Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula with cerebral infarction successfully treated by video-assisted thoracic surgery

We experienced a case in which a pulmonary arteriovenous fistula was found due to the occurrence of cerebral infarction. The patient was a 65-year-old female who had seen a local doctor for lightheadedness occurring upon rising in the morning. She underwent a cerebral MRI and was diagnosed to have a cerebral infarction. Upon closer examination, a chest radiograph revealed an abnormal shadow and a three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) chest angiography detected a pulmonary arteriovenous fistula 32x30 mm in size with the feeder blood vessel A10 and drainer blood vessel V10 in the left inferior lobe S10, which was considered to be the cause of the cerebral infarction. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was conducted for a segmental resection of the basal segment of the left lung. The patient's postoperative progress was good and there was no reoccurrence of the cerebral infarction. The rate of occurrence of cerebral infarction along with pulmonary arteriovenous fistula is considered to be 11.4%; however, cerebral infarction may be an early indicator of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula, and therefore, due attention must be paid.     

Solitary brain metastasis from pT1, G3 bladder cancer

Abstract:   Brain metastasis from bladder cancer occurs rarely. Particularly, solitary brain metastasis is very rare in patients who have never received systemic chemotherapy. We encountered a patient who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor and bacillus Calmette-Guérin bladder instillation for pT1, G3 bladder cancer accompanied by carcinoma in situ , and subsequently revealed solitary brain metastasis after 34 months while neither cystoscopy nor urine cytology revealed abnormalities during this period. To our knowledge, our experience of solitary brain metastasis from pT1 bladder cancer is the second case in the world.     

Ejaculatory dysfunction caused by the new α1‐blocker silodosin: A preliminary study to analyze human ejaculation using color Doppler ultrasonography

Objectives: In order to clinically investigate the mechanism of ejaculatory dysfunction attributable to the α₁‐blocker silodosin, a real‐time observation of ejaculation by healthy males was performed. Methods: Following intake of silodosin, a newly developed selective α₁‐blocker for benign prostatic hypertrophy, ejaculation was dynamically observed using color Doppler ultrasound in three healthy males. Normal ejaculation was also investigated in the same manner. Results: With silodosin intake, no antegrade ejaculation was observed in cases 1 or 2. In case 1, seminal fluid slowly but continuously flowed out from the seminal vesicles into the bladder. In case 2, only a small amount of seminal fluid flowed into the bladder during the ejaculatory sensation. In case 3, ejection of a small amount of semen from the external urethral orifice was observed and inflow of a small amount of seminal fluid into the bladder was also captured. Without silodosin intake, all three subjects exhibited antegrade ejaculation. Conclusions: The mechanism of ejaculatory dysfunction is intricately related to retrograde ejaculation (retrograde inflow of seminal fluid), insufficient contraction of the seminal vesicles, and insufficient rhythmic contraction of the muscles of the pelvic floor.     

Performance of Japanese and Japanese-American children on the Motor Accuracy-Revised and Design Copying Tests of the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests

This study investigates whether cultural differences affect childrens' performances on the Design Copying (DC) and Motor Accuracy-Revised (MAC-R) Tests of the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests. The DC and the MAC-R were administered to 98 children who were born in Japan and lived there at least during the first year of life and to 82 children who were of Japanese descent but who were born in America. Average test scores of the Japanese and Japanese-American children were compared with those of the American children, on whom the tests were standardized. Results of the tests requiring right-hand performance revealed that both groups of Japanese-descent children performed better than the standardization group of American children; the Japan-born children performed the best. We base these findings on the influence that culture has on the development of a child.     

Prospective randomized controlled study of bestatin in gastric cancer surgery

The effectiveness of bestatin combined with mitomycin C and tegafur as an adjuvant to surgery for gastric cancer was investigated in a prospective randomized controlled study. All patients underwent curative gastrectomy during the period from November 1980 to April 1984. Five-year survival rate revealed no significant difference between groups with or without bestatin. The effectiveness of bestatin was suggested in postoperative peritoneal recurrence in cases with positive histological invasion into the veins of the stomach wall.