Intracranial epidermoid carcinoma: CT and MRI

We report a patient with an epidermoid carcinoma an extremely rare brain tumour, in the right cerebellopontine angle cistern. Contrast enhancement is the most important feature for differential diagnosis of epidermoid carcinomas from atypical benign epidermoid cysts.     

带红系增强子的人β珠蛋白基因在转基因小鼠中的表达

带红系增强子的人β珠蛋白基因在转基因小鼠中的表达李政刘德培刘庆辉郭志晨章秋珩李志杰贾佩臣梁植权β４１／４２是印度次大陆、东南亚及我国南方常见的一种血红蛋白病，纯合子呈严重的β－地中海贫血。本实验旨在建立带红系，增强子５′ＨＳ２的人β４１／４２珠蛋白基...     

Invited. MRI and MR angiography in moyamoya disease

The role of radiological imaging in moyamoya disease includes screening of the disease based on clinical findings, evaluation of the changes in vasculature and brain parenchyma, and clinical follow-up. The imaging findings in moyamoya disease are classified as primary and secondary. The primary findings essentially consist of occlusion of the circle of Willis and collateral formation, including moyamoya vessel formation. The secondary findings include cerebral infarction, white matter lesions, atrophy, and hemorrhage. For the visualization of the primary and secondary findings as well as postoperative results, MRI and MR angiography are the most reliable methods and play important roles because of their excellent diagnostic yield and noninvasiveness.     

Comparison of the clinical features of uterine cervical cancers detected by mass screening and voluntary visit

In order to identify the characteristics of uterine cervical cancers detected by mass screenings (mass group), these cancers were compared to cancers diagnosed in patients voluntarily visiting medical institutions (voluntary group), and the following results were obtained. 1. The mass group tended to show a higher incidence of cervical cancer, and the voluntary group had a higher incidence of endometrial cancer. 2. In the mass group having cervical cancer, the age was younger than that in the voluntary group. Also the incidence of cancer among relatives within the third generation and the frequency of previous participating in a mass screening were both significantly greater (p less than 0.01), compared to the voluntary group. 3. As compared to the voluntary group, many patients in the mass group having cervical cancer were asymptomatic and were diagnosed at an early stage, and even if symptomatic, there still were more early cancers in the mass group than in the voluntary group (p less than 0.01). 4. The incidence of lymph node metastases in advanced cervical cancer, that is beyond stage I b, was lower in the mass group than in voluntary group (p less than 0.01). 5. Cervical cancers in the mass group were surgically treated in 94.2% of cases, and the rate was higher than that in the voluntary group. In the surgical treatment, 77.4% of cases in the mass group underwent a simple hysterectomy and a semi-radical hysterectomy, and the frequency of surgical treatment was higher than that in the voluntary group (p less than 0.01). There also was a tendency toward a shorter time of operative procedures, less bleeding during operation, and fewer postoperative complications. 6. In the mass group having cervical cancers, the prognosis was favorable (p less than 0.01). By the clinical stage, in early cancers including stage 0 and stage I a, there was no significant difference in the prognosis between the mass group and voluntary group, and in the advanced cancer, the prognosis was more favorable in the mass group compared to the voluntary group (p less than 0.01). Asymptomatic patients had a better prognosis than symptomatic patients, and there was no difference between the two groups, but among symptomatic patients the prognosis was more favorable in the mass group than in the voluntary group.     

Surgical treatment of renal cell carcinoma associated with pulmonary metastasis

Fifty-nine nephrectomies have been performed in patients with renal cell carcinoma during a 15-year-period from 1973 to 1987 in Fukuoka University Hospital. Of whom 13 had pulmonary metastasis and 10 had other organ metastasis. The 1, 3, 5-year survival rates in patients with metastasis were significantly worse than those without metastasis. No significant difference was observed between the survival rates in patients with pulmonary metastasis and other organ metastasis. Only 1-year-survival rate was better in patients with delayed metastasis after nephrectomy than that of patients with synchronous lung metastasis to the primary tumor. Resection of pulmonary metastasis was performed in 6 patients. Four of them, however, underwent another resection for recurrence in the lung. The average survival periods of the patients with and without surgical removal of pulmonary metastasis were almost same in the alive cases, but in the dead cases there was observed a 26-month-longer survival period in patients undergoing resection of metastatic lesion than those without resection. In conclusion, resection of pulmonary metastasis may not bring eradication of the disease in the majority of cases. However, aggressive surgery for pulmonary metastasis should be accepted because no effective adjuvant therapy is practically available in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Additionally, a case was reported of spontaneous regression of a pulmonary metastasis seen in a 61-year-old male with renal carcinoma. The lesion showed an apparent regression after radical nephrectomy on chest films and completely disappeared at 8 months postoperatively. After 9 months disease-free period, heterotopic recurrence developed in the same lung.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Gd-DTPA administered MR imaging of intracranial mass lesions: a comparison with CT and precontrast MR

Magnetic resonance (MR) images of 13 intracranial mass lesions taken with the intravenous administration of gadolinium-DTPA were evaluated in comparison with precontrast computed tomography (CT), postcontrast CT, and precontrast MR. In the MR images taken with Gd-DTPA, tumor delineation improved in eight of 13 cases (62%) in comparison with precontrast MR images, and in seven of 13 cases (54%) in comparison with the overall evaluation of precontrast CT, postcontrast CT, and precontrast MR images. Tumor demarcation was unchanged in the remaining cases; no deterioration was observed with Gd-DTPA administration. MR imaging with Gd-DTPA should be performed to better evaluate the extent of intracranial mass lesions and to provide additional information.     

