Spontaneous electrocardiogram alterations predict ventricular fibrillation in Brugada syndrome.

Background: Patients with Brugada syndrome (BS) often have spontaneous changes in their electrocardiogram (ECG).

Objective: To evaluate the significance of ECG alterations, we investigated the relationships between the ECG and the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation (VF) in both patients and an experimental model of BS.

Methods: In study 1, we evaluated ECG alterations in BS patients with (VF+, n = 33) and without (VF-, n = 41) spontaneous VF.

Examination of denture-cleaning methods based on the quantity of microorganisms adhering to a denture.

Objectives: To investigate effective denture-cleaning methods, we examined the relationships between the quantity of microorganisms adhering to dentures and the use of a denture brush and the frequency of use of a denture cleanser.

Subjects And Methods: Denture plaque was collected from the mucosal surface of the examined dentures, which were 142 and 80 upper and lower complete dentures, respectively, worn by 96 outpatients (mean age: 71.9 years) of a university hospital and 41 nursing home residents (mean age: 84.

The long-term risk of gastric cancer after the successful eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

Background: We previously reported that eradication of Helicobacter pylori reduced the risk of developing gastric cancer in patients with peptic ulcer diseases. In the present study, we further followed up our patient group to investigate the occurrence and clinical features of gastric cancers that developed after cure of the infection.

Methods: Prospective post-eradication evaluations were conducted on 1674 consecutive patients who had received successful H.

Recanalized umbilical vein as a conduit for mesenterico/porto-Rex bypass for patients with extrahepatic portal vein obstruction.

Purpose: Mesenterico-left portal vein (meso-Rex) bypass is as an effective modality for restoring intrahepatic portal perfusion in patients with extrahepatic portal vein obstruction. Achieving sufficient patency is difficult with end-to-side anastomosis of a bypass graft to a small or hypoplastic left portal vein in the Rex recessus. Here, we describe the use of a recanalized umbilical vein in the round ligament as a conduit for bypass construction in two patients.

Severe gastric damage caused by button battery ingestion in a 3-month-old infant.

Ingestion of a button battery has been considered a serious problem, causing necrosis and perforation, when impacted in the esophagus. However, such batteries in the stomach rarely cause any harm to the gastric wall, which is regarded as evidence supporting the use of conservative treatment. We present the rare case of a 3-month-old infant with severe gastric wall injury caused by a button battery lodged in the stomach.

Overlap of radiation field and radiation field shape in cardiac catheterization.

The radiation field shape for cardiac catheterization has changed from being circular to being rectangular with the spread of flat-panel detector systems. A rectangular radiation field provides a wide fluoroscopy field to the four corners of a subject area; however, in cardiac catheterization, there is not much usable information around the four corners at several angles, and this tends to be regarded as a meaningless radiation exposure. Hence, overlap of radiation fields has been of concern recently.

Chloroform distribution and accumulation by combined inhalation plus oral exposure routes in rats.

The present investigation was undertaken to determine the distribution and accumulation of chloroform in the blood, liver, kidney and abdominal fat of rats after simultaneous exposure by two routes, inhalation and oral. To distinguish the contribution of each route, unmodified chloroform (CHCl3) was administered by inhalation and deuterated chloroform (CDCl3) was administered orally. Exposure by inhalation and oral administration resulted in CHCl3 and CDCl3 concentrations in the tissues which were significantly higher than when exposure was by either inhalation or oral administration alone.

Multiple intestinal atresia and congenital bilateral perisylvian syndrome in a surviving monochorionic twin with intrauterine death of the co-twin.

This report presents a case of a surviving monochorionic twin with multiple intestinal atresia and congenital bilateral perisylvian syndrome, which developed after the intrauterine death of the cotwin. The pathology of the placenta demonstrated vein-to-vein communication between the twins and multiple intravascular thrombi in the dead cotwin.

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma presenting pulmonary arterial hypertension as an initial manifestation.

We report a 39-year-old man with intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) who had been treated as a case with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) for one year. After he became worse, diffuse pulmonary (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in positron emission tomography (PET) suggested the existence of IVLBCL in the lung showing normal CT images. The diagnosis was confirmed with random transbronchial lung biopsy, and he was then successfully treated.

Specifically modified osteopontin in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes supports interaction with B cells and enhances production of interleukin-6.

Objective: Osteopontin (OPN) is expressed by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but its pathologic role is still obscure. The present study was undertaken to analyze the role of OPN in RA by focusing on its effects on cell-cell interactions between FLS and B lymphocytes.

Methods: FLS obtained from 10 patients with RA and 10 non-RA subjects and a B lymphocyte cell line were studied.

The morphological evaluation of ipsilateral and contralateral vasa deferentia in a rat model of unilateral spermatic cord torsion.

Aim: Spermatic cord torsion is a surgical emergency that requires early intervention to protect the effected testicle. The literature review about this ischemic reperfusion (I/R) injury reveals not only ipsilateral, but also contralateral testicular and epididymal injuries in a broad fashion. However, there is no data about vas deferens injury related with this surgical emergency.

Successful treatment in a case of acute myocardial infarction due to spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

Spontaneous coronary dissection is a rare cause of myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, and sudden death. In the present case, we performed stenting only of the severe stenotic lesion of the dissection with a short bare metal stent, and left the remaining long length of dissection vessel untreated. Six months after coronary stenting, follow-up angiography revealed complete healing of the coronary dissection and no significant in-stent restenosis.

