Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Oliva.
Two patients with two and three types respectively of ground-glass hepatocyte inclusions are described. Both were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAG) positive and received cyanamide for alcohol aversion therapy. In addition, one of them had taken benzodiazepines and barbiturates. In one patient, cyanamide and HBsAg inclusions co-existed in the same hepatocytes.
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Sanded nuclei are nuclei with eosinophilic inclusions identified by light microscopy in cases of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. In hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections, these inclusions have an almost homogeneous, finely granular texture giving a sandy appearance. They have been related to excess hepatitis B core antigen formation. We have studied liver biopsies from two HBsAg positive immunosuppressed patients with numerous sanded nuclei, morphologically identical to those previously described in hepatitis B. Immunohistochemically, sanded nuclei showed a strong nuclear positivity for delta antigen, but were negative for hepatitis B core antigen. Hepatitis B core particles were not demonstrable by electron microscopy. To our knowledge, this is the first time that sanded nuclei have been related to hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection.
In order to study the clinical, serological, and morphological evolution of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in childhood, a prospective study has been carried out. A total of 90 children with a chronic infection were followed up for a mean (SD) of 3 (1.8) years. At the beginning of the study, 61 children were asymptomatic and 77 were household contacts of chronic carriers. Serologically 77 were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive and 71 of them were positive to hepatitis B virus DNA. The mean alanine aminotransferase activities were higher among HBeAg positive patients than in antihepatitis B e (anti-HBe) positive ones. The most severe histological damage was also found among HBeAg positive patients. The annual seroconversion rate was 14%. A significant increase in the alanine aminotransferase activity was observed 13 (5.6) months before appearance of anti-HBe in the 85% of cases. Among anti-HBe positive patients, the alanine aminotransferase activities were normal in all except three (19%), two of whom had intrahepatic delta antigen. An increase in the histological activity was observed among patients who maintained HBeAg presence while an amelioration of liver damage was observed in anti-HBe carriers.
We report a 33-year-old patient with a diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia that developed a nephrotic syndrome 9 days after starting treatment with daunomycin. Pathological studies of the kidneys revealed minimal change disease with IgM deposits. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed.
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Monocytoid B-lymphocytes are a B-cell subset present in subcapsular sinuses in some cases of lymphadenitis. We describe a case of lymphoma of this cell type. The tumour shows a distinctive morphology characterized by concentric strands of tumour cells around lymphoid follicles with hyperplastic germinal centres and conserved mantle zones. Electron microscopy of these cells shows short cellular processes as well as moderate development of endoplasmic reticulum. The phenotype of the tumour was monoclonal IgM-kappa, distinct from other node-based B-cell subpopulations and suggesting a possible relationship to the lymphocytes of the marginal zone present peripheral to lymphoid follicles of the spleen. Morphological features that suggest a relationship with hairy cell leukaemia are contrasted by phenotypic differences and the ultrastructural absence of ribosomic lamellar complexes.
Contrary to an earlier opinion that nicotine has no effect on the fertility of male animals or humans, the present experimental study using male inbred Fisher rats demonstrates that the reproductive capacity of the animals is greatly reduced when injected with nicotine, and that the effect is much greater in male than in female Fisher rats similarly injected with nicotine. This is in accord with some earlier histological and morphological studies which have shown that female rodents have a greater tolerance to nicotine than their male counterparts. It is also confirmed by the cytologic observations of the present study. These observations show that, similar to female rats, inflammatory processes, as evidenced by an increased number of lymphocytes and/or polymorphonuclear leukocytes, are responsible for the decrease in fertility. However, the cytological profile is profoundly different in the two sexes: virulent inflammatory conditions begin much earlier in male rats, they are more frequent and, whereas the condition is reversible in the female animal when nicotine treatment is discontinued, it is not in some male rats, and inflammatory conditions persist for the entire life as does infertility. However, the life span of nicotine-treated male rats is greater than in female nicotine-treated rats, although it is shorter in both sexes than in their respective controls; in some male nicotine-treated rats, the life span is greater not only than in their male controls but even than in their female counterparts. Possible explanations for this apparently paradoxical life-prolonging effect of nicotine treatment are reviewed, but the evidence is either conflicting or insufficiently established and requires further study.
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To determine the antiviral effect of recombinant-interferon (rIFN)-alpha in hepatitis B virus (HBV) chronic infection, a controlled study was carried out. A total of 20 HBsAg chronic carriers (18 chronic active hepatitis and 2 chronic persistent hepatitis) were included. All of them had remained HBeAg, HBV-DNA and HBV-DNA polymerase (HBV-DNAp) positive at least six months before treatment. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups: control (n = 10), and treatment (n = 10). A dose of 5.5 megaunits of rIFN-alpha/m2 body surface was administered every day for 21 days (induction) and twice a week for six months thereafter (maintenance). No basal differences were observed between the two groups. No case of intolerable toxicity was observed. One treated patient died in a car crash in the second month. At the end of the first week of therapy, 7/10 (70%) of the treated patients became HBV-DNAp negative. However, in the fifth month only 2 patients remained HBV-DNAp negative and also became HBV-DNA and HBeAg negative. In contrast, no changes in viral markers among control cases were observed. In conclusion, rIFN-alpha has an antiviral effect on chronic HBV infection; however, the induction plus maintenance schedule is not useful to obtain a permanent effect.
The case described of pure choriocarcinoma of the testis is rare because of the histological type and patient age at presentation. A 63-year-old man had a 160 gm. tumor, with a necrotic, hemorrhagic appearance and sparse bright areas that consisted exclusively of syncytial and cytotrophoblastic cells. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed strong staining for human chorionic gonadotropin in the syncytiotrophoblastic cells. The specimen was moderately positive for keratin and negative for alpha-fetoprotein.
Inbred Fisher and Buffalo rats were exposed to nicotine and alcohol. Fertility was greatly reduced in both strains with nicotine treatments being much more deleterious than alcohol use. Fisher rats tolerated both toxins better than Buffalo rats. Both strains became 'extinct' after one generation of fetal and postnatal exposure to nicotine, but alcohol-ingesting Fisher rats had 3 or more generations of offspring. The total reproductive period was significantly shortened in both strains under the effect of both toxins, as was the total life span. The causes of the teratological effects of both toxins are inflammatory processes as evidenced by the presence of numerous lymphocytes and/or polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Their presence occurs earlier in nicotine than in alcohol use and earlier in Buffalo than in Fisher rats, but the damage done during nicotine treatment is reversible when the procedure is terminated. Inflammation is not transmitted to the newborn offspring of nicotine- or alcohol-treated mothers, but occurs in neonates during the nursing period or later. There is considerable individual variation in the tolerance to both toxins. Experimental results and clinical observations show a sufficient number of similarities to justify the use of experimental data as a model for further studies on human subjects.
The proliferation of characteristic cells in expanded sinuses and in the perivenular area of the paracortex of lymph nodes with patients with toxoplasmosis, and homosexual and drug abusers with lymphadenopathy is referred to as 'immature sinus histiocytosis' (ISH). In a study of nine cases we have shown that these cells are monocytoid B-cells with an immunological phenotype differing from that of other node-based B-cells. The function of these cells is not known.
A tracheal chondrosarcoma was diagnosed in a 74-year-old man during his workup for a bacterial pneumonia. The clinicopathological features and the evolution of these uncommon tumors are discussed in the present report.