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Vestibular schwannoma surgery necessitates intraoperative neuromonitoring to secure long-term tumor control by sufficient tumor removal and preservation of neural function. Therein, facial nerve function can be assessed in real-time and quantitatively by intraoperative continuous facial nerve monitoring with repetitive direct stimulation. The ABR and, further, CNAP, are closely monitored for the continuous assessment of the hearing function. In addition, the evoked masseter and extraocular electromyograms, SEP, MEP, and neuromonitoring of the lower cranial nerves are implemented as needed. In this article, we introduce our neuromonitoring techniques during vestibular schwannoma surgery with an illustrative video.

The lateral suboccipital retrosigmoid approach is one of the most established approaches for accessing the posterior cranial fossa. In order to expand the surgical field, several extensions, including(1)extended craniotomy(e.g., far lateral, transcondylar, and transsigmoid approaches), (2)additional intradural osseous or bony drilling(e.g., transmeatal and suprajugular approaches), and (3)fissure dissection(e.g., suprafloccular and infrafloccular approaches), have been described. In this report, we introduce our technique for the retrosigmoid approach and review several extensions as illustrated by schwannoma, meningioma, and epidermoid cyst surgeries.

Adequate control of bleeding and precise dissection techniques are required at every step of skull base surgery. Prompt identification of bleeding points, appropriate selection of hemostasis technique, and accuracy of the procedure are mandatory. Semi-sharp dissection is a multipurpose technique, while the use of sharp and blunt dissection techniques is based on each situation. In this report, we introduce our hemostasis and dissection techniques, including fibrin glue-soaked hemostatic fabric, Gore-Tex patching, and SS forceps dissection.

We present a case of a patient who survived carotid blowout syndrome(CBS)due to covered stent placement, but bled again 34 days later. A 67-year-old man with laryngeal cancer experienced cardiac arrest due to carotid blowout a day after he underwent the balloon occlusion test and abnormal feeder embolization of the tumor. After quick resuscitation, he was treated with endovascular therapy using a covered stent, since he had insufficient cerebral ischemic tolerance. We succeeded in stent placement and the bleeding stopped without any procedural complications. The patient survived after the procedure. However, bleeding recurred when a nasal endoscope was inserted 34 days later. The rupture point was immediately distal of the stent. We performed carotid artery occlusion with coils and n-butyl-cyanoacrylate. The patient survived, but his condition gradually weakened and died 97 days after stenting. Emergency hemostasis for carotid blowout using a covered stent is the only available treatment for patients who do not have sufficient cerebral ischemic tolerance. However, this procedure has a higher rate of re-bleeding than carotid artery occlusion. Moreover, it is an off-label treatment in Japan. Therefore, possible treatments for CBS including use of covered stent or treatments for non-ruptured CBS should be analyzed in the future.

A 51-year-old man with a 9-month history of narrowing of visual fields and papilledema was admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery. Upon admission, glycerol was intravenously administered and heparin flushes were initiated to maintain intravenous access. Brain MRI revealed right transverse and sigmoid sinus thrombosis on hospital day 2, and the patient was treated with unfractionated heparin. On hospital day 9, the patient had a seizure and impaired mental status. Moreover, on hospital day 10, the platelet count decreased to less than half compared with that documented upon admission. The patient was then switched from heparin to argatroban because thrombosis exacerbation due to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) was suspected. Despite negative IgG-specific chemiluminescent immunoassay for anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4) /heparin antibodies, positive functional assay led to the diagnosis of HIT. Warfarin was initiated and the platelet count was restored. Because maintaining the patient's PT-INR within the therapeutic range was difficult probably due to concomitant antimicrobial administration for complicating pneumonia, anticoagulation was switched to rivaroxaban. No bleeding or thrombotic complications developed. Thus, the presentation and clinical course should be considered for an accurate diagnosis of HIT. This is particularly important when the immunological assay is negative for anti-PF4/heparin antibodies. Furthermore, anticoagulation with rivaroxaban can be useful in the management of the subacute phase of HIT.

