Correction to: Pleiotropic effect of erythropoiesis‑stimulating agents on circulating endothelial progenitor cells in dialysis patients

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology -     

Basaloid carcinoma of the thymus

A 58-year-old man was found to have a basaloid carcinoma of the thymus, initially detected as an abnormal shadow on chest radiograph. The patient underwent resection followed by radiotherapy, and has survived 25 months without recurrence. Although this rare tumor may be related to multilocular thymic cyst, its pathogenesis is obscure. We discuss clinicopathologic features of our case and others.     

Pulmonary small cell carcinoma associated with sarcoid reactions: Report of a case

A 45-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for investigation of a nodular shadow in segment 5 of the right lung on a chest computed tomogram. A right middle lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection was performed under a diagnosis of lung cancer, and histologic examination confirmed small cell carcinoma. There were sarcoid reactions in the resected lymph nodes and the lung parenchyma, but no signs of systemic sarcoidosis were evident. Sarcoid reactions are rarely observed in the regional lymph nodes draining malignant tumors. Moreover, while they are most common in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, they extremely rare in small cell carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is only the third report of this unusual entity in the English and Japanese literature.     

Different time course between scene processing and face processing: a MEG study

Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), the neural response to scenes was recorded and compared with that to faces. The prominent MEG signals in response to scenes appeared 200-300 ms after the stimulus presentation while those in response to faces appeared between 150 and 200 ms. Source locations of the signals were estimated in the right parahippocampal and parieto-occipital regions with a latency of 300 ms for the scene response, whereas those were estimated in the lingual or fusiform gyri bilaterally with a latency of 160 ms for the face response. These data suggest that both the temporal and parietal regions process scenes, while the occipito-temporal regions process faces, and that scene processing takes a longer time than face processing.     

Urodynamics in acetone-induced cystitis of anesthetized rats

We examined the bladder function of cystitis models induced by intravesical acetone instillation in urethane-anesthetized rats. Acetone (0.35 ml) at 10, 30, or 50% concentration or deionized water (sham-treatment) was instilled into the bladder via the cannula which was inserted into the lumen. Acetone was withdrawn 90 sec after instillation and the bladder lumen was washed with saline after 15 min. One hour later, the cystometrogram induced by transvesical infusion of saline (3.3 ml/hr) was measured. During cystometrography of normal (non-treated) or sham-treated group, the time required to cause micturition, reflecting bladder capacity, was 9.6 +/- 0.9 (n = 7) or 10.0 +/- 0.8 min (n = 6), respectively. In the 10% acetone-treated group, the bladder capacity was similar to that in the normal or sham group. In the 30% acetone group, the time to micturition was 4.4 +/- 0.4 min (n = 7), indicating decreased bladder capacity, although the micturition pressure and the threshold pressure were not significantly different from those in the normal or sham group. However, in the 50% acetone group, the micturition reflex disappeared. In isolated rat bladder strips, contractile responses to carbachol or electrical field stimulation in the sham and 30% acetone group were similar. While, both responses in isolated strips from the 50% acetone group were reduced. The degree of damage from degeneration and desquamation of epithelium and hemorrhage in the bladder tissue from the 30% acetone group was less prominent than in the 50% acetone group. Additionally, some tissue from the 50% acetone group showed degeneration of muscle layer. The effects of three drugs were investigated in the 30% acetone group which showed increased urinary frequency. Baclofen (100 microg/kg, i.v.) and morphine (100 microg/kg, i.v.) increased significantly the bladder capacity and the threshold pressure. Atropine (10 microg/kg, i.v.) decreased the micturition pressure. These results suggest that cystitis models induced by intravesical instillation of 30% acetone may be valuable for evaluating drugs for the treatment of urinary frequency.     

Randomized controlled trial for smoking cessation among city office employees

To evaluate the effect of a smoking cessation program by health professionals, a randomized intervention study was carried out in the Omihachiman city office in 1993. Participants (n = 53), volunteers from current smokers in the city office, were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received intensive education for five months (i.e., the effect of smoking on health, the beneficial aspects of quitting smoking, how to stop smoking and how to deal with the withdrawal symptoms). Group lectures (two times) and individual counseling (three times) were used for health education. After five months, the control group was also given the same advice on smoking cessation. Comparison of smoking cessation rates between the two groups was performed at the end of the intervention period. Follow-up of all participants occurred at six and 12 months post intervention. After the five months of intervention, smoking cessation rate in the intervention group (19.2%) tended to be higher than that in the control group (7.4%), but was not significant (chi 2 = 1.62). Over all smoking cessation rates of all participants (n = 53) at the end of the 10 month intervention was 32.1% and at six months and 1 year after the end of the 10 month intervention were 24.5% and 13.2%, respectively. Comparison of participants who successfully stopped smoking and those who did not, it was revealed that younger age, lower expired air CO concentration (p < 0.01), and attitude for smoking cessation at the beginning were significantly related to smoking cessation. In our study, after five months, smoking cessation rate in the intervention group was about two times that of the control group, although the effectiveness of our smoking cessation program could not be validated due to small sample size. Taking into account the rate of smoking cessation after one year, We believe that programs by health professionals are effective for smoking cessation.     

Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis of dysplastic epithelium of human ocular surface: basement membrane and intermediate filament.

PURPOSE: The dysplastic corneal epithelium is characterized by the abnormal proliferation of epithelial cells. The phenotypes of these cells have not been elucidated. We investigated whether such epithelium expresses the phenotypes of corneal or conjunctival epithelial cells. METHODS: The corneas and conjunctivae from four normal subjects and from one patient with epithelial dysplasia of the central cornea were immunostained for IV and VII collagens and for cytokeratins. Monoclonal antibodies against collagen IV reacted to the [alpha1(IV)]2alpha2(IV) or alpha5(IV) molecule. Anti-cytokeratin antibodies were used to define epithelial cell types. The ultrastructure of the basement membrane (BM) of each specimen also was examined. RESULTS: Type VII collagen immunoreactivity was detected in all the specimens of epithelial BM. The anti-collagen IV [alpha1(IV)]2alpha2(IV) antibody labeled the conjunctival BMs, not the BMs of the corneal epithelia, of each subject. The normal corneal epithelial BM, not the BM of the conjunctival or dysplastic corneal epithelium, was immunolabeled with anti-alpha5(IV) antibody. The pattern of cytokeratin expression in the corneal epithelial dysplasia resembled that seen in the normal conjunctivae. Small breaks in the BM of dysplastic corneal epithelium were ultrastructurally revealed. The number of hemidesmosomes in the dysplastic corneal epithelium was decreased as compared with that in the normal BM. CONCLUSION: The composition of collagen types within the BM and the cellular phenotype of the dysplastic epithelium in the cornea resembled those of conjunctival epithelium, not of the cornea.     

Design, synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and biological characterization of novel arylalkoxyphenylalkylamine sigma ligands as potential antipsychotic drugs

sigma Receptor antagonists may be effective antipsychotic drugs that do not induce motor side effects caused by ingestion of classical drugs such as haloperidol. We obtained evidence that 1-(2-dipropylaminoethyl)-4-methoxy-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran hydrochloride 2a had selective affinity for sigma receptor over dopamine D2 receptor. This compound was designed to eliminate two bonds of apomorphine 1 to produce structural flexibility for the nitrogen atom and to bridge two benzene rings with a -CH2O- bond to maintain the planar structure. In light of the evidence, N, N-dipropyl-2-(4-methoxy-3-benzyloxylphenyl)ethylamine hydrochloride 10b was designed. Since compound 10b had eliminated a biphenyl bond of 6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran derivative 2a, it might be more released from the rigid structure of apomorphine 1 than compound 2a. The chemical modification of compound 10b led to the discovery that N, N-dipropyl-2- [4-methoxy-3-(2-phenylethoxyl)phenyl]ethylamine hydrochloride 10g (NE- 100), the best compound among arylalkoxyphenylalkylamine derivatives 3, had a high and selective affinity for sigma receptor and had a potent activity in an animal model when the drug was given orally. We report here the design, synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and biological characterization of novel arylalkoxyphenylalkylamine derivatives 3.     

Aldehyde oxidase-dependent marked species difference in hepatic metabolism of the sedative-hypnotic, zaleplon, between monkeys and rats.

A marked difference in hepatic activity of aldehyde oxidase between rats and monkeys was found to be responsible for the previously reported marked species difference in the metabolism of Zaleplon in vivo. In the postmitochondrial fractions, S-9s, from liver homogenates of these animals, Zaleplon was transformed in the presence of NADPH into the side chain oxidation product, N-desethyl-Zaleplon, and the aromatic ring oxidation product, 5-oxo-Zaleplon. In the rat S-9, N-desethyl-Zaleplon and 5-oxo-Zaleplon were a major and a very minor metabolites, respectively. However, in the monkey S-9, Zaleplon was transformed into 5-oxo-Zaleplon at a much higher rate than that for N-desethyl-Zaleplon formation. N-Desethyl-Zaleplon was formed in the monkey S-9 at a rate almost equal to that in the rat S-9. N-Desethyl-5-oxo-Zaleplon was formed at a minor rate only in the monkey S-9 through N-desethyl-Zaleplon as an obligatory intermediate. The hepatic activity for the formation of 5-oxo-Zaleplon in the monkey and rat was localized in cytosol and did not require NADPH. Sensitivity to various inhibitors and requirement of water as oxygen source, using H218O, strongly suggested that the hepatic cytosolic formation of 5-oxo-Zaleplon was mediated by aldehyde oxidase. N-Desethyl-Zaleplon was formed in the presence of NADPH by microsomes from the liver of rats and monkeys, and its formation was strongly suggested using various cytochrome P-450 inhibitors to be mediated by a number of cytochrome P-450 isoforms, such as 3A, 2C, and 2D subfamilies.