Incorporation and biodegradation of hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphate implanted in large metaphyseal defects--an animal study.

Incorporation and biodegradation of hydroxyapatite(HA)-tricalcium phosphate(TCP) granules implanted in 5 x 5 x 5 mm distal femoral metaphyseal defects created in 18 adult rabbits were studied. In two rabbits, the defects were left to heal spontaneously without any implant. Roentgenographic and histological study by light microscopy was done on silver nitrate stained undecalcified sections as well as haematoxylin-eosin stained decalcified sections. The synthetic HA-TCP was biocompatible and produced no adverse reactions. The implant was osteoconductive and allowed good new bone formation to occur, mainly from periphery to center, but mature trabeculae could be delineated only at 4-6 months. The HA-TCP biomaterial had very low biodegradability with marked amount of intact implant still present at final follow up. Bonding between implant and bone, though a close biological bond, was not uniformly strong. Rate of bone ingrowth was very slow and large areas of implant at center did not show new bone formation at 12 months.

Chondroid lipoma in a child.

Chondroid lipoma (CL), a rare lipoma variant, has not been described well for patients younger than 14 years of age. We herein report an extremely unusual instance of CL in a 7-year-old child. The cut surface of the tumor showed peculiar tan-brown and yellow-white areas. Histopathological sections showed the presence of eosinophilic variably vacuolated round- to oval-spindle cells in a myxo-hyaline background. The findings were consistent with CL. The case is reported because of its extreme rarity.

Effect of Bacopa monniera and Azadirachta indica on gastric ulceration and healing in experimental NIDDM rats.

Gastric ulcers were induced in normal/NIDDM rats by various physical (2 hr cold restraint stress and 4 hr pylorus ligation) and chemical agents (ethanol, 1 ml/200 g, oral, 1 hr before; aspirin, 200 mg/kg, oral, 4 hr) and duodenal ulcers were induced by cysteamine (40 mg/200 g). Ulcer healing activity was studied in gastric ulcers induced by acetic acid (50%) and HCI (0.6 M). The result indicated that in both, normal and NIDDM rats, B. monniera extract (BME, 20-100 mg/kg) did not show any significant effect on blood glucose level, while A. indica (AIE, 250-1000 mg/kg) significantly decreased it. However, both BME (50 mg/kg) and AIE (500 mg/kg) showed significant anti-ulcer and ulcer-healing activities in normal and NIDDM rats. Further, the present results also indicated that the ulcer protective effects of BME was more pronounced in non-diabetic, while that of AIE was more in NIDDM rats. The anti-ulcer and ulcer-healing activities of BME and AIE may be due to their effects on various mucosal offensive and defensive factors, and correction of blood sugar level by AIE may help to have more ulcer protective effect in NIDDM rats.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of gallbladder presenting as acute cholecystitis.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of gallbladder accounts for only 0-12.7% of all cases of gallbladder cancer. We here report a case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of gallbladder presenting as acute cholecystitis. A 50 year old man was admitted with the complaints of pain in right hypochondrium and fever of 2 days duration. Abdominal examination revealed tenderness along with guarding and rigidity in right hypochondrium with positive Murphy's sign. The patient was conservatively treated as a case of acute cholecystitis. After 12 hrs of unrewarding treatment patient was operated upon and cholecystectomy done. The specimen revealed thick walled gallbladder with multiple calculi. Histopathology revealed squamous cell carcinoma grade II.

Immunohistopathological reactions for liver-specific membrane lipo-protein in experimental autoimmune hepatitis.

Antibody to the hepatocyte membrane protein, was induced in inbred strain C57BL/6 and C3H mice by immunisation with 100,000 g supernatant of syngeneic liver homogenate in CFA. Three weekly intraperitoneal injection of 200 ul of liver homogenate with CFA for continuous 4 weeks gave the best possible result. Histopathological changes were characterised mainly by perivascular inflammatory infiltrates and hepatocyte necrosis which mimicked human autoimmune hepatitis. In one of the immunological parameters, antibody to hepatocyte membrane protein (LSP) has been demonstrate by ouchterlony method in the test serum of those animals, who had received weekly doses of liver antigen. Thus in experimental autoimmune liver disease, semi-purified syngeneic liver fluid (S-100) leads to hepatic destruction and to an inflammatory process with several features in common with human chronic aggressive hepatitis. The presence of antibody against syngeneic liver antigen (S-100) in the test sera emphasizes that hepatocyte membrane protein does have an important role in liver tissue pathogenesis and disease process in experimental model. In this study we tried to prove that hepatocyte membrane protein may act as a target antigen in developing experimental autoimmune hepatitis.

Fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of prostatic enlargements.

One hundred patients with enlarged prostate were subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology and histopathologic examination of prostate. The results have been found encouraging. The cytodiagnostic accuracy rate was 99 p.c. in identification of benign or malignant nature of the lesions and 94 p.c. in cytologic specific diagnosis (exactly similar to histopathologic diagnosis). The technique was simple, rapid, economical, reliable, easy to repeat and highly suitable for outpatients. The procedure can routinely be adopted in places where facilities for preparation of paraffin section do not exist or when quick diagnosis is required.

Role of rapid imprint cytology in the diagnosis of skin cancer and assessment of adequacy of excision.

Imprint cytotechnique was employed in 20 cases of maligant skin tumours (11 squamous cell carcinoma, 4 basal cell carcinoma and 5 malignant melanoma) to evaluate the reliability of the technique by comparing the results with histologic diagnosis. In ten cases margins of the excised tumours were also subjected to imprint and histopathologic studies to assess the clearance of malignancy. All the tumours were correctly diagnosed in imprint smears. Similarly 100% cytohistopathologic correlation was also obtained in the assessment of excisional margins of the tumours. The technique of imprint cytology may be employed for quick diagnosis of skin cancers and in assessment of clearance of surgical field during surgery.

Pathological review of melanotic neuroectodermal tumour of infancy in India.

Melanotic neuroectodermal tumour of infancy (MNETI) is a rare occurrence. Review of literature indicated 14 cases of MNETI encountered in India. The reported cases were observed in infants below one year of age. Males were affected more than the females. Except for one in the orbit, all the lesions were located in the maxilla. Histologically, lesions have been reported to be classical and benign in nature. Morphology of the tumours have been presented and discussed.