食管贲门癌血浆生长抑素的临床意义

用放射免疫测定对５６例食管贲门癌患者血浆生长抑素（Ｓｏｍａｔｏｓｔａｔｉｎ，ＳＳ）含量进行了检测。结果显示，癌组血浆ＳＳ含量显著升高，以ＴＮＭⅡａ～Ⅱｂ期升高更为明显，肿瘤根治性切除后，血浆ＳＳ含量显著降低，当肿瘤复发转移时，ＳＳ含量可再度升高，因此作者认为，观察食管贲门癌者血浆ＳＳ的变化，对判定病期，预后和监测肿瘤复发有较好的实用价值。     

Multicenter clinical trial of the serum lipid-lowering effects of a Monascus purpureus (red yeast) rice preparation from traditional Chinese medicine

The ability of a natural product Monascus purpureus (red yeast) rice (cholestin3™) preparation to regulate serum lipids was assessed in a multicenter, single-masked clinical trial. A total of 446 patients with hyperlipidemia were randomly assigned to two groups: a group of 324 patients received a M purpureus (red yeast) rice preparation, and a positive control group of 122 patients received another Chinese herbal medicine, Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphylla). After 8 weeks, serum total cholesterol decreased significantly by 22.7% and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 30.9% in the patients treated with a M purpureus rice preparation, and patients in the positive control group showed 7.0% and 8.3% reductions, respectively. M purpureus treatment also significantly increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol by 19.9%, which was a significantly larger increase than the 8.4% increase observed in the positive control group. Notably M purpureus rice preparation significantly lowered serum triglycerides by 34.1% after 8 weeks, which was a significantly greater decrease than the reduction of 12.8% observed in the positive control group. When the overall therapeutic effects of M purpureus rice were scored, with one or more lipid risk factors being reduced and HDL cholesterol being increased, according to criteria established by the Ministry of Public Health of China, 93.2% of patients in the treatment group benefited from M purpureus. This total efficacy rate was significantly better than the rate of 50.8% in the positive control group. Therefore, use of M purpureus rice preparation in conjunction with a proper diet produced a favorable lipid-lowering effect in hyperlipidemic patients. The patients experienced a few mild side effects (heartburn, flatulence, and dizziness) during the 8-week treatment with M purpureus rice preparation. We concluded that this traditional Chinese rice preparation used as a dietary supplement is extremely effective and well tolerated in reducing elevated serum cholesterol and triglycerides.     

Hepatocellular Tumorigenicity of Butylated Hydroxytoluene Administered Orally to B6C3F1 Mice

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a preservative widely found in food as a food additive, was orally administered at concentrations of 1% and 2% of the diet to B6C3F₁ mice for 104 consecutive weeks. Treated animals underwent a 16-week recovery period prior to pathological examination. In male mice administered BHT, the incidence of mice with either a hepatocellular adenoma or a focus of cellular alteration in the liver was increased in a clear dose-response relationship. The incidences of male mice with other tumors and the incidences of female mice with any tumor were not significantly increased as a consequence of BHT administration. The results of this study indicate BHT to be tumorigenic to the liver of the B6C3F₁ male mouse.     

Expression of p53 protein related to human papillomavirus and DNA ploidy in superficial esophageal carcinoma

We examined the p53 protein and human papilloma virus (HPV) by immunohistochemistry and DNA ploidy by cytofluorometry in paraffin-embedded esophageal carcinoma tissue specimens. Sixty-one patients with superficial esophageal carcinoma were operated on between 1983 and 1991 without any prior treatment. Immunostaining of the anti-p53 protein antibody (CM1) was positive in 32 carcinomas (52%). Patients with p53-positive tumors had a poorer outcome than those with p53-negative tumors (P<0.05). In addition, patients with p53-positive tumors did not have any characteristic site of relapse. Only 5 of the 61 patients (8.2%) had HPV-positive tumors. One of these 5 carcinomas expressed both p53 protein and HPV. Three patients with HPV-positive tumors which had invaded the submucosal layer died of relapse. A determination of DNA ploidy revealed 30 patients with aneuploid tumors, 13 with polyploid tumors and 18 with diploid tumors. The outcome of the patients with aneuploid tumors was worse than that of the patients with diploid tumor (P<0.05). p53 protein expression was not associated with DNA ploidy; however, the 16 patients who had both p53-positive and aneuploid tumors had a worse prognosis than patients with p53-negative and aneuploid tumors (P<0.01). These findings suggest that p53 protein expression in conjunction with DNA ploidy may be a useful indicator in evaluating the prognosis of patients with superficial esophageal carcinoma.     

Familial multiple neurilemoma. A case report

A case of familial multiple neurilemoma is reported. A 59-year-old man with five neurilemomas was treated. Fifteen of his 22 family members had had soft-tissue tumors. Ten neurilemomas had been diagnosed microscopically in five members of the family. There were no symptoms related to von Recklinghausen's disease. This case seems to be a forme fruste or related form of von Recklinghausen's disease.     

