Case of colon perforation due to segmental absence of intestinal musculature accompanied by cancer treated with colonic resection and anastomosis.

Background: Segmental absence of intestinal musculature (SAIM) is a partial defect of intestinal muscularis propria without diverticulum. Many reports indicate that the increase in intestinal pressure caused by enemas or endoscopic examinations leads to bowel perforation, but there are few reports involving malignant tumors. Moreover, few reports have had good outcomes after performing one-stage intestinal anastomosis.

[Peripheral Pulmonary Artery Aneurysm with Internal Thoracic Artery-Pulmonary Artery Shunt].

An 82-year-old woman with past history of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection complained of hemoptysis and was pointed out the strongly stained nodule in the middle lobe of the right lung on chest enhanced computed tomography (CT), which was suggested to be peripheral pulmonary artery aneurysm. Angiography of the right internal thoracic artery (RITA) revealed the peripheral pulmonary artery aneurysm with the shunt from the branch of the RITA, which was considered to be the cause of hemoptysis. Transcatheter arterial embolization was performed for the branch of the RITA 2 times, however, the hemoptysis recurred again after 5 months.

Postmortem evaluation of neuromuscular damages more extensive than the surgical intervention area after iliac crest bone graft.

Several complications may occur following iliac bone grafting, one of the common sites for autologous bone harvesting. Of these, it is difficult to localize the damage in neurological complications due to the presence of several nerves in a similar distribution area with variations among individuals. To minimize these complications, conventional clinical anatomical studies using normal human cadavers have estimated the theoretical neurological damage area corresponding to the surgical intervention area.

Ultrastructural changes in the choriocapillaris of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced retinal degeneration in C57BL/6 mice.

N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) is known to cause apoptosis of photoreceptor cells and changes in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). However, the changes in choriocapillaris, which nourishes photoreceptor cells by diffusing tissue fluid through RPE, have not been reported in detail. Therefore, we studied the ultrastructural transformation in and around the choriocapillaris to characterize the interdependence between choriocapillaris and surrounding tissue components in a mouse model.

Upper gastrointestinal pathophysiology due to mouse malaria ANKA infection.

Background: Epigastric pain, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal problems are among the most important symptoms of malaria infection as they suggest the possibility that the condition is serious. Pathophysiologies such as gastric mucosal changes and delayed gastric emptying have been reported in serious cases of malaria infection. However, it is unclear whether or not pathophysiological involvement of the upper gastrointestinal tract occurs in ANKA (PbA)-infected mice.

Foxc2 influences alveolar epithelial cell differentiation during lung development.

FOXC2, a forkhead transcriptional factor, is a candidate gene for congenital heart diseases and lymphedema-distichiasis syndrome and yellow nail syndrome; however, there are no reports on Foxc2 and the development of the lung. We have identified lung abnormalities in Foxc2-knockout embryos during investigation of cardiac development. The aim of this study was to clarify the morphological characteristics during lung development using ICR-Foxc2 knockout lungs.

[A CASE OF URETERAL ENDOMETRIOSIS].

A 49-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital due to macroscopic hematuria. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed left hydronephrosis, a tumor at her left ureter, pseudoaneurysm and ovarian cystoma. Prior to the operation, the tumorous lesion was considered as left ureteral cancer without metastasis (cT4N0M0; stage IV).

Giant Cell Tumor of the Skull: Review of the Literature.

Background: Giant cell tumors (GCTs) are rare in the skull. The present report describes a case with a primary GCT located in the temporal bone and reviews the relevant literature. We also propose a treatment strategy for GCT of the skull.

Effects of protein tyrosine phosphatase-PEST are reversed by Akt in T cells.

T cell activation is regulated by a balance between phosphorylation and dephosphorylation that is under the control of kinases and phosphatases. Here, we examined the role of a non-receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase, PTP-PEST, using retrovirus-mediated gene transduction into murine T cells. Based on observations of vector markers (GFP or Thy1.

Clinical history and colliquative myocytolysis are keys to the diagnosis of shoshin beriberi.

Cardiovascular beriberi presents as either the fulminant (Shoshin beriberi) or chronic form. Shoshin beriberi is a rare disease that may lead to a fatal outcome if the patient does not receive appropriate treatment. In the present report, we describe the case of a 66-year-old man presenting with leg edema and dyspnea at rest.

