Before, and at various time intervals after a marathon race, we examined the changes in serum β -enolase concentration in 6 healthy, non-athlete volunteers and compared then with changes in serum creatine kinase (CK) and creative kinase MB isozyme (CK-MB) activities. The enzyme β-enolase (a β and ββ) exists in skeletal and heart muscle, where it catalyzes the step in the glycolytic pathway between 2-phosphoglycerate and phosphoenolpyruvate. For determination of β-enolase concentration, serum was analyzed by the sandwich enzyme immunoassay method. The β-enolase concentration was significantly increased from the pre-race value. At 6 h after the race, the β-enolase concentration became maximal in all subjects, while CK and CK-MB activities did so in one and two subjects, respectively. CK and CK-MB activities peaked at 24 h in five and four subjects, respectively. The rise and fall of β-enolase concentration was faster than those of CK and CK-MB activities. Therefore, assay of β-enolase concentration has considerable advantage for early detection of skeletal muscle damage and is highly specific and sensitive. The mean β-enolase concentration±S. D. before and immediately after, and 6, 24, 48 h and 1 week after the race was 7.7±5.96, 204±87.6, 400±292.0, 214±166.3, 41.1±30.89, and 6.5±2.20 ng/ml, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the peak β-enolase concentration and peak CK activity (r=0.981, p<0.05) and peak CK-MB activity (r=0.926, p<0.05) . However, there was no significant correlation between β-enolase concentration and Vo₂max.
These results suggest that serum β-enolase concentration may be a more effective marker of skeletal muscle damage after prolonged exercise, as well as for determination of CK activity.

We encountered 3 cases of protein S deficiency accompanied by coronary artery disease (CAD). None of the patients had been given diagnoses of congenital protein S deficiency prior to referral to our department. Our examination revealed three-vessel CAD with distal lesions. CAD was of early onset in two patients in their 40 s. In 2 of the 3 patients, off-pump coronary artery bypass was performed, and continuous heparin infusion was postoperatively changed to oral warfarin. These patients had a favorable postoperative course and graft patency was maintained. In the third patient, who underwent repeated percutaneous coronary revascularization, in whom coronary artery bypass was contraindicated, oral warfarin alleviated the symptoms of CAD. No disease progression was observed in coronary angiography performed at the one-year follow-up examination.

It is known that lactic anions and hydrogen ions (H⁺) produced during intense exercise are partly transported or diffused from muscle to blood resulting in the production of non-metabolic CO₂ through the bicarbonate buffering system. The purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability of the estimation of non-metabolic CO₂ output using respiratory gas analysis during incremental exercise. Six healthy subjects underwent an incremental pedaling exercise test accompanied by respiratory gas and arterial blood sampling. The rate of non-metabolic CO₂ output (VCO₂-NM) was calculated by subtracting projected metabolic VCO₂ from actual VCO₂ after CO₂ threshold (CT) . CT was determined using a modified V-Slope method. Bicarbonate (HCO₃^-), pH, CO₂ partial pressure and lactate concentration were measured from arterial blood samples using automatic analyzers. The kinetics of VCO₂-NM and HCO₂^- were compared throughout the exercise test. VCO₂-NM was significantly correlated with HCO₃^-decrease after CT (r=0.976, p<0.001) and the kinetics of VCO₂-NM and HCO₃^- decrease were similar during exercise. Furthermore, the amount of non-metabolic CO₂ output (NM-CO₂) calculated integrating VCO₂-NM above CT was significantly correlated with the difference in HCO₃^-between CT and exhaustion (r=0.929, p<0.01) and with the difference in arterial blood pH between rest and exhaustion (r=0.863, p<0.05) . However, NM-CO₂ was not significantly related to maximum ventilation (r=0.111, ns) . These results suggest that the estimation of non-metabolic CO₂ output during incremental exercise proposed in the present study is reliable. It was also suggested that the primary factor which influenced nonmetabolic CO₂ output during incremental exercise was the addition of H⁺ into blood and not hyperventilation.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most representative carcinoma among thyroid malignancies. The treatment strategy, especially surgery, in Japan traditionally differs from that in other countries, including Korea. Total thyroidectomy has been less frequently adopted, but lymph node dissection has been more actively performed in Japan than in other countries. Based on our data, total thyroidectomy is not necessary for low-risk patients, while it is, of course, mandatory for patients with high-risk features. Prophylactic central node dissection may not prolong patients' survival, but we routinely perform it because reoperation for recurrence to this compartment is troublesome. In the past, Japanese endocrine surgeons actively performed prophylactic lateral node dissection, but indications are narrowing. However, it may be better to perform prophylactic modified radical neck dissection for patients exhibiting certain characteristics to reduce the rate of lymph node recurrence. I hope that surgical strategies in Japan and other countries will fuse with each other in order to identify the best treatments for PTC patients throughout the world.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Carcinoma ; Factor IX ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Neck Dissection ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Reoperation ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy

