Cavernous angioma with encapsulated intracerebral hematoma: report of two cases

Two cases of a cavernous angioma with an encapsulated intracerebral hematoma are presented. In both instances, computed tomography scan showed a ringlike appearance with a nodular lesion. Cerebral angiograms of the two cases, however, were normal. The preoperative diagnosis for both cases was a brain neoplasm. The diagnostic problems that this type of vascular malformation presents and its role in the development of the encapsulated hematoma are discussed.     

Monocytoid B lymphocytes and epithelioid cell clusters in abscess-forming granulomatous lymphadenitis. With special reference to cat scratch disease.

In order to clarify the appearance of monocytoid B lymphocytes (MBLs) in abscess-forming granulomatous lymphadenitis (AGL) and the relation between AGL and cat-scratch disease (CSD), 48 cases of AGL were studied histologically. MBLs were present in about 50% of AGL cases. Warthin-Starry (WS) silver stain-positive bacteria, which are the causative agent of CSD, were present in 52.4% of AGL cases with MBLs and 59.2% of AGL cases without MBLs. The appearance of MBLs in AGL was not related to various clinical features, including disease interval from initial lymphadenopathy to lymph node biopsy. Histologically, epithelioid cell clusters appeared in about 70% of MBL-positive AGL cases, but were not observed in MBL-negative AGL. Therefore, a close interaction between MBLs and epithelioid cells in AGL is suggested, and we emphasize that the histological features of some AGL cases resemble those of toxoplasmic lymphadenitis.     

11C-glucose metabolism in manic and depressed patients

The authors used positron emission tomography (PET) and 11C-labeled glucose to study 15 unmedicated patients with affective disorders and 7 control subjects. Diagnoses of affective disorders were based on DSM-III criteria, and symptomatology was evaluated by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Blood counts of 11C in both unipolar and bipolar patients did not differ from those in controls after oral administration of 11C-glucose. By contrast, brain counts of 11C in unipolar depressed patients were significantly lower, whereas those in bipolar manic patients were significantly higher, than in normal controls.     

A case of diphenylhydantoin-induced pneumonitis]

A 60-year-old man had been administered diphenylhydantoin (DPH) for prevention of convulsive seizures following clipping of an aneurysm of the middle cerebral artery. About one month after the commencement of DPH administration, he developed cough and low grade fever. He was treated with various antibiotics, but his condition increasingly worsened. Chest X-ray film revealed bilateral interstitial processes throughout the entire lung fields. Transbronchial lung biopsy was performed and the obtained specimen showed histological findings compatible with drug-induced pneumonitis. Administration of DPH was stopped immediately and 50 mg/day of prednisolone was started. The patient's condition rapidly improved, and the abnormal shadows on chest X-ray film gradually diminished. The lymphocyte stimulation test by DPH was positive with a stimulation index of 282%.     

Preliminary study on the effects of bar placement on the thorax after the nuss procedure for pectus excavatum using bone scintigraphy.

AIM: Bone scintigraphy was performed to elucidate the effects of the Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum on the bony thorax. METHODS: Eight boys and 6 girls (5 - 24 years of age) underwent bone scintigraphy, using (99m)Tc-HMDP. Eleven patients were studied 5 to 21 days after the Nuss procedure; 6 were studied 20 to 24 months after the operation before bar removal. Three of 14 were studied twice after the Nuss procedure and before bar removal. RESULTS: In the early postoperative phase, RI accumulation was found at the sternum and ribs in only 1 of 6 patients under 9 years of age, whereas in all 5 older patients, RI had accumulated at the sternum. Scintigrams before bar removal revealed, regardless of age, hot spots at the lateral ribs in contact with the bar and at the costochondral junctions where the bar passed through the intercostal spaces. Furthermore, chest roentgenograms showed the deformed lateral ribs in contact with the bar. CONCLUSIONS: The Nuss procedure creates minute fractures at the sternum and the ribs, especially in older patients. The bar deforms the ribs and restrains the growth of the thorax. Furthermore, it constantly rubs against the ribs and can therefore cause late complications. Bone scintigraphy may determine the appropriate timing for bar removal.     

A histopathological analysis of five cases of adenomatous hyperplasia containing minute hepatocellular carcinoma.

We present five cases of adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) containing minute hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic liver. All the patients were Japanese, four males and one female, ranging in age from 60 to 80 years. Two of the specimens were obtained at surgery and the others at autopsy. The AH specimens ranged from 2.0 to 3.0 cm in diameter, and the maximum diameter of HCC foci in the AH was 2.0 cm. Histologically, apart from the HCC foci, the AH specimens showed intrinsic atypia, suggesting preneoplastic change. These features included an increase of both cellularity and the nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio, distortion of cord structure and pseudoacinar formation. All of the AH specimens contained typical portal triads. Details of diagnostic imaging were also obtained in four cases. The findings of the present study support the possibility that AH with intrinsic atypia is a preneoplastic lesion of HCC. The sequence of "adenomatous hyperplasia with intrinsic atypia-HCC foci" would thus represent part of the early phase of hepatocarcinogenesis in humans.     

Angiographic findings of gallbladder cancer

The patients with gallbladder cancer often accompany with chronic cholecystitis. This fact leads angiographic diagnosis difficult. So the angiographic findings of the chronic cholecystitis are first analyzed precisely and subtracting the angiographic findings of the gallbladder cancer from these gives us the pure (true) angiographic findings of the gallbladder cancer. Characteristic angiographic findings of the gallbladder cancer only are stretched cystic artery encasement (27/37 cases) and short straight tumor vessels "bristly vessel" (36/37 cases).     

DNA aneuploidy assessment of the effectiveness of hyperthermo-chemo-radiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma

The relationship between DNA ploidy and effects of preoperative hyperthermo-chemo-radiotherapy were investigated in 118 patients who underwent esophageal resection and reconstruction for carcinoma of the esophagus, including 56 treated with hyperthermo-chemo-radiotherapy (HCR therapy) and 62 treated with chemo-radiotherapy (CR therapy). DNA ploidy patterns were grouped into low and high ploidies, according to the degree of dispersion and the peak value on the DNA histogram. In the low ploidy group, there were no significant differences in the prognosis and histologic effects between the HCR and CR therapies. In the high ploidy group, however, the difference in survival curves was statistically significant, the 3-year survival rates of patients given HCR therapy and CR therapy being 26.7% and 10.7%, respectively (P less than 0.05). The HCR therapy increased the rate of "markedly effective" in the resected tissue compared with findings in cases of CR therapy. These findings show the positive effects of the HCR therapy for carcinoma of the esophagus, especially for patients with an aneuploid profile and a poor prognosis.