The Effect of Gastric Bypass on Cholesterol,HDL, and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

A review of 150 charts revealed that 36 patients had pre-operative serum cholesterol greater than 200 mg% prior to Roux-Y gastric bypass. The average pre-operative weight was 266 lb (121 kg) and at 1 year post-operative 166 lb (75 kg), or 100 lb (45 kg) lost (77% excess weight loss). We compared the following pre- and post- operative data and found that: (1) cholesterol was decreased by 24% and triglycerides decreased by 40%; (2) post-operative cholesterol/HDL-C ratio of 3.31 put our patients in the half of average risk category for a clinical pathological coronary event according to the SmithKline Beecham Laboratories risk ratio chart. We conclude that Roux-Y gastric bypass and its ability to produce a significant weight loss and markedly affect cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism will also reduce a patient's risk of myocardial infarction.     

Modification of Gastric Banding,Using a Fundal Suture

Many forms of gastric banding have been described and high reoperation rates reported. These can be mainly attributed to excess vomiting associated both with and without stenosis. Reflux oesophagitis and the ‘sump’ effect may be other causes. This paper examines the problems associated with banding leading to revisional surgery and introduces a new technique, ‘fundal supporting suture’, to correct these problems. Preliminary results on 126 bandings without the modification and 22 with the modification are presented.     

Obesity Surgery Poly-parametric Patient Auto-evaluation

A simple auto-evaluation sheet is presented for the proper assessment of the patient's condition after surgery. Stress is put not only on weight loss, but on other important factors as well.     

参附注射液在胃癌术前介入化疗中的作用

研究参附注射液在胃癌术前介入化疗中的作用，将87例进展期胃癌患者分成两组。分别检测T细胞亚群、白细胞总数及淋巴细胞数量等。结果：参附组对CD3、CD4，CD4／CD8的提高作用显著高于化疗组，且能保持白细胞及淋巴细胞的数量。提示参附注射液可增强胃癌术前介入化疗的患者的细胞免疫功能。     

Nuclear Pedigree Criteria for the Identification of Individuals Suspected to Be at Risk of an Inherited Predisposition to Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy worldwide and therefore represents a significant healthcare burden. Environmental and genetic factors are involved in the development of gastric cancer. To date only one clear genetic predisposition has been identified involving mutations in the E-cadherin gene. The disease phenotype in patients harbouring E-cadherin mutations appears to be specifically related to diffuse gastric cancer. Little is known genetically about the other forms of gastric cancer. Since there is a growing awareness about the necessity of early intervention criteria have been developed that aid the identification of hereditary forms of gastric cancer. The aim of the current study was to identify minimal inclusion criteria so that nuclear pedigree families can be provided with risk assessment and/or genetic testing.The results reveal that inclusion features described herein such as (a) gastric cancer diagnosed before 46 years of age; (b) two gastric cancers among first degree relatives diagnosed over the age of 50 are useful in identifying suspected hereditary gastric cancer patients.     

PCR检测慢性胃炎患儿胃液中幽门螺杆菌DNA

目的检测慢性胃炎儿童胃液中幽门螺杆菌DNA，探讨其在临床诊断中的实用价值。方法应用PCR检测胃液中幽门螺旋菌DNA，应用Warthin-Starry银染色检测胃粘膜组织中的幽门螺旋菌。结果胃炎组与非胃炎组比较，敏感性为75.0％，特异性为96．2％，两组有显著性差异（P＜0．01）。PCR与Warthin－Starry银染色比较，PCR优于Warthin—Starry银染色法。结论PCR检测患儿胃液中的幽门螺旋菌DNA，具有敏感、快速、特异、高效等优点，是基因水平上检测幽门螺旋菌一项新技术，用于慢性胃炎的早期诊断，具有较好的实用价值，值得推广应用。     

利用粘附式细胞仪测定培养巨噬细胞内pH值

用ｐＨ值敏感荧光探针Ｓｎａｆｌｃａｌｃｅｉｎ－ＡＭ标记体外培养４８小时的小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞，５７０型粘附式细胞仪观察巨噬细胞在对刀豆素Ａ进行受体介导内吞过程中细胞内ｐＨ值的变化。结果显示，开始内吞后细胞内ｐＨ值即降低，内吞进行到第５分钟细胞内ｐＨ值降到最低，在此后的６分钟内均维持于这一较低水平。本法灵敏度高，简便快捷，适用范围广，可无损伤观察活细胞或细胞器ｐＨ值的变化。     

Globotriaosyl Ceramide and Globoside as Major Glycolipid Components of Fibroblasts in Scirrhous Gastric Carcinoma Tissues

