Forty-nine cases of intracranial vascular tumors including 19 hemangioblastomas, 12 angiomatous meningiomas, 6 hemangioblastic meningiomas, and 12 meningeal hemangiopericytomas were studied by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. In all cases of hemangioblastoma, tumors were located in the cerebellum. In contrast, the other vascular tumors originated above the tentorium. The endothelial cells, pericytes and stromal cells were principal elements of the hemangioblastoma. These elements consisted an organoid structure in the tumors. The stromal cells were classified into foamy, vacuolated, and epithelioid types based on the histological appearance of the cytoplasm, but these types did not correlate with the age of patients. Angiomatous meningiomas were merely highly vascular meningioma and characterized by a fibrous hyaline thickening of vessel walls and microcystic changes of the stroma. In terms of microcystic degeneration, these organic changes of the vascular channels seemed to be responsible for the accumulation of extracellular fluid in the stroma. It is suggested that the angiomatous meningioma and the microcystic meningioma are closely related neoplasms. Each case seemed to make a spectrum between these tumor entities. Tumor cells of hemangioblastic meningiomas showed several immunohistochemical and electron microscopic features common to most meningiomas. The hemangioblastic meningioma, be definitely separated from capillary hemangioblastoma of the cerebellum, might be included in the spectrum between angioblastic meningioma and microcystic meningioma. Meningeal hemangiopericytoma was a highly cellular neoplasm with several anaplastic features. There was no morphological evidence of endothelial, pericytic, or arachnoidal differentiations in the tumor. It is suggested that the hemangiopericytoma is a poorly differentiated neoplasm originated from perivascular mesenchymal cells. This study also demonstrated the LN-5 antigen to be a useful immunohistochemical marker of the endothelial cells.

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The amounts of platelet-associated immunoglobulins (PAIgG, PAIgA, PAIgM) and complement (PAC 3) were determined in patients with various types of thrombocytopenia including, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The mean amounts of PAIgG, PAIgA, PAIgM and PAC 3 were increased not only in patients with immune thrombocytopenia, but also in those with other types of thrombocytopenia. The percentage of patients with normal amounts of PAIgG, PAIgM, and PAC 3 was significantly lower among those with ITP than those with systemic lupus erythematosus, lymphoproliferative disorders or liver cirrhosis. In ITP, the mean peripheral blood platelet count (p <0.05) and platelet life-span (p<0.01) were significantly lower in patients with simultaneously increased amounts only of PAIgG, PAIgM and PAC 3 than in those with an increased amount only of PAIgG. In patients with ITP, the amounts of PAIgG, PAIgM and PAC 3 were decreased in those whose peripheral platelet count tended to increase after prednisolone treatment. These findings were useful for evaluating the efficacy of prednisolone. In patients receiving multiple platelet transfusion, the amounts of PAIgG, PAIgM, PAIgA and PAC 3 were significantly higher than normal, when peripheral platelet counts remained lower than 100 × 10⁹/L after the transfusion. Moreover, the PAIgG level showed a tendency to be high in proportion to the amount of platelet transfusions.
Using SDS-PAGE and Western immunoblotting, the target antigens of blood platelets against anti-platelet serum antibodies were investigated in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with thrombocytopenia, and multiple platelet-transfusion. No clear differences were found in the distribution pattern of various bands, obtained by immunoblotting among the individual disease groups, and several bands were observed in many patients. Under non-reducing conditions, antibodies reacting to antigens corresponding to GPIb (Band-1) and GPIIb/IIIa (Band-2) were found to be nearly the same in the bands of the ITP, SLE and platelet-transfused groups. No clear differences were found in the distribution of various target platelet antigens reacting to anti-platelet serum antibodies among these groups. The same results were observed under reducing conditions. These findings suggest that no differences exist in the type or distribution pattern of target platelet antigens reacting to anti-platelet serum antibodies, by means of the immunoblotting method, among the various types of thrombocytopenia studied.

