Macroprolactinaemia is a common disorder and causes hyperprolactinaemia in a healthy population. The major aetiology of macroprolactin in our subjects was complexes of prolactin-IgG comprising mainly anti-prolactin autoantibodies, and other minor complex prolactin species.

If oesophageal carcinoma is detected in the superficial stage, the prognosis is better than for advanced oesophageal carcinoma. But the factors which predict the prognosis and treatment policy remain unclear. Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) have been reported to have close associations with tumour invasion and metastasis. In this study, we retrospectively studied the relations between MMP-7 and MMP-9 expression in immunohistochemistry, clinicopathologic factors, and prognosis in 55 superficial oesophageal carcinomas. MMP-7 and MMP-9 expression occurred in 23.6% and 47.3% of the patients, respectively. MMP-7 expression was significantly correlated with the presence of nodal metastasis (P ¼ 0.004). MMP-9 expression was significantly correlated with the depth of tumour invasion (P ¼ 0.004), lymphatic permeation (P ¼ 0.001), nodal metastasis (P ¼ 0.049), and pathologic differentiation grade (P ¼ 0.003). By the log-rank test, MMP-7 expression and MMP-9 expression on the invasive front were related to the prognosis. In multivariate analysis, MMP-9 expression on the invasive front was an independent prognostic indicator. The combined expression of MMP-7 and MMP-9 may be a good marker for the degree of malignancy of oesophageal cancer and for the presence of lymphatic metastasis.

The present study was carried out using a biotelemetry system to investigate whether central angiotensin II (ANG II) is involved in stress-induced cardiovascular and body temperature responses in rats. Intracerebroventricular injections of the nonselective ANG II-receptor antagonist saralasin and of the ANG II AT1-receptor antagonist losartan attenuated both the heart rate and pressor responses to immobilization stress in a dose-dependent manner. The elevation of plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine induced by immobilization stress was also suppressed by central ANG II-receptor blockade, suggesting a general attenuation of stress-induced sympathetic nervous and adrenomedullary activity by central ANG II-receptor blockade. The hyperthermia induced by immobilization stress was attenuated by central ANG II AT1-receptor blockade in a dose-dependent manner. The effects of central saralasin on the blood pressure response induced by immobilization stress were greater in Wistar-Kyoto rats than in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The present results suggest that central ANG II AT1-receptors are involved in expression of the tachycardia and hyperthermia, as well as the pressor response, induced by immobilization stress.

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In pacing-induced heart failure, the Ca2+ releasing function of SR is disturbed, which may result in an intra-cellular Ca2+ transient that was slowed down.