Cryopreservation of semen from unique lines of chicken germ plasm

Frozen semen is a practical means of preserving valuable germ plasm. Monitored samples of semen cryopreserved with glycerol for heterozygous, dominant marker stocks and for nine chromosomal rearrangement lines had sufficiently high fertility for germ-line retrieval. The results also indicated a potential for the genetic selection of certain lines for the freezability of spermatozoa, since stock and line differences in fertility occurred when previously frozen semen was used for insemination. Freezing the semen of stocks routinely reproduced provides insurance against possible disasters.

Massive cranial ossifying myxoma in a child

A case is presented in which a myxoma developed in the mastoid region in the cranium and extending to the middle and posterior fossa. The patient was an 11-year-old girl with a history from birth of a painless mass in the mastoid region. On admission, she had bilateral papilledema, left homonymous hemianopia, and right hearing impairment. The computerized tomography showed a massive low-density area with intralesional ossification. The extra-axial mass was completely removed. Skepticism toward the existence of myxoma affecting the cranium, in an extragnathic osseous site, is discussed.

[Results of the treatment of prostatic cancer]

Two hundred and twenty patients with prostatic cancer were treated in our clinic during the past ten years between April, 1977 and March, 1987. The age distribution was from 45 to 91 years old and more than half of patients were in seventies. Stages A, B, C and D were 3.5%, 19.7%, 21.2% and 55.6%, respectively. Hormonal therapy was given in 175 cases (79.5%) as an initial treatment. The first therapy showed effectiveness in 181 (83.8%) of 216 cases; in 153 (87.4%) of 175 cases treated by hormonal therapy. Reactivation after the initial treatment was observed in 59 (32.6%) of 181 cases; in 48 (31.4%) of 153 cases treated by hormonal therapy. The interval between the start of treatment and reactivation for the stage D was significantly shorter than that for the other stages. Elevation of serum alkaline-phosphatase levels, accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hydronephrosis were significant risk factors for reactivation. Of the 220 cases, 51 (23.2%) died of advanced cancer. The overall 5-year survival rate was 41.2%. High grade and high stage were significantly related to the poor prognosis. In our studies, as hormonal therapy, maintenance on 100 mg of diethylstilbestrol diphosphate daily was found effective for the treatment of prostatic cancer.

[Treatment of 255 patients with bladder tumors]

During about 10 years from November, 1977 to March, 1987, two hundreds and fifty-five patients with bladder tumors were treated at the Department of Urology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine and the affiliated hospitals. There were 198 males and 57 females with the highest age incidence in the seventies. Histologically, 242, 11 and 2 tumors were of transitional cell, squamous cell and adenocarcinoma, respectively. Of the 242 transitional cell carcinomas, 7 were Tis; 43 Ta, 111 T1, 33 T2, 19 T3, 5 T4, 14 M+ (with metastatic lesion), and 10 TX. As to grading, 6 was G0; 66 G1, 100 G2, 64 G3, and 6 GX. Staging was correlated with grading. The 5-year survival rates (Kaplan-Meier's method) were 64% in patients with transitional cell carcinoma; 58% in those with squamous cell carcinoma. In patients with transitional cell carcinoma, the 5-year survival rates were 100% for G0, 73% for G1, 73% for G2 and 40% for G3. As to staging, the 5-year survival rates were 67%, 81%, 81%, 35%, 41%, 40% and 12% in patients with stage of Tis, Ta, T1, T2, T3, T4 and M+, respectively. As to the initial treatment, the 5-year survival rates after TUR (137 cases), partial cystectomy (4 cases) and total cystectomy (56 cases) were 81%, 36% and 61%, respectively. The rate of intravesical recurrence after TUR was evaluated with the cumulative non-recurrence rate calculated by Kaplan-Meier's method.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Treatment of 46 cases of renal pelvic and ureteral tumors]

During about 10 years from November, 1977 to March, 1987, 46 patients with renal pelvic and ureteral tumors were treated at the Department of Urology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine and the affiliated hospitals. There were 34 males and 12 females with the highest age incidence in the seventies. Histologically, 44 transitional cell carcinomas and 2 squamous cell carcinomas were found. Of the 44 transitional cell carcinomas, 1 was Tis; 13 T1, 2 T2, 8 T3, 15 M+ (with metastatic lesion), and 5 TX. As to grading, 1 was G1; 24 G2, 15 G3, and 4 GX. Staging was correlated with grading. The 5-year survival rates (Kaplan-Meier's method) were 37% in patients with transitional cell carcinoma. Among patients with transitional cell carcinoma, the 5-year survival rate was 43% for G2 and 42% for G3. As to staging, the 5-year survival rates were 71% and 46% in patients with stage of T1 and T3, respectively. No patient with M+ survived longer than 4 years. The 5-year survival rates were 38% and 34% in renal pelvic tumors (24 cases) and ureteral tumors (20 cases), respectively. As to the treatments, the 5-year survival rates after curable treatment (24 cases) and non-curable treatment (20 cases) were 63% and 7%, respectively.

