A case of chest wall rhabdomyosarcoma]

A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with right chest pain. Chest X-ray, CT scan and MRI revealed a chest wall tumor and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. Percutaneous lung biopsy was performed, and the pathological diagnosis of pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma was obtained. The only significant abnormal laboratory finding was elevation of serum NSE (24.5 ng/ml). Although chemotherapy (VAC-ADM) and radiation therapy were performed, the patient died about 7 months after admission. To our knowledge, only 17 cases of chest wall rhabdomyosarcoma have been reported in Japan.     

Mucosal interleukin-1β production and acid secretion in enlarged fold gastritis

Background : We have previously shown that eradication of Helicobacter pylori increases acid secretion in H. pylori -associated enlarged fold gastritis.
Aim : To investigate whether locally produced interleukin-1β is possibly involved in the inhibition of acid secretion in H. pylori gastritis.
Methods : IL-1β release from the gastric body mucosa was determined by short-term culture of biopsy specimens in 13 patients with enlarged fold gastritis (all H. pylori -positive), five H. pylori -positive and 10 H. pylori -negative patients without enlarged folds. The acid-inhibitory effect of locally produced IL-1β was examined by [¹⁴C]-aminopyrine uptake assay using isolated rabbit gastric glands.
Results : IL-1β release was significantly greater in patients with enlarged fold gastritis, significantly correlated with both basal and tetragastrin-stimulated acid outputs in the H. pylori -positive patients ( r  = −0.591 and r  = −0.641, respectively; P  < 0.01), and significantly decreased with concomitant increases in acid secretions after eradication of H. pylori . [¹⁴C]-aminopyrine uptake was inhibited by IL-1β in a dose-dependent manner.
Conclusions : Increased production of IL-1β caused by H. pylori infection is possibly involved in the inhibition of acid secretion in enlarged fold gastritis.     

Elevated serum manganese superoxide dismutase in acute leukemias.

We measured the serum levels of manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). Serum Mn-SOD level for normal subjects was 94.1 +/- 23.5 ng/ml (mean +/- S.D.), the levels for AML and ALL patients were 159.6 +/- 77.1 ng/ml and 154.4 +/- 77.0 ng/ml, respectively. The serum Mn-SOD levels were unrelated to individual intracellular Mn-SOD levels, but correlated well with serum lactate dehydrogenase values. Regression of the leukemia was accompanied by decrease in the serum level of Mn-SOD. Serum Mn-SOD may thus serve as a measure of the activity of the disease.     

Scanning electron microscopic findings of cleaved unfertilized eggs ovulated by repeated administration of gonadotrophin

Oocytes in the degenerative process are suggested to be rescued and to developed to ovulation by repeated induction of superovulation using gonadotrophin (GTH). In this study, the morphology of abnormally cleaved unfertilized eggs obtained by repeated induction of superovulation in mice using PMSG/hCG was observed by scanning electron microscope. As a result, loss of microvilli was noted on the cell surface of cleaved unfertilized eggs. On the other hand, ample microvilli were observed on the cell surface of fertilized eggs in the morula stage obtained 65 hours after spontaneous copulation used as controls. Loss of microvilli on the cell surface is a characteristic finding in apoptotic cells. Cleaved unfertilized eggs obtained by repeated induction of superovulation using GTH are considered to be in the degenerative process due to apoptosis.     

Tubuloreticular inclusions and paired cisternae induced in human lymphocytes cultured with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1

Tubuloreticular inclusions (TRI) and paired cisternae (PC) were induced in lymphocytes of normal individuals after incubation with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1. TRI were initially detected in lymphoid cells on day 2 (48-h culture). The frequency of TRI-positive cell sections on day 5 increased about twofold over those on days 2-4. On day 7, TRI were predominantly seen in lymphoplasmacytoid cells or plasmacytoid cells, with an incidence of up to 18% of sections. The regions in these cells were most extensive and anastomosed with the cisternae of adjacent well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). TRI formation appears not to be essential for mitogen-induced B-cell differentiation to plasmacytoid cells, because pokeweed mitogen (PWM) failed to induce TRI. The diverse expressions of TRI induction between these two mitogens may be due to a difference in B-cell activation mechanisms. Paired cisternae were observed in a great majority of mitotic cells at various stages. These were encountered most frequently on day 4. PC were also seen in the PWM-stimulated culture. Our observations suggest that PC formation may be related to new formation of RER as well as to reconstruction of the nuclear envelope.     

