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Thyroid carcinoma with insular component: report of three cases with different clinical pictures.

Insular carcinoma of the thyroid is situated morphologically and biologically in an intermediate position between the well-differentiated and undifferentiated tumors and presents a variable clinical course in a widely heterogeneous spectrum. The present cancer staging system (TNM) for thyroid cancer considers differentiated and undifferentiated tumors while ignoring this intermediate type, which is also called poorly differentiated tumor. In addition to the limited data on this rare disease, some poorly differentiated thyroid tumors contain differentiated cancer areas at various rates. These factors may cause difficulties in estimating disease aggressiveness and prognosis. To solve this problem, various microscopic and immunohistochemical parameters can be assessed. In this paper we describe 3 patients affected by thyroid carcinoma with an insular component, who presented different clinical pictures. When these cases were examined, the TNM system failed in stage grouping for poorly differentiated thyroid tumors. Case 1 and case 2 had similar clinical stages according to the TNM staging system for differentiated tumors, but had different prognoses. Case 3, with more limited disease, had the highest rate of poorly differentiated areas but the lowest Ki-67 proliferation index. In conclusion, it is difficult to make claims about the clinical behavior and prognosis of thyroid carcinoma with an insular component based on the 3 cases reported in this study, but it can be speculated that there is a gap in the TNM system with regard to the staging of insular thyroid carcinoma. In this situation the assessment of microscopic and immunohistochemical features of the tumor may help to predict disease aggressiveness and patient risk. However, it is clear that there is a need for large-scale studies evaluating the prognostic importance of histopathological and immunohistochemical features in determining risk groups.

Aged↗

The significance of the free-to-complexed prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ratio in prostate cancer detection in patients with a PSA level of 4.1-10.0 ng/mL.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the ratio of free prostate specific antigen (fPSA), total PSA (tPSA) and complexed PSA (cPSA, measured using a novel immunoassay) with other variables used to detect prostate cancer in patients with intermediate serum PSA levels of 4.1-10.0 ng/mL. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From July 1997 to August 1998, 140 consecutive patients were assessed; all had intermediate serum PSA levels and/or abnormal findings on a digital rectal examination. All patients underwent transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)-guided biopsy, and the prostate and transition zone volumes were determined by TRUS. Free and tPSA were measured using the Tandem-R assay (Hybritech Corp., San Diego, CA). PSA complexed with alpha1-antichymotrypsin (cPSA) was measured using an appropriate assay. The ability of cPSA, free-to-total PSA ratio (f/tPSA), free-to-complexed PSA ratio (f/cPSA), tPSA density of the whole prostate (PSAD), of the transition zone (tPSATZ), and cPSA density of the whole prostate (cPSAD) and of the transition zone (cPSATZ) to improve the power of PSA in detecting prostate cancer was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results Of the 140 patients, 126 had histologically confirmed benign disease and 14 had prostate cancer. The cPSA alone had better specificity for detecting prostate cancer than had tPSA alone but the difference was not significant. The area under the ROC curve for f/cPSA was larger than those for all other variables. With a 93% sensitivity for detecting prostate cancer, a f/cPSA threshold of 25% would result in fewer unnecessary biopsies (40% f/cPSA specificity) than with all other PSA variables. The difference in the resolution was significant between f/cPSA and tPSA, cPSA, tPSAD and tPSATZ, but not with f/tPSA, cPSAD or cPSATZ. In patients with a prostate volume of < 30 mL, the cPSATZ showed better specificity for prostate cancer than tPSA alone. CONCLUSION: Measuring the level of cPSA and its derivatives may provide better differentiation of prostate cancer and benign disease than tPSA alone in patients with a tPSA level of 4.1-10.0 ng/mL.

Aged↗

Membrane fusion during secretion: cortical granule exocytosis in sex urchin eggs as studied by quick-freezing and freeze-fracture.

