Remarkable response of recurrent endometrial adenocarcinoma to daily oral administration of half-dose etoposide.

A 71-year-old woman with right chest and left lumbar pain was referred to our hospital. Computed tomography showed multiple recurrent tumors in the abdominal cavity and bilateral lungs. She had already received several chemotherapies for the recurrent tumor, and palliative care would be appropriate.

Reduction in adverse transfusion reactions with increased use of washed platelet concentrates in Japan-A retrospective multicenter study.

Plasma removal by washing platelet concentrates (PCs) is effective in preventing adverse reactions to PC transfusions. The Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) started releasing washed PCs (WPCs) as a commercially approved blood product in September 2016. This retrospective multicenter study investigated the change in the number of transfused WPCs and the impact on the incidence of adverse reactions to PCs before and after the release.

Plasma mannose level, a putative indicator of glycogenolysis, and glucose tolerance in Japanese individuals.

Aims/introduction: Mannose is a monosaccharide constituent of glycoproteins and glycolipids. Experiments in rats have shown previously that the plasma mannose level decreases after glucose load, but does not decrease in diabetic rats, and that hepatic glycogenolysis is a source of this plasma mannose; however, these results are not fully elucidated in humans. Plasma mannose levels before/after glucose loading in humans with various degrees of glucose intolerance were examined to analyze their association with clinical factors.

Case of pure ovarian squamous cell carcinoma resistant to combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin but responsive to monotherapy with weekly irinotecan.

Primary ovarian squamous cell carcinoma is uncommon, and the optimal treatment strategy for this disease has not yet been established. A 71-year-old woman diagnosed with FIGO stage IIb pure ovarian squamous cell carcinoma underwent cytoreductive surgery followed by combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin. After the second treatment course, a recurrent mass grew rapidly, and serum tumor maker levels increased.

A thick placenta: a predictor of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of an ultrasonographic measurement of placental thickness and the correlation of a thick placenta with adverse perinatal outcome.

Methods: Placental thickness was measured in single gravidas, 16 to 40 weeks of gestation, between 2005 and 2009. Placentas were considered to be thick if their measured thickness were above the 95th percentile for gestational age.

Ingestion of a moderate high-sucrose diet results in glucose intolerance with reduced liver glucokinase activity and impaired glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion.

Unlabelled: Aims/Introduction:  Excessive intake of sucrose can cause severe health issues, such as diabetes mellitus. In animal studies, consumption of a high-sucrose diet (SUC) has been shown to cause obesity, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. However, several in vivo experiments have been carried out using diets with much higher sucrose contents (50-70% of the total calories) than are typically ingested by humans.

Sustained high plasma mannose less sensitive to fluctuating blood glucose in glycogen storage disease type Ia children.

Plasma mannose is suggested to be largely generated from liver glycogen-oriented glucose-6-phosphate. This study examined plasma mannose in glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia) lacking conversion of glucose-6-phosphate to glucose in the liver. We initially examined fasting--and postprandial 2 h--plasma mannose and other blood carbohydrates and lipids for seven GSD Ia children receiving dietary interventions using cornstarch and six healthy age-matched children.

Congenital high airway obstruction syndrome in the breech presentation managed by ex utero intrapartum treatment procedure after intraoperative external cephalic version.

Congenital high airway obstruction syndrome (CHAOS) caused by laryngeal atresia was diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound in a male fetus at 26 weeks of gestation. Findings included massive ascites, subcutaneous edema, enlarged hyperechogenic lungs with diaphragmatic inversion, dilated trachea, polyhydramnios, and breech presentation. Those findings of CHAOS spontaneously returned to normal by 33 weeks of gestation.

Two cases of reversal of twin-twin transfusion syndrome diagnosed by measuring hourly fetal urine production.

Reversal of twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a rare complication of monochorionic pregnancy. Diagnostic criteria and satisfactory therapeutic options have not been reported. We make a suggestion of diagnosis and therapy for reversal of TTTS.

Thiopurine maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis: the clinical significance of monitoring 6-thioguanine nucleotide.

Background: 6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP) is an effective maintenance medication in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), but toxic effects like myelosuppression limit its clinical benefit. In the blood, 6-thioguanine (6-TGN) is formed from 6-MP and mediates the therapeutic efficacy and most of the toxicities of 6-MP. The level of 6-TGN depends on the activity of thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT), inherited as 1 of its 3 polymorphic forms with low, moderate, or normal/high activity.

Modified sequential laser photocoagulation of placental communicating vessels for twin-twin transfusion syndrome to prevent fetal demise of the donor twin.

