Farmer's lung in a case after bullectomy

We present a case of farmer's lung (FL) with the primary presenting feature of a large bulla in the lung. A 70-year-old nonsmoking woman with dyspnea on exercise was referred for surgical resection of a large bulla in the lung. The postoperative evaluation of the lung tissue revealed a follicular lymphocytic alveolitis and loosely formed granulomas suspicious for hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). The patient had worked in farming since her youth. Dyspnea on exercise was the only symptom, but it was related to the large bulla. No other radiologic features of HP were shown in a high-resolution CT of the lung. Specific IgG antibodies against typical antigens of FL were detected, bronchoalveolar lavage demonstrated no lymphocytic alveolitis but an inhalative challenge with own hay was positive. A diagnosis of chronic FL was made. Despite lung emphysema being a possible reaction in FL, giant bullae as primary and single manifestation of this disease have not been reported before.     

Gestational Choriocarcinoma Transmission Following Multiorgan Donation

An accidental transmission of placental choriocarcinoma (CC) from a multiorgan donor to four recipients is reported. The donor was a 26‐year‐old pregnant woman, died from a cerebral hemorrhage. Histological examination demonstrated the presence of a placental CC. Diagnosis of CC transmission was established on the basis of an increase of human chorionic gonadotrophin hormone (hCG) level. The recipient of combined pancreas–kidney is still in complete remission 2 years after the beginning of chemotherapy without removal of the grafted organs which show optimal function. The recipient of a single kidney was rapidly transplantectomized and treated with actinomycin. At 2 years, she remains in remission. Liver recipient showed intestinal metastasis and died from digestive hemorrhage after an initial response to chemotherapy. Heart recipient had an initial remission under EMA‐CO, but at the last report, he showed diffuse metastasis. Published reports on CC transmission are rare. The long‐lasting remission of our pancreas–kidney recipient and her good outcome after 2 years make our observation original. Moreover, the high rate of transmission demonstrates the high malignant potential of CC in immunosuppressed patients. Chemotherapy combined or not with transplantectomy in case of nonvital organ, should be discussed.     

Update in the methodology of the chronic stress paradigm: internal control matters

To date, the reliability of induction of a depressive-like state using chronic stress models is confronted by many methodological limitations. We believe that the modifications to the stress paradigm in mice proposed herein allow some of these limitations to be overcome. Here, we discuss a variant of the standard stress paradigm, which results in anhedonia. This anhedonic state was defined by a decrease in sucrose preference that was not exhibited by all animals. As such, we propose the use of non-anhedonic, stressed mice as an internal control in experimental mouse models of depression. The application of an internal control for the effects of stress, along with optimized behavioural testing, can enable the analysis of biological correlates of stress-induced anhedonia versus the consequences of stress alone in a chronic-stress depression model. This is illustrated, for instance, by distinct physiological and molecular profiles in anhedonic and non-anhedonic groups subjected to stress. These results argue for the use of a subgroup of individuals who are negative for the induction of a depressive phenotype during experimental paradigms of depression as an internal control, for more refined modeling of this disorder in animals.     

Demonstration of intrinsic innervation of the guinea pig upper urinary tract using whole-mount preparation

AIMS: The morphology and functional importance of the autonomic nervous system in the upper urinary tract is still not completely understood. Previous histological studies investigating the innervation of the urinary tract have mainly used conventional sections in which the three-dimensional structure of the intramural innervation is difficult to achieve. In contrast, the whole-mount preparation technique is a suitable method for visualizing the distribution of the mesh-like neuronal networks within the urinary tract. METHODS: The distribution and regional variation of neurofilament (NF), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and substance P-immunoreactive (SP-IR) neurons, as well as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d)-positive neurons were investigated using whole-mount preparations of the guinea pig upper urinary tract. RESULTS: Two distinct nervous plexuses were detected within the muscle layers containing NF, TH, ChAT, and SP-IR nerves. AChE-positive nerves were seen in all layers. Only moderate NADPH-d-positive innervation was found. Renal pelvis, upper and lower part of the ureter showed an overall increased innervation compared to the middle portion of the ureter. Ganglia were found at the pelviureteric border displaying NF and TH immunoreactivity. CONCLUSION: The whole-mount preparation technique provides an elegant method for assessing the three-dimensional architecture of ureteral innervation. The guinea pig upper urinary tract is richly supplied with adrenergic, cholinergic, nitrergic, and sensory nerves which suggest that the autonomous nervous system plays an important role in controlling ureteral motility and blood flow.     

