Cytologic examination to detect clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina or cervix

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of cytopathologic examination for the detection of vaginal or cervical clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA). METHODS: Systematic collection in the Dutch automated nationwide pathology archive of all cytology and histology data of women with CCA, born in The Netherlands after 1947 was performed. All cytologic examinations within 2 years prior to histological diagnosis of CCA were included. RESULTS: Ninety patients with CCA have been registered. Forty-nine of these patients had cytologic examinations prior to histology. Eighty-five percent of cervical CCAs were preceded by a positive cervical smear. One hundred percent of vaginal CCAs were preceded by a positive vaginal smear. Cervical smears are relatively insensitive to detect vaginal CCA. Vaginal smears were often omitted. Only 2 apparently false-negative smears were found. The mean numbers of smears in diethylstilbestrol (DES)-exposed and nonexposed women were minimally different: 1.0 and 0.8, respectively. This suggests an only modest impact of the awareness of DES as a risk factor. FIGO tumor stage I was preceded more frequently by cytology than the higher tumor stages. CONCLUSION: The majority of CCA cases can be detected at an early stage by yearly clinical and cytological examinations, which must comprise cervical as well as vaginal sampling. Since CCA may also occur in postmenopausal women, for the purpose of secondary prevention of CCA regular cytologic examinations of DES-exposed women must be continued after menopause.     

Mibefradil (Ro 40-5967) inhibits several Ca2+ and K+ currents in human fusion-competent myoblasts

1. The effect of mibefradil (Ro 40-5967), an inhibitor of T-type Ca2+ current (I(Ca)(T)), on myoblast fusion and on several voltage-gated currents expressed by fusion-competent myoblasts was examined. 2. At a concentration of 5 microM, mibefradil decreases myoblast fusion by 57%. At this concentration, the peak amplitudes of I(Ca)(T) and L-type Ca2+ current (I(Ca)(L)) measured in fusion-competent myoblasts are reduced by 95 and 80%, respectively. The IC50 of mibefradil for I(Ca)(T) and I(Ca)(L) are 0.7 and 2 microM, respectively. 3. At low concentrations, mibefradil increased the amplitude of I(Ca)(L) with respect to control. 4. Mibefradil blocked three voltage-gated K+ currents expressed by human fusion-competent myoblasts: a delayed rectifier K+ current, an ether-à-go-go K+ current, and an inward rectifier K+ current, with a respective IC50 of 0.3, 0.7 and 5.6 microM. 5. It is concluded that mibefradil can interfere with myoblast fusion, a mechanism fundamental to muscle growth and repair, and that the interpretation of the effect of mibefradil in a given system should take into account the action of this drug on ionic currents other than Ca2+ currents.     

关节盘无移位的症状性颞下颌关节的核磁共振研究

目的：本研究的目的是应用核磁共振成像（MRI）诊断颞下颌关节紊乱病（TMD），讨论在关节盘位置正常的TMD关节中的核磁共振影像发现，并探讨这些影像发现与临床症状间的关系。方法：本研究对2000－2002年期间在芬兰欧鲁大学牙学院颌面外科就诊的78名TMD患中，经MRI发现为关节盘位置正常的68侧关节作了影像及临床症状的对比分析。结果：在此68侧关节MRI中，发现了髁突运动异常：过度运动（61.8%）及运动受限（2.9%）；发现了怀疑为翼外肌上头和／或下头的肥大、萎缩及挛缩等病理改变（58.9%）。在关节盘形态方面，未发现明显的关节盘畸形，但发现了关节盘整体变厚的病理影像表现（22.1%），还到涉及关节囊上腔、下腔和／或双板区的炎性渗出（35.3%）。髁突过度运动及翼外肌病理改变与症状组有显性关系。结论：本研究的结果提示，髁突过度运动及可能发生的翼外肌病理改变，在引起关节盘位置正常的颞下颌关节的临床TMD症状中，扮有十分重要的角色。     

Partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage of the right lower lobe shown by CT scans

A case is reported in which the diagnosis of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return was first suggested on computed tomographic (CT) scans. Abnormal pulmonary vessels could be seen on serial CT sections to drain into the superior vena cava. The diagnosis was confirmed at angiographic study.     

A t(8;14)(q24;q11) translocation in a T-cell leukemia (L1-ALL) with c-myc and TcR-alpha chain locus rearrangements

Cell lines established from T-cell leukemias have recently been reported to exhibit a chromosome translocation t(8;14) involving proto-oncogene c-myc and the gene of the T-cell receptor alpha-chain(TcR-alpha). In this work, we have studied a case of T-cell leukemia presenting a t(8;14)(q24;q11) translocation that was found in fresh leukemic cells taken during relapse, but was absent in cells collected at diagnosis. Hybridization analysis showed that the breakpoint on chromosome 8 was located 3' to the c-myc exon 3. A TcR-alpha-specific original probe (D14S7, Mathieu-Mahul et al., 1985) revealed two differently rearranged patterns in DNA from leukemic cells obtained at diagnosis and during relapse. In contrast, the rearranged TcR-beta-gene DNA pattern did not change during the course of the disease, indicating that leukemic cells were clonally related. These data indicate that the chromosome breakpoint in 14q11 is situated in the TcR-alpha locus. These results suggest that translocations t(8;14) involving TcR-alpha and c-myc genes in T-cell malignancies are analogous to variant t(2;8) and t(8;22) translocations observed in Burkitt lymphoma. They also establish that the same types of molecular rearrangements due to a t(8;14)(q24;q11) translocation, at first described in T-cell lines established in culture, also exist in vivo and may play a role in the evolution of the leukemic process.