ito fumitaka

Background: Radiation pneumonitis (RP) and organizing pneumonia (OP) are the two main types of lung damage that can occur after lung irradiation. The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between RP and OP after irradiation for breast cancer. Methods: Four hundred and twenty-eight patients who underwent radiotherapy for breast cancer were identified. The whole breast was irradiated with two tangential photon beams. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan were performed when patients showed any symptoms that were suspicious for pneumonitis. Results: Five patients (1.2%) were diagnosed with OP. All five patients showed ground glass opacities and consolidation of the border of the lesion of RP in the radiation fields. Infiltration of OP spread from the site of RP to the hilum of the ipsilateral lung. Between RP and OP, a free region space (FRS) could be detected. Conclusions: OP is closely related to RP. All OP lesions developed near the site of RP.

The transition of microglia from the normal resting state to the activated state is associated with an increased expression of peripheral benzodiazepine receptors (PBR). The extent of PBR expression is dependent on the level of microglial activation. A PBR ligand, [C-11]PK11195, has been used for imaging of the activation of microglia in vivo. We evaluated whether [C-11]PK11195 PET can indicate differences of microglial activation between no treatment and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in a rat artificial injury model of brain inflammation. On day 1, a small aliquot of absolute ethanol was injected into the rat right striatum (ST) to produce artificial brain injury. On day 3, MRI scans were performed to evaluate and select rats showing a similar degree of brain injury. Then LPS or vehicle was administered intraperitoneally. On day 4, PET scans were performed after a bolus injection of [C-11]PK11195. Eleven rats (7 LPS administered rats, 4 LPS non-administered rats) were evaluated. We used uptake ratios of the integral of right and left striatum from 0 to 60 min as an estimate of PBR distribution volume (V (60)). The number of activated microglia and mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF alpha, IL-1 beta) were assessed by isolectin-B4 staining and RT-PCR, respectively. Right/left ST V (60) ratios of LPS group were significantly higher than those of non-LPS group (P < 0.03). Although there were no significant differences in the number of activated microglia between the two groups, LPS group showed higher expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF alpha, IL-1 beta) than the non-treated group indicating that further activation was induced by LPS treatment. The results suggest that intensity of PBR signals in [C-11]PK11195 PET may be related to the level of microglial activation rather than the number in activated microglia at least in an artificial brain injury model.

Purpose: Environmental pollution induced by lost radioactive seeds is an important social problem. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the time and place where lost seeds were found and to develop a method to prevent the loss of seeds from the time of insertion to the discharge of the patient from the hospital. Materials and Method: A total of 121 cases (7718 seeds) who received permanent insertion treatment from July 2006 to Dec 2007 were evaluated. During this period, the time and place of lost seeds was estimated from the place where the seeds were found. Results: A total of 43 seeds were found before discharge for a rate of 0.56% (43/7718). Four seeds were found in the operating room. Two seeds were found in the in-patient room before the balloon catheter was removed. Five seeds were removed from the bladder by surgery using cystoscopy. In addition, 32 seeds were found in the room when surveying the room for patient discharge. Five seeds were brought from the patient's house after discharge. Conclusion: To prevent the loss of seeds from the patients' room, which is the best way prevent environmental pollution, careful monitoring and careful surveys of the room are needed.