Syringocystadenoma papilliferum associated with apocrine poroma.

A 65-year-old Japanese man presented with a gradually enlarging mass on the right side of the abdomen, which he had first noticed about 4 years previously. He was otherwise asymptomatic. Histopathological examination of the mass revealed an aggregation of neoplastic cells (tumor cell nests) with cellular proliferation extending from the epidermis to the dermis.

Expression of smooth muscle proteins in cavernous and arteriovenous malformations.

Cavernous malformations (CVMs) and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) were immunostained for three smooth muscle cell (SMC)-specific protein markers (smooth muscle alpha-actin, SM1 and SM2). Smooth muscle alpha-actin, a widely used marker of SMCs, is reportedly one of the earliest proteins expressed during differentiation of SMCs and expressed in some kinds of mesoderm-derived cells. In contrast, SM1, an isoform of myosin heavy chain (MHC), is detected only in SMCs.

Interpretation and enantiomer analysis of methamphetamine abusers' urine and illegally brewed methamphetamine crystals.

This study deals with the high-performance liquid chromatographic identification of methamphetamine (MAMP) and amphetamine (AMP) enantiomers (d- and l-forms) in five illicit MAMP crystals and in urine specimens from 30 Japanese MAMP abusers. The analysis revealed that two of the types of crystals have a different optical purity ratio (l/d) and the other three have a single crystal of either the d- or l-enantiomer. The l/d ratios of two types of crystals were 0.

A lethal osteochondrodysplasia with mesomelic brachymelia, round pelvis, and congenital hepatic fibrosis: two siblings born to consanguineous parents.

We report a hitherto unknown, lethal osteochondrodysplasia in two Japanese siblings born to consanguineous parents. The skeletal abnormalities are characterised by mesomelic brachymelia with bowed forearms, a round pelvis with shortened greater sciatic notches, an ossification defect of the pubic bones, and absence of ossification centers in the cervical vertebral bodies. The associated visceral anomalies comprised periportal fibrosis and cystic dysplasia of the intrahepatic bile ducts, pancreatic ductal ectasia, a simple renal cyst, microcephaly with multifocal laminar necrosis and ectopic gray matter, dysplastic tracheobronchial cartilage, abnormal lobulation of the lung, diaphragmatic hernia, and stenotic pulmonary valve.