Edaravone attenuates impairment of synaptic plasticity in granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus following traumatic brain injury

Effects of edaravone, a free radical scavenger, on post-traumatic impairment of long-term potentiation (LTP) were examined in granule cell layers of the dentate gyrus (DG) in vitro. Field EPSPs (fEPSPs) evoked by stimulation of the perforant path (PP) were recorded extracellularly in the DG one week after a moderate impact applied by a fluid percussion injury (FPI) device. High frequency stimulation (HFS) of the PP caused LTP of the fEPSP-slope in slices from na?ve and sham-operated rats, however, the LTP was strongly depressed in slices from FPI rats. Intraperitoneal administration of edaravone 15 min after FPI prevented the hyperactivities of DG neurons and attenuated impairment of the LTP in FPI rat dentate granular cells. In vitro application of spermine NONOate (sp-NO), a nitric oxide (NO) donor, for 30 min produced a gradual increase in the fEPSP-slope, lasting for more than 2 h. Edaravone attenuated the enhancement of the fEPSP-slope induced by sp-NO. After sp-NO treatment HFS could not produce an obvious LTP in the DG granule cell layer. Pretreatment of DG slices with edaravone prevented the sp-NO-induced impairment of LTP. These results suggest that administration of edaravone after FPI protects against post-traumatic impairment of LTP in granule cell layers of the DG, possibly by scavenging NO-related radicals.     

Histamine is an antagonist of the acetylcholine receptor at the frog endplate.

The effects of histamine on the acetylcholine (ACh) receptor-channel complex were examined by means of voltage-clamp at the frog endplate. ACh was ionophoretically applied to the endplate. Histamine was added to the perfusate. Histamine (100 nM - 1 mM) reversibly depressed the peak amplitude of the ACh-induced inward current in a dose-dependent manner. The double reciprocal plot of the dose-response relationship between the peak ACh current and the amount of ACh applied suggested that histamine (100 microM) depressed the ACh-induced current in a competitive manner. Histamine prevented the specific ACh binding site within the receptor-channel complex from binding erabutoxin, a sea-snake venom, which binds irreversibly to the specific ACh binding site. Histamine had no detectable effects on the equilibrium potential of the endplate current but shortened the half-decay time of the endplate current in a voltage-dependent manner. It was therefore concluded that histamine blocks not only the specific ACh binding site but also interacts with the ACh-channel site. The present experiments strongly suggest that histamine can act as an antagonist to modulate nicotinic cholinergic transmission.     

A calcium-dependent slow afterdepolarization recorded in rat dorsolateral septal nucleus neurons in vitro

1. Conventional intracellular and single-electrode voltage-clamp recordings were obtained from rat brain slices containing dorsolateral septal nucleus (DLSN) neurons in vitro. 2. We observed a slow afterdepolarizing potential (slow-ADP) that lasted up to several seconds (half-decay time was in the range of 0.7-1.4 s) in almost 15% of DLSN neurons; these same neurons could exhibit burst firing activity. The amplitude of this slow-ADP was not affected by hyperpolarization of the membrane potential. 3. The slow-ADP was associated with an increased membrane conductance. Hybrid voltage clamping of the slow-ADP revealed a transient slow inward current (slow-ADC). The current-voltage relationship of the slow-ADC was linear between -40 and -100 mV and generated an extrapolated reversal potential of -30 mV. 4. We investigated the ionic mechanism of the slow-ADP in the rat DLSN. Slow-ADPs were not blocked by 1 microM tetrodotoxin (TTX) but were markedly depressed by 200 microM Cd2+, Ca2(+)-free, low-Na+ solutions, and the intracellular injection of ethylene glycol-bis(B-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA). Neither diltiazam (10 microM), an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker nor omega-conatoxin (0.2-2.5 microM), an N-type Ca2+ channel blocker affected the slow-ADP. Similarly, the slow-ADP was not affected in a low-Cl- solution. On the other hand, the slow-ADP was enhanced in a K(+)-free solution. In addition, the slow-ADP was not affected by 1 mM kynurenic acid, a broad-spectrum excitatory amino acid antagonist. 5. We conclude that the slow-ADP in the rat DLSN is mediated by a novel Ca2(+)-dependent, Na(+)-dependent, and nonsynaptic inward current that may be similar to the Ca2(+)-activated nonspecific cation channel currents (i.e., CAN-currents) described in various tissues. This current appears to underlie some forms of spontaneous bursting activity recorded from rat DLSN neurons. It may also be responsible for some types of bursting activity recorded in other CNS neurons.