Submandibular sialolithiasis: transoral excision

In 17 cases the author has removed intraglandular submandibular calculi by an oral route utilizing blunt soft tissue dissection after an incision of the mucosa only. General anesthesia is used and the patient discharged after an overnight stay. No complications were encountered. All patients were back on full diet in 48 hours.     

Addition of bevacizumab to bolus fluorouracil and leucovorin in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer: results of a randomized phase II trial.

PURPOSE: Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor, increases survival when combined with irinotecan-based chemotherapy in first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). This randomized, phase II trial compared bevacizumab plus fluorouracil and leucovorin (FU/LV) versus placebo plus FU/LV as first-line therapy in patients considered nonoptimal candidates for first-line irinotecan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients had metastatic CRC and one of the following characteristics: age > or = 65 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 1 or 2, serum albumin < or = 3.5 g/dL, or prior abdominal/pelvic radiotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned to FU/LV/placebo (n = 105) or FU/LV/bevacizumab (n = 104). The primary end point was overall survival. Secondary end points were progression-free survival, response rate, response duration, and quality of life. Safety was also assessed. RESULTS: Median survival was 16.6 months for the FU/LV/bevacizumab group and 12.9 months for the FU/LV/placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.79; P = .16). Median progression-free survival was 9.2 months (FU/LV/bevacizumab) and 5.5 months (FU/LV/placebo); hazard ratio was 0.50; P = .0002. Response rates were 26.0% (FU/LV/bevacizumab) and 15.2% (FU/LV/placebo) (P = .055); duration of response was 9.2 months (FU/LV/bevacizumab) and 6.8 months (FU/LV/placebo); hazard ratio was 0.42; P = .088. Grade 3 hypertension was more common with bevacizumab treatment (16% v 3%) but was controlled with oral medication and did not cause study drug discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Addition of bevacizumab to FU/LV as first-line therapy in CRC patients who were not considered optimal candidates for first-line irinotecan treatment provided clinically significant patient benefit, including statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival.     

Localized 1H NMR spectra of glutamate in the human brain.

Localized 1H NMR spectra at TE = 12 ms were obtained from cerebral cortex of human subjects using ISIS with surface suppression. The 2.29-ppm resonance was assigned to C4 glutamate with contributions from C4 glutamine and GABA using in vivo spectral editing and comparison of chemical shift with pure compounds. The measured intensity ratio between the 2.29 resonance and the creatine resonance at 3.03 ppm was in good agreement with the ratio predicted from previously reported measurements of glutamate, glutamine, and GABA concentrations in biopsied human brain tissue.     

Coronary blood flow and cardiac adenine nucleotides in E. coli endotoxemia in dogs: effects of oxygen radical scavengers

The purposes of this study were to determine the effects of E. coli endotoxin shock on coronary blood flow (CBF) and myocardial adenine nucleotides and to determine if reactive oxygen species are major causal factors in these effects of endotoxin. Twenty-three pentobarbital-anesthetized Beagle dogs were instrumented for recording cardiorespiratory parameters, injected i.v. with saline (time-matched controls; n = 6) or endotoxin (1.5 mg/kg; n = 17), and studied for 4 h. Endotoxin dogs also received either i.v. saline (shock controls; n = 6) or i.v. treatment with either deferoxamine (30 mg/kg; n = 5) or triple therapy (n = 6) with a combination of allopurinol (150 mg/kg), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (5 mg/kg), and catalase (CAT) (5 mg/kg). Cardiorespiratory and tissue blood flow variables were constant in sham-shock controls during the study, whereas endotoxin dogs developed typical canine endotoxemia with decreased left ventricular (LV) function. CBF was decreased by approximately 40% (P less than or equal to 0.5) in all endotoxin groups throughout the 4 h study period. However, based on hemodynamic estimates of myocardial O2 demand and endocardial/epicardial blood flow ratios, it seemed that coronary flow was matched to metabolic rate in all endotoxin groups. Endotoxin significantly lowered LV myocardial concentrations of ADP, AMP, NADH, and NADPH (range = 37 to 54%, P less than or equal to 0.05), but ATP, NAD, and NADP concentrations were not changed. The adenylate charge of the myocardium was between 0.91 and 0.95 in all endotoxin groups, suggesting that adequate energy was available in the myocardium during endotoxin shock. The lack of influence of deferoxamine, allopurinol, SOD, and CAT is indirect evidence that oxygen radicals are not primary pathophysiologic mediators in the cardiac response to gram-negative endotoxemia in this endotoxin model.     

