Multidimensional voice evaluation in pretreatment glottic carcinoma.

It is generally accepted that, in glottic carcinoma, the voice will deteriorate, even in the early stages. This paper reports the degree of hoarseness and multidimensional vocal evaluation of glottic carcinoma patients. Forty-seven male glottic carcinoma patients and a control group of 13 normal subjects were included in this study involving psychoacoustic evaluation by doctors, acoustic analysis, phonogram, maximum phonation time and stroboscopy before treatment.

Irradiation impairment of umami taste in patients with head and neck cancer.

Background: Previous studies have reported the alteration of the four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour and bitter) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) during radiotherapy. However, there has been no investigation on the function of umami taste, a novel basic taste recognized recently, during head and neck irradiation.

Objective: To investigate the recognition threshold of umami and the four basic tastes at different irradiation dose intervals during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

[Treatment of hypopharyngeal carcinomas--an institutional analysis of the results of FAR radiochemotherapy, radical resection, and free jejunum flap reconstruction and the indication of neck dissection].

The treatment results of 65 patients with hypopharyngeal carcinomas treated at our institute between 1995 and 2000 were analyzed. In general, concurrent radiochemotherapy (RCT), consisting of intravenous 5-FU injection, intra-muscular vitamin A injection, and radiation (FAR therapy) was used as an initial treatment for advanced hypopharyngeal carcinomas and early hypopharyngeal carcinomas. Tumor responses were evaluated at the time of radiation doses of 30Gy.

[Laminin gamma2 chain expression in squamous cell carcinomas of the tongue and its clinical relevance].

Laminin gamma2 chain (LNgamma2) expression and its clinical relevance were examined in squamous cell carcinomas of the tongue. When tumor cells were attached to each other and showed expansive growth, LNgamma2 was expressed only in the peripheral cells of the tumor nests (peripheral expression). In contrast, when tumor cells showed infiltrative growth diminishing cell-cell adhesion, LNgamma2 expression was diffusely observed in almost all of the cells (diffuse expression).

A rapid speech synthesizing software on a PDA for Japanese with speech impairments.

We developed a Japanese-language, rapid synthesizing software application for use on a personal digital assistant. It has an unrestricted vocabulary and can synthesize words and sentences within 3 s. Eight hundred common sentences and words are preregistered.

Immunoregulatory role of ocular macrophages: the macrophages produce RANTES to suppress experimental autoimmune uveitis.

Murine experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) is a model of human uveitis. Ocular-infiltrating macrophages play a crucial role in the generation of tissue damage in EAU. In fact, several chemokines are actually produced in the inflamed eye.

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma of the neck; a case report and literature review.

Follicular dendritic cell (FDC) sarcomas, also known as dendritic reticulum cell tumors, are uncommon neoplasms arising from antigen-presenting cells in B-lymphofollicles of nodal and extra-nodal sites. It is considered as an intermediate grade malignancy since it has significant recurrent and metastatic potential. We report a case of FDC sarcoma arising in the neck.

[Postpartum hypercalcemia in a patient with previous thyroid carcinoma: a report of 2 cases].

We report postpartum hypercalcemia in 2 patients with previous thyroid carcinoma who had undergone total thyroidectomy and total parathyroidectomy and required vitamin D and calcium therapy to control hypoparathyroidism. Postpartum, they required less vitamin D and calcium for satisfactory control. While lactating, they maintained normal serum calcium without supplementary vitamin D or calcium.

Transcutaneous PCO(2) monitoring with hyperventilation during phonation in vocal cord paralysis.

Objective: Hyperventilation during phonation is one of the causes of fatigue in-patients with vocal disorders.

Methods: The transcutaneous (tc) PCO(2) during phonation in 8 normal subjects and 12 patients with unilateral vocal cord paralysis was measured. Cases were further divided into two groups by the degree of the tcPCO(2) decrease during phonation.

[Analysis of the regulatory mechanism of the rat cerebellum on the motor coordination in the time and space domain].