Experience with new teaching methods and testing in psychiatric training

In 1999, the Charité Medical University in Berlin, Germany, implemented a reformed medical study course (RMSC) along with traditional undergraduate medical education. The RMSC is characterized by problem-based learning (PBL), training in communication skills with "simulated patients", and interdisciplinary seminars. The curriculum is organized into blocks according to organ system and age (period od life). In a new intensive 4-week psychiatric block, 4th-year students get practical experience in psychiatric wards. Furthermore, PBL groups and workshops are offered that focus on frequent psychiatric disorders. By providing interactive courses with simulated patients, students are intensively trained in taking psychiatric histories and in generating psychopathological findings. Defined learning objectives are tested using multiple-choice items and objectively structured clinical examinations at semester end. First positive results indicate that this course represents an appropriate and practicable curriculum for teaching psychiatry in Germany.     

Liver Cancer-Specific Isoform of Serine Protease Inhibitor Kazal for the Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Results from a Pilot Study in Patients with Dysmetabolic Liver Disease

Reliable non-invasive biomarkers for the surveillance of patients at risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development represent an unmet medical need. Recently, the liver-cancer-specific isoform of serine protease inhibitor Kazal (LC-SPIK) has been proposed as a valuable biomarker for the detection of HCC in patients with chronic liver disease of viral etiology. In the present study, we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of LC-SPIK, alone or in combination with standard serologic biomarkers (i.e., alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II, PIVKA-II), for the detection of HCC among patients with dysmetabolic liver disease. A total of 120 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), including 62 patients with a diagnosis of HCC and 58 with cirrhosis but without tumor, were retrospectively analyzed. The serum levels of LC-SPIK were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ImCare Biotech, Doylestown, PA). The serum LC-SPIK values were significantly different between patients with HCC (24.3, 17.6–39.8 ng/mL) and those with cirrhosis but without tumor (11.7, 8.7–18.2 ng/mL) (p < 0.001). By receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, we observed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.841 for the detection of HCC; the combination with PIVKA-II further increased the accuracy to AUC = 0.926 (cross-validation). The promising results observed in the present pilot study foster additional research to investigate the usefulness of LC-SPIK for the stratification of the risk of HCC development in patients with NAFLD and advanced liver disease.     

Surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer

胰腺癌是一种预后很差的恶性肿瘤,85%的病人在确诊后12个月内死亡,5年生存率仅为1%～2%.胰腺癌预后差的原因主要包括(1)很难在疾病早期做出诊断;(2)当发现胰腺发生病变时,又很难对疾病进行正确分期;(3)外科手术治疗的并发症和死亡率仍然较高;(4)缺乏有效的肿瘤辅助治疗手段.胰腺癌的分期非常重要,它可以尽早地区分肿瘤可切除的病人与不可切除的病人,避免不必要的剖腹探查术.在过去的20年中,用于胰腺癌分期的影像学技术越来越多,取得了很大进步,它们包括超声探测,双相螺旋CT扫描,选择性脏器血管造影,内窥镜逆行胰胆管造影,超速核磁共振,以及腹腔镜检查.它们各有优缺点,需综合分析几项检查结果才能得出准确分期.随着诊断和外科手术技术的提高,尤其是在拥有胰腺专业外科医师的疾病治疗中心,胰十二指肠切除术的并发症和死亡率近20年有了明显下降,同时手术切除率和术后生存率也有稳步提高.Whipple手术虽然仍是壶腹周围癌的标准手术方式,但是越来越多的外科医师将保留幽门的胰十二指肠切除术用于胰头癌的治疗,并证明它是一种安全、根治性切除手术.保留幽门的胰十二指肠切除术术后生存率、局部复发和远处转移与Whipple手术一样,但是术后病人的生活质量、体重增加和社会活动能力都明显好于Whipple术后病人.全胰切除由于存在许多弊端,而且没有明显改善胰腺癌病人的预后,除非在特殊情况下,不宜使用.一些临床资料显示姑息性切除的病人预后优于不切除的病人,尤其是在术后第1年.扩大性淋巴结清扫是否可以提高5年生存率目前意见尚未统一,需要进一步临床前瞻性观察.虽然胰腺癌外科治疗取得了很大成绩,但是,目前一致认为单靠外科手术切除尚不能控制此疾病的进展.为了改善胰腺癌病人的预后,必须深入研究胰腺癌的生物学特性,及其对化疗、放射治疗和基因治疗等肿瘤辅助治疗的反应,并进行临床前瞻性观察.