In April 1988 a large outbreak of group C rotavirus infection associated with acute gastroenteritis occurred among schoolchildren and their teachers simultaneously at seven elementary schools in Fukui city, Japan. Of 3,102, 675 (21.8%) became ill. Clinical symptoms were mild, predominantly abdominal pain and vomiting, with diarrhea reported in only 27.6%. The outbreak subsided within 2 d. No pathogenic bacteria were found in fecal specimens; the virus particles detected by electron microscopy were morphologically indistinguishable from conventional infantile rotavirus. Immune electron microscopy showed that these virions formed large aggregates with convalescent serum and with the reference serum specific to group C rotavirus. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed similar RNA patterns for virus from this outbreak and typical group C rotavirus.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is very common in southern China and Southeast Asia. In regions where NPC is endemic, undifferentiated subtypes constitute most cases and are invariably associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, whereas the differentiated subtype is more common in other parts of the world. Undifferentiated NPC is a unique malignancy with regard to its epidemiology, etiology, and clinical presentation. Clinically, NPC is highly invasive and metastatic, but sensitive to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT). Overall prognosis has dramatically improved over the past three decades because of advances in management, including the improvement of RT technology, the broader application of chemotherapy, and more accurate disease staging. Despite the excellent local control with modern RT, distant failure remains a challenging problem. Advances in molecular technology have helped to elucidate the molecular pathogenesis of NPC. This article reviews the contribution of EBV gene products to NPC pathogenesis and the current management of NPC.

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Conclusion:Extensive bone erosion correlated with a worse prognosis of the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the temporal bone but extensive soft tissue involvement did not correlate with prognosis in this study. Resectability of the tumor seems to be major prognostic factors of temporal bone SCC.Objective: Prognostic factors for SCC of the temporal bone were evaluated regarding initial clinical symptoms and radiographic imaging. Methods:Clinical symptoms of the patients with primary SCC of the external auditory canal (EAC) or middle ear (ME) were reviewed based on medical records. Correlation of clinical symptoms and cancer severity staging using the modified Pittsburgh classification was analyzed, along with disease-specific survival (DSS). Results:Sixteen patients with primary SCC of the EAC (n=13) or ME (n=3) were included in the study population. Disease-specific survival was not influenced by whether a hearing disturbance or otalgia was noted at the first medical examination.Extended bone involvement identified with imaging studies significantly correlated with worse prognosis (p<0.05). Prognoses of patients without extensive bone erosion were well and extensive (≥0.5 cm) soft tissue involvement did not correlate with prognosis in this study. Prognoses of patients with insufficient bone resection or no surgery were significantly poor (p<0.01).

SUMMARYThe effect of glucocorticoid hormones on the replication of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was studied in human embryonic lung (HEL) cells. Treatment of cells with pharmacological concentrations of adrenal glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone enhanced HCMV replication; treatment with oestrogenic or androgenic hormones did not do so. In dexamethasone-treated HEL cells there was an approximately tenfold increase in virus yield, with the virus eclipse period shortened by 1 day compared to control cultures. Treatment of cells with the hormone also enhanced plaquing efficiency of the virus by approximately tenfold. As the synthesis of virus-specific immediate early proteins and antigens was notably enhanced together with an increase of HCMV DNA synthesis, it appeared that the early stages of the HCMV replication cycle might be under hormonal control. Moreover, the data presented suggest that the hormonal enhancement of HCMV replication involves specific receptor proteins and requires the synthesis of a specific cellular mRNA(s).