Endocrine complications in patients with beta-thalassemia major

Thirty-seven patients with thalassemina major (TM) were studied to determine the extent and rate of endocrine complications. Mean haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations were 8.8 +/- 0.6 and 3,597 +/- 1,931, respectively. Provocation tests for growth hormone secretion were applied in patients with standing heights below the third centile and/or growth velocities below the 10th centile. Sexual maturation was assessed by using the criteria of Tanner. Glucose metabolism was assessed by fasting plasma glucose and glucose tolerance test. Basal thyroid function was measured and thyrotropin-releasing hormone tolerance test was carried out. Growth retardation was found in 40 per cent of patients and growth hormone deficiency was a prominent cause of growth retardation. Gonadal dysfunction was detected in 47 per cent of patients. Hypothyroidism was observed in 16 per cent and impaired glucose metabolism in 10.8 per cent patients. The high rate of endocrine disturbances indicates the importance of regular follow-up of thalassemia major patients with regard to endocrine complications of the disease.     

Personal and occupational predictors of sciatica in the GAZEL cohort

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this prospective study were to investigate personal and occupational predictors of sciatica and to compare the risk factors for sciatica and those for low back pain without sciatica. METHODS: The study analysed data from 841 men, initially free from low back pain, who were followed for 2 years. Subjects were participants in the French GAZEL cohort of employees of the national electricity and gas company. The predictive factors for sciatica and low back pain without sciatica were compared with a polytomous model. RESULTS: Height and driving were predictors only for sciatica, and bending forward and backward at work was a predictor only for low back pain without sciatica. The odds ratio (OR) for sciatica associated with 'height >180 cm' was 3, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.4-6.5; for driving >2 h daily it was 2 (CI = 0.94-4.10) and for driving >2 h several days a week 2.7 (CI = 1.20-6.10). CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that height and driving are risk factors for sciatica and that sciatica has specific predictors different from those for other types of low back pain. Future studies should consider sciatica separately from these.     

Aneurysmal bone cyst of the temporal bone

Aneurysmal bone cysts are benign fibrosseous lesions of the bone that are rarely detected in the temporal bone. Seventeen cases of aneurysmal bone cysts with histological confirmation involving the temporal bone were reported in the literature. We report a case of left temporal aneurysmal bone cyst in a 52-year-old male with the clinical findings of periauricular painful swelling, decreased hearing, and facial paralysis. A magnetic resonance image of the patient showed a well-circumscribed multi-loculated expansile lesion of the left temporal bone during the first admission to the hospital. The lesion recurred 1 year after the subtotal resection with a more solid appearance. In addition, we review the literature for these rare lesions.     

Comparison of pathological features of gastric carcinoma in Turkey and Germany.

Environmental factors play an important role in gastric carcinogenesis and in the morphological features of gastric carcinomas. The aim of our study was to examine whether gastric carcinoma cases from Turkey and Germany differ in their topographical localization and in their histopathological and immunophenotypic profiles. We studied 80 gastric carcinoma cases from Turkey and 80 cases from Germany. The tumors were classified according to the Lauren, Goseki, and Carneiro classifications. We also determined the immunophenotype of the tumors on the basis of their mucin (MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6) and adhesion molecule (E-cadherin, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin) expression patterns. In the German series a proximal localization prevailed (p<0.02). In the Goseki classification, Grade I tumors were more frequent in the Turkish series, while Grade IV carcinomas (all of which stained positively for MUC5AC) were more common in the German series (p<0.24).The differences in adhesion molecule expression in the two groups were not significant. In conclusion, gastric carcinomas from Turkey and Germany differ in their topographical localization and the frequency of gland-forming versus signet-ring cell carcinomas. These differences may indicate that the factors thought to contribute to the development of gastric carcinoma, such as dietary habits and Helicobacter pylori infection, have different impact in the two countries.     

