Frequent Loss of Heterozygosity on Chromosomes 16 and 4 in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma

By restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, we examined loss of heterozygosity at 34 loci on 23 chromosomes in 35 surgically resected human hepatocellular carcinomas. Allele losses at the HP locus on chromosome 16q22 and at the MT2P1 locus on chromosome 4p11-q21 were detected in 57% (8/14) and 50% (8/16) of cases, respectively. Loss of heterozygosity on chromosomes 16q and 4 occurred simultaneously in 4 of 7 informative cases for both loci, and seemed to be important in the development of human hepatocellular carcinoma irrespective of the presence of hepatitis B virus infection. In contrast, the incidence of allele loss was low at the other loci, e.g., chromosome 1p, 3p, 11p, 13q or 17p, where one allele is frequently lost in other cancers.     

Imaging Diagnosis of von Hippel-Lindau Disease: A Case Report

A patient with typical manifestations of von Hippel-Lindau diseaseis presented. In this 44 year-old man, cerebellar hemangioblastomawas found initially and he was operated upon at the age of 25.This was followed by retinal angiomas treated by cryocoagulationand, recently, by paresthesia of both legs and frequent shootingpains over the lower abdomen. A computed tomography disclosedmultiple small cysts of the pancreas, bilateral multicentricrenal carcinomas and a spinal angioma in the lumbar portion,confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging, and consistent withneurogenic manifestations. Multiple enucleations of the renalcell carcinomas were carried out, most of which were histologicallywell differentiated adenocarcinomas. There was no family cluster.Six months postoperative, the patient is doing well.     

Surgical Treatment of Adrenal Metastasis Following hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In three patients who underwent hepatectomy for solitary hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC), adrenal metastases, on the right sides of twopatients and the left side of the third were subsequently detectedby ultrasonography (US) and/or computed tomography (CT), andsuccessfully resected after an average interval of 16 monthsfrom hepatectomy. There were no metastatic lesions in the lung,lymph node or bone. Two patients, however, who were found tohave metastasis in the right adrenal also had multiple smallrecurrent foci in the residual liver. The latter were controlledby arterial embolization therapy and the patients are aliveat 12 and three months post-adrenalectomy. In the other patient,with left adrenal metastasis, the serum alpha fetoprotein levelof 3,000 ng/ml returned to normal and he is doing well threeand a half years after adrenalectomy. Since there is no effectivetherapy for metastatic adrenal HCC after hepatectomy, surgerywould appear to be indicated, should no other distant metastasisbe recognized clinically.     

A dynamic study of rectally absorbed ammonia in liver cirrhosis using [13N] ammonia and a positron camera

[¹³N] Ammonia produced by the cyclotron was instilled intrarectally in patients with cirrhosis and other liver diseases to study the turnover of rectally absorbed [¹³N] ammonia. A positron camera connected to an on-line computer system was used for the measurement of sequential changes of¹³N activity in blood and for coincidence positron imaging of the liver and heart.¹³N activity over the head was also recorded. Chromatographic analysis of¹³N-labeled substances in blood was carried out using a Dowex 50Wx8 column at varying times after the administration. In the control, [¹³N] ammonia was absorbed quickly and visualized the liver, whereas in patients with cirrhosis, the lungs and heart were first visualized, and¹³N activity over the head was also higher. It was suggested that a large proportion of absorbed [¹³N] ammonia bypassed hepatocytes and reached peripheral tissues in cirrhosis. The heart/liver ratio of¹³N and¹³N over the head were correlated with various indices of portal hypertension. The relative proportion of nonammonia¹³N metabolites in blood was lower at 5 and 15 min after administration in cirrhosis, suggesting a reduced capacity of the liver to remove and metabolize ammonia.     

Proton spin-lattice relaxation time of Duchenne dystrophy skeletal muscle by magnetic resonance imaging

By means of proton MRI, the spin-lattice relaxation times (T1 values) of pelvic and leg muscles were measured in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and normal controls. The bound water fraction (BWF) was calculated from the T1 value obtained. In normal children, the T1 value decreased, and BWF increased with age. In DMD, the T1 value rapidly decreased, from an abnormally high value in the early stages, with the progress of the disease. This reduction of the T1 value in DMD was not the same for all muscles; it was most prominent in the gluteus maximus and least prominent in the sartorius and gracilis muscles. BWF was below normal in the early stages of DMD. It is suggested that both regenerating and degenerating muscle fibers, together with the increased muscle water content, cause the high T1 value and low BWF in the early stages of DMD, whereas replacement of muscle by fat causes the decreased T1 value in the advanced stages.     

Detection of Gangliosides as N-Glycolylneuraminic Acid-specific Tumor-associated Hanganutziu-Deicher Antigen in Human Retinoblastoma Cells

Gangliosides were shown to bear the tumor-associated N -glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc)-specific Hanganutziu-Deicher (HD) antigen expressed in human retinoblastoma cells. HD antigenie gangliosides were detected by thin-layer chromatography/enzyme-immunostaining using affinity-purified chicken antibody against GM3 containing NeuGc and horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-chicken IgG. One to four species of the antigenic gangliosides were detected from all of 4 cell lines, Y79, WERI-Rb1, TOTL1, and YK, as well as freshly cultured retinoblastoma cells and isolated tumor tissue. All cases contained GMS(NeuGc) as an HD antigen. No HD antigenic ganglioside was detected in normal retinal tissues by the same procedure.     

A Method for Provoking EEG Abnormalities by Administration of Nialamide

Nialamide, a kind of monoamine oxydase inhibitor, was used for provoking centrence-phalic EEG abnormalities and 6–14 Hz positive spikes. It was assumed that these EEG abnormalities have close relationship with dysfunctions of the brainstem which is rich in monoamines and monoamine oxydase. The nialamide provocation was carried out on 49 inpatients who had centrence-phalic discharges in their EEG reports. These patients consisted of four cases of epilepsy, one case of anorexia nervosa, two cases of narcolepsy and 42 cases of dience-phalosis. Another series of 22 patients suffering from other diseases, in whose EEG no centrencephalic EEG abnormalities were detected, were examined with nialamide. Out of the 49 patients, 35 cases (71.4%) showed increased EEG abnormalities following the administration of nialamide. It was noteworthy that this drug had provocative effect not only for EEG abnormalities, but also for the symptoms from which patients were suffering. In 26 out of 49 patients, both EEG abnormalities and clinical syniptoms were provoked by nialamide. And the nialamide administration resulted in negative on all 22 patients who did not register centrencephalic EEG abnormalities. The mechanism and characteristics of this provocative procedure by the use of nialamide were evaluated.