Hepatobiliary cystadenocarcinoma without ovarian stroma and normal CA 19-9 levels. Unusually prolonged evolution

Hepatobiliary cystadenoma and cystadenocarcinoma are rare tumors of the liver. The differential diagnosis of cystadenoma includes other cystic neoplasms, nonneoplastic cysts, and even on some occasions parasitic liver involvement. It has been suggested that elevated serum level of the tumor marker CA 19-9 may be of value in distinguishing between cystadenoma with ovarian stroma and hydatid disease. We report the unique case of a male patient with a hepatobiliary cystadenocarcinoma without ovarian stroma of prolonged evolution characterized by a normal CA 19-9 serum level, low cyst fluid CA 19-9, and a very weak CA 19-9 expression on cyst epithelium.     

Paternal age and fertility

Variations of the male partner fertility according to his age are difficult to study, because of bias represented by some decrease of both sexual activity and fecundity of the female partner beyond 35 years old. The few studies which are available show that sperm concentration as percentage of normal forms, are stable with age. The percentage of motility is the only parameter which decreases systematically with age according to all studies. Nevertheless, sperm fertilizing capacity does not seem to be decreased. FIVNAT data allow to analyse almost 30,000 IVF cycles for tubal sterility; they confirm the absence of an important alteration of semen characteristics with age. Despite a significant decrease--even moderate--of the mean fertilization rates, the pregnancy rates remain roughly constant for a given range of maternal age.     

The development of pediatric neurosurgery in Paris. How to create something out of nothing: reflexions on the methodology

Up to 1960, children in need of neurosurgical treatment in France were treated either in neurosurgical departments where anesthetists, nurses and neurosurgeons had no specialized training in pediatrics or in departments of pediatric surgery in which the specific aspect of neurosurgery was ignored. Clearly a mutation was needed before any progress could be made: the development of pediatric neurosurgery services. This essay tells the story of the creation of the first pediatric neurosurgery service in France, of the difficulties encountered and of the strategies applied to overcome them. It also recalls the discussions about what size such a service should be and whether it should be located in a general hospital or in a pediatric hospital. During the second half of the twentieth century, progress in neurosurgery, and more specifically in pediatric neurosurgery, has been tremendous. The contribution of the pediatric neurosurgery service at Les Enfants Malades in Paris is briefly summarized.     

TCR-Vbeta usage in the thymus and blood of myasthenia gravis patients

In myasthenia gravis (MG) the muscle acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is the target of an autoimmune response. The anti-AChR response may originate in the thymus, which is abnormal in most MG patients and contains anti-AChR T and B cells. Microbial superantigens (sAg) may trigger autoimmune responses and in this study we sought clues as to whether sAg play a role in the pathogenesis of MG. We investigated the frequency of use of the different TCR Vbeta families by the thymus and blood T cells in MG patients and in control subjects, using a multi-primer PCR assay. Identical TCR-Vbeta usage was found in the thymi of MG patients and controls, except Vbeta2, which showed a small increase in MG patients' thymi. Blood T cells of MG patients used Vbeta4, Vbeta6, Vbeta15, Vbeta16 and Vbeta24 significantly more than those of the controls. Vbeta4 and Vbeta6 are the gene families most frequently used by anti-AChR CD4(+) cells in MG patients. Blood T cells from MG patients used Vbeta12, Vbeta14, Vbeta17 and Vbeta18 significantly less than controls. MG patients used Vbeta4 and Vbeta6 significantly more in the blood than in the thymus, while the opposite occurred for Vbeta7, Vbeta12 and Vbeta14. Controls used Vbeta17 more and Vbeta24 less in the blood than in the thymus. The preferential expansion of Vbeta4 and Vbeta6 in MG patients might reflect the immunodominance of certain AChR epitopes, or the action of a sAg outside the thymus. The minimal differences in the TCR-Vbeta usage in the blood and thymus of control subjects might be due to expansion of T cell clones specific for common antigens. Identical Vbeta usage in the thymi of MG patients and controls does not support an important role of the thymus as the location of anti-AChR sensitization when MG is clinically evident. The differences observed in the Vbeta usage in blood and thymi of MG patients are likely to be due to preferential Vbeta usage by the anti-AChR T cells in the blood.     

CNBr/formic acid reactions of methionine- and trifluoromethionine-containing lambda lysozyme: probing chemical and positional reactivity and formylation side reactions by mass spectrometry

The cyanogen bromide (CNBr)/formic acid cleavage reactions of wild-type and trifluoromethionine (TFM)-containing recombinant lambda lysozyme were studied utilizing ESI and MALDI mass spectrometry. Detailed analysis of the mass spectra of reverse-phase HPLC-purified cleavage fragments produced from treatment of the wild-type and labeled proteins with CNBr indicated cleavage solely of methionyl peptide bonds with no observation of cleavage at TFM. N-Acetyl-TFM was also found to be resistant to reaction with CNBr, in contrast to N-acetyl-methionine. The analysis also indicated differential reactivity among the three methionine positions in the wild-type enzyme. Additionally, formylation of intact enzyme as well as peptide fragments were observed and characterized and indicated that serine, threonine, as well as C-terminal homoserine side chains are partially formylated under standard cleavage protocols.     

The association between child maltreatment and disabilities in a hospital-based epidemiological study

OBJECTIVE: Circumstances of maltreatment and the presence of disabilities. METHOD: An electronic merger of the records of all pediatric patients. RESULTS: Detailed record analysis of circumstances of maltreatment and the presence of disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: Differences between the Hospital and Residential samples, maltreatment and perpetrator characteristics, disability/maltreatment relationships, and their implications for primary health care are discussed.     

An economic evaluation of patch testing in the diagnosis and management of allergic contact dermatitis

AIM: To investigate the value of RNA detection by nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA) for the monitoring of Chlamydia trachomatis infections after antibiotic treatment. METHODS: Cervical smears (n = 97) and urine specimens (n = 61) from 25 C trachomatis positive female patients were analysed for the presence of C trachomatis 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) by NASBA and C trachomatis plasmid DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) before and up to five weeks after antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: Chlamydia trachomatis RNA was found in all cervical smears taken before antibiotic treatment (n = 24) and in two smears taken one week after antibiotic treatment; no C trachomatis RNA was detected after two weeks or more. In contrast, C trachomatis DNA was found in all such specimens before treatment, and 21 of 25, six of 21, and five of 20 smears were found to be positive at one, two, and three weeks after treatment, respectively. After four weeks, only one of six smears was positive, and this smear had been negative in the two preceding weeks. Of the 61 urine samples investigated, C trachomatis DNA and C trachomatis RNA were found in all before treatment (n = 15), whereas one week after treatment four of 15 were C trachomatis DNA positive and C trachomatis RNA was detected in one sample only. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that RNA detection by NASBA can be used successfully to monitor C trachomatis infections after antibiotic treatment. Furthermore, it might be possible to use urine specimens as a test of cure because neither C. trachomatis DNA or RNA could be detected two weeks or more after treatment.     

Detection of thrombotic cuspal obstruction of an aortic bioprosthesis with transesophageal echocardiography

Bioprosthetic thrombotic obstruction is a rare complication which occurs relatively early after implantation. We present the transesophageal echocardiographic findings in a case of cuspal thrombosis of a Hancock aortic prosthesis which required valve replacement.