Suppressive effect of pulmonary hypertension and leukocyte activation by inhaled prostaglandin E1 in rats with monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension.

The effect of long-term prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)) aerosol was investigated in rats with chronic pulmonary hypertension induced by monocrotaline (MCT). Six-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were separated into groups of 6 and administered 1 mL of saline (group A) or 60 mg / kg of MCT. The MCT-treated mice were then administered either nothing (group B) or 5 mL of PGE(1) (4 microg/mL) via a nebulizer every day for 1 week (group C), 2 weeks (group D), 3 weeks (group E), or 4 weeks (group F) after MCT injection.

Gastrojejunocolic fistula after gastrectomy with Billroth II reconstruction: report of a case.

We herein report the case of a 65-year old man with gastrojejunocolic fistula. The patient was admitted to our hospital because of edema of the lower limbs, diarrhea, and weight loss. His history included a distal gastric resection and Billroth II reconstruction for a duodenal ulcer 20 years previously.

Clinical significance of blood brain natriuretic peptide level measurement in the detection of heart disease in untreated outpatients: comparison of electrocardiography, chest radiography and echocardiography.

The aim of present study was to compare the predictive characteristics and cost-benefit of measuring the concentration of blood brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), compared with electrocardiography (ECG), chest radiography and echocardiography, as a diagnostic test for heart disease. The study group comprised 130 untreated patients who had symptoms suggestive of heart disease. According to the results of additional examinations and follow-up checks, 86 patients were diagnosed as having heart disease and 44 patients were judged free of heart disease.

hOGG1 Ser(326)Cys polymorphism and modification by environmental factors of stomach cancer risk in Chinese.

Oxidative stress is involved in many types of DNA damage, e.g., resulting in 8-hydroxyguanine adducts.

Diverticulitis causing a high serum level of carbohydrate antigen 19-9: report of a case.

We report herein a rare case of diverticulitis causing a high serum level of carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9. A 52-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with lower abdominal pain. Laboratory data showed evidence of inflammation and a high serum level of CA 19-9 (370 U/ml).

Total gastrectomy is not always necessary for advanced gastric cancer of the cardia.

Background: It is unclear whether total gastrectomy (TG) is always necessary for gastric cancer of the cardia. We therefore investigated whether cardiac cancers treated by TG would have been cured by proximal gastrectomy (PG).

Methods: Photocopies of the resected stomachs of 55 patients who had received TG for cardiac cancer were reviewed.

Bilateral cavernous sinus actinomycosis resulting in painful ophthalmoplegia. Case report.

The authors report the successful treatment of a 42-year-old man who suffered from recurrent painful ophthalmoplegia caused by bilateral cavernous sinus (CS) actinomycosis. A presumptive diagnosis of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome was made when he presented with left painful ophthalmoplegia. Recurrent ophthalmoplegia on the opposite side when steroid medications were tapered led to repeated imaging and a pterional craniotomy and biopsy sampling of the CS.

Glucose-6-phosphatase gene mutations in 20 adult Japanese patients with glycogen storage disease type 1a with reference to hepatic tumors.

Background And Aims: A few cases are reported of liver neoplasms observed in patients with glycogen storage disease type 1a (GSD1a). Genetic analysis was carried out in adult Japanese patients with GSD1a and their family members, and hepatic tumors were also investigated in these patients.

Methods: DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 20 adult patients with GSD1a and 21 family members, and mutations were detected based on the differences in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of the glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) gene shown by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis.

Changes of sequestered leukocytes and platelets by inhalation prostaglandin E(1) in the pulmonary microvasculature of rats with monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension.

The role of leukocytes (WBCs) and platelets (PLTs) in the pulmonary circulation may be important in the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats. We investigated the suppressive effects of long-term prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)) aerosol on the changes in WBCs and PLTs in the peripheral blood and the pulmonary microvasculature during the development of chronic pulmonary hypertension in MCT rats by real-time confocal scanning laser microscopy. The number of WBCs and PLTs in peripheral blood did not significantly change by inhalation of PGE(1).

