ONCOCYTES OF THE THYROID: A NEUTRAL RED DYE UPTAKE STUDY

Oncocytosis and oncocytomas have attracted attention because on the one hand there have been reports of the favourable prognosis and generally benign nature of oncocytic tumours, while on the other hand, Hurthle cell change in thyroid neoplasms have been reported to be correlated with aggressive biological behaviour and a significantly worse clinical course. Presently, there appear to be two schools of thought on the significance of oncocytosis: (i) a process where there is redifferentiation of cells with involvement in the pathogenesis of cancer; and (ii) a compensatory process for ‘functional exhaustion’ of the cell. Many aspects of oncocytosis seem unclear. In this study, transmission electron microscopy is used to demonstrate the presence of thyroid oncocytes in the hemithyroidectomy specimen of a patient with focal lymphocytic thyroiditis. Tissue sections from this specimen did not display preferential uptake of neutral red dye, a distinctive characteristic of M-phase cancer cells which was previously reported. The findings seem to suggest that oncocytes are not cells with distinctive proliferative potentials. If that were the case, then oncogenesis or cancer cell progression and oncocytosis may not be convergent processes.     

Reaching behavior in the rat: absence of forelimb peripheral input.

In order to test whether peripheral input from a moving forelimb is essential for reaching in rats, the effects of dorsal rhizotomy C5-Th2 were examined. Rats were trained to reach for a food pellet in the horizontal tube or on a tray. Reaching attempts before and after bilateral forelimb deafferentation were monitored by continual recording using magnetic induction. Deafferented animals were able to initiate and generate the motor program of reaching, but modulation of its ongoing execution was lost. Peripheral input from moving forelimb was necessary for the effective performance of grasping; the duration of the manipulative part of reaching was significantly prolonged and the success of grasping was markedly decreased. Also, the aiming of forelimb was impaired, probably by disturbing of body forelimb postural coordination. No significant changes were found in the execution of forelimb protraction. It is concluded that somesthetic feedback is not required for execution of forelimb protraction, but it is necessary for grasping.     

Extracellular ATP induces rapid cell rounding in cultured human Chang liver cells.

Extracellular ATP (7 microM-14 mM) induced monolayer Chang liver cells (ATCC CCL 13) to retract and round up in dose-dependent and time-dependent manners. ATP-induced rounding was concomitant with raised intracellular pH (7.3 to 7.8) and suppressed (a) in sodium-free medium (250 mM sucrose), (b) with the addition of 1 mM quinidine, an inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchanges, and (c) with the addition of 10 nM staurosporine, a potent inhibitor of protein kinase C that is known to activate Na+/H+ exchanges. These findings suggest that ATP-induced cell rounding is due to activation of Na+/H+ antiporters.     

Multiprogrammable pacemakers. Complications. Nursing care

This paper deals with the study of 927 patients of both sexes, with multiprogramable pacemakers implanted during 1987-1988 period, at the "Comandante Manuel Fajardo" Teaching Hospital and the Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery. Complications accounted for 14.9% and the most frequent were, in decreasing order, as follows: sepsis of the pocket (46.7%), hematoma of the pocket, increased threshold and, in a lower percentage, aseptic necrosis (5.7%). Emphasis is made in the role of the nurse in front of a patient with pacemaker and of the different complications presented.     

A breast cancer patient with pelvic and gastric malignancy after adjuvant tamoxifen treatment for breast cancer

As is known, tamoxifen therapy is related to endometrial proliferation, hyperplasia, polyp formation, invasive carcinoma and uterine sarcoma. In this study, we present a 75-year-old woman who had five children. Gastric tumor, endometrial carcinoma and cervical adenocarcinoma in situ were detected after treatment with tamoxifen for breast cancer. It seems that being aware of the undesirable affects of tamoxifen treatment during the chemotherapy and post-chemotherapy period is very important.     

Retrieval of zona-free immature oocytes in a woman with recurrent empty follicle syndrome: a case report

BACKGROUND: Different ovulation trigger methods such as gonadotropin releasing hormone-agonist (GnRH-a) and recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG) plus rescue oocyte retrieval might reveal oocytes in patients with recurrent empty follicle syndrome. CASE: Endogenous luteinizing hormone was triggered with a GnRH-a (Buserelin [Suprefact pro-injection, Aventis-Pharma, Turkey], 250 microg subcutaneously) in a GnRH antagonist (Cetrorelix [Cetrotide 0.25, SeronoTurkey], 0.25 mg/d, starting on day 6), down-regulated cycle. At the first scheduled retrieval, 3 cumulus-oocytecorona complexes were recovered from the left ovary. During chemical denudation with hyaluronidase, 2 of them underwent lysis. The third was a zona-free, germinalvesicle-stage oocyte after mechanical denudation. Oocyte pickup was stopped, and recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (250 microg subcutaneously) was injected. Five cumulus-oocyte-corona complexes were retrieved from the right ovary 24 hours after rescue with recombinant hCG. Only mechanical denudation was done, and 4 zona-free oocytes with germinal vesicle breakdown were seen. All oocytes underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and none of them were fertilized. CONCLUSION: Oocyte maturation defects should be included in etiologic mechanisms for counseling patients with empty follicle syndrome.     

Hypersensitivity to aeroallergens in patients with recurrent vulvovaginitis of undetermined etiology

AIM: Recent findings show that the vaginal mucosa can develop an allergic response to environmental allergens and there is a strong association between atopy and some recurrent vulvovaginal infections. In this study, we investigated prospectively the rate of atopy in patients with recurrent vulvovaginitis of undetermined etiology (RVV). MATERIAL AND METHODS: After being investigated by a gynecologist, 35 patients with RVV who were considered as undetermined etiology formed the study group. The control group consisted of 150 healthy females. Study and control groups were investigated for atopy by means of skin prick test for common aeroallergens. Associated allergic disease and familial atopy history of the subjects were recorded. RESULTS: The rate of atopy (11/35; 31.4% vs 9/150; 6%) was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the study group than in the controls. Familial history of atopy was significantly more frequent in the study group than in the controls (10/35; 28.6% vs 8/150; 5.3%, P < 0.05). RVV in atopics is more associated with seasonal rhinitis than in nonatopics (5/11; 45.4% vs 2/24; 8.3%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We concluded that a significant number of RVV is associated with atopy. Although the exact mechanism(s) of this relationship remains to be investigated atopy might be a causative and/or contributing factor in the pathogenesis of RVV.     

Differential effects of right hemisphere injection during the wada procedure on the primary and secondary languages in a bilingual speaker

Abstract

A Wada procedure was performed on a bilingual seizure surgery candidate. Immediately after the injection of barbiturate into the right internal carotid artery the patient spontaneously switched from counting in English (the language he indicated that he used most often) to Spanish (the language he learned first). He named in Spanish spontaneously as well. After injection of the left ICA the patient exhibited a global aphasia, with no evidence for differential recovery of language as the aphasia cleared. These observations are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that a language learned later in life may be more likely to be bilaterally represented than the first language learned.     

Role of miR-181 family in regulating vascular inflammation and immunity

The microRNA family, miR-181, plays diverse roles in regulating key aspects of cellular growth, development, and activation. Accumulating evidence supports a central role for the miR-181 family in vascular inflammation by controlling critical signaling pathways, such as downstream NF-κB signaling, and targets relevant to endothelial cell activation and immune cell homeostasis. This review examines the current knowledge of the miR-181 family's role in key cell types that critically control cardiovascular inflammation under pathological and physiological stimuli.