Rosai–Dorfman Disease: A Rare Clinicopathological Presentation and Review of the Literature

Rosai–Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare and self-limiting disease process that presents most commonly in young patients as massive, painless, cervical lymphadenopathy. Extranodal involvement may also occur. Histopathologic evaluation is the main diagnostic modality. We report an unusual presentation of RDD with cervical lymphadenopathy and an incidentally discovered sinonasal mass, clinically worrisome for malignancy. We emphasize that a high index of clinical suspicion is critical for accurate diagnosis of RDD. Clinicians and pathologists should consider RDD in a differential diagnosis of cervical lymphadenopathy, especially in young patients.     

Quality of hospital services during New Year holiday (Nowruz) in Iran

Journal of Public Health - Iranian New Year, with long consecutive holidays, although it is celebrated and enjoyed, might influence the quality of services provided by hospitals. The present study...     

Neuropilin-1 is expressed on adult mammalian dorsal root ganglion neurons and mediates semaphorin3a/collapsin-1-induced growth cone collapse by small diameter sensory afferents

Neuropilin-1 on the growth cones of NGF-dependent embryonic dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons mediates the repulsive effects of secreted semaphorin3a, but its role in adult neurons is unknown. Here we show that most adult rat DRG neurons, regardless of cell diameter/afferent phenotype, express neuropilin-1 protein in vitro. However, the response of growth cones belonging to these neurons (induced by recombinant collapsin-1/semaphorin3a and blocked by the anti-neuropilin-1 antibody) was restricted to those of small cell body diameter (<30 microm), corresponding primarily to nociceptive sensory afferents. Neurotrophic factors had a differential effect on neuropilin-1 expression in vitro, with DRG neurons cultured in either NGF or GDNF expressing the highest levels on their neurites. These findings suggest that neuropilin-1-mediated repellent effects of semaphorins may regulate the behavior of nociceptive sensory axons in the adult as well as the embryonic peripheral nervous system.     

N-nitro- -arginine methylester is protective against ethanol-induced gastric damage in cholestatic rats

In this study the effect of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibition on ethanol-induced gastric damage was evaluated in bile duct-ligated, sham-operated and unoperated rats. The animals were injected intraperitoneally with saline, -arginine (200 mg/kg) or N^G-nitro- -arginine methylester ( -NAME) in doses of 5, 15 and 30 mg/kg, 30 min before ethanol administration. The animals were killed 1 h after ethanol administration and their stomachs were removed for measurement of gastric mucosal damage. The results showed that -NAME significantly enhanced the development of gastric mucosal lesions in sham-operated and unoperated rats, while in bile duct-ligated animals, -NAME decreased and -arginine enhanced the potentiation of ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage. The plasma level of nitrite and nitrate was also measured and was significantly higher in bile duct-ligated rats than in control groups. The results suggest that inhibition of NO synthase with -NAME has different effects on ethanol-induced gastric damage in cholestatic groups and in normal rats and that these effects can be explained by overproduction of NO in bile duct-ligated animals.     

Novelty and Familiarity Activations in PET Studies of Memory Encoding and Retrieval

Nine young right-handed men viewed colored pictures of people,scenes, and landscapes. Then, 24 hr later while undergoing PETscanning, they viewed previously studied (OLD) pictures in onetype of scan, and previously not seen (NEW) pictures in another.The OLD-NEW subtraction of PET images indicates familiarity,and the NEW-OLD indicates novelty. Familiarity activations,signalling aspects of retrieval, were observed in the left andright frontal areas, and posterior regions bilaterally. Noveltyactivations were in the right limbic regions, and bilaterallyin temporal and parietal regions, including area 37. These latteractivations were located similarly to novelty activations inprevious PET studies using visual words and auditory sentences,suggesting the existence of brain regions specializing in transmodalnovelty assessment The effects of novelty are seen both be haviorallyand in replicable patterns of cortical and subcortical activation.We propose a "novelty/encoding hypothesis": (1) novelty assessmentrepresents an early stage of long-term memory encoding; (2)elaborate, meaning-based encoding processes operate on the incoming information to the extent of its novelty, and therefore(3) the probability of long-term storage of information vanesdirectly with the novelty of the information.     