Cooled-tip ablation results in increased radiofrequency power delivery and lesion size in the canine heart: importance of catheter-tip temperature monitoring for prevention of popping and impedance rise.

Unlabelled: Since myocardial lesion size during radio-frequency (RF) ablation is limited at high power by impedance rise when electrode tip temperature exceed 100 degrees C, controlling tip temperature by continuous intraelectrode saline infusion could permit generation of larger lesion. (1) Two dogs randomly received either standard or cooled tip RF ablation at 4 to 6 separate LV sites. Power output of 30 W was delivered via modified 7 Fr deflectable catheter with 4 mm tip for up to 120 sec or until impedance rise occurred.

Genomic structure of the human beta-PIX gene and its alteration in gastric cancer.

beta-PIX, a newly identified p21-activated kinase (PAK)-interacting exchange factors (PIX), encodes a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rho guanosine triphosphatases. Characterization of beta-PIX gene was performed using the BAC Library method. The beta-PIX gene has 17 exons and an A/T polymorphism at the 32nd base upstream of the intron/exon junction of exon 7.

Interaction between cytochrome P-450 2E1 polymorphisms and environmental factors with risk of esophageal and stomach cancers in Chinese.

Because cytochrome P-450 2E1 (CYP2E1) is involved in metabolic activation of environmental chemical carcinogens, gene polymorphisms that alter its functions may be associated with cancer susceptibility. However, previous studies have revealed disconcordant results with regard to cancer risk. To investigate gene-environment interactions with the RsaI polymorphism of CYP2E1 in terms of risk of esophageal and stomach cancers, we conducted a case-control study with 93 esophageal and 98 stomach cancer cases and 196 population-based controls in a high-endemic area for these cancers of China.

[Mutation analysis of tumor suppressor gene PTEN in bone and soft tissue tumors].

Objective: To study tumor suppressor gene PTEN's role in the tumorigenesis of bone and soft tissue tumors.

Methods: Exon 4 approximately 9 of PTEN were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for homozygous deletions in 110 tumor samples of patients with bone and soft tissue tumors, 3 tumor cell lines. PTEN mutations were detected by a combination of single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and DNA sequencing.

Metabolic gene polymorphism frequencies in control populations.

Using the International Project on Genetic Susceptibility to Environmental Carcinogens (GSEC) database containing information on over 15,000 control (noncancer) subjects, the allele and genotype frequencies for many of the more commonly studied metabolic genes (CYP1A1, CYP2E1, CYP2D6, GSTM1, GSTT1, NAT2, GSTP, and EPHX) in the human population were determined. Major and significant differences in these frequencies were observed between Caucasians (n = 12,525), Asians (n = 2,136), and Africans and African Americans (n = 996), and some, but much less, heterogeneity was observed within Caucasian populations from different countries. No differences in allele frequencies were seen by age, sex, or type of controls (hospital patients versus population controls).

Ewing's sarcoma/peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (pPNET) arising in the omentum as a multilocular cyst with intracystic hemorrhage.

A rare case of Ewing's sarcoma/peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor arising in the greater omentum in a 41-year-old man is reported. The patient presented with a hemorrhagic mesenteric cyst that was disclosed by the results of an abdominal echogram, a computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging. A laparotomy showed a multilocular cyst with intra-cystic hemorrhage.

Involvement of alpha-PAK-interacting exchange factor in the PAK1-c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase 1 activation and apoptosis induced by benzo[a]pyrene.

Benzo[a]pyrene [B(a)P], a potent procarcinogen found in combustion products such as diesel exhaust and cigarette smoke, has been recently shown to activate the c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) and induce caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in Hepa1c1c7 cells. However, the molecules of the signaling pathway that control the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades induced by B(a)P and the interaction between those and apoptosis by B(a)P have not been well defined. We report here that B(a)P promoted Cdc42/Rac1, p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1), and JNK1 activities in 293T and HeLa cells.

