Tricuspid valve repair via partial sternotomy for traumatic valve insufficiency.

Tricuspid valve insufficiency rarely follows a blunt chest trauma. When the tricuspid valve is solely injured, the cardiac trauma may stay asymptomatic and tolerable, which often makes it difficult to determine the indication for surgery. We report a case of a patient with tricuspid regurgitation secondary to trauma due to a motorcycle accident.

Enhancement of human cancer cell motility and invasiveness by anaphylatoxin C5a via aberrantly expressed C5a receptor (CD88).

Purpose: The anaphylatoxin C5a is a chemoattractant that induces leukocyte migration via C5a receptor (C5aR). There is emerging evidence that C5a is generated in the cancer microenvironment. We therefore sought C5aR expression and a direct influence of the C5a-C5aR axis on cancer cells.

Severe bleeding tendency caused by a rare complication of excessive fibrinolysis with disseminated intravascular coagulation in a 51-year-old Japanese man with prostate cancer: a case report.

Introduction: Disseminated intravascular coagulation causes thrombotic tendency leading to multiple organ failure and occurs in a wide variety of diseases including malignancy. Disseminated intravascular coagulation is a latent complication in people with prostate cancer.

Case Presentation: A 51-year-old Japanese man with advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer was admitted to our hospital because of extensive purpura and severe anemia.

[Practical use of doctor's assistant].

Many researchers have focused on the introduction of mid-level providers (MLP) in order to reduce the number of doctors treating patients in the hospital. However, the establishment of MLPs in Japan still takes time. The process could be accelerated by relieving doctors of clerical work by employing auxiliary personnel.

[Ruptured proximal aorta after operation for type A dissection presenting as opacified left hemothorax; report of a case].

We report an unusual clinical presentation of ruptured proximal aorta as a left hemothorax after operation for type A dissection. A 74-year-old man who had undergone ascending aortic replacement for acute type A dissection 4 months previously developed a loss of consciousness followed by shock state. Both chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scan revealed opacified left hemothorax.

Regional differences in the functional and biochemical properties of endothelin receptor subtypes in the rabbit prostatic urethra.

Objective: To examine the regional differences in the functional (pharmacological) and biochemical properties of endothelin (ET) receptors in the rabbit prostatic urethra.

Materials And Methods: The properties of ET receptors in 6-month-old male rabbit prostatic urethras were examined using isolated muscle-bath and radioligand receptor-binding techniques. Using plasma membrane suspensions, saturation and inhibition experiments with [(125)I]ET-1 and unlabelled agonists and antagonists (ET(A)-selective antagonist BQ123, and ET(B)-selective agonist sarafotoxin 6c, STX6c) were done to determine the ET receptor densities and their subtype specificities in the different regions of the urethra.

Docetaxel, low-dose estramustine, and doxifluridine in hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer.

Purpose: Advanced prostate cancer, which is one of the most common cancers, usually progresses to hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). A recent randomized trial of treatment with docetaxel demonstrated improved survival for patients with HRPC. The combination of docetaxel and estramustine phosphate (estramustine) has been reported to be effective for HRPC.

Lower urinary tract dysfunction in type 1 familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy in Kumamoto, Japan.

Objective: To evaluate lower urinary tract dysfunction of type 1 familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) patients in Kumamoto, Japan.

Methods: Lower urinary tract symptoms were evaluated in FAP patients. Urodynamic studies were evaluated in FAP patients as compared to those in control subjects.

Mass screening for prostate cancer in patients with end-stage renal disease: a comparative study.

Objective: To determine the usefulness of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), as although serum PSA is effective in the early detection of this cancer in the general population, there are few reports of its utility in patients with ESRD.

Patients And Methods: Blood samples were obtained for PSA screening from April 2002 to September 2003; 1250 men with ESRD aged >50 years were compared with 1007 healthy control men aged >55 years, all in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. All men with a serum PSA level of >4.

Transapical aortic cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass in type A aortic dissection operations.

Objective: The femoral artery is the customary site for arterial cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass in treating type A aortic dissections. However, because of concerns regarding complications caused by retrograde perfusion, the number of surgeons who prefer using the axillary artery as the site for cannulation is increasing. However, axillary artery cannulation also involves some problems.

Neurologic toxicity associated with interferon alpha therapy for renal cell carcinoma.

A 67-year-old man received interferon alpha (IFN alpha) therapy for lung metastases of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Multiple pulmonary metastases disappeared completely. However, neurological toxicity was detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as abnormal brain lesions.