Results of phase III study of lentinan

A follow-up survey of survivals (Oct. 1 '80 to May 1, '84) in a randomized controlled study (Aug. '79 to Sept. 30' 80) of lentinan in combination administration with chemotherapeutic agents such as 5FU + mitomycin C or tegafur on patients with advanced or recurrent gastrointestinal cancer has shown that lentinan has been effective in such cases with regard to the following facts: 1) A life span prolongation effect at the end-point has been observed with statistical significance in lentinan treated patients as was found in the phase III study. 2) Using the life table analysis method, a higher rate of survival has been observed in the lentinan treated group, especially in combination with tegafur for gastric cancer, clearly showing such high survival rates as 12.97% (P less than 0.05) at two years after, and 9.51% (P less than 0.05) and 3.81%, at three and four years after respectively, and for colorectal cancer, 9.10% and 4.55% at two years and three years after, respectively.     

Analysis of the mortality patterns in an area supplying migratory tunnel workers 1. Regional differences in the mortality patterns

Tunnel work, digging a tunnel at the face, is a highly specialized job today. Many tunnel workers migrate from one place to another away from home throughout the year. They are exposed to hazardous factors such as dust, vibration, noise and so on, working under the two 12-hour shift system. Recently it has been reported that many workers who had suffered from pneumoconiosis and/or vibration disease returned to their home areas. The southern part of Oita Prefecture is well known as being one of the areas which supply many tunnel workers. In order to study the long-term effects of tunnel work on the health of the tunnel workers, the authors compared the mortality rate in the district supplying many tunnel workers with that of the district supplying few workers. Nine causes of death were chosen among many as indices indicating the characteristics of the structure of mortality in the district supplying many tunnel workers. The authors estimated these causes of death in relation to sex and age, analyzing simple correlations between the 9 causes of death and 33 socioeconomic factors. A principal component analysis of these indices was also carried out. The results were as follows. A close relationship was found between tunnel work and three causes of death such as silicotuberculosis (010), tuberculosis (010-019, A 6), and infective and parasitic diseases (000-136). The other 5 causes of death such as diseases of the digestive system (520-577), neoplasms (014-259), all causes (000-999), stomach cancer (151, A 47) and pneumoconiosis (515) were related not only to tunnel work but also to other regional characteristics such as fishery workers rate. No relationship was found between tunnel work and death by cerebrovascular disease (430-438, A 85). These results show that the tunnel work has an influence on the structure of mortality in the area supplying these workers.     

Retention cyst of the prostate gland: report of a case

A 55-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of pollakisuria and dysuria. Rectal examination revealed a normal prostate and did not show fluctuation or tenderness. Cystography and cystoscopic examination revealed a lesion projecting into the bladder cavity. An echogram showed an irregular internal echo at the left lobe of the prostate, but prostatic biopsy revealed benign prostatic hypertrophy. Transvesical removal of the prostatic cyst was performed. The cyst was about 3 cm in diameter and filled with yellow fluid (5.8 ml). The fluid contained no sperm and its acid phosphatase and zinc levels were high. The cystic wall was lined by cubo-collumnar cells and partly by flattened epithelium.     

GABA Levels in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Epilepsy

Abstract: The lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels were measured in 27 patients with epilepsy, another three epileptic patients with status epilepticus and three epileptic patients with chronic cerebellar ataxia. The mean lumbar CSF GABA levels of the 27 patients with epilepsy were not significantly different from those of normal controls. Six of these 27 patients who had daily partial complex and partial motor seizures showed significantly low CSF GABA levels as did the six other patients, three each with status epilepticus and chronic cerebellar ataxia. These findings suggest that some epileptic patients have impaired brain GABAergic neurons.     

