Nonfunctional pituitary macroadenoma manifested as muscular symptoms

A 75-year-old man with a large pituitary adenoma presented with general muscular weakness, including difficulty in rising in the morning and forceless defecation and urination, and muscular pain, numbness and atrophy in the shoulder, neck and thigh. Testosterone replacement and subsequent resection of the pituitary tumor resulted in resolution of the symptoms. The value of pituitary imaging tests for men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is discussed.     

An Analytical Model / Emotional Intelligence Quotient and QOL in Mothers with Infants in Japan

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship betweenthe emotional intelligence quotient and health-related quality of life using structuralequation modeling.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,911mothers who visited the Health Center for an infant medical examination. A hypotheticalmodel was constructed using variables of the emotional intelligence quotient, socialsupport, coping, parenting stress, and perceived health competence.Result: There were a total of 1,104 valid responses (57.8%). Significantstandardized estimates were obtained, confirming the goodness of fit issues with themodel. The emotional intelligence quotient had a strong impact on physical andpsychological quality of life, and showed the greatest association with coping. This studydiffered from previous studies in that, due to the inclusion of social support andexplanatory variables in coping, an increase in coping strategies was more highlyassociated with emotional intelligence quotient levels than with social support.Conclusion: An enhanced emotional intelligence quotient should be considereda primary objective to promote the health of mothers with infant children.     

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus-aureus-associated glomerulonephritis on the decline: decreased incidence since the 1990s

We believe that bacterial-infection-associated glomerulonephritis (GN), so-called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-GN, was exterminated in Japan. The control of bacterial infection is the most important part of infection-associated GN. In 1990s Japan, hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) caused MRSA-GN outbreaks. On the other hand, MRSA-GN incidence has been quite limited since 2000. This epidemiological transition suggests that antibacterial therapies and health programs for HA-MRSA infection in Japan were effective against MRSA-GN. Moreover, it appears that staphylococcal superantigens act in the pathogenesis of GN. The change of superantigen production might have influenced to the disappearance of MRSA-GN. If HA-MRSA-producing superantigen outbreaks occur in developing countries, our experience in Japan can provide guiding principles for preventing and eradicating GN.     

Laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy using a single umbilical puncture method

To establish a minimally invasive technique to perform ovarian cystectomy, the authors applied a single umbilical puncture method. A 2-month old female infant was admitted to the hospital because of an ovarian cyst that showed no spontaneous shrinkage after her birth. An umbilical semicircular incision was made to insert a 10-mm trocar, into which a 3-mm laparoscope was inserted. The ovarian cyst was grasped using forceps inserted through an operating channel of the scope, and the cyst was removed through the incision. After aspiration of the cyst, the free cyst wall was resected, leaving the intact ovarian tissue. The operation was performed without difficulty or complication. The postoperative course was uneventful. The wound was inconspicuous, and the result was cosmetically excellent. The case demonstrated the feasibility of the minimally invasive technique using a single umbilical puncture for ovarian cystectomy in an infant.     

Health-related quality of life and prognosis in patients with chronic kidney disease: a 3-year follow-up study

Background

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global problem and is also associated with a decreased health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this study was to evaluate measured HRQOL based on the new CKD classification including proteinuria stage, and the effect of measured HRQOL on CKD progression and clinical outcomes over a 3-year period.

Methods

EuroQol (EQ-5D), a generic preference-based questionnaire, was administered to 537 CKD outpatients at the University of Tsukuba Hospital between November and December 2008. We evaluated disease progression in CKD patients including the incidence of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality over a 3-year follow-up period.

Results

The proportions progressing to the higher stages were 32.6, 20.0, 36.6, 39.5, and 45.8 % from glomerular filtration rate (GFR) stages (G) 1–4, respectively. The proportion progressing to ESKD (G5D) was 0.7 % from G2, 3.9 % from G3b, 20.8 % from G4 and 63.4 % from G5. The incidence of CVD and/or death was 1.2, 4.6, 4.9, 5.3, 8.3 and 21.1 % from G1?G5, respectively. The quality-adjustment weights at G4–5 were significantly lower than at G1–2 and the weights at proteinuria stage (A) 3 were significantly lower than at A1–2. The quality-adjustment weights of patients with events such as 50 % estimated GFR decline, dialysis, CVD, and/or death were significantly lower than those without events.

Conclusion

We showed CKD progression and clinical outcomes over a 3-year period. Quality-adjustment weights in CKD patients were associated with not only disease progression such as initiation of dialysis treatment and incidence of CVD events and all-cause death, but also the level of proteinuria at baseline.     

