Significance of serum tumor markers in patients with carcinoma of the ovary

A comparison of preoperative serum tumor markers (lactate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes, alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, aldolase, leucine aminopeptidase, cholinesterase, erythrocyte sedimentation reaction, carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein, and beta 2-microglobulin) was made in 76 patients with ovarian or uterine cancer. Sixty-six patients with benign ovarian tumor served as control subjects. From analysis of each tumor marker the greatest positive results were obtained with the markers beta 2-microglobulin (57.1%), lactate dehydrogenase (53.1%), and hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (46.2%) for patients with carcinoma of the ovary. The use of these marker combinations in all ovarian cancer patients resulted in a marked increase of the positive rate from 57.1 to 85.2%. In stage I cases, the positive rate increased from 40.6 to 63.6%.

Time of vasopressin neuron origin in the mouse hypothalamus: examination by combined technique of immunocytochemistry and [3H]thymidine autoradiography

A time-course study on production of vasopressin neurons (VP-neurons) in the mouse hypothalamus was carried out by application of [3H]thymidine autoradiography and PAP-immunocytochemistry simultaneously on the same tissue sections. In the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and the supraoptic nucleus (SON), heavily [3H]thymidine-labeled VP-neurons were detected only in the specimens of the animals exposed to the isotope on the gestational day 12. While in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), heavily isotope-labeled VP-neurons were observed in the specimens of the animals exposed to the isotope on the gestational day 12 or day 14. Therefore, the production of the VP-neurons in the SCN is prolonged and slightly more delayed than that in the SON or PVN.

Photoperiodic regulation of serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in the pineal gland of the chicken

1. In continuous light, serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in the pineal gland of 16-day-old chicks was reduced to about a half of the usual nocturnal level only in the first day, but no suppressive effect by the light was observed throughout the following 2 days. 2. In continuous darkness, circadian N-acetyltransferase rhythm persisted for three consecutive days. 3. In continuous light, the phase of N-acetyltransferase rhythm in chick pineal delayed remarkably for three consecutive days, while the phase delayed in a lesser degree in continuous darkness. 4. The rhythm of N-acetyltransferase activity in the pineal gland of 13-day-old chicks was entrainable to a shorter (8L: 8D) and a longer (18L: 18D) photoperiod as in a 12L: 12D photoperiod, but a shorter photoperiod such as a 3L: 3D photoperiod failed to change the pre-established 12L: 12D rhythm.

[Changes in the criteria for planned delivery in the National Defense Medical College Hospital with statistical analysis]

Planned deliveries have been attempted with the administration of prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha since 1978. Eight hundred and eighteen prostaglandins-induced and 729 uninduced deliveries from January, 1978 to July, 1980 were statistically analyzed. The uninduced deliveries included 465 spontaneous and 264 stimulated labors. The cervical ripening was considered the basic requirement stimulated labors. The cervical ripening was considered the basic requirement for labor induction for the first year of study. However, spontaneous labor onset or the membranes rupture occurred before the induction in 52.4% of cases, where babies were large enough (3,052.6 +/- 33.4g, mean +/- SE, n = 154). Therefore, the cervical factor was excluded from the essential requirement for induction. Since the beginning of 1979, labor induction has been performed based on gestational age (38 weeks or more) and uterine fundal length (32cm or more). Laminaria tents were inserted into the unfavorable cervix the night before induction. Delivery time in the day, duration of labor, and birth weight of babies in the induced group were 2.04 +/- 0.18 p.m., 8.0 +/- 0.3 hours and 3,138.8 +/- 12.3g, respectively. Apgar scores and the amount of postpartum hemorrhage were not significantly different from those in the uninduced group. Similar results were obtained between the laminaria subgroup with unfavorable cervix and the non-laminaria subgroup with ripe cervix in the induced primigravidas.