N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide predicts hospitalization for ischemic stroke in Japanese hemodialysis patients

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology - The association between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and stroke in Japanese hemodialysis (HD) outpatients is unclear. Therefore, in...     

Histological comparison of patellar cartilage degeneration between chondromalacia in youth and osteoarthritis in aging

The histological findings of the patellar cartilage were compared between cases of chondromalacia, which occurs predominantly in young persons (22 patients, average age 19.8 years) and cases of osteoarthritis, which is common among the elderly (21 patients, average age 65.4 years). The histological findings of cartilage in the chondromalacia were characterized by increased density and vigorous fibrous metaplasia of chondrocytes. These findings may be considered to represent a reactive change in the chondrocyte. Cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis, by contrast, is regressive and presents a clearly different histological picture from that of chondromalacia patellae. We conclude that chondromalacia does not easily lead to osteoarthritis. On the other hand, the cartilage was characteristically softened, as observed by gross inspection, and showed rarefaction of the cartilage matrix. It should be noted that the change was not observed in aging, but showed a pattern of cartilage degeneration peculiar to young patients with chondromalacia patellae.     

Clinical study on cefixime granules in the field of pediatrics

The absorption and excretion and clinical effectiveness of cefixime (CFIX) granules, a new oral cephalosporin, were studied with pediatric patients with tonsillitis and urinary tract infection (UTI). Peak serum concentrations in 3 children given orally a single dose of 3 mg/kg on fasting were 0.545 micrograms/ml at 2 hours in 1 patient, and 1.56 and 1.26 micrograms/ml at 4 hours in the other 2. The half-lives in the 3 patients were 3.21-3.42 hours, with an average of 3.29 hours. The urinary concentration during the first 6 hours was 36.5 micrograms/ml in 1 patient showing the low serum level, and the first 6-hour urinary recovery rate was 7.3%. In the other 2 patients, urinary concentrations and recovery rates up to 6 hours were 87 and 62 micrograms/ml, and 17.0 and 15.1%, respectively. The second 6-hour urinary concentrations and recovery rates were 35.5 and 20.8 micrograms/ml, and 12.7 and 8.8%, respectively. The urinary recovery rates up to 12 hours were 29.7 and 23.9%, respectively. CFIX was given orally to 19 children with 20 diseases in daily doses of 6.4-12.9 mg/kg in 2 or 3 divided portions for 3 to 12 days. Clinical evaluations were made on 18 diseases. Clinical effects of CFIX were excellent in 4, good in 7 and poor in 1 of the 12 patients with tonsillitis, and excellent in 5 and good in 1 of the 6 patients with UTI. The overall clinical effectiveness rate was 94.4%. No side effects were observed in any of the 19 patients. Hematological tests, showed slight elevation of blood platelet counts in 2 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Primary linitis plastica of the descending colon: A case report

A rare case of primary linitis plastica carcinoma of the colon seen in a 44 year old Japanese man is described herein. The patient had a complete obstruction of the descending colon and was treated with a loop colostomy followed shortly afterward by a left hemicolectomy. At the time of the second operation, the entire thickness of the colonic wall was found to be infiltrated by cancer cells, however, the other intraabdominal organs were free of cancerous involvement. The histopathological diagnosis made at this time was primary linitis plastica carcinoma of the descending colon. Nine months later, the patient developed an intestinal obstruction and relaparotomy revealed diffuse peritoneal dissemination. Two years after the first operation, upper GI films and a gastrofiberscopic examination revealed gastric involvement. The patient died 28 months after his initial operation, and autopsy revealed widespread metastases in the peritoneal surface, paraaortic lymph nodes, small intestine, remaining colon and stomach.     

Genetic susceptibility to herpetic encephalitis of inbred rabbits of B/Jas strain

Inbred rabbits of B/Jas strain were found to be highly susceptible to herpes simplex virus type 1 encephalitis, following i.v. injection of the virus, while Chbb:HM strain rabbits were not susceptible. The susceptibility trait seemed to be inherited recessively, involving multiple genes, because (B/Jas x Chbb:HM)Fl hybrids were as resistant as Chbb:HM rabbits, and because more than 90% of backcrosses of (B/Jas x Chbb: HM)FI to B/Jas were resistant to viral inoculation. The encephalitis in B/Jas rabbits resembled human herpes simplex encephalitis, in that the temporal lobe as well as the brain stem were affected preferentially, leading to the development of various types of seizures, such as circling, loss of balance leading to a fall, and tonic and clonic convulsions. The disease could be diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis before onset of seizures, and diseased rabbits showed a marked lymphopenia at onset of seizures. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Multiple metastatic calcifications detected by bone scintigraphy and demonstrated by CT.

Metastatic calcifications according to histopathologic and scintigraphic findings have been well-defined. The authors report a postoperative case of hyperparathyroidism with multiple metastatic calcifications in the lung, kidney, stomach, heart, and vessels that were primarily detected by bone scintigraphy and demonstrated by CT. Tc-99m MDP bone scintigraphy showed a markedly increased accumulation of radioactivity diffusely throughout the lung, left ventricular wall, both kidneys, and the gastric cardia and body. In the lung, plain films showed almost normal lung. CT, however, demonstrated patchy, slightly increased densities in the lung bilaterally. Cardiac CT indicated a considerably increased density of the ventricular myocardium and remarkable calcification in or near the atrioventricular septum or annulus fibrosus. Upper abdominal CT demonstrated increased densities diffusely throughout the gastric mucosa and renal cortex. Only vascular calcifications were depicted by plain films. Using both bone scintigraphy and CT provides accurate information about each lesion and each tissue, allowing precise diagnosis of even a questionable lesion in the early stage of metastatic calcification. Early diagnosis and early therapy offer the best chance for cure or palliative therapy.