Effects of endostatin and a new drug terpestacin against human neuroblastoma xenograft and cell lines

New development in the vascular network is a significant process for the proliferation, as well as metastatic expand, of cancer cells that depends on a sufficient provider of oxygen and nutrients and the removal of waste products. New blood and lymphatic vessels form via step called angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. Angiogenesis is controlled by activator and inhibitor of some molecules. So many different proteins have been established as angiogenic activators and inhibitors. Grades of expression of angiogenic factors demonstrate the forcefulness of tumor cells. The advance of angiogenic inhibitors should help to decrease both mortality and morbidity from carcinomas. So many patients have received anti-angiogenic therapy to date. Nevertheless, their notional efficacy and anti-angiogeic treatments have not demonstrated to be useful in terms of long-term survival. There is a crucial need for a new close treatment plan combining anti-angiogenic agents with standard cyto-reductive treatments in the regulation of cancer.     

Pigment vs cholesterol cholelithiasis: Comparison of stone and bile composition

This report presents a comparative study of gallstone and gallbladder bile composition from 100 unselected American patients, 23 with pigment and 77 with cholesterol cholelithiasis. Cholesterol stones were predominantly composed of cholesterol, whereas pigment stones were mainly composed of an unidentified residue, bilirubin, and bile salts. The residue in pigment stones was not calcium bilirubinate, which sharply contrasts with the composition of bile pigment calcium stones found in Japanese subjects. Bile composition of the two groups differed in that the cholesterol content of biles surrounding pigment stones was significantly less than that of biles surrounding cholesterol stones. Bilirubin in biles was conjugated, but the pigment extracted from stones was unconjugated bilirubin. This study indicates that (1) pigment stones account for an appreciable percentage of gallstone specimens found at cholecystectomy, and (2) pigment stone formation involves the precipitation of bilirubin, bile salts, and unidentified material which is not calcium bilirubinate.Presented at the meetings of the American Federation of Clinical Research, April 29, 1973, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Supported in part by NIH grant AM 14543. Dr. Trotman is a former NIH trainee under NIH grant AM 05462 and currently a recipient of a Macy Foundation Faculty Fellowship.     

Delta neutrophil index and symptomatic time are effective factors for predicting perforated appendicitis

Appendicitis is a common intra-abdominal inflammatory disease, and morbidity increases with age when perforation occurs. Because, not all patients require emergency surgery, there have been numerous studies on factors for predicting perforated appendicitis. In this study, we aimed to confirm whether the delta neutrophil index (DNI) and the time from symptom onset to surgery are effective predictors for perforated appendicitis in different age groups.This was a retrospective study conducted on 542 appendicitis patients who underwent surgery at Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital. The simple group consisted of 431 subjects, and the perforation group consisted of 111 subjects.Multiple logistic regression analyses demonstrated that age, neutrophil percentage, DNI, C-reactive protein (CRP), and symptomatic time were significant predictors of perforation. Analysis of the receiver-operating characteristic curve showed that the DNI was the most reliable predictive value. In the analyses according to age, the perforation rate was higher in the >65-year-age group; these patients also had a higher DNI, CRP, and symptomatic time. In the DNI analysis using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the area under the curve was higher in the >65-year-age group than in other age groups. In addition, the cutoff values have been determined and perforation occurred significantly in the group with a DNI value of 2.1 or higher and a symptomatic time of 33 hours or longer.DNI is effective in predicting perforation in patients with appendicitis compared with other inflammatory factors. Furthermore, the simultaneous measurement of symptomatic time and DNI is helpful in predicting perforation and determining whether emergency surgery is necessary.     

Shwachman syndrome: Exocrine pancreatic dysfunction and variable phenotypic expression

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Shwachman syndrome is an inherited condition with multisystemic abnormalities, including exocrine pancreatic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and progression of features in a large cohort of patients. METHODS: Clinical records of 25 patients with Shwachman syndrome were reviewed. RESULTS: Mean birth weight (2.92 +/- 0.51 kg) was at the 25th percentile. However, by 6 months of age, mean heights and weights were less than the 5th percentile. After 6 months of age, growth velocity was normal. Severe fat maldigestion due to pancreatic insufficiency was present in early life (fecal fat, 26% +/- 17% of fat intake; age, < 2 years). Serial assessment of exocrine pancreatic function showed persistent deficits of enzyme secretion, but 45% of patients showed moderate age-related improvements leading to pancreatic sufficiency. Neutropenia was the most common hematologic abnormality (88%), but leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia were also frequently encountered. Patients with hypoplasia of all three bone marrow cellular lines (n = 11) had the worst prognosis; 5 patients died, 2 of sepsis and 3 of acute myelogenous leukemia. Other findings included hepatomegaly and/or abnormal liver function test results and skeletal abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: A wide and varied spectrum of phenotypic abnormalities among patients with Shwachman syndrome is described. Pancreatic acinar dysfunction is an invariable abnormality. Patients with severe bone marrow involvement may have a guarded prognosis. (Gastroenterology 1996 Dec;111(6):1593-602)     

Comparative analysis of Behcet's disease in the APLAR region

Aims: Behcet's disease (BD) was originally a disease of the Silk Road. Some authors think that BD from the Silk Road is different from those seen in other countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical manifestations of BD in APLAR countries, where some of them are in the Silk Road (SR) and some others not (NSR). Methods: Data from Australia (NSR), Hong Kong (NSR), India (SR), Iran (SR), and Singapore (SR) were selected and analyzed under the same protocol. Prior published data from China (SR) Japan (SR) and Korea (SR) were included in the analysis. Results: The mean age at the onset of the disease was under 30 for all countries except Japan and Singapore. The male gender was more frequent except in Australia and Korea. Oral aphthosis was the most frequent manifestation (90–100%). Genital aphthosis was less frequent (57–82%). Skin manifestations were also frequent (61–87%). Ocular manifestations were reported from 21–69% of patients. The difference was mainly due to patients’ selection bias and the low number of patients in some reports. The same was true for joint (30–87%), gastrointestinal (6–38%), neurological (2.5–29%) and vascular manifestations (5–28%). Conclusion: Despite the percentage difference among some countries, the general pattern of the disease was the same, suggesting that the minor differences seen in different parts of the world were not enough to call the disease a syndrome, or to differentiate Behcet's disease of the Silk Road from those seen in Western countries.     

X-linked chronic granulomatous disease: correction of NADPH oxidase defect by retrovirus-mediated expression of gp91-phox

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an inherited immunodeficiency resulting from the inability of an individual's phagocytes to produce superoxide anions because of defective NADPH oxidase. The disease may be treated by bone marrow transplantation and as such is a candidate for somatic gene therapy. Two thirds of patients have defects in an X- linked gene (X-CGD) encoding gp91-phox, the large subunit of the membrane cytochrome b-245 component of NADPH oxidase. Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B-cell lines from patients with CGD provide a model system for the disease. We have used retrovirus-mediated expression of gp91-phox to reconstitute functionally NADPH oxidase activity in B-cell lines from three unrelated patients with X-CGD. The protein is glycosylated and membrane associated, and the reconstituted oxidase is appropriately activated via protein kinase C. The kinetics of superoxide production by such reconstituted cells is similar to that of normal B-cell lines. These data show the potential of gene therapy for this disease.