Lenalidomide in the management of eosinophilic dermatosis of hematological malignancy

Eosinophilic dermatosis of hematological malignancy is a paraneoplastic skin eruption associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other B‐cell malignancies. It clinically resembles an insect bite reaction and it can precede the symptoms of the hematological malignancy or be related to a more aggressive course. Different treatments have been proposed, but partial response and recurrence are frequent. Herein, we describe a case of eosinophilic dermatosis associated with mantle cell lymphoma with remission after lenalidomide therapy.     

Prostaglandin el attenuates impairment of cellular immunity after cardiopulmonary bypass

OBJECTIVE: It is well documented that cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) severely impairs cellular immunity. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on cellular immunity after CPB. METHODS: Patients who underwent elective cardiac surgery were randomly divided into the PGE1 group (n=12) and the control group (n=12). In the PGE1 group, PGE1 was administered at 20 ng/kg/min from just after the induction of anesthesia to the end of surgery. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were taken before anesthesia and on postoperative days 1, 3 and 7 (POD 1, POD 3 and POD 7). Proliferation responses of T cells to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and pure protein derivative (PPD) antigen were measured as indicators of cellular immunity. RESULTS: PGE1 significantly attenuated the impairment of both PHA and PPD response after cardiac surgery on POD 1 (PHA response, 30 +/- 21% vs. 53 +/- 32%, control vs. PGE, p=0.048; PPD response, 18 +/- 21% vs. 39 +/- 27%, control vs. PGE, p=0.046). The reduced glutathione content of PBMCs in the control group was significantly decreased on POD 1. CONCLUSION: PGE1 attenuated the impairment of cellular immunity after cardiac surgery with CPB by reducing oxidative stress on PBMCs.     

Treatment strategy for synchronous metastases of colorectal cancer: is hepatic resection after an observation interval appropriate?

Background In cases of synchronous colorectal hepatic metastases, the primary colorectal cancer strongly influences on the metastases. Our treatment policy has been to conduct hepatic resection for the metastases at an interval of 3 months after colorectal resection. We examined the appropriateness of interval hepatic resection for synchronous hepatic metastasis. Materials and methods The subjects were 164 patients who underwent resection of hepatic metastasis of colorectal cancer (synchronous, 70 patients; metachronous, 94 patients). Background factors for hepatic metastasis and postoperative results were compared for synchronous and metachronous cases. Results The cumulative survival rate for 164 patients at 3, 5, and 10 years postoperatively was 71.9%, 51.8%, and 36.6%, and the post-resection recurrence rate in remnant livers was 26.8%. Interval resection for synchronous hepatic metastases was conducted in 49 cases after a mean interval of 131 days. No difference was seen in postoperative outcome between synchronous and metachronous cases. Conclusion The outcome was similarly favorable in cases of synchronous hepatic metastasis and in cases of metachronous metastasis. Delaying resection allows accurate understanding of the number and location of hepatic metastases, and is beneficial in determining candidates for surgery and in selecting surgical procedure.     

A case of parathyroid hormone-related peptide producing gallbladder carcinoma presenting humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy]

Humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) in neoplastic syndrome has been most commonly reported in squamous cell carcinoma. Gallbladder carcinoma with HHM is uncommon. In this report, we describe a male case of gallbladder carcinoma with marked hypercalcemia and a high level of serum parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP). An immunohistochemical examination using PTHrP was also positive.     

Spatial frequency characteristics of upper and lower hemiretina with pattern reversal VECPs

We studied the spatial frequency characteristics in the upper and lower hemiretina using pattern reversal VECPs. The subjects were 56 normal volunteers ranging in age from 14 to 69 years old. The latency of the first major positive component (P100) of VECPs was measured using checker board pattern stimuli under varying conditions of spatial frequency (112', 56', 28', 14', 7'). For the upper hemiretinal stimuli, the P100 peak latency vs spatial frequencies curve reached minimum at 56' approximately 28' and increased at both lower and higher frequencies. For the lower hemiretinal stimuli, this curve shifted towards lower frequencies. The results suggested that the spatial frequency characteristics between the upper and lower hemiretina were different.     

The kapurimycins, new antitumor antibiotics produced by Streptomyces. Physico-chemical properties and structure determination

The kapurimycins A1, A2 and A3 were revealed to be new antitumor antibiotics with molecular formula of C27H26O9, C26H24O9 and C27H24O9, respectively. The structures of the kapurimycins were determined by NMR spectroscopic analysis. The kapurimycins are new class of polycyclic microbial metabolites having the tetrahydroanthra-gamma-pyrone skeleton and the beta, gamma-unsaturated delta-keto carboxylic acid structure. The individual components of the kapurimycins differ from one another in the side chain at the pyrone ring of the molecule.     

Ontogeny of behavioral sensitization to cocaine

The ontogeny of the behavioral effects of acute cocaine administration and behavioral sensitization to cocaine in rat pups was investigated. Acute behavior stimulating effects of cocaine were observed in pups as young as 7 postnatal days (PND) old, although they needed a higher dose of cocaine than adult rats to evoke the same motor effects. An adult dose-response curve pattern of stereotypy and locomotion to acute cocaine treatment was observed at PND 21, and of rearing at PND 28. Rats aged PND 7, 14, 21, 28, and 56 received repeated injections of saline or cocaine (15 mg/kg) twice a day for 5 consecutive days. After a 3-week period of abstinence, sensitization to a challenge dose of cocaine was assessed. Cocaine-induced stereotyped behavior was enhanced significantly only in rats in which cocaine pretreatment was initiated on PND 21, 28, and 56, but not earlier on PND 7 and 14. Adult female rats given repeated cocaine injections on PND 56–60 showed significantly greater sensitization than males, but no such sex difference was observed in pups given cocaine repeatedly on PND 21–25 or 28–32. These results show clearly that cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization in rats occurred only when subchronic cocaine administration was commenced on PND 21 or later.     

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor cerivastatin prolonged rat cardiac allograft survival by blocking intercellular signals.

BACKGROUND: The development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular complications caused by hyperlipidemia is a common and serious problem for long-term survivors of organ transplantation. However, adhesion molecules such as intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and lymphocyte function-associated antigen (LFA)-1 are involved in allograft rejection, possibly by providing costimulatory signals. 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor cerivastatin has been shown to suppress ICAM-1 expression in acute inflammatory responses. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated the immunosuppressive effects of cerivastatin in rat cardiac allografts. The hearts of Fischer rats were transplanted heterotopically into Lewis rats. Cerivastatin (2 mg/kg) was administrated intraperitoneally to recipients for 7 consecutive days from the day before transplantation. RESULTS: Graft survival in the cerivastatin-treated group (n = 8) was significantly longer than in controls (n = 10) (24.6 +/- 2.2 days vs 10.2 +/- 1.3 days, p < 0.05). Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) showed that on Day 8 after grafting, the proliferative response of alloreactive T cells against F344 alloantigen in cerivastatin-treated rats was significantly more suppressed than in Lewis rats. The Interleukin-2 concentration of supernatant in MLR cultures in the cerivastatin-treated group was lower than in the control group. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the percentage of CD4-positive cells to infiltrating mononuclear cells was less prominent in the cerivastatin-treated group (9.8% +/- 2.2%) than in the control group (20.9% +/- 3.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor cerivastatin effectively suppressed acute graft rejection, possibly by blocking intercellular signals via ICAM/LFA-1, and cerivastatin may be a candidate for treating patients with hyperlipidemia who undergo organ transplantation.