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Biomedical subjects

J H Boss

Publications and source records attributed to J H Boss.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The value of histomorphometric nuclear parameters in the diagnosis of well differentiated follicular carcinomas and follicular adenomas of the thyroid gland.

AIMS: To explore the potential of histomorphometric analysis in distinction between follicular adenomas and well differentiated follicular carcinomas of the thyroid gland. Their differentiation on routine histological study may be a challenging exercise, being contingent upon the absence or presence of vascular invasion and penetration of neoplastic follicles through the capsule of the tumour. METHODS AND RESULTS: Computer-assisted image analysis was performed to gauge the nuclear area, nuclear Ferret diameter, nuclear regularity factor, nuclear elongation factor, number of nuclear vesicles and total area of all nuclear vesicles in the follicles of 37 adenomas and 36 well differentiated carcinomas. By univariate analysis, these nuclear descriptors (with the exception of the elongation factor) were found to correlate with the benign or malignant nature of the tumours. By multivariate analysis, only the nuclear area, Ferret diameter and regularity factor were ascertained to be significant predictors of malignancy. A fitted logit model correctly predicted 91% of the cancers and 87% of the adenomas. CONCLUSIONS: Histomorphometrically gauged nuclear parameters of the tumour cells may reinforce pathologists' decision-making by adding objective and unbiased criteria to their subjective assessment of follicular neoplasms in cases in which vascular or capsular invasion are not detected.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular↗

Lymph-node-based malignant lymphoma and reactive lymphadenopathy in eosinophilic fasciitis.

BACKGROUND: Lymph node enlargement in patients with eosinophilic fasciitis is a rare occurrence and its clinical significance is unknown. METHODS: The literature and authors' registries were searched for eosinophilic fasciitis associated with lymphadenopathy. Clinical data, time sequence of appearance of either disorder, and pathological diagnoses were analyzed. RESULTS: Six patients presenting with eosinophilic fasciitis had a lymph-node-based lymphoma and 4 patients had a reactive lymphadenopathy. The patients with lymphoma were elderly and the subcutaneous induration preceded the lymphadenopathy by 2 to 36 months. The patients with eosinophilic fasciitis and reactive lymphadenopathy were young and the onset of subcutaneous induration and lymph node enlargement coincided with one another. Favorable response of the eosinophilic fasciitis to prednisone therapy was attained in 3 of 3 patients with reactive lymphadenopathy and in 4 of the 6 cases with lymphoma. CONCLUSIONS: Eosinophilic fasciitis is rarely associated with clinically significant lymph node enlargement. Subcutaneous induration preceding the lymphadenopathy by 6 months or more, especially in elderly patients, suggests an underlying lymphoma. A favorable response of the subcutaneous induration to prednisone treatment does not exclude the diagnosis of lymphoma; therefore, it does not supersede the need of a pathological evaluation. A lymph node biopsy is mandatory in all cases.

Adolescent↗

Autosomal-recessive omodysplasia: prenatal diagnosis and histomorphometric assessment of the physeal plates of the long bones.

Second-semester ultrasonography of a female fetus documented short femora and humeri and dislocation of the radii. Based on the clinical and postmortem radiological findings, autosomal-recessive omodysplasia was diagnosed. The physeal plates of the long tubular bones were assessed by computer-assisted image analysis. The dimensions and orientation of the chondrocytic lacunae in the physeal plates of the omodysplastic fetus were compared with those in the physeal plates of fetuses without gross limb abnormalities (oligohydramnios, n = 2; hydrocephalus, n = 2; Down syndrome, n = 1). The pathological characteristics of the omodysplastic physeal plates were an expanded zone of proliferating cartilage and an increased number of closely packed, small chondrocytes. We propose that a genetic, functional deficiency of the physeal cells, underlying the short-limbed dwarfism of autosomal-recessive omodysplasia, is partially compensated, albeit ineffectively, by an increased number of small chondrocytes in the proliferating zone of the physeal plate.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗

Status of intraoperative cytology in the diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioma.