Parental reactions to febrile seizures in Malaysian children

The reactions of 117 parents to the febrile seizure experienced by their children; and their fears and worries were investigated. A standard questionnaire was used and clinical information was abstracted from the notes. In 88.9% of the cases, the adult present at the seizure was one of the parents usually the mother. Most of the parents (66.7%) did tepid sponging to bring the fever down but a third tried to open the clenched teeth of the child. The adults present placed the child supine in 62.9%, on the side in 9.5% and prone in 6.0%. Over half of the parents brought the child to a private clinic first before bringing to hospital. A fifth of the children were given antipyretics by the parent or the doctor and an anticonvulsant was given in 7.7% of cases. Interestingly, in 12% of children traditional treatment was given for the seizure. Three quarters of the parents knew that the febrile seizure was caused by high fever (which we have taken as the correct knowledge of febrile seizure). However "ghosts" and "spirits" were blamed as the cause of the seizure by 7% of parents. Factors significantly associated with correct knowledge were higher parental education and higher family income. The most common fear expressed was that the child might be dead or might die from the seizure (70.9%). Fear of death was associated with low paternal education. We concluded that the majority of our parents had reacted appropriately to a febrile seizure and their knowledge of the cause of febrile seizure was generally correct. Their fears and worries were similar to those elsewhere. However, traditional beliefs and practices may have to be taken into consideration during counselling.     

Confocal microscopy for real-time detection of oral cavity neoplasia.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to characterize features of normal and neoplastic oral mucosa using reflectance confocal microscopy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Oral cavity biopsies were acquired from 17 patients at the Head and Neck Clinic of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center who were undergoing surgery for squamous cell carcinoma within the oral cavity. Reflectance confocal images were obtained at multiple image plane depths from biopsies within 6 h of excision. After imaging, biopsies were fixed in 10% formalin and submitted for routine histological examination. Reflectance confocal images were compared with histological images from the same sample to determine which tissue features contribute to image contrast and can be potentially imaged using in vivo confocal microscopy. RESULTS: Confocal images were successfully acquired from 15 biopsy pairs from 17 patients. Depth-related changes in cell diameter and nuclear density were observed at multiple anatomical sites within the oral cavity. In squamous cell carcinomas, densely packed, pleomorphic tumor nuclei could be visualized with distinct differences in nuclear density and morphology distinguishable between confocal images of neoplastic and nonneoplastic oral cavity. Other features of noncancerous and cancerous oral tissue that could be identified in the confocal images included areas of inflammation, fibrosis, muscle fibers, and salivary glands. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the potential for this tool to play a significant role in the clinical evaluation of oral lesions, real-time identification of tumor margins, and monitoring of response to therapeutic treatment.     

Effects of Systemic Hyperoxia on Eustachian Tube Ventilatory Function

Middle ear negative pressure and effusions, decreased middle ear compliance, and abnormal tympanometry results have been described after diving on oxygen. Middle ear gas hyperoxia has been shown to down-regulate the eustachian tube ventilatory function (ETVF). The purpose of the present study was to investigate to what extent systemic hyperoxia in the face of air-equivalent middle ear gas composition might interfere with the ETVF. ETVF was investigated in four young adult female cynomolgus monkeys by the forced-response and inflation-deflation tests using air while the animals breathed either room air or 100% normobaric oxygen. Higher opening, closing, and steady-state pressures were observed under systemic hyperoxia. The percentage of the applied pressure equalized, and the maximal pressure change on a single swallow in the deflation test were both lower under hyperoxic conditions. The results show that systemic hyperoxia might impair ETVF. This observation adds to our understanding of the pathophysiology of middle ear dysfunction observed after diving on oxygen.