Vasohibin-2 modulates tumor onset in the gastrointestinal tract by normalizing tumor angiogenesis.

Background: Vasohibin-2 (VASH2) has been identified as an endogenous and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-independent angiogenic factor that is highly expressed in tumor cells. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether pre-existing vascular changes can be used to predict tumor transformation as benign or malignant. We sought to characterize microvascular changes and tumor development in the intestinal tract of ApcMin/+ mice and ApcMin/+/Vash2-/- mice.

Morphological and functional characterization of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induced by a methionine-choline-deficient diet in C57BL/6 mice.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), appears to be increasingly common worldwide. Its histopathology and the effects of nutrition on liver function have not been fully determined.

Aim: To elucidate the cellular mechanisms of NAFLD induced by a methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet in mice.

Low-grade meningioma showing nearly equal density with spinal fluid on radiographic images.

A 61-year-old woman had an intracranial tumour that was located on the falx. Meningioma was suspected and the tumour rapidly grew over 1 year. It showed nearly equal density with spinal fluid showing almost no enhancement on radiographic images, like microcystic meningioma.

Prognostic factors of synkinesis after Bell's palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Objective: This study evaluated the prognostic factors of synkinesis following Bell's palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Methods: A total of 345 patients consisting of 309 cases of Bell's palsy and 36 cases of Ramsay Hunt syndrome were enrolled in our study. The following 13 factors were considered as candidate prognostic factors for the presence of synkinesis at 6 months from onset: age, sex, diagnosis, diabetes mellitus, initial onset or recurrence, electroneurography (ENoG), number of days from onset to first visit to our hospital, the lowest Yanagihara grading system score, the change in Yanagihara score after 1 month, otalgia, hearing loss, vertigo and taste disturbances.

Formation of abdominal cerebrospinal fluid pseudocyst.

A 63-year-old man who underwent insertion of a lumboperitoneal shunt developed gait disturbance. He had undergone surgery for gastric cancer 7 years and for ileus 5 years previously. Head computed tomography (CT) revealed enlargement of the ventricles.

Intravitreal injection of erythropoietin protects against retinal vascular regression at the early stage of diabetic retinopathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

A single intravitreal injection of erythropoietin (EPO) (50 ng/eye) or phosphate-buffered saline was administered to 5-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats at the onset of diabetes mellitus (DM) to determine and evaluate the protective effect of EPO on retinal microvessels. DM was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg body weight). Morphological changes in microvessels in flat retinal preparations were evaluated during the subsequent 4 weeks by three-dimensional imaging of all blood vessels stained with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated tomato lectin, following immunofluorescence techniques.

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging for enhanced visualization of malignant cerebral tumors and abscesses.

Background: Several malignant tumors and brain abscesses have similar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Because the prognosis and treatment strategies differ among these disorders, accurate preoperative diagnosis is very significant. Recently, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and calculation of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) have been reported to be useful to differentiate between the two disorders.

Hypoglossal nerve schwannoma with intratumoral hemorrhage.

Intratumoral hemorrhage of hypoglossal schwannoma is very rare. A 37-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with severe headache and gait disturbance. Radiologic examination revealed subarachnoid hemorrhage and a well-circumscribed enhanced lesion compressing the medulla oblongata.

Community-acquired pneumonia distinguished from influenza infection based on clinical signs and symptoms during a novel (swine) influenza A/H1N1 pandemic.

Aims: The numbers of patients with influenza-like illnesses increase during influenza outbreaks. A study was undertaken to distinguish community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) from influenza based on clinical signs and symptoms.

Methods: This retrospective study investigated patients with positive results in the rapid influenza antigen test and those diagnosed with CAP during an influenza A/H1N1 pandemic.

A glioblastoma arising from the attached region where a meningioma had been totally removed.

The co-occurrence of different histological tumors in the nervous system is rare and is mainly associated with phakomatoses or radiation exposure. A 72-year-old man underwent surgery for a frontal convexity meningioma. Four years after the surgery, a new lesion was detected in the attached region where the meningioma had been removed.

Significance of the progression of respiratory symptoms for predicting community-acquired pneumonia in general practice.

Background And Objective: Early diagnosis improves outcomes in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, prediction of CAP based on symptoms and signs is difficult. The present study investigated the evaluation of progression of symptoms as a factor for predicting the occurrence of CAP in general practice.