Endoscopic submucosal dissection to relieve a flexure of the gastric conduit after esophagectomy.

 A 70-year-old-man underwent an esophagectomy and posterior mediastinal reconstruction for esophageal cancer that was curatively resected. Although the patient was allowed to eat after surgery, he repeatedly vomited after drinking water or eating meals and required continuous hospitalization. An upper gastrointestinal series and endoscopic examination revealed an obstruction due to the flexure of the gastric conduit, which was repeatedly treated with endoscopic balloon dilation.

[A well-differentiated early gastric cancer in a patient confirmed negative for Helicobacter pylori].

A woman in her 70s was an outpatient at our hospital. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a slightly elevated lesion with erosion, 10mm in diameter, located at the greater curvature of the antrum. Helicobacter pylori testing yielded negative results, and there was no atrophy of the gastric mucosa.

[An early gastric cancer concurrent with a hyperplastic polyp in a patient confirmed negative for Helicobacter pylori].

A 58-year-old man was suspected of having a gastric polyp based on an upper gastrointestinal series. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed a gastric polyp, approximately 7mm in diameter, located at the greater curvature of the upper gastric body. Helicobacter pylori testing yielded negative results, and there was no atrophy of the gastric mucosa.

[Resected Focal Nodular Hyperplasia That Was Difficult to Differentiate from Hepatocellular Carcinoma--A Case Report].

We report a case of a 62-year-old woman with a growing liver tumor that was difficult to differentiate from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Abdominal CT revealed a hypervascular tumor (36 mm in diameter) in segment 3 of the liver that showed early enhancement and which had grown from 30 mm to 36 mm over the previous year. A fatty liver and gallstones were also detected.

[Investigation of simplified international diagnostic criteria for autoimmune hepatitis].

The simplified international diagnostic criteria for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), re-revised by the International AIH Group in 2008, were investigated in 114 patients with AIH from 15 centers in Japan. While applying of the criteria, we had to pay attention to anti-nuclear antibody measurement methods, and liver histology scoring. Definite and probable AIH were diagnosed in 83 and 22 patients, respectively.

Mode of HCV infection examined by polymorphism of hypervariable region-1 in cases of acute hepatitis C after accidental exposure to blood-borne pathogens.

Acute hepatitis C is known to respond better to interferon therapy than chronic hepatitis C. The reason for this difference remains unclear. The present study was undertaken to examine HCV quasispecies in blood from patients with acute hepatitis C caused by accidental exposure to blood-borne pathogens and in blood from the source patients.

Effects of alanine in patients with advanced primary biliary cirrhosis: preliminary report.

When rats given D-galactosamine are then treated with the glucogenic amino acid alanine, their alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, total bilirubin level, and survival rate improve compared with when other amino acids are used. Here, we report a preliminary study of the clinical and pharmacological effects of alanine given to three patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). The patients were jaundiced and were in the end-stage of the disease.