A case of cystadenocarcinoma of the liver

A case of cystadenocarcinoma of the liver is reported. The patient was a 73-year-old woman in whom a tumor was detected in the lateral segment of the liver during a health examination. Ultrasonograms and computed tomograms showed a multilocular cystic mass. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a multilocular lowintensity mass, including a high-intensity portion and a portal branch compressed by the tumor. MRI with gadolinium showed an enhanced cyst wall. The cystic part of the tumor became smaller and the solid part became larger over a 1-month period, indicating that the tumor was malignant. Subsegmentectomy (S₃) was performed and cystadenocarcinoma with cystadenoma was diagnosed by histopathological examination. Identification of changes in the appearance of a tumor should be helpful for the differential diagnosis of cystadenoma and cystadenocarcinoma.     

Localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of a cerebellar tumor in a two-year-old child

Noninvasive localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used for differential diagnosis of a focal brain lesion in a 2.5-year-old girl. The clinical signs were a mild head tilt and neck pain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a lesion in the right hemisphere of the cerebellum, but its nature remained obscure. In this lesion quantitative determinations of cerebral metabolites by fully relaxed, short-echo-time proton MRS revealed markedly lowered N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and pronounced elevations of choline-containing compounds (Cho) and myo-inositol (Ins), whereas metabolite concentrations in cortical gray matter and white matter were within normal ranges. The metabolite pattern of the lesion indicated loss of vital neuroaxonal tissue (low NAA) and enhanced glial proliferation (high Cho and Ins), which, together with the MRI morphology, suggested a brain tumor. The diagnosis was established by neurosurgical exploration and total extirpation of the tumor. Histology confirmed an astrocytoma (WHO II). After 2 weeks' recovery the child was discharged with no neurological signs.     

Etiological heterogeneity in Hodgkin's disease: HLA linked and unlinked determinants of susceptibility independent of histological concordance

Forty-one multiplex families, from published sources and new data from the National Cancer Institute, segregating for Hodgkin's disease and HLA, have been studied. A reanalysis of these data strongly suggests a recessive mode of inheritance for susceptibility to Hodgkin's disease. The HLA haplotype sharing data between affected relatives demonstrate that approximately 60% of cases in multiplex families are due to an HLA-linked susceptibility gene, the remaining 40% being due to other familial factors. The data clearly support the hypothesis of etiological heterogeneity for Hodgkin's disease, with both HLA-linked and HLA-unlinked factors being responsible. Finally, there is an increased concordance of histological types between affected relatives, but this concordance seems independent of HLA sharing.     

Cervical intramedullary cavernous angioma with MRI-proven haemorrhages

Summary Two contrasting cases of cervical intramedullary cavernous angioma in young female patients are reported. One patient had a 3-year course of step-wise progressive tetraparesis; at each of the five events intramedullary bleeding from a cryptic vascular malformation at C6–7 level was diagnosed by MRI. The other patient presented with one episode which led to MRI diagnosis of a vascular malformation at the C2 level. Both patients eventually underwent complete surgical excision of the angioma with subsequent steady improvement of the neurological deficit.     

椎动脉型颈椎病的影像学诊断

本文描述了椎动脉型颈椎病的概念及发病机制 ,并对该病的各种影像学检查的主要表现及优缺点进行了综述。     

肿瘤样钙质沉着症临床病理分析

目的　加深对肿瘤样钙质沉着症 (TC)临床病理特征的认识 ,提高确诊率。方法　分析 9例TC的临床、影像学、组织病理学资料。结果　TC临床诊断误诊率较高 ,9例患者中仅有 1例术前诊断正确 ,余者分别误诊为良性肿瘤 4例、异物 3例、恶性肿瘤 1例 ;而且 9例钙化区均具有典型的影像学和组织病理学特征。结论　在诊断TC过程中 ,只要注意X线摄片检查或进行病理组织活检 ,完全可以避免漏诊或误诊 ,必要时可行特殊染色或偏振光显微镜检查     

Progress toward re‐engineering non‐ribosomal peptide synthetase proteins: a potential new source of pharmacological agents

Many important pharmaceutical agents, including vancomycin, bleomycin, cyclosporin, and several antibiotics, are produced by non‐ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) enzymes in microorganisms. The NRPS pathway produces an extensive library of products using multienzyme complexes acting in an assembly‐line fashion. Engineering an NRPS system to produce an even greater variety of products, some of which may also have beneficial therapeutic value, would be an enormous advantage. Several approaches have been successful in generating novel NRPS products: mutational biosynthesis during which nonnatural substrates are fed to an organism; domain and module swapping between different species to generate hybrid enzymes; and rational site‐directed mutagenesis, based either on phylogeny or computational prediction, intended to switch substrate specificity and produce altered products. This review will highlight the progress in these areas and describe research in the future that will extend the capacity for re‐engineering NRPS systems. Drug Dev. Res. 66:9–18, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Synthesis of deramciclane* labeled with tritium in various positions

[(1R)‐endo]‐(+)‐3‐bromocamphor was dehalogenated with tritium gas to [3‐³H]camphor and via [3‐³H]phenylborneol converted to [3‐³H]deramciclane isolated as the fumarate salt (specific activity 51.8 GBq/mmol). This three step synthesis from [3‐³H]camphor gave an overall yield of 22%. Benzyloxy‐acetic acid methyl ester was reduced with sodium‐borotritide to 2‐benzyloxy‐ethanol‐[1‐³H], and through a four step procedure was converted to 2‐dimethylaminoethyl‐[2‐³H] chloride. The latter was condensed with the sodium derivative of 2‐phenylborneol giving rise to [2‐dimethylamino‐[2‐³H]ethoxy]deramciclane isolated as the fumarate (specific activity 8.177 GBq/mmol). This six step synthesis from [³H]NaBH₄ gave an overall yield of 6%. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.