A 50-year-old man with an extensive thoracic aortic aneurysm underwent staged surgery which consisted of preceding total aortic arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique using J Graft Open Stent Graft^®, followed by open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair. During the second operation, the descending aorta was cross clamped along with the preexisting stent graft, and Dacron graft was anastomosed directly to the stent graft using a running 4-0 monofilament suture. The anastomosis site was then covered with a short piece of Dacron graft identical with the stent graft in size to secure hemostasis. We herein discuss our approach in this complex case, focusing on prevention of inadvertent events such as deformation of the preexisting stent graft and unexpected bleeding.

Purpose: To compare the effects of aging in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) on their clinical background and hospitalization progress, and to examine the relationships between age and these factors.
Subject: One hundred and fifty-three patients who experienced cardiac rehabilitation after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (63.8±11.1 y.o, 126 men, 27 women).
Method: The patients were divided into the middle aged group (<65 y.o, n=84), young old group (65 to 74 y.o, n=44), and old group (75 y.o≥ n=25). The differences between groups were examined in respect of 13 items about clinical backgrounds (responsibility coronary arteries, CKmax, LVEF, residual stenosis, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipemia, smoking, and BMI) and hospitalization progress (cardiac complications, locomotorium disabilities, abnormality as 200mECG, and duration of hospitalization).
Results: Left veticular ejection fraction (LVEF) was significantly lower in the old group than in the young old group. The old group had a high rate of residual stenosis. In the coronary risk factors, all of the groups had hypertension at a high rate of 54.5% or over. The middle aged group and young old group had diabetes at about 38%. The middle aged group was prone to hyperlipemia, and had significantly a high smoking rate. Body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher in the middle aged group than in the old group. In hospitalization progress, the old group had a high rate of cardiac complications and locomotorium disability. The duration of hospitalization was significantly longer in the old group than in the other groups.
Conclusion: It would be necessary to give middle-aged persons educational guidance for the improvement of the coronary risk factors, and to provide the old persons with the suitable rehabilitation programs considering various complications.

　　This case is a 56-year-old woman. With multiple bone metastases, she was referred to the Department of Palliative Care on the same day as core needle biopsy had just been performed in the Department of Surgery. Aggressively increased oxycodone was administered to relieve her significantly severe pains by bone metastases. After relief of the pains, cancer chemotherapy of EC and weekly PTX regimens were performed parallel to palliative care. In this case, chemotherapy could be performed after the pains had been sufficiently relieved with closer cooperation between the palliative care doctor and the attending surgeon. It is important for patient-focused medical care to be delivered by both the attending doctor administering cancer treatment and the palliative care doctor working for relief of the symptoms, while they are striving to foster their tie-up.

Higher brain dysfunctions commonly interfere with functional reconstruction during rehabilitation. Most culprit lesions causing higher brain dysfunctions are observed in the cerebral cortex. However, recently, higher brain dysfunction caused by cerebellar lesions, termed cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS), has attracted attention. Here, we report a case of CCAS in a patient with cerebellar infarction exhibiting aphasia, where arterial spin labeling (ASL) method of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to confirm decreased blood flow due to crossed cerebello-cerebral diaschisis (CCCD). The patient was a 5x years old, left-handed female. She was initially admitted to a neurosurgical hospital for dizziness. MRI demonstrated cerebellar infarction in the left posterior inferior cerebellar artery area. The next day, she was admitted to our hospital for surgery after the diagnosis of hemorrhagic cerebellar infarction due to progressive loss of consciousness. Craniotomy was performed to remove the hematoma. Neurological examination revealed fluent aphasia and ataxia in the left upper and lower extremities and trunk. ASL demonstrated decreased cerebral blood flow in the left cerebellar hemisphere and right front-temporal lobe. Therefore, we detected that CCCD resulted in higher brain dysfunction. After 3 months of inpatient rehabilitation, the patient's auditory comprehension, word conversion, and word recall improved. The patient was discharged unaided. This study used ASL to confirm the diagnosis and rehabilitation of the CCAS incidence effectively.