Postoperative development of sarcopenia is a strong predictor of a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction and upper gastric cancer

Background

There were few studies assessed the postoperative sarcopenia in patients with cancers. The objective of present study was to assess whether postoperative development of sarcopenia could predict a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction, (AEG) and upper gastric cancer (UGC).

Dermoscopic features of hidroacanthoma simplex: Usefulness in distinguishing it from Bowen's disease and seborrheic keratosis

Hidroacanthoma simplex (HAS) is a rare benign eccrine adnexal tumor. HAS is sometimes clinically or pathologically misdiagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen's disease; BD), seborrheic keratosis (SK) or other adnexal tumor. To date, there has never been a report focusing on dermoscopic features to distinguish HAS from BD and SK. We found the following dermoscopic findings to be characteristic of HAS: fine black dots/globules (75% of cases) and fine scales arranged annularly (100% of cases). In contrast, glomerular vessels, which are typically observed in BD, were not seen in any of the four cases. Cerebriform appearance and milia‐like cysts, which are typically observed in SK, were also not seen in any of the four cases. The existence of “scattered fine black dots/globules” and “fine scales arranged annularly”, and the absence of the glomerular vessels, may contribute to precise diagnosis of HAS. Even though HAS resembles BD or SK clinically, it can be distinguished from these by the characteristic dermoscopic features.     

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 case of recurrent biliary cystadenocarcinoma successfully treated with 5FU/CDDP systemic chemotherapy]

We report a case of biliary cystadenocarcinoma which recurred 41 months postoperatively. A 60-year-old woman was admitted for further examination of multiple metastatic tumors and a large amount of ascites. Systemic administration of 5FU and CDDP caused her CEA level to decrease gradually and abdominal computed tomography revealed considerable reduction of the metastatic tumors and ascites. Since her general condition had improved, chemotherapy was continued in the outpatient clinic.     

Adsorption of Human Recombinant Erythropoietin on Dialysis Membranes In Vitro

Abstract: The adsorptive characteristics of 5 dialysis membranes for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) were studied in vitro in a closed circuit system. For 120 min, EPO added with bovine serum was significantly adsorbed by polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA) and polyacry–lonitrile (PAN) membranes but not by Cuprophan, ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVAL), or polysulfone (PS) membranes. In addition the EPO adsorptive rate, as well as that of β₂–microglobulin (β₂–MG), was greater with a PMMA membrane than with a PAN membrane. EPO was not detected in the ultrafiltrate at 15 min with 5 membranes. These results indicate that EPO was eliminated by membrane adsorption only with some dialysis membranes.     

A possible negative feedback control of excitatory transmission via prostaglandins in canine small intestine.

1 Contractile responses of canine intestinal circular and longitudinal muscles to field stimulation (20 Hz, 1 ms, 30 V/cm, for 5 s) were inhibited by treatment with atropine (0.1 microgram/ml), indicating that the response to field stimulation was mediated by acetylcholine (ACh). 2 Prostaglandins E1 (PGE1), PGE2 and PGF2 alpha inhibited the response of circular but not longitudinal muscle to field stimulation, although PGF2 alpha was less effective than PGE1 and E2. 3 PGE1 was much less active in inhibiting the response of circular muscle to ACh than to field stimulation, suggesting that prostaglandins might act predominantly at prejunctional sites to prevent the release of ACh. 4 Indomethacin (1 microgram/ml) potentiated the response of circular muscle but not longitudinal muscle to field stimulation. 5 Release of PGE-like compounds from circular muscle only, was increased by field stimulation at 20 Hz (total of 1000 pulses) and ACh (10 micrograms/ml), but not by a lower frequency (2 Hz, total of 2400 pulses) which produced only a slight contraction. This finding may indicate that prostaglandins were released predominantly from the muscle. 6 Prostaglandins may exert a negative feedback mechanism of excitatory transmission in circular muscle but not in longitudinal muscle of canine small intestine.     

Test for analysing nerve conduction velocity]

Recently, many attempts have been made to measure the difference in velocity between the fastest and slowest fibers in a nerve trunk or to estimate the nerve fiber conduction velocity distribution in a nerve bundle using several different methods, such as collision technique (Hopf 1963) and computer analysis of the compound action potentials (Cummins et al. 1979; Barker et al. 1979). For the computer analysis, however, some assumptions in regard to the quantitative relationship among conduction velocity, single fiber action potential and fiber diameter are necessary, and there has been little agreement about them. There is also a problem about the relationship between conduction velocity and refractory period in Hopf's technique. Using a collision technique with a method of 3-point stimulation, Gilliat et al. (1976) now suggested that surface recording was unsatisfactory for measuring the velocity of the slow-conducting nerve fibers. With this method, however, we had a preliminary experiment to analyze conduction velocities of so-called A fibers in the bullfrog's sciatic-peroneal nerve using fluid electrode, and they were divided into 3 groups (Nakanishi et al. 1986). These findings were in good agreement with those obtained by Erlanger and Gasser (1937) using monophasic recording. Therefore, clinical measurement of the nerve conduction velocities with a method of this collision technique was performed using surface recording.     

Changes in HRCT findings in patients with respiratory bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease after smoking cessation.

High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings in patients with respiratory bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease (RB-ILD) are varied and nonspecific. There is no known report of changes in HRCT findings and respiratory function test results for RB-ILD patients following the cessation of smoking. Five patients with RB-ILD, confirmed by surgical lung biopsy, were retrospectively studied. Each stopped cigarette smoking and did not receive corticosteroid therapy after diagnosis. The clinical symptoms, respiratory function test results and HRCT findings obtained at the final observation were compared with those from the time of diagnosis. Ground-glass opacity and centrilobular nodules corresponding to pathological respiratory bronchiolitis, as well as intralobular fine linear-reticular opacity corresponding to fibrosis involving the subpleural alveolar septa, showed computed tomography-pathological correlations. Both clinical symptoms and the diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide improved significantly following smoking cessation, as did ground-glass opacity and centrilobular nodules seen during the initial HRCT examination. Centrilobular nodules and ground-glass opacity, which are the main features of high-resolution computed tomography of respiratory bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease patients and represent pathological respiratory bronchiolitis, can be improved by smoking cessation. The diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide in respiratory function tests can be also improved.