Radiculopathy due to malignant melanoma in the sacrum with unknown primary site

Melanoma is an interesting tumor, showing the appearance of metastasis without any trace of its primary lesion. To report a very rare case of malignant melanoma in the sacrum with unknown primary origin. The authors present a case of a 52-year-old man who was admitted with increasing lower back, left buttock, and left lower extremity pain, and dysuria. Plain radiograph, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a destructive lesion in the sacrum and left ilium, which infiltrated the spinal canal and sacroiliac joint. The tumor cells were immunoreactive for HMB-45. The pathological diagnosis was malignant melanoma. No obvious primary malignant melanoma was detected on the skin surface, on the oral or anal mucosa, or in the fundus oculi. Following radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the severe buttock pain disappeared and the patient was able to walk without impediment. However the patient died nine months after initial diagnosis. Malignant melanoma in the sacrum with an unknown primary site, showing S1 radiculopathy is reported for the first time. The melanoma could have been a metastatic tumor of the sacrum, although the primary site was not detected. The incidence of primary melanoma is increasing faster than any other cancer. Thus treatment of patients with spinal metastasis of melanoma is an important challenge for orthopedic surgeons.

     

FGFR2突变位点Ser252Trp与Pro253Arg对Apert综合征临床表型影响的差异—基于荟萃分析的证据

目的探索Apert综合征患者中两个常见突变Ser252Trp和Pro253Arg对临床表型影响的差异。方法分别以"Apert and FGFR2"、"Apert综合征和FGFR2突变"为关键词,在PubMed和中国知网中进行检索,从227篇文献中筛选出29篇同时包含FGFR2基因突变和临床表型的文章。本研究的样本量为230例Apert综合征患者,涉及37种临床表型。其中男女比率为1∶1,平均年龄为(8.9±9.6)岁。利用t检验、卡方检验或Fisher精确检验,比较两个突变(Ser252Trp和Pro253Arg)之间临床表型的差异。结果 87%的患者能检测到FGFR2基因上的Ser252Trp和Pro253Arg两个常见突变,低于之前报道的98%。其中伴发腭裂的频率,Ser252Trp突变约为Pro253Arg突变的2.3倍(55%vs 24%,P<0.001);Pro253Arg突变中Ⅲ型并指发生频率显著高于Ser252Trp突变(69%vs 29%,P<0.001);其他临床表型在两个突变中的差异不具有统计学意义。结论本研究通过整合1995年至2017年间的相关文献,发现Apert综合征中两个常见突变的发生频率可能存在一定程度的高估;两个突变之间的表型影响具有细微差异,两者相较,Ser252Trp突变者较常出现腭裂畸形,而Pro253Arg突变则会出现较为严重的并指畸形。     

The growth of the posterior cranial fossa in FGFR2-induced faciocraniosynostosis: A review

BackgroundThe growth of the posterior fossa in syndromic craniostenosis was studied in many papers. However, few studies described the pathophysiological growth mechanisms in non-operated infants with fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) type 2 mutation (Crouzon, Apert or Pfeiffer syndrome), although these are essential to understanding cranial vault expansion and hydrocephalus treatment in these syndromes.ObjectiveA review of the medical literature was performed, to understand the physiological and pathological growth mechanisms of the posterior fossa in normal infants and infants with craniostenosis related to FGFR2 mutation.DiscussionOf the various techniques for measuring posterior fossa volume, direct slice-by-slice contouring is the most precise and sensitive. Posterior fossa growth follows a bi-phasic pattern due to opening of the petro-occipital, occipitomastoidal and spheno-occipital sutures. Some studies reported smaller posterior fossae in syndromic craniostenosis, whereas direct contouring studies reported no difference between normal and craniostenotic patients. In Crouzon syndrome, synchondrosis fusion occurs earlier than in normal subjects, and follows a precise pattern. This premature fusion in Crouzon syndrome leads to a stenotic foramen magnum and facial retrusion.     

The alpha2-5'AMP-activated protein kinase is a site 2 glycogen synthase kinase in skeletal muscle and is responsive to glucose loading

The 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a potential antidiabetic drug target. Here we show that the pharmacological activation of AMPK by 5-aminoimidazole-1-beta-4-carboxamide ribofuranoside (AICAR) leads to inactivation of glycogen synthase (GS) and phosphorylation of GS at Ser 7 (site 2). In muscle of mice with targeted deletion of the alpha2-AMPK gene, phosphorylation of GS site 2 was decreased under basal conditions and unchanged by AICAR treatment. In contrast, in alpha1-AMPK knockout mice, the response to AICAR was normal. Fuel surplus (glucose loading) decreased AMPK activation by AICAR, but the phosphorylation of the downstream targets acetyl-CoA carboxylase-beta and GS was normal. Fractionation studies suggest that this suppression of AMPK activation was not a direct consequence of AMPK association with membranes or glycogen, because AMPK was phosphorylated to a greater extent in response to AICAR in the membrane/glycogen fraction than in the cytosolic fraction. Thus, the downstream action of AMPK in response to AICAR was unaffected by glucose loading, whereas the action of the kinase upstream of AMPK, as judged by AMPK phosphorylation, was decreased. The fact that alpha2-AMPK is a GS kinase that inactivates GS while simultaneously activating glucose transport suggests that a balanced view on the suitability for AMPK as an antidiabetic drug target should be taken.     