Exocytosis of cortical granules was observed in sea urchin eggs, either quick-frozen or chemically fixed after exposure to sperm. Fertilization produced a wave of exocytosis that began within 20 s and swept across the egg surface in the following 30 s. The front of this wave was marked by fusion of single granules at well-separated sites. Toward the rear of the wave, granule fusion became so abundant that the egg surface left with confluent patches of granule membrane. The resulting redundancy of the egg surface was accommodated by elaboration of characteristic branching microvilli, and by an intense burst of coated vesicle formation at approximately 2 min after insemination. Freeze-fracture replicas of eggs fixed with glutaraldehyde and soaked in glycerol before freezing displayed forms of granule membrane interaction with the plasma membrane which looked like what other investigators have considered to be intermediates in exocytosis. These were small disks of membrane contact or membrane fusion, which often occurred in multiple sites on one granule and also between adjacent granules. However, such membrane interactions were never found in eggs that were quick-frozen fixation, or in eggs fixed and frozen without exposure to glycerol. Glycerination of fixed material appeared to be the important variable; more concentrated glycerol produced a greater abundance of such "intermediates." Thus, these structures may be artifacts produced by dehydrating chemically fixed membranes, and may not be directly relevant to the mechanism by which membranes naturally fuse.

Animals↗

Experimental analysis of large belief networks for medical diagnosis.

We present an experimental analysis of two parameters that are important in knowledge engineering for large belief networks. We conducted the experiments on a network derived from the Internist-1 medical knowledge base. In this network, a generalization of the noisy-OR gate is used to model causal independence for the multivalued variables, and leak probabilities are used to represent the nonspecified causes of intermediate states and findings. We study two network parameters, (1) the parameter governing the assignment of probability values to the network, and (2) the parameter denoting whether the network nodes represent variables with two or more than two values. The experimental results demonstrate that the binary simplification computes diagnoses with similar accuracy to the full multivalued network. We discuss the implications of these parameters, as well other network parameters, for knowledge engineering for medical applications.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Electron microscopic analysis of the normal and the activated pleural macrophage.

Despite an apparent role in pleural pathophysiology, little information is known about pleural macrophage morphology. Intrapleural tetracycline (TCN) results in pleural macrophage influx and pleural fibrosis; intrapleural carrageenan (CAR) induces macrophage influx without ensuing fibrosis. Pleural macrophages collected from normal (NL) and TCN- or CAR-exposed rabbit pleural spaces were examined with electron microscopy. Cellular size; number of microvilli; pseudopods; coated pits (CP) and coated vesicles (CV); and prevalence of golgi, rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), and intermediate filaments (IF) were determined. The means of each variable in each group were assessed by one-way analysis of variance, with post hoc testing performed by Scheffe F test; p < or = .05 was considered significant. TCN-stimulated pleural macrophages were characterized by their small perimeters. CAR-induced pleural macrophages were marked by their large size and abundant intracellular amorphous material. They had larger perimeters, areas, and diameters than the TCN-induced or normal macrophages and thus smaller numbers of CV + CP per area. The normal pleural macrophages were characterized by more IF, microvilli, and microvilli per perimeter than either the CAR- or TCN-induced pleural macrophages. No differences between groups were found in nuclear cytoplasmic ratios, number of pseudopods, and content of golgi or of RER. The results suggest that normal pleural macrophages and TCN- and CAR-induced pleural macrophages differ morphologically and that these morphologic differences reflect functional differences.

Animals↗

Plastic response of the retrospleniocollicular connection after removal of retinal inputs in neonatal rats. An anterograde tracing study.

The effects of neonatal enucleation on the final adult pattern of retrospleniocollicular connection in the rat was studied using the anterograde tracer biotindextranamine 10,000 (BDA) iontophoretically injected in different anteroposterior locations of the retrosplenial cortex. Retrosplenial afferents are normally distributed in all collicular layers beneath the stratum griseum superficiale (SGS) throughout almost the entire rostrocaudal and lateromedial collicular axes. Neonatal enucleation caused an invasion of lower SGS by abundant retrosplenial afferents, whose distribution remained unaltered in intermediate and deep collicular layers. Axons entering the deafferented SGS showed variable morphologies and arborization patterns. Some of them ran lateromedially close to the SGS-stratum opticum (-SO) limit, giving rise to many collaterals which invaded the lower part of the SGS; whereas others formed narrow terminal arbors, mostly branching in the SO. In the intermediate layers, synaptic profiles were mainly found close to the borders of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) patches in both control and enucleated animals, indicating that neonatal enucleation does not alter the final pattern of retrospleniocollicular afferents to these collicular regions. The results presented here demonstrate that neonatal enucleation leads to the development of an aberrant projection from the retrosplenial cortex to the deafferented superficial layers of the superior colliculus. These results provide new information regarding the reorganization of connections subsequent to neonatal enucleation and suggest that, in enucleated animals, nonvisual multisensorial information could be relayed to central circuits which in intact animals belong to the visual system.

