Isolated limb perfusion: the European experience

Isolated limb perfusion (ILP) is a method of cancer treatment allowing the administration of high doses of anticancer agents in a limb surgically isolated from systemic circulation. By using continuous leakage monitoring and using the drug melphalan, a high complete remission rate is obtained in patients with melanoma. In patients with sarcomas, ILP with tumor necrosis factor and melphalan represents a neoadjuvant treatment for limb-sparing surgery. This treatment is the first demonstration of an active anti-angiogenic regimen in the clinic.     

Soft tissue sarcoma: the predominant primary malignancy in the retroperitoneum

Purpose. In the clinical work-up of a retroperitoneal mass, the diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma is often not considered. Incidence rates of various malignant and benign retroperitoneal tumours were studied to determine the incidence of soft tissue sarcoma in comparison with other neoplasms in the retroperitoneal space.Method. Nation-wide data on retroperitoneal tumours, collected prospectively over a 5-year period (1 January 1989- 1 January 1994), were supplied by the Netherlands Cancer Registry and The Dutch Network and National Database for Pathology.Results. Seven hundred and six patients with a primary retroperitoneal neoplasm were identified; 566 patients had a malignant tumour (80%). A soft tissue sarcoma (STS) was the most frequently diagnosed malignant tumour (n = 192), The agestandardised incidence of retroperitoneal STS was 2.5 per million person-years. The male/female ratio for STS was 0.73. In females, STS comprised 41%of all malignant retroperitoneal tumours, carcinoma of unknown primary tumour site (CUP) comprised 31%, and malignant lymphomas (ML) comprised 22%, whereas in males these values were 28% (STS), 30% (CUP), and 32% (ML), respectively.Discussion. Soft tissue sarcomas, albeit rare, are relatively common primary tumours in the retroperitoneum, especially in women.     

1990～1997年全球控制和消除麻疹进展

本文在已发表的《全球麻疹控制和地区消除麻疹进展报告》〔1〕的基础上,增加1997年麻疹发病数和麻疹疫苗免疫接种率资料,以及世界卫生组织(ＷＨＯ)估计的1997年全球麻疹发病率和死亡率与计划免疫实施前的麻疹发病水平比较的资料,旨在介绍目前全球控制和消除麻疹现状及一些...     

Prevalence of antibodies against Ascaris suum and its association with allergic manifestations in 4-year-old children in the Netherlands: the PIAMA birth cohort study

The association between helminth infections and childhood atopic diseases remains controversial. The majority of studies have been carried out in tropical areas, whereas less information is available from western countries with low intensity of helminth infections. In the Netherlands, the infection of pigs with Ascaris suum is very common, particularly on pig farms with outdoor facilities. This helminth can also infect humans, causing visceral larva migrans. This study aims at determining the prevalence of antibodies against A. suum and its association with allergic symptoms and sensitisation in a population of 4-year-old children living in the Netherlands. Blood samples from 629 children from the prospective birth cohort Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) study were examined for Ascaris antibodies. Data on allergic symptoms and sensitisation were collected using questionnaires and radioallergosorbent tests (RAST). A total of 45 out of 629 (7%) were found to be Ascaris-seropositive. In addition, a positive association between Ascaris seropositivity and wheeze in the last year, doctor-diagnosed asthma and food and aero-allergen sensitisation was found. These results support the hypothesis that low-level or transient infection with helminths enhances allergic reactivity.     

Implementation and evaluation of a nurse-centered computerized potassium regulation protocol in the intensive care unit - a before and after analysis

Background  

Potassium disorders can cause major complications and must be avoided in critically ill patients. Regulation of potassium in the intensive care unit (ICU) requires potassium administration with frequent blood potassium measurements and subsequent adjustments of the amount of potassium administrated. The use of a potassium replacement protocol can improve potassium regulation. For safety and efficiency, computerized protocols appear to be superior over paper protocols. The aim of this study was to evaluate if a computerized potassium regulation protocol in the ICU improved potassium regulation.     

The effect of surgical wounding on tumour development.

For more than a century, a role for wound healing in the outgrowth of tumours has been implied based on observations in both experimental and clinical studies. Wound healing can be divided into stages of inflammatory, proliferative, repair and remodelling processes. Through proper regulation of activation of epithelial, endothelial and inflammatory cells, platelets and fibroblasts, and the production of growth factors, wounds heal and the various cell types resume their normal function. In tumour growth, similar processes of cell activation and growth factor production are observed. These processes are, however, differently regulated leading to ongoing cellular activation. In recent years, growth factors such as EGF, TGF-alpha and TGF-beta, bFGF, IGF I and II, and PDGF have been identified to play a role in the different stages of wound healing. In addition, some of these factors have now been identified as also being involved in the outgrowth of tumours. In this review, cell types involved in wound healing and tumour growth, as well as the growth factors and cytokines they produce and the role of the extracellular matrix, extensively present in both conditions, are being discussed. A better understanding of the time interval during which the sequelae of events in wound healing occur in relation to the time interval of tumour recurrence may be the basis for defining new therapeutic strategies that can interfere with tumour outgrowth without affecting wound healing processes. These new therapeutic approaches may be of importance especially after surgery or other invasive (diagnostic) procedures in cancer patients.     

Evaluation of the renal scanning agent N-succinyldesferrioxamine B in dogs

The mechanism of the excretion of ⁶⁷Ga-N-succinyldesferrioxamine B (SDF) was investigated in five healthy dogs. Comparison of the SDF clearance rates for whole blood and plasma as well as SDF renograms with those of ¹³¹I-o-iodohippuric acid (OIH) and ¹¹¹In-diethy-lenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA) revealed that SDF is cleared by glomerular filtration and not by an active tubular transport mechanism.     

Effect of electroconvulsive therapy on biopterin and large neutral amino acids in severe, medication-resistant depression.

Biopterin, neopterin and the large neutral amino acids (LNAA), i.e. phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, isoleucine, leucine and valine were measured in plasma of 20 severely depressed inpatients before and after a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). These patients showed a significantly lower plasma biopterin concentration at baseline in comparison with healthy controls. After treatment an increase in biopterin was found, which was statistically significant in the depressed patients with psychotic features. The plasma phenylalanine-tyrosine ratio, which previously increased, normalised after ECT. Mean tryptophan concentration was lower in depressed patients than in normal controls. The patients who responded to ECT showed an increase in the tryptophan concentration and its ratio (tryptophan/LNAA) after treatment. Our results suggest that ECT increases biopterin, which probably results in synthesis of amino acids, especially tyrosine. Furthermore, ECT seems to increase cerebral tryptophan availability because of less tryptophan catabolism parallel with biopterin activation. More research is required to see if biopterin could be useful as a biological marker for the depressive state in this subgroup of patients, because this compound seems to play an important role in the etiology and treatment of depression.