[A case of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia associated with low dose methotrexate treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole induced pancytopenia]

A 64-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of dyspnea and fever. He had been treated with low-dose methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis. Chest radiography showed diffuse ground-glass attenuation in both lung fields, and hypoxia was detected. Pneumosystis carinii pneumonia was demonstrated on transbronchial lung biopsy, and the serum beta-D glucan level was high. We started treatment with trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, but respiratory failure worsened, and drug-induced pancytopenia occurred. Although trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole was stopped, pancytopenia persisted and the patient required ventilatory support. After we changed the medication from trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole to pentamidine, respiratory failure improved. It was thought that pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was associated with low-dose methotrexate and that trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole interacted with methotrexate to induce severe pancytopenia.

A simple method for in situ freezing of anchorage-dependent cells including rat liver parenchymal cells

We developed a simple method for freezing anchorage-dependent cells, including primary cultured rat liver parenchymal cells, without detaching the cells from the culture dish. The method consists of preculture of the cells to confluence, changing the growth medium to a conventional freezing medium, packaging in a container, and storage at -80 degrees C. After thawing and changing the freezing medium to regular growth medium, cell growth was nearly identical to that of cells freshly seeded into a new dish.

[Influence of evoking imagery on the perception of a cutaneous thermal stimulus]

The effects of evoked thermal imagery on cutaneous thermal perception and change in skin temperature were examined. Thirty-two subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following four conditions: warm imagery, cold imagery, neutral imagery and no-imagery. The main results were as follows: first, the interference with thermal perception either by warm or cold imagery was observed. Cold imagery subjects estimated the stimuli to be warmer than neutral imagery subjects. However, under the high temperature condition they estimated the stimuli lower than the stimuli temperature. As to the perception expand, there was no difference between warm and cold imagery conditions. Second, warm imagery produced physically higher skin temperatures than cold imagery. These results indicated that the effect of imagery activity on the subjects' perception of thermal stimuli does not correspond to the actual physiological change in skin temperature. Finally, the dual nature of the effects of thermal imagery was discussed in terms of imagery modality.