Apoptosis of acinar cells in the pancreas of rats fed on a copper-depleted diet.

Male Fischer 344 rats weighing 80-90 g were fed on a copper-depleted diet supplemented with 0.6% triethylenetetramine tetrahydrochloride (a copper chelator), and the death of pancreatic acinar cells of these rats was investigated morphologically and biochemically. The weight of the pancreas of these rats decreased from 3 weeks after feeding, and concomitantly the percentage of dead acinar cells increased to the maximum in about the 5th week and decreased subsequently.

Addition of cisapride shortens colonoscopy preparation with lavage in elderly patients.

Methods: The effect of pre-treatment with cisapride on colonoscopy preparation with lavage solution was compared in 120 out-patients less than 60 years and 73 out-patients 60 years or older, who were scheduled for total colonoscopy. By random allocation, patients were assigned to receive cisapride 10 mg or placebo 30 minutes before ingesting the magnesium citrate lavage solution.

Results: The cleansing results and patients' acceptance did not differ significantly in the two treatment groups in either age group.

[Family make-up is associated with the admission rate of stroke patients--difference between Kochi and Shimane Prefectures and in a rural community].

Kochi Prefecture had a higher admission rate for patients with cardiovascular disease, particularly for stroke, than Shimane Prefecture which has a similar socio-economic level. Kochi Prefecture had a smaller average number of persons in a household, a lower proportion of three generation households, and a lower proportion of households with six persons or more than Shimane Prefecture. The decline in number of persons in a household was greater in Kochi Prefecture than in Shimane Prefecture from 1960 to 1985, especially between 1970 and 1975.

Clonal analysis of parathyroid adenomas by means of the polymerase chain reaction.

Clonality of parathyroid adenomas and normal parathyroid glands was analyzed by a method based on restriction fragment length polymorphism of the X-chromosome-linked phosphoglycerokinase (PGK) gene and on random inactivation of the gene by methylation. Through the introduction of the polymerase chain reaction to this method, clonal analysis could be performed on small DNA samples prepared from cryostat sections of these specimens. Every normal parathyroid gland was found to be polyclonal while every parathyroid adenoma was found to be monoclonal.

Differentiation of primary and secondary breast cancer with clonal analysis.

Background: It is often difficult to draw a firm conclusion as to whether the second breast cancer is primary or secondary (metastasis from the initial breast cancer) in a patient with metachronous bilateral breast cancer. In this study we have applied clonal analysis of breast cancer to distinguish whether the second breast cancer is primary or secondary.

Methods: A 54-year-old woman underwent modified radical mastectomy of the right breast as a result of breast cancer.

Clonal analysis of predominantly intraductal carcinoma and precancerous lesions of the breast by means of polymerase chain reaction.

Clonality of predominantly intraductal carcinoma (PIC) and precancerous lesions of the breast was analyzed by a method based on restriction fragment length polymorphism of the X-chromosome-linked phosphoglycerokinase gene and on random inactivation of the gene by methylation. The application of polymerase chain reaction to this method enabled clonal analysis of small lesions. In order to eliminate the contamination by normal stromal cells, intraductal components were microdissected from the frozen sections of PIC under a dissection microscope.

Surgical treatment of adrenal metastasis following pulmonary resection for lung cancer: comparison of adrenalectomy with palliative therapy.

Although adrenal metastases from lung cancer are frequently detected during the late clinical stage or at autopsy, they are rarely surgically treated following pulmonary resection for lung cancer. We detected adrenal lesions as initial clinical recurrence in 9 (1%) of 904 patients who underwent pulmonary resection for lung cancer at our institute between 1980 and 1992. Adrenalectomy was performed in five who had developed unilateral adrenal metastasis.

Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis: CT findings.

Two patients with primary pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis are presented. In both cases, the sigmoid colon was involved and there were no major complications. On computed tomography (CT), at lung window settings, the gas cysts in the colonic wall were clearly delineated.

Radiation therapy for brain metastases from lung carcinoma. Prospective randomized trial according to the level of lactate dehydrogenase.

