Abdominal asymmetry in a 17 year old girl.

The pseudopapillary pancreatic solid tumor (TPSP) is a rare malignancy typical of young adult women (only 12 pediatric cases from 2000 to 2009), it can recur and metastasize. The prognosis is usually good after radical surgical removal. We emphasize the importance of TPSP in differential diagnosis of retrogastric, peripancreatic masses especially in puberal females. We describe the case of an adolescent girl with an abdominal mass revealed as a rare pancreatic neoplasia.

Lack of association between IgA deficiency and respiratory atopy in young male adults.

BACKGROUND: The issue of atopy and increased serum IgE in IgA deficiency is still a matter of debate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of IgA deficiency and its relationship with respiratory atopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study on 4700 consecutive young males (age range 18-23), who underwent a health screen for admission to the Italian Airforce Academy between 1993 and 1995 was conducted. Serum IgA was measured by immunoturbidimetry and total and specific IgE by fluorescent enzyme immunoassay (Phadiatop FEIA, Pharmacia Cap System). Airway responsiveness was assessed by methacholine challenge. RESULTS: IgA deficiency was detected in 0.34% (16/4700) subjects and atopy was detected in 8.6% (406/4700). The mean IgA was 243 mg/dl (95% CI 107, 442) in the 406 atopic subjects and 238 mg/dl (95% CI 100, 441) in 1544 controls. Only 6 (37.5%) of the IgA deficient subjects had subnormal IgE levels and 6 were positive in the fluorescent EIA. None of the IgA deficient patients presented with respiratory hyper-reactivity. CONCLUSION: Atopy is not more prevalent in young male adult IgA deficient subjects, who rather display a high frequency of recurrent sinusitis.

Serum levels of reproductive steroid hormones in captive sand tiger sharks, Carcharias taurus (Rafinesque), and comments on their relation to sexual conflicts.

Levels of reproductively-related steroids were determined in captive male sand tiger sharks, Carcharias taurus, maintained at two institutions: SeaWorld Adventure Park Orlando and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Sexual conflicts were absent at the former, but were documented at the latter. Serum titers of 17beta-estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone were determined via radioimmunoassay in adult male sharks from 1988 to 2000. Sampling overlap between the two institutions occurred for 3 months of the year, but steroid concentrations were compared only for April due to the occurrence of sexual conflicts in the sharks at the National Aquarium in Baltimore in that month. For April, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone were significantly higher in the SeaWorld males, and progesterone was significantly higher in the National Aquarium in Baltimore males, while estradiol was not significantly different. Steroid levels were also determined from serial samples taken monthly over 17 months from three male sharks and one female shark at the National Aquarium in Baltimore in 2001-2002 and were compared with corresponding observed sexual conflicts. The steroid levels obtained showed distinct annual hormonal cycles in the male sharks and corroborated a biennial cycle for the single serially-sampled female shark. Furthermore, the steroid levels for individual males correlated with sexual conflicts as well as their position within the male dominance hierarchy. As this species is depleted in some regions globally, insight into the steroid profile of mature sand tiger sharks is important for a greater understanding of the relationship between their reproductive physiology and behavior, and may aid in captive management and reproduction.

Sibship size, birth order, and atopy in 11,371 Italian young men.

BACKGROUND: Having a low number of siblings and a low birth order has been reported to be a relevant risk factor for development of atopic diseases and skin sensitization to common inhalants. Although the inverse association of atopy with sibship size has been confirmed repeatedly, the association with birth order has provided conflicting results. This possibly is due to the relatively small size of the population sample examined. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the relation between sibship size, birth order, and atopy in a very large population sample, highly homogeneous for age and sex. METHODS: This was a retrospective survey of 11,371 Italian young men, 18 to 24 years old, all candidates for enrollment in the Italian Air Force. Demographic data had been collected by a standard questionnaire. Specific IgE for locally relevant airborne allergens had been tested by a multi-RAST assay (CAP-Phadiatop). RESULTS: The prevalence of atopy (defined as a high level of specific IgE against inhalants [cut-point >1.2 log RU]) was inversely related to the total number of siblings (25% in those with no siblings and 9% in those with five or more siblings), with a mean of a 3% decrease in prevalence for each added sibling. This relation persisted after adjustment for relevant variables such as father's education and rural and southern residence. An independent association between birth order and atopy was also observed because the decrease in atopy prevalence with increasing numbers of older siblings was significantly steeper than that found with the number of younger siblings (chi2 = 179, df = 1, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In a very large and homogeneous population sample of a Mediterranean country, not only sibship size but also birth order was significantly associated with atopy. This observation further highlights the role of family structure in the development of atopy and supports the hypothesis that cross-infections acquired early in infancy or in later childhood might prevent development of atopy later in life.

Cutaneous fibropapillomas of green turtles (Chelonia mydas).

Six juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the Indian River Lagoon System, Florida, U.S.A., with multiple cutaneous fibropapillomas, were kept in isolation and examined over a 6-month period. Histologically, the fibropapillomas consisted of a slightly to moderately hyperplastic epidermis overlying a thickened hypercellular dermis. In the earliest lesions, ballooning degeneration was present predominantly in the stratum basale where rete ridges extended into the dermis; aggregates of mixed inflammatory cells were present around dermal vessels. As the lesions matured, they developed an arborizing, papillary pattern. More mature lesions had a less verrucous, often ulcerated surface, with the dermis composed primarily of large collagenous fascicles and relatively few fibroblasts. While numerous trematode eggs were present within dermal capillaries of a histologically similar biopsy specimen from an Hawaiian green turtle, no trematode eggs were observed in any of 28 biopsies examined from the six Florida green turtles in this study. Low stringency Southern blot hybridization and a reverse Southern blot failed to demonstrate papillomavirus DNA in any of the samples extracted. Ultrastructural evaluation of the earliest lesions demonstrated membrane-bound intracytoplasmic vacuoles within epidermal cells in the stratum basale. Similar vacuoles were also observed in the epidermal intercellular spaces and within the dermis. Occasionally, particles with electron-dense centres and measuring 155 to 190 nm were observed in these vacuoles.

Urogenital sinus calculi in a sand tiger shark (Odontaspis taurus).

Two calculi were found in the urogenital sinus of a 70 kg female sand tiger shark (Odontaspis taurus). The calculi were white in color, rough surfaced, and spherical in shape. Crystallographic examination revealed that they were composed of magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (80% struvite) and calcium phosphate (15% carbonate apatite). Approximately 5% of the stone matrix consisted of blood and protein and a distinct bacterial nidus was not present microscopically.