BACKGROUND: Fulminant hepatic failure is a devastating process associated with high mortality, but no sequele after recovep. At the moment, there are no specific therapeutic modalities except for the orthotopic liver transplantation(OLT) which is limited to a small number of patients due to a lack of donor organ. Recently, several nonsurgical managements have been investigated to overcome the donor shortage and to bridge patients to OLT. These include artificial hepatic support systems, hepatocyte transplantation and extracorporeal liver support. Xenotransplantation is also being investigated to circumbent the donor shortage. Hepatocyte transplantation:The application of liver cell transplantation has been envisioned for temporary metabolic support during liver failure, provision of specific liver functions in inherited metabolic diseases of the liver and as a vehicle for ex vivo gene therapy. Potential advantages over OLT are that the procedure is simple, hepatoyctes can be cryopreserved for immediate use in need, the cost is less expensive and abrogation of allograft rejection may be easier by the modification of antigenicity during culture. Moreover, donor shortage can be overcome by the use of fetal hepatocytes, conditionally immortalized hepatocytes and possibly liver progenitor cells. However, the optimum route and the method are still being investigated. Recently, biodegradable matrix or cotransplantation with non-parencymal liver cells is used to improve and prolong the survival of transplanted hepatocytes in the peritoneum, and injection of donor type splenocytes into the thymus along with ablation of the peripheral lymphocytes with antilymphocyte globulin is adopted to tolerize the recipient to allogeneic hepatocytes. BioartiTicial liver:Presently, several bioartificial liver systems use mammalian hepatocytes held within cartridges, mostly hollow- fiber bioreactor perfused by plasma or whole blood. Plasma is separated from patient blood using Background:Fulminant hepatic failure is a devastating process associated with high mortality, but no sequele after recovep. At the moment, there are no specific therapeutic modalities except for the orthotopic liver transplantation(OLT) which is limited to a small number of patients due to a lack of donor organ. Recently, several nonsurgical managements have been investigated to overcome the donor shortage and to bridge patients to OLT. These include artificial hepatic support systems, hepatocyte transplantation and extracorporeal liver support. Xenotransplantation is also being investigated to circumbent the donor shortage. Hepatocyte transplantation:The application of liver cell transplantation has been envisioned for temporary metabolic support during liver failure, provision of specific liver functions in inherited metabolic diseases of the liver and as a vehicle for ex vivo gene therapy. Potential advantages over OLT are that the procedure is simple, hepatoyctes can be cryopreserved for immediate use in need, the cost is less expensive and abrogation of allograft rejection may be easier by the modification of antigenicity during culture. Moreover, donor shortage can be overcome by the use of fetal hepatocytes, conditionally immortalized hepatocytes and possibly liver progenitor cells. However, the optimum route and the method are still being investigated. Recently, biodegradable matrix or cotransplantation with non-parencymal liver cells is used to improve and prolong the survival of transplanted hepatocytes in the peritoneum, and injection of donor type splenocytes into the thymus along with ablation of the peripheral lymphocytes with antilymphocyte globulin is adopted to tolerize the recipient to allogeneic hepatocytes. BioartiTicial liver:Presently, several bioartificial liver systems use mammalian hepatocytes held within cartridges, mostly hollow- fiber bioreactor perfused by plasma or whole blood. Plasma is separated from patient blood using
Allografts ; Antilymphocyte Serum ; Bioreactors ; Cell Transplantation ; Genetic Therapy ; Hepatocytes* ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Failure* ; Liver Failure, Acute ; Liver, Artificial* ; Lymphocytes ; Metabolic Diseases ; Mortality ; Peritoneum ; Plasma ; Stem Cells ; Thymus Gland ; Tissue Donors ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Transplants

Currently, dissection of the axillary or regional lymph nodes is considered the standard staging procedure in breast cancer. However, accumulating evidence is becoming available that the sentinel node concept may provide the same or even better staging information. In the case of melanoma, it is proven that the histoiogical characteristics of the sentinel node reflect the histological characteristics of the distal part of the lymphatic basin. Morbidity can be reduced significantly by the use of sentinel node dissection as several authors have reported successful introduction of this technique into clinical practice. But in breast cancer patients, there are signigicant differences in practice relating to the technology, such as radiopharmaceuticals, injection sites, volume of injectate, combination with vital blue dye, preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, etc. Valuable reports on these topics appeared in recent journals. This review is a summary of those reports for nuclear physicians interested in sentinel node detection by lymphoscintigraphy in breast cancer patients.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes* ; Lymphoscintigraphy ; Melanoma ; Radiopharmaceuticals

No abstract availalbe.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Fibrosis* ; Humans ; Prospective Studies*

No abstract available.
Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung*

No abstract available.
Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung*

Fabricating human organs with tissue engineering and stem cells may be an alternative to current suboptimal therapies for treatment of malfunction or loss of human tissues or organs. From the tissue engineering's perspective, the patients are expected to be treated with new tissues or organs reconstructed with transplanted cells. The cells for tissue engineering could be somatic cells derived from the patients themselves, other individuals, or animals. Another valuable cell source would be stem cells. Embryonic stem cells retain the pluripotency to differentiate into every cell type of human organs, but ethical issues remain to be addressed. Adult stem cells may solve these ethical issues and immune rejection, but have limitation in differentiation into all ranges of tissue-specific cell types. Tissue engineering typically employs scaffolds fabricated from synthetic or natural biomaterials to engineer a new functional tissue from cells. The configuration of the biomaterials guides the structure of a regenerated tissue by defining a three-dimensional space. Appropriate combination of tissue engineering with stem cells shows a promise to fabricate human organs or tissues that can be utilized for patients in the near future.
Adult Stem Cells ; Animals ; Artificial Organs ; Biocompatible Materials ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; Ethics ; Humans ; Stem Cells* ; Tissue Engineering*

No abstract available.
Hand* ; Wrist*

No abstract available.
Demyelinating Diseases*

No abstract availalbe
Comorbidity* ; Hepatitis C, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Quality of Life*

This study was carried out to evaluate the expressions of the p53 protein, the estrogen receptor (ER) and the progesterone receptor (PR), as well as the relationship between their expressions and clinicopathologic prognostic factors with storage duration of a paraffin block, and correlation between the p53 protein, the ER and the PR expressions in 29 cases of leiomyosarcoma of soft tissue. The expressions of the p53 protein, the ER and the PR were semiquantiatively analyzed in paraffin sections by the immunohistochemical method out of 29 cases the p53 protein, ER and PR were expressed in 9 (31.0%), 2 (6.9%) and 5 (17.2%), respectively. The expression of the p53 protein was not significantly associated with sex, age, anatomic site, tumor size, tumor depth, histological differentiation or mitotic rate (p>0.05), but statistically correlated to storage duration of a paraffin block (p=0.028). There was no significant relationship between the expression of the ER and all the clinocopathological prognostic factors with storage duration of a paraffin block (p>0.05). The expression of the PR was related to the histological differentiation (p=0.02), but not related to other clinicopathological prognostic parameters and storage duration of a paraffin block (p>0.05). The expression of the p53 protein and the PR had a significant relationship (p=0.022), but the expression of the p53 protein and the ER had no significant correlation. In conclusion, these results suggest that the expression of the p53 protein and the PR may play a role in development and growth of soft tissue leiomyosarcoma. Further studies of large numbers are needed to clarify the exact relationship between tumorigenesis and the p53 and the PR expressions in leiomyosarcoma of soft tissue.
Carcinogenesis ; Estrogens* ; Growth and Development ; Immunohistochemistry ; Leiomyosarcoma* ; Paraffin ; Progesterone* ; Receptors, Progesterone*