Development of a New Apparatus to Observe Microcirculation Chronically in Continuous Flow Blood Pump Research

Abstract: To observe microcirculation chronically is an important key to the successful evaluation of the continuous flow blood pump. In this study, we succeeded in developing a new apparatus by which microcirculation could be observed chronically without a microscope in a conscious animal. The apparatus utilizes a charge coupled device (CCD). A thin living tissue, such as mesentery, is put directly on a highly integrated CCD and is lit up through the tissue with a light-emitting diode (LED). The vascular nets in the tissue are projected onto the CCD like a contact photograph, which is then sent to a television screen and which can be used to analyze their motion and function. A 0.5-inch CCD having 250,000 pixels was used in this study. The cover glass of the CCD was removed, and a fiber optic plate was fixed onto the surface of the CCD for the tissue to be able to contact with the apparatus surface without clearance. The CCD as well as the LED were molded with epoxy resin for electrical insulation. The apparatus was 35 mm wide and 12 mm high with a micro stand for an LED, which can be easily implanted into an animal. The apparatus was implanted into a rabbit for 12 h. The configuration of arterioles and venules, tens of micrometers in diameter, and their motions in subcutaneous tissue could be observed.     

Diurnal variation of insulin sensitivity in NIDDM patients and normal subjects.

A modified insulin suppression test was adopted to assess the diurnal variation in insulin sensitivity and insulin clearance in 14 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients and eight age-, sex- and weight-matched normal subjects. The modified insulin suppression test was combined with an infusion of regular insulin, 30 mU/min x m2; glucose, 6 mg/kg x min; and somatostatin, 500 micrograms/h, for 120 minutes followed by only a somatostatin infusion for 60 minutes. Blood samplings were performed at appropriate times to obtain data on steady-state plasma insulin (SSPI), steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG as an index of insulin sensitivity), metabolic clearance and the half disappearance time (T1/2) of insulin. Blood specimens were also obtained during SSPI for measurement of erythrocyte insulin receptor binding. Each subject took the insulin suppression test twice. One test was started at 8 am and the other at 4 pm; each test was preceded by 16 hours of fasting. The order of the insulin suppression tests in each subject was randomized and balanced. In normal subjects, the SSPG level was lower in the morning than in the afternoon (118.0 +/- 43.6 vs 150.3 +/- 34.2 mg/dL, p less than 0.05). The NIDDM patients had a higher SSPG in the morning (217.7 +/- 51.4 vs 188.3 +/- 40.6 mg/dL, p less than 0.01). There was no diurnal difference in insulin clearance or the T1/2 in either normal subjects or NIDDM patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The content and composition of immunoreactive somatostatin in monkey pancreas

A highly sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed for analyzing somatostatin (SRIF-LI). The monkey pancreas was lyophilized and extracted with 2N acetic acid. The content and composition of immunoreactive somatostatin in monkey pancreas were then evaluated by chromatography process and RIA. The concentration of SRIF-LI in monkey pancreas was around 513.8 ng/g dry weight. At least 3 components of SRIF-LI were detected in pancreatic extracts. The major component of SRIF-LI (about 92%) was SS-14, and other two were SS-28 and a form bigger than SS-28.     

Acetylcholine and tachykinin receptor antagonists attenuate wood smoke-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs

To study the mechanisms of wood smoke-induced bronchoconstriction, we measured total lung resistance (R_L) and dynamic lung compliance (C_dyn) in anesthetized and mechanically ventilated guinea pigs. Airway exposure to various doses of wood smoke (lauan wood; 5, 10, and 15 breaths) resulted in a dose-dependent increase in R_L and decrease in C_dyn. The smoke-induced changes in R_L and C_dyn were significantly attenuated by pretreatment with atropine, CP-96,345 [(2S,3S)-cis-2-(diphenylmethyl)-N-((2-methoxyphenyl)-methyl)-1-azabicyclo(2.2.2.)-octan-3-amine; a tachykinin NK₁ receptor antagonist], and SR-48,968 [(S)-N-methyl-N(4-(4-acetylamino-4-phenylpiperidino)-2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-butyl)benzamide; a tachykinin NK₂ receptor antagonist] in combination, atropine alone, and SR-48,968 alone, but were not significantly affected by pretreatment with the inactive enantiomers of CP-96,345 and SR-48,968, CP-96,345 alone, indomethacin (a cyclooxygenase inhibitor), and MK-571 [((3-(3-(2-(7-chloro-2-quinolinyl)ethenyl)phenyl((3-dimethyl amino-3-oxo-propyl)thio)methyl)propanoic acid; a leukotriene D₄ receptor antagonist]. The activity of airway neutral endopeptidase, a major enzyme for tachykinin degradation, was not significantly influenced by wood smoke during the development of bronchoconstriction. We conclude that: (1) both cholinergic mechanisms and endogenous tachykinins, but not cyclooxygenase products or leukotriene D₄, play an important role in the acute bronchoconstriction induced by wood smoke, and (2) the contribution of tachykinins to this airway response is primarily mediated via the activation of tachykinin NK₂ receptors, but is not associated with inactivation of the airway neutral endopeptidase.