A 31-year-old man presented with sudden right flank pain. We found a right renal tumor with a perirenal hematoma on enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT), which suggested spontaneous rupture of the renal tumor. The tumor was located at the upper pole of the right kidney, and was not enhanced. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed slightly enhanced renal tumor, and positron emission tomography (PET) showed a hot spot in the renal mass. His anemia was getting worse, and we assumed that the renal mass was malignant. Therefore, we performed a right nephrectomy with a transperitoneal approach. On pathological examination, the tumor was found to be chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. The tumor contained a significant amount of necrotic tissue and a hematoma.

We experienced a case of undiagnosed extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma in an adult patient with single ventricle circulation after the bidirectional Glenn operation. A 32-year-old woman was scheduled for open abdominal surgery for incidental retroperitoneal tumor. She had undergone the bidirectional Glenn operation for complex congenital heart disease consisting of double outlet right ventricle, ventricular septal defect, and pulmonary artery stenosis. She had not undergone the Fontan operation because of insufficient development of pulmonary circulation. Her physical status was New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II, and her oxygen saturation was 80% in room air. She reported no symptoms for the abdominal tumor preoperatively. The surgery was performed under general and epidural anesthesia. After induction of general anesthesia, she developed hypertension and tachycardia, and the manipulation of the tumor worsened them. Landiolol, a short acting beta blocker, and nicardipine were administrated. After the resection of the tumor, hypotension refractory to volume replacement emerged, and we administrated low dose noradrenaline. She was extubated in'the operating room and was transferred to the intensive care unit. The histopathological examination of the tumor revealed extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma (paraganglioma). Catecholamine release from pheochromocytoma can be dangerous in patients with single ventricular circulation because it may elevate pulmonary resistance and thereby decrease cardiac output. Thorough preoperative examination is desirable.

A 45 year-old woman underwent a laparotomy for a giant ovarian tumor under general anesthesia. Preoperative CT scan revealed a 30 cm-diameter tumor compressing IVC. She had slight respiratory discomfort on supine position, but respiratory function test showed no abnormalities. In the operating room, after oxygenation for 3 minutes, general anesthesia was induced with fentanyl 100 μg, propofol 90 mg and rocuronium 40 mg on supine position. Immediately after the induction, her systolic blood pressure and heart rate fell to 45 mmHg and 40 beats per minute, respectively. We considered that her hemodynamic instability was supine hypotensive syndrome due to giant ovarian tumor. Therefore we placed her 30 degree right side up and pushed her tumor to the left so as not to compress the IVC. We rapidly injected acetated Ringer's solution 500 ml, ephedrine 12 mg and phenylephrine 0.1 mg, and her hemodynamic status soon recovered to normal ranges. The anesthetic induction of a patient with a giant ovarian tumor is challenging. Some reports recommend strategies such as induction on lateral position or suctioning tumor contents before induction. Careful induction of general anesthesia is required for these patients.

Aneurysms of the basilar trunk perforating artery are rarely described in the literature. Only 13 cases have been reported previously. The recommended treatment for these aneurysms is usually direct surgery such as microsurgical clipping or proximal trapping;endovascular therapy is not preferred because of difficulty to access the aneurysm. Recently however, a case report of treatment of basilar trunk perforating aneurysm with a Pipeline Embolization Device was published. Microsurgical clipping or wrapping has the disadvantage of the deep and narrow operative area and the difficult skull-base technique. Here, we report a case of basilar trunk perforating rupture aneurysm and its treatment with endovascular coil embolization.

Disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow with urothelial carcinoma in a 75-year-old man: A case study. A 75-year-old-man had first medical examination due to gross hematuria. The imaging study and cystoscopy revealed left ureteral and bladder tumor. The patient was referred for a laparoscopic assisted left nephroureterectomy and transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR-Bt). Pathological findings included urothelial carcinoma, high grade, both a pT3 ureteral tumor and a pTa bladder tumor. The patient received 2 courses of gemcitabine and cisplatin and 1 course of methotrexate, epirubicin and nedaplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy. TUR-Bt was performed twice due to recurrence in the bladder and similar pathological findings. The patient received intravesical instillation of pirarubicin (THP 30 mg in 30 mL of saline) to prevent recurrence in the bladder, but discontinued in the 3rd time because of gross hematuria. The patient was then admitted to our hospital due to gross hematuria, general fatigue, and abnormal findings in the blood analysis. On admission, pancytopenia was detected and the serum ALP level had increased to 30,266 IU/L. A biopsy and bone marrow aspiration were performed because a super bone scan image was obtained using a bone scintigram. Diffuse bone marrow metastasis of the urothelial carcinoma was observed in the pathological evaluations. Therefore, our diagnosis was urothelial carcinoma with disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow. Although treatment with zoledronic acid and blood transfusion were performed, the patient died 20 days after the admission. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow with urothelial carcinoma.

A 77-year-old female was indicated pelvic mass and hydronephrosis when her examination of advanced gastric cancer. Computed tomography revealed left ureteral dilatation and mass around the left ureter. Laparotomy biopsy was abandoned because of her low cardiac function. Thereafter, hemorrhagic stool was observed and colonoscopy revealed hemorrhagic mucosal protrusion at sigmoid colon. This lesion was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma by pathology of biopsy specimen. Colonic invasion of other organ carcinoma was suspected by colonoscopic findings. Retrograde pyelogram revealed a defect of left lower ureter. Positron emission tomography revealed the mass excluding sigmoid colon and high value (SUV max was 10.3) at the mass. Therefore, it was diagnosed invasive ureteral squamous cell carcinoma and she was treated with 2 cycles of combination chemotherapy consisting of gemcitabine (800 mg/m2: day 1 and 8) and nedaplatin (60 mg/m2: day 1). During the chemotherapy, only cytopenia (grade 4: CTCAE guidelines) was observed. About 4 months after 2 courses of chemotherapy, the tumor size was reduced by almost 100% (CR; RECIST guidelines). Thereafter, recurrence of pelvic mass was not observed.

We have experienced 6 cases with resection and reconstruction of sternum. They were 1 with osteosarcoma, 1 with synovial sarcoma, 1 with sternal metastasis of fallopian tube cancer, 1 with sternal metastasis of thyroid cancer, 1 with desmoid tumor, and 1 with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberance. Resection of both manubrium and sternum was performed in 3 cases and sternum resection in 3. There was no total resection. We used a titanium reconstruction plate and titanium mesh in 3 cases, a titanium reconstruction plate and polypropylene mesh in 2, titanium mesh in 1 for reconstruction of bony defect, and rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap in 3, pectralis major muscle flap in 2, latissimus doris myocutaneous flap in 1 for reconstruction of soft tissue defect. Postoperative courses were uneventful, and flail chest was not observed. Reconstruction of the bony defect of the anterior chest wall with the titanium reconstruction plate and titanium mesh or polypropylene mesh was effective by providing sufficient rigidity as well as protection of the thoracic organs.

The patient was a 38-year-old man. A cystostomy catheter had been inserted when he was 23 years of age for neuropathic bladder due to cervical spinal cord injury at 20 years of age. Purulent discharge from around the cystotomy had continued for approximately 4 months. Examination revealed the formation of a subcutaneous tumor around the cystostomy, with elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels (459.4 ng/ml) in the blood. Urothelial carcinoma was detected using open biopsy. It was considered that primary urothelial carcinoma of the bladder had progressed along the cystostomy, and clinical stage 4 cT4N2M0 was diagnosed, with intrapelvic lymph node metastasis evident on imaging. Four courses of gemcitabine-cisplatin chemotherapy were administered; a partial response was obtained, after which cystectomy and ileal conduit formation were performed with the main aim of improving difficulty in urination. However, retroperitoneal lymph node and liver metastases were observed 1 month postoperation with rapid enlargement; the patient died approximately 2 months after the surgery. The CEA level was observed to be 18,998 ng/ml before he died. Here, we have reported this case with a discussion of the literature concerning the association between long-term indwelling catheter in patients with spinal cord injury and the development of bladder cancer.

