A huge fecalith associated with dialysis-related gastrointestinal amyloidosis.

A 60-year-old man who had been receiving dialysis for more than 30 years was admitted for treatment of cellulitis in his right thigh on November 7, 2003. He suffered from an ileus on December 14 and was found to have a huge, 7-cm-diameter, well-circumscribed fecalith, incarcerated at the splenic flexure of the colon. It was proving difficult to pass this naturally and surgical removal was thought to be too risky.

[Colorectal cancer in spouses of colorectal cancer patients].

Married couples share home environments and life style for years. In the case of colorectal cancer, an association with insulin resistance was reported. We determined the presence of the insulin-resistance syndrome (IRS, 1 or more of the following: body mass index of > 25 kg/m2, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia) in 84 colorectal cancer patients, of whom 61 patients (73%) had IRS.

Colonic cancer in a patient with primary sclerosing cholangitis and long-standing ulcerative colitis.

A 27-year-old woman with a 9-year history of ulcerative colitis involving the entire colon was admitted to our hospital in August 1992 because of bloody stools and left lower abdominal pain. She had been treated with sulfasalazine since 1983 and the colitis had been clinically quiescent or mild for 7 years. She had also been diagnosed as having primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) 4 years prior to this admission, based on the clinical, laboratory, and cholangiographic findings.

Restorative activity of muroctasin on leukopenia associated with anticancer treatment.

The restorative effect of N2-[(N-acetylmuramoyl)-L-alanyl-D-isoglutaminyl]-N6-stearoyl-L-lysine (MDP-Lys(L18), muroctasin), a muramyl dipeptide derivative, was studied in patients with leukopenia associated with anticancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The drug was subcutaneously administered to 102 cancer patients in a single doses of 200 or 400 micrograms, and each dosage was given either every day for 6 days or every other day over a 5-day period. White blood cell (WBC) counts were made before, during and after treatment.

[Phase I study of natural interferon-gamma].

We report a clinical study of toxicity and pharmacokinetics of intravenously administered natural interferon-gamma. Twenty three cases with metastatic cancer were given interferon-gamma at doses of 10 X 10(4)-400 X 10(4) IU in single injection. Another twenty three cases were administered at doses of 5 X 10(4)-50 X 10(4) IU/day every day for thirty days.

Cytogenetic and in vitro culture studies on chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.

Six cases of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia were studied with cytogenetic and colony-formation techniques. Chromosome studies on bone marrow cells with the Q-banding method revealed cytogenetic changes in three of the six patients; +5, +8, +21, -13, -X, +1q, and 7q-. Chromosome changes among cases showed no particular correlation with survival or with the tendency to develop the acute phase.

[Two cases of central nervous system leukemia which responded excellently to intra-arterial injection of ACNU].

Local chemotherapy by intra-arterial administration of ACNU was performed in 2 cases with CNS leukemia, which responded well to this therapy. The first patient was a 42-year-old male who was diagnosed as having chronic myelogenous leukemia with local infiltration of leukemic cells to the optic nerves. By intra-arterial infusion of ACNU (60mg), symptoms and results of ophthalomological examinations were improved remarkably.

Phase I--II study of N4-behenoyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine.

A phase I-II study of N4-behenoyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-cytosine (BH-AC) was conducted by a cooperative study group. In phase I study, a total of 126 patients, 64 of whom had metastatic solid tumors and 62 of whom had leukemia, were administered BH-AC in a single IV dose at day 1 only or in daily IV doses for 3 to 21 days, with dose ranges of 1.5--10.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia with translocations (3q-;9q+) and (17q-;22q+). Possible crucial cytogenetic events in the genesis of CML.

Two reciprocal translocations involving chromosomes 3, 9, 17, and 22 were found in a patient with seemingly Ph1-negative chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The two translocations were t(3;9)(q21;q34) and t(17;22)(q21;q11); the breakage in chromosomes 9 and 22 apparently occurred at the same point as in the usual Ph1 translocation, t(9;22)(q34;11). From the present evidence and a review of the literature it appears that the breakage on both chromosomes 9 and 22 at the special regions and the separation of the fragments are present in practically all standard and variant Ph translocations, even those in which the terminal region of the long arm of chromosome 9 and (9q) does not seem to be involved in the rearrangement; however, a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22 is not an obligatory result of the rearrangement, as seen in the present case.

Changes in the immunocompetence and surface markers of lymphocytes in stored blood.

Changes in lymphocyte responses to mitogens and other lymphocyte markers were studied during a 14-day period of storage of blood at 4 degrees C and 22 degrees C in plastic bags. The following tests were done: (a) absolute lymphocyte and neutrophil counts, (b) blastogenic response to PHA, PWM, Con-A, and LPS and (c) determination of T and B cells using E-rosette and EAC-rosette techniques. The neutrophils disappeared rapidly at 22 degrees C.