Search

Introduction: Polycythemia vera (PV) accompanies the clinical course of thrombosis. Phosphatidylserine (PS) expression on the plasma membrane has been known to be one of place where the coagulation system activates. We studied the relationship between clotting factor activity and PS expression on the erythrocyte membrane in patients with erythrocytosis. Methods: The coagulation test and PS expression in 23 patients with erythrocytosis were measured. PS expression was determined indirectly by measuring annexin V binding to erythrocytes using fluorescence activated cell sorter analysis (FACS). Results: The activity of clotting factors (II, V, VII, VIII, von Willebrand factor, IX, X) was significantly lower in PV than in the mutation-negative erythrocytosis. There was a significant correlation between reduced activity of clotting factors such as V, X, and IX and increased PS expression of the erythrocyte membrane. Conclusion: Increased expression of PS on the erythrocyte membrane may reduce the activities of clotting factors in PV patients with JAK2 V617F mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical course of losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide (Preminent®)-induced hyponatremia has not been described. We summarized 40 patients with Preminent-induced hyponatremia. The study involved 15 (37.5%) men and 25 (62.5%) women (mean age [SD], 76.4 [8.3] years; range, 55–95). Their sodium levels before Preminent administration were 139.5 (4.9) mEq/L (range, 131–145; reference range, 135–147). The duration from the day of Preminent administration to the day with the lowest sodium level was 59.3 (64.9) days (range, 2–207; median, 24). Most patients for whom this duration was <50 days exhibited progressive symptoms, whereas most of those for whom this duration was >50 days did not exhibit progressive symptoms but exhibited symptoms after fever or appetite loss. The lowest sodium value was 114.4 (8.2) mEq/L (range, 99–133). The duration from the time of Preminent discontinuation to (1) the time of early recovery and (2) the time of final recovery was 6.8 (5.5) days (range, 1–20; median, 5) and 11.6 (7.6) days (range, 2–29; median, 7.5), respectively. Of the 40 patients, 36 (90.0%) achieved full recovery, 1 (2.5%) suffered from after-effects due to central pontine myelinolysis, 1 (2.5%) died, and 2 (5.0%) were unknown. In the analysis of other adverse effects of Preminent and the same adverse effects of other three angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB)/thiazide combinations, hyponatremia was observed as a primary adverse effect of all ARB/thiazide combinations. However, hyperesthesia dermatitis was reported as an adverse effect of Preminent only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone lesions in multiple myeloma (MM) have a significant impact on the quality of life of elderly patients, but they have not been extensively investigated in the elderly. The subjects were 146 elderly MM patients (aged ≥ 65 years, median age 74) admitted to 11 institutions. Bone lesions were compared with those in 65 non-elderly MM patients. At the time of diagnosis, skeletal symptoms were present in 104 cases and bone pain in 75. Mixed type occurred more often in elderly patients (63.5%) than in controls (28.3%) ( P < 0.0001). Lumbar vertebral lesions were more common in elderly than non-elderly patients ( P < 0.0001). Bone lesions restricted physical activity in 71 elderly patients (48.6%). There was a significant difference between elderly patients with and without bone lesions in the rate of detection of plasma cells in bone marrow. Significant differences were detected in serum calcium concentration, the rate of detection of plasma cells in bone marrow, and serum β2-microglobulin concentration between patients with and without bone pain, and between those with and without fractures. No significant differences were detected in survival time between elderly patients with and without bone lesions, with and without bone pain, or with and without fractures, whereas a significant difference was seen between these subgroups of non-elderly patients. Although there were no significant differences in the incidence of bone lesions between elderly and non-elderly patients, the mixed type of bone lesions occurred more often in the elderly than in controls. Lumbar vertebral lesions were more common in elderly than non-elderly patients. There was no significant difference in prognosis between elderly patients with and those without bone lesions so the treatment strategy for bone lesions in the elderly should be aimed at improving quality of life through direct treatment of the bone lesions, with subsequent improvement of the related symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We encountered a patient with cold agglutinin disease (CAD) that worsened after Salmonella gastroenteritis. A 52-year-old male complained pain in the left fingers with cyanosis and was admitted in a local hospital. After treatment for ischemia, he demonstrated diarrhea with fever. Because of progressive anemia, he was referred to our hospital. Salmonella gastroenteritis was diagnosed based on the results of microbiological examination. Severe hemolysis was noted at admission, and Coombs test was positive (IgG-, C3d+). Cold agglutinin titer was elevated (x256). There were no findings of malignancy or infection demonstrating CA. A diagnosis of CAD with Salmonella gastroenteritis was made. Because spherocytosis was noted during admission, we measured the mean channel fluorescence (MCF) of eosin-5-maleimide (EMA) in erythrocytes from patients. MCF of EMA of the patient's erythrocytes was similar to that of normal subjects. Therefore, we concluded that coexisting hereditary spherocytosis was unlikely. We also examined the in vitro hemolytic effect of Salmonella infection on his blood and on blood from normal subjects. Treatment with Salmonella enteritidis isolated from this patient was found to induce hemolysis in the patient's blood, but not in blood from a normal subject. Moreover, treatment with Salmonella increased the titer of cold agglutinin in vitro. These data suggested that Salmonella infection might worsen hemolysis in CAD.

