Developmental Disorders of the Lymphatics

An information blog for disorders of the lymphatics. For all articles, please click on "Archives" - Due to spammers, I will no longer allow comments, sorry.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

New Medicine for Lymph Node Cancer

Quick cure for lymph node cancer‎

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:27:04

A new medicine against lymph node cancer is the latest invention of Czech scientists. The new drug has had very good effects in tests so far. Lab dogs with expanded tumors on their throat and stomachs were treated by the new medicine, after six days, no sign of cancer was discerned. The new medicine is unique in the way that it only affects cancerous cells without destroying healthy tissue of body. Hence, unlike chemotherapy which leaves drastic effects on immunity system, no side effects are caused by this new drug.

The U.S. Company Gilead has already started to test the substance, developed in Prague's Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and designed to treat lymph node cancer on several thousands of patients in the U.S If the new medicine is approved it might be available on sale in about six years. The new medicine is effective in the case of lymph node cancer that makes up one-fourth of all cancerous diseases. It affects tumors in abdomen, chest, thymus and spleen, the paper wrote.

MMN/HAR

presstv

Czech scientists develop new anti-cancer medicine -- press

Prague- Czech scientists have developed a new medicine against cancer which has had very good effects in tests so far, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today, adding that malignant tumours on tested dogs' throats and stomachs disappeared after six days of treatment.

The U.S. company Gilead has started to test the substance, developed in Prague's Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and designed to treat lymph node cancer, on several thousands of patients in the USA, MfD writes.

The researchers are now trying to detect possible side effects of the medicine that could be put on sale in about six years.

Three Czech companies have cooperated on its development, headed by Antonin Holy and Ivan Votruba from the above-mentioned institute and Berta Otova from Charles University's 1st medical faculty.

Holy's team previously won world appreciation for the developed substances against viral diseases and AIDS, MfD recalls.

It says the new medicine is unique as it affects only cancer-hit cells without destroying healthy tissue. Its application is thus not as drastic as, for example, chemotherapy, which destroys the whole immunity system.

"We don't know for the time being why our substance affects only the ill cells and leaves the healthy untouched," the institute director Zdenek Havlas told the daily.

The new medicine is effective in the case of lymph node cancer that makes up one-fourth of all cancerous diseases. It affects tumours in abdomen, chest, thymus and spleen, MfD writes.

Cesknoviny

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Colorectal lymphangioma.

Colorectal lymphangioma.
Am Surg. 2007 Apr

Huguet KL,
Metzger PP,
Menke DM.
Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida 32224, USA.


Lymphangiomas of the colon are historically rare benign tumors. Only 331 cases have been reported in the world medical literature between 1931 and 2004. With widespread use of colonoscopy, however, they are being found more frequently. We report the case of a 74-year-old woman in whom a colonoscopy revealed a 3 x 4-cm submucosal lesion in the cecum that was eventually diagnosed as a lymphangioma. A CT of the abdomen showed a soft-tissue mass in the cecum and a low-density hepatic lesion.

An endoscopic ultrasound of the colon showed a 3 x 4-cm hypoechoic lesion with internal septa arising from the submucosal layer of the cecum. This lesion resembled a vascular malformation; therefore a biopsy specimen was not taken. Pathologic findings of a specimen taken after a subsequent right hemicolectomy identified a submucosal lymphangioma. Published reports indicate that colonoscopy cures most lesions smaller than 2.5 cm in diameter. Resection should be reserved for larger lesions or those in patients exhibiting protein-losing enteropathy.

PMID: 17439042 [PubMed - in process]

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Lymphstasis in a boy with Noonan syndrome: implication for the development of skeletal features.

Lymphstasis in a boy with Noonan syndrome: implication for the development of skeletal features.

Endocr J. 2003 Jun

Ogata T,
Sato S,
Hasegawa Y,
Kosaki K.
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Setagaya, Tokyo 154-8567, Japan.

We report on a Japanese boy with Noonan syndrome who had short stature, bilateral cryptorchidism, poor pubertal development, mild mental retardation, complex cardiac lesions consisting of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, mitral valve stenosis and insufficiency, subvalvular aortic stenosis, and single coronary artery, and various dysmorphic features including hypertelorism, epicanthic folds, low set malrotated ears, high arched palate, micrognathia, webbed neck, low posterior hairline, shield chest, pectus excavatum, cubitus valgus, borderline short metatarsals, lymphedema, redundant skin, and nail dysplasia.

