Retroperitoneal schwannoma extending into the intravertebral foramen

A 35-year-old Japanese man first visited the hospital for episodes of numbness in the right medial femoral region and loss of muscular strength in the right thigh. A CT scan of the abdomen showed a 10 x 9-cm well-circumscribed in homogeneous multilayered mass, in contact with the lumbar vertebrae. MRI demonstrated a hypodense and hyperdense mixed mass. Tumor extension into the L(2)/L(3) intravertebral foramen was shown. To avoid spinal cord damage, we chose enucleation of the tumor in the intravertebral foramen. A follow-up CT after 1 year showed no evidence of a recurrent mass. In conclusion, we advocate the nerve-sparing operation in cases like that of our patient.     

Relationship between the shape of passive urethral resistance relation and prostatic histology in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

We assessed the relationship between the type of passive urethral resistance relation (PURR) and prostatic histology in 28 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate. PURR was classified into three types according to pressure-flow plots, and resected specimens were analyzed by quantitative morphometry. Patient age, prostatic volume and the area densities of each histological component did not show significant differences among the three groups. However, there was a trend to correlation between prostates with a high glandular component and urethral compliance. Further studies of larger populations are needed to validate this assumption.     

Efficacy of continuous hemodiafiltration for patients with congestive heart failure

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The basic principle of treatment of congestive heart failure is achieving adequate control of preload and afterload through enhancement of cardiac contractility. In severe cases, however, we have usually applied continuous hemodiafiltration (CHDF) as a type of mechanical support. In this study, we investigated hemodynamic changes caused by CHDF in patients with congestive heart failure. METHODS: We treated seven patients with congestive heart failure complicated by multiple organ failure by CHDF over 72 h, during which we measured hemodynamic parameters to determine their changes. RESULTS: Implementation of CHDF resulted in a significant decrease in pulmonary artery occluded pressure and significant increases in cardiac index and left ventricular stroke work index. In addition, 72-hour cumulative water balance was found to be -1,791 +/- 2,119 ml, and systemic vascular resistance index decreased significantly. CONCLUSION: Hemodynamics of patients were improved with CHDF through strict control of preload and consequently tissue oxygen metabolism was improved.     

Pulmonary function after posterior retroperitoneoscopic surgery

Pulmonary function tests were performed in 12 patients who underwent posterior retroperitoneoscopic surgery, before and on the 3rd and 7th days after operation. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), FEV₁/FCV, vital capacity (VC), total lung capacity (TLC), residual volume (RV) and functional residual capacity (FRC) were not significantly different between before and after surgery. It is assumed that posterior retroperitoneoscopic surgery could be performed without impairment of pulmonary function after surgery.     

Evidence for inclusion of a segment of Escherichia coli genomic DNA in bovine tooth germ mRNA encoding salivary proline-rich protein P-B

In the course of cloning of bovine cDNA for proline-rich protein (PRP) P-B from bovine tooth germ cDNA, we found that one clone with 662 bp contained a 5'-terminal 393 bp (1-393 bp) sequence essentially identical to that of human P-B cDNA (154-546 in D29833) and bovine P-B cDNA (1-356 bp in AB192573) and a sequence of 233 bp (394-626 bp) highly homologous to the segment of E. coli K12 genomic DNA (365511-365744 in NC000913). Although the latter sequence is contained in the vector pT7Blue, which we used, our results show that this chimeric structure in bovine tooth germ P-B cDNA is not an artifact formed during the cloning process, but intrinsic to the bovine genome since the chimeric structure was detected in bovine tooth germ and bovine genomic DNA.     

Asymmetry of parietal lobe activation during piano performance: a high field functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Previous studies have suggested that motor cortex may be involved in complex control of respiration in man. In this study, we estimated the influence of a simple visuomotor reaction time task (VMT) on the inspiratory airflow curve (IFC) by comparing measurements of standard deviation (SD), C(0) complexity and approximate entropy (ApEn) of the IFC at rest and during VMT conditions. It was found that both C(0) complexity and ApEn, but not SD of the IFC were significantly increased during the VMT challenge. The results suggest that visuomotor pathways may modulate respiratory motor pathways, because an increase in ApEn is suggestive of increased coupling or communication between (motor) systems.     

Failure to find evidence for association between voltage-gated sodium channel gene SCN2A variants and febrile seizures in humans

The voltage-gated sodium channel type II alpha polypeptide gene (SCN2A) R188W mutation with channel dysfunction was recently identified in a patient with febrile and afebrile seizures. A possible association between SCN2A R19K polymorphism and febrile seizures (FS) associated with afebrile seizures including generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) was also noted. We attempted to identify the R188W mutation and confirm association of the R19K polymorphism in 93 Japanese patients with FS, 35 Japanese patients with FS associated with afebrile seizures including GEFS+, and 100 control subjects. The R188W mutation was not found. There were no significant differences in genotype or allele frequencies of the R19K polymorphism between groups. Our study failed to provide evidence supporting a causal relation between the SCN2A mutation/polymorphism and FS or FS associated with afebrile seizures including GEFS+ in the Japanese population.