Usefulness of the combination of iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy and iodine-123-ioflupane scintigraphy in new-onset Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to study the significance of combining iodine-123-cardiac metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy (I-MIBG scintigraphy) and iodine-123-ioflupane (I-ioflupane) dopamine transporter scintigraphy (I-ioflupane scintigraphy) in patients suspected of having Parkinson's disease (PD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We carried out a retrospective study from April 2014 to December 2015 in 48 patients suspected of having new-onset PD who underwent both I-MIBG and I-ioflupane scintigraphies within 3 months. Cases included 37 patients diagnosed as having PD. Controls included 11 patients who had never been diagnosed as having PD or other diseases showing parkinsonism. The cutoff for diagnosing PD was a heart to mediastinum ratio (H/M ratio) of less than or equal to 2.2 for I-MIBG scintigraphy in the delayed phase and a specific binding ratio (SBR) of less than or equal to 3.8 for I-ioflupane scintigraphy. The combined use of both scintigraphies was studied using the formula SBR×H/M ratio as a marker for the logistic regression model. RESULTS: Sixteen (33.3%) patients had SBR of greater than 3.8: eight with PD; eight were controls. Five of eight patients had an H/M ratio of less than or equal to 2.2 (62.5%) and had PD. In the receiver-operating characteristic analysis, the SBR×H/M ratio cutoff was 12.5, with an area under the curve of 0.844 (95% confidence interval: 0.619-1). In an age-adjusted regression analysis in patients with SBR of greater than 3.8, the SBR×H/M ratio was associated significantly with an odds ratio of 0.69 (95% confidence interval: 0.48-0.98, P=0.041). CONCLUSION: If SBR is greater than 3.8, the SBR×H/M ratio can help diagnose PD. The combined use of the two scintigraphies can improve the diagnosis of PD.

Characteristics and prognosis of rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors: an analysis of registry data.

PURPOSE: Rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare. Accordingly, their clinical features are not well-documented and optimal treatment has not been established. The objective of this study is to clarify the rates and patterns of recurrence after surgical resection of rectal GISTs, with a focus on outcomes and therapeutic modalities. METHODS: The registry was designed to collect data on rectal GISTs recorded between January, 2003 and December, 2007 at 40 participating institutions of the Kinki GIST Study Group. The principal variables were the rates and patterns of recurrence of rectal GISTs. Other study variables were age, sex, tumor size, mitotic count, distance from the anal verge, tumor location, surgical procedures, surgical margins, and recurrence-free survival. RESULTS: Twenty-four cases were registered, 11 (45.8%) of which were classified as high-risk by the modified NIH criteria. Locoregional recurrence (7/23, 30.4%) was the predominant recurrence pattern after curative resection, with rates that did not differ after local excision (33.3%; 3/9) vs. extended resection (28.6%; 4/14). The recurrence rates were high (25.0%) even for patients with low-risk disease. There was only one case of recurrence among patients who received perioperative treatment with imatinib. CONCLUSIONS: Rectal GISTs showed high rates of local recurrence regardless of the surgical procedure. Perioperative treatment with imatinib may improve outcomes.

Amphiphilic Polymer Mediators Promoting Electron Transfer on Bioanodes with PQQ-Dependent Glucose Dehydrogenase.

Redox-active phenazinium salts bonded to amphiphilic polymer backbones are demonstrated to function as high-performance electron-transfer mediators in enzymatic bioanodes applicable to biofuel cells. The redox-active moieties could be easily tethered to the electrodes by physical adsorption of the hydrophobic regions of the polymer backbones onto the electrode surface. On the other hand, long hydrophilic chains were essential to ensure high mobility of the redox-active moieties in aqueous solutions and to enhance their electron-transfer properties. We found that an amphiphilic mediator with a linear polymer backbone exhibited stable adsorption behavior on the electrode surface and generated high bioelectrocatalytic current (>1.8 ± 0.32 mA/cm2) in the presence of pyrroloquinoline quinone-dependent glucose dehydrogenase and an aqueous solution of glucose fuel. This current was more than two times higher than that of an electrode treated with a low-molecular-weight phenazinium salt. Moreover, the bioelectrode modified with the polymer mediator retained the high electrocatalytic current after 10 exchanges of the glucose fuel. The mediator-modified bioelectrodes are expected to be useful for various bio-related energy and electronic devices.

