Kei Hara

University Hospital Medical Information Network, Tokyo, Tokyo-to, Japan

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Publications (9)13.12 Total impact

  • Article: Clinically mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.
    Internal Medicine 01/2012; 51(12):1647-8. · 0.94 Impact Factor
  • Article: Microscopic polyangiitis accompanied by pleuritis as the only pulmonary manifestation of occupational silica exposure.
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    ABSTRACT: A 68-year-old man, who had worked for processing quartz-containing stones for more than 50 years, complained of low-grade fever and arthralgia. Mediastinal lymph nodes were markedly swollen on chest computed tomography. Pathological findings of the lymph node were compatible with silicosis, with a high titer of myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA). During follow-up with prednisolone treatment, pleuritis and uveitis developed as manifestations of vasculitis. Thus, he was diagnosed with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis with occupational silica exposure, possibly microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). This case is rare, because pleuritis was the only pulmonary manifestation, without interstitial pneumonia, alveolar hemorrhage or glomerulonephritis.
    Internal Medicine 01/2010; 49(10):925-9. · 0.94 Impact Factor
  • Article: Mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the thymus with trisomy 18.
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    ABSTRACT: Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) of the thymus is rare and little is known about its karyotype abnormality. MALT lymphoma in general shows a good prognosis, but some reports suggest that the presence of trisomy 18 predicts recurrence. Here, we report a patient with MALT lymphoma of the thymus and the left parotid gland accompanied by Sjogren's syndrome. The karyotype analysis revealed that this is the first case of thymic MALT lymphoma with trisomy 18, which we believe is worth reporting. We also review cases with thymic MALT lymphoma previously reported in the literature.
    Internal Medicine 01/2009; 48(23):2025-32. · 0.94 Impact Factor
  • Article: Thromboxane inhibition and monocrotaline‐induced pulmonary hypertension in rats
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    ABSTRACT: Abstract Monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a useful model for the investigation of this disorder in humans. The role of thrombocytes in the genesis of PH has already been addressed; however, the exact mechanism by which they induce PH remains to be elucidated. We investigated the effects of a thromboxane A2 (TXA2) synthase inhibitor (OKY-046) and a TXA2/ prostaglandin H2 (PGH2) receptor antagonist (ONO-8809) on the development of MCT-induced PH. A single dose of MCT (60 mg/kg bodyweight; BW) was injected subcutaneously in Wistar rats 24 h after the administration of OKY-046 or ONO-8809. The TXA2 inhibitors were administered by gavage daily for 3 weeks. Urinary excretion of eicosanoids was determined by radioimmunoassay. At the end of the treatment period, the lungs, heart and kidneys were morphologically examined. The per cent medial thickness of the muscular pulmonary arteries (%MT) and the ratio of the right to the left ventricular mass including the septum (RV/LV+S) increased significantly in MCT-treated rats compared with the control rats. The %MT was attenuated by the administration of ONO-8809. Either OKY-046 or ONO-8809 attenuated the increase in RV/LV+S. In addition, both TXA2 inhibitors reduced urinary excretion of 11-dehydro-TXB2, particularly during the early phase of PH, suggesting that platelet aggregation was reduced. These findings suggest that the inhibition of TXA2 by synthase inhibition or receptor antagonism reduces or delays the development of MCT-induced PH in rats, probably by inhibiting platelet aggregation.
    Respirology 02/2008; 2(4):283 - 289. · 2.42 Impact Factor
  • Article: An adult case of multiple squamous papillomas of the trachea associated with human papilloma virus type 6.
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    ABSTRACT: A 72-year-old woman with primary biliary cirrhosis complained of dry cough and wheezing. Chest computed tomography showed a tumor arising from the posterior wall of the trachea. Bronchoscopic examination revealed that the tumor was cauliflower-like, with two small polypoid tumors. They were diagnosed as multiple squamous papillomas. The main tumor was recurrent and removed by repeated microwave coagulation therapy (MCT) through bronchoscopy, whereas the two polypoid tumors were likely to disappear spontaneously. Human papilloma virus (HPV) type 6 DNA was detected in the tumor by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, suggesting that this virus was the cause of her papillomas.
    Internal Medicine 02/2008; 47(17):1535-8. · 0.94 Impact Factor
  • Article: [A Japanese case of melioidosis presenting as multiple organ lesions accompanied by sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation, after a visit to Thailand].
