The effect of acupuncture on the cardiovascular system was studied in 23 healthy males in a cross-over design comparing acupuncture and a placebo pill by measuring skin blood flow and the function of the heart. Acupuncture was found to have a modulatory effect on skin blood flow (correlation coefficient (r) = -0.68; p < 0.0005) and heart rate (r = -0.56; p < 0.005), as well as Blood-Pressure-Heart-Rate-Product (r = -0.70; p < 0.0002). The combination of rest and a placebo pill had no modulatory effect on skin blood flow, but did have a delayed effect on the heart when compared with acupuncture. The results indicate that acupuncture has the ability to enhance the regulatory mechanisms of the cardiovascular system. The possible underlying mechanism is discussed. The findings represent a physiological explanation for the possible utility of acupuncture in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis in healthy people.

Antineoplastons, first described by Burzynski, are naturally occurring peptides and aminoacid derivatives which control neoplastic growth. Antineoplaston A10 (3-phenylacetylamino-2,6-piperidinedione) is the first chemically identified antineoplaston and when it is administered orally it is hydrolysed in pancreatic juice to phenylacetylglutamine and phenylacetylisoglutamine in the ratio of 4 to 1. These metabolites are water soluble and have antitumor effect, they are further degraded to phenylacetic acid. The mixture of phenylacetylglutamine and phenylacetylisoglutamine in the ratio of 4 to 1 was formulated as Antineoplaston A10 injectable formulation. The mixture of phenylacetylglutamine and phenylacetic acid in the ratio of 1 to 4 was also shown to have antitumor effect in tissue culture study, then formulated as Antineoplaston AS2-1. The reported cytostatic inhibitory effect of A10 on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells and differentiation inducing effect of AS2-1 on various tumor cells suggest potential benefit for the treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma since this tumor recurs frequently despite initial successful treatment. We report here the effects of Antineoplaston A10 and AS2-1 on cell proliferation, cell morphology, cell cycle, and DNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Both agents inhibited cell proliferation and increased the number of cells in Go and G1 phases and Antineoplaston AS2-1 induced apoptosis, we also describe our clinical experience of a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient whose tumor, after incomplete transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for a 7 cm*7 cm HCC, has been stable for more than 15 months during which time he has been taking Antineoplaston AS2-1 continuously without any serious adverse effects.

No abstract

No abstract

The inhibitory effects of a combination of Antineoplaston A‐10 Injection with a small dose of m‐diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP) on cell and tumor growth was tested in in vitro and in vivo settings. A human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (KIM‐1) was used for the cell growth and transplanted tumor growth studies. In the cell growth study, one‐hour exposure of KIM‐1 cells to CDDP in the medium at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 μg/ml inhibited cell growth dose‐dependently. Continuous exposure of cultured cells to Antineoplaston A‐10 Injection at concentrations of 4, 6, and 8 mg/ml also inhibited tumor growth dose‐dependently. The combination of 0.5 μg/ml CDDP and 6 mg/ml A‐10 Injection inhibited cell growth more than did each agent individually. Electron microscopic study showed well‐maintained organelle structures in Antineoplaston A‐10 Injection‐treated cells compared to CDDP‐treated cells. α‐Fetoprotein (AFP) production by 104 cells in 48 h increased in the A‐10 Injection‐treated and A‐10 Injection + CDDP‐treated groups as the concentration of these agents increased. In the tumor growth study, daily administration of Antineoplaston A‐10 Injection 75 mg with once a week administration of 20 μg of CDDP for 5 weeks inhibited transplanted tumor growth in athymic mice after 33 days of treatment, while administration of 75 mg of A‐10 Injection or 20 or 60 μg of CDDP alone showed no significant inhibition of tumor growth.

The increase in body temperature (BT) is predictable during radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of liver tumors under general anesthesia. Close observation of total output energy delivered and BT are required, and preparation of cooling measures is important, in RFA of liver tumors.

In clinical anesthesia, the degree of neuromuscular blockade should be quantitatively evaluated by mechanical myography (MMG) or electromyography (EMG). Only in a very few departments, however is the neuromuscular function routinely evaluated by such equipment because of economical reasons and difficulty of handling. To establish a simple method of monitoring neuromuscular function during anesthesia, we have been studying how to evaluate the degree of neuromuscular blockade by using only a nerve stimulator.Previously, Viby-Mogensen and his colleagues showed that the "period of no response to twitch and TOF stimulation" and "surgical relaxation" simply by feeling the posttetanic twitch response (posttetanic count) or the number of responses to the TOF stimulationb", However, when there was a reaction to all four stimuli on TOF stimulation (recovery phase), especially when the TOF ratio exceeds 0.4, it was extremely difficult to detect the fade". To overcome this difficulty, "double burst stimulation (DBS)" was applied to manual evaluation of neuromuscular transmission". This DBS consists of two very short bursts that are separated by 750 msec, Each burst consists of three supramaximal stimulation, which are separated by an interval of 20 msec. (fig. 1). Our preliminary study revealed that DBS was a little more painful than TOF stimulation but much less than tetanic stimulation (50 Hz, 5 sec.) in the awake volunteers. When DBS was applied during the recovery phase, two evoked responses were observed. The previous pattern of DBS was called "double burst three three (DBS 3 . 3 ) " , and the results .of clinical study were that, the DBS 3 . 3 was significantly better than the TOF stimulation when the TOF ratio was below 0.8 4 ,5 . In other words, it was easier to detect the fade by using the DBS 3 . 3 than with TOF stimulation. However, we were interested in whether or not the adequate recovery from neuromuscular blockade in the end of anesthesia could be determined manually or tactilely. Considering that a TOF ratio of about 0.75 is regarded as reflection of clinically adequate recovery, although the DBS 3 . 3 was statistically superior to the TOF stimulation, the result does not match the clinical needs. Because, even the DBS 3 . 3 was applied, the investigator could detect the fade in the DBS responses in a very few trials when the TOF ratio was between 0.6 and 0.7 5 . Consequently, we investigated whether, by changing the stimulation pattern in the

No abstract