Purpose: Since September 1980 we have been conducting a prospective randomized trial to determine the best treatment schedule for radiation therapy (XRT) on brain metastasis from lung carcinoma. The first trial (September 1980 to December 1984) was randomly allocated by two different time-dose radiotherapy schemes, i.e.

Spinal canal stenosis at the level of the atlas: case report.

We describe a rare case of cervical canal stenosis at the level of the atlas, presenting with cervical myelopathy as an initial symptom. A 55-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a 4-month history of gait disturbance and clumsiness in both hands. He had no history of trauma, and showed left-sided hemihyperesthesia and mild quadriplegia with exaggerated deep tendon reflexes.

Unresponsiveness of antidonor cytotoxic T cells in a long-term stable renal transplant recipient.

The antidonor immune response was examined in a one haplotype-mismatched renal transplant recipient with an allograft that had been well-functioning for more than 10 years. Although the relative response of the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was (45.8)% and the MLR responder cells stimulated by donor cells produced measurable amounts of interleukin-2 (IL-2) (11.

[An improved method for determination of C-peptide levels in serum: pretreatment of test samples with anti-insulin antibody insolubilized with magnetic particles].

RIA using anti-C-peptide antibody has been employed for determination of C-peptide in serum. However, the level by this method is a sum of the levels of C-peptide and proinsulin, because anti-C-peptide cross-reacts with proinsulin. This time we developed an improved assay for C-peptide, in which a test sample is pretreated with anti-insulin antibody to eliminate proinsulin in samples before C-peptide assay.

Marked increase of CD8+S6F1+ and CD8+CD57+ cells in patients with graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from 24 allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients were studied serially using flow cytometry and two-color analysis. Dual labelling with two monoclonal antibodies (moAbs), CD8/S6F1 (CD11a) and CD8/CD57 was used to analyze the surface phenotypes of PBL after allogeneic BMT. In patients with acute and chronic GVHD, CD8+S6F1+ cells were markedly increased from the onset of GVHD and recovered to normal range 6 years after transplantation.

Distribution of C3-step regulatory proteins of the complement system, CD35 (CR1), CD46 (MCP), and CD55 (DAF), in hematological malignancies.

The distribution and levels of three membrane proteins, CD35, CD46, and CD55, which serve as complement regulators, were examined in normal peripheral blood and hematologically malignant cells. CD35 was negative in most leukemia cells regardless of the type of leukemia, although granulocytes, monocytes, and some populations of lymphocytes were CD35+. CD46 was present in all blood cells except erythrocytes, and levels were 2-8 times higher in most leukemia cells than in their mature counterparts, particularly in CML and CLL cells, except for those of B cell lineage.

[Myelin basic protein in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neurological disease: especially with malignant brain tumors].

Myelin basic protein (MBP) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with brain tumors and other neurological diseases was measured before, during and after various treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and irradiation. We assessed the significance of changes in the MBP levels during the course of treatment, and speculate on what the elevated level of MBP in brain tumor patients indicates. In meningeal dissemination of malignant tumors, meningeal carcinomatosis from cancer of the systemic organ showed the highest level of MBP followed by meningeal gliomatosis and meningeal lymphoma.

Angiostatic activities of medroxyprogesterone acetate and its analogues.

The effects of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) (I) and related compounds (II-VI) upon angiogenesis induced by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) were investigated using a rabbit corneal system for assay of angiogenesis. Dexamethasone (Dex) was used as a positive control. The MPA analogues tested were 6,6'-dehydro-MPA (II), megestrol acetate (III), 1-dehydromegestrol acetate (IV), melengestrol acetate (V), and 1-dehydromelengestrol acetate (VI).

Monoamine oxidase B inhibitor enhances experimental carcinogenesis in rat colon induced by azoxymethane.

The effects of prolonged administration of the monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A inhibitor N-methyl-N-propargyl-3-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)propylamine (clorgyline) and the MAO-B inhibitor N-methyl-N-2-propynyl-benzylamine (pargyline) on the incidence, number and histology of colon tumors induced by azoxymethane (AOM), and on the norepinephrine (NE) concentration in the colon wall and the labeling index of colon mucosa were investigated in Wistar rats. Rats were treated s.c.

