Efficacy of continuous cleansing with teicoplanin on post-CABG methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) mediastinitis: report of a case.

The patient was a 48-year-old male who was diagnosed with unstable angina. He had worsening cardiogenic shock during coronary angiography. Emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed. He had a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) mediastinitis on day 22 after CABG. Drains were placed in the anterior mediastinum, left thoracic cavity, and abscess cavity, and another drain was placed in the mediastinal space for continuous cleansing with povidone iodine, oxydol. For antibiotics, teicoplanin (TEIC) was administered intravenously and to the local site via the cleansing drain for about one month. No MRSA was detected by culture in discharges from the mediastinal drain. Inflammatory findings were improved, and the patient was discharged and resumed everyday life without recurrence of inflammation as of eight months. Although the number of cases of MRSA mediastinitis is small and accumulation of cases is necessary to investigate therapeutic methods and selection of antibiotics, our department will select closed continuous cleansing and TEIC for antibiotics as the first choice for MRSA mediastinitis, and accumulate cases to investigate its efficacy.     

Clinical studies on cefteram pivoxil granules in pediatrics

A newly developed cephalosporin, cefteram pivoxil (CFTM-PI, T-2588), was evaluated clinically in 40 patients. A pharmacokinetic study was also performed with 8 patients. CFTM-PI was administered as granules. One patient was given CFTM-PI at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg, each of 3 patients was given the drug at a dose of 3 mg/kg and each of 4 patients at a dose of 6 mg/kg. In most cases, serum concentrations of CFTM were determined at 2, 3, 4, and 6 hours after dosing. Urinary concentrations of CFTM were measured for urinary samples collected during periods of 0-2, 2-4, 4-6 and 6-8 hours after dosing. CFTM was assayed using the disk or the cup method using Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 10031 as the test organism. The clinical evaluation was conducted in 40 children including 13 patients of acute tonsillitis, 10 of acute lacunar tonsillitis, 10 of scarlet fever, 2 of acute bronchitis, 2 of pneumonia, and 1 each of pneumonia with enteritis, phlegmon and urinary tract infection. The patients were from 4 months to 13 years old. Daily doses were from 8.7 to 12 mg/kg. After CFTM-PI administration in doses 1.5 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg, peak serum concentrations of CFTM were 0.38 microgram/ml, 0.73-2.25 micrograms/ml and 1.2-2.9 micrograms/ml, respectively, and half-lives were 1.55, 0.95-2.30 and 0.80-2.72 hours, respectively. Urinary excretion rates up to 6 or 8 hours after dosing were 10.8-24.7%. Clinical efficacies of CFTM-PI in 40 patients were "excellent" in 27 children, "good" in 12 children and "fair" in 1 with an efficacy rate of 97.5%. Twenty seven strains of causative organisms, including 15 strains of Streptococcus pyogenes, 1 of Escherichia coli, 1 of Salmonella 04, 6 of Haemophilus influenzae, 1 of Haemophilus parainfluenzae and 3 of Branhamella catarrhalis, were isolated. After treatment all strains except 1 strain of B. catarrhalis (unchanged), Salmonella 04 (unknown) and 1 strain of H. parainfluenzae (unknown) were eradicated. Side effects observed clinically were only 1 case of diarrhea. Eosinophilia was observed in 1 case.     

Overexpression of Ets-1 proto-oncogene in latent and clinical prostatic carcinomas

AIMS: The high incidence of clinically diagnosed prostatic cancer is exceeded by the frequency of tumours detected at autopsy. The Ets-1 proto-oncogene is expressed by a variety of malignant and normal tissues. Therefore, in this study, expression of Ets-1 protein was investigated in 'latent' prostatic cancer detected at autopsy, compared with benign prostatic hyperplasia, normal prostatic tissues and clinical prostatic cancer. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using immunohistochemistry, we analysed Ets-1 expression in 95 prostatic specimens including 19 cases of latent prostatic carcinoma (LPC) and 55 cases of clinical prostatic carcinoma (CPC), 11 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 10 cases of normal prostate (NP). Differences in the incidence of LPC and CPC suggest different courses for the biological progression of prostatic cancer. There was a significant difference in the degree of Ets-1 expression in CPC and LPC (P < 0.05). Ets-1 was not expressed in BPH and NP, but in malignant cases (57 of 74; 77.0%) commonly demonstrated immunoreactivity in the tumour cells. In our study the expression of Ets-1 between benign and malignant, and well, moderately and poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas of prostatic cancer showed significant differences. The presence of Ets-1 mRNA was confirmed by in-situ hybridization in human prostatic tissues. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that Ets-1 might play an important role in carcinogenesis and/or the progression of human prostatic carcinomas.     

Comparison of the clinical courses of the opticospinal and conventional forms of multiple sclerosis in Japan

We evaluated the clinical courses of 216 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosed according to the recommended diagnostic criteria of McDonald et al (10). Sixty-five patients clinically displaying selective involvement of the optic nerves and spinal cord were classified as opticospinal MS (OS-MS), while the other 151 showing disseminated involvement of the central nervous system were classified as conventional MS (C-MS). The disease duration did not differ significantly between the two subtypes (11.2 years vs. 11.5 years). In addition to a higher age of onset, female preponderance and higher Kurtzke's expanded disability status scale (EDSS) scores, the OS-MS patients showed a markedly lower frequency of secondary progressive MS than the C-MS patients (4.6% vs. 29.1%, p=0.0001). The EDSS scores of the C-MS patients were significantly correlated with the disease duration, while those of the OS-MS patients were not. Among the C-MS patients, the frequency of secondary progressive MS was significantly more common in patients with a disease duration of more than 10 years than in those with a shorter duration. These results suggest that the irreversible disability in OS-MS is determined by relapses, rather than by chronic progression, whereas C-MS has a similar clinical course to MS in Westerners.     

