Previous clinical studies have demonstrated that gabapentin, a drug that binds to the voltage-gated calcium channel alpha2delta1 subunit proteins, is effective in the management of neuropathic pain, but there is limited evidence that addresses the participation of glial cells in the anti-allodynic effects of this drug. The present study investigated the participation of glial cells in the anti-nociceptive effects of gabapentin in rats with trigeminal neuropathic pain produced by mal-positioned dental implants. Under anesthesia, the left mandibular second molar was extracted and replaced by a miniature dental implant to induce injury to the inferior alveolar nerve. Mal-positioned dental implants significantly decreased the air-puff thresholds both ipsilateral and contralateral to the injury site. Gabapentin was administered intracisternally beginning on postoperative day (POD) 1 or on POD 7 for three days. Early or late treatment with 0.3, 3, or 30 microg of gabapentin produced significant anti-allodynic effect in the rats with mal-positioned dental implants. On POD 9, in the mal-positioned dental implants group, OX-42, a microglia marker, and GFAP, an astrocyte marker, were found to be up-regulated in the medullary dorsal horn, compared with the naive group. However, the intracisternal administration of gabapentin (30 microg) failed to reduce the number of activated microglia or astrocytes in the medullary dorsal horn. These findings suggest that gabapentin produces significant anti-nociceptive effects, which are not mediated by the inhibition of glial cell function in the medullary dorsal horn, in a rat model of trigeminal neuropathic pain.
Amines ; Anesthesia ; Animals ; Astrocytes ; Calcium Channels ; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids ; Dental Implants ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Horns ; Mandibular Nerve ; Microglia ; Molar ; Neuralgia ; Neuroglia ; Proteins ; Rats

We report a case of 65 years old man who was found on routine esophagogastroduodenoscopy to have gastric tumour. Histology revealed adenocarcinoma. Staging investigation with abdominal computed tomography (CT) confirmed gastric cancer of the antrum with lymph node enlargement at hepatoduodenal ligament. The patient underwent laparoscopic assisted distal gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy. Pathology revealed intestinal type moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma invading lamina propria (pT1a). Four positive lymph nodes out of 34 did not show metastatic adenocarcinoma but rather Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) and were positive for p63 and CK5/6 on immunohistochemistary. Primary site of SCC was not found. He received adjuvant chemotherapy with TS-1 60 mg. After two years of follow-up he is asymptomatic and repeated EGD and abdominal CT Scan were normal. Herein, the authors report the case of early gastric cancer with synchronous metastatic SCC with unknown primary site.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between macronutrient composition and metabolic syndrome (MetS) incidence in Korean adults. Data were obtained from a cohort of 10,030 members aged 40 to 69 years who were enrolled from the 2 cities (Ansung and Ansan) between 2001 and 2002 to participate in the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study. Of these members, 5,565 participants, who were free of MetS and reported no diagnosis of cardiovascular disease at baseline, were included in this study. MetS was defined using the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III and Asia-Pacific criteria for waist circumference. MetS incidence rate were identified during a 2-year follow-up period. Baseline dietary information was obtained using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the quartiles of percentages of total calorie from macronutrients consumed and MetS incidence. In analyses, baseline information, including age, sex, body mass index, income status, educational status, smoking status, alcohol drinking status, and physical activity level was considered as confounding variables. Participants with the second quartile of the percentages of carbohydrate calorie (67%–70%) had a 23% reduced odds ratio (95% confidence interval, 0.61–0.97) for MetS incidence compared with those with the fourth quartile after adjusting for confounding variables. The findings suggest that middle aged or elderly Korean adults who consume approximately 67%–70% of calorie from carbohydrate have a reduced risk of MetS.
Adult* ; Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Cohort Studies ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Educational Status ; Epidemiology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genome ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Motor Activity ; Odds Ratio ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Waist Circumference