Estimation of the relative fertilizing ability of frozen chicken spermatozoa using a heterospermic competition method

Semen was collected from Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn roosters. After adjusting the sperm number from both breeds, half of the semen was frozen-thawed in the presence of glycerol. Frozen and unfrozen semen from both breeds was mixed 1:1 with all four possible combinations and inseminated into Rhode Island Red hens. Feather colour of chicks was used to determine which breed fertilized the eggs. Results showed that sperm cells retained 19.7% [95% confidence interval = (12.8, 30.4)] of the relative fertilizing ability after freezing. Furthermore, Rhode Island Red spermatozoa had 1.5 times [95% confidence interval = (1.1, 2.0)] higher relative fertilizing ability than did White Leghorn spermatozoa. The heterospermic competition assay method is a powerful tool for estimating the relative fertilizing ability of the sperm cells.

[Analysis of histological findings of testicular biopsies in male infertility]

Histological findings of testicular biopsy were studied following the Johnsen's score count method in 68 cases of idiopathic male infertility, and the relation between serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone (T) and histological findings were analyzed in the same cases. In oligozoospermia, there were no cases showing a Johnsen's score lower than 4. The score counts ranged widely from 1 to 9 in azoospermia. The cases with the Johnsen's score count lower than 4 revealed high values of serum LH and FSH and a low level of serum T. There was no relationship between Leydig cell accumulations or thickness of the seminiferous tubular walls and score values. Further examination using ABC (avidin biotin complex) method was carried out to find the localization of FSH and T in the testicular tissues. Immunohistochemical localization FSH was not noted in normal testicular tissues obtained the autopsy cases and testicular biopsy specimens of idiopathic male infertility. The localization of T was found in the Leydig cells and the Sertoli cells of normal and infertile testes. In the cases with the thickness of tubular walls, Sertoli cells were not stained. This fact might indicate that absence of T in Sertoli cells is related to spermatogenetic maturation only with the thickness of seminiferous tubular walls.

Flexible ureterorenoscopy

The clinical applications of flexible ureterorenoscopes have fallen behind those of their rigid counterparts. Flexible endoscopes that possess a working channel and can also be employed for treatment have at last been developed. This instrument is particularly effective in the treatment of stones in the upper urinary tract, as it can easily follow mobile upper ureteral stones and calculi in the middle or lower renal calices, which are not as accessible with a rigid endoscope. It is important to remember not to exert too much force when inserting the instrument into the ureter, renal pelvis, or renal calices, and, if one remains calm, should the visual field become temporarily obscured, there should be little danger of damaging these structures. This method will probably be increasingly employed, not only for the treatment of stones in the upper urinary tract, but also for the removal of foreign bodies and the diagnosis and treatment of small pathologic conditions or lesions such as carcinoma in situ in which the roentgenologic presentation is unclear. For this expansion of instrument use to be ensured, it is necessary to improve the resolution of the fiberoptic endoscope image and increase the instrument's angulation capabilities, increase the range of accessories that can be employed with it, and also increase familiarity with the instruments on the part of urologists.

[Experimental study on carboplatin toxicity--a comparison with cisplatin]

The toxic potencies of cisplatin and carboplatin were compared in male Wistar rats. The tissue concentration of platinum in rats was 5- to 13-fold larger with cisplatin treated group than carboplatin treated one. The histopathologic examination of various organs revealed severe myelosuppression and mild toxicity in the kidney, testis, spleen and intestine of rats treated with carboplatin. The toxicity of carboplatin was milder than cisplatin in all organs except bone marrow. This reduced toxicity of carboplatin can be accounted for by the presence of a stable dicarboxylate chelate ring structure of this drug, resulting in a much slower rate of hydrolysis to the active form, and the differences in nuclear protein phosphorylation between normal cells and tumor cells. The decreased nephrotoxicity of carboplatin may be due in part to lower drug accumulation in the renal tubular epithelium via the basement transport mechanism.

