[The roles and tasks of palliative care team in home-care].

At our hospital, a palliative care team has been established since November 2002. A total of 120 cancer patients registered at our palliative care program from April 2005 to March 2006, and 43 of them (35.8%) were discharged from the hospital.

Decreased tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2/matrix metalloproteinase ratio in the acute phase of aortic dissection.

Purpose: Aortic dissection is characterized by fragility of the tunica media, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes that degrade the extracellular matrix of the aorta. This study examines MMPs in patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD) in an attempt to elucidate the mechanisms of their actions.

Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to measure the quantification of MMP-2, MMP-9, and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 in 30 patients with AAD, 12 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and 16 control (CON) patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting.

An anti-apoptosis gene, survivin and telomerase expression in gastric cancer.

Background/aims: Survivin is frequently expressed in various malignancies as an inhibitor of programmed cell death, while telomerase is associated with cell immortality and consequent accumulation of a malignant genetic property. We surmised that an activation of telomerase in combination with an inhibition of apoptosis might further accelerate growth of malignant tumors. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the expression of survivin and telomerase in stomach cancer.