Endobronchial Electrocautery Using Snare

Between May 1987 and March 1994, upper airway and tracheobronchial electrosurgery with snare was performed in 13 patients (10 men and 3 women), ranging in age from 18 to 87 years. Four patients had benign lesions, and nine had malignant tumors. Total eradication has been achieved in the two patients with benign lesions. Electroexcision of the endobronchial portion of the tumor helped to clear the respiratory airways in all cases with malignant tumors. There has been no major side effects such as bleeding due to this method. Electrocautery is an available economical tool, which helps to diagnose and treat obstructing airway mass lesions

Eosinophilic pleural effusion due to lung cancer has a better prognosis than non-eosinophilic malignant pleural effusion

Objective Tumor-related eosinophilia may have extended survival benefits for some cancer patients. However, there has been no report on the prognosis difference between eosinophilic pleural effusion (EPE) and non-EPE in lung cancer patients. Our study aimed to investigate the prognosis difference between EPE and non-EPE due to lung cancer. Patients and methods We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with lung cancer who presented with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) between May 2007 and September 2020 at the National Hospital Organization Kochi Hospital. EPE is defined as pleural fluid with a nucleated cell count containing 10% or more eosinophils. Results A total of 152 patients were included: 89 were male (59%). The median age was 74.4 years (range 37–101), and all patients were pathologically shown to have MPE. Most patients (140; 92%) had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status (PS) of 0/1. Twenty patients had EPE. The median overall survival (OS) of all 152 lung cancer patients with MPE was 298 days. The median OS of the patients with EPE was 766 days, and the median OS of the patients with non-EPE was 252 days. Kaplan–Meier univariate analysis showed that lung cancer patients with EPE had a significantly better prognosis than patients with non-EPE (P < 0.05). Cox proportional regression analysis showed that EPE, ECOG PS, sex, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in the serum (sNLR) may be independent prognostic factors affecting survival in patients with MPE. Conclusion Lung cancer patients with EPE have a better prognosis than those with non-EPE

Apolipoprotein E lipoprotein particles inhibit amyloid-β uptake through cell surface heparan sulphate proteoglycan

Binding affinity of heparin-apoE3 interaction. (A) Representative dot blot of heparin and apoE3 particles. Heparin was spotted onto nitrocellulose membrane along with mouse monoclonal anti-apoE antibody, WUE4, as a positive control and normal mouse IgG as a background. Membrane strips were incubated with increasing concentrations of apoE3 particles from immortalized astrocytes. Membrane-bound apoE was then visualized by biotin-conjugate anti-apoE antibody and infrared streptavidin secondary antibody. (B) Integrated infrared signal intensities from each dot were obtained and the average intensities from three independent experiments were plotted to acquire binding affinity curve and the dissociation constant (Kd). (TIF 2432 kb

Exploiting Language Variation to Better Understand the Cognitive Consequences of Bilingualism

Within the past decade, there has been an explosion of research investigating the cognitive consequences of bilingualism. However, a controversy has arisen specifically involving research claiming a “bilingual advantage” in executive function. In this brief review, we re-examine the nature of the “bilingual advantage” and suggest three themes for future research. First, there must be a theoretical account of how specific variation in language experience impacts aspects of executive function and domain general cognition. Second, efforts toward adequately characterizing the participants tested will be critical to interpreting results. Finally, designing studies that employ converging analytical approaches and sensitive methodologies will be important to advance our knowledge of the dynamics between bilingual language experience and cognition

Clinical Study in 11 Cases of Endobronchial Foreign Body

We report 11 cases of endobronchial foreign body. From January 1982 through December 1994, a total of 11 cases were diagnosed roentogenographically and bronchoscopically at our hospital. These patients consisted of 10 men and 1 woman with a mean age of 58.5 years (range 33 to 77 years). Symptoms on presenting were usually cough, sputum, or chest pain. The foreign bodies were inorganic in 10 cases and of organic origin in 1 case. Three patients were not aware that they had aspirated a foreign body. In 9 patients, the endobronchial foreign bodies were successfully removed endoscopically. One patient spontaneously expectorated the foreign body before bronchoscopy. One patient underwent thoracotomy because the foreign body could not be removed bronchoscopically. There were no severe complications during or after the endoscopic removal of the foreign bodies, but in one patient extraction of the foreign body caused pneumonia after bronchoscopy. In conclusion, flexible bronchoscopy is useful for the diagnosis and treatment of endobronchial foreign bodies

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Beyond Progressive Disease: A Retrospective Analysis for Japanese Patients with Activating EGFR Mutations

IntroductionIt is not determined whether the continuous use of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) is reasonable for patients with activating EGFR mutations, who have progressed with the drug.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the data from 2002 to 2010 of consecutive patients who had advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring activating EGFR mutations and showed radiological disease progression after EGFR-TKI treatment as the first-line or second-line setting. We classified them into two groups: continuous EGFR-TKI and switching to chemotherapy, and compared the clinical outcomes. Multivariate analysis for survival was performed including age, sex, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (0–1/ 2–4), brain metastasis, EGFR mutations (deletions in exon 19 versus L858R), continuous EGFR-TKI (yes/no), and initiation of EGFR-TKI (first versus second).ResultsA total of 551 NSCLC patients were screened for EGFR mutations in the period, and 186 patients had activating EGFR mutations. To explore the potential use of EGFR-TKI beyond progressive disease (PD), 64 patients were selected and analyzed. There were 13 men and 51 women, and median age was 65.5 years (range, 42–86). Among them, 31 patients had deletions in exon 19, and 33 had point mutation of L858R in exon 21. Thirty-nine patients were continuing EGFR-TKI beyond PD; 25 patients were switched to cytotoxic chemotherapy alone. The median overall survival was 32.2 months in the patients continuing EGFR-TKI, and 23.0 months in the patients switching to chemotherapy, presenting a significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.005). Cox analysis showed that continuous EGFR-TKI after PD (hazards ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval: 0.21–0.83, p = 0.013) was associated with improved survival.ConclusionContinuous use of EGFR-TKI beyond PD may prolong overall survival compared with switching to cytotoxic chemotherapy in patients with activating EGFR mutations. A prospective study will be needed to confirm our results