An increase in the peripheral lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio after primary site resection is associated with a prolonged survival in unresectable colorectal carcinoma

Surgery Today - The prognostic benefits of primary tumor resection in patients with unresectable distant metastatic colorectal cancer remain unclear. A high pre-treatment lymphocyte-to-monocyte...     

Pure motor hemiplegia and lower cranial nerve palsies in a primary medullary tumor with review of the literature

A case is described of pure motor hemiplegia and lower cranial nerve palsies in a primary medullary tumor. The literature is reviewed to support the contention that this is a case of primary medullary glioma and to show the uniqueness of the presentation of pure motor hemiplegia with a tumor in this location. A discussion of the problems of brainstem tumor is presented; surgical exploration is recommended if indicated, followed by radiation therapy.     

Cranial nerve palsies due to skull base metastases in patients with prostate cancer: a report of two cases

Two patients with prostate cancer showed cranial nerve palsies due to skull base metastases. Case 1: A 64-year-old man had prostate cancer (T4 N0 M1, Gleason score 7, prostate-specific antigen [PSA] level 372 ng/mL) with multiple bone metastases. Seventy-seven months after initiation of therapy, he had an articulation disorder and palsy of the left side of the tongue, with 12th cranial nerve palsy. Case 2: A 75-year-old man had a prostate cancer (T3b N0 M1, Gleason score 7, PSA level 177 ng/mL) with multiple bone metastases. Sixty-six months after initiation of therapy, he had hearing loss, noise in the right ear, and dizziness, with 8th cranial nerve deficits. Magnetic resonance imaging showed low intensity in the clivus in both cases, and all over the skull in case 2. The first patient was treated with radiation therapy and intravenous steroids at an early date. His symptoms improved.     

The generalized aminoaciduria seen in patients with hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha mutations is a feature of all patients with diabetes and is associated with glucosuria

Hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha (HNF-1alpha) mutations are the most common cause of maturity-onset diabetes of the young. HNF-1alpha homozygous knockout mice exhibit a renal Fanconi syndrome with glucosuria and generalized aminoaciduria in addition to diabetes. We investigated glucosuria and aminoaciduria in patients with HNF-1alpha mutations. Sixteen amino acids were measured in urine samples from patients with HNF-1alpha mutations, age-matched nondiabetic control subjects, and age-matched type 1 diabetic patients, type 2 diabetic patients, and patients with diabetes and chronic renal failure. The HNF-1alpha patients had glucosuria at lower glycemic control (as shown by HbA1c) than type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, consistent with a lower renal glucose threshold. The HNF-1alpha patients had a generalized aminoaciduria with elevated levels of 14 of 16 amino acids and an increased mean Z score for all amino acids compared with control subjects (0.66 vs. 0.00; P < 0.0005). Generalized aminoaciduria was also present in type 1 diabetic (Z score, 0.80; P < 0.0001), type 2 diabetic (Z score, 0.71; P < 0.0002), and chronic renal failure (Z score, 0.65; P < 0.01) patients. Aminoaciduria was not associated with microalbuminuria or proteinuria but was associated with glucosuria (1.00 glucosuria vs. 0.19 no glucosuria; P = 0.002). In type 1 diabetic patients, urine samples taken on the same day showed significantly more aminoaciduria when glucosuria was present compared with when it was absent (P < 0.01). In conclusion, HNF-1alpha mutation carriers have a mutation-specific defect of proximal tubular glucose transport, resulting in increased glucosuria. In contrast, the generalized aminoaciduria seen in patients with HNF-1alpha mutations is a general feature of patients with diabetes and glucosuria. Glucose may depolarize and dissipate the electrical gradient of the sodium-dependent amino acid transporters in the proximal renal tubule, causing a reduction in amino acid resorption.     

