Should patients with a pre-operative prostatespecific antigen greater than 15ng/ml be offered radical prostatectomy?

Background Patients with prostate cancer with a pre-operative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) τ;15ng/ml who undergo radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) generally do not have a good outcome, yet may have organ-confined cancer and should be offered the option of surgery. Aim To assess the outcome of patients who underwent RRP with a pre-operative PSA ≥ 15ng/ml. Methods Thirty-four patients, mean pre-operative PSA: 25.46ng/ml (15.03–76.6) and mean Gleason score: 6.4 (5–9) were assessed. Results Two groups were identified. Group I: 41% (14/34) have no biochemical recurrence to mean follow up of 58 months (30–106). Mean PSA: 18.8ng/ml (15.03–25.84). Mean Gleason score: 6.1 (5–7). Clinical stage: T1c in 80%. No patient had seminal vesicle or lymph node involvement. Group II: 59% (20/34) have biochemical recurrence or died (3) from their disease to mean follow up of 66 months (36–98). Mean PSA: 28.9ng/ml (15.28–76.6). Mean Gleason score: 6.7 (5–9). Clinical stage: T1c in 25%. Eleven patients had seminal vesicle (8) involvement or positive lymph nodes (3) or both (2). Conclusion RRP seems feasible in patients whose pre-operative PSA is between 15 and 25ng/ml with stage T1c, Gleason score ≤ 7 and negative lymph node frozen section.     

Adoptive immunotherapy with antigen-specific T cells in myeloma: a model of tumor-specific donor lymphocyte infusion

Although partial remissions rates of up to 60% are obtained with conventional therapeutic regimens, multiple myeloma is essentially an incurable disease with a median survival of approximately 30 months. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) results in a high percentage of complete remissions (CRs), but it can be associated with significant treatment-related mortality. Recent clinical studies have shown that highly immunosuppressive, yet nonmyeloablative, doses of fludarabine-based chemotherapy can result in alloengraftment. However, even with a reduction in treatment-related mortality, success with allogeneic SCT is limited by the significant risk of relapse. The goal of the strategy described is to transfer tumor antigen-specific immunity induced in the stem cell donor to the allogeneic SCT recipient to reduce relapse. Donors are immunized with a well-defined vaccine, specific for the patient's tumor. The allogeneic SCT is performed with a conditioning regimen consisting of cyclophosphamide and fludarabine, and the stem cell source is blood mobilized with filgrastim, which could potentially enhance the transfer of a larger number of tumor-specific T cells in the allograft, as compared to bone marrow. Donor immunization with myeloma idiotype protein in the setting of a nonmyeloablative SCT may represent a novel strategy for the treatment of myeloma.     

Appendicitis During Pregnancy

Acute appendicitis is the most common extra-uterine surgical emergency requiring immediate surgical intervention during pregnancy [1]. Six young female patients presented with appendicitis during May 1996 to May 2001 in different service hospitals. Five patients underwent emergency appendectomy successfully. Gestational age at presentation included first trimester in 4 patients, second trimester in 2 patients and none in third trimester. 84% had pathologically proven acute appendicitis. One patient presented with appendicular lump in first trimester, proved on ultra sonography examination, which was treated by Oshner Sherren regime and subsequently interval appendectomy was done in second trimester. No long term adverse maternal morbidity or mortality was reported. One patient had premature onset of labour and delivered. Natural history of acute appendicitis is not changed during pregnancy while gestational physiological changes obscure the accurate diagnosis of acute appendicitis.Key Words: Acute appendicitis, Appendectomy, Pregnancy     

Molecular cloning, functional characterization and genomic organization of four alternatively spliced isoforms of the human organic cation transporter 1 (hOCT1/SLC22A1)

Ann. Hum. Genet . (1999), 63 , 473–482
Correction
The authors wish to add the following correction to this paper:
The genomic organization of the human organic cation transporter (hOCT1/SLC22A1) has recently been described by us to consist of 7 exons [Molecular cloning, functional characterization and genomic organization of four alternatively spliced isoforms of the human organic cation transporter 1( hOCT1 / SLC22A1 ); Ann. Hum. Genet . 63 : 473–482]. A reexamination revealed 11 exons instead of 7. The mistake occurred through cDNA contamination. The corrected gene structure of the hOCT1 gene is available at EMBL under the following accession numbers:
AJ243995 (Exon 1), AJ243996 (Exon 2), AJ276051 (Exon 3), AJ276052 (Exon 4), AJ276053 (Exon 5 and 6), AJ245460 (Exon 7), AJ243998 (Exon 8), AJ243999 (Exon 9 and 10) and AJ244000 (Exon 11).     

Volumetric rendering techniques: applications for three-dimensional imaging of the hip

Volumetric rendering is a new approach to three-dimensional (3D) imaging that overcomes many of the drawbacks of currently available surface-rendering systems. Its application on the Pixar Imaging System in two cases of acetabular fracture was assessed to illustrate the features of the technique. The fast-computing architecture and large memory of this system allow rapid generation of a series of high-quality 3D images in each plane of rotation (x or spinal axis, z or somersaulting axis) that can be viewed as independent static images or as an animated real-time video loop. Editing to remove the normal contralateral hemipelvis enhances appreciation of acetabular abnormalities. Every pixel of computed tomographic data is preserved, allowing representation of both soft tissue and bone as translucent overlap. The presentation of data also allows detection of subtle abnormalities and features and minimizes the artifact generation common in surface-rendered images.     

黄柏及中成药中小檗碱和巴马亭的高效液相色谱法测定

本文以正相高效液相色谱法,用窗口图解技术对色谱条件进行了优化。对黄柏及其中成药中的有效成分——小檗碱、巴马亭的提取、测定条件、标准曲线进行了研究。并对两种含黄柏的中成药样品进行了分析。其中小檗碱的回收率均在97%以上,巴马亭的回收率均在96%以上。