An Elderly Female Non-smoker with Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder / 계명의대학술지

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) primarily arises in the lung. Cases of primary extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma are uncommon, and may develop in various different organs. In particular, small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is very rare in female nonsmokers, and its prognosis is poor. The main part of treatment in SCC is a chemotherapy, which is a critical factor in its prognosis. In the present report, we describe the case of an 82-year-old female non-smoker who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) without chemotherapy for small-cell carcinoma of the bladder, and experienced a relapse at a same area to the primary tumor site.

Exercise training and selenium or a combined treatment ameliorates aberrant expression of glucose and lactate metabolic proteins in skeletal muscle in a rodent model of diabetes

Exercise training (ET) and selenium (SEL) were evaluated either individually or in combination (COMBI) for their effects on expression of glucose (AMPK, PGC-1alpha, GLUT-4) and lactate metabolic proteins (LDH, MCT-1, MCT-4, COX-IV) in heart and skeletal muscles in a rodent model (Goto-Kakisaki, GK) of diabetes. Forty GK rats either remained sedentary (SED), performed ET, received SEL, (5 micromol/kg body wt(-1)/day(-1)) or underwent both ET and SEL treatment for 6 wk. ET alone, SEL alone, or COMBI resulted in a significant lowering of lactate, glucose, and insulin levels as well as a reduction in HOMA-IR and AUC for glucose relative to SED. Additionally, ET alone, SEL alone, or COMBI increased glycogen content and citrate synthase (CS) activities in liver and muscles. However, their effects on glycogen content and CS activity were tissue-specific. In particular, ET alone, SEL alone, or COMBI induced upregulation of glucose (AMPK, PGC-1alpha, GLUT-4) and lactate (LDH, MCT-1, MCT-4, COX-IV) metabolic proteins relative to SED. However, their effects on glucose and lactate metabolic proteins also appeared to be tissue-specific. It seemed that glucose and lactate metabolic protein expression was not further enhanced with COMBI compared to that of ET alone or SEL alone. These data suggest that ET alone or SEL alone or COMBI represent a practical strategy for ameliorating aberrant expression of glucose and lactate metabolic proteins in diabetic GK rats.

Changes of Endothelin-1 after Pulmonary Venous Stenosis in Model

PURPOSE: Endothelin-1(ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor peptide. It has potent contractile and proliferative effects on vascular smooth muscle cells. Congenital heart diseases are often accompanied by pulmonary hypertension, and the severity of pulmonary hypertension is important in the prognosis. The aim of this study was to elucidate changes of ET-1 after pulmonary venous stenosis in a dog model, and investigate the interaction between pulmonary venous pressure and ET-1. METHODS: Plasma ET-1 levels were measured by radioimmuno-assay at the thoracic aorta, left pulmonary artery and left pulmonary vein. Pressures were also monitored at the same sites. Immunohistochemical staining of ET-1 was performed in the lung tissue. RESULTS: Increased serum ET-1 levels were noted at 1 hour after left pulmonary vein stenosis in the left pulmonary vein and aorta, and at 2 days after stenosis in the left pulmonary artery. Left pulmonary venous pressure was significantly increased at 1 hour after pulmonary vein stenosis, and systolic pulmonary artery pressure at 2 days after stenosis. Increased expression of ET-1 was noted by immunohistochemical staining at the lung tissue at 7 days after stenosis of left pulmonary vein. CONCLUSION: Increased serum ET-1 level and expression of ET-1 in immunohistochemical staining at lung tissue were noted after stenosis of pulmonary vein. Serum ET-1 level would be useful in the diagnosis and prediction of pulmonary artery hypertension. (J Korean Pediatr Soc 2000;43:769 778)