Animals↗

Efficacy and safety of a short-term (6-h) intravenous infusion of dopexamine in patients with severe congestive heart failure: a randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled multicenter study.

Dopexamine hydrochloride is a new synthetic catechol that offers a unique profile of adrenergic and dopaminergic activity. In this multicenter, parallel design, placebo-controlled study, 45 patients with functional class III or IV chronic congestive heart failure were randomized to receive a placebo infusion or one of three different doses of dopexamine. After a 2-h dose titration sequence, patients received a 6-h constant dose infusion. During this 6-h period, dopexamine was infused at rates of 1, 2 and 4 micrograms/kg body weight per min in the low, intermediate and high dose groups, respectively. In patients receiving high dose infusion, dopexamine produced a 78% increase in cardiac index associated with a 43% decrease in systemic vascular resistance and 24% increase in heart rate (p less than 0.05 vs. placebo for all three variables). There was a trend (p = NS) toward a moderate increase in cardiac index at low and intermediate doses. In patients randomized to receive dopexamine, right atrial, systemic arterial, pulmonary artery and pulmonary capillary wedge pressures showed minimal change from baseline and did not differ statistically from the placebo response. Very few patients developed adverse reactions related to dopexamine, although five patients randomized to receive high dose and three patients randomized to receive intermediate dose dopexamine required dose reduction because hemodynamic variables exceeded arbitrary safety limits or the patients developed symptoms related to the study medication. dopexamine in higher doses effectively increases cardiac index in association with a reduction in systemic vascular resistance. Additional clinical studies are indicated to evaluate the merits of dopexamine in comparison with other inotropic and vasodilator medications.

Adrenergic Agonists↗

Evaluation of different formulation studies on air-filled polymeric microcapsules by multivariate analysis.

Air-filled polymeric microcapsules have been prepared by freeze-drying of emulsions containing the wall-forming polymer in the organic phase of oil in water emulsions. Echogenic air-filled microcapsules were prepared from emulsions containing either (-)-camphene, cyclohexane or cyclooctane as the solvent in the organic phase. Formulation studies have been performed to improve the yield and acoustic quality of the microcapsule suspensions. The yield was measured as particle concentration or efficacy, i.e. normalised attenuation at 3.5 MHz, related to the amount of polymer used. No overall conclusion could be made for all the variables when visually comparing the results from the different investigations. Multivariate analyses (PCA and PLS) were therefore necessary to be able to reveal any relevant systematic information from all the investigations. Different parameters describing the formulation, the production process and parameters describing the characterisation of the intermediates and the final product were set as independent X-variables. Three to four percent (w/v) of polymer was found to be the appropriate concentration of wall forming polymer. Including PEG 3000 resulted in improved freeze-dried product and suspension. Quenching of the emulsions by freezing in dry ice/methanol prior to freeze-drying was not necessary. Process parameters for homogenising and freeze-drying should be optimised with regard to the single systems, due to the different physico-chemical properties of the different solvents, especially melting point and vapour pressure.

Air↗

Molecular genetics of CYP2D6: clinical relevance with focus on psychotropic drugs.

