Combination chemotherapy with estramustine phosphate, ifosfamide and cisplatin for hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

We evaluated the efficiency and toxicity of estramustine phosphate (ECT), ifosfamide (IFM) and cisplatin (CDDP) combination chemotherapy in twenty-one patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), for which there is currently no effective treatment. Patients received a daily dose of 560 mg ECT in combination with 1.2 g/m2 IFM on days 1 to 5 and 70 mg/m2 CDDP on day 1. This combination therapy was given every 3 to 4 weeks. An objective response of more than 50% reduction in prostate-specific antigen was observed in 9 of 18 patients (50%), and a more than 50% reduction in bi-dimensionally measurable soft-tissue lesions was observed in 2 of 7 patients (29%). The median duration of response among the cases showing partial response was 40 weeks, while the median duration of response of overall partial-response plus stable cases was 30 weeks. The median survival duration of all cases was 47 weeks. Toxicity was modest and acceptable. In conclusion, the ECT, IFM and CDDP combination chemotherapy regimen is a viable treatment option for HRPC. However, in comparison with our previous chemotherapy regimen of IFM and CDDP, no additional long-lasting effects resulting from the inclusion of ECT could be affirmed.</p

ペルーの人工変形頭蓋正中矢状面輪郭における若干の顔面角について

ペルー人男性の前頭後頭型人工変形頭蓋における頭蓋型と，正中矢状面輪郭上の歯槽性突顎に関連する若干の角について調べた．変形頭蓋は非常に大きな頭蓋示数を有するが，頭蓋モズルスは非変形頭蓋との間に有意差がなかった．Basion （Ba）-Nasion （Na）-Prosthion （Pr）角とBa-Na-Subspinale （Ss）角における両頭蓋間の差は有意であった．これに対し，Na-Pr線，Na-Ss線とフランクフルト面（FHP）のなす角度の差は有意でなかった．また，Na-Ba線とFHPとのなす角に有意差が認められた．これらの結果から人工変形はNa-Ba線の位置変化をもたらすが，歯槽性突顎の形態には影響を与えないことが示唆される．Three principal cranial dimensions and six angles on sagittal cranial profile related with facial prognathism, between artificially front-occipital deformed and undeformed Peruvian skulls were examined. The deformed skull group was characterized by a shorter and wider neurocranial vault. Angular analyses suggested that the skull deformation caused displacement of the basion-nasion line. However, the significant difference in the facial prognathism between the deformed and undeformed skulls could not be confirmed in this craniogeometric study

Long-term clinical outcomes of 420 consecutive prostate cancer patients in a single institute.

This study was undertaken to reveal the trends of prostate cancer and the outcome of treatment modalities for each disease stage in patients in a single institute over a 10-year period. From January 1994 through December 2003, 420 consecutive patients with previously untreated and histologically confirmed prostate cancer were analyzed for annual distributions of disease stages and treatment modalities and for long-term clinical progression-free survival, prostate cancer-specific survival, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure-free survival rates for each stage and treatment modality. Annual trends showed that the number of patients, especially those with clinically localized cancer, increased dramatically. The 5-year disease-specific survival rates for patients with clinically localized disease were 100 percent for all treatment modalities, including hormonal therapy alone. Patients with PSA levels less than 10 ng/ml showed an 81 percent 5-year PSA failure-free survival rate with radical prostatectomy. Stage C patients treated by surgery or radiation-based therapy with concomitant hormonal therapy obtained 93 percent and 100 percent cause-specific survival rates, respectively, and those treated by hormonal therapy alone showed a 79 percent rate. The number of patients with localized prostate cancer was increasing in this decade. While long-term hormonal therapy alone was highly efficient in controlling localized prostate cancer, radical therapies in conjunction with neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy produced better survival rates in cases of locally advanced disease.</p

