[Effect of blood conservation in open-heart surgery: a comparison of 3 different methods].

Conventional blood conservation techniques have been insufficient to decrease blood transfusion requirement in open-heart surgery. Blood conservation and erythropoietin administration were performed to avoid homologous blood transfusion. Intraoperative autotransfusion has been routinely used in cardiac operations with cardiopulmonary bypass in our hospital.

Protection against lipid peroxidation induced during preservation of lungs for transplantation.

The questions of whether oxygen-derived free radicals are induced during preservation of lungs and, if so, how such radicals might relate to reperfusion injury were investigated by means of an isolated canine lung model. Lungs were obtained from 16 mongrel dogs and divided into groups 1 (n = 6), 2 (n = 5), and 3 (n = 5). The lungs of groups 1, 2, and 3 were flushed through the pulmonary artery with Euro-Collins solution alone, the solution with superoxide dismutase (120,000 U/L), and the solution with allopurinol (1 mmol/L), respectively, at 4 degrees C and then stored for 4 hours in the respective solutions at 4 degrees C with clamped bronchi.

[Coronary artery bypass surgery-redo operation particularly in patients with a functioning ITA graft or with a patent atheromatous vein graft].

An experience with redo-CABG in 20 patients is described. The incidence of reoperation in patients undergoing primary CABG in our hospital was 1.4%, relatively low even in Japanese population.

Intravenous leiomyomatosis extending into the right atrium.

Intravenous leiomyomatosis, also called benign leiomyoma, is a rare tumour that originates from a uterine myoma and spreads intravenously. A 54-year-old woman who had experienced faintness after a hysterectomy for uterine myoma 10 years earlier presented with this lesion. Ultrasonographic, computed tomographic and angiographic examination revealed a long tumour that originated in the uterus and extended into the right atrium through the right internal iliac vein and inferior vena cava.

Structural elements influencing von Willebrand factor (vWF) binding affinity for platelet glycoprotein Ib within a dispase-digested vWF fragment.

We investigated the structural elements in human von Willebrand factor (vWF) that influence binding affinity for platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib using a dispase-digested vWF fragment as a prototype (residues Leu480/Val481-Gly718 of the vWF subunit; Andrews et al, Biochemistry 28:8326, 1989). The major structural features of this fragment are a large A1-loop formed by an intrachain disulfide bond between Cys509 and Cys695 and six O-linked sugar chains. The fragment was chemically modified by (1) reduction and S-carboxyamido-methylation (R/A), (2) desialylation (DS), or (3) a combination of both (R/A-DS).

[Allograft (homograft) valve surgery: current status in Japan].

The advance of cryopreservation techniques has dramatically increased the durability of human allograft valves, resulting in the wide-spread use of allograft valves in many western countries except Japan. The superiority of the allograft valve to other prosthetic valves has become apparent in some specific situations such as active endocarditis, small aortic root and hemorrhagic conditions. In this manuscript, we described the setting-up of the cryopreservation laboratory, quality control and the clinical use of allograft valves in our institute.

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty of the left internal thoracic artery graft: a case report in a child.

A 9-year-old girl who had undergone previous coronary artery bypass surgery at the age of 3.5 years for stenoses of the left anterior descending and right coronary arteries resulting from Kawasaki disease presented with recurrent exertional angina. Stenosis was found at the anastomosis of the left internal thoracic artery to the left anterior descending artery.

[Myocardial protection during multiple coronary artery bypass grafting--a comparison of antegrade and combined antegrade-retrograde cardioplegia].

We compared the effectiveness of antegrade cardioplegia (A group, 100 cases) and combined antegrade-retrograde cardioplegia (A + R group, 66 cases) on myocardial protection in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting for more than 3 vessels. The two groups were similar in patients' age, the extent of coronary artery diseases and preoperative risk factors, cardiac output and ejection fractions. The mean number of grafts was 3.

[Efficacy of GRF (gelatin-resorcin-formalin) glue on surgery for type A aortic dissection].

The tissue biological adhesive GRF glue has been used in our department to have dissected aortic layers adhered and to reinforce the dissected aortic stumps during surgery for aortic dissection. From May 1992 to August 1993, 12 patients were operated for type A aortic dissection; 4 patients with acute dissection and 8 patients with chronic dissection. There were 5 men and 7 women whose ages ranged from 51 to 69 years with an average of 60.

Effects of novobiocin on the induction of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase positive foci in the liver of rats treated with diethylnitrosamine.

Effects of novobiocin on the induction of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase(GGT)-positive foci, an early lesion occurring during hepatocarcinogenesis, after diethylnitrosamine(DEN) initiation were investigated in Fischer 344 rats. Animals were given DEN at a dose of 20 mg/kg b. w.

[Reoperative coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with patent internal thoracic artery grafts].

The incidence of reoperative coronary artery bypass grafting (reCABG) is recently increasing. However, there has been no report of reCABG in patients with patent internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts in Japan. We performed reCABG in three such patients with patent ITA grafts.

Epstein-Barr virus in patients with polymorphic reticulosis (lethal midline granuloma) from China and Japan.

