Extract of Lentinula edodes mycelia (LEM) reportedly maintains and improves the quality of life (QOL) of patients with cancer who undergo chemotherapy. We investigated the influence of LEM extract on the QOL of 73 Japanese patients with different backgrounds and stages of cancer who were undergoing various types of therapy at 16 institutions. All patients were orally administered with LEM (1200 mg/day) for four weeks. We compared changes in their QOL before and after taking LEM using the EORTC-QLQ-C30. The QOL scores for emotional function and fatigue were significantly improved after LEM intake. Global QOL and physical function scores improved only in patients with cancer at stages III and IV. These findings suggest that oral LEM intake improves the QOL of patients with advanced cancer.

The safety and immune potential function of Fucoidan from Cladosiphon okamuranus mixed with mushroom extracts from Grifola frondosa, Phellinus linteus and Cordyceps sinensis were evaluated. Five cancer patients and five elderly people in their 70s ingested the mixed extract for a period of 4 weeks. Results showed significant LDL-C decrease and Th1/2 increase. Moreover, Quality of Life(QOL) related to facialand extremity skin, anxiety, fatigue, cold tolerance and appetite improved significantly. Finally, the clinical test supported the safety of this mixed extracts.

A 62-year-old woman was admitted to a regional hospital for acute myocardial infarction. Emergency coronary angiography revealed occlusion of the first diagonal branch, and transesophageal echocardiography showed severe mitral regurgitation due to anterior papillary muscle rupture. She was transferred to our hospital in a state of cardiogenic shock despite the use of high-dose catecholamine and intra-aortic balloon pumping. We immediately performed mitral valve replacement. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful and she was ambulatory when transferred to another hospital on foot on postoperative day 19. Physicians should be aware that fatal anterior papillary muscle rupture may be caused by isolated occlusion of the diagonal branch.

AIMTo determine the involvement of apoptotic cell death in postnatal pathogenesis in mutant strain of hypogonadic (hgn/hgn) rats testes. We evaluated the numbers and types of cells undergoing apoptotic cell death.

METHODSTissue sections were stained by the TUNEL method for in situ detection of apoptotic cells, with specific antibodies used as markers of testicular somatic and germ cells.

RESULTSWe found that apoptosis in the hgn/hgn testes during the early postnatal period occurred primarily in Sertoli cells, which should actively proliferate during this stage of differentiation. These findings strongly suggest that the normal allele of hgn is involved in the direct or indirect control of differentiation and proliferation of Sertoli cells.

CONCLUSIONTo our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating early postnatal apoptosis of Sertoli cells, suggesting that the hgn/hgn rat is a unique model for the study of Sertoli cell deficiency.

Aging ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cell Death ; Hypogonadism ; pathology ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred Strains ; Sertoli Cells ; pathology ; physiology ; Testis ; growth & development ; pathology

Magnification of the surgical field is considered an essential technique for performing accurate surgery on small caliber arteries. For this reason, we use the transmicroscopic technique of vascular surgery on the tibial arteries. We obtained good results in long term patency. Our experience and results in bypass grafting to the tibial artery using a microscope are reported. Forty-four tibial artery bypasses using transmicroscopic techniques were performed in 38 consecutive patients between June 1984 and December 1992. Twenty-seven patients had arteriosclerosis obliterans, 5 had thromboangitis obliterans, 5 had acute arterial occlusion and 1 had traumatic vascular injury. Patient ages ranged from 37 to 78 years old. Thirty-five were men and 3 were women. Twenty-six surgeries were performed for limb threatening and 14 were for disabling claudication. All patients were examined with conventional aortic lower extremity angiography preoperatively. The reversed saphenous vein was used in 38, in-situ saphenous vein in 3 and composite vein to vein graft in 2. All distal anastomoses were performed by the transmicroscopic technique. Continuous sutures were used for recipient vessels larger than 1.0mm in diameter. However interrupted 8-0 sutures were chosen for smaller vessels. Distal anastomosis was made at the proximal portion of the tibial artery in 24 cases, while the distal portion of the tibial artery was used in 20 cases. On preoperative angiography, the condition of the tibial arteries affected the patency rate when runoff was poor or fair. Nine cases were judged to have “poor” runoff. Three of these became occluded during the early postoperative period, and 1 during the late phase. Eight cases were judged to have “fair” runoff. One of these became occluded during the early postoperative period, and 3 during the late phase. There were no graft failures identified throughout the follow-up period in patients with good runoff. Cumulative patency rates were 86.2% after 1 year, 79.0% after 5 years, and 67.7% after 8 years, respectively. The patency rate of the 24 grafts in which distal anastomosis was performed on the proximal tibial artery was 71. 4% after 5 years. The patency rate of the 20 grafts on the distal tibial artery was 93.3% after 5 years. There was no significant difference observed in the patency of these two groups. Hospital mortality was 2.6%. Femorotibial bypass using transmicroscopic technique could save severely ischemic limbs while maintaining hospital mortality at a low level and reducing limb loss. The advantage of microscopic surgery is achieving fine observation because the magnification level is changeable, depending on the field needed. In anastomosis of small caliber vessels like the tibial artery, magnification by 10 times is important to observe the characteristics of the intima of the recipient artery. Subsequently, the procedure is performed by transmicroscopic techniques under magnification by 5 times, which provides much higher accuracy for suture than surgical loupe. High magnification prevents intraoperative technical error and unexpected injury.

Folic acid contained in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers is concentrated in potato chips by dehydration during frying. It is a vitamin recommended to young women which helps protect fetus from congenital disease. Additionally, folic acid can lower plasma homocysteine concentrations, a known independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This study was designed to determine whether the dietary consumption of potato chips affect serum folic acid concentration and plasma homocysteine concentration in human subjects. Results showed a significant increase in serum concentrations of folate 1, 3, and 6 hours after ingestion. Vitamin B₆, on the other hand, increased significantly after 3 hours of intake. In contrast, plasma homocysteine concentration decreased significantly 6 hours after ingestion. These results suggest that potato chips would be a good dietary source of folic acid for humans.

Japanese version of the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ-J) in Chinese consists of 60 items for 9 sub-scales called Gentleness, Qi-deficiency, Yang-deficiency, Yin-deficiency, Phlegm-wetness, Wet-heat, Blood-stasis, Qi-depression, and Special diathesis. Each question is answered by choosing one form 5 grades of a Likert scale where the grades from 1 to 5 corresponding to Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often and Always, respectively. In the present study, we examined the relationship of scores based on 597 respondents to 60 items. We tentatively classified 60 items into 12 groups by utilizing the Ward’s hierarchical clustering method and discussed similarity of items and 9 body conditions. Body Mass Index (BMI) and age can be explained by the score of 60 items by partial least square model. Significantly high correlation coefficients between real and estimated values were obtained for BMI (0.81 for male and 0.82 for female) and age (0.82 for male and 0.83 for female). Those results indicate that the answers to the 60 items can reflect aging and BMI properties and CCMQ-J can be used to assess the situation of health for evaluating the actual aging conditions in human.