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    ABSTRACT: A 65-year-old man with diabetes mellitus reporting fever and urination disturbance on a flight from Bangkok back to Japan in July 2003 was admitted elsewhere for acute prostatitis. Despite intravenous antibiotics, his condition deteriorated. On admission to our hospital, he suffered from respiratory failure, with laboratory data showing disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Computed tomography (CT) shows infiltrative and nodular shadows in both lung fields and low-density areas in the left kidney and prostate gland, consistent with pneumonia and abscesses in these organs. He also developed broad osteomyelitis in the right lower extremity with cellulitis and arthritis in the right hand, knee, and foot. Blood, urine, and joint fluid culture all yielded Burkholderia pseudomallei, so he was diagnosed with melioidosis. Treatment was started with meropenem and minocycline, then meropenem was changed to imipenem. His symptoms gradually improved after ciprofloxacin was added, so all intravenous antibiotics were discontinued and he underwent oral treatment with chloramphenicol, minocycline, and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim in September 2003. He developed fever again, however, and oral therapy was discontinued and intravenous antibiotics restarted. After resolution of fever, oral maintenance therapy was initiated again with levofloxacin and minocycline in October, and his condition remained stable. After discharge in April 2004, he has been followed up with no evidence of relapse. This is considered to be the seventh case of melioidosis reported in Japan. Our patient manifested multiple organ lesions with sepsis and DIC, and was difficult to treat, but clinical symptoms improved in long-term antibiotic administration. With travelers to Southeast Asia increasing, greater attention must be paid to imported infectious diseases, such as melioidosis.
    Kansenshogaku zasshi. The Journal of the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases 06/2007; 81(3):297-301.
  • Article: Lung adenocarcinoma associated with familial adenomatous polyposis. Clear cell carcinoma with beta-catenin accumulation accompanied by atypical adenomatous hyperplasia.
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    ABSTRACT: A 46-year-old man presented with a lung tumor 17 years after a subtotal colectomy and 13 years after a partial duodenectomy for familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). There had been no malignant transformation in the specimens from his colectomy and duodenectomy, and a current gastrointestinal investigation revealed no evidence of malignancy. Pathological analysis of the lung tumor demonstrated adenocarcinoma with clear cells and a papillary structure, accompanied by tiny tumorous nodules in the background lung parenchyma. Many of the nodules were multifocal adenocarcinoma; however, some of the nodules demonstrated atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH). This is the first case report of a lung adenocarcinoma accompanied by AAH in a FAP patient. Immunohistochemical and loss of heterozygosity studies revealed unique features of the lesions reflecting a disruption of the adenomatous poliposis coli-beta-catenin pathway.
    Archiv für Pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für Klinische Medicin 02/2005; 446(1):73-7. · 2.49 Impact Factor
  • Article: Voltage-gated sodium channel expressed in cultured human smooth muscle cells: involvement of SCN9A.
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    ABSTRACT: Voltage-gated Na(+) channel (I(Na)) is expressed under culture conditions in human smooth muscle cells (hSMCs) such as coronary myocytes. The aim of this study is to clarify the physiological, pharmacological and molecular characteristics of I(Na) expressed in cultured hSMCs obtained from bronchus, main pulmonary and coronary artery. I(Na), was recorded in these hSMCs and inhibited by tetrodotoxin (TTX) with an IC(50) value of approximately 10 nM. Reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of mRNA showed the prominent expression of transcripts for SCN9A, which was consistent with the results of real-time quantitative RT-PCR. These results provide novel evidence that TTX-sensitive Na(+) channel expressed in cultured hSMCs is mainly composed of Na(v)1.7.
    FEBS Letters 07/2004; 567(2-3):339-43. · 3.54 Impact Factor
  • Article: Oxygenation abnormalities in normoxemic patients with mild liver cirrhosis.
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    ABSTRACT: Nitric oxide (NO) production is enhanced in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Although most patients with mild LC have neither dyspnea nor platypnea, they might have mild oxygenation abnormalities due to intrapulmonary vasodilatation caused by increased NO. We investigated whether oxygenation abnormalities, such as hypoxemia and orthodeoxia, are present in patients with mild LC. We investigated 148 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven chronic liver diseases such as CH (noncirrhotic chronic hepatitis) (n=46), LC(A), LC(B), and LC(C) (LC Child's A, B, and C) (n=18, 51, 33, respectively). The oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) in the supine and upright positions was determined in patients and controls (normal subjects, n=29). The change in SpO2 on standing was defined as deltaSpO2. NO output in exhaled air was measured in 16 patients. Four patients [two LC(B) and two LC(C)] had hypoxemia (supine SpO2< or =94% and/or upright SpO2< or =94%). Although there was no intergroup difference in the supine SpO2 or the upright SpO2, the deltaSpO2 decreased [control, +0.2+/-0.6%; CH, +0.1+/-0.9%; LC(A), -0.3+/-0.8%; LC(B), -0.2+/-0.9%; LC(C), -0.5+/-1.1%; mean+/-SD; p=0.005] with worsening liver disease, and the prevalence of desaturation on standing (deltaSpO2< or =-1%) increased [control, 7%; CH, 20%; LC(A), 33%; LC(B), 35%; LC(C), 42%; p=0.01]. The NO output was inversely correlated with deltaSpO2 (r=-0.66, p=0.006). Desaturation on standing is present in one-third of normoxemic patients with mild LC of Child's A, and is associated with the severity of liver disease. This postural desaturation is correlated with the exhaled NO, which suggests that intrapulmonary vasodilatation may play some role in this phenomenon.
    Internal Medicine 06/2002; 41(6):435-40. · 0.94 Impact Factor