Fukuoka igaku zasshi = Hukuoka acta medica最新文献

Background: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in an elderly recipient is controversial.

Case presentation: We report a case of LDLT in a 74-year-old female who had decompensated liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). She was the oldest recipient who received LDLT in Japan ever. She was rejected for LDLT at a nearby hospital because of her age.We decided to perform LDLT because her general condition was good (the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2 ). The surgery was uncomplicated and the postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged 35 days after the surgery. Currently she is living at home, and she has maintained a good quality of life.

Conclusions: We believe that a recipient in good general condition is capable of undergoing LDLT despite advanced age.

Background: Neuraminidase (NA) is a surface protein essential for influenza virus replication. NA inhibitors are commonly used for the treatment of influenza patients in Japan. Several mutations that reduce the effect of NA inhibitors have been reported. We sequenced the whole NA segment of isolated virus from influenza patients and investigated the relation between the NA amino acid sequence and the 50％ inhibitory concentration (IC_50) of four NA inhibitors.

Materials and methods: Forty A/H3N2 and 19 B influenza virus isolated from patients in the 2014/15 influenza season were analyzed. The IC_50 was determined by a neuraminidase inhibition assay using a fluorescent substrate. Viral RNA was amplified by RT-PCR and the genome was sequenced using a next generation sequencer. The deduced amino acid sequences were analyzed.

Results: There was no AA change in the NA catalytic site of the A/H3N2 and B viruses isolated in the 2014-15 influenza season. There was no significant relation between the NA amino acids and the IC_50 of the four NA inhibitors for A/H3N2 or B viruses.

Conclusion: The catalytic site of NA was highly conserved for these A/H3N2 and B viruses. No emergence of NA amino acid mutations related to the sensitivity of the four currently used NA inhibitors was observed.

Background/aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has become a standard procedure for the resection of early gastric cancer (EGC). However, the feasibility of ESD for very elderly patients, aged ≥ 80 years, has not been determined.

Methodology: The study population included 67 non-elderly (NE) patients aged ≤ 65 years (80 lesions) and 22 very elderly (VE) patients ≥ 80 years (26 lesions) with EGC who underwent ESD and met the criteria for absolute or expanded indications. Eighteen patients (18 lesions) who underwent ESD but did not meet the criteria for absolute and expanded indications were defined as the outside the indications (OI) group.

Results: En bloc and complete resection rates were excellent in both the VE and NE groups, without differing significantly. Although the rates of ischemic heart disease and antithrombotic agent use were higher in the VE than in the NE group, procedure-related complication rates did not differ significantly. Of the seven very elderly patients in the OI group, two underwent additional gastrectomy, and the other five were followed-up without surgery. No patient in any group experienced local recurrence, metastasis or disease-specific death.

Conclusions: Short- and long-term outcomes of ESD for VE patients with EGC were favorable and did not differ significantly from outcomes in NE patients. ESD may therefore be a good therapeutic option for both VE and NE patients with EGC.