Torsion of the right upper lobe due to primary lung cancer with pulmonary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy; report of a case

A 61-year-old woman was admitted due to severe coughing. Chest X-ray revealed a mass in the right lower lung field at standing position and in the right upper lung field at supine position. A position of the mass changed with change in her posture because of lobar torsion. Bronchoscopic biopsy of the polypoid tumor obstructing the right upper bronchus revealed adenocarcinoma. She had hypertrophic osteoarthropathy simultaneously. Right pneumonectomy was performed. Postoperative course has been uneventful for 3 years.     

The study of abnormal bone development in the Apert syndrome Fgfr2+/S252W mouse using a 3D hydrogel culture model

Apert syndrome is caused by mutations in fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (Fgfr2) and is characterized by craniosynostosis and other skeletal abnormalities. The Apert syndrome Fgfr2+/S252W mouse model exhibits perinatal lethality. A 3D hydrogel culture model, derived from tissue engineering strategies, was used to extend the study of the effect of the Fgfr2+/S252W mutation in differentiating osteoblasts postnatally. We isolated cells from the long bones of Apert Fgfr2+/S252W mice (n=6) and cells from the wild-type sibling mice (n=6) to be used as controls. During monolayer expansion, Fgfr2+/S252W cells demonstrated increased proliferation and ALP activity, as well as altered responses of these cellular functions in the presence of FGF ligands with different binding specificity (FGF2 or FGF10). To better mimic the in vivo disease development scenario, cells were also encapsulated in 3D hydrogels and their phenotype in 3D in vitro culture was compared to that of in vivo tissue specimens. After 4 weeks in 3D culture in osteogenic medium, Fgfr2+/S252W cells expressed 2.8-fold more collagen type I and 3.3-fold more osteocalcin than did wild-type controls (p<0.01). Meanwhile, Fgfr2+/S252W cells showed decreased bone matrix remodeling and expressed 87% less Metalloprotease-13 and 71% less Noggin (p<0.01). The S252W mutation also led to significantly higher production of collagen type I and II in 3D as shown by immunofluorescence staining. In situ hybridization and alizarin red S staining of postnatal day 0 (P0) mouse limb sections demonstrated significantly higher levels of osteopontin expression and mineralization in Fgfr2+/S252W mice. Complementary to in vivo findings, this 3D hydrogel culture system provides an effective in vitro venue to study the pathogenesis of Apert syndrome caused by the analogous mutation in humans.     

The autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease protein is localized to primary cilia, with concentration in the basal body area

Recent evidence suggests that structural and functional abnormalities of primary cilia in kidney epithelia are associated with mouse and human autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. To determine whether fibrocystin/polyductin/tigmin (FPC), the protein product encoded by the PKHD1 gene that is responsible for autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease among human subjects, is also a component of primary cilia in the kidney, antipeptide antibodies to the carboxyl-terminal intracellular domain and amino-terminal extracellular domain of FPC were generated and were characterized with immunoblotting and immuno-light and -electron microscopy. Immunolocalization in normal kidney tissue sections and cultured kidney cells demonstrated that FPC was localized to the primary cilia and concentrated on the basal bodies in both kidney tissue sections and cultured kidney cells. The FPC expression pattern was not altered in kidney cells with Pkd1 mutations. These findings suggest that FPC is a functional and/or structural component of primary cilia in kidney tubular cells. It is proposed that the pathogenesis of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease is linked to the dysfunction of primary cilia.     

ERK1/2激活参与乳化异氟醚后处理的脑保护作用

目的观察细胞外信号调节激酶1/2(ERK1/2)的激活在8%乳化异氟醚后处理对大鼠局灶性脑缺血-再灌注损伤中的作用。方法健康成年雄性SD大鼠48只,随机均分为六组:假手术组(S组)、缺血-再灌注组(IR组)、乳化异氟醚后处理组(EI组)、ERK抑制剂PD98059组(PD组)、乳化异氟醚后处理+PD98059组(EP组)、溶媒DMSO组(D组)。除S组外,均采用大脑中动脉阻闭2h,再灌注24h建立局灶性脑缺血-再灌注模型。缺血2h恢复再灌注即刻,EI组、EP组腹腔注射8%乳化异氟醚10.5ml/kg,其余各组注射生理盐水10.5ml/kg。PD组、EP组和D组于再灌注前30min侧脑室分别注入PD98059和DMSO。再灌注24h时进行神经功能缺陷评分(NDS评分),并观察组织形态学变化及细胞凋亡、p-ERK1/2阳性表达。结果与IR组相比,EI组NDS评分降低,凋亡细胞减少,磷酸化ERK1/2(p-ERK1/2)表达上调(P<0.05);与EI组相比,EP组NDS评分增高,凋亡细胞显著增加,p-ERK1/2表达下调(P<0.05)。结论 8%乳化异氟醚后处理通过激活ERK1/2信号通路对抗局灶性脑缺血-再灌注损伤。