Pituicytoma with pleomorphism: A case report with cytological findings.

Pituicytoma is a rare neoplasm, arising in the posterior pituitary or in the hypophyseal stalk, and its cytological findings have not yet been well-described. We have experienced a case of pituicytoma, which was difficult to diagnose intraoperatively, because of its cellular pleomorphism. A tumor measuring 18 mm in maximum diameter was found at the sella turcica in a Japanese woman in her forties.

Temperature sensitivity of DNA double-strand break repair underpins heat-induced meiotic failure in mouse spermatogenesis.

Mammalian spermatogenesis is a heat-vulnerable process that occurs at low temperatures, and elevated testicular temperatures cause male infertility. However, the current reliance on in vivo assays limits their potential to detail temperature dependence and destructive processes. Using ex vivo cultures of mouse testis explants at different controlled temperatures, we found that spermatogenesis failed at multiple steps, showing sharp temperature dependencies.

Relationship of airflow limitation severity with work productivity reduction and sick leave in a Japanese working population.

Background: The aim of this study was to reveal the association between airflow limitation (AL) severity and reduction with work productivity as well as use of sick leave among Japanese workers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,378 workers who underwent a lung function test during a health checkup at the Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Health Care Center. AL was defined as forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity of <0.

Observation of the Ciliary Movement of Choroid Plexus Epithelial Cells Ex Vivo.

The choroid plexus is located in the ventricular wall of the brain, the main function of which is believed to be production of cerebrospinal fluid. Choroid plexus epithelial cells (CPECs) covering the surface of choroid plexus tissue harbor multiple unique cilia, but most of the functions of these cilia remain to be investigated. To uncover the function of CPEC cilia with particular reference to their motility, an ex vivo observation system was developed to monitor ciliary motility during embryonic, perinatal and postnatal periods.

Developmental changes in ciliary motility on choroid plexus epithelial cells during the perinatal period.

Cilia have crucial roles in various developmental and physiological events. Previously, we reported that choroid plexus epithelial cells (CPECs) have multiple, nonmotile 9+0 cilia, but the cilia exhibit transient motility with variable axonemal arrangements in the neonatal period. These features make these cilia unique, as they do not fit in to the traditional categories of primary or motile cilia, and their physiological roles remain elusive.

Proteomic analysis of multiple primary cilia reveals a novel mode of ciliary development in mammals.

Cilia are structurally and functionally diverse organelles, whose malfunction leads to ciliopathies. While recent studies have uncovered common ciliary transport mechanisms, limited information is available on the proteome of cilia, particularly that of sensory subtypes, which could provide insight into their functional and developmental diversities. In the present study, we performed proteomic analysis of unique, multiple 9+0 cilia in choroid plexus epithelial cells (CPECs).

Development of disaster pamphlets based on health needs of patients with chronic illnesses.

The aim of this research was to develop a pamphlet that would enable patients with diabetes, rheumatic diseases, chronic respiratory disease, and dialysis treatment to be aware of changes in their physical conditions at an early stage of a disaster, cope with these changes, maintain self-care measures, and recover their health. Illness-specific pamphlets were produced based on disaster-related literature, news articles, surveys of victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster and Typhoon Tokage, and other sources. Each pamphlet consisted of seven sections-each section includes items common to all illnesses as well as items specific to each illness.

Prevalence of airflow limitation on medical check-up in Japanese subjects.

The prevalence and mortality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is expected to increase in the future throughout the world. Little data is available on the prevalence of airflow limitation in Japan, especially on medical check-up. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of airflow limitation in Japanese subjects during medical check-ups.

Health needs of patients with chronic diseases who lived through the great Hanshin earthquake.

Objective: To identify the health needs of patients with chronic diseases who lived through the great Hanshin earthquake of 1995.

Methods: Twenty-nine patients with rheumatism, diabetes, or chronic respiratory disease were enrolled in the study. Semi-structured interviews were performed by the authors in 2004.

Ultrastructural study of nuclear inclusions immunohistochemically positive for surfactant protein A in pulmonary adenocarcinoma with special reference to their morphogenesis.

To investigate the fine-structural nature of nuclear inclusions immunopositive for surfactant protein A (SP-A) antibody staining, a detailed ultrastructural study was performed, as well as immunohistochemical examination of pulmonary adenocarcinomas. Surgically resected tumor specimens from 31 patients were examined by immunohistochemistry focused on reactivity to SP-A and thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) antibodies. Only cases with >5% positive nuclear inclusions in cancer cells were considered positive, some of which were examined by electron microscopy.

Emphysema detected by lung cancer screening with low-dose spiral CT: prevalence, and correlation with smoking habits and pulmonary function in Japanese male subjects.

Objective: Screening with low-dose spiral CT is a promising new tool for early lung cancer detection. A study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of emphysema detected by CT screening, and to assess the correlation between the extent of emphysema and the severity defined according to the recently published Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria.

Methods: After informed consent, CT screening and pulmonary function tests were performed on 615 men between the ages of 40 and 69.

Effect of smoking on FEV decline in a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of a large cohort of Japanese males.

Objective: The effects of cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on age-related pulmonary function decline was assessed in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

Methodology: In the cross-sectional study, pulmonary function data from 11,875 healthy asymptomatic males, aged between 35 and 74, were analysed and correlated with their smoking history and age. In the longitudinal study, changes in pulmonary function were monitored over a 5-year period in 1888 healthy males.

Synchronous independent bifocal orthotopic thymomas. A case report.

A case of synchronous multiple thymomas is reported. The patient was an 81-year-old woman with 2 separate thymomas in the anterior mediastinum. A histological study revealed that both thymomas consisted of dense lymphocyte infiltration in the stroma and a small number of polygonal epithelial tumor cells with clear nuclei and distinct nucleoli.

