Perfusion characteristics of late radiation injury of parotid glands: quantitative evaluation with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI.

We aimed to quantitatively investigate the alteration of parotid perfusion after irradiation using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) based on a two-compartment tracer kinetic model. This study enrolled 19 patients (53.2 +/- 14.

Androgen receptor gene CAG repeats, estrogen exposure status, and breast cancer susceptibility.

The length of a polymorphic CAG repeat in exon 1 of the androgen receptor (AR) is inversely correlated with AR transactivation activity. As heightened androgenic stimulation may oppose breast cell proliferation, which is mediated by AR, we examined whether AR-CAG repeat lengths are related to breast cancer susceptibility. A nested case-control study of 88 newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer between 1992 and 2000 and 334 matched controls was carried out in Taiwanese women.

Determination of lipoprotein lipase activity in post heparin plasma of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

The activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme responsible for lipoprotein metabolism, would vary in diseases and metabolic disorders. For determination of LPL activity, a highly sensitive high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using a fluorescent reagent, 4-nitro-7-piperazino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-PZ) was applied to determinate the oleic acid (OA) generated from triolein by LPL activity without multiple solvents extraction step. We studied the optimal conditions of the reaction including the effect of emulsifiers, deproteinizing solvents, and the concentration of bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Anthropometric measures, plasma adiponectin, and breast cancer risk.

Adiponectin is a peptide hormone secreted exclusively by adipocytes, and obesity is an established risk factor for breast cancer. We have, thus, evaluated the associations of anthropometric measures of adiposity and adiponectin with the development of breast cancer in a case-control study. Questionnaire information, anthropometric measures, and blood samples were taken before treatment from 244 incident cases with breast cancer, including 141 premenopausal and 103 postmenopausal cases, and 244 controls admitted for health examination at the Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei between 2004 and 2005.

Breast cancer risk associated with multigenotypic polymorphisms in folate-metabolizing genes: a nested case-control study in Taiwan.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that multigenotypic polymorphisms in the folate metabolic pathway, which may result in genomic instability and inbalance of estrogen metabolism, were associated with breast cancer risk.

Patients And Methods: A population-based nested case-control study of 109 cases with pathologically confirmed invasive breast cancer and 421 cancer-free controls was conducted in Taiwan between 1992 and 2001. The polymorphisms in serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT1 C1420T), 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR C677T), and methionine synthase (MS A2756G) genes were examined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Health care utilization of home care patients at an academic medical center in Taiwan.

Background: Previous surveys of home care patients in Taiwan have primarily concentrated on patients' status and needs. The aim of this study was to review the actual health care utilization of home care patients during the course of 1 year.

Methods: Home care patients at an academic medical center in Taiwan were selected and their insurance claims data at this hospital in 2001 were analyzed.

Plasma homocysteine as a metabolic risk factor for breast cancer: findings from a case-control study in Taiwan.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is an intermediary product in methionine metabolism and an elevation in plasma Hcy is a sensitive biomarker for an imbalance in the integrated pathways of one-carbon metabolism. More recently, there has been interest in the potential links between total Hcy, folate and cancer. In this study, the association of plasma Hcy levels with the breast cancer risk was investigated.

Genetic polymorphisms of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene, plasma folate levels and breast cancer susceptibility: a case-control study in Taiwan.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) balances the pool of folate coenzymes in one-carbon metabolism for DNA synthesis and methylation, both are implicated in carcinogenesis. Two common variants in the MTHFR gene (C677T and A1298C) have been associated with reduced enzyme activity, thereby making MTHFR polymorphisms a potential candidate cancer-predisposing factor. To evaluate the C677T and A1298C functional polymorphisms in the MTHFR gene and their associations with breast cancer risk, as well as the potential modifying effect by plasma folate status on the MTHFR-associated risk, a hospital-based case-control study was conducted on a Taiwanese population consisting of 146 histologically confirmed incident breast cancer cases and their 285 age-matched controls without a history of cancer.

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression is higher in ovarian cancer tissue adjacent to endometriosis than in ovarian cancer without comorbid endometriosis.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine if COX-2, CK7 and CK20 are involved in the malignant transformation of endometriosis.

Methods: We compared COX-2, CK7 and CK20 expressions between isolated endometriosis lesions and endometriosis lesions adjacent to ovarian carcinoma and between isolated ovarian carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma with implants of endometriosis. Immunoreactivity was quantified using an immunohistochemical scoring system that corresponds to an image analysis-based system.

Stereoselective effects of 3-hydroxybutyrate on glucose utilization of rat cardiomyocytes.

In researches of ketone bodies, D-3-hydroxybutyrate (D-3HB) is usually the major one which has been investigated; in contrast, little attention has been paid to L-3-hydroxybutyrate (L-3HB), because of its presence in trace amounts, its dubious metabolism, and a lack of knowledge about its sources. In the present study we determined the distributions of enantiomers of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) in rat brain, liver, heart, and kidney homogenates, and we found the heart homogenate contained an enriched amount of L-3HB (37.67 microM/mg protein) which generated a significant ratio of 66/34 (D/L).

Polymorphic catechol-O-methyltransferase gene, duration of estrogen exposure, and breast cancer risk: a nested case-control study in Taiwan.

Background: Polymorphic catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) catalyzes the O-methylation of catechol estrogens, which are hypothesized to participate in estrogen-induced carcinogenesis.

Methods: We examined 87 cases and 341 population controls in Taiwan to determine the association between the functional genetic Val158Met polymorphism in membrane-bound form of COMT gene and female breast cancer risk. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by conditional logistic regression.

Hormonal and body-size factors in relation to breast cancer risk: a prospective study of 11,889 women in a low-incidence area.

Purpose: This prospective cohort study of 11,889 women was conducted to determine significant factors associated with the risk of breast cancer among Chinese women in Taiwan, a low-incidence area.

Methods: In-person interviews were completed for subjects to solicit information on hormonal factors. Measurements of height, weight, and waist-and- hip circumferences were performed by well-trained assistants using standardized techniques.

The MTHFR C677T polymorphism, estrogen exposure and breast cancer risk: a nested case-control study in Taiwan.

Background: We evaluated the effects of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and its interaction with estrogen exposure on breast cancer risk in a nested case-control study conducted in Taiwan.

Materials And Methods: A total of 88 histologically confirmed breast cancer cases and 344 cancer-free controls were recruited between July 1992 and December 2000. The MTHFR C677T genotype was determined by a PCR-RFLP-based assay.

Entrapped vaginal pessary presented with frequency and urge incontinence.

Pessaries remain helpful for patients with genital prolapse who refuse or are not able to have surgery due to medical complications. It is generally considered both conservative and safe to wear a vaginal pessary. Only a few cases of severe complications have been reported whereby most result from a neglected pessary.

Laparoscopic bipolar coagulation of uterine vessels to manage delayed postpartum hemorrhage.

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a big challenge for obstetricians. Fertility-preserving procedures are encouraged, especially in young women. Bilateral hypogastric (internal iliac) artery ligation, bilateral uterine artery ligation after vaginal delivery or after cesarean delivery, and uterine artery embolization are well documented vascular occlusive methods for treating PPH.

Antibiotic prescription for fever episodes in hospice patients.

Bacterial infection usually plays an important part in the fever episodes that are common in patients in the hospice palliative care unit. The physicians' attitude to use of antibiotics in such cases is usually complex. We retrospectively studied 535 admissions to a hospice and palliative care unit in a medical center in Taiwan.