Effect of Age on the Relationship between Gastric Cancer and Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer, but the time point at which it produces its effects (critical time) is unknown. We measured the serum level of H. pylori antibody in 787 gastric cancer patients and 1007 controls aged 20 to 69. Odds ratios for different gastric cancer types and stages were determined for each 10-year age class. The overall odds ratio for gastric cancer decreased with age, being 7.0 for those aged 20–29, 14.5 for those aged 30–39, 9.1 for those aged 40–49, 3.5 for those aged 50–59, and 1.5 for those aged 60–69 (trend in odds ratios: P < 0.01). However, there was no such age-dependent trend for early diffuse-type cancer; the odds ratios were 12.6, 4.0, 7.2, 6.5, and 18.5 respectively ( P =0.29). Early cancer tended to show higher seroprevalence than advanced cancer, especially in older subjects. No significant difference in seroprevalence was observed between diffuse and intestinal cancers within each age-class. Seroreversion must have occurred in the time interval between the critical time and the diagnosis of the cancer, especially in older patients. The age-dependent relationship between H. pylori and gastric cancer may be due to seroreversion, which itself may be independent of age. This age-independence indicates that prolonged exposure to H. pylori does not increase the magnitude of its influence on gastric carcinogenesis. Possible mechanisms through which H. pylori exerts pathogenic effects are continuous inflammation in adulthood and/or irreversible damage to gastric mucosa in childhood or the teenage years.     

Water immersion delays the oxygen uptake response to sitting arm-cranking in humans

We investigated the effect of central hypervolaemia during water immersion up to the xiphoid process on the oxygen uptake (V˙O₂) and heart rate (HR) response to arm cranking. Seven men performed a 6-min arm-cranking exercise at an intensity requiring a V˙O₂ at 80% ventilatory threshold both in air [C trial, 29 (SD 9)?W] and immersed in water [WI trial, 29 (SD 11)?W] after 6 min of sitting. The V˙O₂ (phase 2) and HR responses to exercise were obtained from a mono-exponential fit [f(t)=baseline+gain·(1?e^{?( t ? TD )/})]. The response was evaluated by the mean response time [MRT; sum of time constant () and time delay (TD)]. No significant difference in V˙O₂ and HR gains between the C and WI trials was observed [V˙O₂ 0.78 (SD 0.1) vs 0.80 (SD 0.2) l?·?min^?1, HR 36 (SD 7) vs 37 (SD 8) beats?·?min^?1, respectively]. Although the HR MRT was not significantly different between the C and WI trials [17 (SD 3), 19 (SD 8)?s, respectively), V˙O₂ MRT was greater in the WI trial than in the C trial [40 (SD 6), 45 (SD 6)?s, respectively; P<0.05]. Assuming no difference in V˙O₂ in active muscle between the two trials, these results would indicate that an increased oxygen store and/or an altered response in muscle blood distribution delayed the V˙O₂ response to exercise.     

Penetrating vertebral artery injury treated by combining the “zone” approach and imaging tests: A case report

Patients with vertebral artery injury from penetrating neck trauma may not present with signs of vascular injury because of anatomical characteristics and concomitant conditions, such as hypothermia and shock. If patients are hemodynamically stable, imaging tests should be performed to examine the posterior components, including the vertebral artery.     

Aurora B kinase as a therapeutic target in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology - Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is curable with standardized chemotherapy. However, the development of novel therapies is still required, especially for...     

