Scalp cooling for hair loss prevention in female Japanese breast cancer patients receiving (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy.

Purpose: Scalp cooling during chemotherapy infusion has been recently reported to have moderate efficacy in the mitigation of chemotherapy-induced alopecia; however, there are few reports on Asian patients. We aimed to clarify the effects of scalp cooling in Japanese women.

Patients And Methods: Female Japanese breast cancer patients who planned to receive (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy participated in this prospective study on the efficacy of scalp cooling using the Paxman Scalp Cooling System for alopecia prevention.

Sterepinic Acids A⁻C, New Carboxylic Acids Produced by a Marine Alga-Derived Fungus.

Sterepinic acids A⁻C (⁻), new carboxylic acids with two primary alcohols, have been isolated from a fungal strain of sp. OUPS-124D-1 attached to the marine alga . Dihydro-1,5-secovibralactone (), a new vibralactone derivative, was isolated from the same fungal metabolites together with known vibralactone A (), and 1,5-secovibralactone ().

Opening the Anterior Vaginal Vault: A Novel Approach to Vaginoplasty with a Modified McIndoe Procedure Using an Artificial Dermis.

Background: Although preparation of a potential vaginal space between the bladder and rectum is a pivotal step in various vaginal reconstructions for patients with vaginal agenesis, few papers have mentioned the importance of this procedure.

Case: We report the successful creation of a neovagina in 3 Japanese patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome using a novel modified McIndoe procedure that involved separation between the bladder and the rudimentary uterus in a laparoscopically assisted manner.

Summary And Conclusion: Opening "the anterior vaginal vault" between the bladder and uterus is a novel concept of vaginal reconstruction; this approach has not been described hitherto in the literature.

Altered arterial stiffness in male-to-female transsexuals undergoing hormonal treatment.

Aim: Male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals are treated with estrogen with and without progestin through a variety of routes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the arterial stiffness in MTF transsexuals undergoing hormonal treatment.

Methods: We evaluated the arterial stiffness in 156 MTF transsexuals (22 untreated and 129 treated with estrogen only or plus progestin) using a volume-plethysmographic apparatus equipped with a multi-element applanation tonometry sensor.

Increased arterial stiffness in mildly-hypertensive women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Aim: Although risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and dyslipidemia, are commonly observed in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), impairment of vascular function is still controversial. We evaluated the vascular function in young women with PCOS.

Methods: We evaluated arterial stiffness in 54 women with PCOS and 24 healthy control women using a volume-plethysmographic apparatus equipped with a multi-element applanation tonometry sensor for the left common carotid artery and studied the correlations of various factors.

Pregnancy after living-related liver transplantation associated with severe preeclampsia and a review of the literature.

Background: Pregnancies after orthotropic liver transplantation (OLT) have demonstrated favorable perinatal outcomes. However, obstetrical complications in OLT recipients are more common than those in a normal population. In countries where the number of cadaveric donors is limited, living-related liver transplantation (LRLT) is a valuable procedure, but few pregnancies after LRLT have been reported.

Hyperreactio luteinalis with both markedly elevated human chorionic gonadotropin levels and an imbalance of angiogenic factors subsequently developed severe early-onset preeclampsia.

Objective: To report a case of hyperreactio luteinalis (HL) with elevated levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and a severe imbalance of angiogenic factors, which developed into severe, early onset preeclampsia (PE).

Design: Case report.

Setting: University perinatal center.

Thrombocytopenia in preterm infants with intrauterine growth restriction.

Sick preterm infants often have thrombocytopenia at birth, and this is often associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), or birth weights less than the 10th percentile. The pathogenesis of the thrombocytopenia and its importance in IUGR are still unclear. We studied the characteristics of preterm IUGR infants with thrombocytopenia.

Adverse effects of advanced glycation end products on embryonal development.

We studied the effects of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are known to accumulate in patients with diabetes, autoimmune diseases, or those who smoke, on embryonal development. Pronuclear (PN) embryos were obtained by flushing the fallopian tubes of rats after superovulation and mating. The cleavage rate and blastocyst yield were evaluated at 24, 72, 96, and 120 h of culture.