Background: Polymorphic reticulosis is one of several diseases constituting lethal midline granuloma (LMG). Previous immunohistochemical studies suggested a T-cell nature of proliferating cells; the term nasal T-cell lymphoma (NTL-LMG) has since been used widely. The authors' previous study in Asian countries showed the clustering of Mongolian patients with NTL-LMG, but the frequency varied with geographic area; it was much higher in Korea and southwest Japan (Okinawa) than in Shanghai and Honshu, Japan.

[Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for stenosis of coronary artery bypass grafts: a comparison of arterial grafts versus vein grafts with regard to restenosis and re-do CABG].

Stenoses of ten arterial grafts and thirty-four venous grafts from previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. In all ten arterial grafts, stenosis occurred at the distal coronary anastomotic site (A-d). In vein grafts, stenosis occurred at the proximal aortic anastomotic site (V-p) in 10, at the graft body (V-b) in 9 and the distal coronary anastomotic site (V-d) in 10 vessels.

Carcinoma of stomach and breast with lymphoid stroma: localisation of Epstein-Barr virus.

Aims: To determine the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome in six patients (three with gastric and three with breast carcinoma) with severe small lymphoid cell infiltration.

Methods: The polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridisation were used to detect EBV genome. The number and distribution of T and B lymphocytes were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

Inhibition by catechol and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate of pancreatic carcinogenesis after initiation with N-nitrosobis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine in Syrian hamsters.

The effects of dietary administration of catechol (CC), paramethylcatechol (PMC) and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) were compared with that of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) in Syrian hamsters initiated with N-nitrosobis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine (BHP). Development of pancreatic atypical hyperplasias and adenocarcinomas in terms of combined multiplicity was significantly reduced by CC and DEHP. A similar slight but non-significant tendency was observed for BHA, while PMC was without effect.

[The relationship between postoperative changes of exercise capacity and pulmonary blood flow in the residual lung after lobectomy of the lung].

The purpose of this study is to investigate a relationship between the postoperative change of exercise capacity judged by the change of peal oxygen consumption and the pulmonary blood flow of the residual lung after lobectomy. Twenty eight patients undergoing lobectomy for lung cancer received an exercise tolerance test and 99mTc-MAA perfusion lung scans before and after lobectomy. The change rate in the peak level of oxygen consumption (peak VO2) did not differ depending on the number of resected sub-segments.

Long-term outcome of myocardial revascularization in patients with Kawasaki coronary artery disease. A multicenter cooperative study.

The long-term outcome of myocardial revascularization by coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with severe coronary obstruction caused by Kawasaki disease is largely unknown. A multicenter follow-up study was performed in 1991. A total of 168 patients with Kawasaki disease (127 male [75.

Comparison of cardiac rejection in heart and heart-lung concordant xenotransplantation.

Clinical observations indicate that in heart-lung grafting the heart is less frequently rejected than in heart grafting alone. In addition, our results of allograft experiments indicated that the graft survival period is longer in the former (11.8 +/- 0.

Purification and characterization of bothrombin, a fibrinogen-clotting serine protease from the venom of Bothrops jararaca.

A fibrinogen-clotting enzyme (bothrombin) was purified from the venom of Bothrops jararaca. Bothrombin showed M(r) values of 33,000 under nonreducing and 35,000 under reducing conditions on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and specific fibrinogen-clotting activity equivalent to 814-904 NIH alpha-thrombin units/mg. Diisopropyl fluorophosphate totally abolished its activity, but hirudin, a specific alpha-thrombin inhibitor, had negligible effect on bothrombin activity.

Hemodynamic assessment during exercise after left ventricular aneurysmectomy.

The exercise hemodynamics of eight patients who underwent cardiac catheterization were assessed at rest and during exercise, before and after left ventricular aneurysmectomy by the classical technique. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume increased before operation and then significantly decreased after the operation (p < 0.05).

Autoradiographic measurement of regional brainstem blood flow: occlusion of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery.

Autoradiography was used to measure regional brainstem blood flow in Wistar rats following permanent left anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) occlusion. With the AICA occluded, blood flow to the left vestibular nucleus decreased 31% while flow to the left cochlear nucleus decreased 47% when compared to the right (unobstructed) side. In the rat, the median pontine branch of the basilar artery was found to provide the principal blood supply to the vestibular nucleus.

Comparative effects of milk, yogurt, butter, and margarine on mammary tumorigenesis induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene in rats.

The effects of margarine and butter on mammary tumorigenesis were compared in the first experiment. Altering the levels of dietary margarine and butter influenced the development of mammary tumors induced with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) in rats. Margarine enhanced tumorigenesis dose dependently in both the incidence and the number of mammary tumors.

[Cardiac function following left ventricular aneurysm repair--comparison between patch reconstruction and direct closure methods].

Left ventricular function was compared between two groups of patients who underwent patch reconstruction or direct closure of the ventricular wall following resection of a post-infarction left ventricular aneurysm (LVA). There were 15 and 9 patients in the respective groups. Coronary artery bypass grafting was additionally performed in 8 patients (53%) in the patch reconstruction group and 5 patients (56%) in the direct closure group.