Mediastinal lipoma: Report of a case

We experienced a case of mediastinal lipoma, which is considered to be a relatively rare disease. A 3-year-old girl was referred to Gifu University hospital because of fever and an abnormal shadow on her chest X-ray. The chest X-ray clearly showed a well-delineated tumor shadow which seemed to oppress the diaphragm and the right atrium in the right lower lung area. A computed tomogram (CT) of the chest showed a homogeneous mass localized on the right diaphragm and adjoining the right anterior chest wall and heart. The mass showed a fat density measuring about-100 HU. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a high-intensity mass which was almost the same level as the subcutaneous fat on both the T₁-weighted and T₂-weighted images. Thoracotomy was performed and a fatty tumor was found. It arose from the right side of the pericardium and adjoined the diaphragm, the anterior chest wall, and the thymus. There was no adhesion between the tumor and the surrounding organs. It was resected easily and its contents were yellowish and homogeneous. The patient made an uneventful recovery and was discharged 10 days after the operation. Light microscopy showed a lipoma consisting of mature adipose tissue and no malignancy was found.     

Plasma Ratios of Tryptophan and Tyrosine to Other Large Neutral Amino Acids in Manic-Depressive Patients

Abstract: The plasma ratio of each neutral amino acid (tryptophan (TRP), tyrosine (TYR), valine, isoleucine, leucine (LEU) or phenylalanine) to the sum of the other neutral amino acids was measured in 16 : manic and 14 : depressed patients. In the manics, there was a correlation between the psychomotor activity and the plasma TRP and LEU ratios. In the depressives, the depressed mood, retardation and global severity were correlated with the TRP ratio. The zotepine responders showed an increase in the TRP ratio after treatment. In the mianserin responders, the TYR ratio, which was high before the treatment, decreased to the normal range after the treatment. But, the plasma amino acid ratios remained unchanged in the patients treated with lithium carbonate or amitriptyhe. These results suggest that, in manic-depressive illness, there might be abnormalities in the metabolism of neutral amino acids, mainly of TRP and TYR, and that the plasma TRP and TYR ratios might be important indicators for determining the efflcacy of some drugs.     

Characterization of certain hepatocyte-proliferating and/or protective factors induced by the sensitization of freezing-thawing hepatic tissue

Although tumor cryosurgery would be expected to produce beneficial immunological effects from the enhancement of anti-tumor activity, under certain conditions the tumor may become enlarged and metastases promoted due to increased immunosuppressive activity and a high zone tolerance. In the present study, we examined whether hepatocyteproliferating factors were produced by the inoculation of freezing-thawing hepatic tissue (FTHT). Serum obtained from rats inoculated with FTHT increased DNA synthesis, according to measurement by [³H]thymidine incorporation in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. This increase was dependent on the serum concentration, with serum obtained on day 14 after the inoculation being the most potent for hepatocyte proliferation. The sensitized serum promoted DNA synthesis nearly as much as serum obtained from a 70% hepatectomized rat, but slightly less than 10ng/ml hepatocyte growth factor. The sensitized serum also protected hepatocytes from carbon tetrachloride (CCI₄)-induced hepatotoxicity. Optical density measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrozolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay was increased, and the release of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase in medium was decreased by treating hepatocytes damaged by CCI₄ with the sensitized serum. These results suggest that certain hepatocyte-proliferating and protective factors are induced in serum by the inoculation of freezing-thawing hepatic tissue, and that the sensitized serum may be useful in the treatment of liver failure.     

Present status and tasks for future of point of care testing

This paper introduces Point-Of-Care Testing(POCT) developed by Bayer, mainly focusing on urine dipstick and tests for Diabetes Mellitus. Urinalysis using a dipstick has been widely carried out as a screening test for various kinds of diseases. Ten-pad urine dipstick is commercially available at the present time, and the desktop instruments have been developed for automatic optical reading, such as the Clinitek 50/100/500 systems. More recently, Bayer developed a new urine dipstick intended for reliable detection of the early stage of kidney disease without the influence of urine condensation or dilution. The dipstick adds 2 pads to conventional urine dipsticks: one for the measurement of small amounts of protein(albumin), and the other for creatinine. A semi-quantitative urine protein-to-creatinine ratio is based on these results. There have been significant advances made in blood glucose meters for POCT in terms of reliability, simplicity of operation, sample volume, etc. And not only healthcare professionals but also patients with diabetes have used POCT meters. Dexter-ZII is available as one of these meters. DCA2000 is a portable analyzer for measuring HbA1c in 6 min. Patients could be treated and instructed on the basis of HbA1c measured by DCA2000. As one of the tasks for the future, it is preferable that some POCT systems be available as OTC for ordinary people to manage their own health. Also, I emphasize that it is important to review the usability of conventional urine dipsticks like a check for drug side effects, as well as for developing new urine analyses.     