We herein report a case of T4 esophageal carcinoma, which was resected after chemo-radiation therapy. In addition, the metachronous lung metastasis was also resected. A 59-year-old female with esophageal carcinoma, which invaded the left main bronchus, underwent chemo-radiation therapy (the combination of systemic chemotherapy of 5-FU/CDDP and external radiation therapy) from January 2004. After the therapy, although the imaging showed a downstaging of esophageal carcinoma, a severe esophageal stricture appeared with ingestion defective. So hyper-alimentation was performed. After the state of nutrition was improved, esophagectomy was performed on March 2004 without a complication. Histopathological study revealed that no viable cells remained. Nine months after esophagectomy, chest CT scan revealed that a solitary pulmonary tumor appeared in S6 of the right. The solitary tumor enlarged gradually. On August 2005, a surgical resection for the solitary pulmonary tumor was performed. Histopathologically, the lesion was compatible for metastasis from esophageal carcinoma. The patient is alive without recurrence more than 23 months after the last surgery.

We report a 45 years old right-handed woman who developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after the operation for rupture of an ovarian cyst. One week after the onset of ARDS, she presented visual disturbance and Gerstmann syndrome. MRI T2-weighted images demonstrated abnormal high intensity lesions involving the gray and white matter of the occipital lobes bilaterally extending to the parietal lobes. Based on these findings, she was diagnosed as having posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (PLES). Her neurologic symptoms gradually improved, however, she started to complain of difficulty in grasping a cup placed on her peripheral visual fields. Neurological examination revealed no visual disturbance, weakness or cerebellar ataxia. She could easily reach objects presented in the central visual field, however, she could not grasp objects presented peripheral visual fields, while she was looking straight ahead. This disorder was observed both in the right and left visual field, whether she used the right hand or the left hand. We thought she had ataxie optique of Garcin. She was noted to have bilateral both direct and crossed ataxie optique. Ataxie optique is characterized by disturbance in reaching objects presented in the peripheral visual field. The underlying pathophysiologic mechanism is believed to be disconnection of the fibers between the primary visual area and the angular gyrus at the parietooccipital junction. Crossed ataxie optique consisting of difficulty in reaching objects presented in the contralateral visual field believed to be caused by disconnection of crossed pathways of the corpus callosum. Ataxie optique in our patient can be explained by disconnection of both direct and crossed fibers. Ataxie optique is sometimes unrecognized by the patient. Our patient suggests that ataxie optique may well be a symptom of PLES.

A feasibility study on high-dose therapy with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (HDT/PBSCT) was performed in Japanese patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Twenty evaluable patients younger than 65 years old with stage II/III MM were enrolled in this study. Three courses of VAD were used as initial chemotherapy. High-dose etoposide or cyclophosphamide followed by G-CSF was used for PBSCH, and 1.2-89.3 (median 23.4) x 106/kg of CD34+ cells were collected. Single (11 patients) or tandem (9 patients) HDT with melphalan (MEL) 200 mg/m2 or MEL 140 mg/m2 plus TBI 10 Gy were performed. The incidence of grade 4 toxicity (COG) was 10% and treatment-related mortality was 5%. Complete response and tumor reduction of more than 75% were obtained in 4 (21%) and 16 (84%) out of 19 patients, respectively. The actuarial 3-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) after PBSCT/HDT were 65.6% and 22.0%, respectively. The median EFS duration was 18 months. These preliminary results indicated that HDT/PBSCT is feasible for Japanese MM patients. A prospective randomized clinical trial will be required to assess the efficacy.