Early and late outcomes of coronary artery bypass surgery versus percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents for dialysis patients

Abstract Background: Advances in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using drug‐eluting stents (DES) have impacted clinical practice. However, the efficacy of DES for dialysis patients still remains controversial. This study compares the early and long‐term clinical outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and PCI with DES in dialysis patients. Methods: A retrospective review was performed in 125 dialysis patients treated between 2004 and 2007. Fifty‐eight patients underwent CABG and 67 underwent PCI with DES. The overall death, cardiac death, and cardiac‐related event rates were analyzed using the Kaplan‐Meier method. For the risk‐adjusted comparisons, multivariable logistic and Cox regression analyses were used. Results: The preoperative characteristics of the patients were similar except for the ejection fraction (p = 0.002) and the number of diseased vessels (p < 0.001). The 30‐day mortality was 0 in both groups. The overall survival rates at one, three, and five years were 84.2%, 64.7%, and 56.2% in CABG group and 88.2%, 75.5%, and 61.7% in DES group, respectively (p = 0.202). The rates of freedom from cardiac‐related events at one, three, and five years were 76.6%, 68.1%, and 48.6%, and 63.0%, 31.4%, and 0% in CABG and DES groups (p < 0.001), respectively, including seven (10%) late thromboses in the DES group. Although the risk‐adjusted analysis showed no significant difference for overall and cardiac death rates, the rates of cardiac‐related events and graft/stent failure were significantly higher in the DES group. Conclusions: CABG is superior for revascularization in dialysis patients compared with PCI using DES in terms of freedom from cardiac‐related events. (J Card Surg 2012;27:281‐287)     

Postoperative liver dysfunction in living donors after left-sided graft hepatectomy: portal venous occlusion of the medial segment after lateral segmentectomy and hepatic venous congestion after left lobe hepatectomy

Background

The aim of this study was to evaluate how sacrifice of the portal vein and/or hepatic vein affects remnant liver dysfunction after lateral segmentectomy or left lobe hepatectomy.

Materials and methods

Among 130 patients who underwent donor hepatectomy between March 2002 and July 2011, we enrolled lateral segment (n = 15) and left lobe donors (n = 40). We evaluated the postoperative courses and the territory of venous obstruction or congestion based on the sacrificed portal vein or hepatic vein after the donor operation: lateral segment grafts (P4a, P4b, LV4) and left lobe grafts (MV5, MV8) according to the results analyzed by MeVis Distant Service.

Results

Among lateral segment donors, the predicted sacrificed territory of portal vein and hepatic vein was 14.3% (7.3%-19.4%) in P4a + 4b: (P4a: 8.6%, P4b: 5.8%) and 2.9% (0%-8.4%) in LV4, respectively. On the other hand, in left lobe donors, the predicted congestive territory of the hepatic vein was 17.6% (2.8%-33.0%) in MV5 + 8 (7.8% in MV5 and 9.8% in MV8, respectively). The incidence of patients whose postoperative peak aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase levels were higher than 500 IU/L was 20% in the lateral segment donors and 5% in the left lobe donors. The peak postoperative AST levels and territory of MV5 + 8 showed a significant positive correlation (R = 0.569, P < .05) among left lobe donors.

Conclusion

Territories of P4 in lateral segment donors and MV5 + 8 in left lobe donors impacted postoperative liver dysfunction. It is important to recognize the precise territory of the portal vein and the hepatic vein before the donor operation.     

Living donor liver transplantation for the patients with portal vein thrombosis: use of an interpositional venous graft passed posteriorly to the pancreatic parenchyma without using jump graft

Background

It is difficult to reconstruct the portal vein (PV) using a long interpositional venous graft in living donor liver transplant (LDLT) patients with portal vein thrombosis (PVT), which involves the confluence of the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and splenic vein (SV). We successfully performed LDLT for three patients with PVT using an interpositional vascular conduit passing posterior to the pancreas without a jump graft.

Methods

Three of 130 patients who underwent LDLT in our hospital between March 2002 and June 2011 required this technique. After indentifying the location of the SMV, SV and gastrocolic trunk, we ligated and cut the posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal vein and other short branches from the PV. The PV was drawn inferiorly to the pancreas and transected at the confluence of SMV and SV. The external iliac vein or internal jugular vein was sacrificed as a graft for anastomosis to the cut end of the SMV using 6-0 polypropylene running sutures. Then the venous graft was drawn superiorly to the pancreas by passing it posterior to the pancreas parenchyma for anastomosis to the liver graft PV. The interpositional vein was placed posterior to the pancreas where the PV used to be.

Results

All three patients displayed favorable postoperative courses with the Doppler ultrasound demonstrating good portal flow perioperatively. The postoperative portogram demonstrated patency of the vascular graft.

Conclusion

This method is easy and helpful to treat portal vein thrombosis, by providing the shortest route between the PV of the donor and the SMV of the recipient.     

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1-deficient mice are resistant against renal injury after induction of diabetes

Diabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of end-stage renal failure. Several mechanisms, including activation of protein kinase C, advanced glycation end products, and overexpression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. However, the significance of inflammatory processes in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular complications is poorly understood. Accumulation of macrophages and overexpression of leukocyte adhesion molecules and chemokines are prominent in diabetic human kidney tissues. We previously demonstrated that intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 mediates macrophage infiltration into the diabetic kidney. In the present study, to investigate the role of ICAM-1 in diabetic nephropathy, we induced diabetes in ICAM-1-deficient (ICAM-1(-/-)) mice and ICAM-1(+/+) mice with streptozotocin and examined the renal pathology over a period of 6 months. The infiltration of macrophages was markedly suppressed in diabetic ICAM-1(-/-) mice compared with that of ICAM-1(+/+) mice. Urinary albumin excretion, glomerular hypertrophy, and mesangial matrix expansion were significantly lower in diabetic ICAM-1(-/-) mice than in diabetic ICAM-1(+/+) mice. Moreover, expressions of TGF-beta and type IV collagen in glomeruli were also suppressed in diabetic ICAM-1(-/-) mice. These results suggest that ICAM-1 is critically involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy.