Treatment of persistent and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma by brachytherapy

The early results of brachytherapy for persistent and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 30 patients is presented. Fifteen patients were treated by intracavitary caesium, 12 patients were treated by interstitial gold grain implant using the split-palate approach and three patients were treated by both intracavitary caesium and interstitial gold grain implant for the first and second relapse in the nasopharynx, respectively. The overall tumour control rate for intracavitary caesium was 5/18 (28%) with median follow-up of 25.2 months, and for interstitial gold grain implant it was 9/14 (64%) with median follow-up of 16.5 months. Interstitial gold grain implantation appears to be effective in the treatment of persistent and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma.     

In vivo insulin resistance induced by amylin primarily through inhibition of insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle

We examined the in vivo mechanisms of amylin-induced resistance in concious rats (n = 18). During 180-min euglycemic insulin-clamp (21.5 pmol.kg-1.min-1) studies, amylin (50, 200, or 500 pmol.kg-1.min-1; plasma concentration from 3 x 10(-10) to 9 x 10(-9) M) infusion determined a 19-27% reduction in glucose uptake (117.8 +/- 7.0 vs. 145.8 +/- 11.0, 107.1 +/- 9.2 vs. 145.1 +/- 6.7, and 105.0 +/- 7.2 vs. 144.4 +/- 7.0 mumol.kg-1.min-1 at 50, 200, or 500 pmol.kg-1.min-1, respectively, P less than 0.01) versus insulin alone, whereas 10-pmol.kg-1.min-1 amylin infusion (plasma concn 5 x 10(-11) M) failed to affect insulin-mediated glucose disposal. After amylin infusion, the contribution of whole-body glycolysis to overall glucose disposal increased from 43-48 to 62-79%, whereas muscle glycogen synthesis decreased significantly at all peptide concentrations greater than 3 x 10(-10) M, completely accounting for the decrease in glucose uptake. Skeletal muscle glucose-6-phosphate concentration rose from 0.219 +/- 0.038 mumol/g (insulin alone) to 0.350 +/- 0.018, 0.440 +/- 0.020, and 0.505 +/- 0.035 mumol/g (insulin plus amylin at 50, 200, or 500 pmol.kg-1.min-1, P less than 0.01). Suppression of hepatic glucose production by insulin was unaffected by a 50-pmol.kg-1.min-1 amylin infusion (18.5 +/- 4.3 vs. 21.7 +/- 2.9 mumol.kg-1.min-1), whereas it was slightly but significantly impaired by amylin infusion at 200 pmol.kg-1.min-1 (17.8 +/- 3.9 vs. 24.7 +/- 4.5 mumol.kg-1.min-1, P less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Retained intrahepatic stones: treatment with piezoelectric lithotripsy combined with stone extraction

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was performed in 11 patients with oriental cholangiohepatitis and intrahepatic stones associated with segmented strictures of intrahepatic ducts. All patients had previously undergone biliary surgery and basket extraction via a T-tube tract at the time of lithotripsy. The indication for ESWL was failure of, or anticipated difficulty with, basket extraction of the stones via a T-tube tract. A piezoelectric lithotriptor was used in all procedures. The average total number of shock waves administered was 29,756 (range, 10,000-61,395). The average number of treatment sessions was 3.1 (range, 1-6); the number of shock waves used in a single session ranged from 10,000 to 15,000 with a frequency of five shots per second and 30%-50% power. In six patients, the stones were successfully fragmented and completely removed; in three of the others of the stones were fragmented and removed. The overall success rate, including complete (54%) and incomplete (27%) success, was 82%. Difficulty in targeting stones, and severe strictures and deformities of intrahepatic ducts, were the factors responsible for failure. No significant complications were observed.     

Enhancement of hepatic hemangiomas with levovist on coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pattern of contrast enhancement with Levovist on coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography of hepatic hemangiomas. METHODS: Twenty hemangiomas were evaluated with coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography and a microbubble contrast agent. Verification of the diagnosis of a hemangioma was made by means of dynamic computed tomography (n = 8), dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (n = 1), radionuclide scanning (n = 6), or follow-up ultrasonography (n = 5). Ultrasonographic images were obtained before contrast agent administration and with a bolus injection of 2.5 g of a microbubble contrast agent (300 mg/mL Levovist; Schering AG, Berlin, Germany) every 10 to 15 seconds for 5 minutes. The contrast enhancement patterns of the 20 hemangiomas were assessed. RESULTS: The tumor diameters as measured on ultrasonography were 7 to 97 mm (mean, 26.7 mm). Of the 20 hemangiomas, peripheral globular enhancement with progressive centripetal fill-in was shown in 15 (75%), rimlike enhancement with progressive centripetal fill-in was shown in 2 (10%), and homogeneous enhancement was shown in 1 (5%). In the remaining 2 lesions (10%), the enhancement patterns could not be seen, because they were not found on coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography. CONCLUSIONS: Coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography with a microbubble contrast agent can depict the typical enhancement pattern in most hepatic hemangiomas.     