Mucoceles of the paranasal sinuses with intracranial extension-postoperative course.

Mucoceles of the paranasal sinuses cause progressive distension of the bony walls and induce compressive symptoms. Although rare, cases of massive intracranial extension have occurred. We believe that an endoscopic transnasal approach is the best choice for such huge mucoceles because it is the least invasive and can provide an adequate surgical field of view for wide marsupialization.

hOGG1 exon7 polymorphism and gastric cancer in case-control studies of Japanese Brazilians and non-Japanese Brazilians.

Polymorphism of hOGG1 may be capable of serving as a genetic marker for individual susceptibility to various cancers because of its role in the repair of oxyradical DNA damage. We examined the distribution of the hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism and its presumed correlation with gastric cancer risk in two case-control studies of different ethnic groups in São Paulo, Brazil. Potentially eligible Japanese (JB) and non-Japanese Brazilian (NJB) case subjects were defined as patients with newly diagnosed malignant neoplasms of the stomach in 13 hospitals in São Paulo.

Effects of genotypic differences in CYP2C19 status on cure rates for Helicobacter pylori infection by dual therapy with rabeprazole plus amoxicillin.

Rabeprazole is a potent proton pump inhibitor and is mainly reduced to thioether rabeprazole by a non-enzymatic pathway and partially metabolized to demethylated rabeprazole by CYP2C19 in the liver. We intended to determine a cure rate for Helicobacter pylori infection by dual rabeprazole/amoxicillin therapy in relation to CYP2C19 genotype status prospectively. Ninety-seven patients with gastritis and H.

Relationship of p53 and Helicobacter pylori to clinicopathological features of human remnant stomach cancer after gastric surgery for primary gastric cancer.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biological features of gastric cancer of the remnant stomach (RSC). Twenty-one patients underwent resection of the remnant stomach for RSC and were divided into two groups: the RSCB group consisted of 11 patients who underwent distal gastrectomy for benign disease and the RSCM group consisted of 10 patients who underwent gastrectomy for primary gastric cancer. The interval between primary surgery and the appearance of gastric cancer in the remnant stomach was significantly shorter in the RSCM group than in the RSCB group.

Bioactive glass-mesoporous silica coatings on Ti6Al4V through enameling and triblock-copolymer-templated sol-gel processing.

The combination of thick glass coatings that can protect Ti6Al4V from corrosion in the body fluids, and mesoporous silica films able to readily induce the formation of apatite when immersed in a simulated body fluid (SBF), has been investigated in this work as a possible route towards more resistant and long-lasting implants. Glasses in the system Si-Ca-Mg-Na-K-P-O with thermal expansion coefficients close to that of Ti6Al4V were prepared and used to coat this alloy by an enameling technique. However, the glasses apt to coat Ti6Al4V exhibited a very limited capacity to induce apatite formation in SBF.

Effects of Helicobacter pylori infection on gastric acid secretion and serum gastrin levels in Mongolian gerbils.

Background And Aims: Body gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori infection appears to inhibit gastric acid secretion. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of H pylori infection on gastric acid secretion and clarify its mechanisms with reference to interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta).

Methods: (1) Mongolian gerbils were inoculated orally with H pylori.

Microsatellite instability of papillary subtype of human gastric adenocarcinoma and hMLH1 promoter hypermethylation in the surrounding mucosa.

Gastric cancer has striking heterogeneity in histological pattern, cellular phenotype, genotype, biomarkers, and biological behavior. We focused on the specific morphological papillary phenotype of gastric adenocarcinoma and attempted to identify its distinct molecular characteristics. In our comparative study, early stage papillary (papillary-dominant) gastric cancer showed a significantly higher and more widespread high-frequency microsatellite instability (MSI-H) than other morphological types.