Prolonged Epigastric Pain Caused by a Leaf Stem Embedded in the Gastric Wall.

A 67-year-old woman underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy to determine the cause of her prolonged epigastric pain. During the examination, a sharp-pointed foreign body was observed; the edge of the object had been embedded in the gastric wall. The object was removed via an endoscope, and the patients' symptoms improved immediately. Based on a dietary history and an electron microscope examination, we identified the object as a stem of mizuna, a potherb mustard. Our report indicates that commonly eaten leafy green vegetables can act as sharp-pointed foreign bodies with the potential to injure the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Lipomatosis of the canine parotid gland: case report with a literature review.

In this report, we describe a case of lipomatosis in the left parotid gland of an eight-year-old female Shetland sheepdog and review the relevant literature. Preoperative diagnosis of lipomatosis with Tru-Cut biopsy presented difficulties in this case. The postoperative diagnosis was based on the gross appearance of a non-infiltrative, circumscribed swollen mass in the parotid gland and the histological appearance of normal adipocytes that infiltrated into the parotid gland without involving surrounding structures. Additionally, flotation of the whole parotid gland in formalin solution together with well-maintained residual lobulation and a well-maintained configuration on the cut surface were identified as subsidiary characteristics of lipomatosis of the parotid gland. Lipomatosis of the parotid gland has been rarely reported in dogs and is a poorly understood condition.

The establishment of a new mouse model with orthotopic esophageal cancer showing the esophageal stricture.

We established a promising new experimental animal model with an orthotopic xenograft of esophageal cancer that successfully represents poor oral intake, a major clinical feature of esophageal cancer. The advantage of this model is that no surgical technique is required, only the injection of a cell suspension by a needle and syringe via the esophageal lumen from the mouth, which provides a high reproducibility of tumor implantation and a rapid progress of outcome. We propose that this model is useful to study cancer-related outcomes and for developing new therapies for esophageal cancer, and we expect it to make a contribution to clinical practice.

Genome-wide linkage analysis of type 2 diabetes mellitus reconfirms the susceptibility locus on 11p13-p12 in Japanese.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder, and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with both insulin secretion defect and insulin resistance. The primary metabolic defect leading to type 2 diabetes mellitus has been thought to be varied among populations, especially in Japanese and Caucasians. Here, we have done the genome-wide scan for type 2 diabetes mellitus using 102 affected Japanese sib-pairs to identify the genetic factors predisposing to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nonparametric linkage analysis showed one suggestive evidence for linkage to 11p13-p12 [D11S905: two-point maximum LOD score (MLS) of 2.89 and multipoint MLS of 2.32] and one nominally significant evidence for linkage to 6q15-q16 (D6S462: two-point MLS of 2.02). Interestingly, the 11p13-p12 region was reported to be a susceptibility locus for Japanese type 2 diabetes mellitus with suggestive evidence of linkage, and D11S905 was within 5 cM to D11S935 with the highest MLS in the previous linkage analysis reported. The only overlapped susceptibility region with suggestive evidence of linkage for Japanese type 2 diabetes mellitus was D11S935-D11S905 among the three reports including this study. These results taken together suggest that a susceptibility gene for type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japanese will reside in 11p13-p12.

Cyclin A correlates with the sensitivity of human cancer cells to cytotoxic effects of 5-FU.

We investigated the role of cyclin A in the cytotoxic effect of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on cancer cell lines. Experiments were performed using gastric cancer chemosensitive NUGC3, and chemoresistant NUGC3/5FU/L established by repeated exposure to 5-FU. 5-FU inhibited cell growth of NUGC3 in a dose-dependent manner. Low concentrations of 5-FU did not inhibit cell growth of NUGC3/5FU/L, while high concentrations slightly inhibited cell growth. Examination of the cell cycle pattern of NUGC3 cells showed accumulation at S-phase at 10 micro M and at G1-S-phase at 100 micro M of 5-FU. Cell cycle pattern of NUGC3/5FU/L cells did not change 5-FU concentrations. 5-FU increased cyclin A mRNA level in NUGC3 cells but not NUGC3/5FU/L cells. In the presence of 100 micro M 5-FU, cyclin A protein level increased 2.6-fold in NUGC3 and 1.47-fold in NUGC3/5FU/L. 5-FU dose-dependently increased the percentage of cyclin A-positive NUGC3 cells, but not NUGC3/5FU/L cells. The percentage of cyclin A-positive cells in other 5-FU sensitive esophageal, colon and gastric cancer cell lines (T.Tn, LOVO, DLD-1, MKN-7), increased in the presence of 1 and 10 micro M 5-FU, while cyclin A-positive cells in 5-FU resitant hepatocellular and colon carcinoma cell lines (HCC50 and C-1), did not increase with the same treatment. Our results indicate that the cytotoxic effects of 5-FU in human cancer cell lines correlate with cyclin A and it may be used as a predictive factor for chemotherapy response.