This study describes an evaluation of the sonographic, cholangiographic, pathological, and immunological findings, and the protective effect shown by rats reinfected with Clonorchis sinensis. Eight experimental rat groups were, namely, a normal control, a primary infection control, a reinfection I (reinfection 7 week after treatment following 3-week infection), a reinfection II (reinfection 2 week after treatment following 8-week infection), a reinfection III (exploration of the intrahepatic bile ducts 1 week after reinfection 4 week after treatment following 4-week infection), a superinfection, a secondary infection control, and an infection following immunization group. Sonographic and cholangiographic findings showed moderate or marked dilatation of the bile duct confluence in the primary infection control, reinfection II, and secondary infection control groups. Juvenile worms survived in the intrahepatic bile ducts 1 week after reinfection following treatment in the reinfection III group. It was concluded that reinfecting juvenile worms found during the first week following reinfection failed to survive or grow further. Anatomical, pathophysiological, or immunological changes may induce protection from reinfection in rats.
Animals ; Anthelmintics/administration & dosage/therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Helminth/blood ; Antigens, Helminth/administration & dosage/immunology ; Bile Duct Diseases/parasitology/*pathology/ultrasonography ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/parasitology/*pathology/ultrasonography ; Cholangiography ; Clonorchiasis/parasitology/*pathology/ultrasonography ; Clonorchis sinensis/*pathogenicity ; Immunization ; Praziquantel/administration & dosage/therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sound Spectrography ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

In spite of the nice screening program using the state-of-the-art imaging modalities, most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not eligible for curative resection due to poor hepatic functional reserve and multiplicity of the tumors. Therefore they greatly rely on percutaneous interventional procedures. Among these, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and local ablation therapies including ethanol injection therapy or radiofrequency (RF) thermal ablation have gained wider acceptance for the local treatment of unresectable HCC with growing evidence of survival gain. Although we need more prospective randomized trials to determine the definite role of these interventional therapies, the current consensus is that they are safe and effective for the local control of small HCC and have a potential to replace definitive surgical options. In this review, the basic principles and published clinical results including long-term survival rates and complications are reviewed. The benefits and limitations of each therapy are also discussed.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/radiography/*therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; English Abstract ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/radiography/*therapy ; *Radiography, Interventional

Among several diagnostic tools for clonorchiasis (Clonorchis sinensis infection), radiologic examinations are commonly used in clinical practices. During the 2 past decades, many reports regarding imaging findings of clonorchiasis were introduced. The basic imaging finding of clonorchiasis is diffuse dilatation of the peripheral intrahepatic bile ducts, without dilation of the large intrahepatic or extrahepatic bile ducts. By this finding, however, active clonorchiasis cannot be differentiated from cured infection. Some recent radiologic studies suggested specific findings of active clonorchiasis. Besides direct demonstration of worms, increased periductal echogenicity on sonography and periductal enhancement on dynamic contrast-enhanced CT or MR imaging possibly represent active clonorchiasis. Those images of the liver clonorchiasis are known to be correlated with worm burdens (EPG counts) in their frequency and also severity. The images of cholangiocarcinoma associated with clonorchiasis show both the tumor with obstruction images and diffuse dilatation of the peripheral intrahepatic bile ducts. Radiological images can be a good practical alternative diagnostic method of clonorchiasis.
Bile Ducts/parasitology/pathology ; *Cholangiography ; Clonorchiasis/*diagnosis/ultrasonography ; Humans

PURPOSE: Overproduction of lipid peroxidation byproducts and disturbances in the antioxidant defense system have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including prostate cancer. Although several studies have investigated the level of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants in prostate cancer, there are no reports on alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in prostate cancer. Here we assessed the effects of ALA on the antioxidant system in prostate cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PC-3, LNCaP, and RWPE-2 cell lines were used in this study. Redox factor (Ref)-1 protein was measured by Western blot analysis after treatment with ALA. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to detect superoxide dismutase (SOD)-1 and -2, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) mRNA expression. RESULTS: Ref-1 was expressed in the PC-3, LNCaP, and RWPE-2 cell lines. The expression of Ref-1 protein was increased after treatment with 125, 250, and 500 microM ALA in the PC-3 (p<0.05) and LNCaP (p>0.05) cells compared with the RWPE-2 cells at 48 hours. In PC-3 cells, the mRNA expression of SOD-1, SOD-2, catalase, and GSH-Px decreased at 24 and 48 hours dose-dependently compared with that in RWPE-2 cells (p<0.05). The mRNA expression of SOD-2, catalase, and GSH-Px in LNCaP cell decreased at 48 hours dose-dependently (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of Ref-1 protein and antioxidant enzymes changed after ALA exposure in prostate cancer cells. Our findings suggest that ALA affects the antioxidant system in prostate cancer cells and may be related to compensatory changes in the antioxidant defense system of the cells.
Antioxidants ; Blotting, Western ; Catalase ; Cell Line ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Thioctic Acid

Congenital short pancreas due to agenesis of its body and tail of the pancreas results from defectivedevelopment of part of the dorsal primordium. We describe the ERCP and CT features of this rare condition, whichis associated with acute pancreatitis.
Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatitis*

