Radial flow bioreactor for the creation of bioartificial liver and kidney.

A radial flow bioreactor (RFB) is used for a three-dimensional perfusion culture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and renal cells, to create a bioartificial liver and kidney. The cylindrical reactor is filled with porous cellulose microcarrier. RFB can be characterized as a system in which the medium flows from the periphery toward the center of the reactor, thereby delivering an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients to cells at the center as well as at the periphery.

Augmentation index in heart disease.

New techniques for the evaluation of specific components of blood pressure waveforms have been shown to have broad applications in cardiology. One of the more useful parameters of pressure wave analysis is the augmentation index (AI), which measures the interaction of the forward pressure wave with reflected waves from the distal circulation. Analysis of AI and associated wave functions show differences related to cardiac risk, the presence of disease, and the effects of drug administration.

Radiofrequency ablation of unresectable hepatic malignancies.

Since radiation and chemotherapy have little impact on survival and no prospect for cure, surgery offers the best potentially option in patients with liver tumors. However, a lot of patients with liver tumors is not resectable due to stage combined with health problems, or poor liver function reserve. In this study, our preliminary clinical reports in patients with unresectable liver tumors treatment with RFA have demonstrated radiologic evidence of tumor necrosis and complications.

Identification of an alternative splicing transcript for the resistin gene and distribution of its mRNA in human tissue.

Objective: Adipocytes secrete a number of molecules such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, leptin and free fatty acids that can influence the ability of the body to metabolize glucose. Recently, a novel 12.5 kDa cysteine-rich protein, termed resistin, was shown to be secreted by adipocytes.

[Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody(ANCA)].

ANCA are associated with small sized vessel vasculitis; one subtype is an antibody against myeloperoxidase(MPO), which stains in a perinuclear pattern(P-ANCA) indirect immunofluorescence(IIF) using a neutrophil substrate, and the other subtype is an antibody against proteinase-3(PR-3), which stains in a diffuse granular cytoplasmic pattern ANCA by IIF. PR-3 ANCA is more specific in Wegener's granulomatosis(WG) than the other primary vasculitides. MPO-ANCA can be found in microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), Churg Strauss Syndromes(CSS), drug-induced vasculitis, and environmental factor-induced such as silicosis vasculitis more frequently than WG.

Clinical features of medical pneumomediastinum.

Purpose: The clinical features of pneumomediastinum are clarified.

Methods: Eight patients with pneumomediastinum, caused by other than trauma or operative, diagnostic, or therapeutic trouble (medical pneumomediastinum), were studied retrospectively.

Results: There were seven men and one woman with an average age of 17.

Colloid osmotic pressure (COP) can be a good indicator of occurrence of vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of measurement of colloid osmotic pressure (COP) directly concerned with cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Material/methods: The subjects were 20 patients who received clipping operation within 48 hours after onset. We conducted a two weeks monitoring of COP measured directly by osmometer and evaluated serum concentrations of albumin at the same time.

Recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the breast with undifferentiated features: report of a case.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the breast is a rare type of cancer, the origin of which is still uncertain. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the breast with a recurrent tumor that showed undifferentiated features. The patient was a 55-year-old woman who originally presented with a left breast mass in the upper outer quadrant.

Pregnancy complicated with Bartter's syndrome: a case report.

Bartter's syndrome is a rare renal disorder, and since there are few case reports of Bartter's syndrome complicating pregnancy are few, the changes of electrolytes and hormonal metabolism during pregnancy are unknown. We describe and discuss the course of pregnancy complicated with Bartter's syndrome.

[Evaluation for factors associated to early tracheal extubation after coronary artery bypass grafting].

Recent studies suggest that early tracheal extubation after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) may reduce intensive care unit use and cost. During recent two years, 96 patients were underwent CABG under cardiopulmonary bypass by low-dose fentanyl and isoflurane anesthesia. We compared two groups of patients for evaluation of factors associated to early tracheal extubation.

Successful surgical removal of an intrapulmonary aberrant needle under fluoroscopic guidance: report of a case.

We describe herein the successful surgical removal of an intrapulmonary aberrant needle. An asymptomatic 47-year-old woman underwent a routine chest X-ray which revealed a needle located in the right S8 area. We first tried to extract the needle; however, fluoroscopic examination confirmed that it had broken into two pieces and therefore, partial resection of the right S8 was performed.

C-type natriuretic peptide concentrations in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background: Cerebral vasospasm is a poor resulting outcome of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm; to clarify the mechanism of vasospasm it is important to improve this outcome. C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is present in the brain as a cerebral vasodilator; it is also an endothelium-derived relaxing factor produced via cGMP. We speculated that CNP might be an inhibitor of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

[Prediction of the clinical efficacy of hepatic arterial chemotherapy for metastatic hepatic cancer by intraarterial infusion of 99mTc-MIBI].

SPECT was performed in 11 patients with metastatic hepatic cancer by intraarterial infusion of 99mTc-MIBI before hepatic arterial chemotherapy was started, and the degree of accumulation and clinical efficacy were compared. Early and delayed SPECT images were obtained and various parameters were calculated, including early ratio (ER), delayed ratio (DR), washout rate (WR), and retention index (RI). Judgement of clinical efficacy was made by CT before and after hepatic arterial chemotherapy and was classified as effective, unchanged, and progressive groups.

Graphical comparison of coronary arterial culprit lesions in acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina pectoris.

Objective: The culprit lesion morphology at acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and unstable angina pectoris (UAP) was investigated by observing the responsible vessels through intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) during the acute stage.

Methods: As the subjects of study, 54 lesions of 54 ACS patients (26 in AMI patients, 28 in UAP patients) were enrolled prospectively from June 1994 to June 1998. The appearance of plaque in the lesion, the distal and proximal sites, extent of calcification, eccentricity, remodeling and shrinkage were observed through IVUS before the intervention.