Application of a pigment measuring device – Mexameter®– for the differential diagnosis of vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus

Background/purpose: Vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus (ND) present similar hypopigmented macules with significantly different prognoses. Although the distinction between the two diseases is important, differential diagnosis relies on medical history and physical examination, which is far from decisive in some cases. The Mexameter^® is an objective skin color-measuring device, and has been reported to provide a reproducible and sensitive means of quantifying small skin color differences. In this study, we investigated the usefulness of a Mexameter^® for discriminating these diseases.
Methods: A selection of 202 hypopigmented skin lesions (182 from vitiligo and 20 from ND) were the objects of this study. Using a Mexameter, MIs were obtained from lesions and symmetrically located control skin. RMIs, ratios of the MIs of lesional skins to control skins, were calculated.
Results: The mean MIs and RMIs were significantly different for vitiligo and ND. The mean RMI of ND lesions was 74±13, which was significantly higher than that of vitiligo lesions (50±24). No ND lesion had an RMI of <50%.
Conclusion: This study shows that the Mexameter^®, an objective pigment-measuring device, can be used to achieve a more accurate diagnosis of hypopigmentary disorders, and that the relative melanin index (RMI), which represents the relative pigment levels, might be a more effective parameter than the melanin index (MI) itself for comparing pigmentation differences.     

Altered establishment/clearance mechanisms during experimental micrometastasis with live and/or disabled bacterial lacZ-tagged tumor cells.

To study micrometastasis at its earliest stages, the bacterial lacZ marker gene was introduced into human EJ Ha-ras-transformed BALB/c 3T3 cells (LZEJ), followed by their intravenous injection into nude mice. Lung micrometastases were easily identified by blue staining of lacZ-tagged cells minutes/hours after injection, permitting effective evaluation of establishment/clearance mechanisms of LZEJ cells. Different treatments were used to disable LZEJ cells (fixation, irradiation, or mitomycin C) to determine modulation of these processes--although unable to divide, these cells stain for lacZ expression for days after treatment. Fixation-killed cells generated large microfoci (> 13-15 cells/focus) with well-rounded morphologies while live, irradiated, or mitomycin-treated cells generated smaller, irregularly shaped foci (3-7 cells/focus). Fixed-cell foci were cleared more slowly from lungs than the other three classes, even when prefiltered to remove large aggregates. All foci of disabled cells were eventually cleared while a basal level of live-cell foci persisted. Co-injection of fixed and live cells (or preinjection of fixed cells, followed by live cells) resulted in complete clearance of live-cell microfoci; in contrast, preinjection of live cells (then injection of fixed cells) led to survival of live-cell micrometastases. Therefore, altered deformability and/or cell surface interactions of tumor cells modulate the effectiveness of host-clearing mechanisms in the lung and in some situations these altered cells facilitate clearance of live tumor cells that are normally tumor-progressing.     

Wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia from lesions at different levels in the brainstem.

Wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO) is a rarely reported syndrome. There is dispute about whether WEBINO is caused by a pontine or a midbrain lesion and whether the medial rectus subnuclei are implicated. In a study of the clinical and imaging features of four patients with WEBINO, we found that that three of four lesions involved the midbrain but not necessarily the medial rectus subnuclei.     

血清高水平甲状旁腺激素-非透析慢性肾脏疾病患者的隐形杀手

维持性血液透析患者血清甲状旁腺激素(Parathyroid hormone,PTH)水平显著增高,PTH与患者心功能下降、营养状态恶化以及死亡率的增加密切相关.然而,临床实践发现,部分慢性肾脏疾病(Chronic kidney disease,CKD)3-4期、甚至CKD1期的患者血清PTH水平也增高,PTH对此类患者的影响如何,目前报道较为少见.本文结合文献就FTH对非透析CKD患者的心血管系统、骨代谢、营养状况及预后的影响作一综述.     

The role of neck dissection in the eradication of salivary carcinomas]

From 1955 to 1984, radical neck dissection (RND) had been done in 300 salivary carcinoma patients, 114 of which had regional lymph node metastasis, with a 38% metastatic rate. Respective 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 year survival rates were 76, 64, 47, 35, 35% in a 3 to 20 years follow-up study in 283 patients (94.33%). The following four points are concluded: 1. The metastatic rate is determined not only on tumor staging, but more to its typing (pathologic behaviour). 2. Elective RND gave a better prognosis than therapeutic and negative metastasis has a better survival chance than positive where the low level metastasis is the worst. 3. According to pathologic typing, Elective RND is indicated for undifferentiated adenocarcinoma, high malignant mucoepidermoid carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and papillary cystic adenocarcinoma, therapeutic RND for malignant pleomorphic adenoma, acinic cell carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma. 4. Unilateral RND is indicated for all but sublingual and buccal tumors.