We measured changes in sonographic findings of patients with clonorchiasis after a treatment in a highly endemic area. A total of 347 residents showed positive stool results for Clonorchis sinensis eggs in a village in northeastern China, and were treated with praziquantel. Of them, 132 patients underwent abdominal sonography both before and 1 year after treatment, and the changes in sonographic findings of 83 cured subjects were compared. Diffuse dilatation of intrahepatic bile ducts (DDIHD) was found in 82 patients (98.2%) before and 80 (96.4%) after treatment, which was improved in 3, aggravated in 1, and unchanged in 79 patients. Increased periductal echogenicity (IPDE) was observed in 42 patients (50.6%) before and 45 (54.2%) after treatment, which was improved in 5, aggravated in 8, and unchanged in 70 patients. Floating echogenic foci in the gallbladder (FEFGB) was detected in 32 patients (38.6%) before and 17 (20.5%) after treatment, which was improved in 20, aggravated in 5, and unchanged in 58 patients. Improvement of FEFGB only was statistically significantly (P = 0.004). The present results confirm that DDIHD and IPDE persist but FEFGB decreases significantly at 1 year after treatment. In a heavy endemic area, the sonographic finding of FEFGB may suggest active clonorchiasis 1 year after treatment.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/parasitology/ultrasonography ; Child ; China/epidemiology ; Clonorchiasis/complications/*drug therapy/epidemiology/*ultrasonography ; *Endemic Diseases ; Female ; Gallbladder/parasitology/ultrasonography ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Praziquantel/*therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

No abstract availble.
Angiomyolipoma/*diagnosis/pathology/surgery ; Antigens, Neoplasm/immunology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis/pathology/surgery ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins/immunology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: Alterations in the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway are associated with the development and progression of human prostate cancer. Decursin can attenuate the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. We investigated the relationship between the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway and decursin in prostate cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PC-3 and LNCaP cell lines were used. Cell viability was measured with methyl-thiazole tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, and cell apoptosis analysis was performed by FACScan. The amount of beta-catenin protein after treatment with decursin was measured by Western blot analysis. Expression of MMP-7 mRNA was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Death and apoptosis were increased after treatment with decursin 0.5-100 micrometer in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. This was revealed dose and time-dependent increase of cancer cell death on 24, 48 and 72 hours. FACScan showed an increment of apoptosis on 24, 48 hours. Expression of intracellular beta-catenin protein was decreased dose-dependently in both of prostate cancer cell lines. Decursin reduced MMP-7 mRNA expression on 6, 12, 24, 48 hours dose-dependently. CONCLUSIONS: Decursin affects the viability of prostate cancer cells. Increased cancer cell death was associated with increased apoptosis. This study suggests that decursin may play a role in the treatment of prostate cancer.
Apoptosis ; Benzopyrans ; beta Catenin ; Blotting, Western ; Butyrates ; Cell Death ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 7 ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger

PURPOSE: Small uterine cervical tumors are often undetected on MRI, and undetectable tumors are usually regarded as being in their early stages. The purpose of this study was to evaluate morphological factors determining MRI detectability of uterine cervical tumors by comparing detected and undetected tumors using high resolution MRI units. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six surgically-proven uterine cervical cancer patients were included in this study. Using a GE Signa 1.5T magnet (GE, U.S.A.) axial T1-weighted MR images and axial, sagittal, and coronal T2-weighted fast spin echo MR images were obtained with a 5 mm thickness/2 mm gap and a 512x256 matrix size. The patients were divided into two groups, tumor-detected and tumor-undetected. Maximal tumor dimension, depth of stromal invasion, and horizontal tumor spread, measured during histopathological examinations, as well as pathological stages, were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: In the tumor-detected group, the pathological stages were IB1 in 25, IB2 in 3, IIA in 10, and IIB in 5 patients; in the tumor-undetected group, the stages were IA1 in 8, IA2 in 2, and IB1 in 13 patients. Maximal tumor dimension, depth of stromal invasion and horizontal tumor spread for tumor-detected and -undetected groups were 27.4 (10-60) mm vs. 10.4 (3-40) mm (p=0.077), 11.1 (3-20) mm vs. 2.3 (0-5) mm (p<0.001), and 26.6 (8-60) mm vs. 10.4 (3-40) mm (p=0.057), respectively. CONCLUSION: Of the criteria studied, depth of stromal invasion is the most important factor in determining tumor detectability on MRI. All tumors in which this depth was more than 5 mm were thus detected; which are undetected on high resolution MRI can be regarded as early-stage tumors (stage IB1).
Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical and radiographic findings of localized foreign body (FB) granulomas onmammograms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involved 13 patients with localized FB granulomas on mammograms;their history of mammoplasty or other plastic procedures was obtained by telephone interviews. Two radiologistsanalyzed the location and morphology of FB granulomas and the presence of associated linear densities orparenchymal distortion on mammograms. Four patients underwent ultrasonography. RESULTS: No patient had a historyof mammoplasty. All 13, however, had a history of plastic procedure, three to 22 (average, 12) years previously,as follows : foreign materials including silicone liquid and oil such as paraffin been injected into the anteriorneck area of nine patients, the infra-auricular area of two, and the nose of two. Multiple small, high-density,flocculent nodules representing FB granulomas were distributed bilaterally in nine patients; they were noted inthe upper inner portion of 11 of 26 breasts. In eight patients, mammograms showed linear opacities suggestingfibrosis. There was no calcification or parenchymal distortion. Though in three cases, the masses were palpable.Ultrasonography revealed several anechoic nodules with posterior enhancement in subcutaneous fatty layers, and inone, 0.2cc of oil droplet had been aspirated under ultrasonographic guidance. CONCLUSION: Localized FB granulomasof the breast could be caused by the migration of FB from cervicofacial areas. Mammography showed characteristicdistribution of upper inner portions, and the findings were similar to those of mild interstitial mammoplasty.
Breast* ; Female ; Foreign Bodies* ; Granuloma ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body* ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Mammaplasty ; Mammography ; Nose ; Paraffin ; Plastics ; Silicones ; Ultrasonography