A 51-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of continuing back pain for 2 weeks. Computed tomography revealed a mass 30x40 mm in diameter adjacent to the left adrenal gland. We performed laparoscopic surgery in order to relieve the symptoms and make a diagnosis. Because there was adhesion between the mass and gastric wall, the mass was resected together with the gastric wall. Histopathological findings revealed the cyst with ciliated columunar epithelium and the final diagnosis was retroperitoneal bronchogenic cyst. There was no evidence of malignancy and the back pain disappeared.

Case 1: The patient was a 68-year-old man. Abdominal computed tomography performed during hospitalization for the close observation of a pituitary gland tumor, showed a right renal mass. Percutaneus needle biopsy revealed IgG4-related disease of the kidney. Pituitary gland tumor biopsy also indicated that the lesion was associated with IgG4-related disease. The pancreas did not show abnormalities. The patient was treated with prednisolone, and both renal and pituitary lesions markedly decreased in size. Case 2: the patient was an 80-year-old man. Right hydronephrosis was observed, and computed tomography showed a right pelvic tumor. Right renal pelvic tumor was diagnosed, and the patient underwent right nephroureterectomy. Pathological examination showed that this tumor was also associated with IgG4-related sclerotic disease. IgG4-related disease tends to occur in multiple organs. This condition should be considered when treating patients with multiple sclerotic diseases. However, in some patients, the disease may be localized to a single site. Further studies are required to elucidate the characteristics of IgG4-related disease.

The mortality of cardiac rupture by blunt trauma is so high that quick diagnosis and appropriate treatment are essential for saving patients. Based on 8 such cases rescued in our hospital and on 70 other rescued cases reported in Japan, we review its treatment strategy. Ultrasound examination, particularly focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST), was useful for diagnosing traumatic cardiac rupture. It was, however, impossible to detect the exact site of rupture before surgery. Three quarters of the rescued cases suffered from right cardiac rupture and more than 95% of those were treated successfully without extracorporeal circulation. All the cases with multiple cardiac rupture needed cardiopulmonary bypass or percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) for their surgeries. And so did a quarter of the cases with left cardiac rupture. The standard treatment strategy seems to be as follows:to release cardiac tamponade as slowly as possible, to set up an extracorporeal circulation for surgery, and to repair the ruptured heart via median sternotomy.

We have evaluated the usefulness of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)[OPCAB]. The subjects were 153 patients who underwent isolated CABG between May 2005 and May 2009. They were divided into 2 groups( on-pump/arrest;ON group:76 subjects vs OPCAB;OFF group:77 subjects). The concomitant conditions, the number of bypasses, the postoperative outcome and the early graft patency rate were compared between the 2 groups. The mean age and the incidence of carotid artery lesions were significantly higher in the OFF group. The number of bypasses was significantly smaller in the OFF group. The postoperative intubation time and the length of postoperative hospitalization were significantly shorter in the OFF group. Concerning major postoperative complications, mediastinitis, cerebral infarction or bleeding was not observed in the OFF group. There was no hospital death in the OFF group. The early graft patency rate with saphenous vein graft (SVG) was significantly lower in the OFF group. Early stage extubation was achieved by the introduction of OPCAB. In some occasions, however, the target site could not be reached with OPCAB, and furthermore, the quality of anastomosis was poor. In order to achieve complete revascularization, therefore, on-pump/arrest surgery should be considered in some cases.

Numbers of tonsillectomies may be decreasing in Japan due to troublesome bleeding involved in managing in a small viewing field and relatively low national health insurance point for tonsillectomy. We found coblation tonsillectomy to have advantages of less bleeding, shorter operating time, and less postoprerative pain than conventional tonsillectomy. We found that 40% of those on whom a coblator was used reported no postoperative throat pain, and noted a quick learning curve in decreasing postoperative bleeding in coblation tonsillectomy.