Isolation and characterization of a growth inhibitory factor from hamster liver.

Among lysates from various organs and tissues of adult hamsters only lysates from liver demonstrated an inhibitory effect on the cell growth of SV40-transformed hamster fibroblasts in culture. Lysates from the liver of fetal hamsters and those from 7-day-old hamsters did not demonstrate any inhibitory effect on the cell growth. Lysates from the remnant liver 3 days after partial hepatectomy did not show any inhibitory effect on the cell growth but lysates from the remnant liver 14 days after the operation came to show an appreciable inhibitory effect on the cell growth.

Photodynamic therapy for superficial esophageal cancer using an excimer dye laser.

In order to improve the therapeutic effectiveness of photodynamic therapy with Photofrin II and laser light for superficial esophageal cancer, we employed an excimer dye laser instead of an argon dye laser. Eight superficial esophageal cancer lesions (7 cases) were treated. Of these 8 lesions, 6 were cured by initial treatment, while one lesion required another treatment.

Selective intra-arterial chemotherapy with a combination of etoposide and cisplatin for malignant gliomas: preliminary report.

We administered selective intra-arterial chemotherapy consisting of a combination of etoposide and cisplatin to 20 patients with malignant glioma (seven with recurrent and six with enlarged tumors after initial treatment, and seven newly diagnosed patients). Evaluation of efficacy was based on computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging findings. In the process of establishing a safe technique for superselective intra-arterial chemotherapy, we encountered cerebrovascular accidents in two patients (after etoposide in one and after etoposide plus cisplatin in the other).

[Planned combination therapy of coronary artery bypass and PTCA in ischemic heart disease].

Concomitant planned therapy consisting of a coronary artery bypass operation and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was attempted to shorten the period of cardiac arrest and make operations safer in patients undergoing emergency coronary artery bypass operations or coronary artery bypass operations in cases of significantly reduced left ventricle function or small perfusion lesions. The bypass operation was performed to treat only the main lesion and PTCA was undertaken 1-2 months later for coronary revascularization to treat secondary lesions. Finally, complete coronary revascularization was achieved.

[Pharmacokinetics of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid cisplatin in patients with malignant glioma and metastatic brain tumor after selective intraarterial or intravenous and intracarotid administration of etoposide and cisplatin].

CSF and plasma platinum levels were examined in patients with malignant glioma after administration of etoposide and cisplatin each at doses of 60 mg/m2 by 60-minute selective intraarterial infusion. These same factors were also examined in patients with metastatic brain tumors after administration of cisplatin at a dose of 60 or 100mg/m2 by 60-minute intracarotid or intravenous infusion. Plasma and CSF samples taken through an Ommaya reservoir placed in the lateral ventricle or postoperative cavity were analyzed for platinum content by atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Gastric cancer in young adults: growth accelerating effect of pregnancy and delivery.

The relationship between pregnancy and/or delivery (p&d) and the stage of gastric cancer was studied in 64 female and 57 male patients aged 34 or younger with gastric cancer. Gastric cancer diagnosed within 2 years after p&d (group A, 20 patients) was more progressive (unresectable in 20%) than those of the other young female patients with children (group B, 24 patients; 5%) or without children (group C, 20; 0%), or young male patients (group D, 57; 3%) (P < 0.05).

Antitumor effect of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor on human testicular tumors heterotransplanted in nude mice.

The antitumor effect of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (rHu-TNF) on 2 human testicular tumors (embryonal carcinoma, TTSC-1, and teratocarcinoma, TTSC-4) heterotransplanted in nude mice was studied. Therapeutic antitumor effect was observed more evidently in TTSC-1 than TTSC-4 when more than 5 x 10(3) U/mouse of rHu-TNF was administered intratumorally. Complete tumor regression was observed in both TTSC-1 and TTSC-4 after intratumoral administration of rHu-TNF.