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On the basis of epidemiological data and medical costs for patients with neuroblastoma, we have calculated the cost of mass screening for neuroblastoma with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) compared to the cost when it is not performed. If the sensitivity of the mass screening is 80 % and 22 000 infants are screened annually the cost will be 27809000 yen ($191800). If mass screening is not performed, the cost will be 28 446 000 yen ($196 200). The difference in cost (637 000 yen or $4 400) is fairly small. If the sensitivity is 75 % and 16 500 infants are screened, the difference is also small (174000 yen or $1 200). Therefore, mass screening with the HPLC method will not be an undue financial burden. But re-screening at an older age will be done with less financially favorable results, considering that the sensitivity may not be as high as that of the first screening and that mothers are somewhat reluctant about re-screening. The balance of the cost of mass screening by qualitative methods may also be less favorable, since the detection rate is low.

A large number of endocrine-disrupting chemicals(EDCs) show an estrogen-like action on the genital organs. Estrogen causes two kinds of irreversible changes in the reproductive system when given in fetal and early-postnatal period in mammals: change in the hypothalamo-hypophysio-gonadal system and change in the genital organ per se resulting in tumorigenesis. Natural and synthetic estrogens including some EDCs also give rise to permanent changes in various physiologically important systems in rodents exposed to them at developing period. The research trace reaching the finding of EDCs-phenomena indicates a successful approach to the achievement produced by the consistent, unfashionable and fundamental studies carried out for a long period of time.

We corrected malpositioned continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis catheters in six patients using a new technique named the "push-pull method". A gastric biopsy forceps was advanced through the catheter to near its tip. After manipulating the tip of the forceps through the abdominal wall, the forceps was opened and pulled out slowly. Repeated insertion and removal of the forceps induced the catheter to return to the pelvic cavity. This push-pull method was successful for Swan neck straight (n=2) and coiled (n=4) catheters in all patients. The time required for the procedure was only 5-10 minutes and there were no complications.

Transient elevation of serum free T4 (gestational transient hyperthyroxinaemia; GTH) occurs occasionally during normal pregnancy, especially in early gestation. However, the frequency of GTH and its clinical features remain unclear to date. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence rate of GTH and the relation between serum levels of hCG, free T4 (fT4), and TSH in a large number of pregnant women.The four criteria of GTH were as follows: (1) no past history of thyroid disease, (2) negative tests for MCHA and TGHA, (3) no multiple pregnancies or trophoblastic disease and (4) transient hyperthyroxinaemia at less than 16 weeks of gestation. Thyroid function and hCG levels in 23,163 pregnant women were evaluated by mass sreening. If individual fT4 levels were more than the upper limit, blood re-sampling and the clinical and laboratory analysis of thyroid function were performed to exclude women with thyroid disease. The concentrations of hCG, fT4, and TSH in women with GTH and normal pregnant controls (n = 218) were compared. Regression analysis was performed for the comparison between hCG, fT4, and TSH levels in women with GTH.Blood samples were obtained using dried blood spots. Blood levels of fT4 was measured by radioimmunoassay, TSH and hCG were measured by fluoroimmunoassay. Anti-microsome antibody (MCHA) and anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TGHA) were measured by indirect agglutination reaction.GTH was observed in 66 of 23,163 women. The overall occurrence rate of GTH was 0.285%. In 22 of the 66 GTH women, serum TSH was undetectable. Using regression analyses, the concentration of fT4 was correlated with hCG levels in women with GTH (P0.05, r = 0.269), whereas the concentration of TSH was not correlated with hCG or fT4 level. The concentrations (M +/- SD) of fT4, TSH, and hCG in women with GTH were 42.5 +/- 12.3 pmol/l, 0.20 +/- 0.31 mU/l and 190.2 +/- 98.8 x 10(3) IU/l, whereas those of controls were 14.6 +/- 3.8 pmol/l, 1.43 +/- 1.25 mU/l and 60.1 +/- 45.1 x 10(3) IU/l. The concentrations of fT4 and hCG were significantly (P0.0001) higher than those of normal controls, and TSH was significantly (P0.0001) lower than those of normal controls.The occurrence rate of gestational transient hyperthyroxinaemia was 0.285%, and could possibly be attributed to increased levels of circulating hCG. Based on the data obtained from a large number of pregnant women, we propose gestational transient hyperthyroxinaemia as a definite clinical entity.

