Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis. Detailed immunophenotyping confirms macrophage origin

A case study of multicentric reticulohistiocytosis is presented with extensive immunohistochemical studies of the infiltrate in both paraffin and cryostat sections. These studies showed that the cells are of monocyte/macrophage origin. B- and T-cell gene rearrangement analysis of multicentric reticulohistiocytosis was also performed and showed a germline configuration.     

Shoulder instability: impact of glenohumeral arthrotomography on treatment

We used arthrotomography to study the glenoid labrum in 114 patients. Sixty-nine of the patients had anatomic instability of the shoulder (including recurrent dislocation and subluxation of the shoulder), and 45 patients had functional instability of the shoulder (denoted by chronic pain, clicking of the joint, and the sensation that an unstable condition exists without the objective signs of it). Labral tears were revealed arthrotomographically in 86% of the patients with anatomic instability, while only 40% of the patients with functional instability had labral abnormalities, and these were primarily of minor severity. Fifty-six patients (44 of whom had anatomic instability; 12, functional instability) required surgery. The surgical findings were correlated with the arthrotomographic findings, and no false-positive results were revealed. However, arthrotomography demonstrated only part of the pathologic condition of two patients. These results confirm that there is a strong correlation between labral pathologic conditions and anatomic instability of the shoulder. Arthrotomographic studies have a great impact on the selection of therapy in cases of both anatomic and functional instability of the shoulder.     

Benign polyps with prostatic-type epithelium of the urethra and the urinary bladder

The clinico-pathological features of nine urethral and urinary bladder polyps with prostate-type epithelium are described. The average age of the patients was 46 years. Three patients previously had cystoscopy and the lesion was not noticed on the initial examination. The commonest presentation in this series was haematuria, dysuria and frequency of micturition. One patient presented with postmicturition dribble and another with haemospermia. The polyps contained acini and papillae lined by prostate-type epithelium which was confirmed by immunohistochemical tests for prostate specific antigen and prostate acid phosphatase. In this series no age versus location relationship could be established. Symptoms resolved following resection or initial biopsy followed by fulguration. Recurrence is extremely rare.     

Autologous Blood Stem Cell Transplantation in Hematological Malignancies

Autologous blood stem cell transplants (ABSCT) are increasingly used for the treatment of haematological malignancies. The use of hemopoietic growth factors, in conjunction with stem cell mobilization by chemotherapeutic agents, has permitted successful harvests requir ing only a few leukaphereses; cells mobilized in this manner contain a relatively large number of committed precursors of all lineages, as well as early progenitor cells capable of main taining long-term haemopoiesis. Haematological recovery after ABSCT is rapid, thereby sig nificantly shortening the period of post-chemotherapy neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Furthermore, blood-derived grafts may contain fewer malignant cells than the bone marrow cells. The preliminary results have been so encouraging that it is envisaged that in myeloma, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, ABSCT may eventually replace autologous marrow transplantation.     

Rupture of the posterior tibial tendon: CT and surgical findings

Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 42 patients with 49 clinically suspected tears of the posterior tibial tendon. Twenty-eight of the 49 suspected tears were subsequently surgically explored and repaired. Three patterns of tendon abnormalities were recognized on CT scans: type I-intact, hypertrophied, heterogeneous tendon; type II-attenuated tendon; and type III-absence of a portion of a tendon. Types I and II correlated with partial rupture seen during surgery, and type III correlated with complete rupture of the tendon. CT findings were accurate in 96% of the patients who underwent surgery. In four cases (14%), tendon rupture was seen on CT scans, but the extent of the injury was underestimated and the rupture was misclassified. Reactive periostitis of the distal tibia was seen in 71% of diseased tendons and may represent an important factor in the diagnosis of tendon rupture.