Effect of sialyl Lewis(x) oligosaccharide on myocardial and cerebral injury in the pig

BACKGROUND: Although administration of the sialyl Lewis(x) oligosaccharide may reduce myocardial injury after ischemia-reperfusion, its effect on coronary and cerebral microvascular regulation and its clinical application during cardiac operation have not been examined. METHODS: Pigs were placed on normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass after 30 minutes of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion. The hearts were then arrested with cold high potassium cardioplegia. After 1 hour the cross-clamp was removed and the pigs were weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass and perfused for an additional 1 hour. CY-1503 (a sodium salt of the sialyl Lewis(x) oligosaccharide, n = 6) was administered before reperfusion. Six other pigs received saline vehicle. Endothelium-dependent relaxation of precontracted coronary and brain arterioles (70 to 180 microm) to adenosine 5'-diphosphate and endothelium-independent relaxation to sodium nitroprusside were studied in vitro with videomicroscopy. Control values were obtained from uninstrumented pigs. Myeloperoxidase activity in the myocardium and brain was measured to quantify neutrophil infiltration. Cardiac function and perfusion were assessed by left ventricular systolic pressure, maximum rate of increase of left ventricular pressure, left anterior descending coronary artery blood flow and percent segmental shortening, and cerebral vascular resistance, internal carotid artery blood flow, and the constitutively expressed and inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase mRNA were measured. RESULTS: The impaired myocardial contractile function after ischemia and cardioplegia was not improved by administration of CY-1503. The reduced endothelium-dependent relaxation responses of coronary and brain arterioles during ischemia followed by cardioplegia and cardiopulmonary bypass were improved with CY-1503, but the altered pattern of organ perfusion was not improved. Myeloperoxidase activity was increased in the heart after ischemia-cardioplegia and in the brain after cardiopulmonary bypass. CY-1503 reduced myeloperoxidase activity in both the myocardium and in the brain. Expressions of myocardial inducible isoform or constitutively expressed nitric oxide synthase were not altered in the heart. CONCLUSIONS: Although the sialyl Lewis(x) oligosaccharide does reduce neutrophil infiltration and endothelial injury in the coronary and cerebral microcirculation after cardiopulmonary bypass, it does not have significant beneficial acute effects on organ perfusion or function in the myocardium or brain.     

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 is associated with recurrence‐free survival but not stem cell‐like properties in hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim: It has been reported that aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 A1 (ALDH1) could be not only a normal stem cell marker but also a cancer stem cell marker. ALDH1 expression could be a predictor of poor prognosis in a wide range of cancers. However, the role of ALDH1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Method: We conducted loss‐of‐function assays for ALDH1 by using short‐hairpin RNA in HCC cells and evaluated the correlation between ALDH1 expression and clinicopathological features based on immunohistochemical assessment of 49 primary HCC tissues. Results: Neither cell proliferation nor the anchorage‐independent sphere formation ability of HCC cells were altered after ALDH1 knockdown. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that ALDH1 knockdown showed no remarkable change in the proportion of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)⁺ tumor‐initiating cells. Although non‐tumor tissues in primary HCC samples diffusely and homogenously expressed ALDH1 at low levels, tumor tissues contained cells with high levels of ALDH1 expression at varying frequencies. Primary HCC samples were categorized as ALDH1‐high or ALDH1‐low based on the percentage of ALDH1‐overexpressing cells. ALDH1‐high HCC was characterized by low serum levels of α‐fetoprotein (P < 0.01) and well‐differentiated pathology (P = 0.03). Multivariate analysis showed that high ALDH1 expression was a favorable prognostic factor in recurrence‐free survival of HCC (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Our findings show that ALDH1 expression has little association with stem cell‐like features in HCC cells. ALDH1 might function as a differentiation marker rather than a stem cell marker in HCC.