4 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure 94.0±0.9 mmHg, and their blood pressure decreased significantly one month after the start of administration. This antihypertensive effect of carvedilol persisted, and the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of these patients six months after the start of administration was 141.1±1.2 and 85.2±0.7 mmHg, respectively (significant decreases when compared to pre-administration levels ; both p<0.05).
Subjective QOL improved significantly after carvedilol administration. And, changes were not seen in sexual function. Changes in the five categories of subjective QOL were as follows : psychological stability, disease-induced inconvenience, and independence improved significantly after carvedilol administration, but changes were not seen in gratification or vitality. However, improvements in subjective QOL did not correlate with improvements in blood pressure.
Conclusions : The results of the present study showed that carvedilol improved QOL without negatively affecting sexual function. Subjective QOL reflects the psychological well-being of patients. In the present study, psychological stability, disease-induced inconvenience, and independence improved significantly, but changes were not seen in gratification or vitality. Since β blockers can suppress the central nervous system, they can reduce psychological stability, gratification and vitality. Even though carvedilol is highly fat-soluble, the results of non-clinical studies have shown that it does not suppress the central nervous system as much as propranolol. The results of the present study showed that carvedilol does not strongly suppress the central nervous system of humans. Moreover, significant changes in QOL were not seen between one and six months after the start of administration of carvedilol, suggesting that it is possible to estimate the QOL of patients on antihypertensive therapy after six months of administration by assessing their QOL one month after administration.

OBJECTIVETo identify the ankyrin-B gene mutations that cause long QT syndrome (LQTS) and determine the prevalence of such mutations in Japanese patients with LQTS.

METHODSWe conducted a search for ankyrin-B gene mutation in 78 unrelated patients with LQTS (28 males and 50 females, aged 2 to 89 years). With informed consent from all the subjects and/or their parents, genomic DNA was purified from the white blood cells of the patients and amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the amplified DNA was performed to screen for mutations and aberrant SSCP products were isolated and sequenced by dye terminator cycle sequencing method using an automated fluorescent sequencer. PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis was carried out to further confirm the missense mutations by comparison with samples from 150 normal healthy individuals.

RESULTSWe identified a T to A transition mutation at position 4,603 in exon 40, resulting in the substitution of arginine for a tryptophan at amino acid residue 1,535 (W1535R) in the regulatory domain of 220-kD ankyrin-B, which is a highly conserved domain shared by different species.

CONCLUSIONThis novel missense mutation in the ankyrin-B gene may be a cause of type 4 LQTS. Ankyrin-B gene mutation might not play the major role in LQTS in Japanese.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Amino Acid Substitution ; Ankyrins ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Exons ; Female ; Humans ; Long QT Syndrome ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation, Missense ; Point Mutation