Cytochrome P450 CYP2D6 is the most extensively characterized polymorphic drug-metabolizing enzyme. A deficiency of the CYP2D6 enzyme is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait; these subjects (7% of Caucasians, about 1% of Orientals) are classified as poor metabolizers. Among the rest (extensive metabolizers), enzyme activity is highly variable, from extremely high in ultrarapid metabolizers, to markedly reduced in intermediate metabolizers. The CYP2D6 gene is highly polymorphic, with more than 70 allelic variants described so far. Of these, more than 15 encode an inactive or no enzyme at all. Others encode enzyme with reduced, "normal" or increased enzyme activity. The CYP2D6 gene shows marked interethnic variability, with interpopulation differences in allele frequency and existence of "population-specific" allelic variants, for instance among Orientals and Black Africans. The CYP2D6 enzyme catalyses the metabolism of a large number of clinically important drugs including antidepressants, neuroleptics, some antiarrhythmics, lipophilic beta-adrenoceptor blockers and opioids. The present-day knowledge on the influence of the genetic variability in CYP2D6 on the clinical pharmacokinetics and therapeutic effects/adverse effects of psychotropic drugs is reviewed.

Alleles↗

The use of intravenous intermediate dose melphalan and dexamethasone as induction treatment in the management of de novo multiple myeloma.

The variable absorption of melphalan from the gastrointestinal tract results in response rates between 40 and 60%. High dose melphalan increases response rates but at the cost of increased morbidity and mortality. We have investigated intravenous intermediate dose melphalan and dexamethasone in the treatment of patients presenting with de novo multiple myeloma with the object of reducing toxicity while preserving an improved response rate compared to oral melphalan and prednisolone. The results show that this treatment can be delivered safely on an outpatient basis in patients up to the age of 78 yr; 82% of patients achieved an objective response and 30% a complete haematological and clinical remission. Median overall survival for the whole group is 37 months.

Administration, Oral↗

The mechanism of lamellar-to-inverted hexagonal phase transitions: a study using temperature-jump cryo-electron microscopy.

The lamellar/inverted hexagonal (L alpha/HII) phase transition can be very fast, despite the drastic change in the topology of the lipid/water interfaces. The first structures to form in this transition may be similar to those that mediate membrane fusion in many lipid systems. To study the transition mechanism and other dynamic phenomena in membrane dispersions, we constructed an apparatus to rapidly trigger the transition and then vitrify the specimens to preserve the structure of transient intermediates. The apparatus applies millisecond-long temperature jumps of variable size to aqueous dispersions of lipids on electron microscope grids at times 9-16 ms before specimen vitrification. The vitrified specimens are then examined by cryo-transmission electron microscopy. Dispersions of egg phosphatidylethanolamine completed the transition within 9 ms when superheated by 20 K. Similar transition times have been observed in dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine via time-resolved x-ray diffraction. N-monomethylated dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine dispersions superheated to lesser extent exhibited slower transitions and more complex morphology. The structure of the first intermediates to form in the transition process could not be determined, probably because the intermediates are labile on the time scale of sample cooling and vitrification (< 1 ms) and because of the poor contrast developed by some of these small structures. However, the results are more compatible with a transition mechanism based on "stalk" intermediates than a mechanism involving inverted micellar intermediates. Temperature-jump cryo-transmission electron microscopy should be useful in studying dynamic phenomena in biomembranes, large protein complexes, and other colloidal dispersions. It should be especially helpful in studying the mechanism of protein-induced membrane fusion.

Biophysical Phenomena↗

An interinstitutional and interspecialty comparison of treatment outcome data for patients with prostate carcinoma based on predefined prognostic categories and minimum follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The optimal management of patients with clinically localized prostate carcinoma remains undefined due in part to the absence of well-designed, prospective, randomized trials. The current study was conducted to compare and contrast outcomes with different forms of therapy for patients with prostate carcinoma who were treated at several institutions using predefined prognostic categories. METHODS: A retrospective study of 6877 men with prostate carcinoma who were treated between 1989 and 1998 at 7 different institutions with 6 different types of therapy was conducted. Five-year actuarial rates of prostate specific antigen (PSA) failure were calculated based on predefined prognostic categories, which included combinations of pretreatment PSA level, tumor stage, and Gleason score. In addition, outcome was calculated using consistent biochemical failure definitions and a minimum, median length of follow-up. RESULTS: Substantial differences in outcome were observed for the same type of treatment and at the same institution, depending on the number of prognostic variables used to define treatment groups. However, estimates of 5-year PSA outcomes after all forms of therapy for low-risk and intermediate-risk patient groups were remarkably similar (regardless of the type of treatment) when all three pretreatment variables were used to define prognostic categories. For patients in high-risk groups, the 5-year PSA outcomes were suboptimal, regardless of the treatment technique used. CONCLUSIONS: The current data suggest that interinstitutional and interspecialty comparisons of treatment outcome for patients with prostate carcinoma are possible but that results must be based on all major prognostic variables to be meaningful. Analyzed in this fashion, 5-year PSA results were similar for patients in low-risk and intermediate-risk groups, regardless of the form of therapy. Findings from prospective, randomized trials using survival (cause specific and overall) as the end point for judging treatment efficacy and longer follow-up will be needed to validate these findings and to identify the most appropriate management option for patients with all stages of disease.

