Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Sensitive and Specific Predictor of Neoplasms Removed for Intractable Epilepsy

Twenty-three patients had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) of the head prior to surgery for medically intractable epilepsy. Eleven patients had neoplasms, mostly astrocytomas. Six of the 11 tumors were seen on CT. In five of the six cases, the MRI showed a focal area of increased signal on T2-weighted images. All 11 tumors were detected by MRI. None of the non-neoplastic lesions produced an abnormal T2-weighted signal area on MRI. Only one of the non-neoplastic lesions was seen on both CT and on MRI. MRI allowed clear discrimination between tumors and non-neoplastic lesions in patients coming to surgery for intractable epilepsy.     

Kinetic model of drug distribution in the urinary bladder wall following intravesical instillation

Intravesical administration of cytotoxic agents is commonly used in urological practice for treatment of superficial bladder cancer. The leading motive is optimisation of drug delivery near the site of action and reduction of systemic toxicity. Bladder pharmacokinetics is complicated by several mechanisms. The objectives of this work were to develop a kinetic model of drug distribution in the bladder wall following intravesical instillation and to study the effect of various parameters on tissue and systemic drug exposure and explore the potential benefits of permeability enhancing effects of chitosan (CH) and polycarbophil (PC) through simulation. Key elements of the model are variable urinary drug concentration due to urine formation and voiding, biphasic diffusion in the bladder tissue and systemic absorption. Model parameters were estimated from bladder-tissue concentration profiles obtained in previous in vitro experiments with pipemidic acid (PPA) as a model drug. The results support further investigations on application of CH and PC in intravesical drug delivery. Both polymers increase permeability of the bladder wall by diffusion enhancement in the urothelium and presumably by improving the contact with the bladder surface. The developed mathematical model could serve for optimisation of intravesical drug delivery and future development of intravesical drug delivery systems.     

Permeability of pig urinary bladder wall: time and concentration dependent effect of chitosan

Chitosan in 0.5% w/v concentration enhanced the permeability of the isolated pig urinary bladder wall by desquamation of the urothelium as ascertained in our previous study. The aim of the present work was to determine the time and concentration dependence of chitosan's effect on the permeation of a model drug into the bladder wall and to establish if the mechanism of permeation enhancement depends on the concentration of chitosan used. In the permeability studies performed by the use of diffusion cells, transport of a model drug moxifloxacin into the isolated pig urinary bladder wall was determined. For morphological observations of the urothelium in response to chitosan treatment scanning and transmission electron microscopy were applied. Within 90 min the effect of chitosan on the tissue amounts of moxifloxacin gradually increased and approached its plateau. In one hour even 0.0005% w/v dispersion of chitosan significantly enhanced the permeability of the pig urinary bladder wall for the model drug and at 0.001% w/v concentration the maximal effect on the tissue permeability was achieved. All concentrations of chitosan that significantly enhanced the permeability of the bladder wall triggered necrosis of superficial cells or desquamation of the urothelium. However, at lower concentrations and shorter exposure times the damage of the urothelium was limited to the changes in tight junctions. Chitosan was ascertained to increase the permeation of moxifloxacin into the urinary bladder wall in a time and concentration dependent manner.     

Postoperative irradiation in lung cancer

The authors report a comparative analysis of the results of treatment in two groups of patients with lung cancer. In the first group (194 patients) surgical treatment was supplemented by postoperative irradiation with a total dosage of 4000--5500 rad. In the second control group (189 patients) only surgery was employed. Both groups are comparable according to main generally accepted clinical characteristics. It was found that the use of postoperative irradiation after the mentioned technic failed to improve remote results of surgical therapy. The indices of a 5-year survival proved to be higher than those with surgical treatment only--38.6% versus 24.8% in the combined treatment (P less than 0.05), that was due to the increased mortality rate as a result of complications, induced by postoperative irradiation.     

MELD评分系统评估慢性肝损伤患者肝脏储备功能的临床研究

目的：探索MELD 评分评估慢性肝损伤患者肝脏储备功能的价值。
方法：回顾性分析38例慢性肝损伤性肝脏移植患者术前测定的MELD 评分,同时采用计算机辅助数字图像分析法检测患者肝组织标本的纤维化程度,分析MELD 评分系统与肝组织纤维化图像定量分析的相互关系。
结果：慢性肝损伤患者的MELD 评分与肝纤维化面积百分比呈直线正相关;Child A,B,C 3组间MELD评分差异也有统计学意义。
结论：MELD 评分能准确评估慢性肝损伤患者的肝脏储备功能。     

戈舍瑞林对绝经前乳腺癌患者化疗期间卵巢功能的保护

目的评估戈舍瑞林对绝经前乳腺癌患者辅助化疗期间卵巢功能的保护作用。方法回顾性分析2年内收治的绝经前乳腺癌患者的临床资料,分成研究组(常规化疗+戈舍瑞林)和对照组(常规化疗),每组40例。观察两组患者月经情况及化疗期间与化疗结束后随访1年内的激素水平变化。结果 80例患者均完成化疗,化疗期间均出现月经周期紊乱。研究组和对照组月经恢复率分别为85%和55%,差异有统计学意义(P=0.007)。研究组在戈舍瑞林联合化疗期间,雌二醇(E2)水平减低到绝经后水平,促卵泡生成素(FSH)和促黄体生成素(LH)也明显降低;对照组在化疗期间E2水平逐渐降低,FSH和LH则明显增加。结论乳腺癌患者化疗期间应用戈舍瑞林,能有效地防止化疗引起的卵巢功能损伤,使大多数中青年患者维持正常月经及生育能力。