Aims: Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) complicated with absent or reversed end-diastolic flow in the umbilical artery (UA-AREDF) of the donor has a high perinatal mortality rate. To improve the prenatal outcome, we introduced and modified the technique of sequential selective laser photocoagulation of communicating vessels (SQLPCV), and assessed the clinical efficacy.

Methods: The modified SQLPCV was designed with the following order of coagulation: (i) artery-to-artery (AA) anastomoses; (ii) venous-to-venous anastomoses; (iii) artery-to-venous anastomoses from donor to recipient; and (iv) artery-to-venous anastomoses from recipient to donor.

Long-term prognosis of patients after endoscopic sphincterotomy for choledocholithiasis.

Introduction: The aims of the present study were to clarify the long-term prognosis of endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) for choledocholithiasis and to evaluate the need for cholecystectomy after EST.

Methods: Between 1993 and 2007, 262 patients who underwent successful EST for choledocholithiasis were followed up for more than 6 months). Eighteen patients had previously undergone cholecystectomy (Group A), 129 had a calculous gallbladder (GB) and underwent cholecystectomy after EST (Group B), 46 had a calculous GB in situ (Group C), and 69 had an acalculous GB in situ (Group D).

Endometrial growth and uterine blood flow: a pilot study for improving endometrial thickness in the patients with a thin endometrium.

Objective: To examine whether thin endometria can be improved by increasing uterine radial artery (uRA) blood flow.

Design: A prospective observational study.

Setting: University hospital and city general hospital.

Glyceraldehyde is present in rat lens and its level is increased in diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: OP-lysine, a glycation product of lysine residues of proteins, has been reported to be formed with glyceraldehyde and glycolaldehyde as precursors in the lens, and has been suggested to play a role in senile cataracts. However, there has been no reliable information regarding the content of glyceraldehyde in tissues. This study determined the glyceraldehyde levels in the lenses of normal and diabetic rats.

[Case of pancreatic mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma].

A 77-year-old woman underwent abdominal ultrasonic diagnosis in a screening test for diabetes mellitus. A 65 x 45 mm tumor with low echo level was revealed and located from the uncinate process of the pancreas to the body. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography demonstrated the pancreas had a low density area in the arterial phase and a comparable area in the equilibrium phase, compared with the parenchyma of the normal pancreas.

Fetoscopic laser photocoagulation of placental communicating vessels for twin-reversed arterial perfusion sequence.

Twin-reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence is a rare and compromised complication in monochorionic pregnancies. The retrograde blood flow through placental communicating vessels is mainly involved to develop the syndrome. Increased cardiac output in the pump twin can lead to severe clinical manifestations.

[Retroperitoneal fibrosis and Castleman disease in two patients with high IgG4 levels].

With the cumulative increase in the number of autoimmune pancreatitis cases, the disease is now widely accepted as a symptom of IgG4-related systemic disease. We recently experienced two cases of retroperitoneal fibrosis and Castleman disease presenting high IgG4 levels without evident pancreatic lesions. Both patients were successfully treated with steroid therapy.

Primary amenorrhea in an 18-year-old Japanese female with sensorineural hearing loss and anosmia: a new sydrome?

This report documents a case with primary amenorrhea associated with sensorineural hearing loss and anosmia. The patient presented at 18 years of age with minimal sexual development and no prior menses. Her mother also presented late onset menarche, hearing loss and anosmia, and her father was also affected with hearing loss.

Oxidative stress impairs oocyte quality and melatonin protects oocytes from free radical damage and improves fertilization rate.

We investigated the relationship between oxidative stress and poor oocyte quality and whether the antioxidant melatonin improves oocyte quality. Follicular fluid was sampled at oocyte retrieval during in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). Intrafollicular concentrations of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in women with high rates of degenerate oocytes were significantly higher than those with low rates of degenerate oocytes.

Pathophysiologic features of "thin" endometrium.

Objective: To characterize pathophysiologic features of a "thin" endometrium.

Design: A prospective observational study.

Setting: University Hospital and City General Hospital.

Different changes in resistance index between uterine artery and uterine radial artery during early pregnancy.

Background: Changes in blood flow impedance of the uterine artery (UA) and uterine radial artery (RA) which is in the lower-extremity of the UA were examined during early pregnancy.

Methods: Blood flow impedance was assessed by transvaginal color-pulsed-Doppler-ultrasonography in 72 women from weeks 4-16 of pregnancy and expressed as a resistance index (RI).

Results: RA-RI remained at the late-luteal phase level until the 5th week of pregnancy, decreased until the 7th week, and remained low until the 10th week.