The effect of cartilage-bone marrow extract (CBME) on the healing of intestinal anastomosis

The intestinal anastomosis made under various conditions with and without treatment with cartilage-bone marrow extract were compared. The preoperative or postoperative administration of cartilage-bone marrow extract was found to increase mechanical strength of the intestinal anastomosis, even under unfavorable conditions such as hypoproteinemia, long term treatment of corticoid or reanastomosis. Formation of connective tissue and healing process were also found to be promoted by cartilage-bone marrow extract treatment.     

Patterns of recurrence after curative resection for carcinoma of the thoracic part of the esophagus

Two hundred patients with a previously untreated carcinoma of the thoracic portion of the esophagus and who underwent curative or noncurative resection were retrospectively evaluated. The patterns of recurrence were compared with the pathologic findings at operation. In 30 of 90 (33.3 per cent) patients in the curative resection group and 68 of 110 (61.8 per cent) of those in the noncurative resection group, there was a recurrence. Hematogenic recurrence was most frequent in instances of blood vessel invasion of the carcinoma detected at the time of the operation, and death occurred during the early postoperative period. Lymph node recurrence was most frequent in instances of lymphatic invasion or blood vessel invasion, or both, and the postoperative survival time in such patients was double that seen in those with a hematogenic-related recurrence.     

Intraluminal velocity profile analyzed from flow waveforms

Normal and abnormal flow waveforms, electromagnetically measured in the reconstructed arteries of patients with peripheral occlusive diseases of the lower extremity, were analyzed in terms of luminal velocity profile, using a newly designed flow wave simulation pump. The blood flow with normal flow wave was characterized by a large fluctuation in the velocity profile in the limited layer adjacent to the wall, where a reversal stream was characteristically noted during the phase of cardiac diastole. In contrast, in the abnormal flow wave, the velocity profile in the limited layer adjacent to the wall was always stagnant with little change in the velocity during each phase of a cardiac cycle. These observations clearly explain why an artery with a normal flow waveform remains patent, while an artery with an abnormal waveform tends to occlude. It was also found that the electromagnetically determined flow waveforms do provide the required information on the luminal velocity distribution.     

Effect of levamisole in postoperative adjuvant immunochemotherapy of stomach cancer--randomized controlled study of MMC-tegafur combination therapy with or without levamisole. 1

The effects of levamisole used in combination with Mitomycin C and Tegafur in patients with resectable stomach cancer were investigated in 10 cooperative institutes. The patients were randomly allocated to the treatment with either control or levamisole by envelope method. Levamisole group was treated with Mitomycin C (day 0, 20 mg, day 1, 10 mg, one shot i.v.), Tegafur (600 mg/day, p.o.) and levamisole (150 mg/day, p.o.). Levamisole was administered 3 consecutive days prior to surgery, and 3 consecutive days every fortnight after surgery. The control group was administered Mitomycin C and Tegafur. The both drugs were administered by the same method as above. Two hundred and twenty-two patients were entered in this trial. However, with the exclusion of 67 patients, the eligible patients were 155, consisting of 77 in the control group and 78 in the levamisole group. In stage III patients, the disease-free interval and survival time were significantly prolonged in the levamisole group compared to the control group (generalized Wilcoxon test p less than 0.05). The side effects were observed a little more frequently in the levamisole group. However, there was no significant difference. From this result, it can be considered that levamisole is effective in delaying recurrence and in prolonging survival time of the patients when used in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy after resection of stomach cancer.     

Early gastric carcinoma in Japanese patients under 30 years of age

The clinicopathological characteristics of early gastric carcinoma (EGC) in 23 Japanese under 30 years of age were reviewed and the findings compared with data on 53 patients over age 70. In the young patients, there was a female preponderance, a macroscopic solitary lesion and the cancer was of the poorly differentiated type without intestinal metaplasia in the surrounding mucosa. In the old patients, there was a male preponderance; about half the number of patients had macroscopically elevated lesions and 10 of the 53 had a multifocal gastric carcinoma. Here, most lesions were well to moderately differentiated types with intestinal metaplasia in the surrounding area. Growth patterns of EGC in the young patients were analysed. Curative operations with dissection of regional lymph nodes were done in all the young patients. Metastases to the regional lymph nodes were present in only 2 of 23. Twenty of twenty-three followed for 5 years or longer are well.     

Neural and paracrine regulation of gastrin release using rat antral mucosa in tissue culture--the effect of carbachol, bombesin, and anti-somatostatin antibody on gastrin release

Gastrin release was significantly stimulated by the cholinergic agent carbachol at doses of 10(-4) M, 10(-5) M, and 10(-6) M. Peak stimulation was observed at 10(-5) M. Gastrin release was also significantly stimulated by bombesin at a dose of 10(-8) M, and 10(-6) M atropine which abolished the effect of carbachol in stimulating gastrin release had no effect on the bombesin-stimulated gastrin release. In addition, anti-somatostatin antiserum significantly stimulated gastrin release. These findings suggest that gastrin release is regulated by cholinergic and noncholinergic neurons the latter being thought to be a bombesin-containing neuron, and that antral somatostatin exerts a continuous restraint on gastrin release by the paracrine mechanism.     

Esophageal varices produced in dogs

In attempts to produce esophageal varices in dogs, we designed a procedure based on the concept of hyperdynamic flow. The first stage operation involved the achievement of an arteriovenous shunt between the left renal artery and the proximal splenic vein, in concert with the distal splenic venous-left renal venous shunt. About one month after the initial operation, sixteen of the twenty-eight dogs had tolerated the manipulations. Both shunts proved to be functioning well in six of sixteen survivors, in which an ameroid constrictor was placed around the splenic vein just proximal to the confluence of the left gastric vein. Again one month later, in five of these six, esophageal varices were evidenced, both endoscopically and histologically. Arterialization of left gastric vein concomitant with the distal splenorenal shunt, gave rise to a hyperdynamic state in the upper stomach and resulting in reproducible esophageal varices.