To elucidate the mechanism of the cerebellum on the regulation of coordinated movement in time and space domain, ninety-six Purkinje cell complex spike was simultaneously recorded utilizing ninety-six glass micro pipette electrodes. The complex activity of the bilateral cerebellum was symmetrically synchronized. Furthermore, the medial cells fired first, then the lateral cells fired succeedingly.

"FAR" chemoradiotherapy improves laryngeal preservation rates in patients with T2N0 glottic carcinoma.

Background: The appropriate treatment approach for patients with T2N0 laryngeal cancer remains highly controversial. Because radiotherapy alone is associated with a high risk of local recurrence, we have developed a triple combination treatment approach consisting of 5-fluorouracil (250 mg/day, i.v.

Constitutive activation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 correlates with cyclin D1 overexpression and may provide a novel prognostic marker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The precise mechanism responsible for the frequent overexpression of cyclinD1 in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is not known. In view of the fact that signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (Stat3) is often activated in HNSCC cells, we examined the effects of Stat3 on cyclin D1 expression and cell proliferation in the YCU-H891 HNSCC cell line that displays constitutive activation of Stat3. Expression of a dominant negative Stat3 construct in YCU-H891 cells inhibited proliferation, cyclin D1 promoter activity, and cellular levels of cyclin D1 mRNA and protein.

Taste dysfunction in irradiated patients with head and neck cancer.

Taste disorders caused by radiation therapy for head and neck cancer are common. This prospective study of 40 patients with head and neck cancer assessed changes in taste sensations during radiation therapy. The relationship between the time course and the degree of taste disorder was studied.

Pre- and postsynaptic ATP-sensitive potassium channels during metabolic inhibition of rat hippocampal CA1 neurons.

Presynaptic and postsynaptic membrane activities during experimental metabolic inhibition were analysed in mechanically dissociated rat hippocampal neurons using nystatin-perforated and conventional whole-cell patch clamp recordings. NaCN, an inhibitor of mitochondrial ATP synthesis, induced an outward current across the postsynaptic soma membrane. This current was blocked by tolbutamide, a sulfonylurea, which blocks ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels.

The roles of JNK1 and Stat3 in the response of head and neck cancer cell lines to combined treatment with all-trans-retinoic acid and 5-fluorouracil.

We have used a combination of vitamin A (all-trans-retinyl palmitate), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and radiation to treat human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This chemoradiotherapy is called "FAR therapy." In this study we examined the effects of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), the active metabolite of vitamin A, and ATRA plus 5-FU on two HNSCC cell lines (YCU-N861 and YCU-H891) to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms of FAR therapy.

Mutation analysis of human cytokeratin 8 gene in malignant rhabdoid tumor: a possible association with intracytoplasmic inclusion body formation.

The rhabdoid cell, which is typically observed in malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) and other malignant neoplasms, has an eosinophilic cytoplasm containing a spheroid perinuclear inclusion body. This distinct cell is known to act as a highly aggressive indicator in many types of malignant tumors and is characterized by aggregates of intermediate filaments, comprising both vimentin and cytokeratin (CK) 8, which is mainly expressed in simple-type epithelium such as liver and intestine. To clarify the cause of the inclusion body formation, we analyzed the alteration of the complete human CK8 gene (KRT 8: 1724 base pairs) in seven samples of MRT (three from frozen materials and four from cultured cell lines) by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, followed by direct sequencing.

Serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen is a useful biologic marker in patients with inverted papillomas of the sinonasal tract.

Background: Inverted papilloma (IP) is a frequent benign sinonasal tumor that is characterized histologically by squamous metaplasia, epithelial acanthosis, and hyperplasia of the nasal epithelium. Because of its high recurrence rate and malignant transformation potential, careful long-term follow up is necessary.

Methods: The purpose of the current report was to study the expression of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen in sinonasal IPs and to evaluate the usefulness of SCC antigen as a biologic marker for the follow-up of patients with sinonasal IP.