How to manage RI venography in pre-orthopedic surgery patients.

Objective: The preoperative evaluation of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is important to avoid complications, because VTE is often induced by orthopedic surgery. We focused on radioisotope venography (RIV) using 99mTc-macroaggregated human serum albumin, examining orthopedic patients.

Methods: We conducted 34 examinations in 33 patients who were referred for RIV and lung perfusion scintigraphy for the pre-orthopedic operative evaluation of VTE.

Diagnostic utility of cardiac magnetic resonance for detection of cardiac involvement in female carriers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Background: Cardiac involvement is a recognised complication in female carriers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Since segmental or global left ventricle (LV) wall motion abnormalities in DMD carriers can arise even without apparent muscle weakness, it is difficult to differentiate cardiac involvement of a DMD carrier from other heart diseases in a non-invasive manner. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) enables assessment of regional wall motion abnormality and myocardial damage with high spatial resolution.

[Clinical usefulness of FDG-PET for pancreatic cancer].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET) in dividing the uptake with and without the main tumor for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Ninety-eight patients with primary pancreatic cancer were evaluated with 18F-FDG-PET. For the main tumor, the maximum standardized uptake values(SUVmax)were compared with clinicopathological factors and analyzed.

Rapid diagnosis of adenovirus respiratory tract infections using the chromatographic immunoassay test in the pediatric outpatient setting.

To assess the usefulness of a new rapid chromatographic immunoassay test for the detection of adenovirus, a prospective 3-year study was conducted in 587 febrile outpatient children suspected of adenovirus infection. A total of 332 children were diagnosed with this infection, using a viral culture. The sensitivity and specificity of the rapid test were 89.

Transition of genotypes associated with norovirus gastroenteritis outbreaks in a limited area of Japan, Hiroshima Prefecture, during eight epidemic seasons.

The transition of genotypes implicated in 102 NoV gastroenteritis outbreaks in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, during eight epidemic seasons was investigated. Eighteen genotypes were implicated in the outbreaks, with the chronological characteristics as in GII.3, GII.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy using CT lymphography in breast cancer.

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a standard surgical procedure for patients with early breast cancer. The combination of radioisotope (RI) and dye staining is the most accurate method for identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). However, institutions without RI centers perform SLNB by blue dye alone.

Incidence of lumbar spondylolysis in the general population in Japan based on multidetector computed tomography scans from two thousand subjects.

Study Design: Epidemiological analysis using CTs.

Objective: To investigate the true incidence of lumbar spondylolysis in the general population in Japan.

Summary Of Background Data: Although there have been several reports on the incidence of lumbar spondylolysis, they had some weakness.

Long-term exposure to methylmercury and its effects on hypertension in Minamata.

Recent studies suggest potential adverse effects of methylmercury exposure on cardiovascular disease, although the evidence of association with hypertension is still inconsistent. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of methylmercury exposure on hypertension in Minamata. We used data derived from the 1971 population-based survey in Minamata and neighboring communities.

Diagnostic performance of fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography of breast cancer in detecting axillary lymph node metastasis: comparison with ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced CT.

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with fluorine-18-labeled 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in comparison with that of ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) in detecting axillary lymph node metastasis in patients with breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: Fifty patients with invasive breast cancer were recruited. They had received no neoadjuvant chemotherapy and underwent PET/CT, ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced CT before mastectomy.

Hematoma in the cervical ligamentum flavum. Report of a case and review of the literature.

Hematoma of the cervical ligamentum flavum is very rare, and its pathogenesis is unknown. We describe a case of ligamentum flavum hematoma in the cervical spine causing severe myelopathy. Postoperative histological examination suggested it was the result of the rupture of a hemangioma or of an arteriovenous malformation in the ligamentum flavum.

The origin of peroxisomes: The possibility of an actinobacterial symbiosis.

The peroxisome is an organelle found in most eukaryotes that is crucial for lipid metabolism. The ability of peroxisomes to divide themselves and transport post-translational proteins suggests that the peroxisome may have had an endosymbiotic origin. However, the localization of peroxisomal proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the similarity of some peroxisomal proteins to those localized in the ER suggest an alternative hypothesis: that the peroxisome was developed from the ER.

Significance of M2-polarized tumor-associated macrophage in pancreatic cancer.

