Total hemolytic complement (CH50) and its fractions (C3 and C4) in the sera of patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity,uterine cervix,and breast

The total hemolytic complement activity of CH50 and its fractions C3 and C4 was determined in the sera of 196 patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity, 172 patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix, and 166 patients with breast cancer. The values were compared with those of 18 patients with mammary dysplasia, 32 patients with mild to moderate dysplasia of the cervix, and 100 healthy, normal age- and sex-matched controls. No alterations in CH50, C3, and C4 were observed in the sera of patients with benign lesions, whereas a significant rise in the three factors was observed in all the cancer patients studied. The complement activity increased significantly with the progression of the disease up to stage III and remained persistently elevated thereafter. Patients who had a clinical cure had normal levels of CH50, C3, and C4, whereas the values remained elevated in patients who were still undergoing treatment for residual lesions.     

Cytopathology of uncommon malignant renal neoplasms in the pediatric age group

Malignant renal neoplasms are common solid tumors in pediatric oncology practice. These include the common Wilms' tumor/nephroblastoma and the uncommon neoplasms such as clear-cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK), rhabdoid tumor, renal-cell carcinoma, and others. The aim of this study was to describe in detail the cytopathological features of the histopathologically proven uncommon pediatric renal tumors. Aspirates from Wilms' tumor, which are mesenchyme predominant, show clusters of spindle cells associated with the matrix material. Evidence of rhabdomyoblastic differentiation may be present. CCSK, classic subtype, is characterized by round to oval cells arranged perivascularly and also in sheets and clusters intimately associated with a metachromatic matrix mucopolysaccharide material better appreciated in May-Grunwald-Giemsa (MGG)-stained smears. The cells also have more abundant cytoplasm and may show nuclear grooves. Spindle-cell pattern of CCSK is difficult to diagnose on aspiration cytology. Renal-cell carcinoma of childhood shows similar cytological features as its adult counterpart. Rhabdoid tumor of the kidney is characterized by a monomorphic population of cells with abundant cytoplasm, eccentric nuclei with prominent nucleoli. Intrarenal yolk sac tumor is a rare neoplasm and shows severely pleomorphic cells on aspiration.Awareness of these entities is important for the practicing cytopathologist. Further, non-Wilms' renal malignant neoplasms must be distinguished from the common Wilms' tumor so that appropriate chemotherapy protocols may be instituted in cases where the tumor is in an advanced stage of malignancy.     

Results of a study to correlate serum prostate specific antigen and reproductive hormone levels in patients with localized prostate cancer.

This cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine whether serum hormones (free testosterone, androstenedione, luteinizing hormone, or prolactin) have any influence on serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in patients with stage A-C prostate cancer. Blood samples were collected prior to any treatment in 36 patients; in 19 (group 1), three blood samples were collected 10 minutes apart between 9:00 AM and 9:30 AM for each patient and pooled together to avoid diurnal and episodic variation in serum testosterone values. In the remaining patients, only one sample could be collected (group 2). Free testosterone, androstenedione, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, and PSA levels were determined with appropriate radioimmunoassay techniques. Statistical analyses were performed separately for groups 1 and 2, and then with pooled data. None of the hormones in any of the analyses showed any association to serum PSA values except for prolactin for the pooled data and for group 2. This statistical significance for prolactin disappeared on multivariate analysis. There were 21 African-American men and 15 whites in the study; no racial differences in hormonal levels were found except for lower luteinizing hormone levels in African Americans in group 2 and pooled data. No differences were found between group 1 and group 2 in the mean serum prolactin and luteinizing hormone values. Serum free testosterone, androstenedione, and luteinizing hormone appeared to have no influence on serum PSA values in nonmetastatic cancer patients. Serum prolactin values were inversely associated with PSA values in univariate analysis for the pooled data; this disappeared in multivariate analysis. Unlike other studies that found higher serum testosterone levels in African-American college students than whites, no such differences were seen in this age group. Luteinizing hormone was lower in African-American men than in whites in the pooled study population. Further studies are needed to clarify our findings.     

Primary papillary carcinoma of the thyroglossal duct cyst--a case report

Thyroglossal duct cyst is the most common developmental anomaly of the thyroid gland, presenting as a mid line neck swelling. Malignancy arising in them is a rare event, with papillary thyroid carcinoma being the commonest. Thyroglossal duct cyst carcinomas are usually asymptomatic and are not suspected preoperatively in most instances, hence the need for surgical excision and careful pathological examination of these cysts. We present a case of a 57 year old lady who underwent a Sistrunk procedure for the removal of thyroglossal duct cyst, which was responsible for a progressive mid line neck swelling of 2 months duration. The thyroid gland was normal. Histological examination of the excised cyst showed a papillary thyroid carcinoma arising in the thyroglossal duct cyst. Long term survival of patients with thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma is excellent.     