Anxiety and prevalence of psychiatric disorders among patients awaiting surgery for suspected ovarian cancer

Aim:  The goal of the current study was to determine the anxiety level and prevalence of psychiatric disorders among patients awaiting surgery for ovarian tumors. Also analyzed were the predictive factors for psychiatric disorders and changes after surgical diagnosis.
Methods:  Patients who underwent surgery for ovarian tumors were examined before and after surgery with the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Mausley Personality Inventory (MPI). Participants diagnosed with cancer were examined a third time after being given an explanation about whether or not adjuvant chemotherapy was required.
Results:  Twenty-seven participants completed the study and were analyzed. Nine (33.3%) of these 27 participants were diagnosed as having adjustment disorder. There were no differences in the demographic data, STAI trait anxiety score and MPI score between the participants with or without adjustment disorder. At the pre-surgical interview, the STAI state anxiety score of the participants was high (49.5 ± 10.30). After pathological examination of the tumors, it was found that 12 patients had cancer (malignant group) and 15 patients had a benign tumor (benign group). At pre-surgery, the prevalence of adjustment disorder and the level of anxiety in the benign group were similar to those in the malignant group. There was a second surge of anxiety in patients who needed chemotherapy.
Conclusion:  The above findings demonstrate that patients with suspected ovarian cancer experience a high level of anxiety. Physicians should be aware of the risk of adjustment disorder in these patients. Additionally, ovarian cancer patients need psychological assessment during the course of treatment.     

Manganese superoxide dismutase content and localization in human thyroid tumours

Manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) content and its immunohistochemical localization in human thyroid tumours and some other thyroid diseases were examined and compared with adjacent normal thyroid tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in this study for the measurement of Mn-SOD. The content of Mn-SOD tended to increase in diffuse hyperplasia, adenomatous goitre, and foliicular adenoma. In papillary carcinoma, it was significantly higher than in adjacent normal thyroid tissue. Foliicular carcinoma also revealed a markedly high Mn-SOD conient. In the immunohistochemicai study, adjaceni normal thyroid tissue showed granular positive staining of Mn-SOD in the cytoplasm. An increase of Mn-SOD was observed in the papillary proliferative lesion of diffuse hyperplasia and in the follicles adjacent to lymphoid tissue in chronic thyroiditis with hypothyroidism. Strong positive staining of Mn-SOD was observed in papillary and foliicular carcinomas, whereas in anaplastic carcinoma staining was markedly less intense. These results indicate that the Mn-SOD content varies according to the degree of differentiation of thyroid carcinomas.     

Role of natural killer cells and TCRγ δ T cells in acute autoimmune encephalomyelitis

To elucidate the role of NK cells and TCRγ δ ⁺ T cells in acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced in Lewis rats, the distribution, number and function of these cells were studied using several methods. Immunohistochemical and flow cytometric analysis revealed that a certain number of NK cells (17 % of the total inflammatory cells) infiltrated the central nervous system (CNS) at the peak stage of EAE and were mainly located in the perivascular region. On the other hand, virtually no TCRγ δ ⁺ T cells were found in the CNS. NK-T (NKR-P1⁺ TCRα β ⁺ ) cells were few and did not increase in number in the CNS and lymphoid organs. In the cytotoxic assay using YAC-1 cells, effector cells isolated from the spleen of rats at the peak of EAE showed essentially the same cytotoxicity as those isolated from normal controls although the total number of NK cells decreased to one fifth of that of normal rats. Furthermore, in vivo administration of anti-NK cell (3.2.3 and anti-asialo GM1), but not of anti-TCRγ δ (V65), antibodies exacerbated the clinical features of EAE and induced fatal EAE in some rats. These findings suggest that NK cells play a suppressive role in acute EAE whereas TCRγ δ ⁺ T cells are not involved in the development of or recovery from the disease.     

Synthesis and physical properties of novel side-chain type liquid crystalline poly(aryleneethynylene)s

Novel side-chain type liquid crystalline poly(aryleneethynylene)s with a biphenyl or azobenzene moiety in the side chain were obtained by coupling reaction between a dihalo-aromatic compound and a diethynyl-aromatic compound using a Pd complex as a catalyst. All polymers exhibit a stable enantiotropic liquid crystalline phase. The degree of orientation of the polymer backbone was confirmed by UV-vis measurements with polarized light. High quantum yield of fluorescence was obtained for these polymers.