Rapidly progressing malignant phyllodes tumor of the prostate with normal prostate-specific antigen levels: A case report

Malignant phyllodes tumor of the prostate is a very rare entity. Here, we describe a 51-year-old patient with a malignant phyllodes tumor of the prostate with a poor prognosis and normal prostate-specific antigen levels. Digital rectal examination revealed a hard, nodular mass in the prostate, and magnetic resonance imaging exhibited a cystic mass measuring 8.7 cm × 7.0 cm × 6.7 cm. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the epithelial components were positive for CK8/18 and cytokeratin AE1/AE3; the atypical stromal cells were positive for CD34 and vimentin. Histological analysis resulted in a diagnosis of malignant phyllodes tumor of the prostate. Radical surgery was the treatment of choice. However, tumor recurrence was identified 6 months after the surgery, and the patient died 10 months after the surgery.

Parasitological and molecular detection of human fascioliasis in a young man from Guizhou, China

@#A 24-year-old man born in Guizhou province was diagnosed with obstructive jaundice and bile duct stones in 2013. Four living trematodes were found during laparotomy and cholecystectomy. Based on the morphology and molecular genetics analysis of internal transcribed spacer and pcox1 genes of the flatworm specimens, the trematodes from the patient were confirmed to be Fasciola hepatica. This report provided the clinical and molecular diagnosis information on human fascioliasis, which is an emerging sanitary problem still ignored in China. Human fascioliasis constantly occurs due to climatic changes and frequency of human travel. Therefore, it deserves more attention from physicians working in both developing and developed countries.

Pagetoid reticulosis positive for cytotoxic CD20 and CD30: A case report

Pagetoid reticulosis is an indolent cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and presents as erythema or plaque with a well-defined border on the distal areas of the extremities. Immunophenotypic studies show that in most cases, neoplastic lymphocytes are positive for CD4, whereas CD20 and CD30 double positivity was rarely reported. In this paper, we report an 80-year-old woman who presented with erythema on the extremities for 3 years. Skin biopsy on the right forearm was performed. Histopathologically, the erythematous lesions were characterized by atypical lymphocytes with significant epidermotropism. Immunohistochemical staining showed high proliferation as evidenced by high Ki-67 index and that the tumor cells were positive for CD20 and CD30 but negative for CD7 and CD56. The patient was treated with one cycle of radiotherapy and is currently doing well.

Bioinformatics analysis of biomarkers and transcriptional factor motifs in Down syndrome

In this study, biomarkers and transcriptional factor motifs were identified in order to investigate the etiology and phenotypic severity of Down syndrome. GSE 1281, GSE 1611, and GSE 5390 were downloaded from the gene expression ominibus (GEO). A robust multiarray analysis (RMA) algorithm was applied to detect differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In order to screen for biological pathways and to interrogate the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway database, the database for annotation, visualization, and integrated discovery (DAVID) was used to carry out a gene ontology (GO) function enrichment for DEGs. Finally, a transcriptional regulatory network was constructed, and a hypergeometric distribution test was applied to select for significantly enriched transcriptional factor motifs. CBR1, DYRK1A, HMGN1, ITSN1, RCAN1, SON, TMEM50B, and TTC3 were each up-regulated two-fold in Down syndrome samples compared to normal samples; of these, SON and TTC3 were newly reported. CBR1, DYRK1A, HMGN1, ITSN1, RCAN1, SON, TMEM50B, and TTC3 were located on human chromosome 21 (mouse chromosome 16). The DEGs were significantly enriched in macromolecular complex subunit organization and focal adhesion pathways. Eleven significantly enriched transcription factor motifs (PAX5, EGR1, XBP1, SREBP1, OLF1, MZF1, NFY, NFKAPPAB, MYCMAX, NFE2, and RP58) were identified. The DEGs and transcription factor motifs identified in our study provide biomarkers for the understanding of Down syndrome pathogenesis and progression.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermal ablation of benign thyroid nodules: A clinical study / 第二军医大学学报

Objective to investigate the clinical effectiveness and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermotherapy for benign thyroid nodules. Methods Ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency or microwave ablation was conducted following tru-cut bopsy of 50 benign thyroid nodules in 40 patients, including those with adenomas and hyperplastic nodules. The necrosis and shrinkage in the ablated areas were evaluated. The adverse effects and complications related to ablation were observed. Results All the 50 thyroid nodules were depend of blood supply after ablation as shown by contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and the ablated area completely covered the size of the nodules. Follow-up ultrasound examination demonstrated that the ablated areas were shrunk to various degrees, including completely disappearance in 6 (12%), 32(64%) with the diameters reduced by more than a half, and 12 (24%) with the diameters reduced by less than a half. There were no skin burns in the neck, bronchial or esophageal injuries, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, or complication related to neck muscle injury. Conclusion Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermal ablation is a safe, minimally invasive, controllable and definitely effective method for treating benign thyroid nodules. It has a great clinical potential.

Impact of environmental change and schistosomiasis transmission in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River following the Three Gorges construction project.

With the construction of the Three Gorges high dam on the Yangtze River in China in mind, a serious of ecological environmental factors that might affect the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum in Jian Han Plain were investigated by means of data collection, field surveys and observation in Hubei Province. Several ecological factors including water level of the Yangtze River; riparian water table, annual rainfall and yearly evaporation were investigated in relation to the prevalence of schistosomiasis. The results suggest that after the dam construction, middle water level flows (ie between flood flows and dry-weather flows) will persist in the flood season due to a rise in the water table. The investigation indicated that snail distribution and human schistosomiasis prevalence differed significantly between years which had typically high, middle and low typical water levels in the Yangzte. Moreover, the prevalence of the disease showed a significant linear regression relationship with density of snail intermediate hosts, water table, annual rainfall, yearly evaporation and ground altitude in the survey area. Systematic and careful monitoring and surveillance is necessary to investigate the impact of the environmental changes brought about by the dam construction on schistosomiasis transmission.

Failure to induce resistance of Schistosoma japonicum to praziquantel.

In order to explore the possible occurrence of inducing resistance of Schistosoma japonicum to praziquantel (PZQ), a set of animal experiments were carried out. Outbred mice (NIH strain), Anhui isolates of S. japonicum and Oncomelania hupensis were used. In one protocol five weeks after being infected with 48-52 cercariae, mice were orally dosed with PZQ 300 mg/kg, and killed 82 days later to isolate eggs from the liver. Snails were exposed to miracidia released from egg-hatching. F1 progeny were thus obtained through cercarial inoculation. The same scheme was applied for the establishment of the F2 generation. In another protocol two weeks after infection, PZQ 50 mg/kg/day was given to mice for 5 days. Eggs were collected 26-27 days post treatment and the identical procedures were adopted for F1 and F2 generations successively. Analysis of total worm and female worm reduction rates indicated that there was no significant difference between the sensitivity to PZQ of F1 and F2 progenies of S. japonicum and the parent worms.

Acetylcholine receptor antibody in patients with myasthenia gravis.

The determination of acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR Ab) titer by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in patients with myasthenia gravis was introduced. The optimal conditions were determined by chequerboard determination. The specificity was confirmed by inhibition tests. The sensitivity is 9 p mole. The comparison of AChR Ab titers among 49 myasthenic patients, 19 non-myasthenic neurological patients and 20 healthy blood donors has shown that it is a highly sensitive, specific, reproducible, rapid, simple and inexpensive method for determining AChR Ab and that it is highly valuable for the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis.