Commentary on "Primary orbital monophasic synovial sarcoma with calcification: A case report"

The present letter to the editor is related to the study titled “Primary orbital monophasic synovial sarcoma with calcification: A case report’’. Orbital synovial sarcoma is one of the rare intraorbital masses seen in adult and pediatric populations. Some case reports in the literature revealed that synovial sarcoma may contain calcifications. Therefore, it is important to make differential diagnosis among calcified orbital masses in childhood.     

Uncalcified Synovial Chondromatosis in the Pisotriquetral Joint

Synovial chondromatosis is a rare lesion in the wrist, but some cases in the distal radioulnar joint have been reported and previous case reports emphasize joint calcifications, shown on preoperative plain radiographs. We report an extremely uncommon case of synovial chondromatosis in the pisotriquetral joint, in which radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging did not demonstrate apparent calcified bodies. In our case, for the accurate diagnosis and treatment, surgical exploration of the joint and synovectomy with removal of loose bodies was performed.     

The association between liver fat and systemic calcified atherosclerosis

BackgroundThe association of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with systemic calcified atherosclerosis, other than the coronary arteries, has not been clearly elucidated. We investigated the association between NAFLD and calcification in eight different vascular beds.MethodsIn a community-based cohort with computed tomography scans for carotid artery, coronary artery, thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, iliac artery, renal artery, celiac trunk, and superior mesenteric artery, the association between NAFLD and arterial calcification was evaluated with adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, current smoking status, and family history of heart disease in the first-degree relatives.ResultsIn age- and sex-adjusted models, NAFLD was significantly associated with calcification in the coronary artery, carotid artery, thoracic aorta, celiac trunk, and superior mesenteric artery vascular beds (P < .05). However, adjustment for the traditional chronic venous disease risk factors attenuated the associations, except in the case of the thoracic aorta (odds ratio [OR], 1.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-1.78) and celiac trunk (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.16-3.65). In addition, NAFLD was independently associated with multiarterial calcification (four or more [OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.01-1.74], five or more [OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.09-1.97], and six or more [OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.09-2.30] of eight evaluated arterial segments).ConclusionsThe association between NAFLD and arterial calcification is mainly mediated by conventional risk factors. The independent association between NAFLD and calcification in the thoracic aorta and celiac trunk as well as in a larger number of vascular beds needs confirmation in future prospective studies in diverse populations.     

Grading meningiomas utilizing multiparametric MRI with inclusion of susceptibility weighted imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping

Background and purposeThe ability to predict high-grade meningioma preoperatively is important for clinical surgical planning. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of comprehensive multiparametric MRI, including susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) in predicting high-grade meningioma both qualitatively and quantitatively.MethodsNinety-two low-grade and 37 higher grade meningiomas in 129 patients were included in this study. Morphological characteristics, quantitative histogram analysis of QSM and ADC images, and tumor size were evaluated to predict high-grade meningioma using univariate and multivariate analyses. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed on the morphological characteristics. Associations between Ki-67 proliferative index (PI) and quantitative parameters were calculated using Pearson correlation analyses.ResultsFor predicting high-grade meningiomas, the best predictive model in multivariate logistic regression analyses included calcification (β = 0.874, P = 0.110), peritumoral edema (β = 0.554, P = 0.042), tumor border (β = 0.862, P = 0.024), tumor location (β = 0.545, P = 0.039) for morphological characteristics, and tumor size (β = 4 × 10⁻⁵, P = 0.004), QSM kurtosis (β = − 5 × 10⁻³, P = 0.058), QSM entropy (β = − 0.067, P = 0.054), maximum ADC (β = − 1.6 × 10⁻³, P = 0.003), ADC kurtosis (β = − 0.013, P = 0.014) for quantitative characteristics. ROC analyses on morphological characteristics resulted in an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.71 (0.61–0.81) for a combination of them. There were significant correlations between Ki-67 PI and mean ADC (r = − 0.277, P = 0.031), 25^th percentile of ADC (r = − 0.275, P = 0.032), and 50^th percentile of ADC (r = − 0.268, P = 0.037).ConclusionsAlthough SWI and QSM did not improve differentiation between low and high-grade meningiomas, combining morphological characteristics and quantitative metrics can help predict high-grade meningioma.     

