Alcohol effect on sleep electroencephalography by fast Fourier transformation

Abstract The influence of alcohol (ethanol) on sleep was investigated in 10 men. Polysomnography (PS) was recorded on a baseline night (BL-N) and an ethanol (0.8 g/kg) night (Et-N). On visual score rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was reduced, REM latency was prolonged on Et-N as compared to BL-N. Using the fast Fourier transformation method, electroencephalographic power density of REM sleep in δ frequencies band and in the 10–12 Hz range of non-REM sleep were enhanced. REM sleep and non-RJEM sleep changes were prominent in the second-half and first-half of the night, respectively.     

p75NGFR Immunostaining for the Detection of Perineural Invasion by Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Perineural invasion (PNI) in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) may portend a poor prognosis for patients. p75NGFR (nerve growth factor receptor) is part of a membrane receptor complex that binds nerve growth factor. Its use for detecting PNI in CSCC in comparison with S-100 immunohistochemical staining has not been explored. OBJECTIVE : To determine whether detection of PNI may be improved by staining with p75NGFR compared with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and S-100. METHODS: Thirty-four cases of CSCC were retrospectively evaluated for the presence of PNI using standard H&E, as well as S-100 and p75NGFR immunohistochemical stains. Staining intensity was correlated to the presence or absence of PNI and tumor differentiation. RESULTS: The results showed a positive correlation between staining intensity and the presence of PNI detected by p75NGFR (p=.04). Using p75NGFR allowed for the detection of seven cases of PNI not detected by H&E alone. Five of these cases were detected by S-100, with two cases seen by p75NGFR only. Six cases of PNI were detected using S-100 not seen on H&E, with one case also not seen using p75NGFR. CONCLUSION: p75NGFR immunostaining increased detection of PNI compared with H&E. p75NGFR could serve as an alternative to S-100 in the detection of PNI or as part of an immunostaining panel for PNI detection.     

The usefulness of ureterorenoscopic examination in evaluation of upper tract disease

AIM: The objective of the present study was to clarify the indications, usefulness and limitations of ureterorenoscopy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January 1998 to June 2004, 72 consecutive patients (48 men and 24 women) with a mean age of 66 years (range, 27-83 years) underwent ureterorenoscopy to diagnose upper urinary tract tumors (UUT). Median follow-up was 24 months (range, 1-73 months). Patients were divided into four subgroups by voided urine cytology and preoperative radiographic findings. Group A (n=11, 15.3%), positive voided urine cytology and positive preoperative radiographic findings; group B (n=5, 6.9%), positive cytology and negative radiographic findings; group C (n=48, 66.7%), negative cytology and positive radiographic findings and group D (n=8, 11.1%), frank hematuria originating from the UUT but negative cytology and negative radiographic findings. We compared the findings of ureterorenoscopic examination and biopsy with the results of retrograde pyelography and cytology of upper tract urine. For each examination, the following diagnostic indices were assessed: sensitivity, specificity, positive-predictive-value (PPV) and negative-predictive-value (NPV) and accuracy. Statistical analysis was performed using McNemar's test. RESULTS: For ureterorenoscopy, sensitivity was 94%, specificity 59%, PPV 72%, NPV 92% and accuracy 76%. For biopsy, sensitivity was 77%, specificity 100%, PPV 100%, NPV 80% and accuracy 88%. Accuracy of ureterorenoscopy tended to be superior to that of retrograde pyelography. Ureterorenoscopy was most useful in the group which consisted of 48 patients (66.7%) with negative voided urine cytology and positive preoperative radiographic findings. This group was the only group in which accuracy of ureterorenoscopic biopsy was superior to that of urine cytology, significantly (P=0.03). CONCLUSION: Results indicated that ureterorenoscopy is most suitable and gives superior accuracy in patients with positive radiographic findings and negative voiding cytology. Ureterorenoscopic biopsy of the upper urinary tract would provide useful information when considering therapeutic strategies, such as nephron-sparing management.     

Serum calcitonin gene-related peptide levels in untreated prostate cancer patients

BACKGROUND: The role of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in prostate cancer has not been fully understood. Moreover, the serum CGRP level in prostate cancer patients has never been reported. We measured the serum CGRP levels in untreated prostate cancer patients to elucidate its clinical significance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used 36 serum samples from prostate cancer patients. All patients had never received any treatment. Serum CGRP was measured by immunoradiometric assay, and we analysed the association between serum CGRP level and clinicopathological factors. RESULTS: Serum CGRP levels in the patients with higher clinical stages and histological grade were significantly higher than in those with lower stages and grade, respectively. But the levels did not correlate with the patient's age, liver or renal functions, serum prostate-specific antigen levels. CONCLUSION: Serum CGRP levels were significantly elevated in the patients with high grade or high stage untreated prostate cancer patients. Measurement of the serum CGRP may be a useful predictor of staging or grading of prostate cancer in the untreated prostate cancer patients.     

