Mediastinal parathyroid cyst: treatment with thoracoscopic surgery--a case report.

Parathyroid cysts are rarely located in the mediastinum. This report describes a 45-year-old man with a mediastinal parathyroid cyst. Video-assisted thoracic surgery was successfully performed to remove the cyst.

Different platelet aggregability during mental stress in two stages of essential hypertension.

To determine whether platelet response to mental stress is altered in essential hypertension, platelet aggregability and plasma beta-thromboglobulin were determined in 24 patients with essential hypertension (11 patients with World Health Organization (WHO) stage I and 13 patients with stage II) and 14 normotensive controls before and after a 10-min arithmetic stress (serial subtraction of 7 from 1000). In normotensive subjects, arithmetic stress did not affect primary aggregations to 1.0 micromol/L adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and to 2.

Esophagopleural fistula originating from diverticulum after pneumonectomy. A case report and review of the literature.

Esophagopleural fistula (EPF) is a very rare and fatal disease. A 56 year-old man developed a pyothorax resulting from an EPF with esophageal diverticulum after a right pneumonectomy. The patient was successfully treated with a three-stage operation and control of infection and nutritional status.

Polyarthritis nodosa with mesenteric aneurysms demonstrated by angiography: report of a case and successful treatment of the patient with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide.

Polyarteritis nodosa is a necrotizing angitis that predominantly affects small and medium-sized arteries. The prognosis of untreated polyarteritis nodosa is very poor. Since symptoms are diverse and no serologic test is specific for polyarteritis nodosa, the diagnosis is difficult and often delayed.

Molecular cloning of cDNA encoding a novel microphthalmia-associated transcription factor isoform with a distinct amino-terminus.

Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is a basic helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper protein, and plays an important role in the development of various cell types, such as neural-crest-derived melanocytes and optic-cup-derived retinal pigment epithelium. Three isoforms of MITF with distinct amino-termini have been described. These include melanocyte lineage-specific MITF-M, heart-type MITF-H, and the recently identified MITF-A.

Prognostic impact of telomerase activity in non-small cell lung cancers.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical significance of telomerase activity, particularly in terms of prognostic impact, in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Summary Background Data: Telomerase activity has been found in various tissues. The activation of telomerase is considered necessary for the immortalization of human tumor cells, including NSCLC.

Implications of isoform multiplicity of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor in the pathogenesis of auditory-pigmentary syndromes.

Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is the human homolog of a basic helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper protein (Mitf), encoded by the mouse microphthalmia locus. Mutations in the MITF gene have been identified in some patients with Waardenburg syndrome type 2 (WS2), which is a dominantly inherited disorder, characterized by varying combinations of sensorineural hearing loss and pigmentary disturbances. Furthermore, mice with mutations at the Mitf locus are associated with various phenotypes, such as white coat color, small eyes, a deficiency in mast cells, and osteopetrosis.

Successful tracheocarinal transplantation.

Background: When extensive portions of the trachea and carina are resected, grafting is required.

Methods: Two experiments were performed in dogs to assess the feasibility of extensive tracheocarinal replacement using short-segment tracheocarinal autografts, only to avoid the immunologic complexity of allografts. To determine the effect of tension on graft survival, extensive tracheal defects (12 to 18 rings) were created in four animals.

Time course of the effects of temocapril on cardiovascular structure and function in patients with essential hypertension.

To investigate the time course of cardiovascular structural changes in patients with essential hypertension after angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition, we determined left ventricular structure, minimal vascular resistance in the forearm as an index of resistance vessel structure and stiffness beta of carotid artery in 15 essential hypertensive subjects during a placebo period and after 2, 6, and 12 months of temocapril treatment. Blood pressure decreased within 2 weeks, and the antihypertensive effects were noted throughout the 12-month administration period. Left ventricular mass index decreased significantly after 2 months (120+/-12 to 106+/-9 g/m2; p < 0.

Relation of plasma brain and atrial natriuretic peptides to left ventricular geometric patterns in essential hypertension.

We investigated whether plasma brain and atrial natriuretic peptide (BNP and ANP, respectively) levels could reflect left ventricular (LV) geometry and function in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. A positive correlation was found between LV mass index (LVMI) and plasma ANP levels in 84 untreated, hypertensive patients, but not between LVMI and plasma BNP levels. As compared with other geometric patterns, plasma BNP levels were increased in concentric hypertrophy, in which LVMI was increased and LV diastolic function was decreased.

Indications and operative techniques for combined aortoesophageal resection.

Combined aortoesophageal resection was performed in 8 patients, including 7 with esophageal carcinoma and 1 with aortoesophageal fistula. Aortic resection procedures included segmental resection with permanent aorto-aortic bypass (1 case), segmental resection with graft interposition (1 case), semicircumferential resection with patch aortoplasty (3 cases), wedge resection with lateral aortorrhaphy (1 case), and resection of adventitia (2 cases). Protective methods during aortic cross-clamping included one aorto-aortic permanent bypass, one subclavian-aortic bypass, and three axillo-femoral bypass.

Effects of a novel calcium antagonist, benidipine hydrochloride, on platelet responsiveness to mental stress in patients with essential hypertension.

