Keisuke Araki

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Small Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: A Report of Four Patients and a Review of Sixteen Patients in the Literature with Ectopic Hormone Production

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) occurs mostly in the lung, and in some patients is accompanied by production of ectopic hormones. Small cell carcinoma of the head and neck is very rare. We report 4 patients with SCC of the head and neck (larynx, tonsil, maxillary sinus, and parotid gland). The patient with SCC of the maxillary sinus demonstrated a high level of plasma serotonin and overexpression of parathyroid hormone; however, he did not show any related symptoms. The patient with SCC of the tonsil showed the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone associated with antidiuretic hormone hyperproduction at the terminal stage. In the literature, 16 patients with SCC of the head and neck with ectopic hormone production have been reported. Antidiuretic hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone were the hormones that caused clinical symptoms (paraneoplastic syndromes). We believe that the evaluation of hormonal syndromes is valuable for diagnosis and treatment.

Cochlear findings in the white spotting (Ws) rat

White spotting (Ws) rats possess a c-kit gene mutation at the W locus, resulting in a variety of characteristics including a lack of intermediate cells of the stria vascularis. The present study employs a light microscope (LM), scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopes (TEM), diaminobenzidine (DAB) staining techniques and auditory brainstem response (ABR) to investigate the structure and function of the cochlea in 26 homozygous Ws/Ws rats aged 1-6 months. A slight thinning of the stria vascularis and moderate elevation of ABR threshold were about the only defects noted in 1 month animals, while older animals displayed various defects that tended to worsen with age. At 3 months LM revealed pigment granules in the basal turn of most animals, with a loss of pigmentation in the upper turns. The stria vascularis and organ of Corti tended to be well preserved in the lower, pigmented portion, while the upper, unpigmented portion showed severe strial degeneration and some outer hair cell loss. DAB staining revealed a well developed strial capillary net throughout the pigmented portion of the cochlea, with severe degradation in the unpigmented apical portion. ABR thresholds were slightly elevated over 1 month values. At 6 months great differences in degeneration were noted between right and left ears of the same animal.

Efficacy of Onon (pranlukast hydrate) for theImprovement of Quality of Life in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of novel leukotriene antagonist, pranlukast hydrate on improvement of quality of life (QOL) as well as reduction of clinical symptoms in patients with allergic rhinitis.Fifty patients with perennial and/or seasonal allergic rhinitis were administered 450mg pranlukast hydrate daily for at least 4 weeks. The severity of clinical symptoms and QOL were assessed before and after treatment.After a 4-week period of treatment, the QOL score significantly improved from 2.1±1.5 to 1.2±1.7 (P<0.0001). In addition, the treatment itself did not affect the QOL of the patients. The severity of symptoms was also significantly reduced (P<0.001). The improvement rates were 66.0% (sneezing), 72.0% (rhinorrea), and 82.0% (nasal obstruction).In conclusion, pranlukast hydrate improves QOL and reduces symptoms in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Study on false-negative cases of FNA in head and neck tumor

Identification Test for patients with olfactory dysfunction in clinical use. Methods: 111 patients with olfactory dysfunction were tested with T&T olfactometer and with the Odor Stick Identification Test and with CC-SIT (Doty et al, 1996) at the Department of Otolaryngology, Hyogo College of Medicine, from March 2001 to June 2002. We used visual analogue score (VAS) for measuring the subjective symptoms of olfactory dysfunction. The patients were 44 males and 67 females with a mean age of 58.8 years. Results: The patient’s correlation coefficient was 0.760 between the T&T olfactometer and the Odor Stick Identification Test, was 0.673 between the T&T olfactometer and the CC-SIT score, and was 0.754 between the CC-SIT score and the Odor Stick Identification Test and 0.580 between the VAS score and the Odor Stick Identification Test. Conclusion: The Odor Stick Identification Test was useful for screening of olfactory dysfunction. We think this test has the possibility to assess the degree of olfaction severity.