Leiomyosarcoma involving the inferior vena cava in an elderly patient with reference to its operative modalities : a case report

We report a case of primary pararenal leiomyosarcoma involving the inferior vena cava (IVC) in a78-year-old woman with exertional dyspnea. In the present case, we performed the tumor resection withtransient transection and primary repair of the IVC in order to avoid invasive surgery. Although theusual treatment for younger patients is complete tumor resection with wide margins (IVC and adjacentorgans) to minimize relapse, this may be too invasive for aged patients. In this report, we discuss theimportance of minimizing the risk of complications following treatments in aged patients

Change in brain plasmalogen composition by exposure to prenatal undernutrition leads to behavioral impairment of rats.

Epidemiological studies suggest that poor nutrition during pregnancy influences offspring predisposition to experience developmental and psychiatric disorders. Animal studies have shown that maternal undernutrition leads to behavioral impairment, which is linked to alterations in monoaminergic systems and inflammation in the brain. In this study, we focused on the ethanolamine plasmalogen of the brain as a possible contributor to behavioral disturbances observed in offspring exposed to maternal undernutrition. Maternal food or protein restriction between gestational day (GD) 5.5 and GD 10.5 resulted in hyperactivity of rat male adult offspring. Genes related to the phospholipid biosynthesis were found to be activated in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), but not in the nucleus accumbens or striatum, in the offspring exposed to prenatal undernutrition. Corresponding to these gene activations, increased ethanolamine plasmalogen (18:0p-22:6) was observed in the PFC using mass spectrometry imaging. A high number of crossings and the long time spent in the center area was observed in the offspring exposed to prenatal undernutrition and was mimicked in adult rats via the intravenous injection of ethanolamine plasmalogen (18:0p-22:6) incorporated into the liposome. Additionally, plasmalogen (18:0p-22:6) increased only in the PFC, and not in the nucleus accumbens or striatum. These results suggest that brain plasmalogen is one of the key molecules to control behavior and its injection using liposome is a potential therapeutic approach for cognitive impairment.Significance Statement:Maternal undernutrition correlates to developmental and psychiatric disorders. Here, we found that maternal undernutrition in early pregnancy led to hyperactivity in rat male offspring and induced gene activation of phospholipid-synthesizing enzyme and elevation of ethanolamine plasmalogen (18:0p-22:6) level in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Intravenous injection of ethanolamine plasmalogen (18:0p-22:6) incorporated into the liposome maintained crossing activity and was circumscribed to the center area for a long time period, in prenatally undernourished offspring with aberrant behavior. Furthermore, the amount of ethanolamine plasmalogen (18:0p-22:6) increased in the PFC of the rat after injection. Our result suggests that brain plasmalogen is one of the key molecules to control behavior and that its injection using liposome is a potential therapeutic approach for cognitive impairment

Nephrectomy for emphysematous pyelonephritis in a nonfunctional renal allograft due to rejection after kidney transplantation

Abstract Background Emphysematous pyelonephritis represents an acute and necrotizing infection characterized by the accumulation of gas within the kidney. This condition poses a swift progression toward sepsis, leading to a poor prognosis. We experienced a rare case of emphysematous pyelonephritis in a nonfunctioning renal allograft attributed to antibody‐mediated rejection after kidney transplantation. Case presentation A 71-year-old man with diabetes had undergone living-donor renal transplantation from his wife. Unfortunately, the transplanted kidney’s function declined due to antibody-mediated rejection, necessitating the introduction of hemodialysis 12 months post-transplantation. Subsequently, 4 months after initiating hemodialysis, the patient presented with pain and swelling in the right lower abdomen. A computed tomography scan revealed the enlargement of the transplanted kidney and gas formation. This constellation of symptoms led to the diagnosis of emphysematous pyelonephritis, resulting in his hospitalization. Further contrast-enhanced computed tomography scans demonstrated an absence of arterial flow and ischemia within the renal allograft. Despite antibiotic treatment and percutaneous drainage, both the gas and fluid in the renal parenchyma and surrounding tissue displayed minimal reduction. Given these compelling findings, an allograft nephrectomy was performed 20 days into his hospital stay. Pathological examination confirmed complete allograft necrosis, revealing nonviable renal parenchyma. The patient’s postoperative recovery progressed favorably. Conclusions Instances of emphysematous pyelonephritis within transplanted kidneys are infrequently documented. Among these cases, emphysematous pyelonephritis in a nonfunctioning renal allograft is very rare and may be associated with graft ischemia and the presence of injured tissue. The determination of an immediate diagnosis and surgery is important

Novel Methodology for Rapid Detection of KRAS Mutation Using PNA-LNA Mediated Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification.