Actuarial Analysis↗

Olfactory neuroblastoma. An immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and flow cytometric study.

BACKGROUND: Olfactory neuroblastoma is an uncommon neuroectodermal tumor of the upper nasal cavity, microscopic features of which are not always homogeneous. No morphologic features have been found to correlate reliably with prognosis. METHODS: Twenty-six olfactory neuroblastomas occurring in 14 females and 12 males, ages 18-78 years, were studied by immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and DNA flow cytometry. Survival rates were statistically analyzed relative to several variables. RESULTS: Microscopically, 22 tumors formed a morphologic spectrum intermediate between paraganglioma (PG) and neuroblastoma (NB). Others included two ganglioneuroblastomas (GNB), one lesion exhibited biphasic (neuronal and epithelial) differentiation, and one tumor showed predominantly epithelial features. Immunoreactivity for neuronal and neuroendocrine markers included synaptophysin in 77%, neurofilament protein in 38%, class III beta-tubulin in 81%, and chromogranin A in 77%. In 88% of cases, elongated S-100 protein-positive cells surrounded tumor lobules. Cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen immunoreactivity were noted in six (23%) and two (8%) tumors, respectively. Aberrant p53 expression was detected in 16 tumors (62%). The Ki-67 labeling index (LI) varied from 0%-43.8% (mean, 7.4%). Ultrastructurally, 80-230 nm dense core granules were noted within perikarya and as in microtubule-containing processes in all of the 11 tumors studied by electromicroscopy. Lobules of seven tumors were surrounded by electron-dense sustentacular cells. Epithelial tumors exhibited obviously epithelial features in addition to neuronal differentiation. DNA flow cytometry demonstrated a high incidence of polyploidy and aneuploidy (78%) and a wide range of percent S phase fractions (1.5%-21.8%; mean, 9.0%). The study showed that longer survival rates are related significantly to (1) the occurrence of metastases which was linked to tumor subtype, (2) to a higher incidence of S-100 protein-positive cells, and (3) to a low (< 10%) Ki-67 labeling index. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that (1) although typical olfactory neuroblastomas exhibit PG/NB differentiation, they more closely resemble PG, (2) occasional tumors show GNB and/or epithelial differentiation, and (3) survival rates may correlate with S-100 protein immunoreactivity and Ki-67 LI. Cancer 1995; 76:4-19.

Adult↗

Effect of type of container, storage temperature and humidity on the biological activity of freeze-dried alkaline phosphatase.

The suitability of butyl rubber-stoppered vials was compared with that of ampoules for the storage of freeze-dried biological materials under a variety of temperature and humidity conditions using alkaline phosphatase as a model. Immediately after freeze-drying, alkaline phosphatase activity in vials and ampoules was similar but decreased at temperatures of 37 degrees C, 45 degrees C and at cycling temperatures with high relative humidities over the 12-month test period, with the least activity in vials with untreated stoppers. By the end of the study at 12 months post-preparation, moisture levels were lowest (0.4%) in the vials where stoppers had been treated with industrial methylated spirit and air-dried, intermediate (1.0%) in DIN ampoules and highest and most variable (1-4%) in vials with untreated stoppers. There was no apparent exchange between the external atmosphere and that within the vials via the stoppers and the moisture in the vials with untreated stoppers appeared to have originated from the stoppers themselves. It was concluded that the use of vials with treated stoppers was almost as effective as the use of DIN ampoules for the freeze-drying and storage of alkaline phosphatase activity under a range of temperatures and humidities. Fluctuating temperatures were more detrimental to alkaline phosphatase activity than continuous storage at a single high temperature.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Preservation of chromosome integrity during micronucleation induced by colchicine in PtK1 cells.