Scirrhous gastric cancer is characteristic in that cancer cells proliferate and invade with prominent fibrosis. To search for the expression of specific carbohydrate chains in scirrhous gastric cancer, we have examined the glycosphingolipid composition of scirrhous cancer tissues (n=10) in comparison with that of non-scirrhous cancer tissues (n=10) by means of two-dimensional thin layer chromatography, followed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry of the individual glycolipids and immunostaining analysis. The major neutral glycosphingolipids from scirrhous gastric cancer tissues were identified as ceramide monohexoside, ceramide dihexoside, globotriaosyl ceramide (Gb₃) and globoside (Gb₄), while the major acidic glycosphingolipids were II³ Neu-Acα-LacCer, II³ NeuAcα₂-LacCer and sulfatide. Relative concentrations of Gb₃ and Gb₄ in scirrhous gastric cancer tissues (Gb₃+ Gb₄=58%) were two times higher than those in non-scirrhous gastric cancer tissues (29%). Orthotopic fibroblasts cloned from scirrhous gastric cancer tissues showed similar high concentrations of Gb₃ and Gb₄ to scirrhous gastric cancer tissues. Furthermore, immunohistochemical study revealed that Gb₃ and Gb₄ were expressed intensely on the fibroblasts. On the other hand, analysis of glycosphingolipids in four scirrhous gastric cancer cell lines yielded the following results. i) The contents of Gb₃ and Gb₄ were low (6%), compared with orthotopic fibroblasts (62%). ii) Significant amounts of Le^a (pentaglycosylceramide) and Le^b (hexa- and heptaglycosylceramides), which could not be detected in scirrhous cancer tissues, were observed. The results show that the major neutral glycosphingolipids such as Gb₃ and Gb₄ of scirrhous gastric cancer tissues were derived from orthotopic fibroblasts and not from the cancer cells.     

Effects of super-extended paraaortic lymphadenectomy (PAL) on biological responses in totally gastrectomized patients with T3 or T4 gastric cancer

Background. In Japan, much attention has recently been paid to super-extended paraaortic lymphadenectomy (PAL) for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. However, it has been reported that PAL is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as compared to conventional extended lymphadenectomy (D2 or D3). Therefore, an analysis of the effects of PAL on perioperative changes in the biological responses of patients essential for determining the potential utility of this procedure. Methods. The current non-randomized prospective study included evaluations of perioperative changes in parameters of surgical stress (series I; serum levels of antidiuretic hormone, interleukin-6, trypsin, and phospholipase A ₂ ) and immunocompetence (series II; phytohemagglutinin- and concanavalin A-induced blastogenesis, activity of natural killer cells and the ratio of CD4 cells to CD8 cells) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (T3 or T4), comparing groups treated with D3 plus PAL ( n = 12) and D3 ( n = 13), and a control group with early gastric cancer ( n = 16) treated with D1 lymphadenectomy (perigastric N1 nodes) between April 1995 and April 1997. Results. The duration of surgery and the amount of blood lost were longer and greater in the D3 plus PAL group than in the D3 and D1 groups. D3 plus PAL and D3 were associated with significant postoperative increases in parameters of surgical stress, as well as with significant postoperative immunosuppression, compared to results with D1. However, there were no significant differences in the respective parameters between the D3 plus PAL and D3 groups. Conclusions. Our results indicate that there are no essential differences in patients' biological responses between D3 plus PAL and D3 lymphadenectomy. It appears that PAL-associated morbidity can be minimized by very careful manipulation during the dissection of paraaortic lymph nodes. Received for publication on Feb. 10, 1998; accepted on Jun. 3, 1998     

Extracellular acidification decreases the basal motility of cultured mouse microglia via the rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton

The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of extracellular pH (pH(0)) on the locomotor function of murine microglial cells in vitro. We have found that basal motility of microglia, as measured by a computer-assisted video assay, decreased in an acidic, but not in an alkaline environment. Extracellular acidification affected the architecture of F-actin cytoskeleton, inducing bundling of actin and the formation of stress fibers. The change in intracellular pH (pH(i)) resulting from the change in pH(0) seems to be a prerequisite for the motility decrease since other means to decrease pH(i), namely Na(+)-free solution (in the absence of HCO(-)(3)) and nigericin-containing solution, mimicked the extracellular acidification. In contrast to its pronounced effect on basal motility of microglial cells, the motility increase, as induced by the chemoattractant complement 5a (C5a), was not affected by the acidic environment. The relationship of pH(0) to the locomotor function was also studied in a long-term microchemotaxis assay where microglia migrated within a pH gradient. Intracellular acidification induced by lowering pH(0) to 6.0 or removal of Na(+) from the assay medium decreased basal microglial cell migration. The C5a-induced chemotactic migration was moderately decreased by the acidic environment. In conclusion, our results suggest that acidification of the microglial extracellular milieu leads to a decrease in pH(i) and thereby reduces the basal microglial motility and C5a-induced chemotaxis via a rearrangement of the cytoskeleton. We would therefore like to speculate that changes in pH(i) constitute an important control mechanism in regulating the locomotor function of microglia in culture and probably also in the intact tissue.