Detecting point mutation of human cancer cells quickly and accurately is gaining in importance for pathological diagnosis and choice of therapeutic approach. In the present study, we present novel methodology, peptide nucleic acid-locked nucleic acid mediated loop-mediated isothermal amplification (PNA-LNA mediated LAMP), for rapid detection of KRAS mutation using advantages of both artificial DNA and LAMP. PNA-LNA mediated LAMP reactions occurred under isothermal temperature conditions of with 4 primary primers set for the target regions on the KRAS gene, clamping PNA probe that was complimentary to the wild type sequence and LNA primers complementary to the mutated sequences. PNA-LNA mediated LAMP was applied for cDNA from 4 kinds of pancreatic carcinoma cell lines with or without KRAS point mutation. The amplified DNA products were verified by naked-eye as well as a real-time PCR equipment. By PNA-LNA mediated LAMP, amplification of wild type KRAS DNA was blocked by clamping PNA probe, whereas, mutant type KRAS DNA was significantly amplified within 50 min. Mutant alleles could be detected in samples which diluted until 0.1% of mutant-to-wild type ratio. On the other hand, mutant alleles could be reproducibly with a mutant-to-wild type ratio of 30% by direct sequencing and of 1% by PNA-clamping PCR. The limit of detection (LOD) of PNA-LNA mediated LAMP was much lower than the other conventional methods. Competition of LNA clamping primers complementary to two different subtypes (G12D and G12V) of mutant KRAS gene indicated different amplification time depend on subtypes of mutant cDNA. PNA-LNA mediated LAMP is a simple, rapid, specific and sensitive methodology for the detection of KRAS mutation

Hepatic reactive lymphoid hyperplasia in a patient with primary biliary cirrhosis

Reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (RLH) of the liver is an extremely rare lesion characterized by the proliferation of non-neoplastic lymphocytes forming follicles. Hepatic RLH is known to be associated with gastrointestinal carcinoma and autoimmune diseases including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). We report a case of hepatic RLH in a patient with PBC and gastric cancer. A 68 year old Japanese woman with a 10 year history of liver enzyme abnormality was admitted. Laboratory testing revealed that her anti-mitochondrial antibody was markedly elevated. Five mo after the diagnosis of PBC, she was found to have gastric cancer. Abdominal computed tomography disclosed a liver nodule in S8, suggesting metastatic gastric carcinoma. Histopathologically, the resected liver lesion comprised of a nodular proliferation of small lymphocytes with lymphoid follicles. This is the first reported case of hepatic RLH in a patient with both PBC and gastric cancer. Pre-operative diagnosis of hepatic RLH by clinical imaging is extremely difficult. Therefore, a needle biopsy could be useful to make a diagnosis of hepatic RLH, especially to differentiate from metastatic gastrointestinal carcinoma

Immunogenicity and influence on disease activity of recombinant zoster vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with DMARDs

Objectives This study aimed to determine the immunogenicity and the influence on disease activity of an adjuvanted recombinant varicella-zoster virus (VZV) subunit vaccine (RZV) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).Methods This prospective longitudinal study enrolled 53 patients with RA (aged ≥50 years) treated with DMARDs (conventional synthetic (cs)DMARDs 20, biological (b)DMARDs 23 and targeted synthetic (ts)DMARDs 10) and 10 control individuals. The participants received two intramuscular RZV 2 months apart. VZV-specific CD4+ T cell responses (cell-mediated immunity; CMI) and IgG antibody responses (humoral immunity; HI) were assessed at 0 and 3 months after the first RZV administration using flow cytometry and enzyme immunoassay, respectively. Disease activity (Disease Activity Score 28-C reactive protein and Clinical Disease Activity Index), flares and adverse events were monitored for 6 months after the first vaccination.Results VZV-specific CMI and HI significantly increased in the three DMARDs-treated patients with RA after RZV administration compared with the corresponding prevaccination values (p<0.001–0.014), and the magnitudes and fold-increases of those responses were not significantly different among the three DMARDs-treated patients with RA. Furthermore, the vaccine response rates of CMI and HI were not significantly different between csDMARDs-treated patients and b-DMARDs or ts-DMARDs-treated patients. Meanwhile, no significant increases in disease activity indices or adverse events were observed in these patients during the 6-month follow-up period after the first vaccination. RZV-induced RA flares occurred in two patients (3.8%) but were mild and controllable.Conclusion RZV is robustly immunogenic and has a clinically acceptable safety profile in elderly patients with RA receiving DMARDs