A 51-year-old woman began haemodialysis for chronic renal failure in February 1981. Symptomatic anaemia required treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) in February 1990 (3000 IU, twice weekly, intravenously). She developed influenza-like symptoms and treatment was withdrawn. In June 1994 rHuEPO was resumed at a very low dose of 100 IU subcutaneously three times weekly, and was increased gradually to 500 IU, without inducing any side-effects. At this dose the haematocrit was maintained at 22.0 – 25.0% and the symptoms of anaemia improved. In patients like ours, with influenza-like symptoms caused by rHuEPO therapy, dose escalation starting from an ultra-low dose may be effective in avoiding side-effects.

To clarify the abnormalities of coagulation and fibrinolytic systems on predialysis patients with chronic renal failure, we measured indices of coagulation and fibrinolytic systems in 33 predialysis patients whose creatinine (Cr) levels were over 3.0 mg/dl. We termed twenty-four patients with chronic glomerulonephritis the "CGN group". We also termed nine patients wit diabetes mellitus the "DM group". We measured thrombin.antithrombin III complex (TAT), alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor plasmin complex (PIC), D-dimer, protein C, protein S, thrombomodulin (TM), vitronectin, tissue plasminogen activator.plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 complex (tPAI-C) in theses two groups. Furthermore, we measured the same indices after 6 months in the CGN group. As a result, the plasma levels of both TAT, PIC, TM/Cr ration in the DM group were significantly higher that those in the CGN group, changes in both protein S activities and plasma levels of tPAI-C were reduced significantly after 6 months. In conclusion, the abnormalities of coagulation and fibrinolytic systems in predialysis diabetic patients were stronger than those in predialysis patients with CGN. Furthermore, these abnormalities were worsened after 6 months in predialysis patients with chronic renal failure.

We tried to discriminate between cases of spontaneous regression and non-regression during mass screening for neuroblastoma, taking advantage of differences in respect to the urinary homoranillic acid/vanillyl mandelic acid (HVA/VMA) ratio and the original tumor site among true positive, false negative and natural occurrence cases. After classifying them into a total of six groups depending on the two factors, ratio:1, 1-2 oror = 2 and tumor site: adrenal or extra-adrenal in origin, we calculated the mathematical probability of a given true positive case being one of spontaneous regression. A tumor of extra-adrenal origin was likely to regress spontaneously, especially one with an HVA/VMA ratio1 oror = 2 (82.2-100%). A tumor of adrenal origin with an HVA/VMA ratio1 seemed unlikely to regress spontaneously (0-4%). The present method, employing simple preoperative information, would be useful in future for the selection of true positive cases which should be observed without treatment.

1) By March 1992, 166,959 infants were screened in Sapporo City, and 35 patients were found to have this tumor. Incidence of this tumor in our screening was one among 5,059 babies examined. 2) Eleven infants among the group with negative screening at 6 months developed neuroblastoma later. The patients developed tumors one to several years after mass screening, and 2/3 of these cases showed high urinary HVA compared to VMA. 3) We postulate that some of the adrenal steroids, possibly cortisol, may play a role for the malignant progression of this tumor.

In patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis, marked anemia may cause decreased immunological function. To improve this anemia, we investigated the effect on immunological indices of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) administration in 24 hemodialysis patients (13 males and 11 females) with renal anemia complications. Their mean age was 54.9 +/- 14.8 years and the mean duration of dialysis was 100.5 +/- 54.9 months. The subjects were treated with rHuEPO for 12 months, which helped to maintain a hematocrit value elevated by 5% from the baseline. Cell-mediated immunity and humoral immunity were assessed prior to as well as throughout the treatment period. Of the total number of patients studied, the anemia of 16 improved while 8 did not show signs of sufficient improvement. The improved group showed an increase in in vitro lymphocytic response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA), CD4/CD8, CD16 and serum IgM levels, while the CD8 level decreased significantly. Improvement in the general physical condition with rHuEPO treatment appeared to be associated with the changes in immunological indices, but the precise mechanism remains obscure.

Sixty-eight cases of neuroblastoma detected during mass screening being performed by 11 local self-governing bodies of Japan were studied concerning age, clinical stage, and survival rate. Their average ages at the first screening, at the beginning of thorough examination, and at the start of therapy were 215.7, 245.6, and 264.7 days, respectively. This screening, which is aimed at the 6-month-old infants is considered to be acceptable, on the grounds that the majority of the cases (95.6%) were asymptomatic at the time of thorough examination, that for most of the cases (98.5%) the initiation of therapy was at under 1 year of age, and that their 60-month survival rate was 87.5%. However, there seems to be room for discussion of the best age at which subjects should be screened, because the 68 cases included some patients already with advanced stages at the time of thorough examination, and because "false negative cases" were identified besides the 68 positive cases.

