Whole-body positron emission tomography with F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose for the detection of recurrence in uterine sarcomas

We evaluated the usefulness of whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) for the detection of recurrence in follow-up patients after primary treatment of uterine sarcoma. Eight patients with pathologically proven uterine sarcoma underwent FDG-PET, computed tomography (CT), and ultrasonography (US). Final diagnoses of recurrence were established in five cases (three carcinosarcomas and two leiomyosarcomas). PET revealed recurrent sites in the intraperitoneum, liver, lung, bone, and retroperitoneal lymph nodes. However, the minimum size of the tumor detected by PET depended on the sites of recurrence. CT and US images showed two false-negative cases of intraperitoneal tumors. PET was able to detect a solitary small intraperitoneal tumor, which was very difficult to detect by CT and US. Positive PET findings did not affect the prognosis in three of the five recurrent patients; however, the remaining two patients consequently underwent the combination therapy consisting of surgery and chemotherapy and survived for more than 1 year after the positive FDG-PET results. Application of PET imaging for the early detection of recurrent sites was useful for the decision of treatment strategy for patients with recurrent uterine sarcoma.     

PLASMA DISAPPEARANCE OF OVINE CORTICOTROPHIN-RELEASING FACTOR IN MAN

Disappearance of immunoreactive ovine corticotrophin-releasing factor (IR-oCRF) from plasma after a single intravenous injection of ovine corticotrophin-releasing factor (oCRF) was studied in man in the morning and evening. Synthetic oCRF (80 micrograms) was injected intravenously to four normal male volunteers at 0900 h or at 2200 h. Blood samples were drawn before and 2, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after the oCRF injection. Plasma IR-oCRF was measured by a specific radioimmunoassay for OCRF. Plasma concentrations of IR-oCRF after oCRF injections in the morning and in the evening did not differ significantly (P greater than 0.05). Disappearance of IR-oCRF was modelled with a two-exponent function by using a non-linear least squares computer program. The metabolic clearance rate, the apparent initial volume of distribution, the plasma half-life for the fast component and that for the slow component calculated from all eight tests in the morning and evening were 1.49 +/- 0.05 ml/min X kg, 44.4 +/- 1.7 ml/kg, 6.8 +/- 0.7 min and 46.2 +/- 2.3 min (mean +/- SEM), respectively. This relatively long half-life may be responsible for the prolonged biological effect of oCRF administered intravenously. There were no significant differences between parameters of IR-oCRF disappearance curves in the morning and those in the evening (P greater than 0.05).     

Prevalence of specific allergic diseases in school children as related to parental atopy

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to investigate the influence of parental allergy on the manifestations and course of allergic disease in children. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 15,234 school children aged 6 and 9 years were evaluated by means of questionnaires completed by their parents in a cross-sectional survey conducted in Tokushima, Japan. The prevalence and relative risk ratio (RRR) for parental allergy in children with atopic dermatitis, asthma and allergic rhinitis were 6.4% (RRR 2.5), 3.2% (RRR 2.4) and 15% (RRR 2.4), respectively. The risk of atopic dermatitis was particularly high in children whose parent had atopic dermatitis, with an RRR of 2.8 (father) and 3.7 (mother). Children with a parental history of asthma also had a high risk of that disorder (RRR of father 5.3, mother 6.2). However, the risk of allergic rhinitis was no different in children with a parental history of allergic rhinitis or from children with a parental history of asthma and atopic dermatitis. A history of allergic disease in both parents, especially of asthma and atopic dermatitis, increased the risk of allergic disease in the child. Milder symptoms, such as wheezy bronchitis, in schoolchildren were similarly related with the same hereditary tendency as the identical allergic disease. The disappearance of allergic symptoms with age also related to a hereditary component, being less likely in children with a history of parental allergy than in those without such an atopic history. CONCLUSIONS: The manifestations and course of allergic disease in school children relate to parental allergic disease.     

CASE REPORT: Haemorrhagic colitis associated with royal jelly intake

The case report of a 53-year-old woman with abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea is described. Prior to the onset of symptoms the patient had taken royal jelly for 25 days. Colonoscopy revealed that the mucosa was haemorrhagic and oedematous throughout the 20 cm long sigmoid colon. Histopathologically, mucosal haemorrhage, oedema, and infiltration of inflammatory cells were observed. Transmission electron microscopic examination revealed platelet aggregation in 30% of capillaries in the mucosal lesions. The drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test was slightly positive for royal jelly (847 c.p.m., SI= 147%) compared with the control (576 c.p.m.). The patient's signs and symptoms disappeared within a few days after the initiation of conservative therapy, and the colonic lesions disappeared after 2 weeks of this therapy. This is the first reported case of haemorrhagic colitis associated with royal jelly intake.     

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia IIA Found at Autopsy

A case is presented of a 32-year-old black female who died fromadult respiratory distress syndrome with disseminated intravascularcoagulopathy. At autopsy she was found to have typical multipleendocrine neoplasia IIA, a combination of medullary carcinomaof the thyroid, bilateral adrenal pheochromocytoma and nodularhyperplasia of the parathyroid.