Changes of cancer diagnosis disclosure to children in Japan in the last 20 years

International Journal of Clinical Oncology - The practice of cancer diagnosis disclosure to children has been changed with the times. The regulations of clinical trials in the 2000s might change...     

Parenchymal calcification is associated with the neurological prognosis in patients with congenital rubella syndrome

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) results from maternal rubella virus infection in early pregnancy. Abnormal neuroimaging findings have been analyzed in a small number of CRS patients in the past; however, their clinical significance has been poorly addressed. Therefore, we have investigated the neuroimaging findings of 31 patients with CRS from previous studies. The most common finding was parenchymal calcification, which was observed in 18 of 31 patients (58.1%). A multivariable logistic regression model showed that it was associated with psychomotor or mental retardation (p = 0.018), suggesting that parenchymal calcification in CRS could be a prognostic factor.     

Prevalence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) among biopsied cases of a urban hospital in Japan: significance of measurement of serum ferritin in the detection of NASH]

From April 1989 to December 2004, we performed liver biopsy on 475 patients and obtained biopsy proven 35 cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver. Among them, 18 cases were diagnosed as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). During the last three years, we have tried to detect NASH using ultrasonography and elevated value of serum ferritin (> 300 ng/ml). All of the eligible 7 cases biopsied during the course were diagnosed as NASH. In these 7 cases, ALT levels improved after the body weight loss accompanied by the parallel decrease of serum ferritin levels. Measurement of serum ferritin is useful in the detection of NASH but the normal value of ferritin cannot rule out the possibility of NASH.     

A variant of the HL-60 cell line expressing a high level of PTP1C exhibits increased susceptibility to differentiation by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate

A variant of the HL-60 cell line, HL-60/MCSFR4D2, has been found to express twice the amount of PTP1C as compared to the parental HL-60 cell line by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. Differentiation of the variant cells after phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment was examined by the appearance of adherence. In 1% fetal calf serum (FCS), 20% of HL-60/MCSFR4D2 cells exhibited adherence after treatment with 0.5 ng/ml PMA for 48 h, 60% exhibited adherence after treatment with 1.0 ng/ml PMA and 80% exhibited adherence after treatment with 5.0 ng/ml PMA, while HL-60 cells exhibited only a slight response. Furthermore, antisense PTP1C oligonucleotides decreased the PMA-induced adherence of HL-60/MCSFR4D2 cells. These results suggest that the high-expression of PTP1C in HL-60 cells may be involved in the enhancement of susceptibility to macrophage-like differentiation by PMA.     

Basic fibroblast growth factor prevents thalamic degeneration after cortical infarction

In the focal infarction model of the rat middle cerebral artery (MCA), the thalamus of the occluded side becomes gradually atrophic, mainly because of retrograde degeneration. We determined whether basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) administered intracisternally could prevent this thalamic atrophy. We occluded the left MCA through a small cranial opening, and animals were then divided into two groups. One group received intracisternal injections of recombinant bFGF (1 microgram dissolved in 0.1 ml of saline with 2% rat serum) starting 1 day after occlusion and repeated once a week to a total dose of 4 micrograms by four injections. The other group received vehicle solution by the same schedule. The animals were perfused and fixed at 28 days after occlusion, and histological examination was made at the level of the caudoputamen and thalamus. In the bFGF-treated rats, the area of the posterior ventral thalamus of the occluded side was 93% of that of the contralateral side, i.e., significantly larger than in the normal saline-treated rats (75%, p less than 0.01). The infarction size was not statistically different in the two groups. Microscopic observation indicated that normal-saline-treated animals showed shrinkage and disappearance of thalamic neurons, whereas bFGF-treated groups showed preservation of thalamic neurons. Computerized analysis of the cell size substantiated this observation. To assess the effect of bFGF on astrocytes, bFGF or vehicle solution was injected into normal rats, and their histology was evaluated at 1, 2, and 4 weeks after injection. The bFGF-injected group showed a significant increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes in the brain tissue facing the ventriculocisternal system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Severe hypoglycaemia in a person with insulin autoimmune syndrome accompanied by insulin receptor anomaly type B.

AIMS: A rare case of the insulin autoimmune syndrome (IAS) accompanied by insulin receptor anomaly is reported. METHODS: Antibodies to insulin and insulin receptor were determined in the patient with severe hypoglycaemia before and after the treatment with prednisolone. RESULTS: Titers of antibody to insulin and insulin receptors were 73.0% and 41.5%, respectively. Drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation tests were all negative for the suspicious drugs. Her HLA-DR was DRB1*0403/04051. Following steroid therapy, the formation of antibodies was suppressed and alleviated her symptoms. Scatchard analysis yielded findings specific to polyclonal antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: The changes in autoantibodies resulted in alleviation of the hypoglycemic symptoms as a result of steroid therapy.     

Reduction of Nitric Oxide with L–/Vc–Monomethyl Arginine in lnterleukin–2 and Anti–CD3 Monoclonal Antibody Combination Therapy

We evaluated nitric oxide induction in antitumor therapy consisting of anti–CD3 monoclonal antibody (anti–CD3) and interleukin–2 (IL–2), then determined the effect of nitric oxide reduction with L–N^G–monomethyl arginine (LNMA) on the therapeutic methods. Female C57BL/6 mice, MCA102 (a non immunogenic, NK–resistant murine fibrosarcoma cell line), and 145–2C11 (hamster anti–murine–CD3 mAb) were utilized in an experimental hepatic metastasis model developed by injecting a tumor cell suspension into the spleen of mice. A marked increase in serum NO₂^–+ NO₁ was observed at 19 hours after anti–CD3 (10 μ, IV) and additional IL–2 administrations (40times10¹ U, twice, If) induced a further increase. The NO₂, + NO_3- elevation in spot urine in the combination therapy was not suppressed with LNMA at a dose of 100 μg/h but was significantly lowered at 300 μg/h. The efficacy of the anti–CD3 + IL–2 therapy was not diminished by LNMA administration either at 100 μg/h or at 300 μg/h.     

Localization of mRNA for inflammatory cytokines in radicular cyst tissue by in situ hybridization, and induction of inflammatory cytokines by human gingival fibroblasts in response to radicular cyst contents

The expression of mRNA encoding the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1α (IL-1α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) have been examined in radicular cysts by in situ hybridization. Furthermore, the biological activity of the contents of radicular cysts (RCC) has been assayed by adding extracts of RCC to cultured human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) and analyzing the culture medium for the release of inflammatory cytokines. In the epithelial layer, keratinocytes expressed all cytokine mRNAs examined at various levels. Basal layer cells expressed mRNA for each cytokine. In the subepithelial granulation tissue of the cysts, fibroblasts and macrophages expressed mRNA for IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β and TNF-α mRNA at varying levels; especially clear expression of TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA was detected on macrophages. The infiltrating lymphoid cells, largely composed of T cells and plasma cells, expressed these cytokine mRNAs, especially those encoding IL-6 and IL-8, at various levels. In vitro analysis indicated dose-dependent release of both IL-6 and IL-8 by HGFs in response to RCC. After heating to 100°C for 10 min, RCC almost completely failed to stimulate IL-6 release from HGFs. Furthermore, anti-IL-1β antibody (neutralization test) did not prevent the stimulation of IL-6 release by RCC. Significant amounts of IL-6 and IL-8 were detected in RCC in two cases, and a trace amount of IL-1β was detected in one case. This study demonstrated the wide expression of mRNA encoding inflammatory cytokines in radicular cyst tissues, and RCC itself was capable of stimulating 1L-6 and 1L-8 production from HGFs.