Gastrointestinal stromal tumor in ileal neobladder

Abstract  Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a recently described mesenchymal tumor that can develop in any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. The occurrence of a GIST in the urinary tract is rare, but GIST can present as tumor of the urinary tract or invade the urinary tract. This is the first reported case of GIST in the ileal neobladder, which presented as a submucosal tumor. The patient underwent an open exploration and partial resection of the neobladder pouch.     

Inaccuracy of Self-reported Low Sodium Diet among Chinese:Findings from Baseline Survey for Shandong & Ministry of Health Action on Salt and Hypertension (SMASH) Project

This study was aimed to evaluate the agreement between the self-reported sodium intake level and 24-h urine sodium excretion level in Chinese.The 24-h urine collection was conducted among 2112 adults aged 18-69 years randomly selected in Shandong Province,China.The subjects were asked whether their sodium intake was low,moderate,or high.The weighted kappa statistics was calculated to assess the agreement between     

Effect of sumac extract on serum oxidative status,RANKL/OPG system and alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis in rats

Objectives

Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) is widely used spice which has several properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. The purpose of this animal study was to evaluate the effects of sumac extract on levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression, serum oxidative status, and alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis.

Material and Methods

Twenty-four Wistar rats were separated into three groups: non-ligated (NL, n=8), ligature only (LO, n=8), and ligature and treated with sumac extract (S, n=8) (20 mg/kg per day for 11 days). A 4/0 silk suture was placed around the mandibular right first molars subgingivally; after 11 days, the rats were sacrificed, and alveolar bone loss was histometrically measured. The detection of RANKL and OPG were immunohistochemically performed. Levels of serum total antioxidant status (TAS)/total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) were also analyzed.

Results

Alveolar bone loss was significantly greater in the LO group compared to the S and NL groups (p<0.05). The number of inflammatory cell infiltrate (ICI) and osteoclasts in the LO group was significantly higher than that of the NL and S groups (p<0.05). The number of osteoblasts in the LO and S groups was significantly higher than that of the NL group (p<0.05). There were significantly more RANKL-positive cells in the LO group than in the S and NL groups (p<0.05). OPG-positive cells were higher in S group than in LO and NL groups (p<0.05). TOS and OSI levels were significantly reduced in S group compared to LO group (P<0.05) and TAS levels were similar in S and NL group (p>0.05).

Conclusions

The present study showed that systemic administration of sumac extract may reduce alveolar bone loss by affecting RANKL/OPG balance, TOS and OSI levels in periodontal disease in rats.     

Hybrid Therapy of Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation and Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Commissurotomy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Mitral Stenosis

AF Ablation and PTMC. Background: The rhythm control of atrial fibrillation (AF) associated with mitral stenosis (MS) is often difficult using antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs), even after a percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy (PTMC). Few studies have examined the efficacy and safety of simultaneously performing radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) and a PTMC in patients with MS and AF. Methods: Twenty consecutive patients with drug‐resistant AF and rheumatic MS underwent RFCA combined with a PTMC (n = 10; persistent AF‐8, long‐lasting [>1 year] persistent AF‐2; RFCA group) or transthoracic direct cardioversion (DC) following a PTMC (n = 10; persistent AF‐7, long‐lasting persistent AF‐3; DC group). In all patients, the mitral valve morphology was amenable to a PTMC, and more than 2 AADs had been ineffective in maintaining sinus rhythm (SR). In the RFCA group, a segmental pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) was performed in the initial 5 patients, and an extensive PVI was performed in the remaining 5. Results: During a mean follow‐up period of 4.0 ± 2.7 years, 8 patients (80%) in the RFCA group were maintained in SR, as compared to 1 (10%) in the DC group (hazard ratio, 0.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.75; P = 0.008 by the log‐rank test). The prevalence of the concomitant use of class I and/or class III AADs was comparable between the 2 groups (P = 0.70). No complications occurred during the procedure or follow‐up period in either group. Conclusions: The hybrid therapy using RFCA and a PTMC was safe and feasible, and significantly improved the AF free survival rate compared to DC following a PTMC. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 284–289, March 2010)     

Randomized trial to compare the dosage of darbepoetin alfa by administration route in haemodialysis patients

