Dose Timing of an Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker/Calcium Channel Blocker Combination in Hypertensive Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation.

It has long been thought that there is a close association between hypertension and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the efficacy of an angiotensin II receptor blocker for the prevention of organ damage in hypertensive individuals with AF is still controversial. The present study was a multicentered, prospective, randomized, open-label clinical trial investigating the differences in the effect of treatment with telmisartan/amlodipine combination tablets on blood pressure (BP) levels and BP variability between morning and bedtime administration in hypertensive patients with paroxysmal AF, using ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) and home BP.

Transcatheter arterial embolization for the treatment of liver metastases in a patient with malignant pheochromocytoma.

A 63-year-old male patient was admitted for the treatment of malignant pheochromocytoma with multiple liver metastases. Plasma and urinary levels of catecholamines were elevated. Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) with concomitant administration of mitomycin C and gelatin sponge was performed for the treatment of liver metastases.

Histological grading of adrenal and extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas and relationship to prognosis: a clinicopathological analysis of 116 adrenal pheochromocytomas and 30 extra-adrenal sympathetic paragangliomas including 38 malignant tumors.

Pheochromocytomas and extra-adrenal sympathetic paragangliomas show varied histological patterns, and it is difficult to diagnose malignancy or predict the clinical course using current histological criteria. In the present study, we reviewed 146 sympathetic paragangliomas including 116 adrenal (102 unilateral, 14 bilateral) and 30 extra-adrenal tumors including 38 metastatic tumors. We developed a scoring scale according to the following six factors: histological pattern, cellularity, coagulation necrosis, vascular/capsular invasion, Ki-67 immunoreactivity, and types of catecholamine produced.

Expression of urotensin II and its receptor in adrenal tumors and stimulation of proliferation of cultured tumor cells by urotensin II.

Urotensin II is a potent vasoactive peptide, which was originally isolated from fish urophysis. We studied expression of urotensin II and its receptor mRNAs in the tumor tissues of adrenocortical tumors, pheochromocytomas and neuroblastomas. Effects of exogenously added urotensin II on cell proliferation were studied in a human adrenocortical carcinoma cell line, SW-13 and a human renal cell carcinoma cell line, VMRC-RCW.

Expression of prolactin-releasing peptide and its receptor in the human adrenal glands and tumor tissues of adrenocortical tumors, pheochromocytomas and neuroblastomas.

Adrenal tumors, such as pheochromocytomas, are known to express various peptides and their receptors. Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) is a novel neuropeptide isolated from bovine hypothalamic tissues. In the present study, expression of PrRP receptor was studied in the human brain, pituitaries, adrenal glands and tumor tissues of adrenocortical tumors, pheochromocytomas, a ganglioneuroblastoma and neuroblastomas by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Northern blot analysis.

Neurofibromin and NF1 gene analysis in composite pheochromocytoma and tumors associated with von Recklinghausen's disease.

Composite tumor of pheochromocytoma and neuroblastoma, or ganglioneuroma, or ganglioneuroblastoma (composite pheochromocytoma), also known as mixed neuroendocrine and neural tumor, are sometimes combined with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). To better understand the relationship between NF1 and composite pheochromocytoma, an immunohistochemical study using anti-neuro-fibromin that is an NF1 gene product and DNA sequence of NF1 Exon 31 were carried out in five cases of composite pheochromocytoma and in various tumors from five patients with NF1. Neurofibromin was not expressed in Schwann cells and sustentacular cells of composite pheochromocytomas and was very weakly or negatively expressed in neurofibroma of NF1 patients.

Ki-67 is an indicator of progression of neuroendocrine tumors.

No current histological or cytological indices can distinguish reliably malignant from benign tumors in neuroendocrine tumors, including pheochromocytomas, pancreatic endocrine tumors, and carcinoid tumors. We investigated immunohistochemically the expression of Ki-67 in 52 neuroendocrine tumors, including 17 pheochromocytomas, 9 pancreatic endocrine tumors, 23 carcinoid tumors, 2 neuroendocrine carcinomas (NEC), and 1 neuroblastoma with liver metastasis. Of the 52 tumors, distant metastasis was observed in 4 pheochromocytomas, 2 pancreatic endocrine tumors, 4 carcinoids, 2 NEC, and 1 neuroblastoma.

Dna ploidy of pheochromocytoma on cytology specimen by image analysis.

Pheochromocytoma usually shows prominent nuclear atypia, but the presence of such atypical cells is known to be an unreliable predictor of malignancy. DNA ploidy of pheochromocytomas has been analyzed by flow cytometry or photospectrometry on paraffinem-bedded tissue, but the results were controversial. We performed DNA analysis on cytology specimens of 11 pheochromocytomas using an image analysis system.