Notes

Effects of a transsphenoidal surgical procedure quality development program upon patient outcomes as well as clinic fiscal performance.
Dilatation of the main pulmonary artery (mPA) is a common incidental finding in chest imaging and often leads to consultation. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of mPA dilatation in a coronary artery CT angiography (CCTA) population.

The study investigated 985 consecutive patients scheduled for diagnostic CCTA. The transverse axial diameter of the mPA was measured. The prevalence of mPA dilatation was estimated using different reference values (Framingham Heart Study 28.9 mm for males and 26.9 mm for females, Bozlar 29.5 mm for both genders and Karazincir 32.6 mm for males and 31.9 mm for females).

The patient mean age was 53.0±9.7 years (66.5% were women). Body surface area (BSA) correlated moderately with the mPA diameter (r=0.423, p<0.001). The prevalence of mPA dilatation varied from 5.9% (Karazincir) to 33.7% (Framingham Heart Study) in the overall study population.

The prevalence of mPA dilatation is high in a CCTA patient population when using a cut-off value from the Framingham Heart Study.
The prevalence of mPA dilatation is high in a CCTA patient population when using a cut-off value from the Framingham Heart Study.
Advanced prostate cancer is a recalcitrant disease with very limited treatment options. Our laboratory discovered methionine addiction, presumably a characteristic of all cancer types, including prostate cancer, which can be targeted by methionine restriction (MR), through treatment with oral recombinant methioninase (o-rMETase).

o-rMETase was produced by fermentation of recombinant E. coli containing the Pseudomonas putida methioninase gene, and purified by column chromatography. An advanced prostate cancer patient received o-rMETase as a supplement, 500 units per day, divided into two oral doses of 250 units each.

Before treatment, the patient had a rapid rise in PSA levels, from 39 to 56 ng/ml, within 6 weeks. At the 15
week of o-rMETase administration, the PSA levels stabilized at 62 ng/ml. No overt side effects were observed.

o-rMETase single treatment can be beneficial for advanced prostate cancer patients.
o-rMETase single treatment can be beneficial for advanced prostate cancer patients.
High-dose methotrexate is a therapy for acute leukemia, malignant lymphoma, and osteosarcoma. Glycyrrhizin has been used to treat hepatic dysfunction caused by high-dose methotrexate. However, few studies have investigated the interaction between glycyrrhizin and high-dose methotrexate.

Male Wistar rats were treated with high-dose methotrexate (500 or 1,000 mg/kg) alone, or with co-administration of 100 mg/kg glycyrrhizin. Plasma concentrations of methotrexate, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and total bilirubin were measured.

At both methotrexate doses, the blood concentration of methotrexate was significantly increased and total clearance was significantly reduced using co-administration of glycyrrhizin compared with methotrexate alone, which led to increased levels of hepatic enzymes. These results suggest that glycyrrhizin significantly increases the plasma level and delays the clearance of methotrexate, resulting in hepatic toxicity.

The concomitant use of methotrexate and glycyrrhizin should be considered with caution.
The concomitant use of methotrexate and glycyrrhizin should be considered with caution.
Recent studies suggest that not only the nephrogenic blastema but also the ureteric bud is involved in oncogenesis of Wilms' tumor (WT). However, the occurrence of ureteric bud (UB) derivatives in nephrogenic rest is not yet known. The aim of our study was to find UB derivatives in WT.

Keratin 17 (KRT17) is expressed exclusively in UB in foetal kidneys. In this study KRT17 immunohistochemistry was used to detect UB-derivatives in 21 triphasic, 2 stromal and 3 epithelial predominant WTs and 9 nephrogenic rests.

We have detected KRT17 positive tubular structures resembling UB in 3 of 9 nephrogenic rests and 15 of 26 WTs.

Not only the metanephric blastema but also the UB is involved in the histogenesis of nephrogenic rest and WT.
Not only the metanephric blastema but also the UB is involved in the histogenesis of nephrogenic rest and WT.
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer, but current therapeutic interventions remain largely insufficient. The development of new treatment strategies is needed, and moreover, optimal rodent models are necessary for testing the efficacy of new treatment modalities of osteosarcoma. Selleckchem GDC-0973 Humanized mice carry human hematopoietic and immune systems, and are considered an ideal tool to study human diseases including cancer immunology. Herein, we performed a preliminary study toward developing an in vivo bioluminescent osteosarcoma model using humanized immunodeficient (NSG) mice.

To establish the xenograft and orthotopic mouse model, NSG mice engrafted with human CD34
hematopoietic stem cells were injected with luciferase-expressing KHOS/NP cells at two different time points. Bioluminescence images were obtained to monitor in vivo tumor growth and metastasis. Influence of the degree of human cell engraftment on tumor growth and metastatic behavior was analyzed and compared between the two groups.

Kt tumor growth and progression in humanized NSG mice may have been influenced by higher levels of human cell engraftment, especially T cells. Although there exist some limitations to our study, our preliminary results can provide the basis for the development of a humanized osteosarcoma mouse model.
Oridonin (Ori) is a diterpenoid naturally present in medicinal plants with a potential as an antioxidant agent. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatic anti-oxidative, anti-glycative and anti-inflammatory properties of Ori at 0.125 and 0.25% against chronic ethanol intake in mice.

Mice were divided into five groups i) normal diet group, ii) Ori group, iii) ethanol diet (Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet with ethanol) group, iv) ethanol diet plus 0.125% Ori and v) ethanol diet plus 0.25% Ori. After 8 weeks of Ori supplementation, blood and liver tissue were used for analyses.

Ethanol increased the production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide, decreased glutathione content, and lowered the activity of glutathione peroxide, glutathione reductase and catalase. Ethanol suppressed the hepatic mRNA expression of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2. Ori supplements reversed these changes. Ethanol increased hepatic N
-(carboxyethymethyl)-lysine (CML) and pentosidine levels, and enhanced aldose reductase (AR) activity and mRNA expression.
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