Maternal small-bowel volvulus hindered by prodromal labor

Small-bowel volvulus is a rare but accounts for 25% of the intestinal obstruction in pregnant women. Pregnancy and labor mask early signs and symptoms, leading to delay in diagnosis and increased morbidity. This report describes a case with bowel volvulus masked by early labor that underwent 330-cm resection of small intestine and gave a live infant.     

Preservation of female fertility during cancer treatment

Improvements in the success of cancer treatments have resulted in increased awareness of the long-term effects of treatment, of which gonadal failure is the most significant. Thus, preservation of fertility potential has become a major goal and could be realized by preventing ovarian toxicity or by cryopreservation of reproductive cells/tissues. This review aimed to critically discuss the current protocols for the management of chemotherapy-inducced/radiotherapy-induced premature ovarian failure (POF). A medical approach using the gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa) may act to protect the gonads during radiation and/or chemotherapy by preferentially steering cells into cell cycle arrest with a decline in responsibility to the chemotherapeutic agents. Ovarian protection by GnRHa cotreatment against chemotherapy can enable the preservation of future fertility in survivors and prevent the bone demineralization and osteoporosis associated with hypestrogenism and POF. In vitro fertilization of retrieved oocytes could enable embryo freezing in some patients. Embryo cryopreservation is considered standard practice and widely available, but may seldom be used because of a lack of a male partner, the need to postpone cancer therapy for a few weeks and the possibility that an estrogen rise may be undesirable in sensitive cancer patients. Improvement in oocyte cryopreservation may offer additional possibilities; the prolonged culture of primordial and primary follicles in vitro is still unfeasible. Currently, the cryopreservation of ovarian cortex, which hosts thousands of immature follicles, is an investigational method, but has the advantage of requiring neither a sperm donor nor ovarian stimulation. Fertility preservation is often possible in women undergoing cancer treatment. To preserve the full range of options, fertility preservation procedures should be considered as early as possible during therapy planning. (Reprod Med Biol 2008; 7 : 17–27)     

超声刀在骨骼化乳内动脉采取中的应用

目的总结超声刀在骨骼化乳内动脉血管桥采取中的使用经验。方法回顾性分析日本顺天堂大学医院60例接受了超声刀采取的双侧乳内动脉血管桥进行单纯冠状动脉旁路移植术冠心病患者的临床资料及随访资料。结果远端吻合口平均（4．1±1．5）个。术后并发严重心律失常2例，脑梗塞合并败血症、弥漫性血管内凝血合并多脏器功能衰竭各1例，肺部感染2例，手术死亡2例。术后随访（15．6±3．2）个月，远期无死亡或心脏性事件患者。结论超声刀的应用使乳内动脉的骨骼化采取变得安全、简单。骨骼化双侧乳内动脉在冠状动脉旁路移植中具有良好的早期效果。     

Endodermal Sinus Tumor of the Vagina in an Infant: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evaluation

Endodermal sinus tumor is a rare and highly malignant lesion. This report documents the clinical findings and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of an uncommon case of the endodermal sinus tumor arising in the vagina of a 6-month-old infant. MRI was extremely accurate in delineating the possible extent and location of the vaginal lesion. This is the first report to demonstrate MRI of vaginal endodermal sinus tumor.     

Comparison of Reversibility of Rat Forestomach Lesions Induced by Genotoxic and Non-genotoxic Carcinogens

Reversibility of forestomach lesions induced by genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens was compared histopathologically. Groups of 30 to 33 male F344 rats were given dietary 0.1% 8-nitroquinoline, dietary 0.4–0.2% 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)acrylamide, an intragastric dose of 20 mg/kg body weight N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine once a week, or 20 ppm N-methylnitrosourethane in the drinking water as a genotoxic carcinogen, or 2% butylated hydroxyanisole, 2% caffeic acid, 2% sesamol or 2% 4-methoxyphenol in the diet as a non-genotoxic carcinogen for 24 weeks. Ten or 11 rats in each group were killed at week 24. Half of the remainder were maintained on basal diet alone for an additional 24 weeks and the other half were given the same chemical for 48 weeks, and then killed. Forestomach lesions induced by genotoxic carcinogens did not regress after removal of carcinogens. In contrast, simple or papillary hyperplasia (SPH), but not basal cell hyperplasia (BCH), induced by non-genotoxic carcinogens clearly regressed after cessation of insult. SFH labeling indices in the non-genotoxic carcinogen-treated cases decreased after removal of the carcinogenic stimulus whereas BCH values were low irrespective of treatment. Atypical hyperplasia (AH), observed at high incidences in rats treated with genotoxic carcinogens, was also evident in animals receiving non-genotoxic agents, even after their withdrawal, albeit at low incidences. AH labeling indices remained high even without continued insult. These results indicate that even with non-genotoxic carcinogens, heritable alterations at the DNA level could occur during strong cell proliferation and result in AH development. This putative preneoplastic lesion might then progress to produce carcinomas.     

