Pseudolymphoma of colon

A case of pseudolymphoma of the colon is reported. Radiographically and endoscopically the lesion could not be conclusively distinguished from malignant neoplasm, particularly lymphoma or segmental colitis, thus necessitating right hemicolectomy. Careful histological examination established the diagnosis of pseudolymphoma with pathologic features identical to the focal form of pseudolymphoma more commonly observed in the stomach.     

Anion gap among patients of multiple myeloma and normal individuals

OBJECTIVE: To compare the Anion gap between patients of multiple myeloma and normal individuals presenting at a tertiary care hospital. DESIGN AND METHODS: This is a matched case-control study conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from July 10, 2004 to April 30, 2006. The anion gap (AG) from the medical records of the 82 diagnosed cases of multiple myeloma (MM) and 104 controls were compared. Immunoglobulins (IgG and IgA) were measured by array nephelometric assay. Staging for MM patients were performed based on Salmon-Durie method. AGs were compared by independent sample t-test. Pearson coefficient of correlation was used to correlate paraprotein IgG concentration and anion gap. RESULTS:: Of the 186 study subjects (82 cases and 104 controls), 70% were males and 30% were females. The mean ages of MM and controls were 59.68+/-11.94 and 60+/-9.2 years respectively. There was a significant difference in mean AG, 11.2+/-1.7 mmol/L in control group (p<0.001) compared to 6.8+/-4.6 mmol/L for IgG MM and 8.4+/-4.37 mmol/L for IgA MM patients. Multiple myeloma patients stratified by clinical stages had anion gap of 8.7+/-1.7 in stage I, 7.93+/-0.47 in stage II and 5.65+/-0.31 in stage III. A significant correlation was found in IgG myeloma when anion gap was expressed as a function of the serum monoclonal protein concentration. CONCLUSION: The anion gap is significantly lower in multiple myeloma patients compared to controls. Lowered anion gap is more specific feature of the IgG type MM. We suggest that correlation of AG with the disease severity and with paraproteins concentration could potentially be useful in monitoring patients for disease progression. However, longitudinal studies are required to confirm the utility of anion gap in monitoring patients with MM.     

Analytical and clinical evaluation of the Bayer ADVIA Centaur automated B-type natriuretic peptide assay in patients with heart failure: a multisite study

BACKGROUND: B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is released from the left ventricle of the heart into the circulation in response to ventricular stretching and volume overload. Increased BNP concentrations are associated with heart failure (HF). METHODS: We evaluated the analytical and clinical performance of the Bayer ADVIA Centaur BNP assay. Studies included precision, analytical correlation (against the Shionogi ShionoRIA and Biosite Triage BNP assays), BNP results for blood collected in plastic tubes containing EDTA vs other collection tubes, high-dose hook effect, detection limits, and interferences. The clinical performance was tested on 2243 blood samples collected from 983 apparently healthy individuals, 538 patients with chronic disease but without HF (renal insufficiency, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and hypertension), and 722 patients with HF (New York Heart Association classes I-IV). RESULTS: The ADVIA Centaur assay had total imprecision (CV) of 3.4%, 2.9%, and 2.4% at BNP concentrations of 48, 461, and 1768 ng/L, respectively. The Passing-Bablok correlations to the ShionoRIA and Triage were as follows: ADVIA Centaur = 1.11(ShionoRIA) - 1.19 ng/L (r = 0.98); ADVIA Centaur = 0.78(Triage) + 5.89 ng/L (r = 0.92), respectively. Of the different blood collection tubes, only EDTA plastic tubes (with and without the barrier gel) were acceptable. The lower detection limit was 0.5 ng/L, and there were no interferences from common analytes, other neuropeptides, or unusual antibodies. BNP exhibited different reference intervals according to age and gender. BNP concentrations increased progressively as the severity of HF increased. CONCLUSIONS: The ADVIA Centaur is the first commercially available BNP assay for use on an automated immunochemistry platform. This assay has good analytical and clinical performance characteristics for diagnosing HF.     

Receptor-interacting protein kinase-1 ablation in liver parenchymal cells promotes liver fibrosis in murine NASH without affecting other symptoms

Journal of Molecular Medicine - Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a chronic liver disease that emerged in industrialized countries, can further progress into liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and...     

Myocardial regeneration by activation of multipotent cardiac stem cells in ischemic heart failure

In this study, we tested whether the human heart possesses a cardiac stem cell (CSC) pool that promotes regeneration after infarction. For this purpose, CSC growth and senescence were measured in 20 hearts with acute infarcts, 20 hearts with end-stage postinfarction cardiomyopathy, and 12 control hearts. CSC number increased markedly in acute and, to a lesser extent, in chronic infarcts. CSC growth correlated with the increase in telomerase-competent dividing CSCs from 1.5% in controls to 28% in acute infarcts and 14% in chronic infarcts. The CSC mitotic index increased 29-fold in acute and 14-fold in chronic infarcts. CSCs committed to the myocyte, smooth muscle, and endothelial cell lineages increased approximately 85-fold in acute infarcts and approximately 25-fold in chronic infarcts. However, p16(INK4a)-p53-positive senescent CSCs also increased and were 10%, 18%, and 40% in controls, acute infarcts, and chronic infarcts, respectively. Old CSCs had short telomeres and apoptosis involved 0.3%, 3.8%, and 9.6% of CSCs in controls, acute infarcts, and chronic infarcts, respectively. These variables reduced the number of functionally competent CSCs from approximately 26,000/cm3 of viable myocardium in acute to approximately 7,000/cm3 in chronic infarcts, respectively. In seven acute infarcts, foci of spontaneous myocardial regeneration that did not involve cell fusion were identified. In conclusion, the human heart possesses a CSC compartment, and CSC activation occurs in response to ischemic injury. The loss of functionally competent CSCs in chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy may underlie the progressive functional deterioration and the onset of terminal failure.