Changes in the ratio of urinary α1-microglobulin to ulinastatin levels in patients with Alzheimer-type dementia and vascular dementia

Abstract Relationships between urinary levels of α1-microglobulin (α1M) and ulinastatin (UT) in patients with dementia were investigated. There were no significant differences in α1M and UT levels and α1M: UT ratios among three groups: age-matched control subjects, patients with either Alzheimer-type senile dementia (ATD) or vascular dementia (VD). Although a positive correlation was established between α1M and UT levels in these groups, the regression of the demented patients differed significantly from that of controls ( P <0.05). A tendency towards a negative correlation between α1M: UT ratios and the levels of severity or duration of the disease was displayed in the ATD group, whereas a tendency toward a positive correlation between α1M: UT ratios and the levels of severity was observed in the VD group. These results suggest that changes in the relationships between urinary levels of α1M and UT may provide a useful biochemical index for diagnoses of ATD and VD.     

Metabolite changes with age measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in normal subjects

Abstract  To determine whether there are metabolite changes in the left medial temporal and frontal lobes with aging, we performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 36 normal subjects. The N-acetylaspartate/creatine-phosphocreatine ratio in the medial temporal lobe tended to be decreased in subjects over 60 years of age. The ratio decrease in the frontal lobe related to aging was lower than that in the medial temporal lobe. There were no significant differences in the metabolite ratios between males and females. These findings suggest that structures in the medial temporal lobe may be more susceptible to neuronal dysfunction associated with aging than those in the frontal lobe.     

A Three-dimensional Analysis of Blood Vessels in Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma

The three-dimensional architecture of blood vessels within lung adenocarcinomas has not been well studied. In 19 cases with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma with central fibrosis, we three-dimensionally examined blood vessel architecture in 150 m thick sections stained with elastin staining and anti-CD34 antibody. We examined four regions: normal alveoli and three regions within the tumor including an area adjacent to the normal alveoli (external area), an area in which tumor cells were replacing epithelial cells (replacement area), and a central fibrotic area (fibrotic area). Elastin staining showed that elastic fibers formed the framework of the alveoli, and the alveolar structure shrank more strongly to the center of the tumor due to folding of alveolar walls invaded by adenocarcinoma cells. We also measured three vessel parameters in these four regions. The vessel diameters were 4.08±1.10 m, 3.95±1.02 m, 5.04±1.56 m, and 6.11±2.23 m, the circumferences of those vessels seen as complete circles were 43.11±12.78 m, 43.71±12.87 m, 95.21±39.32 m, and 126.77±54.65 m; the lengths between vessel bifurcations were 13.28±3.08 m, 13.47±4.58 m, 24.91±9.66 m, and 41.82±28.08 m in the normal alveoli, and the external, replacement, and fibrotic areas, respectively. Blood vessel architecture changed such that the vessels became larger and coarser towards the center of the tumor. Our three-dimensional analysis suggests continuous remodeling of alveolar capillaries rather than angiogenesis within bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.     

Cytotoxic T-Cell Lymphoma Arising in Behçet Disease

The case of a 49-year-old man with peripheral T-cell lymphoma arising in Behçet disease (BD) is reported. A diagnosis of incomplete BD was made, and the patient was treated with immunosuppressive agents for 9 months. A left perirenal mass emerged, and a computed tomography-guided needle biopsy of the tumor revealed the infiltration of small- and medium-sized lymphoma cells.The cells were positive for CD3, CD8, CD45RO, CD43, granzyme B, and T-cell intracellular antigen-1.A diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (diffuse medium, T-cell) was made.A left orbital mass also appeared. Standard combination chemotherapy diminished the perirenal and orbital lesions.Lymphoma cell infiltration in the esophagus was detected after chemotherapy, and the patient died of massive bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is rarely associated with BD, and only 7 cases have been reported in the literature.We have summarized the published case reports of malignant lymphoma arising in BD.To our knowledge, this case report is the first to describe cytotoxic T-cell lymphoma arising in Behçet disease.     

Mixed connective tissue disease with interstitial pneumonia in HTLV-1 carrier: case report and review of the literature

We report on a carrier of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) who developed mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). This patient suddenly manifested clinical symptoms and interstitial pneumonia ascribable to MCTD following long-term infection with HTLV-1. After initiation of oral prednisolone all manifestations quickly improved in parallel with a decrease in inflammatory reactions. In this patient HTLV-1 infection might have played an important role in the pathogenesis of MCTD. Since HTLV-1 can cause adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy, and also collagen diseases including MCTD, careful observation is necessary even in a carrier, particularly when autoantibodies are detectable in serum.     

Bone pain from granulocyte colony stimulating factor: does clinical trial sponsorship by a pharmaceutical company influence its reporting?

ALDAIRY Y., NGUYEN P.L. & JATOI A. (2011) European Journal of Cancer Care 20 , 72–76
Bone pain from granulocyte colony stimulating factor: does clinical trial sponsorship by a pharmaceutical company influence its reporting? It is alleged that pharmaceutical companies sometimes unfairly present clinical trial results. To our knowledge, studies have not explored whether such alleged unfair reporting also occurs in the testing of palliative care agents in cancer patients, a particularly vulnerable group. Therefore, a systematic search was conducted to retrieve all published, prospective clinical trials that used granulocyte colony stimulating factor starting in 2003. Because granulocyte colony stimulating factor can cause severe bone pain – a concerning but historically under‐reported symptom in cancer patients – this symptom was assessed to determine whether differences in reporting occurred based on pharmaceutical company‐sponsorship. A total of 239 published clinical trials met the present study's eligibility criteria and were retrievable. Within this entire group of studies, 65 (27%) were pharmaceutical company‐sponsored, and only 31 (13%) reported on bone pain. However, pharmaceutical company‐sponsored trials reported on bone pain at a higher rate compared with other studies: 23% versus 9% (P= 0.005), and this conclusion did not change after adjusting for dose, use of the slow release formulation and year of publication. The reporting of adverse events from cancer symptom control and palliative care interventions should be improved – especially in trials not sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.