We describe a microassay for measuring galactose (Gal) and galactose 1-phosphate (Gal-1-P) in dried blood spots. After a coupled enzyme reaction involving galactose dehydrogenase (GADH, EC 1.1.1.48) and alkaline phosphatase (AP, EC 3.1.3.1) in a microplate well, NADH fluorescence is measured by a highly sensitive fluorometric microplate reader, capable of rapid measurement of fluorescence (2 min per 96 samples). Within- and between-run CVs for measurements of Gal at 90 mg/L with Gal-1-P at 130 mg/L were both less than 5% (n = 8), and analytical recoveries for Gal at 90 mg/L and Gal-1-P at 130 mg/L were 98% and 92%, respectively. Five hundred dried blood-spot samples can be assayed within 2 h, with full calculation of results by an on-line microcomputer. This rapid and reliable assay system is very useful for the routine screening of newborns for galactosemia.

A mass screening system for the early detection by means of a vanillylmandelic acid test of neuroblastoma in 6-month-old infants in Japan has been developed in eight districts. 16 of the 281 939 infants screened by this test had neuroblastoma, equivalent to a very high incidence of 1 in 17 621. 15 of the 16 children with neuroblastoma are alive; the other child died 1 month after surgery. This mass screening system for neuroblastoma used in infancy can help to improve prognosis in infants with this malignant disorder.

Echocardiograms of two hundred and ninety normal fetuses at 18-39 weeks of gestation were studied with a real-time linear scanner (3.5 MHz). Aortic valvular diameter, pulmonary valvular diameter, mitral valvular diameter, tricuspid valvular diameter and total cardiac dimension were measured. These parameters increased with fetal growth. The ratios of pulmonary to aortic valvular diameter and of tricuspid to mitral valvular diameter were more than 1, suggesting right ventricular dominance in the fetal hearts. The cardio-thoracic ratio was about 50% in this period. The four-chamber view, left ventricular long-axis view, ventricular short-axis view, short-axis view of the great arteries, the view of the aortic arch and the view of the inferior and superior vena cava were also recorded. These six views could be obtained in 9.8% of all subjects at the same time. Detection rates for these views were the greatest in pregnancy at 22-33 (especially 28-29) weeks of gestation. The ventricular short-axis view and short-axis view of the great arteries were easily detected in the dorsoposterior position, whereas the view of the aortic arch was obtained in the dorsoanterior position. It was concluded that fetal echocardiography needed to be performed at least twice, at 22-23 and 28-29 weeks of gestation, and this would be useful in diagnosing some congenital heart diseases.

Bioavailabilities of three commercially available tablets and two trial tablets of nalidixic acid were determined. The correlation between in vivo bioavailability parameters and in vitro dissolution rates derived by eight methods (oscillating basket I and II, beaker I, II, and III, rotating basket, paddle and rotating flask) is discussed. Nalidixic acid and its metabolite, 7-hydroxynalidixic acid, were determined in serum by HPLC with a strong anion-exchange resin column. All parameters for nalidixic acid bioavailability showed significant differences among the tablets tested. The relationship between Cmax and AUC was not linear but concave. However, Cmax decreased linearly in proportion to the delay of Tmax. The rank order of tablets according to bioavailabilities was just the same as the rank order obtained when comparing dissolution rates determined by any of the above methods, with the exception of one tablet which had a poor disintegrating ability. The parameters for the rate of bioavailability (Cmax and Tmax) showed good linearity with 1/T50 determined by all of the methods. However, AUC showed significant correlation with neither T50 nor 1/T50.

We describe a simple and rapid method for measuring catecholamine metabolites in urine collected on filter paper. By this method, "high-performance" liquid chromatography, urinary vanillylmandelic acid and homovanillic acid can be measured within 15 min after being eluted from filter paper treated with tartrate buffer. One hundred urine samples can be pretreated within 2 h and 100-120 samples analyzed at 18-min intervals overnight in two chromatographic systems. Moreover, urinary creatinine also can be measured rapidly because of the use of microtiter plates. We applied this method in a mass screening program for early detection of neuroblastoma in infants. Between April 1986 and March 1987, two patients with neuroblastoma were detected. In all, neuroblastoma has been detected in 17 of 88,887 infants so examined since April 1981.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Cortisol in dried blood collected on filter paper has been developed. The ELISA method is very simple and rapid and has sensitivity, accuracy and precision. The detection limit of the ELISA is 10 ng/ml blood. The intra- and interassay coefficients of variation are 11.5-13.5% and 15.7-16.7, respectively. Using the ELISA for Cortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) previously reported, dried blood from normal newborns including premature infants (n = 1583) and 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD) patient (n = 9) were analyzed. 17-OHP, Cortisol and 17-OHP/Cortisol ratio of normal newborns are 12.5 +/- 7.5 ng/ml (1.0-140 ng/ml), 89.0 +/- 64.3 ng/ml (10-1580 ng/ml) and 0.16 +/- 0.08 (0.01-0.86), respectively. In 21-OHD patients, 17-OHP is 109-1361 ng/ml, Cortisol is 35.1-146.7 ng/ml and 17-OHP/cortisol ratio is 1.84-12.2. It made recall rate less to measure Cortisol in addition to 17-OHP and to take 17-OHP/Cortisol ratio. Therefore, additional measurement of Cortisol to the primary 17-OHP screening test is advantaged in differentiating the normal newborns from the 21-OHD patients.