Significance of plasma glutathione determination in patients with alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease

Plasma glutathione levels were determined in 79 patients with various types of liver disease and 18 healthy controls in order to study their significance in the course of liver disease. Plasma was taken at the time of needle liver biopsy. A positive linear correlation was found between plasma and hepatic glutathione concentrations, as has been suggested in experimental animals. In patients with acute viral hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis and alcoholic liver disease, plasma glutathione levels were significantly decreased compared with those in controls. Of importance is the fact that the plasma levels increased after recovery in patients with acute viral hepatitis and after abstinence from alcohol intake in patients with alcoholic liver disease. Determination of plasma glutathione may be valuable in the evaluation of liver disease, particularly in acute viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease in which the hepatic content of glutathione is suggested to be decreased. Such patients may be susceptible to oxidative stress and radical-related hepatic injury.     

Health-related quality of life after radical prostatectomy in Japanese men with localized prostate cancer

PURPOSE: We evaluated retrospectively health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after radical prostatectomy (RP) in Japanese men with localized prostate cancer. METHODS: The study was based on self-reported HRQOL of 280 patients. Patients were divided into seven groups: time 0 (T0), baseline before operation; T1, 1-3 months after RP; T2, 4-6 months after RP; T3, 7-12 months after RP; T4, 13-24 months after RP; T5, 25-36 months after RP; and T6, more than 36 months after RP. We measured the general and disease-specific HRQOL using the RAND 36-item Health Survey 1.0 (SF-36) and the University of California, Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA PCI). RESULTS: The general HRQOL of the postoperative groups was assessed by SF-36. The postoperative groups showed almost the same or higher scores than those of the baseline group. Urinary function scores decreased substantially after surgery. In contrast, there was no difference in urinary bother between the baseline and postoperative groups. Sexual function deteriorated substantially in all postoperative groups. Similarly, the sexual bother score significantly deteriorated after RP. The sexual bother score of men aged 65-years or younger was significantly worse than that of their counterparts in the T1-2 groups. CONCLUSION: Despite reports of problems with sexual activity and urinary continence, general HRQOL was mostly unaffected by RP. Although there was a substantial decrease in urinary function, recovery from urinary bother was rapid. Since the deterioration of sexual function was marked through the postoperative period, careful attention should be paid to this issue during preoperative counseling, especially for younger patients.     

Echographic Detection of Latent Severe Thrombotic Stenosis of the Superior Vena Cava and Innominate Vein in Patients with a Pacemaker: Integrated Diagnosis Using Sonography, Pulse Doppler, and Color Flow

Thrombosis of the innominate vein and SVC is a serious complication in patients with pacemakers, inducing puhnonary embolism or SVC syndrome. Venography is the definitive method for its diagnosis; however, it is too invasive for related studies. The purpose of this study was to validate sonography, pulse Doppler, and color flow in detecting noninvasively innominate vein or SVC thrombosis in patients with pacemakers. In 53 patients with pacemakers, the 1 severe SVC stenosis and 18 severe innominate vein stenoses due to thrombosis were diagnosed by digital subtraction angiography. Sonography accurately showed the severe SVC stenosis due to thrombosis, but had limitations on the innominate vein thrombosis. Color flow demonstrated mosaic flow, indicating poststenotic turbulence due to stenosis of the innominate vein and SVC caused by thrombosis in 15 of 16 patients, and pulse Doppler disclosed absence of flow due to complete occlusion of the innominate vein in 2 of 2 patients. Sensitivity and specificity for detecting severe innominate vein stenosis due to thrombosis using combined color flow and pulse Doppler was 94% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, sonography, pulse Doppler, and color flow allow accurate detection of severe innominate vein or SVC stenosis due to thrombosis, and are therefore useful for the follow-up of patients with a pacemaker.     

A case of sub wakefulness syndrome

Abstract We report a patient, a 30-year-old male Japanese-Brazilian migrant construction worker, suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness for at least 6 months. Electroencephalogram recordings during his waking states showed that 10-Hz and 60-µV alpha activity was present prominently in the occipital regions. From the multiple sleep latency test, it was found that stages 1–2 NREM sleep episodes appeared repetitively without any REM episodes, and that the mean sleep latency was 10.2 min. These findings support the diagnosis that this patient suffers from subwakefulness syndrome.