Background-Knowledge of the physical properties of atherosclerotic plaque is essential when evaluating its vulnerability in a clinical setting. Such knowledge, however, is still difficult to obtain with the various approaches developed to date. Methods and Results-This article describes a noninvasive method for evaluating the regional elasticity (the elastic modulus in the circumferential direction) of tissue surrounding atherosclerotic plaque in which a novel phased tracking method is applied to measure minute changes in thickness of each of the multiple layers of the arterial wall during one heartbeat. By comparing the pathological findings with the distribution of elasticity, average elasticity of lipid and that of a mixture of smooth muscle and collagen fiber can be determined. On the basis of these reference parameters, each point is statistically categorized as lipid, mixture, or other. Thus, the plaque is electronically stained using transcutaneous ultrasound. By applying the method to the common carotid arteries, the presence of thin collagen fiber was clarified along the arterial axis for normal subjects, whereas soft inclusion of lipid was found for every plaque in subjects with hyperlipidemia. Conclusion-This

Minimally invasive percutaneous endoscopic discectomy (PED) with a transforaminal approach under local anesthesia was started in the late 20th century. As the procedure requires a skin incision of only 8 mm, it is the least invasive disc surgery procedure at present, and owing to advances in instruments and optics, the use of this technique has gradually spread. In Japan, Dr. Dezawa from Teikyo University Mizonokuchi Hospital introduced this technique in 2003. Thanks to his efforts, the number of surgeons who can perform PED has increased, although the number of active PED surgeons is still only around 20. The first author (K.S.) started PED in 2010. In this review article, we explain the state-of-the-art PED transforaminal technique for minimally invasive disc surgery and present three successful cases.

In a demographic and histologic study of 200 intraoral minor salivary gland tumors seen in Japan (Nagasaki and Miyagi prefectures), 127 cases (63.5%) were classified as benign, comprising 124 pleomorphic adenomas and 3 monomorphic adenomas. The other 73 cases (36.5%) were malignant tumors, represented by 33 adenoid cystic carcinomas, 16 mucoepidermoid carcinomas, 10 carcinoma in pleomorphic adenomas, 6 acinic cell carcinomas, 5 adenocarcinomas, one polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma, one undifferentiated carcinoma and one clear cell carcinoma. There was an overall female preponderance (1.78/1). The mean age for females was 47.2 years and for males was 50.6 years. The mean age for patients with malignant tumors was 10 years greater than for patients with benign tumors and was statistically significant. The palate was the most common site for intraoral minor salivary gland tumors followed by the lip and buccal mucosa. These three sites accounted for 83° of all cases. Tumors arising in these three sites were predominantly benign. In contrast, those located in the gingiva, floor of the mouth and tongue were predominantly malignant. The results of this study were compared with other recent studies.-minor salivary gland ; tumors ; histology ; age and sex ; Japanese Neoplasms of minor salivary gland origin occur much less commonly than those arising from major salivary glands (Gorlin and Chaudhry 1957;Richardson et al. 1975;Main et al. 1976;Shrikhande and Talvalker 1978;DelBalso 1979;Perzin and LiVolsi 1979;Brocheriou et al. 1980;Eveson and Cawson 1985b). In spite of their relative infrequency in terms of the total number of cases accessioned in most oral or hospital surgical pathology services (Regezi et al.

2.

Papillary adenoma of type II pneumocytes is a rare tumour. It is considered to be a benign neoplasm and is derived from immature cells in the bronchioloalveolar epithelium, however, its biological nature has not been elucidated. We report a case of an adenomatous tumour; a papillary adenoma of type II pneumocytes, which we regard as possessing malignant potential. Light microscopically, as well circumscribed, papillary tumour of predominantly cuboidal cells resembling type II pneumocytes was found, but Clara type and ciliated cells were also present. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells reacted positively with antibodies to surfactant apoproteins (A, B), carcinoembryonic antigen, cytochrome P-450 1A1-2 and 2B1-2. Ultrastructurally, many osmiophilic lamellar bodies and electron-dense granules were demonstrated. Semi-serial sections revealed signs of transbronchial dissemination and vascular invasion. Morphometry using 12-dimensional cluster analysis disclosed features of the tumour cells which resembled those of pneumocyte type II adenocarcinoma. These findings suggest that the present case has some malignant characteristics and originates from immature bronchiolar or alveolar cells, with a potential to develop into both type II pneumocyte and Clara cell type adenocarcinomas.

: Percutaneous endoscopic surgery for the lumbar spine, which was established in the last decade, requires only an 8-mm skin incision and causes minimal damage to the paravertebral muscles ; thus, it is considered to be a minimally invasive technique for spinal surgery. It has been used to perform percutaneous endoscopic discectomy via two main approaches : the TF approach is a posterolateral one through the intervertebral foramen and can be done under local anesthesia ; the IL approach is a more traditional one through the interlaminar space and is difficult to perform under local anesthesia. Recently, these techniques have been applied for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), the TF method for foraminal stenosis under local anesthesia, and the IL method for central and lateral recess stenosis under general anesthesia. In this study, using a fresh human cadaver model, we performed simultaneous decompression of the lateral recess and foraminal stenosis at L4-5 using the TF approach. Computed tomography confirmed enlargement of the lateral recess and intervertebral foramen. This technique, which can be performed under local anesthesia, should benefit elderly patients with LSS and poor general condition due to multiple comorbidities. Finally, we introduce the concept of percutaneous transforaminal ventral facetectomy using a spinal percutaneous endoscope. J. Med. Invest. 64 : 1-6, February, 2017Keywords : Percutaneous endoscopic surgery, lumbar spinal stenosis, foraminoplasty, ventral facetectomy

Summary To understand genetic events which play a role in the development and/or progression of human endometrial cancer, we studied allelotypes on all autosomal chromosomes, as well as chromosome X, with 42 microsatellite markers and 56 endometrial cancers. The most frequent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was observed on the long arm of chromosome 10 (14 of 30, 47%), which was commonly detected in grade 1 cancer.We constructed a detailed deletion map and defined two commonly deleted regions in 1Oq25-q26; one was the 8 cM region between DlOS209 and DIOS216, the other was the 12 cM region between DIOS217 and DIOS590. Replication errors at two or more loci were observed in 24 of 56 tumours (43%), suggesting that disruption of the DNA mismatch repair system also plays an important role in the course of endometrial carcinogenesis.

The distribution of urocortin in the human central nervous system suggests that urocortin may work as a neurotransmitter like other neuropeptides in the human.