A leg ulcer as manifestation of metastatic squamous cell vaginal carcinoma

Cutaneous metastasis of vaginal carcinoma is extremely rare. So far, the total number of reported skin metastasis of vaginal carcinoma is only one. We present another case with an unusual manifestation of vagina carcinoma metastasis: skin metastasis presenting as a leg ulcer on the lower leg.     

Assessment of renal artery stenosis by phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography

Three-dimensional (3D) phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and velocity-encoded cine magnetic resonance (VEC-MR) imaging were performed in 23 subjects to assess the severity of renal artery stenosis. MRA was used for detection of stenosis, demonstrating a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 80%; the severity of stenosis was overestimated in 33%. VEC-MR was used to quantify the renal flow oattern and was successful in 11 subjects. Mean blood flow of normal renal arteries (420 +- 107 ml/min) was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than mean blood flow of stenotic arteries (131 +- 46ml/min). The flow profile displayed both systolic and diastolic peaks in 75% of the normal arteries, while the flow in stenotic arteries showed only a single systolic peak in all cases. The systolic peak in stenotic arteries occurred significantly later (32 +- 3% of the period of one cardiac cycle) than in normal subjects (21 +- 7%) (P < 0.05). Phase-contrast MR is likely to gain considerable importance in the noninvasive aetection and quantification of renal artery stenosis. Correspondence to: C. S. Richter     

Localization of a gene for otosclerosis to chromosome 15q25-q26

Among white adults otosclerosis is the single most common cause of hearing impairment. Although the genetics of this disease are controversial, the majority of studies indicate autosomal dominant inheritance with reduced penetrance. We studied a large multi- generational family in which otosclerosis has been inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. Five of16 affected persons have surgically confirmed otosclerosis; the remaining nine have a conductive hearing loss but have not undergone corrective surgery. To locate the disease- causing gene we completed genetic linkage analysis using short tandem repeat polymorphisms (STRPs) distributed over the entire genome. Multipoint linkage analysis showed that only one genomic region, on chromosome 15q, generated a lod score >2.0. Additional STRPs were typed in this area, resulting in a lod score of 3.4. STRPs FES (centromeric) and D15S657 (telomeric) flank the 14. 5 cM region that contains an otosclerosis gene.