Whereas evaluation of the frozen section of a subcutaneous retro-auricular mass was equivocal, the correct diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioma could be suggested on examination of intraoperative cytological smears. It is proposed that in the absence of cytological cues of malignancy and in the presence of the proper clinical setting, the constellation of vascular structures, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and clusters of cuboidal cells with vacuoles in their abundant acidophilic cytoplasm is indicative of epithelioid hemangioma.

Adult↗

Vascular deprivation-induced necrosis of the femoral head of the rat. An experimental model of avascular osteonecrosis in the skeletally immature individual or Legg-Perthes disease.

The blood supply of rats' femoral heads was severed by cutting the ligamentum teres and stripping the periostium. Histologically, necrosis of the marrow was apparent on the 2nd postoperative day, necrosis of the bone on the 5th postoperative day and fibrous ingrowth on the 7th postoperative day. During the following 5 weeks, progressive resorption of the intertrabecular necrotic debris and necrotic bony trabeculae and subchondral bone plate and, concurrently, appositional and intramembranous new bone formation resulted in remodeling of the femoral heads. In 2 of 7 femoral heads, replacement of the necrotic bone by viable bone was complete at the 42-day postoperative interval. Also, the articular cartilage of the deformed and flattened femoral heads was undergoing degenerative changes. Reduplicating the pathogenically inferred clinical settings of blood supply deprivation, it is proposed that this model, in a small laboratory animal, satisfies the requirements sought for preclinical studies of treatment modalities of avascular osteonecrosis in man.

Animals↗

Colonic ulcers in a patient with hepatitis C virus-associated polyarteritis nodosa.

An elderly woman presented with abdominal discomfort, pulmonary infiltrates, acute renal failure, purpura, and massive hematochezia. Numerous colonic ulcers with underlying fibrinoid necrotizing arteritis were found in the colectomy specimen. Anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies and HCV RNA were present in the serum. The diagnosis of HCV-associated polyarteritis nodosa was clear. This clinical presentation differs from the more commonly occurring vasculitis complicating HCV infection, which is of the leukocytoclastic type, and is associated with overt liver disease and cryoglobulinemia. In our patient, results of liver tests were normal, there was no cryoglobulinemia, and the vasculitis was of the fibrinoid necrotizing arteritis type. HCV-associated polyarteritis nodosa should be considered in the differential diagnosis of necrotizing fibrinoid arteritis even in a patient with normal liver function test results and in the absence of cryoglobulinemia.

Aged↗

Comparative study of computer-assisted image analysis and light-microscopically determined estrogen receptor status of breast carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Efficient tamoxifen treatment of breast cancer patients depends on the degree to which pathologists are consistently able to use the so-called "modified quickscore" method to differentiate between negative and low-grade positive scores based on the current four-grade scale of the estrogen receptor (ER) status of the tumors. OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively test pathologists' ability to adequately render correct readings of the ER status of breast tumors. METHODS: The ER status of breast carcinomas was estimated by two pathologists and measured by computer-supported analysis in sections stained with ER antibody by the immunoperoxidase technique. Levels of agreement between the examiners' semiquantification and histomorphometrically gauged measurements were compared statistically. RESULTS: The kappa coefficients were 0.28 on a case-by-case collation of the grades of nuclear staining, 0.52 on applying binary categories of positively versus negatively stained cell nuclei, and 0.89 using binary categories with a weighted score of 1.2 to separate ER-negative from ER-positive breast carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that an optimum rating system is achieved by assigning tumors with a weighted score of 1.2 or less to the ER-negative and those with a weighted score of 1.3 or more to the ER-positive category of breast carcinomas.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Acute cor pulmonale due to tumor cell microemboli.

Severe pulmonary hypertension due to tumor cell microemboli or lymphangitic carcinomatosis is a rare complication of malignant disease. In most of the reported cases, a clinical picture of subacute cor pulmonale developed. A 57-year-old man with deep vein thrombosis in his left calf developed acute progressive dyspnea with hypoxemia, cyanosis and the clinical picture of acute cor pulmonale, while he was on full heparinization. Respiratory failure with the need for mechanical ventilatory support developed within 2 days. Chest radiography revealed the development of acute cardiac enlargement, dilated pulmonary artery and diffuse opacities in the fields of both lungs. Open lung biopsy disclosed massive tumor cell microemboli and lymphangitic carcinomatosis. No parenchymal metastases were found. This case is extremely rare because of the rapid development of the patient's respiratory signs and symptoms of acute cor pulmonale due to pulmonary tumor cell microemboli and lymphangitic carcinomatosis. It is also most atypical because of the rare pulmonary radiographic presentation.

Acute Disease↗

Salivary gland double tumor: synchronous ipsilateral pleomorphic adenoma and acinic cell carcinoma of the parotid gland.

A 44-year-old woman underwent a partial parotidectomy for a slowly enlarging parotid mass diagnosed by fine needle aspiration biopsy as a pleomorphic adenoma. Though macroscopically recognized to be composed of two nodules, differing to some extent from one another, the mass appeared to constitute a single tumor. The microscopic examination disclosed two disparate neoplasms, which were separated from each other by a thin fibrous band. The larger of the two nodules was a pleomorphic adenoma and the smaller one an acinic cell carcinoma. The metachronous--and, even more, the synchronous--occurrence of two histologically different tumors in one major salivary gland is an exceptional and probably coincidental event.

Adenoma, Pleomorphic↗

Cellular dysplasia in acquired cystic renal disease: comparison of histomorphometrically gauged nuclear parameters in normal kidneys, renal cell carcinomas and acquired cystic kidneys.

Nuclear parameters were assessed by computer-assisted image analysis in the cells of abnormal epithelial formations in the acquired cystic kidneys of two dialysis patients, the proximal and distal tubules of a normal kidney and two well differentiated renal cell carcinomas. One acquired cystic kidney contained many small clear celled foci and am 0.9 cm-size clear celled lesion and the second one a papillary microadenoma. The clear celled lesion was cytologically indistinguishable from the carcinomas. The histomorphometrically gauged nuclear parameters were maximal and minimal ferret diameters, averaged ferret diameter, aspect ratio, shape factor, area, volume and specific length and width. Statistical evaluation evidenced that the nuclear area, volume, aspect ration and shape factor allowed for the distinction between benign and malignant epithelial structures. The medians of the nuclear parameters of atrophic tubules, cysts, clear celled foci, papillary adenoma and clear celled lesion in the two acquired cystic kidneys deviation from those of normal renal tubules and in, increasing order of disparity, approached those of the carcinomas.

Carcinoma, Renal Cell↗

The fasciitis-panniculitis syndromes. Clinical and pathologic features.

The authors propose to encompass under the designation of "fasciitis-panniculitis syndromes" (FPS) a group of disorders characterized by induration of the skin due to chronic inflammation and fibrosis of the subcutaneous septa and muscular fascia. The prototype of the FPS is eosinophilic fasciitis. Thirty-two consecutive patients with FPS were cared for at the author's hospital during a 10-year period. The association of the FPS with other diseases, clinical presentations, histologic features, and response to treatment were analyzed. Idiopathic FPS, that is, eosinophilic fasciitis, was diagnosed in 14 patients. In the remaining 18 cases, the FPS were ascribed to vascular disorders (n = 6), infections (n = 6), and neoplastic disorders (n = 3), while trauma, insect bites, and Sweet syndrome antedated the FPS in 1 patient each. The lesions had a sleeve-like distribution in 20 patients, plaque-like distribution in 7, and a combined pattern in 5. Skin biopsies revealed lesions in the deep subcutaneous layers with the pathologic triad of septal and fascial fibrosis, chronic inflammatory infiltration, and small-vessel vasculopathy. Spontaneous improvement occurred in 4 cases. Following cimetidine monotherapy, complete remission was achieved in an additional 3 of 5 patients. The concept of the FPS serves to advance our understanding on several fronts: emphasizing the clinical and etiologic diversity; recognizing a stereotypic tissue reaction pattern; highlighting the panniculitis in addition to the fasciitic component; and describing a similar response to drug therapy in different clinical settings. Based on the results of the present series, cimetidine may be recommended as first-line treatment.

Adipose Tissue↗

Histologic analysis of the periprosthetic tissues of long-term surviving cemented total hip arthroplasties.

Qualitative and semiquantitative features of the interfacial membranes of five long-term (> 16 years) surviving cemented total hip arthroplasties (four revision cases and one autopsy case) were compared with those of thirty short-term surviving (< 15 years) cemented hip prostheses. Cement granulomas, micron-sized polyethylene particles-induced giant-celled granulomas, sheets of submicron-sized polyethylene particles-laden macrophages, and aggregated, metallic particles-laden macrophages were scattered in the fibrous tissue of all interfacial membranes. Quantitatively, characteristics of the interfacial membranes of the two groups differed from one another. The dominant species of prosthetic debris in the interfacial membranes of the short-term surviving joint replacements was derived from the polyethylene acetabular socket, and, correspondingly, giant-celled granulomas and macrophagic sheets predominated. Metallic particles and the macrophagic reaction thereto dominated in the interfacial membranes of the long-term surviving arthroplasties, and large cement and polyethylene chunks typically were incorporated in the fibrous tissue of the membranes without an accompanying macrophagic response. In long-term surviving hip arthroplasties, metallic particles may be at least as important as polymeric detritus in stimulating the formation of the bone-resorbing, granulomatous interfacial membrane, which is the hallmark of aseptically loosened arthroplasties. Differences in mechanical settings may account for unlike modes and rates of generation of prosthetic breakdown products, explaining the disparate survivorship of different patients' artificial joints.

Bone Cements↗

An experimental model of fasciitis-panniculitis. Induction of chronic fibrosing panniculitis in the rat by subcutaneous injections of lipase.

We describe an experimental model of the fasciitis-panniculitis syndrome, which includes eosinophilic fasciitis and its related disorders. Rats were given a single or repeated subcutaneous injections of saline or a 10% lipase solution. The injection sites were studied histologically and histomorphometrically. With few exceptions, the subcutaneous-fascial unit of the saline-injected rats was normal. An acute necrotizing panniculitis with inflammatory involvement of the adjacent fascia was found 2 days after a single injection of lipase. Three to 6 weeks after a single injection of lipase, the subcutaneous fat tissue and fascia were fibrotically thickened and chronically inflamed. Similar but more advanced alterations had developed in animals killed 3 weeks after three weekly injections of lipase. Progressive fibrotic thickening of the subcutaneous-fascial unit was observed following an increasing number of weekly lipase injections. The acute-phase reaction expresses a pattern of steatonecrotic tissue damage. In the ohronic phase, the fibrotically thickened subcutaneous layers typify a reaction pattern analogous to that of the human fasciitis-panniculitis syndrome. This experimental model permits better appreciation of the disorder's nonspecific pathogenesis and may help in the search for alternative therapeutic modalities.

Acute-Phase Reaction↗

Acute neutrophilic myositis in Sweet's syndrome: late phase transformation into fibrosing myositis and panniculitis.

Early in the course of myeloblastic leukemia a patient concurrently developed febrile neutrophilic dermatosis and sterile acute myositis. The dermatitis and myositis were unresponsive to antibiotic therapy but remitted within a few days of institution of steroid treatment. The patient died of myocardial infarction. At autopsy the dermis was normal. Previously effected muscles were scarred. The overlying fascia and subcutaneous septa were fibrotically thickened. In addition, segmental acute aortitis was detected. Acute myositis and aortitis may reflect further organ manifestations of the Sweet's reactivity pattern. It is proposed that Sweet's myositis and dermatitis may evolve into a fibrosing myositis and panniculitis.

Acute Disease↗