Clinical investigation of carbohydrate antigen CA-50

The CA-50 enzyme immunoassay kit (EIA kit) that has been developed with the use of C-50 monoclonal antibody prepared by L. Lindholm et al. was evaluated for diagnosis of human cancer. The levels of CA-50 in the sera were determined using this kit supplied from Mitsui Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Co. in 759 healthy donors, 728 patients with benign disease and 1,263 untreated patients with cancer. A CA-50 concentration of 40 U/ml of serum was used as the cut-off value. Patients with pancreatic cancer and patients with bile duct cancer had high positive incidence of 75% and 68%, respectively, compared with a low positive incidence of under 40% in patients with other cancers. On the other hand, positive rates in patients with benign disease were as low as 13%. Comparison of the serum levels of CA-50 with CA19-9 in the same samples did not exhibit complete positive correlation in patients with pancreatic cancer, patients with bile duct cancer and patients with liver cancer. These findings indicated that C-50 antibody reacted with two epitopes of CA19-9 and sialosyllactotetraose. From the above results, the usefulness of CA-50 as a tumor marker for pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer was recognized with this EIA kit.     

Fluctuations in Tumor Blood Flow under Normotension and the Effect of Angiotensin II-induced Hypertension

To elucidate the significance of angiotensin II (AID-induced hypertension chemotherapy, changes of tissue blood flow both in normal subcutis and in tumors (AH109A, LY80) were measured with the hydrogen gas clearance method. A newly-developed anesthetic machine was used to keep the animals' condition constant. Tissue blood flow in normal subcutis and tumors always fluctuated with time under normotension. The nature and the rate of fluctuation in tumor Wood flow were almost identical in two different types of tumors. However, the fluctuation of blood flow in tumor and that in normal subcutis were almost always inversely related when blood flows in these different tissues were measured simultaneously, i.e., when tissue blood flow in normal subcutis decreased, tumor blood flow increased, and vice versa. The findings supported the idea that the connection mode between the tumor vascular bed and normal vascular bed is a parallel circuit. Vascular resistance in the normal vascular bed under All-induced hypertension seemed to be greater than that under normotension, because the All-increased tumor blood flow always exceeded the maximum tumor blood flow under normotension. Due to the fluctuations of tumor blood flow, no-flow or low-flow areas, resistant to delivery of anti-cancer drugs, moved sporadically within the tumor under the normotensive condition. However, good conditions for drug delivery to tumor tissue were induced by All-induced hypertension.     

Antitumor activity of orally administered streptococcal preparation, OK-432 on murine solid tumors and its absorption from the gut

OK-432 is an immunopotentiator which is normally administered by injection. In the present study, the antitumor activity of orally administered OK-432 on various solid tumors and the absorption of OK-432 from the gut were studied. Orally administered OK-432 inhibited the growth of Meth-A and BAMC-1 fibrosarcomas which had been subcutaneously transplanted in BALB/c mice. Autoradiograms of mice which had been administered 14C-labelled OK-432 orally demonstrated the absorption of OK-432 from the gut, and about 6% of orally administered OK-432 was absorbed 24 hrs after its administration. Moreover, an immunofluorescent study using an anti-OK-432 antibody revealed specific fluorescence in the mesenteric lymph node of mice which had been orally administered with OK-432. These results suggest that oral administration of OK-432 may be a beneficial immunotherapy.     

Pharmacokinetic study of lenampicillin (KBT-1585) in healthy volunteers.

The pharmacokinetic properties of lenampicillin (KBT-1585), a new ampicillin ester, were investigated in 41 healthy volunteers. The maximum concentration of ampicillin in serum after oral administration of 400 mg of lenampicillin was 6.5 micrograms/ml at 0.70 h, and that after a equimolar dosage of ampicillin was 2.9 micrograms/ml at 0.87 h.     

Presenting symptoms and natural history of Wilson disease

The presenting symptoms of Wilson disease and its natural history as related to age are described based on 283 cases collected in Japan. The disease presented with a variety of signs and symptoms; the most frequent were in order of frequency jaundice, dysarthria, clumsiness, tremor, drooling, gait disturbance, malaise and arthralgia. The mean age at onset of the disease was 12.0 years. Hepatic and osteoarthral symptoms developed early and neurological symptoms late. Fifty-eight cases develolped neurological symptoms only, 28 cases had hepatic symptoms only, and in 26 cases hepatic mortality rate was observed in hepatic, hepato-haematological and hepato-renal cases mainly due to acute hepatic failure resulting in death only a few weeks after onset. Cases having only neurological symptoms showed a more favourable prognosis with a longer survival.     

在免眼中进行经瞳孔阈值下温热疗法的组织学效应和蛋白表达

目的：研究阈值下经瞳孔温热疗法（TTT）对视网膜组织学的效应。方法：对正常视网膜色素的兔眼进行TTT，通过1个810nm激光二极管产生直径为1．2mm能量为50mW的光斑，持续时间为15、30和60秒。4周后进行荧光血管造影并摘除眼球，通过电子显微镜和免疫组化染色来检查。     

Differential expression of the beta I- and beta II-PKC subspecies in the postnatal developing rat brain; an immunocytochemical study.

