Combined transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and local radiotherapy of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: The best prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be achieved with surgical resection; however, the number of resected cases are limited due to advanced lesions or associated liver disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of a prospective trial of combined transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and local radiotherapy (RT) in unresectable HCC.

Methods And Materials: Patients with histologically proven unresectable HCC due to either advanced lesions or associated cirrhosis were eligible.

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis associated with HCV infection in native kidneys and renal allograft.

Hepatitis C viral infection occurs relatively low in Korea compared to hepatitis B. However, it progresses into chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis more frequently than HBV. It may be associated with cryoglobulinemia and glomerulonephritis, both in native and transplanted kidneys.

Comparative study of beans from vine and bush type of vegetative growth. Effect of storage on cell wall components as factors in increasing cooking time.

Four samples each of black beans representing two types of vegetative growth were collected from farmers' fields in four locations in Guatemala. Soon after collection, samples were stored at 4 degrees and 38 degrees C at ambient relative humidity and subsamples were withdrawn at 0, 45, 90 and 135 days of storage for determination of water absorption, cooking time and analysis of neutral- and acid detergent fiber, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The fiber fraction analysis were done on samples of 0, 45 and 90 days of storage.

Nitinol self-expanding stents: when severe twisting occurs, self-expansion may ensue after a waiting period.

One of the major disadvantages of nitinol endocoil stents is said to be incomplete deployment leading to twisting and stent dysfunction. We report a patient with irresectable pancreatic head cancer where severe twisting of the nitinol stent occurred which resolved on the day after stent insertion; the stent took its normal shape ten days later, whereafter the patient lived without stent-related problems for one year until his death. This shows that prospective management rather than immediate stent extraction may be warranted in such cases of stent dysfunction.

Peritoneoscopic liver biopsy findings in asymptomatic chronic HBsAg carriers with normal liver function tests and no hepatomegaly.

Asymptomatic chronic HBsAg carriers with normal liver function tests are, in general regarded as having no liver pathology. Most of the histologic findings in asymptomatic chronic carriers have been reported from areas with low incidence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, such as North America and Western Europe. It is well known that there are many differences in HBV infection between low and high endemic areas, but there have been few reports on the histologic findings of asymptomatic chronic HBsAg carriers from endemic areas.

Extrahepatic bile duct hepatocellular carcinoma without primary hepatic parenchymal lesions--a case report.

Obstructive jaundice is rarely a presenting symptom of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Most of the cases in the literature describing obstructive jaundice by HCC have a major hepatic component. Extrahepatic HCCs without primary hepatic parenchymal lesions are extremely rare.

Sebaceous glands in the esophagus.

We report a case of sebaceous glands in the esophagus diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy. The patient was a 47-year-old Korean man presented with postprandial pain of several months duration. An endoscopic examination disclosed an early gastric carcinoma in the gastric antrum and a 0.

Anorectal dysfunction in systemic sclerosis.

This study was aimed to evaluate the anorectal dysfunction in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and propose the clinical significance of anorectal manometry in patients with SSc. Seven patients with SSc were evaluated with manometry for anorectal function and an additional 11 normal subjects were collected as a control group. The study group underwent esophageal manometry as well and the correlation between the degree of anorectal and esophageal dysfunction was evaluated.

A case of flutamide-induced acute cholestatic hepatitis--a case report.

Flutamide, an oral nonsteroidal, antiandrogenic, anilid compound which inhibits the uptake and binding of androgens to nuclear receptors in the prostate, is used with or without LH-RH analogues for treatment of patients with metastatic carcinoma of the prostate. Clinically significant hepatotoxicities such as toxic hepatitis, cholestatic hepatitis, hepatic failure, and even death have rarely been reported in the English literature, but no case has been reported in Korea. A 75-year-old man with metastatic carcinoma of the prostate had taken flutamide (750 mg/day) for 7 months and suddenly developed jaundice and general weakness.

Spontaneous bowel perforation during the course of acute pancreatitis--a case report.

We recently experienced a case of spontaneous perforation of infected necrosis into the colon and duodenum during the course of acute pancreatitis in a 63 year-old male patient. Enteric perforations or fistulas in the setting of acute pancreatitis implicate severe underlying pathology and have substantial morbidity and mortality. In the meantime it has generally been accepted that infected pancreatic or peripancreatic necrosis should be managed surgically as soon as possible.

A case of paraesophageal hernia repaired by laparoscopic approach.

Paraesophageal hernia comprises only 2 approximately 5% of all hiatal hernias but is prone to incarceration and strangulation. For this reason they must be recognized and repaired as expeditiously as possible. The laparoscopic approach has already been successfully applied to the repair of the more common sliding hiatal hernia and it seems reasonable to propose that the paraesophageal hernia, provided it is not complicated, might also be repaired by the laparoscopic technique.

Effects of altitude above sea level on the cooking time and nutritional value of common beans.

