Direct observation of the intravascular atherosclerotic change provides many diagnostic information and supports successful vascular surgery. Angioscopic inspections were performed in the 23 patients who underwent laser angioplasty for the peripheral arteries and 7 patients with aorto-coronary bypass surgery in this study. Useful images could be obtained in 19 (83%) of 23 observations in the peripheral arteries, and the successful rates of angioscopic observation were influenced by the diameter and the degree of kinking of each vessel. On the other hand, intraoperative observation of coronary artery with angioscope could be performed easily in all cases. From these findings, intraoperative application of angioscopy was considered to be useful procedure for the cardiovascular surgery.

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis, while myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a heterogeneous group of clonal hematologic disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis. Some studies suggest a relationship between MDS and BD, especially intestinal BD, and trisomy 8 seems to play an important role in both diseases. There are several reports on patients with BD comorbid with MDS involving trisomy 8 that frequently have intestinal lesions refractory to conventional medical therapies. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is strongly involved in the pathophysiology of several autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and BD. In addition, TNF-alpha plays an important role in the pathophysiology of MDS by inhibiting normal hematopoiesis and inducing the programmed cell death of normal total bone marrow cells and normal CD34+ cells. Recent clinical reports demonstrate the favorable effect of TNF-alpha antagonists in patients with refractory intestinal BD and in those with MDS. We present the case of a patient with intestinal BD and MDS involving trisomy 8 who was successfully treated with adalimumab.
Adalimumab ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Behcet Syndrome ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Cell Death ; Hematopoiesis ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes* ; Systemic Vasculitis ; Trisomy* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the potential benefit of carbon ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) through comparison with photon intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in dose distribution for prostatic adenocarcinoma.

METHODSIn randomly selected 5 patients, treatment planning of C-ion RT (4 coplanar beams) and IMRT (7 coplanar fields) were worked out by computer working station. In order to make a meaningful comparison, it was defined that the 95% isodose surface had to cover 100% of the PTV in each plan; all dose was given as normalized dose with the definition of the minimum dose of the PTV being equal to 95% of prescribed dose. Dose-volume histograms (DVHs) of the tumor and organ-at-risks (OARs) were calculated. Volume irradiated more than or equal to some specified doses, conformity index ( CI) , and inhomogeneity coefficient (IC) of each treatment plan was compared, respectively.

RESULTSWith C-ion RT, the mean irradiated volumes (in %) of the rectum were significantly smaller than that with IMRT except for 95% dose level, and C-ion RT could provide complete protection to the posterior rectal wall. In addition, C-ion RT could also remarkably reduce the dose to the bladder, femoral heads and non-target normal tissues at each dose level. Dose conformation and homogeneity in the target volume of C-ion RT were better than that in IMRT (mean CI50%, 3.36 vs. 5.04, mean CI95%, 1.20 vs. 1.46, mean IC, 0.03 vs. 0.12).

CONCLUSIONCompared with IMRT, C-ion RT can obtain better dose distribution, and may reduce tumor recurrence and radiation-induced complications in prostatic adenocarcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Aged ; Carbon Radioisotopes ; therapeutic use ; Femur Head ; radiation effects ; Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; methods ; Rectum ; radiation effects ; Urinary Bladder ; radiation effects

To help medical doctors practicing Kampo medicine suggest appropriate acupuncture treatments for individ­ual patients, a study group made up of 7 acupuncturists and 5 medical doctors developed an acupuncture cur­riculum. The group provided a learning program based on the curriculum for 16 medical doctors in charge of outpatient Kampo services in a research institute. The learning program consisted of a lecture and practical training, and a total of 4 sessions were held. At the end of each session, a test was conducted to examine the participants' level of understanding. After the completion of the learning program, a questionnaire survey was conducted to confirm the usefulness of the acupuncture curriculum for the practice of Kampo medicine. The mean number of participants per session was 10.8 ± 1.3. The mean test score was 9.3 ± 0.5 (full score : 10). In the questionnaire, 14 out of the 16 (88%) answered that the acupuncture curriculum was useful or relatively useful for the practice of Kampo medicine. On comparing the numbers of new acupuncture patients with a his­tory of outpatient Kampo service use before and after the acupuncture curriculum, there was a 1.8-fold increase after it. The results support the usefulness of the acupuncture curriculum to understand acupuncture and practice Kampo medicine. Further evaluation is necessary.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify the details of inpatient cancer rehabilitation interventions provided by designated cancer hospitals in Japan. Methods: This questionnaire-based survey asked specialists regarding the outline of their facilities’ inpatient cancer rehabilitation, Dietz classification, disease, and intervention details. Results: Restorative interventions were the most common, and the most common cancer was lung cancer followed by colorectal cancer; hematologic malignancy; gastric cancer; and liver, gallbladder, and pancreatic cancer. Intervention proportions for colorectal and gastric cancer were significantly higher in general hospitals than in university hospitals and cancer centers; in contrast, those for hematological malignancy were significantly higher in university hospitals than in general hospitals. For bone and soft tissue sarcomas, intervention proportions in cancer centers were significantly higher than those in university and general hospitals; and for oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal cancers, they were significantly higher in university hospitals and cancer centers than in general hospitals. The most common intervention was walking training, followed by resistance training, basic motor training, activities of daily living training, and respiratory rehabilitation. Respiratory rehabilitation was performed significantly more frequently in university and general hospitals than in cancer centers.Conclusion: The diseases had differed according to the characteristics of the facilities, and the interventions were considered accordingly. In future, it will be necessary to verify the effectiveness of inpatient cancer rehabilitation according to facility characteristics and to disseminate information on inpatient cancer rehabilitation.