Urine Xanthine Crystals in Tumor Lysis Syndrome.

Urine xanthine crystals are remarkably rare but can be observed by routine urine microscopy. We report the results of a 67-year-old man with T-cell-prolymphocytic leukemia whose urine contained xanthine crystals after chemotherapy and prophylactic administration of febuxostat. Accumulation of xanthine was due to tumor lysis syndrome causing a massive release of DNA.

[Efforts and the Future Agenda for Introducing the Quality Management System ISO 15189 in Akita University Hospital].

Quality management systems are the tools that document the processes and responsibilities to achieve quality policies and objectives. Recently, increasing numbers of clinical laboratories have been certified for ISO 15189, an international certification for hospital laboratories. However, our laboratory remains in the preparation process.

Regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma expression in human eosinophils by estradiol.

Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) is a nuclear receptor that regulates not only adipogenesis but also immune reaction. We previously demonstrated that human eosinophils expressed functional PPARgamma, although the modulator of PPARgamma expression is less well understood. Because clinical studies have shown that the efficacy of PPARgamma agonists as insulin sensitizers is stronger in women than in men, we investigated whether sex hormones caused any changes in eosinophil PPARgamma expression levels.