A 76-year-old woman was referred to our department because of high fever and bladder irritative symptoms. Computed tomography revealed the presence of a heterogeneous mass with indistinct borders on ...the left anterior wall of the bladder. The lesion contained a linear hyperdense shadow. We initially suspected malignancy, such as urachal carcinoma or soft-tissue sarcoma. However, upon review of previous computed tomography scans, it was confirmed that the linear hyperdense shadow had migrated from the intestinal tract to the bladder. Considering the possibility of abscess formation caused by a foreign body, we decided to perform a transurethral biopsy. The results of the pathological analysis showed abscess formation. The patient was diagnosed with perivesical abscess caused by accidental ingestion of a fish bone. Following the administration of antibiotics, the lesion markedly shrank. Although it is difficult to distinguish perivesical abscess from malignant disease, invasive treatment can be avoided by appropriate diagnosis based on imaging studies.
A 76-year-old woman was referred to our department because of high fever and bladder irritative symptoms. Computed tomography revealed the presence of a heterogeneous mass with indistinct borders on ...the left anterior wall of the bladder. The lesion contained a linear hyperdense shadow. We initially suspected malignancy, such as urachal carcinoma or soft-tissue sarcoma. However, upon review of previous computed tomography scans, it was confirmed that the linear hyperdense shadow had migrated from the intestinal tract to the bladder. Considering the possibility of abscess formation caused by a foreign body, we decided to perform a transurethral biopsy. The results of the pathological analysis showed abscess formation. The patient was diagnosed with perivesical abscess caused by accidental ingestion of a fish bone. Following the administration of antibiotics, the lesion markedly shrank. Although it is difficult to distinguish perivesical abscess from malignant disease, invasive treatment can be avoided by appropriate diagnosis based on imaging studies.
Cantu syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder, first described by Cantu in 1982, that is characterized by congenital hypertrichosis, characteristic facial anomalies and cardiomegaly. Recent ...investigations have revealed that this syndrome is caused by mutations of ABCC9, which encodes a regulatory subunit of SUR2, an adenosine triphosphate‐mediated potassium channel opener, expressed not only in smooth muscle but also in hair follicles. However, the abnormalities of skin and hair in patients with Cantu syndrome have not been well explored. We herein report three Japanese patients with Cantu syndrome and describe their specific skin manifestations and alterations in the histopathology of their hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Similar alterations were shared among those three patients and may be related to the function of SUR2, namely the regulation of hair follicle growth, because SUR2 is a known pharmacological target of minoxidil.
In order to assess the extrapulmonary effects of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), deposition of MWCNT and histopathologic changes in lung-associated lymph nodes (LALN) were examined in ...MWCNT-administered rats. At the age of 13 wk, male F344 rats were intratracheally instilled with MWCNT at a dose of 0 (vehicle), 40 or 160 μg/rat. The rats were sacrificed on Day 1, 7, 28 or 91 after instillation and light microscopic examinations were performed on LALN tissues. MWCNT was translocated to right and left posterior mediastinal lymph nodes and parathymic lymph nodes. Deposition of MWCNT was greater in the posterior mediastinal lymph node than in the parathymic lymph node, and the amount of MWCNT deposited in these two lymph nodes increased gradually and dose-dependently with time. MWCNT was phagocytosed by nodal macrophages, and some of the MWCNT-laden macrophages were aggregated. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) observation confirmed the presence of MWCNT fibers with a characteristic multi-walled cylindrical structure.
Abstract To investigate the trends of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens isolated from skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTI) at dermatology departments in Japan, a Japanese surveillance committee ...conducted the first nationwide survey in 2013. Three main organisms were collected from SSTI at 30 dermatology departments in medical centers and 10 dermatology clinics. A total of 860 strains – 579 of Staphylococcus aureus , 240 of coagulase-negative Staphylococci , and 41 of Streptococcus pyogenes – were collected and shipped to a central laboratory for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The patient profiles were also studied. Among all 579 strains of S. aureus , 141 (24.4%) were methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Among 97 Staphylococcus epidermidis strains, 54 (55.7%) were methicillin-resistant (MRSE). MRSA and MRSE were more frequently isolated from inpatients than from outpatients. Furthermore, these methicillin-resistant strains were also isolated more frequently from patients with histories of taking antibiotics within 4 weeks and hospitalization within 1 year compared to those without. However, there were no significant differences in MIC values and susceptibility patterns of the MRSA strains between patients with a history of hospitalization within 1 year and those without. Therefore, most of the isolated MRSA cases at dermatology departments are not healthcare-acquired, but community-acquired MRSA. S. pyogenes strains were susceptible to most antibiotics except macrolides. The information in this study is not only important in terms of local public health but will also contribute to an understanding of epidemic clones of pathogens from SSTI.
Much concern has been raised over the health consequences of workers exposed to carbon nanotubes. In order to characterize multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) suspended in a phosphate-buffered saline ...containing 0.1% Tween 80 for an intratracheal instillation study. Length and width distributions of the MWCNT fibers, dispersion of MWCNT in the suspension and in the lung tissue and the MWCNT contents of metal impurities were investigated. Arithmetic mean length and width of the MWCNT fibers as measured on scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs were 5.0 μm and 88 nm, respectively, and fibers longer than 5.0 μm were 38.9% of all fibers measured. Dynamic light scattering size measurement revealed that 5-min ultrasonication, together with addition of Tween 80 into the suspension, decreased the hydrodynamic diameters of the agglomerated MWCNT to those of finer particles below 1.0 μm. SEM observation showed good dispersion of MWCNT in the suspension, and in the alveoli on Day 1 after instillation. Concentration of iron, chromium and nickel in the MWCNT were 4,400, 48 and 17 ppm (wt/wt), respectively, all of which were below levels that would elicit positive pulmonary toxic responses to these metals. The results suggest that well-dispersed, long and thin MWCNT fibers exhibit asbestos-like pathogenicity in the lung.
Linear accelerator-based radiotherapy has little effect on tumors such as malignant melanoma, various types of sarcoma, and most locally-advanced neoplasms that have grown to several centimeters or ...more. These tumors contain many hypoxic cancer cells or large amounts of anti-oxidative enzymes, and are therefore resistant to low linear energy transfer radiation. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a new radiosensitizer to overcome these situations. We previously developed a new enzyme-targeting radiosensitization treatment named KORTUC I, which uses 3% w/v hydrogen peroxide solution-soaked gauze. We developed a new radiosensitizer for intratumoral injection (KORTUC II), comprising a combination of hydrogen peroxide and sodium hyaluronate. After providing a fully informed written consent, 52 patients with unresectable or recurrent neoplasms (53 lesions) were enrolled in the KORTUC II trial. The present study of 52 patients with unresectable or recurrent neoplasms showed that KORTUC II is safe when injected intratumorally, well tolerated, and can efficiently exert a radiation sensitizing effect. Because this radiosensitizer is safe and less expensive than other methods, and can be applied for almost every type of low-LET radio-resistant neoplasm, it has potential for worldwide and immediate use.
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