Tactile discrimination of shape: responses of rapidly adapting mechanoreceptive afferents to a step stroked across the monkey fingerpad

Responses of rapidly adapting Meissner corpuscle mechanoreceptive afferent fibers (RAs) to steps of varying shape stroked across the distal fingerpad were recorded from anesthetized monkeys. A series of flat plates were used, each having an increase in thickness (a step) in the middle so that one-half of the plate was thicker than the other. The cross-sectional shape of the step approximated that of a half-cycle sinusoid, 0.5 mm high. The width (half-cycle wavelength) of the sinusoidal step was varied from 0 to 3.13 mm, producing a series of step shapes that differed in steepness and curvature. These steps could be broadly categorized into 2 groups, "steep" and "gradual." Each step was stroked back and forth under constant compressional force, using a servocontrolled mechanical stimulator. The RA's response to a step provided a spatial pattern of action potentials in which the occurrence of each impulse corresponded to a position of the step on the skin. This response consisted of a single "burst" of impulses to the sinusoidal portion of the step. Changes in stroke direction, step shape, or velocity of stroking primarily affected the RA discharge rate during the burst, and, less consistently, the spatial width of the burst. For a given step shape and stroke velocity, the discharge rate was greater for strokes from the low to the high side of the step than for strokes from the high to the low side. Discharge rate was greater for steep than for gradual steps and, for a given step, it increased with stroke velocity. All the major features of the responses were interpreted as being due predominantly to the sensitivity of the RA to vertical velocity at the most sensitive spot on its receptive field, together with a sensitivity to the rate of change in skin curvature at that spot. RA discharge rate distinguished not only the gross differences between steep and gradual steps, but also some of the finer differences in sharpness among steep steps. From a comparison with the human capacity for tactile discrimination of the steps, it was concluded that RAs, through their discharge rates, provide primarily "intensive" information about the sharpness of shapes.     

Interventions to Increase Multivitamin Use Among Women in the Interconception Period: An IMPLICIT Network Study

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Each year, 3% of infants in the Unites States (US) are born with congenital anomalies, including 3000 with neural tube defects. Multivitamins (MVIs) including...     

The First Genome-Wide Association Study for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth: The Progress in Diabetes Genetics in Youth (ProDiGY) Consortium

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in youth has increased substantially, yet the genetic underpinnings remain largely unexplored. To identify genetic variants predisposing to youth-onset type 2 diabetes, we formed ProDiGY, a multiethnic collaboration of three studies (TODAY, SEARCH, and T2D-GENES) with 3,006 youth case subjects with type 2 diabetes (mean age 15.1 ± 2.9 years) and 6,061 diabetes-free adult control subjects (mean age 54.2 ± 12.4 years). After stratifying by principal component–clustered ethnicity, we performed association analyses on ∼10 million imputed variants using a generalized linear mixed model incorporating a genetic relationship matrix to account for population structure and adjusting for sex. We identified seven genome-wide significant loci, including the novel locus rs10992863 in PHF2 (P = 3.2 × 10⁻⁸; odds ratio [OR] = 1.23). Known loci identified in our analysis include rs7903146 in TCF7L2 (P = 8.0 × 10⁻²⁰; OR 1.58), rs72982988 near MC4R (P = 4.4 × 10⁻¹⁴; OR 1.53), rs200893788 in CDC123 (P = 1.1 × 10⁻¹²; OR 1.32), rs2237892 in KCNQ1 (P = 4.8 × 10⁻¹¹; OR 1.59), rs937589119 in IGF2BP2 (P = 3.1 × 10⁻⁹; OR 1.34), and rs113748381 in SLC16A11 (P = 4.1 × 10⁻⁸; OR 1.04). Secondary analysis with 856 diabetes-free youth control subjects uncovered an additional locus in CPEB2 (P = 3.2 × 10⁻⁸; OR 2.1) and consistent direction of effect for diabetes risk. In conclusion, we identified both known and novel loci in the first genome-wide association study of youth-onset type 2 diabetes.     

Lipoma of the temporal region: a rare case series

Lipomas are common benign tumours that can occur in most parts of the body. Lipomas arising from the deep temporal fat pad, found between the two layers of the deep temporal fascia, are rare, however; there has been only one documented case report to our knowledge. We describe a second case arising from the temporal fat pad in a patient treated at our unit, having previously reported the first one, and discuss the relevant anatomy and management.