Primary endodermal sinus tumor in the posterior cranial fossa: clinical analysis of 7 cases.

Objective: To clarify the clinical features, therapeutic method and outcomes of the primary endodermal sinus tumors (ESTs) in the posterior cranial fossa.

Methods: The English literatures on EST in the posterior cranial fossa were retrieved from PubMed and reviewed. And a 4-year-old boy diagnosed with EST in our hospital was reported.

Clinicopathologic significance of slug expression in human intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Aim: To explore the expression and function of slug, a transcriptional repressor, in human intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) and identify its role in IHCC progression.

Methods: Expression of slug was detected in 36 cases of IHCC and 12 cases of normal intrahepatic bile ducts and liver parenchyma by immunohistochemistry. The patients were divided into low slug expression group (< 20% of carcinoma cells stained) and high slug expression group (> or = 20% of carcinoma cells stained).

Long-term treatment with a Chinese herbal formula, Sheng-Mai-San, improves cardiac contractile function in aged rats: the role of Ca(2+) homeostasis.

A Chinese herbal formula Sheng-Mai-Yin (SMY), the liquid dosage form of Sheng-Mai-San, has been used clinically for treating heart failure, particularly in aged patients. To investigate the effect of SMY treatment on the contractile function of aged hearts, we first examined cardiac hemodynamics in aged rats. To define the mechanism involved in the enhancement of cardiac function, we investigated the effect of SMY treatment on Ca(2+) homeostasis in ventricular cardiomyocytes isolated from aged rats.