Delayed presentation of traumatic cervical epidural hematoma: a case report and review of the pertinent literature.

A delayed presentation of traumatic spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) is a rare disease in which most patients are asymptomatic for days to weeks after the injury, followed by pain and then a neurological deficit. A 66-year-old woman who suffered a fractured right clavicle due to a bicycle accident 42 days previously, presented with left shoulder pain and left hemiplegia. The manual muscle test (MMT) scores of the left upper and lower limbs were all 1.

Coil Embolization for Asymptomatic Low-grade Vertebral Artery Injury which Worsened after Cervical Decompression Surgery: A Case Report.

Introduction: Blunt cervical injuries rarely cause vertebral artery injuries (VAIs), such as vertebral artery (VA) dissection or occlusion. To prevent subsequent embolic infarction, embolization of the injured VA is needed before surgical fixation of the cervical spine. However, evidence on endovascular treatment for asymptomatic low-grade VAIs with blunt traumatic cervical injury is insufficient.

CD133 mRNA-transfected dendritic cells induce coordinated cytotoxic and helper T cell responses against breast cancer stem cells.

Breast cancer, a leading cause of death yearly, has been shown to be initiated and propagated by cancer stem cells. CD133, a cell surface antigen, has been shown to be present on cancer stem cells of many solid tumors, including breast cancer. A limitation to targeting CD133 is major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted presentation of epitopes, leading to activation of only one arm of the immune system: either CD4+ helper T cells or CD8+ cytotoxic T cells.

CD133 mRNA-Loaded Dendritic Cell Vaccination Abrogates Glioma Stem Cell Propagation in Humanized Glioblastoma Mouse Model.

Cancer stem cells are initiating cells of cancer and propagate its growth through self-renewal and differentiation of its daughter cells. CD133 is a cell surface antigen that is present on glioma stem cells and has been used to prospectively isolate glioma stem cells. We hypothesized that a major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-independent and long-lasting immune response against CD133 could be generated by transfecting CD133 mRNA into dendritic cells and vaccinating animals with experimental gliomas.

A Diagnostic Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method to Distinguish Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) From Other Related Species in the New World.

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is a notorious agricultural pest native to the Old World. Recently, its invasion into South and Central America has become a serious problem in the New World. The rapid detection of invasive pests is essential to eradicate them and prevent establishment.

Identification of enzymes responsible for dantrolene metabolism in the human liver: A clue to uncover the cause of liver injury.

Dantrolene is used for malignant hyperthermia during anesthesia, and it sometimes causes severe liver injury as a side effect. Dantrolene is metabolized to acetylaminodantrolene, which is formed via the reduction of dantrolene to aminodantrolene and subsequent acetylation. Formation of hydroxylamine during the metabolic process may be associated with liver injury.

Docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil adjuvant chemotherapy following three-field lymph node dissection for stage II/III N1, 2 esophageal cancer.

To determine the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel + cisplatin + 5-fluorouracil (DCF) in lymph node metastasis-positive esophageal cancer, we retrospectively analyzed 139 patients with stage II/III (non-T4) esophageal cancer with lymph node metastasis (1-6 nodes), who did not receive preoperative treatment and underwent three-field lymph node dissection in the Juntendo University Hospital between December, 2004 and December, 2009. The tumors were histologically diagnossed as squamous cell carcinoma. The patients were divided into two groups, a surgery alone group (S group, 88 patients) and a group that received postoperative DCF therapy (DCF group, 51 patients).

Reactive oxygen species-activated nanoprodrug of Ibuprofen for targeting traumatic brain injury in mice.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an enormous public health problem, with 1.7 million new cases of TBI recorded annually by the Centers for Disease Control. However, TBI has proven to be an extremely challenging condition to treat.

Reactive oxygen species responsive nanoprodrug to treat intracranial glioblastoma.

Chemotherapy for intracranial gliomas is hampered by limited delivery of therapeutic agents through the blood brain barrier (BBB). An optimal therapeutic agent for brain tumors would selectively cross the BBB, accumulates in the tumor tissue and be activated from an innocuous prodrug within the tumor. Here we show brain tumor-targeted delivery and therapeutic efficacy of a nanometer-sized prodrug (nanoprodrug) of camptothecin (CPT) to treat experimental glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

Current status of primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus: clinical features, pathology, management and prognosis.

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is a rare disease with an extremely poor prognosis. Up to 2011, approximately 300 cases had been reported worldwide. The average age of onset is 60.

Intracranial yolk sac tumor in a patient with Down syndrome.

The authors report a rare case of intracranial yolk sac tumor in a 13-year-old boy with Down syndrome who presented with left hemiparesis. Admission MR imaging revealed a tumor in the right basal ganglia. Serum α-fetoprotein was markedly elevated.

[Trans-thoracic esophagectomy with 3-field lymph nodes dissection].

