Cytometric study of carcinoid tumors and their metastases.

A series of 5 lung and 11 gastro-entero-pancreatic carcinoid tumors has been studied microspectrophotometrically. All lung carcinoids and the majority of gut-derived tumors had near-diploid stemlines. The DNA absorption profile of metastases was similar to that of primary tumors. There was no difference in DNA patterns of tumors with and without metastases and it is suggested that cytophotometry cannot predict the metastasizing capacity of carcinoid tumors.

Comparative prevalence of gallstone disease at 100-year interval in a large Romanian town, a necropsy study.

The prevalence of gallstone disease in a large Romanian town was determined on 6275 necropsies performed during a 10-year period (1973-1982). The "crude" prevalence of gallstone disease in women was 17.1% and in men, 6.9%. Age-standardized prevalence was 8.4% in women and 5.0% in men. This rate is lower than the prevalence of gallstones in northern or central European countries, but it is higher than that established in some southern countries of Europe. A comparison of the "crude" prevalence of gallstone disease was compared with that calculated for a similar 10-year period 100 years ago (1873-1882), on 1538 necropsies performed in the same town. Prevalence of gallstones rose significantly in a century (from a mean of 1.2% to 11.3%; P less than 0.001), a finding consistent with the concept that gallstone disease is a "disease of civilization."

Drug-induced immunodeficiency associated with nodal Kaposi's sarcoma.

A 40-year-old male showed a syndrome of acquired immunodeficiency after a prolonged use of antidiabetic sulfamides. The lesions were revealed by the biopsic examination of inguinal lymph nodes. Immunodeficiencies are usually associated with malignant lymphoma: our case was, however, associated with Kaposi's sarcoma.

Relationship between structural and ionic changes in cardiosclerosis.

The parallelism between hypoxic changes in the myocardium revealed by Lie's technique and by fluorescence microscopy and the ionic changes (Na+, K+, Ca2+) was studied in 51 autopsy cases. The Lie technique was positive in 52.6 per cent of the cases of cardiosclerosis with myocardial infarction and in 15 per cent of the cases of cardiosclerosis without infarction, while fluorescent areas were found in all cases of infarction and in 35 per cent of cardiosclerosis cases without infarction. Na+ and K+ were decreased and Ca2+ ions were increased in both ventricles and in both sexes, both in infarctions and in cardiosclerosis cases without infarction. Ionic changes are more probably related to the intensity of cardiosclerosis rather than to age or sex.

Argyrophil cells in gastric carcinomas.

Seven out of 36 gastric carcinomas showed neuroendocrine cells, as revealed by histochemical methods (Grimelius' staining). Histologically, two of these tumors were adenocarcinomas, while the other five were scirrhous type carcinomas. PAS and mucicarmin stainings revealed the presence of intracytoplasmic mucins in all the tumors with a positive argyrophilic reaction. The problems related to histogenesis and clinical behaviour of tumors with a neuroendocrine component are briefly discussed.

Histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis without granulocytic infiltration.

About 50 cases of histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis without granulocytic infiltration were published till now. The authors describe the case of a 19-year-old patient with the right ear and the right ring finger bitten by squirrel about 40-50 days before the appearance of an axillary homolateral painful lymphadenomegaly and fever. Histopathologic examination of excised lymph nodes showed areas of necrosis, necrobiosis and nodular histiocytosis. Histiocytes were dystrophic or showed evidence of macrophagy. Problems referring to morphogenesis and etiology are discussed.

A peculiar case of allergic angiitis.

A 27-year-old male patient with a history of bronchial asthma showed polyarticular swellings, skin purpura and an acute pneumopathy and died 15 days after the acute onset of symptoms. Necropsy confirmed the diagnosis of confluent bronchopneumonia, but in all the organs, including the bone marrow, there were numerous eosinophils, fibrinoid necrosis of arteriovenous walls in the viscera and parieto-vascular infiltrates with mononuclear cells and many eosinophils. These lesions, exclusively around the vessels, were considered to express a variant or a morphogenetic stage of the Churg-Strauss angiitis.

Morphological behaviour of lympho-myeloid organs at experimental stimulation with leukotrophine.

The influence of leukotrophine on the behaviour of lymphomyeloid organs was studied in male Swiss mice aged 2 months. In the four comparatively studied groups it was shown that leukopoiesis and immune maturation was slightly stimulated by leukotrophine or protected by thiola, a radioprotective substance; the administration of both substances, leukotrophine + thiola, enhances the two actions, myelo-lymphoid leukopoiesis and cellular pyroninophilia, almost doubling them. Histochemical studies were supplemented with histoenzymatic and cytogenetic investigations.

Frequency of mortality due to cancer in the last 110 years (1870-1979) in the department of pathology of Cluj-Napoca.

Records of 36,775 autopsies performed between 1870 and 1979 in the Department of Morphopathology, Cluj-Napoca, were re-studied. 10.82 per cent of deaths were due to cancer, whose incidence increased during the last 50 years. Cancer is more often seen in males and its highest incidence was noted between 50 and 70 years of age. Gastric and lung cancers are more frequent in males, while uterine, intestine, stomach and ovarian cancers are the most frequent localizations in females.