A 34-year-old woman was diagnosed as primary mediastinal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, treated by cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincrisitne, prednisolone (CHOP) chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and received high-dose ranimustine, cytarabine, etoposide, cyclophosphamide (MCVAC) chemotherapy with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Seven years after complete remission was achieved, she recognized dyspnea and was diagnosed secondary interstitial pneumonitis caused by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Because her symptoms and pulmonary function got worsen gradually, she underwent lung transplantation from a brain death donor when she was 47-year-old. She has successfully rehabilitated and returned to her life without oxygen inhalation therapy.

We compared the nutritional condition, immunological function, and frequency of adverse effects during concurrent chemoradiotherapy for oral cancer between patients simultaneously receiving enteral hyperalimentation (Racol) (n=20; EHA group) and patients receiving peripheral vein nutrition (n=20; PVN group). Although there was no significant difference in the change of body weight between the two groups, the decrease of plasma albumin values in the EHA group appeared later than in the PVN group. In the PVN group, the number of lymphocytes and lymphocyte blastogenesis significantly decreased on and after day 14. On the other hand, in the EHA group, the number of lymphocytes decreased only on day 14 and no decrease in lymphocyte blastogenesis was observed. While stomatitis developed in all patients, the severity was lower in the EHA group than the PVN one. These results suggest that the simultaneous administration of Racol during concurrent chemoradiotherapy for oral cancer inhibits the deterioration of nutritional and immunological conditions as well as the severity of stomatitis. This nutrient therapy is therefore considered to be a supportive therapy for oral cancer patients.

Recent clinical trials have indicated the utility of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists in patients with cardiovascular and renal diseases. Experiments studies have shown that chronic treatment with aldosterone resulted in severe cardiac and renal injuries, which were ameliorated by MR antagonists. In vitro studies also showed that MR is highly expressed in cultured vascular endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes, mesangial cells, glomerular epithelial cells, renal fibroblasts and proximal tubular cells. In these cells, aldosterone-induced cell injuries were prevented by MR antagonists. These accumulating data support the notion that aldosterone is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and renal injuries through local MR activation.

Although type A acute aortic dissection is considered a surgical emergency, the optimal treatment of patients with preoperative cerebral malperfusion remains controversial. From September 1994 to December 2005, 68 consecutive patients with type A aortic dissection underwent emergent surgical treatment. Eight patients showed preoperative newly-developed neurological deficits. The hospital mortality rate was 25% (2 of the 8 patients). Of the 8 patients, 1 with preoperative coma died due to severe brain injury. Another with acute myocardial infarction and left hemiparesis died due to low output syndrome in the immediate postoperative period. Three of the others had persistent left hemiplegia. One of these patients showed new paraplegia early postoperatively. The preoperative neurological deficit of the remaining 3 patients had improved in some degree. The optimal strategy should be taken individually under the accurate and prompt evaluations of hemodynamic and neurological state in such patients.

A 47-year old woman, who was diagnosed as Stanford type A acute aortic dissection, underwent an emergent operation. Because of obesity and bleeding, it was impossible to find the right axillary artery. Only we could have for inflow line was the femoral line. After starting cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and crossclamping the ascending aorta, mean blood pressure of the right radial artery dropped to 15 mmHg, suggesting the occurrence of malperfusion. The ascending aorta was immediately transected, and the CPB was ceased. Inflow cannula was directly inserted into the true rumen of the ascending aorta, and resumed the CPB. The mean blood pressure rose up to 80 mmHg. Such procedure took about 10 minutes. Abnormal neurological findings were not apparent except for the transient postoperative delirium. The patient was discharged on the 48th day after operation. It is suggested that this method was useful and safe to have the new inflow line when emergently necessary.

A 75-year-old woman was given a diagnosis of malignant lymphoma (non-Hodgkin, diffuse large B cell type, stage IIA) at our hospital on August 2003. She received six courses of rituximab-based chemotherapy (R-CHOP regimen) and then she achieved complete remission. On August 16, 2004, she was readmitted in our hospital for difficulty in swallowing. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy reveled esophageal stricture and an ulcerative lesion on the esophageal mucosa. The X-ray examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract reveled a severe esophageal stricture with niches and hiatus hernia. No malignancy was seen on CT scanning, gallium radioisotope scanning and histological examination of biopsy specimens with the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The physical examination showed gibbosity, and MR imaging showed multiple compression spined fractures. Finally, we diagnosed benign esophageal stricture with reflux esophagitis. She underwent laparoscopic partial esophagectomy in September 21, 2004, and the postoperative course was satisfactory. The pathological findings showed benign esophageal stricture caused by esophagitis. We report here a case of esophageal stricture following complete remission after chemotherapy for malignant lymphoma in an elderly patient.