Although open-chest surgery is the mainstay treatment for esophageal cancer, the understanding of the context of the surgery differs in Japan and the rest of the world. Three-field lymph node dissection has been unique to Japan, although some reports on its benefits are emerging elsewhere. In addition to three-field lymph node dissection, various efforts are made during surgical procedures to reduce complications at high-volume Japanese healthcare institutions.

Study of abnormal chromosome regions in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by comparative genomic hybridization: relationship of lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis to selected abnormal regions.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (ESCC) has a poor prognosis among digestive tract cancers. Lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis are the major factors determining its prognosis. We used comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) to evaluate primary tumor lymph nodes and metastatic areas from ESCC patients in order to determine the relationship between abnormal chromosome regions and outcome.

Vaccine therapy with dendritic cells transfected with Il13ra2 mRNA for glioma in mice.

Object: The Il13ra2 gene is often overexpressed in brain tumors, making Il13ra2 one of the vaccine targets for immunotherapy of glioma. In this study, using a mouse glioma model, the authors tested the hypothesis that vaccination using dendritic cells transfected with Il13ra2 mRNA induces strong immunological antitumor effects.

Methods: A plasmid was constructed for transduction of the mRNAs transcribed in vitro into dendritic cells.

Subepithelial extension of squamous cell carcinoma in the esophagus: histopathological study using D2-40 immunostaining for 108 superficial carcinomas.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus occasionally produces subepithelial extension (SEE) in the stroma below the non-cancerous epithelium. Little information on SEE has been obtained, therefore the purpose of the present study was to carry out a clinicopathological study using D2-40 immunostaining in 108 cases of superficial (mucosal and submucosal) SCC of the esophagus. SEE occurred in 24 cases (22.

[MALT-type lymphoma of lacrimal gland: case report].

A 72-year-old female presented with a lump in the left superior-lateral eyelid. The magnetic resonance imaging showed a well-delineated mass in the left lacrimal gland. The tumor was isointense on both the T1 and T2 weighted images, and it was homogenously enhanced with Gd-DTPA.

Antitumor effects of vaccination with dendritic cells transfected with modified receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility mRNA in a mouse glioma model.

Object: The receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility (RHAMM) is frequently overexpressed in brain tumors and was recently identified as an immunogenic antigen by using serological screening of cDNA expression libraries. In this study, which was conducted using a mouse glioma model, the authors tested the hypothesis that vaccination with dendritic cells transfected with RHAMM mRNA induces strong immunological antitumor effects.

Methods: The authors constructed a plasmid for transduction of the mRNAs transcribed in vitro into dendritic cells, which were then used to transport the intracellular protein RHAMM efficiently into major histocompatibility complex class II compartments by adding a late endosomal-lysosomal sorting signal to the RHAMM gene.

Sealing the thoracic duct with ultrasonic coagulating shears.

Background/aims: Ultrasonic coagulating shears were developed as an endosurgical device that allows cutting of vessels without ligation. In this study, we obtained basic data on the feasibility of dividing and sealing the thoracic duct by using ultrasonic coagulating shears.

Methodology: We obtained the thoracic duct and the left gastric artery from surgical specimens of 27 patients.

Assessing water-related risk factors for Buruli ulcer: a case-control study in Ghana.

To assess water-related risk factors of Buruli ulcer, a case-control study of 102 patients (51 cases and 51 controls) was undertaken by matching age group, sex, and bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination history in Ghana. The factors used here for matching have previously been implicated as factors of Buruli ulcer, an emerging infectious disease. This is the first study to delineate a set of previously suspected, water-related risk factors, in a case-control study matching for age group, sex, and BCG vaccination status.

[A case of Rathke's cleft cyst in association with bilateral unruptured aneurysms of internal carotid artery].

Recent progress in diagnostic imaging techniques, such as MRI and CT, has shown that Rathke's cleft cyst is more common than once thought. However, few cases have been reported in which a cerebral arterial aneurysm was merged with a symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst. We present a case of bilateral internal carotid aneurysms associated with a symptomatic giant Rathke's cleft cyst.

[Surgery for benign submucosal tumors of the esophagus (leiomyoma and hemangioma)].

Among the submucosal tumors of the esophagus, leiomyoma is the most frequently found. Esophageal leiomyoma usually originates from the muscle layer of the esophageal wall and grows spirally around the esophageal axis. In the surgical treatment of leiomyoma, we enucleate the tumor through video-assisted thoracic surgery.

[Controversies in esophageal cancer surgery].

In esophageal cancer treatment, the choice of treatment modality and the indications and extent of lymph node dissection surgery are controversial. In terms of the biological characteristics, esophageal cancer is more virulent than any other gastrointestinal malignancy. The distribution of lymph node metastases is very wide, extending from the neck to abdominal regions, and the sizes of lymph node metastases are very small.