Quantification of gimeracil, tegafur, and 5-FU in human plasma via LC-MS/MS with a simplified pretreatment using flow-through extraction.

Gimeracil, a component in S-1 (an oral anticancer agent comprising tegafur, a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), potassium oxonate, and gimeracil), inhibits metabolic enzymes, thereby impeding 5-FU degradation. Therefore, the blood level of gimeracil is closely associated with the disposition of 5-FU, and quantification of gimeracil can provide important information if a case shows an inappropriate 5-FU blood concentration. Nevertheless, methods for quantifying gimeracil in human plasma are rarely reported.

Early Palliative Care Improves Overall Survival in Patients With Lymphoma: A Single-institution Retrospective Study.

Background/aim: Early palliative care (EPC) intervention in patients with solid tumors can provide many benefits. However, studies on patients with hematological malignancies are limited, and there is no data on patients with lymphoma. We conducted a preliminary retrospective survey of palliative care (PC) intervention in patients with lymphoma to clarify the effect of EPC on overall survival (OS).

Serum Levels of Protein-Bound Methylglyoxal-Derived Hydroimidazolone-1 are Independently Correlated with Asymmetric Dimethylarginine.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, being involved in endothelial dysfunction. Furthermore, ADMA levels have been shown to predict future cardiovascular events in patients with coronary risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension. We have previously found that glyceraldehyde-derived advanced glycation end products (glycer-AGEs) stimulate ADMA generation and the levels are associated with ADMA, endothelial dysfunction, and vascular inflammation in humans.

Utility of the amplitude of RV1+SV5/6 in assessment of pulmonary hypertension.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) has been widely used for assessment of right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy (RVH) in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, it still remains unclear which ECG criteria of RVH are useful to predict for the severity of PH. The aim of our study was to examine the utility of ECG findings of RVH in assessment of PH.

Impaired dimer assembly and decreased stability of naturally recurring R260C mutant A subunit for coagulation factor XIII.

Factor XIII (FXIII) consists of catalytic A subunits (FXIII-A) and carrier B subunits. Congenital FXIII deficiency is a severe bleeding disorder. We previously identified an R260C missense mutation and an exon-IV deletion in Japanese patients' F13A genes.

Differential regulation of thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine induced by IL-4, IL-13, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma in human keratinocyte and fibroblast.

The CC chemokine thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) acts on CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4), which is known to be selectively expressed in Th2 cells. In order to compare the regulatory profiles of TARC production by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IFN-gamma, interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-13 in keratinocytes and fibroblasts, HaCaT cells, a human keratinocyte cell line, and NG1RGB cells, a human skin fibroblast cell line, were used. The expression of TARC protein was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the mRNA level was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

[Acute pancreatitis following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: prevalence and cause of pancreatic amylasemia].

To clarify the frequency and cause of acute pancreatitis following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT), we examined retrospectively 57 patients who underwent hematopoietic SCT in our institute from 1984 to 2000. Twelve (21%) of the patients showed an elevated level of serum pancreatic amylase following SCT. However, only 3 patients were clinically diagnosed as having acute pancreatitis.