Case of right-neck tumor that appears to be ectopic thymus.

A 7-year-old female infant presented with an asymptomatic soft tissue mass in the right neck. The tumor was considered to be a benign one because it had a smooth margin and no change in its size was observed. Ultrasonography showed a 4.

Dose-related immunohistochemical and ultrastructural changes after oral methylphenidate administration in cerebrum and cerebellum of the rat.

Methylphenidate is a piperidine derivative and is the drug most often used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder of children and young adults. Our aim is to investigate dose-dependent dopamine-2 receptor and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression and ultrastructural changes of the rat brain, to demonstrate possible toxicity of the long-term and high dose use of the methylphenidate. In this study, 27 female prepubertal Wistar albino rats, divided into three different dose groups (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg) were treated orally with methylphenidate dissolved in saline solution for 5 days per week during 3 months.

Neuroprotective effect of melatonin on experimental peripheral nerve injury: an electron microscopic and biochemical study.

Background And Study Aims: Melatonin is an important antioxidant agent with a protective role in the prevention of oxidative stress. We designed an experimental study which focused on the potential neuroprotective effect of melatonin on peripheral nerve injury.

Materials And Methods: Sciatic nerve injury was induced in the mid thigh region of 30 male Wistar rats by clip compression.

The effects of resveratrol on cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA and protein levels in diabetic rat kidneys.

Cyclooxygenase (COX), which have the isoforms of COX-1 and COX-2, is the key enzyme of prostaglandins biosynthesis. Especially, COX-2 is induced in inflammatory disease such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Resveratrol (RSV), a natural antioxidant, has a beneficial role in prevention of inflammatory disease.

Histologic and morphologic effects of valproic acid and oxcarbazepine on rat uterine and ovarian cells.

Purpose: To determine the histologic and morphologic effects of valproic acid (VPA) and oxcarbazepine (OXC) on rat uterine and ovarian cells.

Methods: Fifty-six female prepubertal Wistar rats (21-24 days old and weighing between 47.5 and 58.

Anorectal malformation associated with a perineal protrusion of the rectal mucosa: case presentation.

We present a rare case of a female neonate with an imperforate anus associated with a perineal mass which may correspond to an extrophied rectal duplication. Associated anomalies were thoracic hemivertebrae and a multicystic dysplastic kidney. Excision of the perineal lesion followed by anal transplantation and perineal reconstruction corrected the anomaly.

High dose cotinine may induce neural tube defects in a chick embryo model.

Aim: Nicotine is a well-known agent among 4000 chemicals in cigarettes. About 70 to 80% of nicotine is converted to cotinine, a major metabolite. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of cotinine on neural tube development in a chick embryo model.

[A characteristic of angiographic cone-beam CT].

Angiographic cone-beam CT, called DynaCT by SIEMENS, is a 3D imaging tool reconstructed from projection data by a rotational C-arm with a flat panel detector. It can visualize low-contrast objects such as soft tissue or small vessels as well as high-contrast structures such as enhanced vessels or bone. We need to understand its image characteristics and dose distribution during 200 degree rotation around a patient.

Effect of melatonin and time of administration on irradiation-induced damage to rat testes.

The effect of ionizing irradiation on testes and the protective effects of melatonin were investigated by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic methods. Eighty-two adult male Wistar rats were divided into 10 groups. The rats in the irradiated groups were exposed to a sublethal irradiation dose of 8 Gy, either to the total body or abdominopelvic region using a 60Co source at a focus of 80 cm away from the skin in the morning or evening together with vehicle (20% ethanol) or melatonin administered 24 h before (10 mg/kg), immediately before (20 mg/kg) and 24 h after irradiation (10 mg/kg), all ip.

Sentinel node detection method using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with sonazoid in breast cancer: preliminary clinical study.

This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection in breast cancer using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) with subareolar Sonazoid injection. The subjects were 20 breast cancer patients. General anesthesia was induced and 2 mL of Sonazoid was injected subareolarly.

Effects of metformin on mammalian target of rapamycin in a mouse model of endometrial hyperplasia.

Objective: The effects of metformin on S6K1, which is a crucial effector of mTOR signaling, and on endometrium were studied in a mouse model of endometrial hyperplasia induced by unopposed estradiol or tamoxifen.

Study Design: Forty-eight oophorectomized Balb/c mice were randomly assigned to receive saline, tamoxifen citrate (4 mg/kg), 17-beta estradiol hemihydrate (4 mg/kg), metformin (50 mg/kg), tamoxifen citrate (4 mg/kg) with metformin (50 mg/kg), or estradiol (4 mg/kg) with metformin (50 mg/kg) for 3 days. Histological markers of uterotrophy, including luminal epithelial cell height and density of endometrial glands were quantified for each slide.

RAD001 (Everolimus) Can prevent tamoxifen-related endometrial and stromal hyperplasia.

The mechanism of tamoxifen-associated endometrial hyperplasia and cancer is not elicited. RAD001 inhibits a target protein in phosphatidyl kinase pathway, which is involved in endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. We investigated whether endometrial hyperplasia can be prevented through inhibition of the target of rapamycin by RAD001.