Noriyasu Saito

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration with anti-Purkinje cell antibody associated with primary tubal cancer

In patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) due to gynecologic malignancies, a high titer of anti-Purkinje cell antibody (anti-Yo) has been found. Most patients, however, have limited oncologic disease at the time of onset of neurologic symptoms. We describe 2 cases of PCD due to tubal cancer with anti-Yo antibody. The onset of PCD occurred 4 and 14 months before the detection of cancer, respectively, and the presence of anti-Yo antibody facilitated early laparotomy in both cases. These patients, whose neurologic symptoms have not progressed, have survived without evidence of disease for 81 and 30 months since surgery, respectively. The presence of the anti-Yo antibody in patients with PCD warrants an aggressive approach to diagnosis and treatment of the underlying gynecologic cancer.

Estrogen-Binding Protein in Blood and Follicular Fluid, and Its Biochemical Properties in Human Females

Testosterone-estradiol binding globulin (TeBG) has been known to have specific binding to estradiol (E2) in blood, however an unknown binding protein having higher affinity to E2 than TeBG is thought to exist in blood. Therefore blood serum and follicular fluid were collected in normal females. Ammonium sulfate precipitation showed different maximum bound ratio between E2BP and TeBG. Concanavalin A (Con-A) Sepharose adsorption analysis showed that the Con-A-bound phase demonstrated estradiol-binding protein (E2BP). Isoelectric focusing showed TeBG in pH 4.9 and E2BP in pH 3.9. The substance giving the peak at pH 3.9 has a high affinity to dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and E2, but the substance with peak at pH 4.9 shows a high affinity to 5-dihydrotestosterone and testosterone. E2BP changed concomitantly with total E2 in blood in the menstrual cycle, but in follicular fluid E2BP was found only in small amounts. It consisted of two components, one protein with low affinity binding and the other with high affinity binding. These results suggest that E2BP exists as a specifically bound fraction to E2, while TeBG, as a nonspecifically bound fraction to E2, is not directly involved in the E2-related biological function.