Osteogenic pulmonary metastases originating from a phyllodes tumour of the breast with osteosarcomatous differentiation

Malignant phyllodes tumour is an uncommon breast neoplasm which undergoes osteosarcomatous differentiation in 1.3% of cases. We document the plain film, CT and scintigraphic features of a case of pulmonary metastases from this rare primary tumour.     

Ocular complications of paediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome

Purpose : To investigate ocular complications arising from nephrotic syndrome and/or its treatments in children. Methods : A cross‐sectional study was conducted in a teaching hospital. A total of 31 paediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome were studied. Comprehensive ophthalmic assessments on best‐corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit‐lamp and fundus examination were taken. Information regarding histological diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome and its treatment regimen in each patient was reviewed and analysed. Results : Bilateral posterior subcapsular cataracts were detected in three of 29 patients (10.3%) who received steroid therapy. Two had normal vision while one had visual acuity reduced to 6/15 in both eyes. The age of onset of the nephrotic syndrome in these three patients was 2 years, which was significantly younger than those without cataract (5.4 ± 3.2 years, P < 0.001). Three patients (9.7%) had isolated asymptomatic fundal findings of tortuous and dilated retinal vessels. Hypertensive retinopathy was found in one patient (3.2%). No steroid‐induced glaucoma, uveitis, ocular infection, or other eye complications related to the use of steroids or other immunosuppressive agents were noted. Conclusions : Children who have nephrotic syndrome often require prolonged, intermittent high dose of systemic corticosteroid therapy. Paediatricians should be aware of the potential risk of developing steroid‐related complications, especially posterior subcapsular cataract. It appears to have a higher risk when steroid therapy is used in very young patients. Early detection would help to prevent amblyopia development, particularly in the group of immature eyes.     

Observations of supra-glacial lakes in west Greenland using winter wide swath Synthetic Aperture Radar

Melt water gathered in supra-glacial lakes on the Greenland ice sheet contributes to reduced basal friction by the input of water from the surface to the bed during the melt season. Supra-glacial lakes change on both annual and inter-annual timescales. The high temporal resolution and moderate spatial resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) can be used to capture annual changes on the highly transient/fast-draining lakes. However, MODIS imagery lacks the ability to penetrate clouds. Using ENVISAT Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) winter images, we show that SAR images can be used to identify seasonal/inter-annual changes in the lake area. Furthermore, winter SAR images identify lakes obscured to optical data by ice and snow cover. However, the SAR imagery systematically failed to discriminate narrow lakes and lakes in corrugated topography. Thus, SAR images can be used as a complement to existing visible–near-infrared data but do not offer a viable replacement.