BACKGROUND: The Cordis coronary stent is a flexible, balloon expandable, radiopaque tantalum stent. Previous reports have shown excellent initial clinical outcomes. To our knowledge, there is no report of the long-term clinical outcomes. The intensely radiopaque tantalum may interfere with the angiographic assessment. We intended to evaluate long-term clinical and angiographic restenosis rates after successful implantation of the Cordis tantalum coronary stent. METHOD: Two hundred and eighty-five consecutive patients with 300 lesions were treated with 366 Cordis stents. An angiographic follow-up substudy was performed in 190 lesions ; 6 month follow-up angiograms were available in 167(88%). At follow-up, intravascular ultrasound(IVUS) was performed to (1) determine the pattern of restenosis and (2) to validate the quantitative coronary angiographic(QCA) caliper measurements. RESULTS: IVUS and QCA caliper measurement of minimal luminal diameter correlated reliably (r=0.767, p<0.001). The QCA analysis detected diffuse in-stent restenosis more reliably than focal in-stent restenosis(p<0.01). The overall angiographic restenosis rate was 19%, The factors affecting angiographic restenosis were post-stent minimum lumen diameter, type C lesion, and reference vessel size. CONCLUSION: We concluded 1) The angiographic restenosis rate of Cordis stent was comparable to that of other slotted-tube stent. 2) The QCA caliper method is reliable for the assessment of Cordis in-stent restenosis, especially in the detection of diffuse in-stent restenosis. However, QCA may miss focal in-stent restenosis only detectable by IVUS
Coronary Artery Disease ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Phenobarbital ; Stents* ; Tantalum*

BACKGROUND: Recently, several reports regarding the protected and/or unprotected left main stenting suggested the possibility of percutaneous intervention for this prohibited area. We intented to evaluate immediate and long-term outcomes after elective stenting of unprotected left main coronary artery in selected patients. METHOD: Forty eight consecutive patients with unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis and normal left ventricular function were treated with stents implantation. The poststent antithrombotic regimen were aspirin, ticlopidine with warfarin in 14 pateints or without warfarin in 34 patients. The stents for left main coronary artery stenosis were Palmaz-Schatz stent in 25, NIR stent in 8, Multi-link stent in 3, Cordis stent in 7, Palmaz stent in 2, Gianturco-Roubin stent II in 2, and Microstent in 1 patient. Intravascular ultrasound was performed in selected patients before predilation and after stenting at late stage of this study. RESULTS: The procedural success rate was 100%. Regardless of anticoagulation, the in hospital complication including stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, emergency bypass surgery and death did not occur. Six-months follow-up angiography was performed in 31 patients(82%) of 38 eligible patients. The angiographic restenosis occurred in 7 patients(22%) who subsequently underwent elective coronary bypass surgery in 5 patients and rotational atherectomy/balloon angioplasty in 2 patients. The target lesion revascularization rate was 18%. One death(3%) occurred 2 days after elective coronary bypass surgery during follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Stenting of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis might be a safe and effective alternative to bypass surgery in carefully selected patients with normal left ventricular function. However, further clinical study should be needed for the late outcomes with larger numbers of patients.
Angiography ; Angioplasty ; Aspirin ; Coronary Stenosis* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Stents* ; Thrombosis ; Ticlopidine ; Ultrasonography ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Warfarin

OBJECTIVE: Authors aimed to determine the targeting ability of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2)-conjugated quantum dots (QDs) in vitro, and apply it for a xenograft prostate cancer mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Conjugation reaction of QDs was performed by using the N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide (EDC) and sulfo-(N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide) (Sulfo-NHS). The human umbilical vein cord endothelial cells (HUVECs) were incubated with QDs, conjugated with antiVGFR2, to see a specific binding in vitro. Fluorescent cell images were taken by a confocal microscope. The human prostate cancer cells (PC3) were injected to five nude mice on hind limbs to make the xenograft tumor model. QD-antiVEGFR2 antibody complex was injected into the tumor model and fluorescence measurements were performed at 1, 4, 9, 12, 15, and 24 hours after the injection. RESULTS: The specific interaction between HUVECs and QD-antiVEGFR2 antibody was clearly shown in vitro. The in vivo fluorescence image disclosed that there was an increased signal of tumor, 12 hours after the injection of QDs. CONCLUSION: By showing endothelial cells binding with QDs-antiVEGFR2 antibodyand an experimental application of the antibody for VEGFR2 imaging in the prostate cancer xenograft mouse model, we suggests that the antibody-conjugated QDs can be a potential imaging tool for angiogenesis of the cancer.
Animals ; Carbodiimides/pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel ; Fluorescence ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Neovascularization, Pathologic/*pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms/*pathology ; *Quantum Dots ; Succinimides/pharmacology ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2/*antagonists & inhibitors