Anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 antibody-positive dermatomyositis with gastrointestinal ulcers: A case report.

Gastrointestinal manifestations are a very rare complication of dermatomyositis (DM) and are much less frequent in adult cases than in juvenile cases. Only a few previous papers have reported adult patients who had DM with anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 (anti-NXP2) antibodies and who developed gastrointestinal ulcers. Herein, we report a similar case of a 50-year-old man who had DM with anti-NXP2 antibodies followed by relapsing multiple gastrointestinal ulcers. Even after the administration of prednisolone, his muscle weakness and myalgia deteriorated and gastrointestinal ulcers relapsed. In contrast, intravenous immunoglobulin and azathioprine improved his muscle weakness and gastrointestinal ulcers. Based on the parallel disease activity of the muscular and gastrointestinal symptoms, we considered that his gastrointestinal ulcers were a complication of DM with anti-NXP2 antibodies. We also propose that early intensive immunosuppressive therapy would be required for the muscular and gastrointestinal symptoms in DM with anti-NXP2 antibodies.

Laparoscopic resection for a large gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with diaphragm invasion following preoperative imatinib treatment: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Neoadjuvant imatinib for large GISTs may prevent tumor rupture and the need for extended surgery by reducing tumor size. In this study, we present a case of large gastric GIST with diaphragm invasion, due to the patient receiving laparoscopic resection following preoperative imatinib treatment. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized with left hypochondriac pain for a month. Examinations revealed a large heterogeneous gastric mass measuring 80 mm in size, arising from the greater curvature of the corpus. The mass invaded the left thoracic diaphragm. Treatment with imatinib at an initial dosage of 400 mg/day was initiated. After a further two months of follow-up, the lesion had sustained reduction to 50 mm in size, however, the invasion to the diaphragm remained. The patient eventually underwent laparoscopic partial gastrectomy and partial resection of the diaphragm with curative intent. Adjuvant chemotherapy was initiated at one month after the surgery, however, was discontinued due to nausea. After one-year follow-up, no recurrence was noted. DISCUSSION: Neoadjuvant imatinib may shrink tumor size remarkably and prevent tumor rupture during surgery, and thus lead to increased rates of complete resection. To date, several publications have directly compared the oncologic results between laparoscopic and open resection for GISTs. In the present case, the tumor was movable, and moderately fixed on diaphragm. It was favorable condition for laparoscopic surgery. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of a large gastric GIST invading the diaphragm that was successfully treated by laparoscopic resection after tumor reduction by neoadjuvant imatinib.

Regurgitant leak from the area between the stent post and the sewing ring of a stented bovine pericardial valve implanted in the aortic valve position.

Biologic valves can sometimes have a small closure or leakage backflow jet originating from the central coaptation point. This is physiologic regurgitation that usually only requires monitoring, and not treatment.Another non-central transvalvular leakage is occasionally seen in both porcine and pericardial valves and originates from the base of the stent post. Typically, it spontaneously decreases or even disappears by the end of the surgery, after administration of protamine. This leak, however, needs to be distinguished from abnormal paravalvular leakages, especially if the regurgitation is relatively large, as this may require an extra cardio-pulmonary bypass (CPB) run.In our case with stented bovine pericardial valves, detailed transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) examination immediately after CPB showed oblique and turbulent flow, which originated from the base of the stent post and flowed toward the anterior mitral leaflet. An extra CPB run, assessment of the cause of the leakage, and restoration if necessary, might have been required if the leakage did not improve or was exacerbated, because contact of the anterior mitral valve leaflet by the oblique flow is associated with the risks of infective endocarditis and hemolysis. Detailed TEE examination accurately delineated the site of the leak, which was subsequently found to originate from the site between the anterior stent post and the sewing ring. The leakage in this case was classified as non-paravalvular, non-central leakage within the sewing ring. Accurate diagnosis of the leakage by intra-operative TEE led to the decision to administer protamine and to adopt a wait-and-watch approach.

Protein misfolding cyclic amplification as a rapid test for assessment of prion inactivation.

Abnormal isoform of prion proteins (PrP(Sc)), which are infectious agents associated with prion diseases, retain infectivity after undergoing routine sterilization processes. A sensitive method to detect the infectivity is a bioassay, and it has been used for assessing prion inactivation. However, the result is obtained after several hundred days. Here, protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) in which PrP(Sc) can be amplified in vitro was applied for assessing prion inactivation by dry heating and autoclaving. Scrapie-infected hamster brains were inactivated under various conditions, and residual infectivity and PrP(Sc) were detected by the bioassay and PMCA, respectively. The PMCA results were in good agreement with those of the bioassay. In samples autoclaved at temperatures below 150 degrees C, while infected mice died in the bioassay, protease-resistant PrP (PrP(res)) signals were detected in the second or third round of PMCA. Three rounds of PMCA require only 6 days, which means that the PMCA method is much faster than the bioassay.