Pituitary metastases: current practice in Japan.

Object: With advancement of cancer treatment and development of neuroimaging techniques, contemporary clinical pictures of pituitary metastases (PMs) must have changed from past reports. The goal of this paper was to elucidate the clinical features of PMs and current clinical practice related to those lesions. In this retrospective study, questionnaires were sent to 87 physicians who had treated PMs in Japan.

Neuroimaging diagnosis of pineal region tumors-quest for pathognomonic finding of germinoma.

Introduction: Our study aimed to elucidate the imaging features for the differentiation of pineal germinoma and other pineal region tumors.

Methods: Image data sets of computed tomographic (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of 93 pineal region tumors including 33 germinomas, 30 nongerminomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCTs), 20 pineal parenchymal tumors (PPTs), and 10 miscellaneous tumors of pineal region were reviewed. Imaging features on CT and MRI were qualitatively assessed by three readers.

Effect of thrombin concentration on the adhesion strength and clinical application of fibrin glue-soaked sponge.

Fibrin glue-soaked gelatin sponge (FGGS) has been used for tissue sealing in neurosurgical practice, but too rapid clotting of fibrin glue occasionally prevents good fixation of FGGS. Dilution of thrombin may provide adequate manipulation time between mixing fibrinogen and thrombin on gelatin sponge and application into the tissue defects. The present study characterized the effect of thrombin dilution on the adhesion strength of FGGS and retrospectively assessed the clinical usage of the dilution for filling dead space or sealing arachnoid defect in 255 cases who underwent transsphenoidal surgery for the last 66 months.

Clinical presentation and treatment of aneurysms associated with basilar artery fenestration.

Aneurysms associated with a fenestrated basilar artery are rare, and treatment strategies have yet to be established. A direct surgical approach to the basilar artery is challenging because the surrounding anatomy is complex. We retrospectively compared the clinical features and treatment outcomes of eight patients (seven female, one male) with aneurysms associated with a fenestrated basilar artery after clipping or coil embolisation and reviewed the literature.

Pineal mixed germ cell tumor with a synchronous sellar lesion in the sixth decade.

Intracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs) typically affect children and adolescents. We here report on a 59-year-old male patient presenting with diplopia, polydipsia and polyuria. On clinical examination, slight restriction of the upward gaze was seen on the left side.

Toenail selenium levels and gastric cancer risk in Cali, Colombia.

To examine an association between selenium level and gastric cancer (GC) risk, a hospital-based case-control study was conducted in Cali, Colombia. Selenium concentrations in toenails were compared between 142 GC patients and 244 controls selected from hospitalized non-cancer patients. GC risk was lowest in the lowest quartile of selenium level and highest in the second highest quartile (age-, sex-, hospital-, and sampling-season-adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 5.

Toenail zinc level and gastric cancer risk in Cali, Colombia.

Purpose: To examine the associations between gastric cancer (GC) risk and the zinc levels in toenail clippings, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study during the period from 2000 to 2002 in Cali, Colombia.

Methods: Toenail clippings and information on lifestyles including dietary habits were obtained from 156 GC patients newly diagnosed in three hospitals in Cali and 287 controls selected from non-cancer patients who were hospitalized in the same hospitals as GC patients. Zinc concentrations in toenail clippings were examined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Environmental factors related to gastric cancer associated with Epstein-Barr virus in Colombia.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded small RNA can be detected in about 1-17 % of gastric carcinomas. To elucidate lifestyles and other factors related to such an EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBV-GC), we conducted a case-control study in Cali, Colombia. The study subjects were 368 patients with gastric carcinoma newly diagnosed during the period between September 2000 and June 2003, including 42 EBV-GC cases.

Risk factors of gastric cancer specific for tumor location and histology in Cali, Colombia.

Aim: To examine histology- and tumor-location specific risk factors of gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: This was a case-control study. The study subjects were 216 GC patients newly diagnosed during the period 2000-2002 and 431 controls selected from non-cancer patients matching in age, gender, and hospital.