PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for field modification during radiotherapy in esophageal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study on 33 patients that underwent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Pathologic findings were squamous cell carcinoma in 32 patients and adenocarcinoma in 1 patient. All patients underwent PET/CT scans before and during CRT (after receiving 40 Gy and before a 20 Gy boost dose). Response evaluation was determined by PET/CT using metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total glycolytic activity (TGA), MTV ratio (rMTV) and TGA ratio (rTGA), or determined by CT. rMTV and rTGA were reduction ratio of MTV and TGA between before and during CRT, respectively. RESULTS: Significant decreases in MTV (MTV2.5: mean 70.09%, p < 0.001) and TGA (TGA2.5: mean 79.08%, p<0.001) were found between before and during CRT. Median rMTV2.5 was 0.299 (range, 0 to 0.98) and median rTGA2.5 was 0.209 (range, 0 to 0.92). During CRT, PET/CT detected newly developed distant metastasis in 1 patient, and this resulted in a treatment strategy change. At a median 4 months (range, 0 to 12 months) after completion of CRT, 8 patients (24.2%) achieved clinically complete response, 11 (33.3%) partial response, 5 (15.2%) stable disease, and 9 (27.3%) disease progression. SUVmax (p = 0.029), rMTV50% (p = 0.016), rMTV75% (p = 0.023) on intra-treatment PET were found to correlate with complete clinical response. CONCLUSION: PET/CT during CRT can provide additional information useful for radiotherapy planning and offer the potential for tumor response evaluation during CRT. rMTV50% during CRT was found to be a useful predictor of clinical response.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Chemoradiotherapy* ; Disease Progression ; Electrons ; Esophageal Neoplasms* ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography* ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Tumor Burden

No abstract available.
Animals ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1* ; Macrophages* ; Neutrophils* ; Rats* ; Urinary Bladder*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1* ; Macrophages* ; Neutrophils* ; Rats* ; Urinary Bladder*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this present study was to compare mouse embryo development in 3 commercial media and hatching competence of mouse embryo with or without enzymatic treatment. METHODS: Collected 375 mouse embryos were divided into three groups, and then cultured in IVF-20 (G2), Medicult IVF (M3), P-1 (blastocyst M), respectively. Three day mouse morulae were cultured in G2 media treated with pronase. The results were analyzed using Chi-square test, and considered statistically significant when p<0.01. RESULTS: The developmental rate of 2 cell mouse embryo after 72 hours was highest in IVF-20 (G2) among conventional 3 media. The hatching rate of mouse morulae was low when clultured in G2 media without pronase during 48 hours. However, it was higher when cultured in media treated with l mg/ml, 2.5 mg/ml, 5 mg/ml pronase, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Using good media and digestion of zona pellucida with enzymatic treatment improve development and hatching rate of embryo. Therefore, implantation and pregnancy rate could be improved.
Animals ; Digestion ; Embryonic Development ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Mental Competency ; Mice* ; Morula ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Pronase* ; Zona Pellucida

No abstract available.
Lichen Nitidus* ; Tacrolimus*

The systemic lupus erythematosus is a self-perpetuating disease with multisystem involvement, i.e.; skin, kidney, serous membrane, nervous system and other organs. The mortality in SLE is determined primarily by the extent of renal involvement and the degree of immunosuppression resulting from the therapy. We experienced two cases of lupus nephritis in SLE with clinical, serologic, immunologic and pathologic evaluations. Renal biopsy revealed focal and segmental proliferative glomerulonephritis and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. Both patients have been improving with prednisolone on follow-up studies.
Biopsy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerulonephritis ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Kidney ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Lupus Nephritis* ; Mortality ; Nervous System ; Prednisolone ; Serous Membrane ; Skin

Animal models are useful tools to study the molecular basis of schizophrenia pathophysiology and efficacy of potential therapeutic agents. Schizophrenia animal models can be subdivided into three classes ; drug-induced models, genetic models, and environmental models and each model is designed based on specific traits corresponding to the characteristic symptoms of human schizophrenia patients. Psychomotor agitation and sensitivity to psychotomimetic drugs are often thought to reflect positive symptoms. Social interaction deficits and affective impairments are known to correspond to negative symptoms. Also, cognitive symptoms have been linked to the working memory impairments, attention deficits and related cognitive deficits in animals. To analyze such components in quantifiable manners, various behavioral paradigms have been developed and utilized. Here, we overview these animal models, focusing on underlying rationales for their use in the context of schizophrenia research.
Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Memory, Short-Term ; Models, Animal* ; Models, Genetic ; Neurobehavioral Manifestations ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Schizophrenia*

No abstract available.
Pyloric Stenosis, Hypertrophic*

We assessed the accuracy of clinical evaluation, arthrography and arthroscopy in the diagnosis of meniscal lesions in ninty knees in which arthrotomy was performed for disabling symptoms after evaluation by these three methods. At surgery, ninty-two menisci were removed, of which seventy-two were abnormal and twenty were normal. In these ninty-two menisci, correct diagnostic rate was made clinically 78%, arthrographically 70% and arthroscopically 86%. Arthrographic diagnosis was least accurate for lesions of the lateral meniscus and arthroscopic diagnosis was least accurate for lesions of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus and peripheral lesions. Based on this study, it was concluded that both the arthrography and arthroscopy are valuable technique for diagnosis of meniscal lesions.
Animals ; Arthrography ; Arthroscopy ; Diagnosis ; Horns ; Knee ; Menisci, Tibial