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Extracts of Chinese herbs and their mixture “Shi-Ka-Ron” were administered with carcinogen, N-butyl-nitrosoamine (BBN), and their effects on macrophages and lymphocytes were studied. Peritoneal macrophages were significantly retarded both in their number and chemotactic activity by BBN treated. Blastogenic responsiveness to Concanavalin A of spleen lymphocytes also decreased significantly in BBN-treated mice. NK cell activity of lymphocytes was slightly suppressed by BBN treatment.
Extract of Astragali radix showed protective effects on all 5 items studied. The number of macrophages and lymphocytes, and the functions of macrophages and lymphocytes maintained as same or more as normal levels in BBN plus Astragali extract-treated mice.
Extract of Cnidii rhizoma showed the protective effects on the functions of macrophages and lymphocytes from BBN treatment but not on their numbers. E xtract of Lithospermi radix protected the retardation of lymphocyte function.
“Shi-Ka-Ron” protected only chemotactic activity of macrophages and NK cell activity of lymphocytes but did not their numbers or blastogenic activity in spite of the mixture of herb extracts. These results suggest that the Chinese herbs may moderate each other's activity as mentioned from old time in China.

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A digital image processing (DIP) method has been developed as a simple and easily available means of assessing the bone mineral density (BMD) of the metacarpals. This study was conducted to examine the usefulness of the DIP method in mass-screening for osteoporosis. BMD of the metacarpals, the lumbar spine and the calcaneus were assessed by a DIP method, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and single X-ray absorptiometry (SXA), respectively, in 231 female residents of rural town. The presence or absence of compression fracture of the spinal column was roentagenographically studied.
The BMD of the metacarpals showed a significant correlation with that of the lumbar spine and calcaneus. Coefficients of correlation between DIP values and BMD of the lumbar spine (anterior-posterior view), DIP values and that of the lateral view, and DIP values and the calcaneus BMD were 0.47, 0.39 and 0.60, respectively. A DIP value of 2.18mmAl could detect women with low lumbar spinal BMD <0.897g/cm², which included 90% of women with compression fracture.
The sensitivity and specificity of the DIP value were 65% and 72%, respectively. These results indicate that the DIP method provides an index for assessing spinal or calcaneal BMD and can be used as a criterion in screening for osteoporosis.

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The purpose of this study was to establish a method of measuring the rate of blood flow through the bone cortex of the canine femur, and to compare postoperative changes in the rate of blood flow between 3 groups of femora, (1) left sided femur after left prosthetic hip replacement using cement (cement group), (2) similar femur but without cement (noncement group), (3) right sided intact femur (control group). Blood flow was measured by a direct method. The rate of continuous blood flow began to increase in the 1st week, attained a peak in the 6th week, then stabilized in the 12th week. In the 6th week, the blood flow rate of the cement group (0.453±0.063g/min/100g/cm²) was 35 times larger than that of the control group (0.013±0.005g/min/100g/cm²) (p<0.01). In the periosteum, primitive bone tissue and vascular neogenesis were observed. The blood flow rate of the noncement group (0.081 ± 0.008g/min/100 g/cm²) was 6 times larger than that of the control group (p<0.01). Similar findings were obtained in both the periosteum and endosteum, but were of lesser degree than in the cement group.

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We report herein the clinical assessment of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) therapy in congenital heart disease with pulmonary atresia. PGE1CD was administrated to 28 patients and LipoPGE1 was administrated to 20 patients. The dose of PGE1CD was initially 10 ng/kg/min and the dose of LipoPGE1 was initially 5 ng/kg/min. At the onset of infusion, the patients were 13.0±26. 3 days old in the PGE1CD group and 1.7±2.3 days old in the LipoPGE1 group.
We were able to examine the PA-index in 8 cases in the LipoPGE1 group. The mean diameters of right and left pulmonary arteries in these patients increased significantly after the LipoPGE1 therapy. The PA-index also increased significantly. Side effects were observed in 46.4% of the PGE1CD group and in 30.0% of the LipoPGE1 group. In 78.5% of the PGE1CD group and 90.0% of the LipoPGE1 group, the patients survived and were able to undergo surgery.

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In 156 patients with breast cancer treated by radical mastectomy from January 1985 to march 1993, both estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) measurements have been evaluated on the prognosis.
At the cut-off value of 5 fmol/mg cytosol protein with dextran-coated charcoal method, ER-positive rate was 69% and PgR-positive rate was 39%. And the rate of ER (+) PgR (+), ER (+) PgR (-), ER (-) PgR (+), ER (-) PgR (-) were 38%, 31%, 1% and 30%, respectively.
Patients with ER or PgR-positive breast cancer showed significantly favorable disease-free and overall survival to those of receptor-negative ones. Also patients with both ER-and PgR-positive tumors had significantly better prognosis than those with both ER-and PgR-negative tumors.
In stage III disease, PgR-positive cancer patients significantly showed favorable disease-free survival. In patients with advanced stage, both ER and PgR were thought to be good prognostic indicators. Especially, it was suggested that PgR was more useful prognostic factor than ER.

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