Re-fixation in a lymph node revealing solution is a powerful method for identifying lymph nodes in colorectal resection specimens.

AIM: To verify an impact of a lymph node revealing solution (LRS) on the number of lymph nodes (LN) revealed in colorectal resection specimens. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Fifty-nine cases of rectosigmoid carcinomas divided into two subgroups-stage pT2&3 (20 cases) and ypT2&3 (with pre-operative radiotherapy-39 cases)-were formalin fixed for 42-72 h, serially sectioned and re-fixed in LRS containing ethanol, diethyl ether, glacial acetic acid, and formalin for 24 h. The number of LNs was matched to a control group consisting of 34 cases of colorectal carcinoma, 14 pT2&3 and 20 ypT2&3 rectosigmoid carcinomas examined routinely. Results were statistically tested by Student's t-test. RESULTS: In the study group the total number of revealed LNs was 869, range 1-48, average 14.7 per specimen, median 15. In the control group the number of LNs was 200, range 0-13, average 5.9 per specimen, median 6. The difference between the study and the control group was statistically significant (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Using LRS leads to a significant increase in the number of revealed LNs in colorectal resection specimens and makes it possible to find more than 12 LNs in a majority of stage pT2 and pT3 adenocarcinomas.     

环孢菌素A阻断人HL－60抗药性细胞于G_1期而诱导敏感细胞凋亡

进一步研究了抗三尖杉酯碱的ＨＬ－６０细胞（ＨＲ２０）抗细胞凋亡的机制及该抗性和抗药性的关系。结果表明，环孢菌素Ａ（ＣｓＡ）２０，１０μｇ·ｍｌ￣（－１）诱导ＨＬ－６０细胞发生凋亡，而阻断ＨＲ２０细胞于Ｇ＿１期，就不能诱导细胞发生凋亡。低浓度的ＣｓＡ明显增加柔红霉素在ＨＲ２０细胞内的积聚，其逆转抗药性作用与阻断细胞周期运行无关。ＣｓＡ１０μｇ·ｍｌ￣（－１）处理ＨＲ２０细胞，可引起５０ｋＤａ的蛋白质高度磷酸化。结果提示：环孢菌素Ａ阻断抗三尖杉酯碱的ＨＬ－６０细胞于Ｇ＿１期，而诱导敏感的ＨＬ－６０细胞发生凋亡，其阻断作用与抗药性无关     

Plasticity of innervation of the medulla of axillary lymph nodes in the rat after antigenic stimulation

The purpose of this investigation was to test the hypothesis that activation of the immune system in rats will lead to changes in the density of innervation in lymph nodes. In order to reduce the variability between animals, the rats were reared under sterile conditions and immunostimulation was effected by subcutaneous application of bovine albumin in a region draining to the axillary lymph nodes of both sides. Control animals received an equivalent application of sterile physiological saline. The animals were sacrificed 10 days and 27 days and 4 months after immunostimulation. The nerves in the axillary lymph nodes were quantified by light microscopy in silver impregnated sections and at the ultrastructural level on ultrathin sections. The survival times were chosen so that the first group was in the ascending phase of antibody production, the second group at the peak, and the third group in the declining phase. Both at the light and ultrastructural levels, there were statistically significant differences in the density of innervation of medulla between the groups, with a particularly pronounced increase in the group 4 months after immunostimulation. At the ultrastructural level, there was also an increase in the density of incompletely ensheathed axonal profiles in the parenchyma of the medulla, while the nerves associated with blood vessels were not increased. We conclude that immunostimulation leads to morphological changes in the innervation of the medulla of axillary lymph nodes, that are consistent with the concept of functional activation of the autonomic nervous system through the immune system. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.