We measured urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) excretion before and after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) with a view to study the underlying factors which aggravate renal impairment immediately after ESWL. The factors associated with the significant elevation of urinary NAG after ESWL included female sex, a previous history of ESWL, and urinary tract infection (UTI). By studying the backgrounds of these factors, we found that both the female group and the group with a previous history of ESWL contained significantly more patients with UTI. These findings indicate that UTI may be one of the risk factors which aggravate renal damage immediately after ESWL, and that careful management is necessary in the ESWL treatment of urinary tract stones with UTI.

The pharmacokinetics of intravenously administrated cisplatin and etoposide were studied in a patient with seminoma (stage IIIA) receiving hemodialysis for chronic renal failure. The treatment schedule was as follows: 7 mg/m2 of cisplatin at day 1, 3, 5; 14 mg/m2 of cisplatin at day 2, 4; 70 mg/m2 of etoposide at day 1-5; hemodialysis at day 2, 4. After the treatment myelosuppression was very strong. So the patient were received another treatment of smaller doses of cisplatin and etoposide in three courses. The other schedule was as follows: 14 mg/m2 of cisplatin at day 1, 3, 5; 35 mg/m2 of etoposide at day 1-5; hemodialysis at day 1, 3, 5. The area under the blood concentration-time curve (AUC) of free-cisplatin was 6.82 micrograms.hr/ml in first course, 4.07 micrograms.hr/ml in second course. The peak concentration of peripheral blood free-cisplatin was 0.58 microgram/ml in first course, 0.43 microgram/ml in second course. The AUC of etoposide was 241.9 micrograms.hr/ml in first course, 216.9 micrograms.hr/ml in second course. After treatment CR was observed and there was no recurrence for five years. In conclusion, it was considered that cisplatin and etoposide could be given to the patient receiving hemodialysis for chronic renal failure and smaller doses should be given to prevent side effects.

1 × 10⁵ cells of FAMFT-induced bladder cancer cell line (MBT-2) were injected into the right leg of the C₃H/He mice. 10 days later, these animals with the same tumor size were divided into four groups. Group 1 is the control with no treatment. Group 2 underwent interleukin 2 (IL-2) treatment for 10 days since the 11th day after tumor inoculation. Group 3 received just one CPM injection on the 10th day. Group 4 had a combination therapy of CPM, followed by IL-2. Group 1 and 2 exhibited enlargement of tumor size resulting in the death of all animals. Administration of CPM led to temporary disappearance of tumor, followed by local tumor recurrence in all cases. However, combined therapy with IL-2 showed complete remission of the tumors. Natural killer cell activity measured by the ⁵¹Cr release assay of the spleen cells using Yac-1 cells as target cells 20 days after tumor inoculation was found to be significantly higher in group 2 and 4, while lymphokine-activated killer cell activity of the spleen cells against P-815 cells showed no significant difference between the four groups.

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Background. Growth factors such as insulin-like growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and hepatocyte growth factor have been reported to be effective in the treatment of acute renal failure, but their effectiveness in chronic renal failure has not been reported. Thymosin, a glycoprotein extract obtained from calf thymus, is also known to have growth factor-like activity. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of thymosin fraction 5 (TF5), isolated from thymosin, in mice and rats with experimentally induced uremia. Methods. Uremia was induced in mice by administering cisDiammine-dichloroplatinum CDDP; 5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally once a week for 5 weeks. From the start of CDDP administration, mice in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively, were given subcutaneous injections of saline or 1 mg/kg or 3 mg/ kg of TF5 three times a week for 5 weeks. Uremia was induced in rats using the 5/6 renal ablation model. Rats in groups 1 and 2, respectively, were given subcutaneous injections of saline or 3 mg/kg of TF5 three times a week from the fifth to the twelfth week after removal of the right kidney, for a total of 8 weeks. Results. In uremic mice, 6 weeks after the start of CDDP administration, serum urea nitrogen (SUN) levels were 40.1 Ϯ 16.4, 20.6 Ϯ 6.6, and 20.2 Ϯ 5.3 mg/dl in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the level was significantly lower in groups 2 and 3 than in group 1 (P Ͻ 0.05). In the uremic rats, 13 weeks after the removal of the right kidney, SUN levels were 105.2 Ϯ 20.1 and 82.9 Ϯ 11.6 mg/dl in groups 1 and 2, respectively, and serum creatinine levels were 2.22 Ϯ 0.89 and 1.56 Ϯ 1.06 mg/dl in groups 1 and 2, respectively, with a significant difference in both SUN and serum creatinine between groups 1 and 2 (P Ͻ 0.05). Conclusion.These results suggest the possibility that TF5 has a protective effect against progression of uremia.