Findings on nuclear staining using hoechst dye in cleaved unfertilized eggs obtained by repeated superovulation with gonadotrophin

Unfertilized eggs showing abnormal cleavage are ovulated with repeated induction of super-ovulation. In this study, the presence or absence of the nucleus was examined in segmented blastomeres of these unfertilized eggs using Hoechst dye. Unfertilized eggs showing a morula stage-like cleavage obtained by repeated superovulation 4 times using PMSG/hCG were collected from mice oviducts. The collected eggs were nuclear-stained using Hoechst dye and examined by fluorescence microscope. No positive staining of the nucleus was observed in any of the blastomeres, and only diffuse fluorescence was noted in the cytoplasm. Therefore, we concluded that no nucleus was present in these blastomeres and that cleavage was a degenerative change.     

Prevention of cerebral vasospasm with OKY-046 an imidazole derivative and a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor. A preliminary co-operative clinical study

Summary The prevention of cerebral vasospasm with OKY-046, an imidazole derivative and a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor, was studied co-operatively at ten neurosurgical services. Intravenous administrations of 2, 5 or 10 /kg/minute of OKY-046 were given continuously from the earliest possible day to the 14th SAH-day to 82 pateints with ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Sixty-eight patients (83%) showed moderate to high high-density (SAH) in their initial CTs. Angiographic vasospasms were seen in 58 patients, representing 71% of all cases or 81% of the 72 cases for which angiograms were available; the vasospasms of 45 patients (55 or 63%) were moderate to severe. Symptomatic vasospasm occurred, however, only in 27 patients (33%); in 18 of those cases, moreover, the symptoms were mild or transient. The conditions of the patients at one month after the SAH were classified into 9 grades from 0 (normal) to 8 (deceased). Fifty-two patients (63%) were classified as 0 or 1, and 64 (78%) as better than 3 (possible daily life unaided). The administration of OKY-046 was proven to decrease TXB₂ in the blood.This paper emphasizes the effectiveness of the drug for symptomatic vasospasm, and supports our previous contention that cerebral microthrombosis may play an important role in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm.     

Serum valproate concentrations in epileptic children with favourable responses

The lower limits of the "therapeutic range" for serum levels of sodium valproate (VPA) were evaluated in epileptic children showing a benign clinical course. Twenty-five outpatients, aged 5 to 16 years, whose seizures were well controlled over three years with VPA alone, were studied. Venous blood was taken 1.1 to 5 hrs after the morning dose. Serum VPA concentrations at steady-state after receiving the maintenance doses to control seizures were determined by enzyme immunoassay. The patients were divided into three groups according to the seizure type and the age at onset; A and B: patients with tonic and/or clonic seizures, aged below 3 yrs (n = 11) and 3 to 11 yrs (n = 6), respectively, C: those with absence seizures, aged 4 to 11 yrs (n = 8). The serum concentrations in A (47.8 +/- 21.6 micrograms/ml, mean +/- SD) were significantly (p less than 0.02) lower than those in groups B and C (85.2 +/- 14.0 and 73.0 +/- 17.4 micrograms/ml, respectively). VPA concentrations below 50 micrograms/ml were seen in 6 patients (55%) in group A. It was concluded that many epileptic children, whose ages at onset were below 3 yrs, with tonic and/or clonic seizures could be controlled even with low initial serum concentrations below the "therapeutic range".