A 57-year-old male presented with gait disturbance, urinary incontinence, dementia resembling symptom of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) and was admitted to our institusion. A computerized tomographic scan (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed hydrocephalus as well as a tumor in the right cerebellopontine angle. We diagnosed communicating-type hydrocephalus associated with the vestibular schwannoma and tumor removal was performed prior to ventriculo-peritoneal (V-P) shunt. After surgery, symptoms of the patient disappeared promptly and cerebrospinal fluid protein elevation was normalized. One month after surgery, CT and MRI revealed reduction of the ventricle size and V-P shunt became unnecessary. Hydrocephalus is occasionally complicated by vestibular schwannoma. The majority results from obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathway by large tumors. But, small tumors also cause communicating-type hydrocephalus. Although the selection of the treatment is controversial, tumor removal without a shunt is considered as a good strategy for management of hydrocephalus associated with vestibular schwannoma.

We present the case of a one-year-old male patient with infantile primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1). The patient visited hospital because of growth delay and poor feeding when he was six months old, and was diagnosed as PH1 with chronic renal failure. He underwent peritoneal dialysis until receiving a living-related liver transplantation when he was seventeen months old, and after the operation, underwent hemodialysis or hemodiafiltration four times per week. Six months after the liver transplantation, his serum oxalate level decreased to around 20 micromol/l and a living-related kidney transplantation was successfully performed. Nine months have passed since the kidney transplantation, and the patient's liver and kidney functions have been good and his growth and development much better than before the sequential liver and kidney transplantation. However, his serum and urine oxalate levels remained high and he has required high dose hydration to prevent deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in his grafted kidney. The key-points for treating infantile PHI patients are summarized as follows; 1) make a precise diagnosis as soon as possible, 2) perform a combined liver-kidney transplantation successfully, 3) conduct careful monitoring of the serum and urine oxalate levels and continue adequate hydration after kidney transplantation until the serum and urine oxalate levels normalize. Furthermore, cooperation between the medical staff and the patient's family seems to be essential.

Here we report a case of spinal dural areteriovenous fistula (AVF) draining to the anterior spinal vein. An 80-year-old female presented with progressive weakness of lower extremities. MRI showed spinal enlargement at the Th10 to L1 with high intensity signals on T2-weighted image and multiple flow voids on the dorsal and ventral surface of the spinal cord. Angiogram of the left L2 lumbar artery demonstrated a hairpin-shaped vessel with ascending and descending limbs, mimicking radiculomedullary artery. Oblique view angiogram of the left L2 lumbar artery showed that radiculomedullary vein drained to the dilated anterior spinal vein, which then drained cranially and caudally on the anterior and posterior surface of the spinal cord. The patient underwent T9-L2 laminectomy. Several large tortuous dilated veins in the subarachnoid space were found. Examination of the inner surface of the dura revealed an arterialized vein that began at the level of L2 and coursed superiorly. The arterialized vein was coagulated and interrupted. The postoperative angiogram demonstrated the obliteration of the fistula. Postoperative MRI returned to normal with complete disappearance of T2 high signal, cord enlargement. In most spinal dural AVF, the venous drainage is predominantly upward on the posterior surface of the spinal cord. The spinal dural AVF draining to the anterior spinal vein is atypical, and cause difficulty in differentiating the anterior spinal artery from the anterior spinal vein. Oblique view angiogram may be helpful to differentiate the anterior spinal vein from anterior spinal artery.

