Rectal stenosis following procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate stenosis of the lower rectum following PPH with special respect to potential predictive factors or stenotic events.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis of 554 consecutive patients, which underwent PPH from July 2000 to December 2004 was performed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Only patients with follow-up check were evaluated, thus the analysis includes 489 patients (489/554, 88.3%) with a mean follow-up of (324 +/- 18) days. Rectal stenosis was observed in 12 patients (12/489, 2.5%), the median time to stenosis was 89 - 134 (125 +/- 5) days. All the patients complained of obstructive defecation and underwent strictureplasty with electrocautery or balloon dilation through colonoscopy. A statistical analysis revealed that patients with stenosis had significantly more often prior sclerosis therapy for hemorrhoids (58.3% vs. 20.0%, P = 0.02) and severe postoperative pain (25.0% vs. 6.7%, P = 0.003). Other factors, such as gender (P = 0.32), prior surgery for hemorrhoids (P = 0.11), histological evidence of squamous skin (P = 0.77) or revision (P = 0.53) showed no significance.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Rectal stenosis is an uncommon event after PPH. Early stenosis will occur within the first four months after surgery. The majority of the stenosis can be cured through colonoscopy surgery. The predictive factors for stenosis are previous sclerosis therapy for hemorrhoids and severe postoperative pain.</p>

Imatinib mesylate STI571 therapy for five patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the therapeutic effect of STI571(imatinib mesylate) on advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 5 cases with advanced GISTs were analyzed retrospectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of c- kit (CD117) was detected by immunohistochemical method in five patients with advanced GISTs . All patients failed to systematic chemotherapy or radiofrequency and operation because of extensive and multiple metastases (4 cases underwent 1 to 3 times of exploratory surgery). Tumor size was markedly decreased one to six months after STI571 given without serious drug- related side effects.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>STI571 is an effective chemotherapy for advanced unresectable or metastatic GISTs. Inhibitor of the Kit signal- transduction pathway is a promising regimen that is different from conventional chemotherapy for advanced GISTs.</p>

In vitro evidence for pancreatic lineage: Ngn3 positive cells are endocrine progenitors derived from cultured islets / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Further studies have been conducted to evaluate the roles of Ngn3 in adult islet maintenance and renewal.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Islets were isolated from 6 - 8 week old male C57BL/6 mice. After common bile duct cannulation, the pancreas was resected and digested in collagenase V (2.5 mg/ml). Islets were then handpicked and 10 - 12 islets were plated in 60 mm culture dish and cultivated with RPMI-1640, which contained 12.5 mmol/L HEPES, 5.2 mmol/L glucose and 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Islet cells were analyzed by immunocytochemistry methods for A6, insulin, glucagon, nestin, Ngn3 and 5-bromo-2'-deoxy-uridine (BrdU).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results of these studies indicated that less than 15 percent of proliferated islet cells were Ngn3 expressing cells, in which about one third of the Ngn3 positive cells co-expressed A6. The existence of Ngn3 in cultured islet cells is consistent with the results from other's findings both in embryogenesis and adult islet studies. A significant finding of our study is that the existence of A6 and Ngn3 co-expressing cells in the cultured islet. A6 is a marker for identifying bile duct epithelial cell oriented hepatic progenitor cells. Islet-derived A6 cells are possibly born in the adult pancreatic duct and migrate into islets. A6 cells co-express Ngn3 when these cells commit to endocrine lineage within the islets. More interestingly, islet-derived A6 positive cells have the potential to transdifferentiate into hepatic cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The presence of Ngn3(+) and A6(+) cells in the cultured islets suggests that the four established islet cell types arise from a common endocrine lineage residing within the adult islets. A6 and Ngn3 are useful markers for understanding intra-islet adult stem cell lineages in our future studies. This approach may allow for significant advances in understanding the IPC proliferation and differentiation, and open the possibility of using intra-islet adult stem cells for diabetes treatment.</p>