Transrectal hyperthermia for benign prostatic hyperplasia]

Transrectal hyperthermia was performed on 30 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia twice a week for a total of ten times with the temperature of the prostatic tissue set at 43.0 degrees C. In our in vitro experiment using an agar phantom, the highest temperature was observed at approx. 1.5 cm from the point where the 915-MHz microwave was generated. Our histopathological study of the prostatic tissue, resected at open surgery after three days of hyperthermia, indicated that the effect of hyperthermia first occurred in the interstitial tissues, and then extended to the epithelial cells. Subjective symptoms and objective findings were evaluated. In almost all cases, improvement was observed in subjective symptoms after completion of the treatment. The residual urine volume improved significantly. Also, significant improvement was observed in our urodynamics study. In 16 out of 30 cases (53%), both subjective symptoms and objective findings were still improved after six months.     

Differential mechanism of retention of Cu-pyruvaldehyde-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (Cu-PTSM) by brain and tumor: A novel radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography imaging

The reductive retention of⁶²Cu-PTSM was comparatively studied in the brain and Ehrlich ascites tumor cells by electron spin resonance spectrometry and nonradioactive Cu-PTSM. In the brain, only the mitochondrial fraction showed the ability to reduce Cu-PTSM, and the other subcellular fractions did not. In contrast, the cytosolic fraction of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells was the specific site of Cu-PTSM reduction. It was therefore considered that the retention of Cu-PTSM in the brain is closely related to mitochondrial reduction, most probably involving the mitochondrial electron transport system.     

Incidence of renal cell carcinoma in Chiba Prefecture, Japan; ten years experience]

Many reports about the increase of renal cell carcinoma patients have been published in Japan recently, however, the real fluctuations in the total number of patients in relation to the change of population have not been reported yet. Most of the patients with renal cell carcinoma in the last 10 years were examined in Chiba prefecture, which has a population of about five million and 25 active urological offices. Histologically confirmed cases were investigated by sending questionnaire letters. The items were as follows; sex, age, address, occupation, family history, past history, symptoms, examination methods that first detected the tumor, operation date, tumor diameter and clinical stage. Twenty two offices returned answers and 560 cases who lived in Chiba were found to have renal cell carcinoma from 1980 to 1989. Yearly incidence rates per 100,000 persons demonstrated a significant increase from 0.32 to 2.07. Small, asymptomatic and low stage cancers have been increasing rapidly, however, the rate of metastatic disease has not shown any decrease. The main cause of rapid increase seems to be attributed to progress in diagnostic methods and increase of early detection, but the possibility of an increase in some carcinogenic factors can not be ruled out.     

The results of an investigation of the various factors influencing the late patency ratio of coronary bypass grafting

The purpose of this communication was to find out the factors influencing the late patency ratio of coronary artery bypass grafts of 42 patients in our institution. The following results were obtained: 1. The size of the measured diameters of coronary arteries and the graft flow rates were correlated well to the late patency ratio (p less than 0.05). 2. The regular physical exercise trainings were significantly important to keep patent grafts (p less than 0.01). 3. In blood serum studies, serum uric acid levels were significantly lower (p less than 0.05), the average mean HDL cholesterol levels were much higher (p less than 0.001) and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol were significantly lower in the group with late patent grafts than with grafts occluded. Therefore, we found out the variables affecting graft patency ratio which were examined by a stepwise method were the diameter of the coronary artery, regular physical exercise training, the average of lower serum uric acid levels and higher HDL cholesterol levels. The multiple coefficient for these four variables was 0.562 (p less than 0.001) and the contribution was 31.6%. According to the base of this studies, we have concluded that postoperative regular physical exercise, low fat and restricted calorie intake were very important to keep the late patent grafts in long-term follow up period after coronary bypass surgery.     

Osseous xanthomatosis and a pathologic fracture in a patient with hyperlipidemia. A case report

Osseous xanthomatosis and a pathologic fracture of the femoral neck associated with hyperlipoproteinemia occurred in a 48-year-old woman. Widely distributed skeletal lesions suggested a primary neoplasm such as malignant lymphoma or multiple myeloma; however, needle aspiration cytology of the fracture site, cutaneous manifestations, and abnormally high concentrations of lipoproteins established a diagnosis of intraosseous xanthomatosis associated with hyperlipidemia. Histologically, the excised femoral head showed a dense aggregate of lipid-laden macrophages and depletion of normal bone trabeculae. The hyperlipidemia is classified as Type IIb hyperlipoproteinemia.     

Physiological significance of plasma free and conjugated dopamine in healthy volunteers--with special reference to sympathetic nerve activity

In order to elucidate the physiological significance of plasma dopamine, blood pressure, pulse rate (PR), plasma concentrations of free or conjugated dopamine (free or conjugated pDA), noradrenaline (pNA) and adrenaline (pAd) were measured in 9 healthy volunteers. Blood sampling for the measurements was performed at a basal condition maintaining a supine position for 60 minutes, after twenty minutes 60 degrees head-up tilt (tilt) and an intravenous infusion of 1000 ml 0.9% saline for 2 hours. Following tilt, mean values in diastolic and mean blood pressure, PR, pNA and pAd were significantly increased, while free, conjugated and total pDA were decreased. On the other hand, saline infusion yielded significant decreases in hematocrit, pNA, free, conjugated and total pDA, but blood pressure, PR and pAd remained at the same level. Free/conjugated pDA ratio did not change during tilt or saline infusion. The basal value of free, conjugated or total pDA did not significantly correlate with blood pressure, PR, pNA or pAd, respectively. Furthermore, no significant correlations between the changes in pDAs and hemodynamic parameters, pNA or pAd by tilt or saline infusion were observed. From these results, it was suggested that plasma free or conjugated dopamine in physiological conditions may not be released from sympathetic nerve endings or adrenomedullary glands. Further investigations are needed to clarify the physiological significance of plasma dopamine in humans.