[The usefulness of MRCP in the initial diagnosis of the biliary and pancreatic diseases compared with ERCP].

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness and the limitation of the MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in the initial diagnosis for the biliary and pancreatic diseases compared with the image of Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). MRCP showed higher performance toward the discovery of the choledocholithiasis of a diameter 4 mm and more. Furthermore, MRCP reflected a malignant tumor at the constrictive part and the dilated proximal part of the biliary and pancreatic duct in 23 example all. An advantage of ERCP was the ability to carry out biopsies and therapeutic procedures, such as biliary drainage and sphincterotomy, while MRCP was an important diagnostic modality in the work-up of the biliary and pancreatic diseases and could help in planning treatment. MRCP would become the examination method first used, and it would be popularized all the more from now on.

Treatment of acute superior sagittal sinus thrombosis by t-PA infusion via venography--direct thrombolytic therapy in the acute phase.

BACKGROUND: Dural sinus thrombosis is a relatively rare syndrome, often with a very poor prognosis. Systemic anticoagulant therapy has produced poor results; therefore rapid recanalization of the affected vessels is essential. The recent advancements in angiographic technique and catheter technology enable us to perform direct selective venography. CASE REPORT: We observed a case of acute superior sagittal sinus thrombosis in a pregnant woman. The patient's consciousness level and motor function gradually deteriorated. Direct thrombolysis was performed via venography. RESULTS: The patient was treated successfully by thrombolysis with infusion of t-PA via selective venography within 2 days of rapid clinical deterioration and sustained a dramatic improvement of her neurological deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Direct thrombolysis via selective venography is considered a safe and useful treatment for dural sinus thrombosis in the acute phase.

An analysis of the prognostic significance of p53 status for squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity treated by radiotherapy.

The status of the p53 gene in biopsy specimens was analyzed to determine whether it is predictive of the outcome of radiotherapy of squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity. Biopsy materials were obtained from 45 patients, and the p53 status of each patient was determined using a single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. Fourteen of the patients were treated with radiation therapy alone; the other 31 patients underwent radiotherapy in combination with surgery or chemotherapy. Twenty-seven patients had tumors with wild-type p53 and 18 patients had a tumor with mutant p53. The initial tumor response was not significantly different between these two groups. Kaplan-Meier survival plots (log-rank test) showed that the probability of survival was not significantly different between two groups although the patients with mutant p53 had a tendency for longer survival (P = 0.2941). However, among the patients with stage III/IV tumors (n = 24), those with a wild-type p53 status tended to have longer survivals.

Pharmacological characterization of a potent nonpeptide endothelin receptor antagonist, 97-139.

The endothelin (ET) receptor antagonist activity of 97-139 [27-O-3-[2-(3-carboxy-acryloylamino)-5-hydroxyphenyl]-acryloylo xy myricerone, sodium salt] was studied. In rat aortic smooth muscle A7r5 cells that express ETA receptors and human Girardi heart cells that express ETB receptors, 97-139 displaced specifically bound [125I]ET-1 with the Ki values of 1.0 +/- 0.2 and 1000 +/- 200 nM, respectively. The compound caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of ET-1-induced increases in intracellular Ca++ levels in A7r5 cells, but not in Girardi heart cells. 97-139 also inhibited ET-1-induced [3H]thymidine incorporation in A7r5 cells (IC50 = 0.92 +/- 0.48 nM). In rat aortic rings, 97-139 produced parallel rightward shifts in the ET-1 concentration-response curve without affecting the maximal contractile response (pA2 = 8.8 +/- 0.4). Administration of 97-139 (0.03-1.0 mg/kg) i.v. to pithed rats resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of the pressor response to ET-1. The in vivo potency of 97-139 was almost the same as that of BQ-123, although the potencies of 97-139 in binding assays and in vitro functional assays were about one order of magnitude higher than those of BQ-123. This discrepancy might involve high binding toward albumin in plasma because 95% plasma and 4% albumin reduced the apparent binding affinity of 97-139 by 22- to 24-fold, but not of BQ-123.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pupillary changes due to work using visual display terminals.

In order to measure the degree of ocular fatigue and general fatigue among the workers using visual display terminal (VDT), pupillary dynamics were measured with open-loop light stimulation for 26 subjects of a mean age of 25.9 years. VDT loads were TV games for 30 min under indirect light of 100 lux. The eight parameters of pupillary light reflex with open-loop pupillometer were examined before and after VDT loads. On the right eyes, two parameters and one value increased 9.2% (Student's t-test: P less than 0.005, max.), 25.7% (Student's t-test: P less than 0.005, Min.) and 14.8% (Student's t-test: P less than 0.005, min/max) just after the load and then gradually decreased and returned to the pre-load level after a 10 to 15-min rest period. Two parameters increased 11.7% (Student's t-test: P less than 0.05, 1/2C) and 12.9% (Student's t-test: P less than 0.05, VD), one parameter decreased -9.0% (Student's t-test: P less than 0.05, 0.63D) and three parameters were constant (Student's t-test: L, A and VC) just after the load. On the left eyes, the same tendencies were observed. But there were no significant differences (Student's t-test) between the right and left eyes. The change pattern of the eight parameters were small in degree and similar to the changes when the sympathetic nervous system was activated.