Studies on the treatment of keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

Fifteen cases of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) of unknown etiology were treated with soft contact lenses for the purpose of their bandage effects and moisuture supply. A soft contact lens was worn on one of the eyes of each case but not on the other to compare its effectiveness. New opthalmic drops or contact lens wearers were dropped in both eyes. Furthermore, the KCS-index was worked out on the basis of the complaints of 23 patients of KCS of unknouwn etiology. The indexes before and after treatment were compared. Corneal objective findings were improved in all the eyes wearing soft contact lensen for along period, and seven stopped wearing them although corneal objective findings were much better, because they had some troubles with handlings were much better, because they had some troubles with handling the lenses, because they had lost rhem, or because their visual acuity decreased while wearing the lenses. Forlong term wearing the flattest lenses should be used in the beginning and changed gradually to lenses of greater curvature which are better able to keep their centering. Then immediately after successful fitting, the lenses should be given appropriate refractive power. The new ophthalmic drops for soft contact lens wearers were very much effective as artificial tears to both eyes with and without sofy contact lenses. KCS-indexes were numerical values relating to patients subjective symptoms. KSC-indexes improves by an average of +6.4&#177;7.5 after treatment. On the other hand, KCS-indexes improved by +10.7&#177;7.9 in the group that succeeded in wearing SCL for a long period, and by +7.6&#177;2.1 even in the group that failed. </p

18F-FDG PET/CT imaging of IgG4-producing MALT lymphoma with multiple site involvement

18F-FDG PET/CT is regarded as a modality utilized for the purpose of lesion localization, staging and assessment of treatment response in patients with lymphoma. However, it is difficult that we diagnose among multifocal lymphoma, IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), or a combination of both conditions when confronted with multiple sites of 18F-FDG uptake with heightened serum IgG4 levels.We present a case of a 72-year-old male who was suspected of Sjögren’s syndrome based on symptoms of xerostomia accompanied by swelling of the bilateral upper eyelid and salivary glands. Following a diagnostic biopsy that revealed mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma as a possible finding, 18F-FDG PET/CT was conducted, which demonstrated multiple sites of 18F-FDG accumulation. While multifocal MALT lymphoma was initially suspected, the coexistence of IgG4-RD could not be definitively ruled out due to the elevated serum IgG4 levels. Subsequent histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations confirmed the diagnosis of IgG4-producing MALT lymphoma. After receiving systemic therapy with rituximab, the swelling of the bilateral upper eyelid and parotid glands resolved upon visual examination, and the serum IgG4 levels returned to within the normal range in a few months. No new lesions were detected during the subsequent follow-up examinations conducted over a period of 3 years

Effectiveness and Safety of Leukocytapheresis Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis

Leukocytapheresis (LCAP) was performed in seven patients with moderate or severe active ulcerative colitis (UC) at the Koga Hospital. LCAP was considered as having been effective in all seven patients (excellent clinical response in five and moderate clinical response in two patients). The excellent or moderate clinical response continued throughout maintenance LCAP in three of seven patients. None of the patients required discontinuation of LCAP, despite the appearance of some side effects, including facial redness, low-grade fever, discomfort, headache and hypotension during the therapy. The results of this study indicate that LCAP may be a safe and effective intensive and maintenance therapy for UC

Primary Hyperparathyroidism with Thyroid Hemiagenesis

Thyroid hemiagenesis is a very rare anomaly. We herein report a case with right thyroid lobe agenesis, which was incidentally found during the assessment of primary hyperparathyroidism. A 42-year-old male presenting with urinary lithiasis was suspected of having primary hyperparathyroidism, and had elevated levels of both serum calcium and intact parathyroid hormone. Both computed tomography and ultrasonography demonstrated the absence of right thyroid lobe and a mass of 1 cm in diameter at the left lower pole of the thyroid. The patient underwent lower left parathyroidectomy, which confirmed the right thyroid hemiagenesis, as well as the absence of both upper and lower right parathyroid glands. The resected left lower parathyroid gland was pathologically diagnosed as adenoma. The postoperative course was favourable and he was discharged on the 2nd day after surgery, without complications

Summary of assembly results.

<p>Summary of assembly results.</p

Primers used in qRT-PCR.

<p>Primers used in qRT-PCR.</p

Schematic diagram of sequence data analysis for odorant receptors.

<p>The numbers of reads or contigs at each step are indicated. See text for detailed explanation.</p

Expression level of candidate odorant receptors in adult antennae.

<p>(A) Estimated by read mapping. (B) Estimated by qRT-PCR. Error bars represent standard error calculated from the results of three biological replicates.</p