HspBP1 was originally identified and characterized as a novel Hsp70/Hsc70-interacting protein that inhibited the Hsp70/Hsc70 chaperone activity. In this respect, Hsps have been shown to influence cell-death pathway through the interaction with key components of the apoptotic machinery. In this report, we have examined the effect of HspBP1 overexpression on the sensitivity of tumor cells to anticancer drug-induced apoptotic response. Analysis with HspBP1 deletion mutant genes showed that C-terminus 47 amino acid residues were essential for the specific interaction of HspBP1 with Hsp70/Hsc70. Overexpression of HspBP1 induced enhanced apoptotic response against anticancer drugs, but HspBP1 lacking C-terminus 47 amino acid residues did not. These results support the notion that inhibition of the function of Hsp70 enhances the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy.

A 53-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for the extensive examination and treatment of suspicioun of right renal pelvic tumor. Retrograde pyelography (RP), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a space-occupying lesion, about 2 cm in diameter, spread from the renal parenchyma to the renal pelvis. Right nephroureterectomy was performed because transitional cell carcinoma was suspected from the histopothology of the frozen section. The gross examination revealed a white tumor in the upper pole, protruding into the renal pelvis with hemorrhagic necrosis. Histological examination showed Bellini duct carcinoma of the papillary type. He received adjuvant combination chemotherapy with M-VAC (Methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, cisplatin). He has been alive without evidence of recurrence since the surgery.

Microtubules are stiff polymers that extend throughout the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and regulate the location of intracellular compartments. Microtubules are formed by the polymerization of tubulin molecules, each of which is a heterodimer consisting of 2 closely related globular polypeptides: alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin. Many of the microtubule arrays are labile and turn over rapidly; they depolymerize and repolymerize continually in living cells. One of the most striking examples is the mitotic spindle, which forms after the cytoplasmic microtubules disassemble at the onset of mitosis. The mitotic spindle is the target of a variety of agents that act by interfering with the exchange of tubulin subunits between the microtubules and the free tubulin pool. Some of these agents can be used as anticancer drugs. We have recently developed a simple and sensitive screening method for tubulin inhibitors, to which we have successfully applied the nerve growth factor/PC 12 cell system. In this report, we describe the details of our screening method for tubulin inhibitors, by which we have analyzed several well-known and new compounds as model experiments.

The frequency of diabetes and hypertension is increasing worldwide. Diabetes mellitus doubles the risk of cardiovascular diseases, even in hypertensive patients who are already at high risk because of their high blood pressure. Combination of 2 or more drugs is usually needed to achieve the target BP goal of less than 130/85 mmHg. Thiazide diuretic, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitor, ARBs and Ca blockers are beneficial in reducing cardiovascular events. However, the ACE inhibitors- or ARB-based treatments favorably affect the progression of diabetic nephrology and reduce albuminuria.

Macrolides have immuno-modulatory effects as well as anti-bacterial effects. We successfully treated three idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) patients with clarithromycin (CAM). Case 1: A 69-year-old male ITP patient was treated with CAM at a dose of 400 mg/day. His platelet count increased from 5.6 x 10(4)/microliter to 10.1 x 10(4)/microliter. Case 2: A 72-year-old male ITP patient was treated with CAM at the same dose. The platelet count increased from 1.3 x 10(4)/microliter to 12.3 x 10(4)/microliter. Case 3: A 68-year-old female ITP patient was treated with CAM at the same dose. The platelet count increased from 2.3 x 10(4)/microliter to 13 x 10(4)/microliter. These facts suggest that CAM is useful in the treatment of ITP.

A 45-year-old man visited the first hospital complained of high fever on January 2003. He was diagnosed as having Influenza virus type A infection and prescribed of Oseltamivir. He was afebrile next day, but severe myalgia of neck, shoulder, lumbar region and right femoral region was appeared. His illness was considered as polymyalgia rheumatica and started of oral steroid therapy. His symptom was deteriorated and transferred to our hospital. Echography, Ga scintigraphy, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed the multiple abscesses and the diagnosis of pyomyositis was made. Pyomyositis following Influenza virus infection must be considered as a differential diagnosis of myalgia after Influenza virus infection.