ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to examine whether or not the administration of vitamin A (VA) protects against methotrexate (MTX)-induced damage to small intestinal epithelium. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-three male Wistar albino rats, 10-12 weeks old, weighing 240-280 g, were divided into three groups: (1) controls, (2) rats receiving MTX treatment alone, and (3) rats receiving MTX plus VA treatment. A single dose of MTX (20 mg/kg MTX in 20 ml vehicle) was administered to the rats intraperitoneally. For MTX plus VA treated groups, retinol palmitate (VA) 5,000 IU/kg dissolved in 0.5 ml sunflower oil was administered by intragastric tube 3 days prior to MTX treatment and continued till the rats were sacrificed. The control group was treated with vehicle. Both control and MTX-alone groups were also treated with sunflower oil as a placebo. The rats were sacrificed on the 2nd, 4th and 6th day after MTX treatment. Tissue samples from the jejunum were taken for histopathological analysis. RESULTS: MTX treatment induced villus shortening and fusion, epithelial atrophy, crypt loss, inflammatory infiltrate in the lamina propria, and goblet cell depletion. The pre- and post-treatment administration of VA decreased the severity of jejunal damage caused by MTX treatment. CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed that administration of VA decreased the MTX-induced damage to the small intestine. This protective effect of VA may have clinical applications in cancer chemotherapy.
Subject(s)
Anticarcinogenic Agents/pharmacology , Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic/adverse effects , Cytoprotection , Intestinal Mucosa/drug effects , Methotrexate/adverse effects , Vitamin A/analogs & derivatives , Vitamin A/pharmacology , Animals , Atrophy , Diterpenes , Fibrosis , Intestinal Mucosa/pathology , Jejunum/pathology , Male , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Retinyl Esters , Weight LossABSTRACT
Notalgia paresthetica is an isolated mononeuropathy involving the skin over or near the scapula. The cause remains unknown. We histologically observed a significant increase in the number of dermal nerves in a case of notalgia paresthetica. Immunohistochemical examination using a neural marker, S-100, positively stained the nerves. Interestingly, a biopsy from perilesional skin also showed an abnormal nerve proliferation.
Subject(s)
Paresthesia/diagnosis , Skin Diseases/pathology , Skin/innervation , Administration, Topical , Adult , Biopsy, Needle , Capsaicin/therapeutic use , Female , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Pain/complications , Pain/diagnosis , Paresthesia/complications , Prognosis , Pruritus/complications , Pruritus/diagnosis , Skin Diseases/diagnosisABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess the significance of the hippocampal volume differences and its relation with risperidone treatment in schizophrenia. In schizophrenic patients who were on risperidone treatment (n = 11) and in healthy volunteers (n = 11), volumes of the hippocampi were estimated using magnetic resonance images (MRIs). A detailed systematic series of coronal MRIs of the entire brain (3 mm thickness, T(1)-weighted, TR/TE 400/10 ms) was obtained for each subject. All estimations were done according to Cavalieri's method by a modified point-counting grid placed on surface areas of hippocampal slices. The mean right and left hippocampal volumes in schizophrenics and control subjects were 1059.4 and 1003.2 mm(3), and 1780.1 and 1589.1 mm(3), respectively. The corresponding coefficients of errors were 0.05 and 0.068, and 0.059 and 0.081, respectively. The volumes of left and right hemispheres were not significantly different in both schizophrenic patients and controls (p > 0.05). However, a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between hippocampal volumes of the schizophrenic patients and controls. In conclusion, the hippocampal volume of the schizophrenic patients is significantly smaller than of the healthy controls. The patients who responded well to risperidone treatment had significantly greater hippocampal volumes than the patients who did not respond properly. Thus, hippocampal volume may be a predictor of the treatment response of schizophrenics to risperidone.
Subject(s)
Antipsychotic Agents/therapeutic use , Hippocampus/pathology , Risperidone/therapeutic use , Schizophrenia/pathology , Adult , Algorithms , Body Weight/physiology , Female , Functional Laterality/physiology , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Models, Neurological , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesABSTRACT
Tumor of the follicular infundibulum (TFI) is a rare epithelial tumor, and its histogenesis is still somewhat debatable. The diagnosis of TFI cannot currently be made before biopsy, and it is most often misdiagnosed as basal cell carcinoma (BCC). A 78-year-old woman presented to the dermatology clinic with a slightly erythematous nodule surrounded by fine telangiectasia on her right temple. Histopathologic examination of the lesion revealed an epithelial tumor with a plate-like growth pattern as is typical of TFI. In the same specimen, an unusual trichilemmal tumor with multiple epidermal connections was observed adjacent to the foci of TFI. The lobular tumor was composed of a large mass of keratinocytes with pale cytoplasm arranged as sheets and interconnecting ribbons. Several cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and small foci of compact cornification were also noted within the bulk of the tumor. The histopathologic features of the unusual tumor were reminiscent of BCC with trichilemmal differentiation or desmoplastic trichilemmoma.