解剖実習体の膝関節にみられた円板状外側半月の一例について-特に関節内靱帯との関係-

65歳男性遺体の右膝に見いだされた円板状外側半月を観察し，特に関節内付属靱帯との関係を記載した．円板状外側半月は比較的幅広く，脛骨の外側顆上関節面をほぼ完全に被い，肉眼的観察およびX線撮影ではその損傷や石灰化などの異常は見られなかった．本例では，全体的に半月の固定に関係する靱帯の発達が良好であった．すなわち，半月の前角と後角は靱帯を介して強固に脛骨に付着し，さらに，強い半月横靱帯が内・外側半月の前部を連結していた．後方では外側半月後角から起こる太い後半月大腿靱帯が認められた．加えて，内側・外側半月の前角から起こり前十字靱帯に合流する靱帯小束が認められたが，これらは半月の前部固定に関与すると考えられた．The right knee, from a male cadaver aged 65, with discoid lateral meniscus was carefully dissected. The meniscus and its anatomical relationships with some associated ligaments of the knee are described. The discoid meniscus was a wide structure covering nearly the articular surface of the tibia and was almost intact macroscopically. Neither meniscal calcification nor ossification was demonstrated by radiography. There were strong transverse ligament, solid attachments from both anterior and posterior horns to the tibia, distinct posterior menisco-femoral ligament, and ligamentous slips from both anterior horns of the medial and lateral menisci to the anterior cruciate ligament. The knee anatomy was characterized by the well-development attachment system of the menisci. The medial meniscus was anatomically normal

Angle-resolved photoemission study of MX-chain compound [Ni(chxn)2_2Br]Br2_2

We report on the results of angle-resolved photoemission experiments on a quasi-one-dimensional $MX$-chain compound [Ni(chxn)$_2$Br]Br$_2$ (chxn = 1$R$,2$R$-cyclohexanediamine), a one-dimensional Heisenberg system with $S=1/2$ and $J \sim 3600$ K, which shows a gigantic non-linear optical effect. A "band" having about 500 meV energy dispersion is found in the first half of the Brillouin zone $(0\le kb/\pi <1/2)$, but disappears at $kb / \pi \sim 1/2$. Two dispersive features, expected from the spin-charge separation, as have been observed in other quasi-one-dimensional systems like Sr$_2$CuO$_3$, are not detected. These characteristic features are well reproduced by the $d$-$p$ chain model calculations with a small charge-transfer energy $\Delta$ compared with that of one-dimensional Cu-O based compounds. We propose that this smaller $\Delta$ is the origin of the absence of clear spin- and charge-separation in the photoemission spectra and strong non-linear optical effect in [Ni(chxn)$_2$Br]Br$_2$.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether–Induced Toxicity Is Mediated through the Inhibition of Flavoprotein Dehydrogenase Enzyme Family

Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) is a widely used industrial solvent known to cause adverse effects to human and other mammals. Organs with high metabolism and rapid cell division, such as testes, are especially sensitive to its actions. In order to gain mechanistic understanding of EGME-induced toxicity, an untargeted metabolomic analysis was performed in rats. Male rats were administrated with EGME at 30 and 100 mg/kg/day. At days 1, 4, and 14, serum, urine, liver, and testes were collected for analysis. Testicular injury was observed at day 14 of the 100 mg/kg/day group only. Nearly 1900 metabolites across the four matrices were profiled using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis indicated that the most significant metabolic perturbations initiated from the early time points by EGME were the inhibition of choline oxidation, branched-chain amino acid catabolism, and fatty acid β-oxidation pathways, leading to the accumulation of sarcosine, dimethylglycine, and various carnitine- and glycine-conjugated metabolites. Pathway mapping of these altered metabolites revealed that all the disrupted steps were catalyzed by enzymes in the primary flavoprotein dehydrogenase family, suggesting that inhibition of flavoprotein dehydrogenase–catalyzed reactions may represent the mode of action for EGME-induced toxicity. Similar urinary and serum metabolite signatures are known to be the hallmarks of multiple acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency in humans, a genetic disorder because of defects in primary flavoprotein dehydrogenase reactions. We postulate that disruption of key biochemical pathways utilizing flavoprotein dehydrogenases in conjugation with downstream metabolic perturbations collectively result in the EGME-induced tissue damage