Thoracic disc herniation in acromegaly

Herniation of a thoracic disc in an acromegalic giant is reported. Degenerative changes in the spine in association with dorsal kyphosis, and the additional strain, resulted in the disc prolapse.     

A case of primary omental torsion presenting as an acute abdominal pain]

Torsion of greater omentum is a rare cause of acute abdomen. However, it should be included in the differential diagnoses in addition to acute cholecystitis, acute appendicitis, cecal diverticulitis, and other variable causes of acute abdomen. Diagnosis is usually made at laparotomy for suspected appendicitis. In some cases, computed tomography demonstrates a successful preoperative detection of omental torsion. We report a case of surgically and pathologically proven torsion with subsequent infarction of greater omentum presented as an acute abdominal pain.     

Thymidine labeling index in breast tumors

The relationship between primary tumor proliferative activity and clinical and pathologic characteristics was analyzed in relation to menopausal status in 32 patients with malignant or benign breast disease. The thymidine labeling index (TLI) showed significantly higher median values in the cancer patients (3.48 per cent) than in the patients with benign diseases (1.02 per cent). TLI was not significantly affected by delayed incubation at room temperature for about 1 hour. In the breast cancer patients, TLI did not significantly correlate to tumor size, the presence of axillary lymph node metastasis or pathologic nuclear grading. The only significant difference was limited to the breast cancer patients without axillary lymph node metastasis in relation to menopausal status; the TLI in the premenopausal patients (5.10 per cent) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that in the postmenopausal patients (2.28 per cent). These data thus suggest that among premenopausal patients without axillary lymph node metastasis, those with a high TLI could be potential candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy.     

Benign osteoblastoma of the occipital bone

An uncommon case of benign osteoblastoma of the occipital bone is presented. Poor vascularity of the tumor, as confirmed by the CT scan, operative and histopathological findings, was in contrast to its characteristic high vascularity. Radical resection produced an excellent result.     

Intracranial olfactory neuroblastoma: evidence for olfactory epithelial origin.

AIMS: To determine the possible histogenesis of the intracranial variant of olfactory neuroblastoma. METHODS: Four specimens from three cases of intracranial olfactory neuroblastoma were studied by light microscopy and immuno-histochemistry, and electron microscopy in two cases. RESULTS: Light microscopical examination showed small cell tumour with additional features of epithelioid cells in one case and ganglion cells in another. Olfactory and Homer-Wright rosettes were present. All the specimens showed a uniform positive reaction to neurone specific enolase, S-100, and cytokeratin antibodies. Glial fibrillary acidic protein was absent. The salient electron microscopic features were the presence of cell junctions, cytoplasmic intermediate filaments, basal bodies and cytolasmic processes. Dense cored vesicles were absent. CONCLUSIONS: The results strongly support the view that intracranial olfactory neuroblastomas are of olfactory epithelial origin and differ from conventional neuroblastomas.