Because of marked lymphedema in the bilateral lower legs, lymphatic scintigraphy was carried out at 13.3 years of age, indicating extreme lymphstasis in the lower extremities, severe lymphstasis in the forearm, the elbow, and the axillary regions, moderate lymphstasis around the ascending aorta, and mild lymphstasis in the bilateral lungs.

The results, in conjunction with those suggested in Turner syndrome, imply that lymphatic hypoplasia/dysplasia and resultant distended lymphatics and lymphedema are relevant to the development of not only soft tissue and visceral anomalies but also skeletal anomalies in Noonan syndrome.

Endocrine Journal

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Chylothorax in patients with diffuse pulmonary lymphangiomatosis

Chylothorax in patients with diffuse pulmonary lymphangiomatosis
Wiatr E,
Langfort R,
Orlowski T,
Grudny J, Gawryluk D, Kupis W, Usiekniewicz J, Oniszh K, Burakowska B,
Roszkowski K.
III Kliniki Chorob Pluc, Warszawie.


The occurence of chylothorax is uncommon and usually is caused by trauma or neoplastic process of the mediastinum. Primary lymphatic lesions of the lungs are extremly rare. One of them is lymphangiomatosis --diffuse lesions characterized primarily by an increased number of complex anastomosing lymphatic channels in which dilatation is secondary phenomenon. These lesions can involve lungs, mediastinum and pleura. The prognosis for the patients with this disease limited to the thorax is guarded and progressive although some patients have realtively indolent course. We present 2 patients : 18-years old boy and 17-years old girl. admitted to hospital because of chylothorax. The diagnostic did could not allow to discover disruption of thoracic duct, even during thoracoscopy. In material taken from the pleura and mediastinum during exploratory thoracotomy - diffuse pulmonary lymphangiomatosis was found. CT examination of the chest revealed osteolysis of the spine. The girl died after 6 weeks from the first symptoms and boy is observed for 18 months with symptoms of progressive restrictive lung disease.

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

Painful fat syndrome, lipedema, in a male patient

Painful fat syndrome, lipedema, in a male patient

British Journal of Plastic Surgery

Chen SG, Hsu SD, Chen TM, Wang HJ.

Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, No. 325, Section 2, Cheng-Gung Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan, ROC.
shyigen@ms26.hinet.net

Painful fat syndrome or lipoedema is a distinct clinical condition, characterised by bilateral and symmetrical enlargement of the upper and lower leg with tenderness, but excluding the feet. Lipoedema occurs almost exclusively in females, and no male patient has been reported in the literature published in English. We report on an extremely rare presentation of lipoedema in a male patient. A thorough study based on the case history, physical manifestations, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provided valuable clues for a differential diagnosis. Conservative treatment using weight reduction, compression-stocking application, and diuretic therapy was not effective. Tumescent liposuction with postoperative pressure garments provided a satisfactory treatment.

For More Information on Lipedema:

Lymphedema or Lipedema?

Lipedema, Lipoedema, Lipodema Yahoo Group

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Antioxidants suppress lymphoma and increase longevity in Atm-deficient mice.

Antioxidants suppress lymphoma and increase longevity in Atm-deficient mice.

J Nutr. 2007 Jan

Reliene R, Schiestl RH.
Department of Pathology, Geffen School of Medicine and School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rschiestl@mednet.ucla.edu

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT), a human hereditary disorder resulting from mutations in the ATM gene, is characterized by a high incidence of lymphoid malignancies, neurodegeneration, immunodeficiency, premature aging, elevated radiosensitivity, and genomic instability. Evidence has been accumulating that ATM-deficient cells are in a continuous state of oxidative stress. A variety of markers of oxidative stress were detected in AT patients as well as Atm-deficient mice, used as an animal model of AT. Since then, it has been proposed that oxidative stress contributes to the clinical phenotype of AT, especially carcinogenesis and neurodegeneration, and several animal studies were conducted to determine whether exogenous antioxidants mitigate the symptoms of AT. Tempol, EUK-189, and N-acetyl cysteine have been tested as chemopreventive antioxidants in Atm-deficient mice. We review these findings, mainly focusing on the effect of N-acetyl cysteine, which is known as a safe and efficient drug and nutritional supplement

Complete Text Article

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