Influence of inhaled corticosteroids on community-acquired pneumonia in patients with bronchial asthma

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in patients with asthma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All asthmatic patients who required hospitalization for CAP from the beginning of 1989 through December 2001 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients who used oral corticosteroids daily were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether or not they used ICS, and we analyzed clinical characteristics of the pneumonia. Sixty-two patients (28 males, 34 females; mean age, 54.5 years) were enrolled in this study. Thirty-seven of 62 patients used ICS, with the mean dosage being 777.9 microg/day. RESULTS: We found no significant differences between the two groups with regard to mean age, serum albumin level, duration of asthma, pulmonary function and frequency of intravenous infusion of corticosteroids in the outpatient department. There were no significant differences in body temperature, white blood cell count, and CRP value upon admission between the two groups. Differences were not significant in the period of resolution of the pneumonia or in the frequency of pathogens identified between the two groups. CONCLUSION: ICS therapy appears to have no influence on CAP in patients with asthma. We recommend that ICS should be continued to control asthma with adequate antibiotic therapy when asthmatic patients have CAP.     

New chemotherapy for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: Pilot study of β-interferon and doxorubicin one-shot intra-arterial chemotherapy

Background: Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) need an effective treatment modality because of the poor prognosis of the disease. From an in vitro study, beta-interferon (IFN-beta) has been reported to enhance the antiproliferative effects of doxorubicin on HCC cell lines. In the present study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of combined IFN-beta and doxorubicin intra-arterial injection therapy on patients with advanced HCC. Methods: IFN-beta (3 MIU) and doxorubicin (10 mg/bodyweight) were given by one-shot intra-arterial injection through an arterial port to patients with advanced HCC. One treatment course consisted of three intra-arterial injections per week for 4 weeks. Three courses were conducted and evaluation was done monthly. Results: Eleven patients with advanced HCC were treated with combined IFN-beta and doxorubicin. One patient enteredcomplete remission (CR), seven patients were evaluated as having stable disease (SD) and three as having progressive disease (PD). The mean overall survival was 10 months. The mean survival for CR and SD patients was 15 months, and that for PD patients was 6 months (P = 0.0464, log-rank test). Decrease of serum total bilirubin was observed for all patients. Conclusion: Combined IFN-beta and doxorubicin intra-arterial therapy offers an effective chemotherapy option for patients with advanced HCC by improving liver function and having tolerable side-effects.     

Antisense oligonucleotides of hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) suppress the proliferation of hepatoma cells

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Human hepatoma-derived growth factor, purified from the conditioned medium of hepatoma-derived cell line, HuH-7, stimulates the growth of Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts and HuH-7 cells. To evaluate the role of hepatoma-derived growth factor on the growth of hepatoma cells, we investigated the effects of recombinant hepatoma-derived growth factor protein and hepatoma-derived growth factor antisense oligonucleotides on the proliferation of several hepatoma cell lines. METHODOLOGY: We examined the effects of hepatoma-derived growth factor antisense oligonucleotides on the growth of hepatoma cells by cell growth assay. RESULTS: Hepatoma-derived growth factor stimulated the proliferation of some hepatoma cells (HuH-7, HLF, HepG2, AH66tc cells) about 15-70% over than the control. Hepatoma-derived growth factor antisense oligonucleotides, phosphorothioate-linked or encapsulated in liposome, can inhibit the growth of hepatoma cells. The ID50 of hepatoma-derived growth factor antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotides for HuH-7 cells, in which hepatoma-derived growth factor expression was abundant, was 3 microM by the assay of cell proliferation and [3H]-thymidine incorporation. Their ID50 for AH66tc cells, on which the effects of exogenous hepatoma-derived growth factor were weak, was higher than 10 microM. To omit the toxic effects due to phosphorothioate modification of oligonucleotides and keep the cellular uptake more without their destruction in the culture medium, we used oligonucleotides encapsulated in cationic liposome. Hepatoma-derived growth factor antisense oligonucleotides encapsulated in liposome suppressed the growth of hepatoma cells effectively (ID50:2.0 microM). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that hepatoma-derived growth factor is one of important autocrine, and/or intracrine factors for hepatoma cells, and that hepatoma-derived growth factor anti-sense oligonucleotides may be useful for human hepatocellular carcinoma as an anti-cancer agent.     

