Symmetrical brainstem encephalitis caused by herpes simplex virus

We describe a 53-year-old man with herpes simplex virus (HSV) brainstem encephalitis diagnosed based by positive HSV immunoglobulin M antibodies from cerebrospinal fluid. The MRI findings of this case had three unique features. First, the lesions were symmetrical. Second, the lesions may have been associated with reactivation of HSV infection in the region of the trigeminal nerve. Third, diffusion-weighted and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) imaging, conducted for the first time on an HSV brainstem encephalitis case, suggested that the lesions were associated with vasogenic edema.     

Mortality among female practitioners of Chanoyu (Japanese "tea-ceremony").

A cohort study aimed to evaluate the effect of drinking green tea on longevity was performed. Three thousand three hundred and eighty female practitioners of chanoyu (Japanese tea-ceremony), living in Tokyo, were followed from 1980 to 1988, and 280 were dead during this period. Standardized mortality ratios were estimated 0.55 when all Japanese women was used as standard population and 0.57 when women living in Tokyo was used, indicating the possibility that green tea is a protective factor for several fatal diseases.     

The relation between EEG and mental development following cardiac surgery performed under simple deep hypothermia in children

In order to assess the accuracy of electroencephalography (EEG), in children who have undergone cardiac surgery under simple deep hypothermia, the relation between IQ or schoolwork achievement and the duration of circulatory arrest was investigated in 75 such children. Abnormal preoperative EEG's were found in 16 per cent of the children while abnormal postoperative EEG's were found in 17 per cent. The children were divided into 4 groups, according to pre- and postoperative EEG results. Schoolwork achievement scores ranged between 3.0 and 3.2, the difference among the groups being insignificant. Moreover, no significant shift in IQ was found among the groups. Finally, regarding the number of children who were able to go on to a higher level of education, including high school the college or university, again no significant differences were found among the 4 groups. In a comparison with the number of such children in neighboring Nagasaki prefecture able to continue on to a higher level of education, no significant differences were seen either. The findings and statistics of this investigation therefore indicate that pre- and postoperative EEG's are not always a reliable reference for assessing the prognosis of cerebral activity.     

Risk factors for breast cancer: A case-control study of screen-detected breast cancer in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

We examined the associations between reproductive factors and the risk of breast cancer on the basis of information from a total of 201,363 breast cancer screening program participants in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, during 1987-1991. A case-control study method was applied on analysis. Data on 204 breast cancer cases identified and 810 screening year-, age- and screening area-matched normal controls were extracted. After adjustment for potential confounders, a trend of decreasing risk of breast cancer with increasing number of parity was observed (p for trend=0.03). Among parous women, lactation for the last child decreased the risk of breast cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 0.61, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.39–0.94). These findings were consistent with those in clinical breast cancer reported previously. When cases were divided into two age groups, younger ( 49 y.o.) and older (50 y.o. ), family history of breast cancer among mother and sisters (OR=3.51, 95% CI 1.05–11.80), and lactation for the last child (OR=0.46, 95% CI 0.25–0.84) were associated with younger age breast cancer, whereas number of parity was associated with older age breast cancer (p for trend=0.03). The results by age group suggest that different mechanisms may exist in breast cancer developing at early and late onsets.     

Preparation of a complex of dexamethasone palmitate-low density lipoprotein and its effect on foam cell formation of murine peritoneal macrophages.

In the early progression of atherosclerosis, LDL migrates in the subendothelial space of the artery and plays an important role in foam cell formations of macrophages. LDL may serve as a carrier of site-specific delivery of drugs to atherosclerotic lesions. In this exploratory study, dexamethasone palmitate (DP) was incorporated in LDL, and an inhibitory effect of this complex on foam cell formations was examined. LDL was isolated from human plasma, and the DP-LDL complex was prepared by incubation in the presence of Celite 545. No degradation nor modification of LDL was observed. The DP/LDL molar ratio of the complex was 35-50:1. Foam cell formations of murine macrophages were induced by incubation with oxidized LDL. When macrophages were pretreated with the DP-LDL complex, accumulation of cholesterol ester in the macrophages induced by oxidized LDL, i.e., an index of foam cell formation, was decreased. These findings indicated that the DP-LDL complex showed similar characteristics to LDL, and the DP-LDL complex inhibited foam cell formations of macrophages in vitro. This study provides the basis for further study of the DP-LDL complex as a drug-carrier complex for treatment of atherosclerosis.     

Precancerous lesions of the stomach

The etiology of stomach cancer in relation to preexisting mucosal alterations is described and discussed from a review of the literature and our own previously reported experience. The incidence of cancerization or malignant change of gastric polyp, chronic gastric ulcer, and chronic gastritis varies considerably from researcher to researcher. Clinical follow-up studies in many cases of gastric polyp and chronic ulcer discovered in the mass survey examination of the stomach revealed incidences of malignant degeneration of 2.3% of the gastric polyp cases and 2.06% of the gastric ulcer cases.

---

Résumé Les relations entre altérations préexistantes de la muqueuse et étiologie du cancer gastrique sont décrites et discutées, avec revue de la littérature et de notre expérience personnelle. La fréquence des cancérisations ou des dégénérescences malignes des polypes gastriques, de l'ulcère gastrique chronique et de la gastrite chronique est éminemment variable d'une étude à l'autre. Les follow-up de populations soumises à des examens systématiques de dépistage indiquent que la fréquence des dégénérescences malignes est de 2.3% pour les polypes gastriques et de 2.06% pour l'ulcère gastrique.

     

Brief communication: heat-induced accumulation of p53 and hsp72 is suppressed in lung fibroblasts from the SCID mouse

PURPOSE: To investigate how DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) contributes to p53-dependent signal transduction after heat shock, thermosensitivity and accumulation of p53 and hsp72 after heat shock in lung fibroblasts derived from the SCID mouse were analysed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thermosensitivity at 44 degrees C in colony-forming units and Western blot analysis of p53 and hsp72 were analysed. RESULTS: The results indicated that (1) the thermosensitivity at 44 degrees C of SCID cells was higher than that of parental cells and (2) heat-induced accumulation of p53 and hsp72 was abolished and suppressed in SCID cells as compared with that in parental cells respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the catalytic subunit of DNA-PK may play an important role upstream of p53 and hsp72, which are possible determinants of cellular thermosensitivity.