The impact of health problems on depression and activities in middle-aged and older adults: age and social interactions as moderators

In this study, we compared the impact of health problems (HPs) on everyday activities and depressive symptoms between middle-aged and older adults. We also examined what type and source of social interactions moderate the noxious effects of HPs. Longitudinal analyses of data with 1,802 Japanese community-dwelling adults indicated that HPs were significantly related to (a) an increase in depressive symptoms among middle-aged adults and (b) a decline in everyday activities among older adults. The former was buffered by emotional family support, whereas the latter (b) was buffered by instrumental family support and, surprisingly, by negative interactions with family. In contrast, social interactions with other friends and acquaintances did not show any moderating effect.     

72-Week Safety and Tolerability of Dimethyl Fumarate in Japanese Patients with Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Analysis of the Randomised,Double Blind,Placebo-Controlled,Phase III APEX Study and its Open-Label Extension

Introduction

The long-term safety of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) has been studied in mainly Caucasian patients. The present interim analysis aimed to evaluate the 72-week safety of DMF in Japanese patients with RRMS.

Methods

Safety data of Japanese subjects enrolled in the 24-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled APEX study (Part I) and its following open-label extension (Part II) were analysed at 72 weeks from the beginning of Part I. In Part I, subjects were randomised to DMF treatment or matching placebo while all subjects received DMF treatment during Part II. Adverse events (AEs) reported throughout the study period were recorded.

Results

Overall, 109 Japanese subjects completed 72 weeks of treatment. The incidence of AEs and serious AEs was 95% and 19%, respectively, in the DMF group compared with 84% and 18%, respectively, in the placebo group at 24 weeks. Common AEs (at least 5%) reported with treatment included nasopharyngitis, flushing, hot flush, gastrointestinal events, pruritus, rash, headache, increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). AEs led to discontinuation of DMF in 5% of patients and included MS relapse, flushing, abdominal pain, liver disorder and increased ALT/AST. After an initial decrease from baseline of 17% in the DMF group at week 24, the mean lymphocyte counts stabilised and were maintained until week 72. No opportunistic/serious infections nor malignancies were reported with DMF treatment. The incidences of AEs, serious AEs, and discontinuation due to AEs were similar between the DMF and the placebo groups.

Conclusion

The 72-week safety profile of DMF in Japanese patients with RRMS was consistent with previous studies that enrolled mostly Caucasian patients, with a lower incidence of flushing and related symptoms and a lower reduction in the lymphocyte count compared with previous reports.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01838668.

Funding

Biogen Japan Ltd.

     

Intracranial hemorrhage in neuro-Behçet's syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Most cerebrovascular disturbances in Beh?et's syndrome are occlusive in nature, while hemorrhage is rare. In this paper, we report three cases of neuro-Beh?et's syndrome presenting with intracerebral hemorrhaging, and discuss the possible causes as they relate to cyclosporine treatment. PATIENTS: Three cases of neuro-Beh?et's syndrome presented with intracranial hemorrhage. One patient had been taking cyclosporine, and the other two patients had never taking cyclosporine. RESULTS: Together with previous reports, these cases suggest that there are two types of intracranial hemorrhage in neuro-Beh?et's syndrome. One type occurs in the center of a lesion and during the acute phase of the disease, while the other occurs in the peripheral lesion and during the subacute phase. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that the intracranial hemorrhages in neuro-Beh?et's syndrome can be divided into two groups. It is possible that the vascular pathologies caused by Beh?et's syndrome and by cyclosporine conspire to induce CNS hemorrhaging in some cases.     

Removal of a chronically infected bipolar pacemaker electrode: a successful case report

A chronic infected bipolar pacemaker electrode with a fin tip was successfully removed 7 years and 9 months after its original implantation from a 72-year-old Japanese man, using the Cook pacemaker lead extraction system. The locking stylet could not advance to the lead tip over the positive pole because of firm adhesions. Because the scar tissue between the positive pole and myocardium could not be freed by the inner sheath, it was disrupted by the slanted end of the outer sheath. The firmest adhesion was on the positive pole, not on the fin tip. The complete extraction success rate of bipolar tined or fin leads is worse than for other types of leads. When extracting a bipolar pacemaker lead, dissection of the positive pole from scar tissue should be taken into account in addition to the lead tip. Rotating the slanted end of the outer sheath is a useful technique when dissecting firm adhesions.     

Clinicopathological features of acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia: Relationship between fibrosis and platelet‐derived growth factor

Acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (AMGL) is an uncommon disease with poor prognosis. Histopathologically, AMGL cases show variable degree of fibrosis and the presence of uniform blasts or mature dysplastic megakaryocytes. Here we examined 18 cases of AMGL, including idiopathic (n = 9) and secondary (n = 9) cases. Fourteen cases were males and four were females, ranging in age from 14 to 87 years (median, 58). All cases had anaemia, but leukocyte and platelet counts varied. Blast cells were detected in the peripheral blood of 14 cases. Fourteen of 16 cases showed chromosomal abnormalities. The median survival was 6 months (range, 1–48 months). Survival rates did not correlate with the severity of fibrosis, proportion of blast cells and cause of AMGL. Nine of the 11 cases examined immunohistochemically were positive for platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)(‐BB), especially megakaryoblasts and a few fibroblasts. The PDGF‐positive cases showed various degrees of fibrosis, while the negative cases showed no evidence of fibrosis. Our results confirmed the poor prognosis of patients with AMGL, irrespective of the degrees of fibrosis, and demonstrated that PDGF could play an important role in the pathogenesis of marrow fibrosis.