The relationship between angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism, coronary artery disease, and stent restenosis: the role of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in stent restenosis in patients with diabetes mellitus

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have advanced atherosclerosis compared with nondiabetics. Restenosis after intracoronary stent implantation occurs frequently in diabetic patients. Angiotensin II is an important growth factor for the development of neointimal hyperplasia after vascular injury. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationships between angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and coronary artery disease (CAD) and stent restonosis in diabetic patients. One hundred and thirty consecutive patients with CAD and 47 consecutive patients (14 males, mean age, 58.0 +/- 10.0) without CAD were enrolled in the study. All patients had type 2 (noninsulin dependent) DM. The patients with CAD underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and stenting. Ninety-four (59 males, mean age, 60.3 +/- 9.8) underwent control coronary angiography at the end of the follow-up period (mean duration, 9.1 +/- 2.9 months). ACE gene I/D genotyping was identified in all patients. No significant difference was found among patients with and without CAD with respect to ACE gene I/D polymorphism (P = 0.460). In the control coronary angiography, stent restenosis and new lesion development were comparable in each genotyping subgroup. However, a significant relationship was observed between restenosis and the use of ACE inhibitors (ACEI) in patients with D allele (ACEI ratio, 43.5% in the restenosis group and 56.5% in non-restenotic group, P < 0.05). We did not find any relationship between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and CAD and stent restenosis and new lesion development in diabetic patients. On the other hand, ACEI treatment may reduce stent restenosis in type 2 diabetic patients with D allele (DD or ID).     

Uterine leiomyoma with massive lymphoid infiltration: case report

Uterine leiomyoma with massive lymphoid infiltration is a rare and unusual pathological finding; only 20 cases have been reported in the literature. We report a case of this unusual lesion in a 35-year-old woman who underwent a myomectomy. On gross examination, the tumor was of white color and firm consistency. Histological sections showed interlacing bundles of spindle shaped cells of low density with moderate to severe lymphocytic infiltrate associated to lymphoid follicles and few plasma cells. Immunohistochemically, the diffusely infiltrating lymphoid cells were predominantly of T cell phenotype. The interspersed spindle shaped cells were positive with alpha smooth muscle actin, desmin and h-caldesmon. The cause of this unusual lesion is not clear, but the recognition of its distinct histological features is important to avoid possible confusion with differential diagnosis including malignant lymphoma, inflammatory pseudotumor and pyomyoma.     

Rôle du virus Toscana dans les infections neuroméningées en Tunisie

Objectives

To detect the presence of Toscana virus (TOSV) circulation in Tunisia and to study its role in viral meningo-encephalitis.

Patients and methods

A total of 315 (167 sera and 178 cerobrospinal fluid [CSF]) samples was investigated. These samples are colleted from Tunisian patients with neurological diseases during the period between January 2003 and December 2009. All samples were tested negative for enterovirus, Herpes Simplex virus and West Nile virus. Detection for IgM and IgG specific to TOSV was done by ELISA tests.

Results

Specific IgM for TOSV were detected in 10 % of patients with neurological diseases (31 cases). These recent infections were distributed throughout the study period and predominated during summer and automn. Patients were originated, in the majority from the coastal region. IgG were isolated in 22 cases (7 %) corresponding to previous infection.

Conclusion

This is the first report of TOSV circulating in Tunisia and its frequent implication in neurological diseases. These results incited to include TOSV as one of the viral etiologies to target in the diagnosis of viral meningitis and encephalitis in the country.     

Spatial shrinkage/expansion patterns between breast density measured in two MRI scans evaluated by non-rigid registration

