Unusual cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas--case reports

We describe 4 cases of non-Hodkin's lymphomas that were interesting because of their curiosal clinical courses and spontaneous complete remissions during the course of high malignancy lymphoma. We present three of them for the first time in Poland. Case 1: a 61-year old woman was admitted to the hospital because of the headache, lasting for 4 months before hospitalization and right hemiparesis. CT scans revealed the presence of tumor in the temporo-occipital region. The diagnosis of B-cell lymphoma was established at histopathological examination of the postoperative material. Co60--therapy of these region was applied after the operation with good response. Case 2: a 38-year woman was admitted to the hospital because of L5-S1 spondylolisthesis to operate it. During the hospitalization haemolytic anaemia of unknown origin, thrombocytopoenia, splenomegaly, fever and rising acute insufficiency of kidneys, heart, liver and CNS were occurred. The patient died, despite applying corticosteroidotherapy. The diagnosis of intravascular lymphoma was established at postmortem examination. Case 3: a 51-year old woman was admitted to the hospital with diagnosis: anaplastic non-Hodgkin lymphoma B-cell type high malignancy established after the double histopathological examination of lymph nodes and biopsy of the lung. At the admission to the Department of Haematology we stated absolute regression of these changes. The patient had been only observed in the Outpatient Department over 1 year. She died after 6 months since the beginning of the relapse despite intensive chemotherapy. Case 4: a 43-year old man was admitted to the hospital because of great hyperleukocytosis, hepatosplenomegaly and neurological symptoms. The diagnosis: chronic prolymphocytic leukaemia was established. The cerebrospinal fluid examination showed presence of mononuclears which infiltrated CNS. CT scans of the brain revealed leucaemic infiltrations of the hemispheres and cerebellum. The patient died despite intensive therapy due to rising progressive multiorgan failure.     

The importance of genetic susceptibility in Dupuytren's disease

Dupuytren's disease (DD) is a progressive fibromatosis that causes the formation of nodules and cords in the palmar aponeurosis leading to flexion contracture of affected fingers. The etiopathogenesis is multifactorial with a strong genetic predisposition. It is the most frequent genetic disorder of connective tissues. We have collected clinical data from 736 unrelated individuals with DD who underwent surgical treatment from Germany and Switzerland. We evaluated a standardised questionnaire, assessed the importance of different risk factors and compared subgroups with and without positive family history. We found that family history clearly had the strongest influence on the age at first surgery compared to environmental factors, followed by male sex. Participants with a positive family history were on average 55.9 years of age at the first surgical intervention, 5.2 years younger than probands without known family history (p = 6.7 × 10^?8). The percentage of familial cases decreased with age of onset from 55% in the 40–49 years old to 17% at age 80 years or older. Further risk factors analysed were cigarettes, alcohol, diabetes, hypertension, and epilepsy. Our data pinpoint the importance of genetic susceptibility for DD, which has long been underestimated.     

Effect of alveolar pressure on pulmonary artery pressure in chronically hypoxic rats

The effect on pulmonary artery pressure of a rise in alveolar pressure differed in chronically hypoxic rats (10% O2 for 3-5 weeks) compared with control rats. Chronically hypoxic rats have newly muscularised walls in arterioles in the alveolar region. Isolated lungs of chronically hypoxic and control rats were perfused with blood under conditions in which alveolar pressure was greater than left atrial pressure during both normoxia and hypoxia. Alveolar pressure was the effective downstream pressure. Pressure-flow lines were measured at low and high alveolar pressure (5 and 15 mmHg). During normoxia pressure-flow lines of chronically hypoxic rats had a steeper slope (higher resistance) and greater extrapolated intercept on the pressure axis (effective downstream pressure) than control rats. In both groups of rats the change from low to high alveolar pressure during normoxia caused an approximately parallel shift in the pressure-flow line similar to the change in alveolar pressure. During hypoxia, which led to an increase in slope and intercept in both groups of rats, the effect of a rise in alveolar pressure differed in chronically hypoxic from control rats. In control rats there was a small parallel shift in the pressure-flow line that was much less than the increase in alveolar pressure; in chronically hypoxic rats there was a large parallel shift in the pressure-flow line that was greater than the increase in alveolar pressure. Thus in chronically hypoxic rats hypoxic vasoconstriction probably occurred mainly in muscular alveolar vessels, whereas in control rats it probably occurred upstream in extra-alveolar vessels. At constant blood flow the relation between pulmonary artery pressure and alveolar pressure was measured while alveolar pressure was reduced from approximately 15 mmHg to zero during both normoxia and hypoxia. In control and chronically hypoxic rats the slope of this line was less than 1. At an alveolar pressure of 2-3 mmHg there was an inflection point below which the line was nearly horizontal in control but negative in chronically hypoxic rats. During hypoxia the inflection point increased in control but not in chronically hypoxic rats, whereas the preinflection slope became negative. Apart from a rise in pulmonary artery pressure at all values of alveolar pressure, which occurred in both groups of rats, there was no change in the form of the curve in chronically hypoxic rats during hypoxia. These results also suggest constriction of extra-alveolar vessels in control rats and alveolar vessels in chronically hypoxic rats during hypoxia.     

Sexuelle Gesundheit und Medizin im WIR – Walk In Ruhr: Vorstellung des Zentrums und Ergebnisse der Evaluation

Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz - Ein ganzheitliches Konzept sexueller Gesundheit und Medizin berücksichtigt die Diversität von Lebenswelten, um...     

Low-threshold heat receptor in chick sensory neurons is upregulated independently of nerve growth factor after nerve injury

In mammals, the cloned low-threshold heat receptor, vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1), is involved in the genesis of thermal hyperalgesia after inflammation. However, there is evidence that VR1 is not involved in the thermal hyperalgesia that occurs after nerve injury. In search for other heat receptors which might be involved in this phenomenon, we previously demonstrated that chick dorsal root ganglion neurons, which are insensitive to capsaicin, respond to low-threshold heat. Here, we investigated whether expression of the low-threshold noxious heat receptor in chicks is regulated by nerve growth factor (NGF), as VR1 is in mammals. Heat (44 degrees C) responsiveness of isolated dorsal root ganglion neurons of chicks was investigated (i) under culture conditions for up to 4 days with and without NGF and (ii) after a tight ligation of the sciatic nerve for up to 6 days, using cobalt-uptake method. In every case, a significant upregulation in the proportion of heat-responsive neurons was observed. On the molecular level, there was an increase of chick VR1 mRNA level in dorsal root ganglion cells cultured for 3 days in medium lacking NGF. In rat dorsal root ganglion neurons cultured for 1-4 days without NGF, patch-clamp experiments revealed that after 1 day almost all neurons responding to heat also responded to capsaicin, whereas after 3-4 days, more than one-half of the heat-responsive neurons did not respond to capsaicin.These data suggest the existence of low-threshold heat receptors in chick dorsal root ganglion neurons, the expression of which is regulated independently of NGF.     

Central nervous involvement by chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Inclusion of the central nervous system (CNS) in the course of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is rare. At the moment no risk factors or proven treatment methods are known. The disease is described both in its early phase and during its acceleration period, thus it has been suggested that there might be independent mechanisms influencing the development of this condition. As there are no unified diagnostic procedure algorithms each patient needs to be assessed individually. CLL can manifest mostly in elderly people, for whom a possibility of development of neurological disorders with their aetiology different from leukaemia, should also be taken into consideration. The thesis presents a group of seven patients with CLL with CNS infiltration. Patients with prolymphocytic leukaemia, Richter's transformation and the original location of leukemic infiltration within the eye socket constitute an especially interesting case.