ABSTRACT
Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast found worldwide.1 Patients with immunosuppression, including individuals with HIV/AIDS, transplant recipients and/or individuals with other T-cell mediated immunosuppression are more susceptible to becoming infected with Cryptococcus neoformans than immunocompetent individuals.2 This is a case report of a 66-year-old woman who presented to the emergency department with an unsteady gait and urinary incontinence. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on presentation showed a large C5-C6 central disc protrusion. The patient underwent surgical repair and was treated with five days of IV steroids. Later in the course of her hospitalization, she had an unexplained increasing leukocytosis and tachycardia with witnessed episodes of unresponsiveness. She subsequently had a pulseless electrical activity cardiac arrest and succumbed despite resuscitative efforts. A post-mortem diagnosis revealed Cryptococcus neoformans fungemia and disseminated cryptococcosis involving multiple organs. Disseminated cryptococcosis primarily affects the central nervous system3, and thus this report presents a rare case of disseminated cryptococcosis involving multiple organs.
Subject(s)
Cryptococcosis , Cryptococcus neoformans , Aged , Cryptococcosis/diagnosis , Female , HumansABSTRACT
To date, there have only been a few reports of reinfections in COVID-19 patients. The possibility of being reinfected with COVID-19 is poorly understood. In this case report, we describe an individual who was initially diagnosed in April 2020 with COVID-19. Seven months later, he presented again to the hospital with shortness of breath and was found to have COVID-19 reinfection. We also summarize a list of all known cases of COVID-19 reinfection at this time.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , Aged , Betacoronavirus/immunology , Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , COVID-19 , COVID-19 Testing , Clinical Laboratory Techniques , Humans , Male , Pandemics , Recurrence , SARS-CoV-2 , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Hepatoblastoma is a pediatric malignancy characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of immature hepatocytes (hepatoblasts). This disease is diagnosed primarily in children younger than 5 years and is disproportionately observed in former premature infants. Cytogenetically, hepatoblastoma is characterized by numerical aberrations, as well as unbalanced translocations involving the proximal region of chromosome 1q. The NOTCH2 gene has been mapped to this locus, and it is well established that the NOTCH gene family is an important regulator of several developmental pathways. Specifically, the NOTCH2 protein is known to delay hepatoblast maturation during early hepatic organogenesis, and the reduction of NOTCH2 expression correlates with the differentiation of hepatoblasts into hepatocytes and biliary cells in the developing liver. We hypothesized that NOTCH2 is involved in the pathogenesis of hepatoblastoma by maintaining a population of undifferentiated hepatoblasts. We studied the immunohistochemical expression of NOTCH2 and its isoforms NOTCH1, NOTCH3, and NOTCH4 and the NOTCH2 primary ligand JAGGED1 in hepatoblastomas. Compared with the normal liver, an increased level of NOTCH2 expression was seen in 22 of 24 (92%) hepatoblastomas. There was no significant staining for other NOTCH isoforms and JAGGED1 in hepatoblastomas. Therefore, we suggest that NOTCH2 expression and activation, independent of JAGGED1 expression, may contribute to the pathogenesis of hepatoblastoma. In the hepatoblastoma sinusoidal vasculature, we saw NOTCH3 and NOTCH1 expression. These observations have potential implications with regard to therapeutic targeting of the NOTCH signaling pathway in hepatoblastomas.
