Background. This randomized controlled study was objectively designed to evaluate the utility cisplatin (50 mg) in transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods. From May 1991 to July 1993, 46 patients were included in the study. All had a pathologic verification of HCC. Clinically, all of the patients were considered inoperable. However, these patients satisfied eligibility criteria for TAE. The patients were divided into two groups by random sampling. In group I, 22 patients received TAE with the regimen of cisplatin (50 mg) mixed with Lipiodol 5‐15 ml followed by gelfoam pieces. In group II, 24 patients, as a controlled group, used the regimen of Lipiodol and gelfoam (Spongostan Film, Ferrosan, Denmark) pieces only, without adding any anticancer drug. The two groups were evaluated by a series of imaging studies and various clinical examinations before and after TAE. Subsequently, TAE was performed every 2 or 3 months for all patients until there was no visible tumor, or the patient could not sustain further TAE, or the patient died. Results. In group I, TAE was administered 61 times (average 2 8 times for each patient), and in group II, 73 times (average 3 times for each patient). The 1‐year and 2‐year survival rates of group I were 52.5% and 26.2%, and group II were 72.5% and 39.5%. Statistically, there was no significant difference in survival curves and survival rates between these two groups. Tumor response rate of group I was 68% (15/22) and group II was 67% (16/24). There was no significant difference in tumor response be tween these two groups. The liver and renal function studies after TAE also showed no significant difference between these two groups. Conclusions. Based on this controlled study, the authors conclude that the addition of cisplatin does not enhance the therapeutic effect of TAE for treatment of HCC.

Many studies showed that depression is correlated with osteoporosis, while others showed that low cholesterol level is also related to depression. However, these relationships still remain controversial. Since the bone mineral density (BMD) is related to depression and depression is related to hypocholesterolemia, there might exist a correlation between BMD and plasma cholesterol levels. To prove this, we enrolled 5000 individuals, 2170 males, and 2830 females, who had health check-ups at a private clinic between 1998 and 1999. They were divided into three groups. Group 1 was composed of male subjects; Group 2, female subjects; and Group 3, females aged over 50 to exclude pre-menopausal females. Each subject had a routine physical examination, fasting blood drawing, BMD measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) over the wrist, and was given a questionnaire to answer. Between Groups 1 and 2, the females were significantly younger, had higher body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), and platelet, but lower BMD, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglycerides (TG), hemoglobin (Hgb), and white blood cell (WBC) count. As for Groups 1 and 3, all the aforementioned findings still remained the same except that the systolic blood pressure (SBP) was higher and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was lower in Group 3. Our results showed that BMD is negatively related to age in males. In females, it is negatively correlated with age, FPG, PPG, SBP, DBP, TC, LDLC, TG, and Hgb, but positively related to BMI and platelet. However, for females in Group 3, BMD is only negatively related to age, FPG, SBP, and TG but positively related to BMI. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the BMD is negatively related to age but positively related to BMI in both males and females. In Group 3, BMD is negatively related to age and FPG but positively related BMI. In conclusion, no correlation exists between BMD and cholesterol. This implies that the depression is not significantly related to cholesterol and/or BMD. This might be due to various confounding factors, which could affect their relationships. The negative correlation between BMD and FPG is only observed in females older than 50 years. Further studies are needed to clarify these relationships.

This is the first study to determine the prevalence of PAS as 59 per million school-aged children by a large-scale screening using 2DE. Although the majority of children with PAS have associated TBA and impaired pulmonary function, all patients with PAS were unrecognized due to non-specific symptoms. Early identification of PAS and surgery result in significant improvement in pulmonary function.

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