Background: The roles of infiltrating macrophages within the tumor microenvironment are complex because of their functional variety. The aim of this study is to examine the role and prognostic significance of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) that have an M2 polarized function in pancreatic cancer.

Materials And Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks were obtained from 76 patients with pancreatic head cancer.

Thallium-201 chloride scintigraphy in soft tissue tumors.

Objective: We report the findings of Thallium-201 chloride ((201)TlCl) scintigraphy and consider how to use this technique to evaluate the character of soft tissue lesions.

Patients And Methods: We enrolled 91 consecutive patients (45 males and 46 females, age range 8-91-years-old). Nineteen patients were malignant and 72 were benign.

X-ray absorption fine structures of uranyl(V) complexes in a nonaqueous solution.

The structures of three different U(V) complexes, [U(V)O(2)(salophen)DMSO](-), [U(V)O(2)(dbm)(2)DMSO](-), and [U(V)O(2)(saldien)](-), in a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution were determined by X-ray absorption fine structure for the first time.

Complex formation and molecular structure of neptunyl(VI) and -(V) acetates.

Stability and coordination of neptunyl(VI) and -(V) acetate complexes in aqueous solution were studied by using UV-vis-near-IR (NIR) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. In the neptunyl(VI) acetate system, the formation of Np(VI)O(2)(AcO)(+), Np(VI)O(2)(AcO)(2)(aq), and Np(VI)O(2)(AcO)(3)(-) was detected. Both spectroscopic methods provided similar stability constants: log K(1) = 2.

Sleep duration, sleep quality and cardiovascular disease mortality among the elderly: a population-based cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the associations between sleep duration and mortality in the elderly by controlling for sleep quality.

Method: Data were collected from participants in a cohort study in Shizuoka, Japan. A total of 14,001 elderly residents (aged 65-85 years), randomly chosen from all 74 municipalities in the prefecture, completed questionnaires that evaluated sleep duration, sleep complaints, and the use of hypnotics.

A prediction rule for disease outcome in patients with undifferentiated arthritis using magnetic resonance imaging of the wrists and finger joints and serologic autoantibodies.

Objective: To evaluate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the wrists and finger joints and an analysis of serologic autoantibodies are clinically meaningful for the subsequent development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with undifferentiated arthritis (UA).

Methods: A total of 129 patients with UA, a disease status formally confirmed by a rheumatologist over a period of at least 1 year, were included. Gadolinium-diethylenetriamine-enhanced MRI of both wrists and finger joints and serologic variables were examined upon admission to our Early Arthritis Clinic at Nagasaki University.

High serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein determines the subset of patients with early-stage rheumatoid arthritis with high serum C-reactive protein, matrix metalloproteinase-3, and MRI-proven bone erosion.

Objective: To identify the significance of serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), a marker of cartilage turnover, in patients with early-stage rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to other serologic variables and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features.

Methods: Ninety-eight patients with early-stage RA, whose disease duration from onset was less than 2 years, were enrolled. The objective measures at baseline were Disease Activity Score (DAS28), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), serum antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), and MRI features of both wrist and finger joints.

Inhibition of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) replication by HIV-1 gene expression inhibitors.

Porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) is persistently integrated into the host genomic DNA as a provirus and released from a variety of porcine cells. PERV infects a certain range of human cells, which is a major concern in xenotransplantation. Therefore, the use of viral gene expression inhibitors could be envisaged, if they reduce PERV production from porcine organs and minimize viral transmission to human recipients.

Minamata disease: catastrophic poisoning due to a failed public health response.

We present the history of Minamata disease in a chronological order from the public health point of view. Because the appropriate public health response - to investigate and control the outbreak - as set out in the Food Sanitation Act was not conducted, no one knew how many became ill following the outbreak. Exposure could not be stopped.

[Clinical significance of intratumoral TS levels and DPD activity in breast cancer].

We evaluated the usefulness of the level of thymidylate synthase(TS)and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase(DPD) activity as prognostic factors and indicators for selection of chemotherapy regimens. Between November 1997 and March 1999, fifty-seven patients with stages I - IIIa primary breast cancer were registered. Using recurrence risk categories, they were classified into TAM monotherapy, TAM+oral 5-FU, and TAM+CMF groups(each were standard regimens at the time), and underwent postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.