The present study was conducted with the objective to determine the effects of altitude above sea level, on the cooking time and nutritional value of common black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Three 100 g samples of the Ostua variety were cooked at 8 individual locations, ranging in altitude from 0 to 2256 meters, in Guatemala, to establish water uptake and cooking time. The cooked samples were separated into cooked beans and cooking broth for chemical analysis.

An experimental model of retinal pigment epithelial and neurosensory serous detachment.

Purpose: The authors document an animal model of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) detachments.

Methods: N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and sodium iodate (sulfhydryl-alkylating agents) were injected into the vitreous of Dutch pigmented rabbits. Subretinal fluid samples were withdrawn 0.

Dysphagia due to mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis presenting as an esophageal submucosal tumor: a case report.

Mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis is rare in adults, and it is even rarer for dysphagia to be the presenting symptom of mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis. Mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis with esophageal symptoms has been presented as esophageal ulceration, mucosal or submucosal mass with ulceration, fistula or sinus formation, extrinsic compression, or displacement of the esophagus. An exaggerated form of extrinsic compression may be presented as a submucosal tumor, radiologically or endoscopically.

Evaluation of bush and vine black beans for physical, chemical and nutritional characteristics.

The present study was undertaken to learn if there are physical, chemical and nutritional differences between vine and bush type of beans. Four samples of black color beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) of the vine type, and four of the bush type were collected from farmers in the same growing area. The samples were analyzed for some physical properties including, 100 seed weight, size distribution percent seed coat, water absorption, cooking time, and of solids on cooking waters.

A case of abdominal cocoon.

Abdominal cocoon is a rare disease of the peritoneum and almost invariably presents as an acute or subacute intestinal obstruction with or without a mass. The etiology of this disease is largely unknown and abdominal cocoon of unknown etiology has been limited to the tropical and subtropical zones and primarily affects young adolescent females. In the temperate zone, only one case has been reported from the United Kingdom, but the patient was also born in Pakistan.

Adjuvant effect of polyadenylic.polyuridylic acid on antibody production of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen in mice.

The adjuvant effect of polyadenylic.polyuridylic acid [poly(A).poly(U)] on antibody production against recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg) was investigated.

A large common bile duct stone migrated from the gallbladder through a cholecystohepaticodochal fistula: an unusual complication of Mirizzi syndrome type II.

Mirizzi syndrome with a biliobiliary fistula (Mirizzi syndrome type II) is a rare complication of a long-standing gallbladder stone disease. It is even rarer for a gallbladder stone to migrate through a biliobiliary fistula into the common duct. We encountered this interesting complication of Mirizzi syndrome type II in an 86 year-old female patient.

Combined treatment of radiotherapy and hyperthermia for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Eighty-four patients with unresectable primary hepatocellular carcinoma due either to locally advanced lesion or to association with liver cirrhosis were treated with combined radiotherapy and hyperthermia from April 1988 to January 1991. Purpose of this study was to assess thermometry, response rate, toxicity, and survival in those patients. External radiotherapy was given with a total of 30.

Efficacy of polyadenylic.polyuridylic acid in the treatment of chronic active hepatitis B.

In order to assess whether polyadenylic.polyuridylic acid [poly(A).poly(U)] can be used as a new therapeutic agent for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, 19 patients with histologically proven chronic active hepatitis B were injected intravenously with 100-150 mg of poly(A).

Effect of anticancer drugs and desferrioxamine in combination with radiation on hepatoma cell lines.

Several anticancer chemotherapeutic agents (5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and cisplatinum) and desferrioxamine, an iron chelator, were tested with regard to cytotoxicity and to the combined effect on radiation induced cell killing using two human hepatoma cell lines (HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5). Survival fractions were measured by quantitative colorimetric assay (MTT assay) and dose-response curves were plotted. MTT assay could be successfully used in the assessment of radiosensitivity in addition to chemosensitivity, because a good linear relationship between optical densities and cell numbers was observed and cells approached exponential growth for the first 7 days of culture when 5 x 10(3) or less cells were inoculated per well in our study.

Liver involvement in multiple myeloma proven by peritoneoscopy--a case report.

Liver involvement in multiple myeloma has been known to be common in autopsied series. However, since its clinical significance is uncertain yet, invasive procedure confirming plasma cell infiltration of the liver has been rarely performed. We report a case with multiple myeloma which had plasma cell infiltration of a liver.

Histologic study of chronic active hepatitis C; comparison with chronic active hepatitis B.

Reports on the histologic findings of chronic active hepatitis C (CAH-C) have been rare, and the characteristic histologic findings of CAH-C have been not yet determined. To compare the differences in the histologic findings between CAH-C and chronic active hepatitis B (CAH-B) group, we analyzed the histologic findings of 19 patients with CAH-C, who had positive tests for HCV-antibody by EIA, and 19 patients with CAH-B who had negative tests for HCV-antibody but positive tests for HBsAg by RIA. Histologic features were analyzed between the CAH-C and CAH-B groups using a scoring system which is modified from Knodell's histologic activity index-looking at portal inflammation, periportal necroinflammation, portal fibrosis, focal necrosis, regeneration, polyploid nuclear change, sinusoidal lymphocytic reaction and fatty change.