Blood purification in toxicology

Although toxic substances can be removed by blood purification techniques such as hemodialysis and hemoperfusion, the complete elimination of toxic substances from the whole body is difficult even if clearance values are high. Blood purification over in a limited time sometimes cannot prevent the death of patients, because the volume of distribution of toxic substances is usually very high. It should also be stressed that initial general management of patients is very important whenever blood purification procedures are utilized.     

Expression of estrogen receptor alpha and beta mRNAs in prostate cancers treated with leuprorelin acetate

OBJECTIVE: The discovery of a novel estrogen receptor (ER), ER-beta, has given rise to new possibilities regarding estrogen's roles in the prostate. Although ER-beta is reported to be expressed preferentially in the rat prostate, its expression in the human prostate and relationship to cancer development has not been investigated. Thus the purpose of the study was to examine mRNA levels of ER-alpha and ER-beta in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate carcinoma. METHODS: Samples of 15 prostate cancers obtained at radical prostatectomy were examined. All the patients had been maintained on androgen withdrawal therapy for at least 3 months. ER-alpha and ER-beta mRNAs were measured with a competitive PCR technique. RESULTS: Both ER-alpha and ER-beta mRNAs were detected in all of the prostate cancer tissues examined, as well as in PC3 and LNCap cells, although the levels varied among specimens. Interestingly, both types were significantly decreased in cases with lymph node metastasis. However, there was no correlation between ER mRNA levels and any other clinicopathological parameters. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Both ER-alpha and ER-beta mRNAs are expressed in prostate cancer and (2) expression of ER mRNA may not be related to cancer progression but may be negatively correlated with metastasis.     

A Question and Answer E-Mail System for Responding to Query from the General Public with Which the System Manager Can Identify Delayed Replies

We constructed a question and answer system for direct delivery of E-mail queries from the general public to the proper hospital representative and with which the system administrator can monitor E-mail replies. The system consists of two sub-systems; one is an E-mail questionnaire sub-system that automatically delivers E-mail queries to the proper person and an E-mail reply monitor sub-system with which the system administrator can monitor the E-mail replies. The monitor system compares the origin address of the E-mail reply and the destination address on a questionnaire filled out at the time the query is made. In a test of the system, 56 queries were received in 31 days, with 37 replied to. The interval from receipt of an E-mail query to reply was calculated. Nineteen replies were submitted within 2 days.     

Inferior head resection of the pancreas for intraductal papillary mucinous tumors

BACKGROUND: Patients with intraductal papillary mucinous tumor have a favorable prognosis after surgical treatment. When this neoplasm is located in the head of the pancreas, resection has conventionally required pancreatoduodenectomy. Although pancreatoduodenectomy can now be performed with a low mortality rate, morbidity still occurs frequently. METHODS: Between November 1982 and January 1999, 38 intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas were resected at the Chiba University Hospital. Seven patients (18%) underwent inferior head resection of the pancreas. In this preliminary study, the operative technique is presented, and its efficacy in improvement of quality of life is evaluated. RESULTS: Patients with intraductal papillary mucinous tumor underwent resection with no perioperative mortality. After discharge from hospital, 6 patients who underwent inferior head resection were still alive without recurrent disease after a median follow-up of 3 years. However, 1 patient developed peritoneal dissemination and died 18 months after inferior head resection. Patients had regained 98% of preoperative weight 1 year after inferior head resection. N-benzoyl-L-tyrosyl-p-amino-benzoic acid (BT-PABA) excretion test showed the same value before (73%) and after (73%) inferior head resection (n = 7). Pancreatic fistulas occurred more frequently after inferior head resection (38%), but the incidence of major complications was similar between inferior head resection and other types of pancreatic head resection. CONCLUSIONS: Pancreatic function was well preserved, and patients regained 98% of preoperative weight after inferior head resection of the pancreas. The authors concluded that the limited involvement of intraductal papillary mucinous tumors enables the surgeons to perform inferior head resection of the pancreas.     

Suppression of IFN-gamma production in atopic group at the acute phase of RSV infection

Several studies have suggested that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis induced the change of cytokine production profile in childhood. We sought to determine whether the RSV-induced cytokine production was affected by the patient's atopic background. We quantified interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin (IL)-4 in the supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) cultured for 24 h and in the presence of phytohemaglutinin (PHA), IL-12, or IL-18, from 14 infants who were divided into two groups, those who are non-atopic and an atopic group. In RSV-infected infants with atopic diseases, IFN-gamma production from IL-12- or especially IL-18-stimulated PBMCs was subtotally suppressed in the acute phase, whereas in RSV-infected infants without atopic diseases IFN-gamma production was not suppressed on acute phase. The IFN-gamma suppression observed in the atopic group is not caused by the immaturity of an infant's immune system since reduced IFN-gamma production to RSV is not observed in the infants of non-atopic group. IFN-gamma suppression in regard to RSV infection might be caused by some genetic factor involved in the development of atopic disease such as IL-18 signal cascade.     

Significance of chemokine receptor expression in aggressive NK cell leukemia.

Natural killer (NK) cell-type lymphoproliferative diseases of granular lymphocytes can be subdivided into aggressive NK cell leukemia (ANKL) and chronic NK cell lymphocytosis (CNKL). One reason for the poor outcome in ANKL is leukemic infiltration into multiple organs. The mechanisms of cell trafficking associated with the chemokine system have been investigated in NK cells. To clarify the mechanism of systemic migration of leukemic NK cells, we enrolled nine ANKL and six CNKL cases, and analyzed the expression profiles and functions of chemokine receptors by flowcytometry and chemotaxis assay. CXCR1 was detected on NK cells in all groups, and CCR5 was positive in all ANKL cells. Proliferating NK cells were simultaneously positive for CXCR1 and CCR5 in all ANKL patients examined, and NK cells with this phenotype did not expand in CNKL patients or healthy donors. ANKL cells showed enhanced chemotaxis toward the ligands of these receptors. These results indicated that the chemokine system might play an important role in the pathophysiology of ANKL and that chemokine receptor profiling might be a novel tool for discriminating ANKL cells from benign NK cells.