[The clinical efficacy of Bladder Chek NMP22 in urothelial cancer].

The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical efficacy of a quick test for NMP22 (Nuclear Matrix Protein 22), Bladder Chek NMP22, as a screening test for urothelial cancers. The subjects include 51 cases(43 cases with pathologically confirmed bladder cancer, and 8 cases with upper urothelial cancer). Bladder Chek NMP22 revealed false positive in the urine with more than 1 x 10(5)/microliter of erythrocytes and 1 x 10(3)/microliter of white blood cells.

Study of the diagnostic difference between the clinical diagnostic criteria and results of immunohistochemical staining of multiple primary lung cancers.

Aim: When multiple synchronous or metachronous lung cancer lesions are identified, discrimination of multicentric lung cancers from intrapulmonary metastases by clinical findings is often difficult. When tissue types have the same pathological features, such as combinations of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), adenocarcinoma (AD) or bronchiolo-alveolar cell carcinoma (BAC), it is especially difficult to distinguish a 2(nd) primary lung cancer from a metastatic lesion. A new strategy for accurate diagnosis of multiple synchronous or metachronous lung cancer is needed because of the difficulty of histological discrimination.

[A case of pulmonary actinomycosis with a unique finding in the chest MR image].

A 57-year old man, who was complaining of a productive cough and right shoulder pain, was admitted to our hospital because of an irregularly shaped mass located at rt. S1 on a chest radiograph. Bronchoscopy revealed no evidence suggesting lung cancer or any specific infection, either pathologically or microbiologically.

Antimalarial activity of novel 1,2,5,6-tetraoxacycloalkanes and 1,2,5-trioxacycloalkanes.

Photooxygenation of 2-phenylnorbornene 1 in the presence of 30% aqueous hydrogen peroxide afforded 1,2-bishydroperoxide 3, which could be cycloalkylated on treatment with silver oxide and a 1,omega-diiodoalkane to provide the tricyclic peroxides 12. Trimethylsilylation of 3 followed by TMSOTf-catalyzed cyclocondensation with carbonyl compounds led to the formation of the tricyclic peroxides 14 containing a 1,2,4,5-tetroxepane structure. Photooxygenation of 1 in the presence of either unsaturated hydroperoxides or unsaturated alcohols followed by bis(collidine)iodine hexafluorophosphate promoted cyclization gave the corresponding cyclic peroxides 15-17.

[Consideration of the prognostic factors influencing survival after lung metastasectomy of renal cell carcinoma].

From 1989 to 2002, 9 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma to lung underwent lung resections for curative removal of metastatic disease in our department. Disease free interval (DFI), number and size of metastases resected (at first metastasectomy), and number of metastasized regional lymph nodes were studied after resection of pulmonary metastases. DFI were 0 to 60 months with mean value of 23 months.

A case of salivary gland-type mixed tumor of the lung differentiating toward type II alveolar epithelial cells in glandular components with a literature review.

Salivary gland-type mixed tumor primarily arising in the lung is extremely rare. We report here a case of this type of tumor that occurred in the periphery of S4 of the right middle lobe in a 74-year-old man. Light-microscopically, this lung tumor, 15x9mm in size, exhibited almost the same features as those of mixed tumor of the salivary gland intermingled with chondromyxoid stroma, glandular component, solid growth pattern of myoepithelial components and well-developed cartilage formation, exhibiting a sharp margin.

[The usefulness of induction chemotherapy in cases with tumors showing border-line pathological aspects between thymoma and thymic carcinoma].

We present 2 surgically treated cases with thymoma classified as Masaoka stage III and IV a (type B 3 thymoma), which showed the border-line pathological aspects between the thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Induction chemotherapy [CAV-PVP (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine sulfate, etoposide) therapy in one case and ADOC (adriamycin, cisplatin, vincristine sulfate, cyclophosphamide) therapy in another case] preluded their surgical resection resulted in reduction of the tumor's size moderately or severely. After achievement of induction chemotherapy, these tumors were resected with the midsternotomy approach, along with resection of the right upper lobe and the left brachiocephalic vein replacing the expanded pdytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) graft following mediastinal lymphnodes dissection in one case and leaving the tumor tissue around the pulmonary trunk in another case.

Multifunctional anti-angiogenic activity of the cyclic peroxide ANO-2 with antitumor activity.

Our focus was to develop an anti-angiogenic drug possessing the inhibitory activity of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) production. During preliminary screening, the effects of 13 ozonides on the inhibition of u-PA production in human fibrosarcoma HT-1080 cells and on the inhibition of angiogenesis on chicken embryonic chorioallantoic membranes were determined. Of the ozonides tested, 9 inhibited in vitro u-PA production of HT-1080 cells and 7 of these 9 exhibited strong anti-angiogenic activity.

Intrathoracic omental herniation through the esophageal hiatus: a case report.

A case of paraesophageal omental herniation in a 74-year-old man is reported. Although computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) depicted a retrocardiac fatty mass that resembled omental herniation, residual concern remained regarding lipomatous tumor. Angiography provided decisive evidence of a mass containing omental vessels passing through the esophageal hiatus, which led to the final diagnosis.

[Study of the difference between the clinical diagnostic criteria and results of immunohistochemical staining].

If more than 2 lesions of cancer are observed in the lung, differences in the histology or in situ component is the basic criterion for multicentricity. In addition, remote lung mass with same histology in the absence of both distant metastasis and mediastinal lymphadenopathy is also regarded as multicentricity. We have studied the difference between the clinical diagnostic criteria and the results of immunohistochemical staining.