No abstract

The expression of cerebellin and cerebellin mRNA was studied by radioimmunoassay and Northern blot analysis in the human brain, adrenal gland and the tumour tissues of adrenal tumour, ganglioneuroblastoma and neuroblastoma. Immunoreactive cerebellin was detected in every region of brain studied, with the highest concentrations found in the hemisphere of the cerebellum (424.2 +/- 12.6 pmol/g wet weight, n = 6, mean +/- S.E.M.) and the vermis of the cerebellum (256.8 +/- 30.5 pmol/g wet weight). Immunoreactive cerebellin was also detected in the pituitary (8.2 +/- 1.8 pmol/g wet weight), the spinal cord (3.3 +/- 0.3 pmol/g wet weight) and the normal parts of adrenal glands (2.98 +/- 0.37 pmol/g wet weight, n = 9) and some tumour tissues, such as phaeochromocytomas, cortisol-producing adrenocortical adenomas, ganglioneuroblastomas and neuroblastomas. Northern blot analysis showed that cerebellin mRNA was highly expressed in the hemisphere and vermis of the cerebellum. Cerebellin mRNA was also expressed in other regions of the brain and the tumour tissues of phaeochromocytoma, cortisol-producing adrenocortical adenoma, ganglioneuroblastoma and neuroblastoma. Immunocytochemistry of the normal adrenal gland showed that immunoreactive cerebellin was localized in the adrenal medulla. The present study has shown the expression of cerebellin and cerebellin mRNA, not only in the cerebellum but also in other regions of the brain and some tumours, such as cortisol-producing adrenocortical adenoma, phaeochromocytoma and neuroblastoma. These findings suggest possible pathophysiological roles of cerebellin peptides, not only in the cerebellum, but also in the extra-cerebellar tissues.

Various oral bacterial species were found to inhibit the growth of Helicobacter pylori strains. The growth inhibitory activities of most of these oral bacteria were adversely affected by heating at 80 degrees C for 60 min or by protease treatment, indicating that these bacteria produce bacteriocin-like inhibitory proteins against H. pylori strains. The antagonistic effects of oral bacteria against H. pylori may restrain colonization by this organism in the oral cavity.

A 68 year old Japanese female with unilateral metamorphopsia of the face that developed after a small haemorrhage in the contralateral retrosplenial region, is described. The patient claimed that the right side of a face, that is, the left side when looked at by the patient, appeared smaller than the left. In addition, her drawings of the face showed some distortions. Objects other than the face were perceived normally. Cranial CT scan revealed a small high density area in the right retrosplenial region. The face appears to have a special representation in the posterior hemisphere.Metamorphopsia, which includes micropsia, macropsia and other distortions of visual images, is a rare neurological symptom and the exact location of the lesion responsible for it is not clear. It is usually a bilateral phenomenon. Our patient developed apparent reduction in size of one side of the face in her vision after a small haemorrhage in the retrosplenial region. This may have been a form of unilateral metamosphopsia.prosopagnosia. Her visual acuity and the visual field were normal. She-was acutely aware that the right half of the examiner's face looked smaller than that of the left. This phenomenon was observed with the right or the left eye alone in the same way whoever she looked at. She stated that objects other than the face looked normal, and drawings of those objects had no distortion. As shown in fig 1, her drawing of a face showed some distortions as the distance between the right eye and the centre of the face was wider despite the smaller size of the right half of the face. Extraocular muscles were all intact with normal optokinetic nystagmus. The rest of the neurological examination was entirely normal except for slight loss of superficial sensation on the left which had been present since her putaminal haemorrhage 11 years previously.Routine blood chemistries were within normal limits. Electrocardiogram revealed sinus rhythm and negative T waves in V, through V4. Cranial CT revealed a small high density area in the right posterior part of the cingulate gyrus just behind the splenium with a partial involvement of the adjacent corpus callosum (fig 2). Also, a small low density area was noted in each putamen. The right one most likely represents the putaminal haemorrhage 11 years before. She could not recall an

Background: Previous research has compared the efficacies of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) and wholebreast irradiation (WBI). APBI immediately after surgery may provide more benefit after intraoperative insertion of catheters. Although balloon catheter-based APBI is available in the US, it is difficult in Japanese women, who have relatively small breasts. With the applicators being implanted during tumor removal, APBI can be started immediately after surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of APBI using the intraoperative open-cavity implant technique. Method: Patients (age ≥ 40 years) with invasive breast cancer (diameter ≤ 3 cm) were enrolled. Before lumpectomy, the insertion of applicators and delivery doses were simulated by computed tomography (CT). After confirmation of free margins and negative sentinel nodes (SNs) using frozen section analysis, applicators were inserted. Postoperative CT-based dose distribution analysis was performed using dose-volume histograms. APBI was started on the day of surgery, delivering 32 Gy in 8 fractions over the following 5 -6 days, and it covered a distance of 2 cm from tumor margins. This observational study was approved by the institutional review board of our hospital. Results: From October 2008 to July 2012, 157 women (160 lesions) were enrolled (age 55.0 years, <40:9, SN + : 25, for patients' request). The mean number of applicators used was 6.4 (2 -15) and mean planning target volume was 35.8 cm 3 (6.5 -137.1 cm 3 ). All radiotherapy-related toxicities were mild. However, 12 patients (7.5%) experienced wound breakdown because of surgical site infection. Two patients developed ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (1 marginal, 1 at a distant site). Conclusions: Despite the small number of participants and a short follow-up period, our results suggest that this technique could be helpful in establishing clinical safety and efficacy.