Takashima County has a moderately high stroke incidence rate and case fatality compared with other similar studies in Japan. The incidence rate of cerebral infarction in men is twice that in women, while other sub-types of stroke showed smaller differences. In order to decrease the incidence of stroke in Japan, greater efforts at primary prevention will be necessary, in particular, it is important to prevent cerebral infarction in men.

''cell'' in circulation 3 in preoperative patients. Moreover, the To detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in the significant elevation of serum AFP protein levels sometimes circulating peripheral blood, we previously designed a lags behind the formation of a considerable recurrent mass. highly sensitive reverse-transcription polymerase chainBecause of the recent advances in the reverse-transcription reaction (RT-PCR) method targeting a-fetoprotein polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology, several (AFP) messenger RNA (mRNA). Using this method, we studies have been performed for detecting cancer cells in analyzed peripheral blood of in-and out-patients bearlymph nodes or peripheral blood in the form of specific ing HCC for 2 months consecutively and examined the mRNA, the existence of which means the presence of cells outcome thereafter. All 11 patients with recurrence eiproducing the mRNA. Such a system has been developed for ther in the liver alone or in both the liver and the lung melanoma cells, 4 breast cancer cells, 5 prostate cancer cells, 6 were positive for AFP mRNA. Among 10 recurrence-free and neuroblastoma cells. 7 Kar et al. 8,9 and Hillaire et al. 10 patients, 2 patients were AFP mRNA-negative and redetected the presence of albumin mRNA in peripheral blood mained recurrence-free during a period of 22 months of patients with HCC. But because a small amount of albumin observed. Four of 8 AFP mRNA-positive, recurrencemessage seems to be transcribed in nucleated blood cells, 3 free patients developed a clinically evident recurrence Matsumura et al. developed a RT-PCR system to detect AFP in the liver after 2 to 16 months. Seven of 8 preoperative mRNA in peripheral blood of HCC-bearing patients in 1994. 3 patients were already positive for AFP mRNA and the However, the serum AFP protein level in their HCC patients remaining negative patient became positive during surwas as high as 62,738 { 7,031 ng/mL, whereas the overall gery. Four of 6 preoperatively positive and still-alive papositive rate was 52%. For the practical usage in therapeutic tients had recurrence in the liver after 2 to 9 months.decision-making and early detection of recurrence, we conNone of the HCC-negative patients were positive for AFP structed an original, easy, and far more sensitive RT-PCR mRNA. We actually found an AFP protein-positive cell system for detecting AFP mRNA in circulation. 11 With this in peripheral blood obtained from one of the AFP method, only a single high-AFP-producing cell in 1 cc of whole mRNA-positive patients by immunostaining. The presblood was recognizable within 12 hours. 11 In the previous ent results suggest that circulating HCC cells may have study, using this system, we found five of seven HCC patients some relationship with the recurrence of HCC in the to be positive for AFP mRNA in their peripheral blood, liver. (HEPATOLOGY 1997;25:564-568.) whereas four patients with positive hepatitis virus marker(s) but negative for HCC and a healthy volunteer were negative. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC...

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We present a rat model in which continuous supply of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) prevents liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and E. coli 011:B4 lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Rat fibroblasts genetically modified to secrete rat HGF were implanted in syngenic rat spleen 7 days before administration of the hepatotoxins. Rats with HGF‐secreting fibroblasts in the spleen showed a dramatic resistance to CCl4‐ and LPS‐induced liver injury. In the LPS‐induced liver injury model, blood chemical analysis revealed that the increase in serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase level and the decrease in blood sugar level were remarkably suppressed in rats with HGF‐secreting cells in the spleen. Most importantly, their survival rate was greatly improved compared to other control groups of rats. Thus our results indicate a new role of HGF in liver protection during endotoxemia and convey important clinical implications for developing new therapeutic modalities in the treatment of liver failure caused by endotoxemia.

Background The incidence and mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) in Japan seem to be among the lowest of all the industrialized countries, but there are few reliable registers of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods and ResultsTo assess the incidence of AMI in Takashima County, Shiga, Japan, from 1988 to 1998 and compare the data with similar registers in the world, cases of AMI or sudden death presumed from myocardial ischemia were registered. The criteria of AMI were based on the WHO MONICA Projects. The medical records of all the hospitals inside as well as outside the county, the original death records in the health center, and the ambulance records in the county were investigated and 291 cases were registered (190 males, 101 females; average age (mean ± SD), 69.5±12.2). The 28-day and 24-h case fatality was 38.1% and 33.0%, respectively. Age-adjusted annual incidence of AMI per 100,000 population aged between 25 and 74 years were 58.2 for men and 18.0 for women. The incidence of AMI showed a constant trend from 1988 to 1998. Conclusion The results confirmed that Japan has the lowest incidence of AMI among the industrialized countries. (Circ J 2005; 69: 404 -408)