A new manometry device for evaluating the sphincter of Oddi using a fiber-optic pressure sensor

Introduction: Although measuring the pressure of the sphincter of Oddi and the bile duct is considered to be an important examination, called Sphincter of Oddi manometry (SOM), some complications related to the SOM device remain unsolved.

Material and methods: To decrease adverse complications, we developed a 0.46?mm manometry and we performed some in vitro studies.

Results: We successfully developed a 0.46?mm SOM. The diameter is the thinnest size used in endoscopic examinations. The results of in vitro studies show the suitability as SOM.

Conclusion: This device will decrease the risks related to SOM examination. To confirm the safety and feasibility, further studies including in vivo studies will be needed.     

Progression from Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver to Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Cirrhosis Confirmed by Liver Histology after 14 Years

A 44-year-old patient progressed from nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis. She was diagnosed with NAFL via a liver biopsy. At 56 years old, she was diagnosed with NASH stage 3 via a second liver biopsy. One year later, she was diagnosed with NASH cirrhosis via a third liver biopsy. This is the first study to report the gradual deterioration of liver histology shown via three liver biopsies and fibrosis markers in a patient who progressed from NAFL to NASH cirrhosis. Following menopause, it is necessary to be aware of the rapid development of liver fibrosis.     

Surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer

A review has been made of the results of surgical treatment of 8,000 cases of gastric cancer treated at the Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo, between 1946 and 1986. Resectability was 89.6%, and operative mortality 1.9%. The five-year survival rate was 37.4% for all cases, 59.4% for patients with curative surgery, and 5.0% for those with non-curative surgery. The curative rate improved more than twofold over 41 years among the patients with curative gastrectomy. No one survived more than five years who had visible tumor left after the surgery. Improvement was attributed to the increase in the incidence of early gastric cancer, and in part to surgery including systemic lymphadenectomy and combined resection of adjacent organs involved by cancer. Extensive intervention might be justifiable to eradicate the tumor when the surgery is curative, or relatively non-curative. Multimodality therapy is needed for the control of advanced cancer.     

Polymorphism and haplotype analysis of three novel short tandem repeat loci in the p11.4 region of human X chromosome

International Journal of Legal Medicine - X-chromosomal short tandem repeats (X-STRs) are useful for the identification of absent single parents and complex blood relations. In the present study,...     

A simplified direct radioimmunoassay for urinary aldosterone (author's transl)]

A simplified direct radioimmunoassay for urinary acid labile aldosterone was developed. One ml of urine was hydrolysed with 2 ml of 0.2N HCL at 30 degrees C for 16hrs. One tenth ml of hydrolysed urine diluted 10 times with charcoal treated aldosterone-free calf serum was used for the radioimmunoassay. The radioimmunoasssay was done with a specific antibody, 125I-aldosterone, as the labeled antigen and polyethylene glycol for bound-free separation. There were excellent correlations between the present methods and other methods, i.e., i) a method using dichloromethane extraction before the assay as well as pre-extraction before hydrolysis and ii) a commercial kit using 3H-aldosterone. The intra-assay coefficient of variation was 5.8%, and the inter-assay coefficient of variation was 9.5%. The normal value of urinary aldosterone was excretion was 3.7 plus or minus 2.5 micrograms/day by the present method, and values of patients with primary aldosteronism were between 24 to 43 micrograms/day.