expressions of AMACR and iNOS in prostate adenocarcinomas

Background and Objective: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death in men. The localized disease often responds to conventional therapies like androgen ablation via castration and/or administration of chemical inhibitors but advanced disease resistant to any curative therapies is still challenge for investigators. There are increasing efforts to enhance the possibility of finding positive and sensitive immune markers for diagnosing and treating prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression patterns of AMACR and iNOS in prostate adenocarcinomas with different histopathologic grade

Methodology: We applied immunohistochemical markers; AMACR and iNOS. Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissues of 64 prostate needle biopsy specimens diagnosed as prostate adenocarcinoma between 2005-2010 years were included in the study

Results: AMACR expression were found in 58 [90.6%] and iNOS expression in 54 [84.4%] of 64 prostate adenocarcinomas. No significant relationship of AMACR and iNOS was obtained [p > 0.05]. There was no significant correlation of histopathologic grade of the tumors with AMACR and iNOS expression [p > 0.05]

Conclusions: The expression of AMACR and iNOS might be important diagnostic immune markers for prostate adenocarcinomas especially in needle biopsies where the quantity and quality of tissue are limited

Glomus tumor of the hip. An unusual location

Glomus tumors are usually benign neoplasms that occur in the dermis or subcutaneous tissues of the extremities. They occur very rarely in the hip. We report a patient with severe pain and tenderness in the left hip, especially on palpation, and in the sitting position. On physical examination, there was a soft palpable subcutaneous mass and severe tenderness in the left hip. Ultrasound revealed a hypervascular subdermal mass that was 1.2 cm in diameter, which was subsequently totally excised under local anesthesia. The histopathologic diagnosis was a glomus tumor. The patient has been symptom-free for 3 months of follow-up

Evaluation of effects of memantine on cerebral ischemia in rats

To evaluate the effects of memantine on infarct size in cerebral ischemia and on neurological outcome after temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion [MCAO] and reperfusion in rats. In this study, performed between 2002-2004 in Dicle University School of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey, 30 adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Cerebral ischemia was constituted by the intraluminal filament method with a 4-0 nylon suture. Reperfusion was started after 2 hours of MCAO. The rats were randomly divided into 2 groups as control and memantine. Saline 0.9% [0.5 ml/kg] and memantine [30 mg/kg] were administered via nasogastric intubations. Three coronal slices of 2 mm thickness were obtained from cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem, and were stained with a 2% solution of triphenyltetrazolium chloride. Transparent sheets were placed over each section and the areas of the brain and infarct were measured. Forty-five slices from each group [total 90] were obtained. Percent of ischemic area [%] in cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem level in memantine was lower than those of the control group [p=0.0001]. In addition, we determined an improvement in neurological score at 24th and 72nd hours in the rats that have been given memantine. The memantine group showed significantly better recovery than the control group [p=0.0001]. We concluded that memantine may decrease ischemic area in experimental cerebral ischemia in rats and it seems that memantine may be beneficial in cerebral ischemia

Strong Association of HMB - 45 expression with renal angiomyolipoma

Angiomyolipoma [AML] is a benign neoplasm consisting of varying mixtures of smooth muscle, blood vessels and fat. Although, most of these tumors are easy to recognize, some may pose a diagnostic dilemma due to unusual histologic features. Recently, it was suggested that melanosome-associated protein [HMB-45] immunoreactivity may be used for diagnostic confirmation of several neoplasm. The aim of this study is to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of HMB-45 in patients with AML. This study was carried out at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey, during the period January 2000 to September 2003. HMB-45 immunoreactivity was analyzed in 6 patients with AML and in 34 patients with other renal and retroperitoneal pathologies, including 10 nephrectomized patients for non-neoplastic reasons by means of immunohistochemistry. Patients with AML were positive for HMB-45. Whereas, HMB-45 immunoreactivity was negative in all of the histologic specimens from the patients with renal cell carcinoma, retroperitoneal sarcomas, Wilms' tumor, lipoma, leiomyoma, and nephrectomized kidneys of non-neoplastic reason. The association of AML with HMB-45 immunoreactivity was highly significant [p<0.001]. Our findings suggest that HMB-45 may not be a melanocyte-restricted marker, and can be useful in differential diagnosis between AML and other tumors seen in kidney and retroperitoneal region