Effects of dexamethasone and cyclosporin A on human beta-defensin in corneal epithelial cells.

Human beta-defensins (hBDs), which are mainly expressed in epithelial tissues, may contribute to infection-protective mechanisms in the ocular surface. We examined hBD1 and hBD2 expression in the ocular surface by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry and studied the effects of immunosuppressive agents on their expression in human corneal epithelial cells in vitro. mRNA expression of hBD1 and hBD2 was confirmed in corneal epithelial cells.

[Two cases of visceral larva migrans due to Ascaris suum showing a migratory nodular shadow].

The number of cases of visceral larva migrans caused by the pig ascarid, Ascaris suum has recently been increasing. We have encountered two cases of visceral larva migrans due to A. suum with a nodular shadow on the chest radiograph and eosinophilia in the peripheral blood.

[A case of paragonimiasis westermani with a high level of interleukin 5 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid].

A 49-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a productive cough and bloody sputum. Peripheral blood eosinophil counts and serum IgE values were elevated. Chest radiography and chest computed tomography revealed a solitary nodule with cavitation and satellite lesions in the right middle lobe, in contact with the pleura.

[Severe bronchorrhea accompanying alveolar cell carcinoma: treatment with clarithromycin and inhaled beclomethasone].

We report the efficacy of oral clarithromycin and inhaled beclomethasone against severe bronchorrhea in a patient with alveolar cell carcinoma. A 54-year-old man produced about 500 to 900 ml of clear and egg-white-like sputum each day. Anti-cancer chemotherapy and erythromycin therapy did not reduce the volume of sputum.

[Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia exacerbated by alveolar hemorrhage].

A 60-year-old man, in who idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) was diagnosed in 1990, was admitted to our hospital in March 1995 with exertional dyspnea, hemosputum and fever. On chest X ray, new infiltrates in the bilateral middle lung fields were seen, in addition to reticulonodular shadows in the bilateral lower lung fields, which had been noted in 1990. Intubation was reformed because of hypoxemia, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed in right B6.