Idiopathic synchronous central giant cell granulomas involving both the maxilla and mandible: a case report

The central giant cell granuloma is a well-defined lesion of the jaws and reports of multiple lesions are very uncommon. The authors report the case of a patient with idiopathic synchronous multiple central giant cell granulomas involving both the maxilla and the mandible. Surgical curettage of the lesions was performed. At the end of the 24 months follow-up, no recurrence was detected.     

Serum carbohydrate antigen 125 levels in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy: a useful biomarker for prognosis and functional mitral regurgitation

The authors investigated the prognostic relevance of serum carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) levels in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICMP) and assessed whether increased levels relate to the degree of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). Seventy-seven patients with NICMP were enrolled and followed-up for 10 ± 2 months in this prospective study. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis established a cutoff CA125 value of 25 U/mL for predicting mortality. Patients were divided into two groups according to their CA125 levels (CA125 <25 U/mL [n=58] and CA125 ≥ 25 U/mL [n=19]). Patients with high CA125 values had statistically worse functional status, higher B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, higher left ventricular volumes, lower ejection fraction, higher E/Em ratio, higher pulmonary artery systolic pressure, and more severe FMR. On the multivariate analysis, serum CA125 (P=.002) and severe FMR (P=.04) were identified as the independent predictors of mortality. Serum CA125 levels also correlated with BNP levels and FMR severity (P<.001). Serum CA125 is a powerful prognostic biomarker that is associated with the severity of heart failure, serum BNP levels and several echocardiographic parameters including left ventricular volumes, systolic and diastolic functions, pulmonary artery pressure, and the degree of FMR. Serum CA125 was also shown as an independent predictor of mortality during 10 ± 2 months of follow-up.     

The effect of collagen,Interleukin-l α and glicosaminoglycan on the neovascularization of central nervous system

Abstract

Neovascularization, the development of a new microvasculature, has an important role in physiological and pathological processes. The vascular changes in the brain can be easily detected because the proliferation of endothelial cells in its vascular structure is quite small, and so constitutes a good model for neovascularization studies. In the present investigation, to induce intracerebral neovascularization, we implanted collagen, Interleukin-l alpha (IL-lα) and glicosaminoglycan into the brain ofpigs, in order to test the hypothesis that IL-l α, collagen and glicosaminoglycan play a pivotal. role in the process of neovascularization. Both pure collagen and collagen combined with IL-l a induced neovascularization according to light-electron microscopic findings and values of enzymes' activities. In particular, collagen combined with IL-lα synergically affected the increase of neovascularization. However, glicosarrinoglycan did not affect it significantly. Although the results of this study provided us with some interesting data indicating the beneficial effects of collagen combined with IL-1α on neovascularization, further studies should be done to study the short term effect of these biochemical substances. [Neural Res 1998; 20: 513-525]     

Reliability of four different computerized cephalometric analysis programs

The aim of this investigation was to compare the traditional method of manual cephalometric tracing with four different computerized tracing programs, where the lateral cephalograms were scanned at 300 dpi and digitized onscreen. Thirty randomly selected cephalometric radiographs were used in this study. Four programs Dolphin Imaging, Vistadent, Nemoceph, and Quick Ceph were evaluated. Three dental, 11 skeletal, and 1 soft tissue parameters were measured that consisted of 5 linear and 10 angular measurements. Statistical analysis was carried out using multivariate analysis of variance and Box's and Levene's tests. No statistically significant difference was found between manual tracing and the computerized tracing programs. The measurements obtained with the cephalometric analysis programs used in the study were reliable.     

Leptomeningeal dissemination and vertebral bone involvement in a child with pilocytic astrocytoma

In low‐grade glioma, metastasis is rarely seen. Few cases of leptomeningeal dissemination have been reported in children. Vertebral bone metastasis has not been reported so far. Herein is described the case of a pediatric patient with the diagnosis of pilocytic astrocytoma, and leptomeningeal dissemination detected at the time of diagnosis, who then received radiotherapy and chemotherapy upon development of vertebral bone metastasis during treatment.     

Concurrent pericardial diverticulum and unilocular thymic cyst lined with ciliated respiratory epithelium: a rare case report

Thymic cysts are divided into two groups as unilocular and multilocular cysts. Cystic wall is generally lined with squamous, transitional, cuboidal, or columnar epithelium. Unilocular cysts that are lined with ciliated respiratory epithelium are extremely rare, and there are only two reports in the literature. In this paper, we present a case, which had concurrent unilocular thymic cyst lined with ciliated respiratory epithelium and pericardial diverticulum.