Impact of the Japanese gastric cancer screening system on treatment outcomes in gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST): an analysis based on the GIST registry.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the stomach are found incidentally during gastric cancer screening in Japan. This study investigated whether the Japanese gastric cancer screening system helps to improve treatment outcomes in gastric GIST based on an analysis of the GIST registry conducted by the Kinki GIST Study Group. METHODS: The registry was designed to collect data on background characteristics, treatment methods, pathologic characteristics, and prognosis of GIST from January 2003 through December 2007 at 40 participating institutions. RESULTS: The study enrolled 672 GIST patients, 482 of whom had gastric GIST. According to the modified National Institutes of Health consensus criteria, 22.6 % of the patients were classified as high risk for recurrence, 18.5 % as intermediate risk, 35.9 % as low risk, and 13.9 % as very low risk. After exclusion of the patients inevaluable for treatment outcome, the study included 137 symptomatic patients (symptomatic group) and 147 asymptomatic patients (asymptomatic group). The diagnosis of the asymptomatic patients was determined through gastric cancer screening. The median tumor size in the asymptomatic group was significantly smaller than in the symptomatic group (3.5 vs. 5.3 cm; P < 0.0001). The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate in the asymptomatic high-risk patients (72.4 %) was lower than in their symptomatic counterparts (46.3 %) (P = 0.017). More patients in the asymptomatic group underwent laparoscopic surgery (42.2 vs. 27.2 %; P = 0.0081). CONCLUSIONS: By identifying asymptomatic patients, the Japanese gastric cancer screening system contributes to early detection of gastric GIST and favorable treatment outcomes.

Determination of molybdate in environmental water by ion chromatography coupled with a preconcentration method employing a selective chelating resin.

A simple and sensitive suppressed ion chromatography (IC) method with conductivity detection for the determination of molybdate in environmental water is proposed. Molybdate in highly saline water was extracted and preconcentrated. Preconcentration was accomplished by using a chelating resin using a chelating resin immobilized with carboxymethylated polyethylenimine (Presep(®) PolyChelate). This resin is able to trap a variety of metal elements without any interference of alkali and alkaline-earth metals. A 30-mL volume of brackish water was adjusted for appropriate pH and then flushed through 100 mg of the chelating resin. Molybdate concentrated on the resin could be easily eluted with 6 mL of 0.1 M NaOH. A large volume injection method for IC was achieved with in-line neutralization of the effluent. The determination of 0.6 µg L(-1) molybdate in highly saline water was made possible with a 500-µL injection. Samples of brackish water were taken at various distances from the river mouth. The determined concentrations of molybdate correlated closely with concentrations of chloride.

Simultaneous determination of ionic and neutral preservatives by inline dialysis-ion chromatography coupled with a hydrophobic-ion exchange mixed mode column.

A quantitative analysis was developed for eight acidic and neutral preservatives in foods and daily necessities using the inline dialysis-IC combined with hydrophobic anion-exchange separation. The eight preservatives were dialyzed by inline dialysis and separated on a hydrophobic anion exchange column. Under the optimized separation conditions, the detection limits (S/N = 3) for the eight preservatives were from 0.08 to 0.66 mg L(-1), moreover, a good linearity (R(2) > 0.998) for each preservative was obtained in the range to 100 mg L(-1). Although the dialysis rate of the neutral preservatives was not so high, a good repeatability (RSD, n = 8) of less than 1.5% for the eight preservatives was obtained. The inline dialysis-IC method was applied to the determination of the preservatives in foods and daily necessities. The preservatives were quantified without any interference. The proposed method will be useful for the determination of the preservatives in foods and daily necessities containing high concentration matrices.