Cutaneous plasmacytosis associated with lung and anal carcinomas

Cutaneous plasmacytosis is a rare disorder characterized by a benign proliferation of mature plasma cells that appears as multiple dark-brown to purplish skin lesions, often associated with polyclonal hypergammaglobulinaemia. We present the case of a 55-year-old Caucasian man who suffered from a cutaneous plasmacytosis associated with two different carcinomas. Cutaneous plasmacytosis seems to be a reactive process because most cases reported are not associated with any apparent underlying disease. Nevertheless, because few reported cases were associated with malignancies, screening of additional neoplasms would be justified.     

Spinal antinociceptive effects of adenosine compounds in mice

The effects of injecting ATP, ADP, AMP, adenosine and adenine intrathecally on the pain response induced by the injection of substance P (10 ng/mouse) intrathecally were studied. All the compounds except adenine inhibited the pain response in a dose-related manner. The ED50 values of ATP, ADP, AMP and adenosine were 2.10, 0.93, 0.88 and 0.48 micrograms/mouse, respectively. Pretreatment with theophylline at a dose of 100 mg/kg p.o. markedly diminished all the antinociceptive effects. The effect of adenosine was not affected by s.c. injection of naloxone. These results suggest the existence of adenosine receptors which modulate spinal nociceptive sensory processing, independently of the endogenous opiate system.     

School-refusal and social-withdrawal in the clinical setting at a psychiatric medical institution]

Fifty two outpatients, who showed signs of school-refusal-withdrawal at the Shiga Prefectural Psychiatric Institution have been analyzed according to their age, gender, ICD-10 diagnosis, medical evolution, and total number of consultations. A total of 61.5% of the population were male, and they showed a higher average and a wider range of age than female patients. According to the ICD-10 diagnosis, 67.3% were in the group of F40-48 neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders, and 11.5% were in the group of F30-39 mood [affective] disorders. Twenty five % of the patients were assumed to have show medical improvement, and 42.3% of the patients continued to have further consultations. This article discusses the possible role of psychiatric medical institutions in supporting cases of school-refusal and social-withdrawal.     

Scintigraphic detection of recurrence of medullary thyroid cancer

A case of recurrent medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) was evaluated with¹²³I-MIBG,^99mTc(V)-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), and²⁰¹Tl scintigraphy. This patient had been operated on for MTC in the right thyroid. Recently a left neck mass was noticed, and was suspected of being a. recurrence of MTC based on increased plasma calcitonin (CT) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). He was operated on for the neck mass which revealed MTC, and papillary thyroid cancer was incidentally found in the left thyroid, but the CT and CEA levels remained high, and remaining MTC tumor was suspected. But the location of the tumor was unknown. Although^99mTc(V)-DMSA scintigraphy is generally believed to be superior in sensitivity to¹²³I-MIBG scintigraphy, it did not demonstrate the tumor site but²⁰¹Tl and¹²³I-MIBG did. Furthermore,¹²³I-MEBG scintigraphy has greater specificity for tumors which arise in the neural crest. Judging from the results of this case and cases reported in the literatures, both¹²³I-MIBG and^99mTc(V)-DMSA should be performed in the detection of recurrent MTC.     

Arachidonic acid metabolites in CSF in hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy of newborn infants

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cerebral synthesis of eicosanoids in the asphyctic newborn and to investigate the relation between the prostanoid profiles in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the appearance and severity of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). Levels of 6-keto-PGF _1-α, TXB₂, PGE₂ and PGF_2-α in CSF were measured in 40 full term newborns during the first day of life. Thirty of these newborns had birth asphyxia and were divided into three groups: 10 without HIE, 12 with mild HIE and 8 with moderate-severe HIE. They were compared to a control group of 10 non-hypoxic newborns. Determinations of the metabolites in CSF were performed by RIA and expressed as pg/ml (mean ± SD). The CSF TXB₂ (thromboxane A₂ metabolite) in asphyxiated newborns was always higher than in the control group (28.12 ± 10.6), and related to the severity of HIE ( p = 0:005): without HIE (50.84 ± 16.4; p = 0:02), mild HIE (80.65 ± 12.64; p ± 0:01) and moderate-severe HIE (178.14 ± 20.5; p < 0:01). The CSF 6-keto-PGF _1-α (prostacyclin metabolite) in asphyxiated newborns was always higher than in the control group (80.55 ± 12.56), but indirectly related to the severity of HIE: without HIE (240.95 ± 28.12; p < 0:01), mild HIE (183.65 ± 30.1; p < 0:01) and moderate-severe HIE (140.55 ± 25.12; p < 0:01). In the moderate-severe HIE group, the increase in TXB₂ was higher than the rise in 6-keto-PGF _1-α.     

Relation between toxicity and carcinogenesis in the kidney: an heuristic hypothesis

Cellular toxicity and cellular carcinogenesis are closely linked. In the kidney, this relationship has been emphasized by the recent discovery of a number of putatively non-mutagenic chemicals that result in acute and chronic toxicity and ultimately in carcinogenesis, especially in the male rat. Many, but not all such compounds, result in renal PTE phagolysosomal overload. At the same time, known metabolites of other carcinogens, e.g., HCBD and FBPA, result in acute renal injury and/or necrosis, followed by chronic tubular disease, interstitial nephritis, and ultimately carcinogenesis. A series of cell mechanisms have been suggested that lead from acute cell injury to altered control of cell division. These mechanisms appear to involve ion deregulation, (especially [Ca2+]i) resulting from a variety of continued injuries, (e.g., oxidative stress from inflammatory cells) and ultimately leading to altered gene expression.