Hypoxemia is a risk factor for bone mass loss.

Time-dependent changes of bone mass in ambulant chronic respiratory failure patients 60 or more years of age were compared between those on home oxygen therapy (HOT) and those still free of HOT (non-HOT). HOT (n = 31) showed initial PaO2 of slightly greater than 60 Torr and non-HOT (n = 32) had PaO2 moderately greater than 60 Torr (64.4 Torr vs 75.

Changes of serum calcitonin in stress load.

Calcitonin, one of the calcium-regulating hormones, is known to have diverse biological effects including those on the gastrointestinal tract. In this organ, the hormone is reported to inhibit gastric acid secretion, gastric motility, and gastrin secretion and to stimulate release of somatostatin, thereby exerting antiulcer and antilesion effects on stress-induced as well as other types of experimental gastric ulcers or lesions. This fact prompted us to examine changes in serum calcitonin concentration during the development of stress-induced gastric lesions in rats.

[Breast cancer with osteoblastic bone metastasis treated successfully with bisphosphonate: a case report].

A 52-year-old woman with painful osteoblastic bone metastasis received pamidronate therapy which resulted in marked pain relief with a normalization of elevated tumor marker levels. However, the patient complained of increased pain after the 26th pamidronate infusion. Although a change from pamidronate to alendronate therapy did not relieve bone pain, a second change from alendronate to incadronate therapy resulted in pain relief with a decrease in re-elevated tumor marker levels.

[Docetaxel therapy against anthracycline resistant breast cancer].

To evaluate the efficacy of docetaxel therapy against anthracycline-resistant breast cancer, twenty patients were treated with docetaxel. Of the 20 patients pretreated with anthracycline, 17 were clinically anthracycline-resistant and the remaining three were refractory to anthracycline on histoculture drug response assay. Nine patients had loco-regional recurrence and 11 had distant +/- loco-regional recurrence.

[A study of the safety of rapid infusion of alendronate].

To investigate the safety of rapid infusion of alendronate, we used alendronate therapy for 11 breast cancer patients with bone metastasis. Of the 11 patients, only 1 had hypercalcemia and the remaining 10 normocalcemia. Rapid infusion of alendronate consisted of an administration of alendronate 10 mg diluted in 100 ml saline in 30 minutes, and was repeated every two weeks.

Left postpneumonectomy syndrome successfully treated with endobronchial stent.

We describe a case of left pneumothorax-induced left postpneumonectomy syndrome in the absence of anatomical anomalies developing at 10 years after the operation. We placed an endobronchial stent into the right truncus intermidius and the procedure resulted in recovery of the syndrome. We consider endobronchial stent placement as an effective treatment for postpneumonectomy syndrome, especially when surgical management is not feasible.

[Breast cancer with liver metastasis responsive to docetaxel: case report].

A 59-year-old female underwent mastectomy for right breast cancer in November 1992. She received tamoxifen and anthracycline-containing chemotherapy as adjuvant therapy. In and after September 1994, she developed loco-regional recurrences five times in total, each of which was treated with surgery and conventional combination chemotherapy.

1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and all-trans-retinoic acid inhibit the growth of a lung cancer cell line.

The secosteroid 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) and retinoic acid are the major biologically active metabolites of vitamins D and A, respectively. Their antitumor activity has been observed in several cancer cells in vitro apart from lung cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible effects of the agents on lung cancer cell lines.

[Five cases of myelodysplastic syndrome treated with cytarabine ocfosfate].

Five cases of myelodysplastic syndrome were treated with cytarabine ocfosfate. Ocfosfate (100-200 mg) was orally administered for 14 days with 14 days' interval. Etoposide was combined in one case, and nartograstim was added in two cases.

[A case of chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to long term exposure to toluene diisocyanate].

A 55-year-old paint sprayer, who had been working with paint containing toluence diisocyanate since age 20, was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of exertional dyspnea. Physical examination revealed clubbed fingers, and fine crackles were audible in both lower lung fields. The thoracic CT film showed diffuse linear and ringed shadows in both lung fields.

[Influence of age on mouse pulmonary alveolar macrophage clonal growth].

Although monocyte influx has been suggested as the primary source of pulmonary alveolar macrophages (AM), increasing evidence from recent studies has indicated that AM may be sustained through a self-renewal mechanism. We evaluated the age-related changes of the clonal growth (colony formation) of AM in mice (C57BL/6N mice and senescence accelerated mice). The colony forming unit (CFU) of AM of 24 month old C57BL/6N mice was lower than that of AM of 4-month-old mice (p < 0.

Effect of aging on plasma 1,5-anhydroglucitol levels in humans and rats.

Since normal reference values change with age in some clinical parameters, we measured the plasma levels of 1,5-anhydroglucitol (AG), a new marker of glycemic control in diabetes mellitus, in healthy subjects and in rats. Our results showed a significantly negative correlation of the marker with age in humans and that the plasma AG levels of older rats were markedly lower than those of younger counterparts. This remarkable reduction of AG in the older rat group can be partially explained by our finding that aged animals excreted AG more rapidly in the urine than younger ones, besides a decrease in food intake.

Effect of ageing on erythrocyte aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase activity.

We measured erythrocyte aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase activity in erythrocytes in healthy individuals aged from 16 to 91 years to determine the mechanism of age-dependent sorbitol accumulation. Erythrocyte aldose reductase activity increased significantly with age but ageing had no effect on sorbitol dehydrogenase activity. Age and the aldose reductase/sorbitol dehydrogenase ratio were positively correlated.

[Effects of aerosol oxitropium bromide and fenoterol on maximal exercise capacity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and their correlation with air flow during exercise and with parameters of maximal exercise].

To examine the effects of bronchodilators on maximal exercise capacity and their correlation with airflow during exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we conducted a double-blind, randomized comparison between inhaled fenoterol (beta 2-agonist) and oxitropium bromide (anticholinergic agent) in 8 patients with stable COPD (mean age 73 years, mean FEV1 1.1 L, mean FEV1% 50%). Only oxitropium bromide resulted in statistically significant improvement in FEV1 40 min after inhalation.

[A case of Wegener's granulomatosis complicated by hypopituitarism].

A 71-year-old male complaining of chest pain was admitted to our hospital. A single cavitary mass shadow was observed on chest X-ray films. Urinalysis revealed microscopic hematuria.

Idiopathic acute eosinophilic pneumonia.

A previously healthy young man presented with acute respiratory distress, high fever and bilateral ground-glass appearance on chest radiograph. Bronchoalveolar lavage analysis demonstrated significant eosinophilia (72%) with no evidence of infection. The transbronchial lung biopsy showed that the walls of bronchioli and alveolar septa were markedly infiltrated with eosinophils.

[A case of primary intrapulmonary benign schwannoma].

A case of primary intrapulmonary schwannoma was described. A 72-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of dry cough. A chest radiograph showed partial atelectasis of the middle lobe, but computed tomogram of the chest revealed no tumor shadow.

Serum lactic dehydrogenase and its isoenzymes in patients with ovarian dysgerminoma.

Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) is a glycolytic enzyme that may be elevated in the serum of patients with gonadal and extragonadal germinomas. In this report, a case of unilateral ovarian pure dysgerminoma with remarkably elevated levels of serum LDH is presented. After complete excision of the tumor, serum LDH levels promptly returned to normal levels.