Background : To assess the feasibility of laparoscope-guided minilaparotomy (endoscopic minilaparotomy) for renal cell carcinoma in patients on chronic dialysis. Methods : Endoscopic retroperitoneal minilaparotomy using a 30 ° telescope was carried out through single skin incision (5-8 cm) in eight patients with renal cell carcinoma who were on chronic dialysis. Outcomes of the operations were compared to those in eight patients on chronic dialysis with renal cell carcinoma who underwent standard translumbar radical nephrectomy.Results : Resection of the tumor was successfully completed without complication and the postoperative course was uneventful in both of the treatment groups. No significant difference in mean operative time or mean blood loss was observed between the treatment groups. Wound pain was minimal and analgesics were generally not required in the minilaparotomy group. The endoscopic laparotomy group resumed full diet and began walking earlier than the group that underwent standard radical nephrectomy. Conclusions : Endoscopic minilaparotomy seems to be a valuable alternative treatment for renal cell carcinoma in patients on chronic dialysis.

The culture supernatant of B cells from patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who had never been treated with corticosteroids had bone-resorbing activity (BRA) which stimulated the 45Ca release from prelabeled murine fetal bones. Then we studied the characteristics and the relationship of this BRA with several lymphokines previously reported. The BRA was eluted as three peaks at approximately 17,000, 35,000, and 80,000 daltons by Sephacryl S-200 column chromatography. Recombinant (r)IL 1 alpha, rIL 1 beta, and rTNF possessed BRA, but rIL 4 and rIL 6 did not. Furthermore, the BRA from SLE B cells was absorbed with anti-IL 1 alpha antibody but not with anti-IL 1 beta and anti-TNF antibody. Therefore, the fact that SLE B cells produce BRA which corresponds to IL 1 alpha and IL 1 alpha produced by B cells might be one of the causes of bone destruction in SLE patients.

No abstract

Circulation Journal Official Journal of the Japanese Circulation Society http://www. j-circ.or.jp successful ablation sites has never been evaluated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the distance between the HB area and successful site of ablation of ATs in which the earliest activation sites were recorded by the HB catheter, among the standard HRA, HB and CS catheters, and their spatial distribution. Methods Patients' CharacteristicsThe records of 41 patients who underwent electrophysiological study (EPS) and ablation of focal ATs from 2004 to 2011 were reviewed and 12 patients (29%) in whom the AT was terminated by rapid injection of a small amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and in whom the earliest atrial activation during AT was recorded in the HB catheter among the standard HRA, HB and CS catheters were investigated in this study. ne of the conventional strategies for ablating focal atrial tachycardia (AT) with radiofrequency (RF) energy is to seek and target the site of earliest activation. This involves conducting detailed baseline mapping within the atrium, and analyzing the sequence of atrial activation of the AT recorded by the intracardiac electrode catheters. For AT originating from the His bundle (HB) area, mapping is carefully performed in the area around the HB. 1 However, the origin of the AT can be distant to the HB area, even if the site of earliest atrial activation among the high right atrium (HRA), HB, and coronary sinus (CS) catheters is observed in the HB catheter. In those cases, meticulous mapping around the HB area may prolong the procedure without helping the operator to achieve ablation success. Adenosine-sensitive AT in which the earliest activation is recorded at the HB is considered to be among ATs arising from the atrioventricular (AV) annulus, 2 but the distribution and actual distance between the HB and

The APTT values became prolonged under dabigatran usage and exhibited a remarkable diversity. Although major bleeding did not occur unless APTT was prolonged excessively, minor bleeding arose irrespective of the APTT values even within the range of the APTT values not exceeding 80s.