Poly(L-lysine)-g-poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) micelles for low cytotoxic biodegradable gene delivery carriers.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-grafted poly(L-lysine) (PLL) (PLL-g-PLGA) was synthesized to demonstrate its micelle-forming property in an aqueous solution. The micelles were used as a gene delivery carrier. The hydrodynamic diameter of PLL-g-PLGA micelles in an aqueous solution was ca. 149 nm with a narrow size distribution. Critical micelle concentration (cmc) was 9.6 mg/l. The PLL-g-PLGA micelles could be used to produce compact nanoparticulate complexes with plasmid DNA, which could efficiently protect the complexed DNA from enzymatic degradation by DNase I. The micelle/DNA complexes had highly compacted structure sized between 200-300 nm with a positive surface charge value. The PLL-g-PLGA micelles exhibited much higher transfection efficiency with lower cytotoxicity than PLL. Here, we demonstrated that biodegradable and cationic PLL-g-PLGA micelles could be used as an effective DNA condensation carrier for gene delivery system.     

Alkaloidal components ofPanax ginseng

Over twelve alkaloids were delected in the roots ofPanax ginseng C.A. Meyer. Among them three alkaloids were isolated and were identified as N₉-formylharman, ethyl β-carboline-1-carboxylate and perlolyrine on the basis of spectroscopic studies.     

Proximal gastric vagotomy. The preferred operation for perforations in acute duodenal ulcer.

Simple closure, the conventional operation for perforated acute duodenal ulcers, is associated with symptomatic relapse in a large proportion of patients. In order to assess the role of immediate definitive surgery, 78 fit patients with perforated acute ulcers were prospectively randomized to undergo either closure alone or proximal gastric vagotomy with closure (PGV). Patients taking potentially ulcerogenic drugs or who had severe stress were excluded from the study. Both groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, general medical health, duration of perforation, length of ulcer history, and presence of duodenal scarring. There was no hospital mortality. Minor complications occurred in 7.3% after closure and 10.8% after PGV. At 3 years follow-up, the cumulative recurrence rates were 36.6% and 10.6% after closure and PGV, respectively (p = 0.001). Eighty-five per cent of recurrences after closure were symptomatic, and half of them required reoperation. Duodenal scarring itself did not appear to influence the outcome after closure. PGV was not associated with dumping, diarrhea or other unwanted side effects. Although less than that in chronic ulcers, there is a substantial risk of symptomatic relapse after closure of perforated acute duodenal ulcers. With judicious patient selection, PGV effectively reduces this risk without incurring disabling side effects associated with other ulcer operations.     

Acute pancreatitis in the aged

Forty-seven patients aged more than 75 years with acute pancreatitis were studied. The most common cause of acute pancreatitis was biliary tract stones. The clinical presentation and severity of the disease as judged by the number of poor prognostic factors were not different from the group of patients aged less than 75 years. The mortality rate in the older group was thrice that of the younger group (21.3% versus 7.24%). The higher mortality rate was explained by a higher incidence of deaths related to complications of biliary stones and coincidental diseases. Significantly more aged patients with mild disease died, indicating the limitation of predictive ability of the scoring system in acute pancreatitis of the aged.     

Influence of age on the mortality from acute pancreatitis

The influence of age on the mortality rate of 268 patients with acute pancreatitis was studied. The hospital mortality rate for patients aged below 50 years was 5.9 per cent. The figure increased to 21.3 per cent in patients aged over 75; the high mortality was accounted for by a higher incidence of deaths related to concomitant medical or surgical diseases in the same hospital admission rather than to complications resulting directly from the pathological process of acute pancreatitis. When only deaths due to complications of acute pancreatitis were analysed, the mortality rate was not significantly different between the young and elderly groups. Moreover, the complication rate and the proportion of patients having severe disease (judged by the number of prognostic signs) were not higher in the elderly. Thus acute pancreatitis was intrinsically not more serious were it not for the presence of concomitant diseases with advanced age.     

Sonographic appearance of Krukenberg tumor from gastric carcinoma

Sonographic findings in 16 cases of Krukenberg tumor from gastric carcinoma were analyzed. The patients' ages ranged from 25 to 52 years (mean 42 years). The tumor involved both ovaries in 14 patients with asymmetrical masses in 9 of 14 cases. Ascites was noted in 15 cases. Echogenicity of the tumor varied from solid to predominantly cystic: solid in 8, mixed in 6, and predominantly cystic in 2 cases. Solid masses tended to be smaller than mixed or cystic masses. The primary gastric carcinoma had been diagnosed before emergence of the tumors in only 7 cases. The findings suggest that in relatively young patients with ovarian mass, particularly bilateral tumors, careful evaluation for gastrointestinal tract involvement should be done.