[Fast-track management for conventional coronary artery bypass surgery].

Background: Recent introduction of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) emphasizes the advantage of early hospital discharge. Fast-track management using epidural block and autologous fresh blood transfusion might be possible in conventional CABG.

Methods: Fast-track anesthesia using high thoracic and lumbar epidural analgesia and pre-CPB autologous fresh blood transfusion was used in 19 patients undergoing on-pump CABG.

[Percutaneous tracheostomy for the management of the patient with a difficult airway].

Background: In recent years, percutaneous tracheostomy has been performed in patients with adverse conditions such as short neck, obesity, coagulopathy or in emergency.

Methods: We performed percutaneous tracheostomy with Griggs' or Ciaglia's technique in five patients with difficult airways due to laryngeal tumors, a laryngeal edema, a neck cancer or a cervical injury.

Results: Well-trained anesthesiologists performed all procedures.

Quantitative evaluation of signal intensity of magnetic resonance images in optic neuritis.

We have evaluated the signal intensity of magnetic resonance (MR) images of the optic nerve quantitatively in 25 patients with unilateral acute optic neuritis (ON). MR imaging was performed with a 1.5 Tesla unit before treatment within 2 weeks after the onset of ON.

Psoriatic skin expresses the transcription factor Gli1: possible contribution of decreased neurofibromin expression.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of skin characterized by hyperproliferation of keratinocytes. Intracellular signalling pathways inducing the hyperproliferation of keratinocytes remain to be elucidated. An inhibitor of Hedgehog (Hh) signalling, cyclopamine, was recently reported to clear psoriatic skin lesions, suggesting involvement of the Hh signalling pathway in the hyperproliferation of lesional keratinocytes.

The importance of bacterial superantigens produced by Staphylococcus aureus in the treatment of atopic dermatitis using povidone-iodine.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is frequently associated with intestinal and cervical lesions. Staphylococcus aureus produces many kinds of toxins, the bacterial superantigens. The detection rate of toxins was 80.

Adenocarcinoma with peritoneal dissemination secondary to multiple mature teratomas of the omentum.

Background: Teratomas of the greater omentum are rare. In most cases, they are composed of mature tissue elements and behave clinically in a benign fashion.

Case: A 62-year-old woman with a history of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy due to ectopic pregnancy was found to have multiple cystic teratomas of the omentum.

Plexiform neurofibromas express the transcription factor Gli1.

Background: Plexiform neurofibromas occur commonly in individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and consist of neurofibromatous change in multiple nerve fascicles. Previously, we had observed that both plexiform neurofibromas and normal cutaneous nerves expressed Hedgehogs (Hhs), which are intercellular signaling molecules and regulate growth and patterning during embryonic development, and their receptors. In the present study, we examined the expression of Gli1, a transcription factor which mediates Hh signaling to investigate the activation of Hh signaling in plexiform neurofibromas and normal cutaneous nerves.

[Pulmonary infection with Nocardia species: a report of 10 cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinical features of pulmonary nocardiosis.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed ten consecutive patients (5 men, 5 women; aged 25 to 80 years (average 49.3 years)) with confirmed bacteriological pulmonary nocardiosis from 1998 to 2003.