Colchicine induces the formation of small nuclei called micronuclei which contain limited parts of the genome. Some of them exhibit a DNA content equivalent to that of a single chromosome. Our purpose was to study the preservation of chromosome integrity during this micronucleation in PtK1 cells. Observation of karyotypes obtained after 3 days of cell cycle restoration revealed that micronucleation did not affect chromosome integrity or the presence of each chromosome pair in the surviving cells. In 'early restoration' cells, all the chromosomes included a centromere and were represented in the karyotype, but at variable rates. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis of micronucleated cells, intermediate in DNA rate between control PtK1 cells in G1 and those in G2/M phases, led us to consider the possibility of selective replication of some chromosomes during micronucleation. Using antibodies against the kinetochore proteins, we derived the presence of one centromeric region (1-2 spots) in the smallest micronuclei. Therefore, these data (karyotypes, number of chromosomes, DNA content and kinetochore proteins) seem to indicate that micronucleation does not induce chromosome damages or translocations. Micronuclei are a convenient tool for investigation of the role of the different chromosomes in the organization of the interphase nuclei.

Animals↗

Standardization of assays of factor VIII and factor IX.

The development of international standards over the last 15-20 years has led to improved interlaboratory agreement on assays of factor VIII and factor IX. In the most recent international collaborative study, the coefficient of variation for one-stage assays (26 laboratories) was 5.6%. However, in quality assurance surveys, carried out in the UK and USA, agreement between laboratories is much less good, with coefficients of variation ranging from 30% to over 50%. Improvements in agreement between clinical laboratories could be obtained by increasing the amount of testing on each sample, especially the number of dilutions, and reducing the number of reagent systems used. A large number of laboratories now use immunodepleted plasmas instead of congenitally deficient plasmas as substrates for one-stage assays. These plasmas may give satisfactory assays, but many of them have not been thoroughly evaluated in comparison with congenitally deficient plasma. In assessment of potency of very high purity (VHP) factor VIII concentrates, some immunodepleted plasmas were found to give lower potencies than hemophilic plasma. This is partly due to the fact that VHP concentrates contain little or no von Willebrand factor (vWF), and most immunodepleted plasmas are also deficient in vWF. In recent collaborative studies, assays of VHP factor VIII concentrate were much more variable, both within and between laboratories, than assays of intermediate purity concentrates. Standardization of these new products will require careful attention to methodological detail.

Factor IX↗

Juvenile ossifying fibroma: CT and MR findings.

We describe the CT findings in four patients and the MR imaging in one patient with juvenile ossifying fibroma. Three lesions involved the maxillary sinus and extended to the surrounding structures; one lesion was confined to the maxillary bone. CT scan revealed well-defined, expansile lesions with variable amount of calcifications. On MRI one lesion had intermediate signal intensity with significant contrast enhancement.

Adolescent↗

Ultrastructural changes in the spiral limbus associated with carboplatin-induced ablation of inner hair cells.

Four months after the selective ablation of inner hair cells by carboplatin, the interdental cell epithelium exhibited dilated intercellular spaces and cytosolic vacuoles not seen in controls. In addition, the wide, often electron-lucent phalanges observed in the interdental cells of the normal chinchilla collapsed into a dense stratum that projected enlarged polypoid profiles into the limbal zone of the tectorial membrane. Carboplatin treatment also resulted in the restructuring of the tectorial membrane overlying the limbus. Changes in this membrane included a variable accumulation of the basal matrix, the rearrangement of intermediate lucent spaces, and the disappearance of a superimposed filamentous mesh. These three strata are, under normal conditions, apparently involved in events underlying tectorial membrane renewal. The post-carboplatin changes in the interdental cells and tectorial membrane occurred exclusively in the proposed medial pathway for K+ diffusion from inner hair cells and presumably resulted from a reduced flow of ions and fluid secondary to the ablation of these cells.

Animals↗