Time interval from the initiation of the electrocardiographic P wave to the start of left atrial appendage ejection flow: A novel method for predicting atrial fibrillation recurrence

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence is high and unpredictable. In this study, a novel noninvasive method that was thought to reflect the interatrial conduction time was investigated to predict AF recurrence. This method was on the basis of the measurement of time interval from initiation of the electrocardiographic P wave to the start of left atrial (LA) appendage (LAA) ejection flow (P-LAA). Methods and Results: Forty-five consecutive patients (age, 61 +/- 11 years; 20 male) with newly diagnosed AF (mean duration, 132 hours; range: 6 hours-3 months) who converted to in sinus rhythm spontaneously or with cardioversion were studied prospectively. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography were performed to measure LA size, mechanical functions, LAA ejection velocity, and P-LAA. Transesophageal echocardiography was performed for the measurement of P-LAA 1 to 2 days after conversion to in sinus rhythm. The patients were followed up for a period of 163 +/- 72 days for the recurrence of AF. AF recurred in 17 (38%) patients after a mean time of 81 +/- 67 days. P-LAA was significantly higher in patients with AF recurrence (123 +/- 36 vs 92 +/- 24 milliseconds, P =.0047) and multiple regression analysis indicated that P-LAA was an independent predictor of AF recurrence. Multiple regression analysis revealed no significant differences in LA size parameters, or in clinical and LA mechanical function parameters recorded after restoration of in sinus rhythm between patients with and without AF recurrence. CONCLUSION: P-LAA may be considered to be an independent predictor of recurrent AF.     

Colitis cystica profunda: MRI appearance

Colitis cystica profunda (CCP) is an uncommon benign condition characterized by mucin-filled cysts located in the submucosa, frequently associated with the solitary ulcer and rectal prolapse syndromes. The diagnosis of this entity is important as it can mimic rectal cancer and therefore may result in unnecessary surgical resection. Endoscopic examination and barium enema findings are suggestive but not specific, neither are superficial biopsy findings. Transrectal ultrasound is helpful in the diagnosis by imaging the layers of the rectal wall. The authors report a 16-year-old male with a rectal lesion mimicking malignant mass on endoscopic examination. The lesion was defined as CCP, based on MR imaging findings which disclosed multiple noninfiltrating submucosal cysts, confirmed by histopathological examination. To our knowledge, this is the first case of CCP in the radiology literature describing MRI findings.     

Chronic heavy ethanol consumption is associated with decreased platelet aggregation in rats

Although moderate alcohol consumption seems to be protective against atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease rate increases with its higher doses. Platelet aggregation is an important process which contributes to the atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether heavy ethanol consumption stimulates or inhibits platelet aggregation. Fourteen adult male Wistar rats were used. Ethanol (7.2%, v/v) in a modified liquid diet was given to eight rats for 21 days, which mimicked characteristics similar to human chronic alcoholism. Six rats constituted the control group. Adenosine diphophate (ADP) and collagen-induced platelet aggregation was measured in whole blood. We found reduced ADP-induced mean maximal aggregation in the alcoholic rat group compared to the control group at dose of 5 microM (p < 0.005). We also found decreased platelet aggregation responses to collagen in the alcoholic group (p < 0.006 for 2 microg/ml collagen, and p < 0.05 for 5 microg/ml collagen). In conclusion, chronic heavy ethanol consumption results in the decreased platelet aggregation in a rat model of alcoholism. Therefore, increased mortality from coronary artery disease in chronic alcoholism may be explained by other factors such as dietary imbalances and coexisting conditions, which include hypertension and depression.     

A Kalman filter-based approach to reduce the effects of geometric errors and the measurement noise in the inverse ECG problem

In this article, we aimed to reduce the effects of geometric errors and measurement noise on the inverse problem of Electrocardiography (ECG) solutions. We used the Kalman filter to solve the inverse problem in terms of epicardial potential distributions. The geometric errors were introduced into the problem via wrong determination of the size and location of the heart in simulations. An error model, which is called the enhanced error model (EEM), was modified to be used in inverse problem of ECG to compensate for the geometric errors. In this model, the geometric errors are modeled as additive Gaussian noise and their noise variance is added to the measurement noise variance. The Kalman filter method includes a process noise component, whose variance should also be estimated along with the measurement noise. To estimate these two noise variances, two different algorithms were used: (1) an algorithm based on residuals, (2) expectation maximization algorithm. The results showed that it is important to use the correct noise variances to obtain accurate results. The geometric errors, if ignored in the inverse solution procedure, yielded incorrect epicardial potential distributions. However, even with a noise model as simple as the EEM, the solutions could be significantly improved.