体外人牙髓细胞的矿化特性

为探讨体外人牙髓细胞的生物学特性，采用体外细胞连续培养、钙质染色、Ｘ射线能谱分析与透射电镜观察等方法，对体外人恒牙牙髓细胞的矿化特性进行了研究并与人牙龈成纤维细胞（ｈｕｍａｎｇｉｎｇｉｖａｆｉｂｒｏｂｌａｓｔｓ，ＨＧＦｓ）进行了比较。结果表明，人牙髓细胞在体外可以复层生长并形成细胞结节，ＨＧＦｓ则无此能力，牙髓细胞的碱性磷酸酶活性亦较ＨＧＦｓ者高；细胞结节钙质染色呈阳性，结节内钙磷含量明显增高；人牙髓细胞有许多与成牙本质细胞相似的超微结构特征，胞间基质中可见致密晶状小体。结果提示，体外连续培养的人牙髓细胞有向成牙本质细胞分化的可能，这可为研究人牙髓细胞的分化和矿化提供有价值的思路。     

Calcifications of the pulp chamber: prevalence and implicated factors

The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of pulp chamber calcifications in a sample of Turkish dental patients and to report associations between presence of pulp chamber calcifications and dental status, gender, age, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Data were collected through radiographic examination of periapical and bitewing radiographs of 15,326 teeth from 536 dental patients, comprising 270 male and 266 female patients aged between 13 and 65 years. Definite radiopaque focuses inside the radiolucent pulp chamber were defined as pulp chamber calcifications. When the pulp chamber was completely radiolucent, that tooth was scored as tooth without pulp chamber calcification. The dental status was scored as intact, carious, restored, or restored + carious. Pulp chamber calcifications were identified in 204 (38%) patients examined. Of the 15,326 teeth, 747 (4.8%) had pulp chamber calcifications. Gender and dental status were found to be correlated with the presence of pulp chamber calcifications. The high prevalence of pulp chamber calcifications in carious, restored, and restored + carious teeth support the view that the occurrence of pulp chamber calcifications can be a response to long-standing irritants. However, to report any associations between occurrence of pulp chamber calcifications and different dental or clinical status, further studies are still needed.     

膝关节内侧副韧带钙化性肌腱炎诊治1例报道

钙化性肌腱炎是一种较常见的自限性疾病,其特征是关节周围软组织中钙盐沉积。钙化性肌腱炎主要见于肩关节,但其他部位也有报道为,如手腕,髋关节,大腿,膝关节,足踝等,以每个部位的剧烈疼痛、肿胀和活动受限为特征。膝关节内侧副韧带钙化性肌腱炎国外曾有相关文献描述,而国内却少见报道。本文特报道本科室收治一例膝关节内侧副韧带钙化性肌腱炎病例。     

64-SCTCA与CCA对钙化及非钙化性冠状动脉狭窄程度评估的一致性分析

目的64层螺旋CT冠状动脉血管成像（64-SCTCA）对钙化及非钙化冠状动脉狭窄程度的评估与选择性X线冠状动脉成像（CCA）比较,两者进行一致性分析。方法搜集67例患者64-SCTCA及近期CCA资料,根据冠状动脉钙化积分的扫描结果将冠状动脉分为非钙化组和钙化组,按管径无狭窄,轻度狭窄（≤50%）,中度狭窄（51%～75%）,重度狭窄或闭塞（76%～100%）4个等级分别比较两组的64-SCTCA与CCA评估狭窄程度的一致性。统计学分析采用Kappa评价方法。结果67例患者共评价分析冠状动脉804段血管,其中非钙化组冠状动脉714段,钙化组冠状动脉90段;在非钙化组64SCTCA和CCA一致性分析显示Kappa值=0.643,二者对冠状动脉狭窄程度评估一致性好;在钙化组64-SCTCA和CCA一致性分析显示Kappa值=0.145,二者对冠状动脉狭窄程度评估一致性差,有55（55/90）段钙化冠状动脉血管64-SCTCA评估狭窄程度高于CCA。结论64-SCTCA对非钙化冠状动脉有无狭窄及狭窄程度显示准确性高,对管壁斑块显示好;对有钙化斑块的冠状动脉狭窄评估与CCA的一致性差,64-SCTCA常常会高估狭窄程度。