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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of smoking cessation on body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and serum lipids in middle-aged male workers considering the effect of BMI which would increase by smoking cessation. The subjects were 1431 middle-aged men who worked in an enterprise in Hiroshima prefecture. Cross-sectional data measured in 1989 and longitudinal data measured from 1985 to 1989 were used in this analysis. The effect of smoking cessation on BMI, blood pressure and serum lipids were evaluated by two models of analysis of covariance (PC-SAS: GLM procedure) for the cross-sectional data and longitudinal data. In analysis of the cross-sectional data, model 1 was controlled for BMI and model 2 was not controlled for BMI. In analysis of the longitudinal data, model 3 was controlled for BMI change and model 4 was not controlled for BMI change. The main results are summarized as follows: 1. BMI was increased over the short period by smoking cessation, but over the long period BMI of ex-smokers remained at almost the same level as non-smokers'. 2. Blood pressure was increased over the short period by both the effect of smoking cessation and BMI increase from abstention from smoking. But over the long period blood pressure of ex-smokers remained at almost the same level as non-smokers. 3. Triglycerides (TG) and atherogenic index (AI) tended to decrease and HDL-cholesterol (HDLC) tended to increase over the short period by smoking cessation, but the concomitant BMI increase may have blunted any independent beneficial effect of smoking cessation on TG, AI and HDLC. But over the long period TG, AI and HDLC of ex-smokers recovered to almost the same level as non-smokers', and remained at that level. 4. These results suggest that smoking cessation have beneficial effects for health promotion in middle-aged men.

Alopecia areata universalis developed gradually over nine months in a 25-year-old woman. When her scalp hairs were totally lost and other body hair began to fall out, the symptoms of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, an organ-specific autoimmune disease, developed rapidly and progressed to diabetic coma. Alopecia did not regress after the metabolic state improved following insulin therapy. Biopsy of the scalp skin revealed significant reduction of the total number of hair bulbs and prominent lymphocyte infiltration into the remaining hair follicles. Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and alopecia areata universalis are both thought to be related to the autoimmune mechanism and sometimes coexist. However, simultaneous development of these two disorders is extremely rare.

Primary mediastinal malignant germinoma is a rare disease, and only about 15 patients have been reported in Japan. We treated a patient with this disease by intra-arterial CDDP infusion and observed good effects. A 29 year-old male was admitted to our hospital due to SVC syndrome in 1980. A right mediastinal tumor was detected, and the resection of this tumor was performed. Histological examination showed seminoma. Though postoperative Co irradiation was performed, radiation pneumonitis developed in the right lung. Subsequently, the tumor metastasized to the right kidney and spinal cord. After removal of the right kidney followed by Co irradiation, the clinical course was good. In 1987, a mass (10 x 6 cm) was detected in the left mediastinum, suggesting recurrence. Four courses of CDDP infusion into the left bronchial artery and left internal thoracic artery (1 course: 45-70 mg) were performed, and good effects were obtained. No side effects were observed, and the clinical course has been good until now. This case is of interest in evaluating the multidisciplinary treatment for mediastinal seminoma.

agnosis and treatment of hepatic tumors. In slender or elderly patients in whom the celiac artery is tortuous and directed downward and to the left, superselective catheterization of the hepatic artery is often difficult. We devised a special loop catheter for use in these cases. A 6.5-French polyethylene catheter (Selecon catheter, Clinical Supply Co., Ltd., Gifu, Japan) is tapered at the tip to

The patients with gallbladder cancer often accompany with chronic cholecystitis. This fact leads angiographic diagnosis difficult. So the angiographic findings of the chronic cholecystitis are first analyzed precisely and subtracting the angiographic findings of the gallbladder cancer from these gives us the pure (true) angiographic findings of the gallbladder cancer. Characteristic angiographic findings of the gallbladder cancer only are stretched cystic artery encasement (27/37 cases) and short straight tumor vessels "bristly vessel" (36/37 cases).

An investigation of pharmacoangiography using a combination of nitroglycerin and angiotensin II demonstrated that it was useful due to the following reasons. First, good dilatation of the proximal portion of the arteries was demonstrated which enabled good clarity of the margin between the encasement and the normal portion of the arteries. Secondly, there was almost no change demonstrated in blood pressure immediately after administration. Thirdly, tumor vessels and intrapancreatic arteries were well recognized on the resulting images.