Cigarette smoke extract induces endothelial cell injury via JNK pathway.

Cigarette smoking is the most crucial factor responsible for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The precise mechanisms of the development of the disease have, however, not been fully understood. Recently, impairment of pulmonary endothelial cells has been increasingly recognized as a critical pathophysiological process in COPD.

Oblique approach of computed tomography guided needle biopsy using multiplanar reconstruction image by multidetector-row CT in lung cancer.

The purpose of this study was to establish the technique of multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) with multidetector-row (MDR) computed tomography (CT) guided needle biopsy for the diagnosis to access very difficult lesions. The CT guided percutaneous biopsy are well-established methods to obtain cytological and histological material such as the peripheral tumors in lung cancer. Occasionally, the conventional CT cannot permit planning a trajectory to avoid passage through bones, avoidance of bullae, fissures or vessels.

[A case of infected bulla caused by Mycobacterium kansasii].

A 62-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of persistent sub-fever. A pulmonary fungal infection was suspected owing to the elevation of the serum-D-glucan level. Since a chest radiograph and a CT scan revealed intrabullous fluid in the right upper lobe, percutaneous needle aspiration was performed.