Radiation-induced prostatic sarcoma: a case report

A 64-year-old man had a prostatic sarcoma 8 years after transurethral prostatectomy and radical bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection with insertion of 125iodine implants for stage B1N carcinoma of the prostate. Therapy for the sarcoma consisted of isolated pelvic perfusion and then pelvic exenteration with creation of an ileal conduit and colostomy. The pathology report showed well encapsulated grade 2 spindle cell sarcoma of the prostate. Multiple small metallic particles were embedded in the tumor specimen.     

Current controversies in oral lichen planus: report of an international consensus meeting. Part 1. Viral infections and etiopathogenesis.

Despite recent advances in understanding the immunopathogenesis of oral lichen planus (LP), the initial triggers of lesion formation and the essential pathogenic pathways are unknown. It is therefore not surprising that the clinical management of oral LP poses considerable difficulties to the dermatologist and the oral physician. A consensus meeting was held in France in March 2003 to discuss the most controversial aspects of oral LP. Part 1 of the meeting report focuses on (1) the relationship between oral LP and viral infection with special emphasis on hepatitis C virus (HCV), and (2) oral LP pathogenesis, in particular the immune mechanisms resulting in lymphocyte infiltration and keratinocyte apoptosis. Part 2 focuses on patient management and therapeutic approaches and includes discussion on malignant transformation of oral LP.     

Amyloidaceous ulcerated gingival hyperplasia: a newly described entity related to ligneous conjunctivitis

Gingival hyperplasia may be genetic, may be acquired as a consequence of exposure to drugs and other agents or may appear as part of a more widespread disorder. Five patients who acquired gingival hyperplasia due to amyloidaceous deposits staining only for fibrin are presented. This appears to be a new entity related to ligneous conjunctivitis.     

Pulse oximetry during minor oral surgery with and without intravenous sedation.

This study investigated the levels of oxygen saturation and pulse rates of patients undergoing minor oral surgery under local analgesia, with (20 patients) or without (20 patients) intravenous sedation with midazolam. The results indicated that a statistically significant fall in arterial blood oxygenation of 1% to 2%, as measured by pulse oximetry, followed midazolam administration; however, this was physiologically insignificant. Both groups showed a similar postoperative small fall in oxygen saturation. Transient episodes (24 to 36 seconds) of physiologically significant mild hypoxia occurred during breath holding, but this condition was readily corrected by encouraging patients to breathe deeply. Midazolam had a small but significant calming effect on the higher preoperative pulse rates exhibited by anxious patients, but this effect was not sustained during the operating period. Both sedated and unsedated patients showed episodes of tachycardia that could have significance for patients with cardiac disease.     

Phase mapping from left ventricular radionuclide ventriculograms: interobserver reliability and accuracy of the programme

Phase analysis of data from radionuclide ventriculograms is known to provide space-time information on the mechanical emptying of pixels located in the ventricular regions. It could therefore perhaps be useful for detecting abnormal sequences of contraction of the ventricles as well as to localize sites of premature electromechanical action. The phase programme used in this investigation is designed to trace the electromechanical action of the ventricles from colour-coded phase images (first harmonic Fourier transform), not only visually from a cinematic representation, but particularly from a data output of x, y coordinates and phase angles of sites chosen as they empty in the ventricular regions. Six healthy baboons were subjected to conventional radionuclide ventriculography, performed hourly for the duration of 11 h under anaesthesia. The programme was used by two independent observers to map the progression of emptying for each of the thus acquired 66 left ventricular phase images. The interobserver reliability and the accuracy achieved in mapping normal contraction patterns was found to be good. Abnormalities which appeared during the prolonged anaesthesia and which were confirmed with 12 lead electrocardiography were likewise detected consistently.     

Entrapment of platelets in the penis during and after erection

Because of the development of hypercoagulability and the deposition of fibrin in the penis during erection a study of the possible role of platelets in this process was undertaken. Platelet response was studied in 9 adult chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) using autologous in vitro indium-111-labelled platelets and sequential scintigraphy of the penis during erection. The blood pooling pattern was obtained using in vivo technetium-99m-labelled red cells in a similar investigation. A statistically significant retention of platelets occurred during and after erection, which could not be attributed to blood pooling (P less than 0,05). Entrapment of platelets could lead to enhanced activity and activation, and might play a significant role in hypercoagulability and fibrin deposition during erection. Therefore platelets could be an important factor in the pathogenesis of ageing impotence.     

The recognition of emotional expression in prosopagnosia: decoding whole and part faces.

Prosopagnosia is currently viewed within the constraints of two competing theories of face recognition, one highlighting the analysis of features, the other focusing on configural processing of the whole face. This study investigated the role of feature analysis versus whole face configural processing in the recognition of facial expression. A prosopagnosic patient, SC made expression decisions from whole and incomplete (eyes-only and mouth-only) faces where features had been obscured. SC was impaired at recognizing some (e.g., anger, sadness, and fear), but not all (e.g., happiness) emotional expressions from the whole face. Analyses of his performance on incomplete faces indicated that his recognition of some expressions actually improved relative to his performance on the whole face condition. We argue that in SC interference from damaged configural processes seem to override an intact ability to utilize part-based or local feature cues.