Infantile congenital petrosal cholesteatoma: a case report and literature review

Congenital cholesteatoma of the middle ear is frequently seen in younger children including infant. By contrast, that of the petrous bone is rarely seen in younger children. We report an exceptional case occurring in 23-month-old infant who presented with unilateral facial nerve paralysis at about 18-month-old. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed congenital cholesteatoma measuring approximately 2 cm in the area of the right geniculate ganglion. The mass was completely eradicated via the middle fossa approach, which allowed for preservation of hearing. The facial nerve maintained intact during surgery and paralysis showed partial recovery after the operation. To our knowledge, the present case seems to be the youngest case of congenital petrosal cholesteatoma reported, and also demonstrates congenital petrosal cholesteatoma could exhibit facial nerve paralysis in early childhood.     

Permanent threshold shift caused by acute cochlear mitochondrial dysfunction is primarily mediated by degeneration of the lateral wall of the cochlea

Mitochondrial dysfunction in the cochlea is thought to be an important cause of sensorineural hearing loss. Recently, we have established a novel rat model with acute hearing impairment caused by exposure to the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) to analyze the mechanism of cochlear mitochondrial dysfunction. Both permanent and temporary threshold shifts were observed in this model depending on the amount of 3-NP used to induce hearing impairment. In this study, we demonstrate cochlear morphological changes in the permanent threshold shift model. Marked degeneration was detected in type 2 fibrocytes in the spiral prominence, type 4 fibrocytes in the spiral ligament, marginal cells and intermediate cells in the stria vascularis 3 h after 3-NP administration; these changes were progressive for at least 14 days. Less prominent degeneration was detected in type 1 and type 3 fibrocytes in the spiral ligament. These results indicate that permanent threshold shift caused by acute cochlear mitochondrial dysfunction is primarily mediated by cellular degeneration in the lateral wall of the cochlea, and suggest that therapy of cochlear hearing loss due to acute energy failure may be achieved through protection and regeneration of the cochlear lateral wall.     

Selective COX-2 inhibitor regulates the MAP kinase signaling pathway in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes after induction of nitric oxide

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors on the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathway and synthesis of glucosaminoglycan after nitric oxide (NO) induction in articular human chondrocytes. After NO induction, the cells were divided into three groups that were treated with either ethanol (control); a selective COX-2 inhibitor (Celecoxib), or no additive, and evaluated. There were no differences in the effect of the selective COX-2 inhibitor on mitochondrial membrane potential or Annexin V levels. However, Celecoxib significantly decreased prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. Celecoxib also decreased the phosphorylation state of p38 and p44/42 of MAP kinase. The ratio of chondroitin-6 sulfate (C6S)/C4S was increased in response to the exposure to Celecoxib. Celecoxib did not affect apoptosis, but decreased the activation of MAP kinase in osteoarthritic chondrocytes after NO induction. NO-induced OA chondrocytes were associated with the p38 and the p44/42 MAPK signaling pathways, in a pathway that is distinct from PGE2-mediated apoptosis.     

Renal oncocytosis

Renal oncocytosis is a rare disorder in which numerous oncocytic nodules develop in the kidney. An additional case is reported here. The patient was a 51-year-old woman who had received hemodialysis for 27 years. Nineteen years previously she had developed a tumorous lesion in the right kidney, which had been diagnosed as oncocytoma with laparotomic biopsy. Recently the kidney was removed because of enlargement of the tumor. The renal parenchyma was entirely replaced with numerous brownish nodules. Histologically, the nodules were composed of nests of uniform oncocytic cells. Ultrastructurally, the oncocytic cells contained numerous mitochondria. Immunohistochemical features of the nodules were identical to those of sporadic oncocytomas, that is, immunophenotypes similar to the distal nephron and reactivity with antimitochondrial antigen. Based on these findings, the lesion was diagnosed as renal oncocytosis. It was not possible to determine whether the larger nodules should be diagnosed as oncocytoma or a part of oncocytosis. Additionally, the germ line mutation of the Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome gene was examined using the genomic DNA obtained from the peripheral lymphocytes, which failed to show any gene alteration. Despite the rare occurrence pathologists and urologists should be aware of renal oncocytosis, as a precursor lesion of renal oncocytoma and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.