Diffuse fatty infiltration of the liver: Pitfalls in computed tomography diagnosis

The presence of a fatty liver often complicates the interpretation of abdominal computed tomography (CT). Abnormalities in or adjacent to the liver, including dilated bile ducts, liver masses and subphrenic collections, may be masked by the fatty liver. Furthermore, normal structures may simulate pathological conditions. Five cases are presented to illustrate some of these diagnostic pitfalls.     

Long-term experience with implanted intrathecal drug administration systems for failed back syndrome and chronic mechanical low back pain

Background  

Continuous intrathecal drug delivery has been shown in open studies to improve pain and quality of life in those with intractable back pain who have had spinal surgery. There is limited data on long term effects and and even less for patients with mechanical back pain without prior spinal surgery.     

Relaxin detected by immunocytochemistry and northern analysis in the mammary gland of the guinea pig

Relaxin is a product of the endometrial gland cells in the guinea pig. Mammary tissue was collected from intact cyclic animals, on days 35 and 63 of pregnancy, days 5 and 21 of lactation, and day 28 postpartum. Tissue was collected from six cyclic hysterectomized animals. Sections of mammary gland were immunostained with the avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase method, and antisera to porcine relaxin which were raised to different preparations in different laboratories. Light uniform staining was evident in the cytoplasm of all of the cuboidal epithelial cells forming the mammary duct system in cyclic animals; mammary gland from hysterectomized animals showed similar staining. At midpregnancy light staining was seen in some epithelial cells, and by late pregnancy there was only faint staining. On day 5 of lactation there was intense and uniform staining throughout the epithelial cells of the alveoli. By day 21 of lactation the cells still immunostained for relaxin, but on day 28 postpartum there was a return to the cyclic staining pattern. Endometrium from animals at 55-60 days of pregnancy and mammary gland from day 6 of lactation were used for poly(A)+ RNA isolation and Northern analysis. Three 48-mer oligonucleotide probes were used. Poly(A)+ RNA from endometrium of late pregnant guinea pigs and from the mammary gland in lactation hybridized with the same two probes and failed to hybridize with a third under moderate stringency conditions. The results suggest that the major source of relaxin in the guinea pig is sequential, the pregnant uterus and the lactating mammary gland. The local and/or systemic significance is not known.     

A glycolytic phenotype is associated with prostate cancer progression and aggressiveness: a role for monocarboxylate transporters as metabolic targets for therapy

Metabolic adaptation is considered an emerging hallmark of cancer, whereby cancer cells exhibit high rates of glucose consumption with consequent lactate production. To ensure rapid efflux of lactate, most cancer cells express high levels of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs), which therefore may constitute suitable therapeutic targets. The impact of MCT inhibition, along with the clinical impact of altered cellular metabolism during prostate cancer (PCa) initiation and progression, has not been described. Using a large cohort of human prostate tissues of different grades, in silico data, in vitro and ex vivo studies, we demonstrate the metabolic heterogeneity of PCa and its clinical relevance. We show an increased glycolytic phenotype in advanced stages of PCa and its correlation with poor prognosis. Finally, we present evidence supporting MCTs as suitable targets in PCa, affecting not only cancer cell proliferation and survival but also the expression of a number of hypoxia‐inducible factor target genes associated with poor prognosis. Herein, we suggest that patients with highly glycolytic tumours have poorer outcome, supporting the notion of targeting glycolytic tumour cells in prostate cancer through the use of MCT inhibitors. © 2015 Authors. Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.