Further study on identification of metabolites of cinepazide, 4-(3,4,5-trimethoxycinamoyl)-1-(1-pyrrolidinyl)carbonylmethylpiperazine, in rats and men was carried out. New metabolites of cinepazide in rat urine were 4-[1-[4-(3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamoyl)-piperazinly]acetamidol-1-butanol (M-II), 4-(3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamoyl)-1-[1-(hydroxypyrrolidinyl)]carbonylmerthylpiperazine (M-IV) and 4-[1-[4-(3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamoyl)piperazinyl]acetamidol]-1-butyric acid (M-VI). Structures of two mono-O-demethylated metabolites of cinepazide predicted in the previous paper were assigned as 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethoxycinnamoyl and 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxycinnamoyl compounds (M-III and M-V) by the FT-NMR spectrometry measured in a mixture of CDC13-C6D6 (1:1, v/v) after methylation with dimethylsulfare-d6. The corresponding pyrrolidone metabolite of cinepazide was undetectable in rat urine. New metabolites of cinepazide in rat feces were found to be 4-(3,5-dihydroxy-phenethylcarbonyl)-1-(1-pyrrolidinyl)carbonylmethylpiperazine (M-VIII) and 4-(3,5-dihydroxycinnamoyl)-1-(1-pyrrolidinyl)carbonylmethylpiperazine (M-IX). Metabolites of cinepazide in human urine were studied by both methods--high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry with ion cluster technique. Unchanged drug was mainly excreted in the urine, and M-VI was the major urinary metabolite. The existence of M-IV and M-V was suggested by high performance liquid chormatography. The corresponding pyrrolidone was also undetectable in human urine.

The bioavailability of nalidixic acid in beagles was determined using the same tablet formulations previously tested on humans and was compared with bioavailability in humans and with in vitro dissolution rates. The beagle bioavailability test provided lower power in all of the bioavailability parameters than did the human test. Tmax of the tablets did not greatly differ in beagles, although in humans a wide variation of Tmax was seen. A linearity between Cmax and AUC0-infinity was observed in beagles, but Tmax did not show a linearity with Cmax or AUC in dogs, which is quite different from the relations observed in humans. The rank order of tablets according to Cmax was exactly the same between humans and beagles. AUC also showed the same rank order between humans and beagles except for on tablet with a poor disintegrating ability. A significant correlation between human and beagle Cmax values was obtained (r = 0.8952; p less than 0.05), but not between human and beagle AUC and Tmax values.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) in dried blood collected on filter paper has been developed. The ELISA method is very easy and rapid and has sensitivity, accuracy and precision. The detection limit of the ELISA method is 0.5 ng/ml blood. Intra- and interassay coefficients of variation are 7.0 approximately 8.3% and 6.7 approximately 10.5%, respectively. Correlation between the ELISA method and previously reported enzyme immunoassay is good (r = 0.961). 17-OHP values of neonates with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) are extremely high compared with normal neonates (11.0 +/- 5.9 ng/ml blood). The present study demonstrates that the ELISA method for 17-OHP is applicable to neonatal screening for CAH.

From the Childhood Cancer Registry in Japan, incidence of neuroblastoma was 1 among 100,000-150,000 children under the age of 15 years, and 25% of them were under 1 year old. But, mass-screening for this tumor in infancy showed incidence of detection of 1:5,000 babies. Even if we presume that all of the tumor cases--if not screened with the risk of developing later--were detected in infancy, this is more than the expected incidence. To explain this, we postulated 4 patterns in the natural growth of this tumor. After the start of mass-screening, the number of the patients with this tumor in much earlier stage and younger age increased and this was the main cause of improvement of the results of treatment.