Breast MRI acquires many images from the breast, and computer-aided algorithms and display tools are often used to assist the radiologist's interpretation. Women with lifetime risk greater than 20% of developing breast cancer are recommended to receive annual screening MRI, but the current breast MRI computer-aided-diagnosis systems do not provide the necessary function for comparison of images acquired at different times. The purpose of this work was to develop registration methods for evaluating the spatial change pattern of fibroglandular tissue between two breast MRI scans of the same woman taken at different times. The registration method is based on rigid alignment followed by a non-rigid Demons algorithm. The method was tested on three different subjects who had different degrees of changes in the fibroglandular tissue, including two patients who showed different spatial shrinkage patterns after receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery, and one control case from a normal volunteer. Based on the transformation matrix, the collapse of multiple voxels on the baseline images to one voxel on the follow-up images is used to calculate the shrinkage factor. Conversely, based on the reverse transformation matrix the expansion factor can be calculated. The shrinkage/expansion factor, the deformation magnitude and direction, as well as the Jacobian determinate at each location can be displayed in a 3D rendering view to show the spatial changes between two MRI scans. These different parameters show consistent results and can be used for quantitative evaluation of the spatial change patterns. The presented registration method can be further developed into a clinical tool for evaluating therapy-induced changes and for early diagnosis of breast cancer in screening MRI.     

Management of intramedullary spinal cord tumors: surgical considerations and results in 45 cases

Background and purpose

Intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCT) are relatively rare neoplasms, accounting for less than 5% of all central nervous system tumors. The optimum management of these tumors still remains controversial. Many decades ago, partial surgical resection followed by radiotherapy was the conventional management for IMSCT. Nowadays, maximal surgical resection of IMSCT without adjuvant therapy is the rule. We discuss the management of our cohort of 45 patients and review retrospectively the surgical outcome and survival.

Methods and results

We reviewed the charts of 45 patients who underwent surgery for IMSCT in our institution since 1990. The study included 23 female and 22 male with a mean age of 28.7 years (range: 18 months-64 years). In 40 patients, the final diagnosis was based on the results of MR imaging. The cervical location of the tumor was the most common (20 cases). Surgical procedures included a gross-total resection in 31 cases, subtotal resection in six cases, partial resection in five cases and a biopsy in three cases. The large majority of patients had histologically-proven low-grade tumors composed essentially of astrocytomas (44,4%) and ependymomas (28,8%). There was no mortality related to surgery. Concerning the functional outcome at six months, we noted that 22.2% of our patients deteriorated, 47.3% stayed the same and 30.5% improved. We found that patients with mild or no preoperative deficits were exceptionally damaged by the surgical procedure.

Conclusions

The gold-standard treatment of IMSCT remains maximal microsurgical resection without adjuvant therapy. For malignant or rapidly recurrent IMSCT, the optimum management is still controversial. Determinant predictors for a good outcome after surgery of IMSCT are histological type of lesion, total removal of the tumor and a satisfactory neurological status before surgery.     

Regression of skin lesions of Kyrle's disease with metronidazole in a diabetic patient

We describe here in a case of a 41-year-old man, with diabetes mellitus, who presented manifestations of Kyrle's disease. Administration of metronidazole, 500 mg twice daily for 1 month, resulted in complete regression of skin lesions with no recurrence during 12 months of follow-up. This successful antibiotic treatment is to support the role of infectious agents (anaerobic bacteria) in the pathogenesis of Kyrle's disease.     

Assessment of psychometric properties,cross-cultural adaptation,and translation of the Turkish version of the ICU mobility scale

Background/aim The aim of the study was to carry out the cultural adaptation and translation of the ICU mobility scale (IMS) into Turkish and research the psychometric properties.Materials and methods This study was based on methodological design. The IMS was translated from English to the Turkish through a regularised translation process. Two physiotherapists assessed patients independently in the coronary intensive care unit. The measures such as construct validity, intra and interrater reliability, and internal consistency of the IMS Turkish version were assessed. Results A total of 70 intensive care patients were included in the study. The intrarater and interrater reliability of the IMS was excellent. The weighted Kappa value was 0.92 (0.87–0.96) for the intrarater reliability, and 0.87 (0.80–0.93) for the interrater reliability. There were significant correlations between the IMS and functional status score for the intensive care unit (r = 0.83), Perme intensive care unit mobility score (r = 0.84), Katz activities of daily living (r = 0.73), handgrip strength (r = 0.62), knee extension strength (r = 0.46), and age (r = –0.44).Conclusion This study suggests that the IMS Turkish version is a reliable and valid scale for assessing functional status and mobility level in ICU patients.