The effects of a novel calcium antagonist, benidipine hydrochloride, on responses of platelets to mental stress were evaluated in nine patients with essential hypertension. Before and 12 weeks after the monotherapy with benidipine (2-4 mg/day), platelet aggregability and plasma beta-thromboglobulin were determined during rest and after a 10-min arithmetic stress. Before the treatment, arithmetic stress significantly increased platelet aggregability in response to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and plasma beta-thromboglobulin level.

Unfavorable prognosis of patients with stage II non-small cell lung cancer associated with macroscopic nodal metastases.

Background: Patients with stage II-N1 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) make up an intermediate group of patients with an unsatisfactory prognosis even though complete resection is usually possible. We retrospectively analyzed postoperative prognostic factors to devise guidelines for the proper management of this patient population.

Study Design: Among 546 patients with NSCLC who underwent surgical resection from 1979 to 1995, 43 patients were pathologically defined to be at stage II-N1 (T1-2N1M0).

An L1 element intronic insertion in the black-eyed white (Mitf[mi-bw]) gene: the loss of a single Mitf isoform responsible for the pigmentary defect and inner ear deafness.

Waardenburg syndrome type 2 (WS2) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by a combination of pigmentary and auditory abnormalities. Approximately 20% of WS2 cases are associated with mutations in the gene encoding microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). MITF plays a critical role in the development of both neural-crest-derived melanocytes and optic cup-derived retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE); the loss of a functional Mitf in mice results in complete absence of all pigment cells, which in turn induces microphthalmia and inner ear deafness.

Different effects of temocapril and cadralazine on electrocardiographic voltages and left ventricular mass in patients with essential hypertension.

To assess whether electrocardiographic variables are useful to detect the regression of left ventricular (LV) mass after long-term antihypertensive treatment, we related electrocardiographic voltages to echocardiographic variables before and after treatment with an ACE inhibitor, temocapril (TEM), or direct vasodilator, cadralazine (CAD). Twenty-one patients with essential hypertension were treated with either TEM (n = 11) or CAD (n = 10) for one year. LV mass index (LVMI) by echocardiography and Sokolow-Lyon voltage (SV1 + RV5), Cornell voltage (RaVL + SV3) and RV5 + RV6 by standard 12-lead electrocardiographic voltages were determined before and after treatment.

An evaluation of the bioavailability of selenium in high-selenium yeast.

The bioavailability of selenium (Se) in high-Se yeast (SeY) was evaluated by measuring tissue Se accumulation and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity. For 4 weeks, 4-week-old male Wistar rats were fed a Torula yeast-based Se-deficient diet (basal diet) or a diet supplemented with a graded level (0.04, 0.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic pericardiectomy for severe pericardial effusions.

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has proven to be extremely useful in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple thoracic problems. We used the VATS technique to successfully treat refractory pericardial effusions associated with pericarditis by performing pericardiectomy.

Maximal period of cryopreservation with the Bicell biofreezing vessel for rat tracheal isografts.

Objective: The maximal period of cryopreservation for the trachea is still unsolved. We assessed the maximal period of cryopreservation using the Bicell biofreezing vessel as an easy and cheap slow-freezing instrument for viable tracheal grafts in 95 rats.

Methods: Each isograft was harvested from 17 donor rats, immersed in the preservative solution, and stored in a Bicell device in a deep freezer at -80 degrees C.

Bronchial arterial infusion is an effective therapeutic modality for centrally located early-stage lung cancer: results of a pilot study.

Objective: This pilot study was done to assess the effectiveness of bronchial arterial infusion (BAI) as a therapeutic modality for centrally located early-stage lung cancer.

Patients And Methods: Seven patients who had endoscopically evaluated, centrally located early-stage squamous cell lung carcinoma, including three patients with synchronous multiple primary lung cancers, were offered BAI with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP; dosage, 50 to 150 mg/body, 35 to 100 mg/m2), a radical therapeutic method, as an alternative to a resection.

Results: All early-stage lesions showed complete remission within 1 to 6 weeks (median, 3.

Results of surgical treatment of lung cancer in octogenarians.

The treatment of potentially resectable lung cancer in octogenarians has become a frequent clinical problem, due to the increasing number of elderly people maintaining an active daily life. In the present study, we reviewed the clinical records of patients to evaluate the results of the surgical treatment of lung cancer in octogenarians. From 1992 to 1995, 18 patients aged 80 years or older (octogenarians) with primary lung cancer underwent surgical resections including: three (16.

MUC1 mucin mRNA expression in stage I lung adenocarcinoma and its association with early recurrence.

Background: MUC1 is a membrane-bound mucin with an extensively O-glycosylated core protein and is developmentally regulated and aberrantly expressed by carcinomas. A high level of MUC1 mucin expression and secretion is associated with high metastatic potential and a poor prognosis. We studied the expression of MUC1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in stage I lung adenocarcinoma by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and examined its correlation with early recurrence.

An endometrial nodule in the lung without pelvic endometriosis.

We present a 55-year-old woman with an intrapulmonary nodule diagnosed as pulmonary endometriosis by video-assisted thoracic surgery. Ectopic endometriosis in the parenchyma of the lung is relatively rare, especially in this case, where there was neither pelvic endometriosis nor clinical symptoms.