Differential expression of protein kinase C subspecies, beta I- and beta II-PKC, derived from a single gene by alternative splicing was evidenced in the postnatal developing rat brain. Immunoblot analysis of the PKC subspecies in the whole developing brain showed that beta I-PKC was present at birth and then gradually increased, while beta II-PKC was not present at birth or on postnatal day 3, then increased rapidly from day 7 to the maximum value seen in the adult brain. Under light microscopy, beta I-PKC immunoreactivities seen at birth were the most intense in the brainstem and intense in the diagonal bundle and globus pallidus. beta I-PKC immunoreactivities in these neurons weakened from day 7 and disappeared in the adult brain, while in the cerebral cortex, triangular septal nucleus and pontine nucleus beta I-PKC immunoreactivities were week at birth and then gradually increased. beta II-PKC immunoreactivities were first visible in neurons on day 7 and increased progressively. beta I- and beta II-PKCs were not co-localized in a neuron, as far as examined. The immunoreactivities of beta I-PKC at birth were localized in growth cone-like structures as well as in the dendrites and perikarya. Similarly, alpha-PKC was also present at birth in the growth cone-like structure. Immunoblot analysis revealed that beta I-PKC was present at birth in the growth cone-rich fraction from the hindbrain but not in that from the forebrain, while alpha-PKC was found in the growth cone-rich fraction from both the forebrain and the hindbrain. beta II- and gamma-PKC were not detected in the growth cone-rich fraction from either forebrain or hindbrain. These findings suggest that beta I- and beta II-PKC play a role in different stages of development and in different neurons; both beta-subspecies may be involved in postnatal developing neuronal functions while only beta I-PKC plays functional roles in the growth cone, in the prenatal developmental stage.     

Successful treatment of blunt trauma involving complete laceration of the pancreas and duodenum in a 7-year-old child: Report of a case

The acute onset of peritoneal signs and shock in a 7year-old boy who had been hit in the epigastrium by a log-seesaw mandated surgical treatment. Enhanced computed tomography (CT) demonstrated complete laceration of the pancreas as well as duodenal injury, and a duodenoduodenostomy with distal pancreaticogastrostomy was subsequently performed. Temporary external drainage of the stomach and distal pancreas led to an uneventful recovery in the early postoperative period. Although the patient's postoperative development was appropriate for his age, the orifice of the distal pancreas spontaneously closed 2.5 years following surgery. We present this report to stress the fact that every effort should be made to preserve the pancreas following abdominal injury in children.     

Cystic radiolucencies of carpal bones, distal radius and ulna as a marker for dialysis-associated amyloid osteoarthropathy.

Patients on long-term hemodialysis (HD) are known to develop amyloid osteoarthropathy, evidenced as cystic radiolucencies on X-rays of the affected joints. To study the relationship between cystic radiolucencies and amyloid osteoarthropathy in 394 patients, we classified the severity of the cystic radiolucencies seen in the wrist joint on a 4-point scale and evaluated the association between lesion severity (grade) and several parameters. Biopsy was performed in 8 patients with 11 bone cysts of the wrist joint who had been operated for carpal tunnel syndrome. HD for 10 years or longer, age 50 or older and the presence of carpal tunnel syndrome were associated with severe cyst rating. There was no association between lesion grade and serum level of PTH-C, aluminum or beta 2-microglobulin (B2M). Ten of the 11 biopsied bone cysts in 8 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome demonstrated amyloid deposits which reacted with B2M. We conclude that a cystic radiolucency observed in the wrist joint of a patient undergoing HD indicates the deposition of amyloid. The cyst grade provides a useful marker for the severity of amyloid osteoarthropathy in HD patients.     

Techniques for difficult cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Our basic techniques for the management of difficult cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) are presented in this article. If access to Calot's triangle cannot be gained safely, dissection should be started at the fundus or body of the gallbladder (GB), rather than the neck (fundus-first method). In cases with a short and wide cystic duct, a transfixing suture should be applied for ligation instead of clipping. EndoGIA is useful for ligating and transecting this case to avoid a subsequent stricture caused by normal method of ligation. Intraoperative cholangiography should be performed near the neck of the GB in cases in which orientation is lost during dissection. More dissection should be performed in the direction of the junction of the bile ducts after orientation is regained. In cases with GB filled with stones accompanied by severe fibrosis, part of the GB is incised to remove the stones and expose the lumen of the GB. Confluence stones can be removed by placing an incision on the GB side of the junction of the duct. The incised part is closed with suture. A cystic tube (C-tube) is placed in the common bile duct through the cystic duct for decompression. In more difficult cases in which dissection cannot be started safely at any location, the body and the fundus of the GB are excised, and a drain is placed at the neck of the GB. Dissection can be carried out from the main surgeon's or the assistant's side depending on the situation, and cooperation between the two surgeons is mandatory to achieve safe LC in difficult cases. When performing the LC, one must have a low threshold for converting to open surgery if injuries cannot be managed safely.