Aim:   The doses of darbepoetin alfa required to maintain target haemoglobin levels after s.c. or i.v. administration when recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) treatment was replaced by darbepoetin alfa treatment in haemodialysis (HD) patients were compared.
Methods:   In this prospective, randomized, open-label study, 65 HD patients who were receiving stable SC doses of rHuEpo were switched to an equivalent dose of darbepoetin alfa at a reduced frequency by s.c. or i.v. administration. Patients were randomly assigned to the s.c. group ( n  = 32) or the i.v. group ( n  = 33). Darbepoetin alfa doses were titrated to maintain target haemoglobin levels of 8.0–11.0 g/dL for up to 24 weeks. A period of 20 weeks was used for dose titration and haemoglobin stabilization. This was followed by a 4 week evaluation period.
Results:   The mean haemoglobin concentration during the evaluation period was similar in the s.c. and i.v. groups. The mean dose and mean weight-standardized dose of darbepoetin alfa during the evaluation period tended to be lower in the s.c. group than the i.v. group, although these differences were not statistically significant. The mean weekly darbepoetin alfa dose requirements during the evaluation period significantly decreased in both groups compared to the dose requirements at randomization.
Conclusion:   There is a possibility that s.c. administration of darbepoetin alfa is more efficacious than i.v. administration, but a definite benefit cannot be demonstrated with the current sample size. A bigger sample size is needed to confirm the result.     

Laparoscopic radical cystectomy with extracorporeal urinary diversion: Preliminary experience

AIM: We present our experience with the fi rst eight patients who underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and extracorporeal urinary diversion. Patients, operative data and the surgical techniques are presented. METHODS: Between June 2003 and April 2004, seven men and one woman with organ-con fi ned muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy with urinary diversion. The age range was 41-73 years. Laparoscopic radical cystectomy and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy were performed using fi ve ports by a transperitoneal approach. An ileal conduit diversion or ileal W-neobladder was constructed through the site of specimen retrieval. RESULTS: We performed eight radical cystectomies with ileal conduits (six cases) or orthotopic ileal W-neobladders (two cases). Conversion to open surgery was necessary in one due to technical dif fi culty in urethroneobladder anastomosis. Mean operating time was 560 min (range 455-680). Mean estimated blood loss was 675 mL (range 400-1050). Two of the eight patients needed blood transfusion (800 mL each). Mean days to oral intake and ambulation was 4.4 (range 2-6) and 4.1 (range 3-5), respectively. Mean hospital stay was 12.8 days (range 7-28). Mean follow up was 6.1 months (range 4-14). Histopathological examination of the specimens revealed stage T2N0M0 in fi ve cases, T3aN0M0 in one, T3aN1M0 in one and T3bN1M0 in one. No metastases have been detected and all are alive and free of disease. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic radical cystectomy is feasible, although dif fi cult and technically demanding, and our results are promising. With more experience and improvement of the surgical technique, laparoscopic radical cystectomy with urinary diversion may become an alternative surgical method for treating the selected patients with localized muscle invasive bladder cancer.     

Carcinoembryonic Antigen in the Management of Gastric Cancer Patients

The usefulness and limitations of the determination of carcinoembryonicantigen (CEA) levels were investigated in 226 cases of gastriccancer. Pre-operatively, elevated CEA levels were found in 23.9%.As the stage of cancer progressed, CEA elevation was found inhigher percentages. In particular, in patients with liver metastasisan incidence as high as 68.8% was obtained. Elevated CEA levelswere also observed more frequently in patients with unresectabletumors than in those with resectable ones and in those undergoingnoncurative surgery more frequently than in those undergoingcurative surgery. In most patients with preoperative elevated CEA levels, thelevels returned to normal by one month after curative resection,while the levels rarely returned to normal after noncurativeresection, showing the usefulness of CEA determination for evaluatingthe effect of surgery. CEA levels were determined serially before and after surgeryin patients with unresectable tumors, liver metastasis or peritonealdissemination. In most patients with preoperative elevated CEAlevels, the levels increased with postoperative tumor enlargement.Postoperative CEA levels increased to above the normal rangein some of the patients with normal preoperative CEA levels. Serial measurement of CEA levels was useful for observing thecourse of the disease even in patients with normal preoperativelevels.