There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Epidemiology and Molecular Carcinogenesis

Resveratrol, a constituent of red wine, has long been suspected to have cardioprotective effects. Interest in this compound has been renewed in recent years, first from its identification as a chemopreventive agent for skin cancer, and subsequently from reports that it activates sirtuin deacetylases and extends the lifespans of lower organisms. Despite scepticism concerning its bioavailability, a growing body of in vivo evidence indicates that resveratrol has protective effects in rodent models of stress and disease. Here, we provide a comprehensive and critical review of the in vivo data on resveratrol, and consider its potential as a therapeutic for humans.

Therapeutic potential of resveratrol: the in vivo evidence.

The contribution of tumorigenic stem cells to haematopoietic cancers has been established for some time, and cells possessing stem-cell properties have been described in several solid tumours. Although chemotherapy kills most cells in a tumour, it is believed to leave tumour stem cells behind, which might be an important mechanism of resistance. For example, the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters have been shown to protect cancer stem cells from chemotherapeutic agents. Gaining a better insight into the mechanisms of stem-cell resistance to chemotherapy might therefore lead to new therapeutic targets and better anticancer strategies.

/pdf/tumour-stem-cells-and-drug-resistance-210hrtgy2n.pdf

Tumour stem cells and drug resistance

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an endothelial cell-specific mitogen in vitro and an angiogenic inducer in a variety of in vivo models. Hypoxia has been shown to be a major inducer of VEGF gene transcription. The tyrosine kinases Flt-1 (VEGFR-1) and Flk-1/KDR (VEGFR-2) are high-affinity VEGF receptors. The role of VEGF in developmental angiogenesis is emphasized by the finding that loss of a single VEGF allele results in defective vascularization and early embryonic lethality. VEGF is critical also for reproductive and bone angiogenesis. Substantial evidence also implicates VEGF as a mediator of pathological angiogenesis. In situ hybridization studies demonstrate expression of VEGF mRNA in the majority of human tumors. Anti-VEGF monoclonal antibodies and other VEGF inhibitors block the growth of several tumor cell lines in nude mice. Clinical trials with various VEGF inhibitors in a variety of malignancies are ongoing. Very recently, an anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody (bevacizumab; Avastin) has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer in combination with chemotherapy. Furthermore, VEGF is implicated in intraocular neovascularization associated with diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

/pdf/vascular-endothelial-growth-factor-basic-science-and-17gyy6h97s.pdf

Vascular endothelial growth factor: basic science and clinical progress.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kampomed1982/52/3/52_3_341/_pdf

Case Report of Subchorionic Hematoma Successfully Treated with Shimi-kyogai-to-kami

A 70-year-old man was referred to our hospital with ascending colon cancer (cT3N1M0, Stage IIIa), which was found during examinations following a positive fecal occult blood test. The patient was also diagnosed with early gastric cancer (cT1a, N0, M0, Stage IA)during a preoperative gastroscopy examination. A laparoscopically assisted right colectomy and D3 lymphadenectomy was performed for the ascending colon cancer. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was Stage IIIb (pT3N2), he was administered in combination with capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (CapeOX) as adjuvant chemotherapy before the treatment for the colon cancer. After 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy, we were unable to detect any gastric lesions at the same location using gastroscopy, and so diagnosed a clinical complete response. A follow-up gastroscopy 6 months later showed the same findings. The patient has had no recurrence of gastric cancer for 18 months after the initial operation. He will continue to be followed up closely using gastroscopy. In this case, CapeOX as adjuvant chemotherapy for advanced colon cancer was also effective for early gastric cancer.

A case of early gastric cancer completely responding to adjuvant chemotherapy for advanced colon cancer

The characteristics of hospital selection and awareness concerning Japanese Oriental medicine were studied in patients receiving treatment at Japanese Oriental medicine clinics at the Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University and at the Toyama Prefecture Hospital. Selection of a hospital was found to be affected primarily by mass media, such as TV and newspapers in the case of the University Hospital and by interpersonal communications for the Prefecture Hospital. The motivations ascertained were an expectation for disease improvement using Japanese Oriental medicine and anxiety about the side effects of modern medicine. The patients showed a poor undestanding of the role of modern medicine in treatments using Japanese Oriental medicine. These data suggest that it is important to disseminate correct information about Japanese Oriental medicine to the public.

The Choice of Hospitals and the Awareness of Japanese Oriental Medicine in Patients Consulted in Japanese Oriental Medicine Clinics.

菌状息肉症の腫瘍期の症例に対し, 電子線照射やIFN-γの局所療法などの西洋医学的治療に加え, 和漢薬治療を併用し, 長期間良好な経過を得ている症例を経験したので報告する。症例は40歳・男性・会社員。平成3年12月, 上肢を中心に紅斑が出現し全身に拡大した。平成9年7月, 体幹に皮膚腫瘤の形成を認め当院皮膚科にて皮膚生検により菌状息肉症腫瘍期と診断。同年9月に当部を初診し, 潰瘍を伴う皮膚腫瘤や皮疹を目標に, 十味敗毒湯, 托裏消毒飲, 内托散, 〓帰膠丈湯等を使用した。また, 電子線照射施行時の口渇や照射部の熱感に対して白虎加人参湯を, 併発する下痢や全身倦怠感に対して黄耆建中湯等を適時用いた。以後, 皮膚科におけるIFN-γと免疫療法を継続し, 小腫瘤の再発時に托裏消毒飲等を用い良好に経過している。今後も, 慎重な経過観察が必要であるが, 和漢薬の併用が本症例に有用であると考えられた。

A Case Report of Mycosis Fungoides Successfully Treated with Traditional Herbal Medicine in Addition to Western Medicine

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a resin microchip which is excellent in isolation or detection of floating cancer cells in blood at a low cost and whose productivity is high, and to provide the resin microchip which is especially effective for isolating and detecting the floating cancer cells in blood.SOLUTION: A microchip consists of a polymer compound obtained by polymerizing and solidifying a mixture consisting of: a monomer Z which has one polymerizable double bond and a carboxyl group and/or an epoxy group; a monomer X except the monomer Z, which has one polymerizable double bond; a monomer Y by which a crosslinking reaction is possible and which has two or more polymerizable double bonds; a polymer composition B, has a flow channel which has micro structure for passing through fluid on the surface or the inside of the polymer composition. In at least a part of the surface of the flow channel, an antibody which is coupled to an antigen existing on the surface of the cancer cells is fixed.

Yutaka Shimada

Papers

Case Report of Subchorionic Hematoma Successfully Treated with Shimi-kyogai-to-kami

A case of early gastric cancer completely responding to adjuvant chemotherapy for advanced colon cancer

The Choice of Hospitals and the Awareness of Japanese Oriental Medicine in Patients Consulted in Japanese Oriental Medicine Clinics.

A Case Report of Mycosis Fungoides Successfully Treated with Traditional Herbal Medicine in Addition to Western Medicine

Microchip for capturing floating cancer cell in blood