Effects of streptococcal preparation OK-432 on liver regeneration and energy status after partial hepatectomy under ischemia/reperfusion in rats

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Activation of reticuloendothelial system functions by the treatment with OK-432 has been reported to enhance liver regeneration. However, its effect on liver regeneration has not been studied after hepatectomy under ischemia/reperfusion which is in clinical use. The aim was to examine the effect of OK-432 on regeneration and energy status of the liver after hepatectomy under ischemia/reperfusion in rats. METHODOLOGY: Rats were randomly divided into two groups; OK-432 pretreatment and saline treatment (control) group. In the OK-432 group, OK-432 (2.5 mg/kg body weight) was administered intraperitoneally 24 hours before hepatectomy. In the control group, the same volume of physiological saline was administered in the same manner. Seventy percent hepatectomy was performed in both groups during the second 15-minute ischemia period after an initial 15-minute ischemia and 15-minute reperfusion periods. The survival after hepatectomy, relative liver weight, deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis rate, and hepatic adenine nucleotide and energy charge levels were examined immediately after hepatectomy and on postoperative days 1, 2, 3, and 7. Serum levels of total bilirubin, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, and hyaluronic acid were also measured. RESULTS: All rats survived and the relative liver weight and deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis rate were not significantly different in the two groups. Serum total bilirubin and glutamic pyruvic transaminase levels were not significantly different in both groups. The serum concentration of hyaluronic acid immediately after hepatectomy was significantly higher in the OK-432 group than in the control group. The pretreatment with OK-432 had no significant effect on the levels of adenine nucleotides and energy charge in the liver. CONCLUSIONS: Under ischemia/reperfusion, pretreatment with OK-432 has no significant effect on regeneration and energy status of the liver after hepatectomy.     

Lysophosphatidic acid transactivates both c-Met and epidermal growth factor receptor, and induces cyclooxygenase-2 expression in human colon cancer LoVo cells

AIM: To examine whether lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) induces phosphorylation of c-Met and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), both of which have been proposed as prognostic markers of colorectal cancer, and whether LPA induces cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in human colon cancer cells. METHODS: Using a human colon cancer cell line, LoVo cells, we performed immunoprecipitation analysis, followed by Western blot analysis. We also examined whether LPA induced COX-2 expression, by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that 10 umol/L LPA induced tyrosine phosphorylation of c-Met and EGFR in LoVo cells within a few minutes. We found that c-Met tyrosine phosphorylation induced by LPA was not attenuated by pertussis toxin or a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, in marked contrast to the results for EGFR. In addition, 0.2-40 umol/L LPA induced COX-2 expression in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that LPA acts upstream of various receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and COX-2, and thus may act as a potent stimulator of colorectal cancer.     

Fucosylated fraction of alpha-fetoprotein, L3, as a useful prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with special reference to low concentrations of serum alpha-fetoprotein

Background: The aim of the present study was to establish L3 fraction before initial treatment as a useful prognostic factor in a prospective fashion in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) where the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was very low. Methods: From 1990 to 2004, 298 HCC patients in whom L3 could be measured were examined in the present study. Enrolled patients with HCC underwent operation, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and percutaneous ablation therapy. The current patient status was confirmed as of the end of March 2005. L3 was determined by crossed immuno-affinoelectrophoresis when AFP was >/=30 ng/mL. It was carried out by liquid-phase binding assay system on cases where AFP < 30 ng/mL. The tentative discriminating line of L3 was set at 15%. Results: The HCC group included four subgroups: 110 patients with AFP concentrations 15% (high L3), was significantly lower than that in the HCC group whose L3 was 相似文献   

Growth of Human Erythroid and Erythroid-Granulocytic Colonies in Culture without Addition of Exogeneous Erythropoietin

S ummary . Growth of human erythroid and erythroid-granulocytic colonies was investigated in a fibrinogen clot culture system. CFU-E, BFU-E, CFU-C and the mixed colonies were grown in cultures in medium conditioned by phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated human mononuclear cells, with small amounts of aplastic anaemia serum, but no exogeneous erythropoietin (Epo). The level of Epo in the culture was 0·015 U. The mixed colonies constituted 8-22% of the total of colonies grown. The results indicate that high dose Epo is not required to grow BFU-E and the mixed colonies in cultures containing erythroid potentiating factor(s), and the frequency of bipotent haemopoietic stem cells in human bone marrow or peripheral blood may be higher than that reported previously.     

Refractory Crow-Fukase Syndrome (POEMS Syndrome) Successfully Treated with High-Dose Melphalan followed by Autologous Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation

Crow-Fukase syndrome (CFS) is a multisystemic disorder. Because it is characterized by polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, sclerotic bone lesions, and skin changes it is also known as POEMS syndrome. Extravascular volume overload is also one of the main symptoms. Uncontrollable extravascular volume overload is one of the major causes of death and one of the negative prognostic factors. Control of the extravascular volume overload is an important therapeutic strategy for this syndrome. We report here a case of CFS with extravascular volume overload resulting in pleural effusion and massive edema in the lower extremities, which was refractory to oral administration of melphalan and prednisolone. The patient's condition correlated with the serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor and markedly improved after administration of high-dose melphalan (200 mg/m²) followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. This approach should be considered in patients with CFS who fail to respond to conventional chemotherapy and have uncontrollable extravascular volume overload.