Membrane-associated Lymphotoxin Expression and Functional Analysis of Lymphokine-activated Killer Cells Derived from Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes

The expression of a membrane-associated lymphotoxin molecule (mLT) on lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells obtained from 18 patients with malignant tumors and its role in the tumor cell killing mechanisms were investigated. LAK cells from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL-LAK cells) were mainly composed of CD3-positive cells, whereas LAK cells from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL-LAK cells) were mainly composed of CD16- and CD56-positive cells. However, mLT was found to be expressed on TIL-LAK cells as well as PBL-LAK cells. The degree of mLT expression correlated with the killing activity of LAK cells towards L929 cells (r=0.806, P <0.01, n = 15), but not with that towards Daudi or K562 cells. Although the degree of mLT expression correlated with the amount of secreted lymphotoxin (LT) in the supernatant of LAK cell culture, the secreted LT itself could not account for the tumor cell killing activity of LAK cells. Polyclonal rabbit anti-LT antibody partially inhibited the killing activities of LAK cells towards L929 cells and this inhibition was found in the combination of autologous tumor cells and PBL-LAK cells. These findings suggest the possibility that the mLT-related cytotoxicity is involved in the tumor cell killing mechanisms of TIL-LAK cells as well as PBL-LAK cells.     

Establishment of a Human Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Cell Line Carrying Amplification of c-myc Gene and Chromosomal Translocation of t(3p;6p) and t(12q;17p)

A transplantable tumor and an in vitro culture cell line (GK-T3) were established from metastatic liver tissue of human small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). Southern blot analysis revealed about 30-fold amplification of c- myc gene in the tumor cells in liver, xenografts, and in vitro cell line. The degree of c- myc amplification was essentially conserved through serial passages in nude mice and cultivation in vitro. The level of c- myc mRNA was significantly increased in these cells. Cytogenetically, numerical and complex structural abnormalities were observed in GK-T3 cells, including t(3p;6p), t(12q;17p), two homogeneously staining regions (hsrs) and several double minutes (dmins). These results suggest that activation of c- myc gene and alteration of gene(s) round these chromosomal breakpoints may play a role in tumorigenesis of GK-T3 SCLC.     

Quality of life in Japanese couples during the transition to parenthood

Objective: This study aimed to examine the quality of life (QOL) in Japanese couples during the transition to parenthood with their first child.

Background: Relevant literature suggests that the health status of women drop during pregnancy and the postpartum period. However, less is known about their partner’s well-being during the transition to parenthood and little research has addressed the relationship between couples’ QOL across multiple domains.

Method: Participants included 9216 married Japanese men and women, including 3729 couples, who were expecting or raising their first child under the age of three. They independently completed questionnaires on baseline demographics and on WHOQOL-BREF.

Results: Men showed higher scores for psychological QOL, while women had higher scores for social and environment QOL. A significant interaction between gender and stage of transition to parenthood was found. The moderating effect of age between the stage and QOL was found for men on the physical and psychological domains. Couples’ QOL scores were weakly to moderately correlated.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that both men and women had lower QOL, with the exception of women’s physical QOL, after childbirth, but they showed different trends during the transition to parenthood across different domains of QOL.     

Impaired Long-term T Cell Immunity to Epstein-Barr Virus in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

The long-term T cell immunity to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is considered to play an important role in suppressing proliferation of EBV-infected B cells and outgrowth of EBV-associated tumors. It can be manifested and quantified by the EBV-induced focus regression assay. In the present study, we examined the strength of T cell immunity to EBV in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and other cancers originating from the head and neck region. In contrast to patients with other types of cancers, including EBV-negative NPC, patients with EBV-positive NPC were found to have a profound impairment in the long-term T cell immunity to EBV.