Intrapericardial extralobar pulmonary sequestration detected as an intrathoracic cystic mass by using prenatal ultrasonography: Case report and review of the literature

Intrapericardial extralobar pulmonary sequestration is a very rare congenital lung anomaly. We report a case of this condition, detected as an intrathoracic cystic lesion by using prenatal ultrasonography. The neonate was born at 38 weeks of gestation with no progression of the lesion and no respiratory or cardiac symptoms. Ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) revealed a 40 × 17 × 17-mm intrapericardial lesion, composed of cystic components and a solid component. Intrapericardial extrapulmonary sequestration was suspected largely because CT showed a vague aberrant artery. At the age of 3 months, elective surgery was performed, and the postoperative course was uneventful.     

Unusual mono-reassortant of a Wa-like G1P[8] species A rotavirus containing a DS-1-like (genotype 2) NSP4 gene

Virus Genes - Species A rotaviruses are a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. Reassortment is a common phenomenon due to the segmented nature of the...     

Insonation of the eye in the presence of microbubbles: preliminary study of the duration and degree of vascular bioeffects--work in progress.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence and duration of vascular permeability changes induced by the combination of ultrasound and an intravascular microbubble contrast agent in the rabbit eye. METHODS: Five eyes were studied in 8 anaesthetized rabbits. Insonation was performed with a diagnostic B-mode system (center frequency = 2 MHz; mechanical index [MI] = 0.2 and 1.7) for 5 minutes after administration of perflutren microbubbles (0.07 mL/kg). Fluorescein fundus angiography was performed before and 3 minutes after insonation; at 6 minutes, color fundus photography was used to assess the dye leakage, bleeding, and alteration of the diameter of fundus vessels. RESULTS: Alteration of fundus vessel diameters was observed in 1 of 5 cases at a low MI and in 4 of 5 cases at a higher MI. In 1 case, leakage of fluorescein indicated increased permeability at the higher MI. No bleeding was detected in any case. CONCLUSIONS: The permeability change induced by insonation and this dose of an ultrasound contrast agent appears to be transient under the conditions studied, although the time delay between insonation and optical assessment limits the completeness of the findings. This preliminary study may be relevant to drug delivery strategies using ultrasound and microbubbles.     

Complete disappearance of unresectable hepatoblastoma by continuous infusion therapy through hepatic artery.

A 4-month-old infant with a huge unresectable hepatoblastoma was treated by continuous infusion therapy with 5-fluorouracil, vincristine, Adriamycin, and cisplatin, through the hepatic artery. Following 18 months of chemotherapy, the tumor disappeared completely and the initially sky-high serum alpha-fetoprotein levels returned to normal. At the time of this report, the patient continues to do well without tumor recurrence 6 years following discontinuation of the combination chemotherapy.     

Ultrastructural assessment of the radioprotective effects of sodium selenite on parotid glands in rats

The aim of this study was to assess the radioprotective effects of sodium selenite on parotid glands in rats by ultrastructural analysis of acinar cells. Four experimental groups were assessed; control, irradiated, selenium, and selenium/irradiated. The sodium selenite dose was 0.5 mg/kg, administered intraperitoneally 24 h before irradiation in the head and neck region with a single 15-Gy dose of gamma radiation. At 4, 8, 12, 48 and 72 h after irradiation, all animals were sacrificed and the parotid glands were removed. Radiation caused cellular changes from 4 h, and the organelles that presented the greatest alterations were the mitochondria and the secretion glands; nuclear alterations were also observed. Sodium selenite was found to have a radioprotective action, as the selenium/irradiated group presented with less damage when compared to the irradiated group. However, sodium selenite caused cellular alterations that were evident after 8 h, but with less damage when compared to those caused by radiation, which demonstrates a favorable risk-benefit for its use as a radioprotector. Thus, this research shows that sodium selenite has an effective radioprotective action in the parotid gland, which may contribute to the reduction of the adverse effects brought by the radiotherapy.     

Splenic lymphoma of Ki-1 positive B-cell type treated with CHOP]

A 75-year old man was admitted to our hospital by complaining of his left supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. Physical examination also revealed splenomegaly and cervical lymphadenopathy. An abdominal CT scan showed paraaortic lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly with multiple low density area. A pathological diagnosis of Ki-1 lymphoma was made by the biopsied supraclavicular lymph node because the node consists of large cells with clear cytoplasms and conspicuous nucleoli and large cells were positive for IgM, lambda, CD20 and CD30 (Ki-1). The primary lesion of lymphoma was suspected to be spleen because of the radiological finding of the spleen. The patient responded to systemic chemotherapy (CHOP) with complete remission. Pathological and clinical characteristics of this B-cell Ki-1 lymphoma were discussed.     

Prognostic Value of Expression of Sialosyl-Tn Antigen in Colorectal Carcinoma and Transitional Mucosa

We examined the immunohistochemical expression of sialosyl-Tn antigen in the colorectal cancer tissues of 116 patients who underwent curative resection to determine the association between patient prognosis and the expression of sialosyl-Tn in two different tissues: carcinoma and transitional mucosa. Negative or positive expression of sialosyl-Tn in the carcinoma and transitional mucosal tissues were denoted as CA^– or CA⁺ and TM^– or TM⁺, respectively. Patients were classified into one of four groups: CA^–/TM^–, CA^–/TM⁺, CA⁺/TM^–, and CA⁺/TM⁺. CA^–/TM^– was observed in 13 patients and CA^–/TM⁺, CA⁺/TM^–, or CA⁺/TM⁺ was observed in 103 patients. The difference in five-year survival between the CA^–/TM^– group and all the other groups was statistically significant (P = 0.0457), and multivariate analysis showed that sialosyl-Tn expression in at least one of the two tissues was an independent prognostic factor. We conclude that the evaluation of sialosyl-Tn expression in carcinoma as well as transitional mucosa is useful for predicting survival in colorectal cancer patients.     

Genetic diagnosis of retinoblastoma by a combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization and restriction fragment length polymorphism

PURPOSE: It is important to exclude germ line mutation in cases of unilateral retinoblastoma(RB) to estimate hereditary or possible secondary cancer. We investigated whether genetic diagnosis is feasible in a health check screening program. METHODS: Five patients with RB had surgery for enucleation in Keio University Hospital. Tumor cells from enucleated eyes and lymphocytes representing systemic cells were collected and analyzed genetically by fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). RESULTS: One out of three unilateral RB cases could be diagnosed as non-hereditary by the finding of no copies of the RB gene in the tumor cells using the FISH method and no signal in the RFLP method. A decrease of signal in tumor cells to less than 50% in the RFLP method was observed in another case of unilateral RB that seemed to be non-hereditary, but the case ultimately could not be diagnosed as non-hereditary because polycopies were found in the FISH method. No abnormality in tumor cells could be found in another unilateral case or in systemic cells of two bilateral cases. CONCLUSION: A combination of FISH and RFLP methods can be used to diagnose some cases of RB as non-hereditary.     

New stilbene derivatives from Calligonum leucocladum

Two new stilbene derivatives, (E)-resveratrol 3-(6' '-galloyl)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1) and (E)-resveratrol 3-(4' '-acetyl)-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside (2), and five known stilbene derivatives (3-7) were isolated from the dried aerial parts of Calligonum leucocladum. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. Compound 1 showed antioxidant activity and a restorative effect of the inhibition of oxacillin to oxacillin/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.