[Current therapy of endocrine organ tumors (adrenal and parathyroid glands)]

Since the adrenal or parathyroid cancer is a clinically rare entity. We often have difficulty in its diagnosis and treatment. The adrenocortical cancer is usually classified into two categories--endocrinologically functioning or non-functioning. The incidence is not different between them. It is often found in an advanced stage as it does not show clinical manifestation before it has grown up to a large tumor. Only an effective agent for the adrenal cancer is op'-DDD so far. Recently, cisplatin, VP-16 (etoposide) and others are administered as trial use. Most of malignant pheochromocytomas are endocrinologically active and they often cause hypertension leading to death. Therefore it is important to control hypertension in malignant pheochromocytoma. Chemotherapy and irradiation are not effective for it. Recently, 131I-MIBG (metaiodobenzylguanidine) is found to be useful not only for diagnosis but also treatment of malignant pheochromocytoma. 131I-MIBG is accumulated specifically in the chromaffin cells and with helpful to find out metastatic foci. It is also used in a large amount as a specific irradiation therapy for this malignancy. Parathyroid cancer is found in approximately 3 percent of primary hyperparathyroidism. Clinically it usually reveal serum calcium level higher than 14 mg/dl, bone lesions and renal dysfunction in addition to palpable cervical tumors adhering with skin. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate malignancy from adenoma in histology. Most cases develop local recurrences and distant metastases in due course and dies of hypercalcemia. It is very important to control hypercalcemia in inoperable cases. As both chemotherapy and radiation therapy render no effect on this malignancy. Surgery is a sole strategy for it.

[Clinical effect of terodiline hydrochloride (TD-758) in patients with urinary disturbances]

We evaluated the efficacy of terodiline hydrochloride (TD-758) in 23 patients with psychosomatic bladder, chronic prostatitis and chronic cystitis. The drug was administered at a dose of 24 mg once a day for 4 weeks. In 78% of the patients the symptoms such as urinary frequency and sense of residual urine improved. Only mild side effects such as thirst were noted. We concluded that terodiline hydrochloride was effective in this trial.

Calcified cerebellopontine angle hematoma mimicking recurrent acoustic neurinoma

The authors describe a case of calcified, organized hematoma in the cerebellopontine angle which developed 20 years after subtotal removal of an acoustic neurinoma, presenting as a recurrence of acoustic neurinoma on computed tomography. It points out the difficulty in differentiating a recurrent tumor from an organized hematoma in this particular case because of neuroradiological similarity and masked clinical symptoms by the long-standing neurological deficits after the original surgery. MRI scanning would have been helpful in this circumstances.

Characteristics of transmural potential changes associated with the proton-peptide co-transport in toad small intestine

1. Ionic dependence and kinetic properties of the peptide-evoked potentials across everted toad intestine were investigated with eighteen dipeptides and four tripeptides. All peptides evoked saturable increases in the mucosal negativity regardless of the presence of Na+. 2. The peptide-evoked potentials recorded in the absence of Na+ were sensitive to external pH (pHo); lowering pHo from 7.4 to 6.5 and 5.5 caused stepwise increases in their amplitude. 3. Loading epithelial cells with 9-aminoacridine or acetate caused a significant increase or decrease in amplitude of the Gly-Gly-evoked potential, suggesting intracellular alkalinization or acidification also has a great influence on the peptide-evoked potential. 4. Kinetically, Na+-independent peptide-evoked potentials conformed to simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and lowering pHo caused a decrease of the half-saturation concentration (Kt) for Gly-Gly without changing the maximum potential difference increase. Similar affinity-type kinetic effect was also seen for Gly-Gly influx. 5. Simultaneous measurements of Gly-Gly-induced increase in short-circuit current and Gly-Gly influx revealed that the coupling ratio of H+ and Gly-Gly flows was 1.78 +/- 0.12, suggesting the stoichiometry of the H+-peptide co-transport being 2:1. 6. Kinetic analyses of the peptide-evoked potentials indicated that all glycyl-dipeptides tested (Gly-Gly, Gly-Pro, Gly-Sar, Gly-Leu, Gly-Phe) and other dipeptides (Ala-Ala, Ala-Phe, Phe-Ala) shared a common carrier. Gly-Gly-Gly and Ala-Ala-Ala were also found to share the same carrier, while Phe-Phe, Leu-Leu and Phe-Leu appeared to be transported by a different carrier. 7. Kt values for di- and tripeptides, which apparently shared a common carrier, fell in a narrow range (0.5-2.2 mM). There was no clear correlation between 1/Kt value and molecular weight.