Heterogeneous 68Ga-Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Uptake in the Left Upper Abdomen: Mesenchymal Tumor.

A 50-year-old man with recently diagnosed prostate adenocarcinoma was referred for whole-body Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT scan for staging. Apart from some nonspecific findings, Ga-PSMA PET/CT revealed large soft tissue mass in the left upper abdomen showing heterogeneous tracer uptake. Histological examination of the mass was interpreted as gastrointestinal/extragastrointestinal stromal tumor by pathologists. Prostate-specific membrane antigen is considered specific for prostate cancer cells, although PSMA activity has been described in many other benign or malign conditions. That is why PSMA uptake in uncommon locations for prostate cancer metastasis must be considered for second malignancies or other benign conditions.

Protective role of rosmarinic acid on amyloid beta 42-induced echoic memory decline: Implication of oxidative stress and cholinergic impairment.

In the present study, we examined whether rosmarinic acid (RA) reverses amyloid ß (Aß) induced reductions in antioxidant defense, lipid peroxidation, cholinergic damage as well as the central auditory deficits. For this purpose, Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups; Sham(S), Sham + RA (SR), Aß42 peptide (Aß) and Aß42 peptide + RA (AßR) groups. Rat model of Alzheimer was established by bilateral injection of Aß42 peptide (2,2 nmol/10 µl) into the lateral ventricles. RA (50 mg/kg, daily) was administered orally by gavage for 14 days after intracerebroventricular injection. At the end of the experimental period, we recorded the auditory event related potentials (AERPs) and mismatch negativity (MMN) response to assess auditory functions followed by histological and biochemical analysis. Aß42 injection led to a significant increase in the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and 4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) but decreased the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GSH-Px) and glutathione levels. Moreover, Aß42 injection resulted in a reduction in the acetylcholine content and acetylcholine esterase activity. RA treatment prevented the observed alterations in the AßR group. Furthermore, RA attenuated the increased Aß staining and astrocyte activation. We also found that Aß42 injection decreased the MMN response and theta power/coherence of AERPs, suggesting an impairing effect on auditory discrimination and echoic memory processes. RA treatment reversed the Aß42 related alterations in AERP parameters. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that RA prevented Aß-induced antioxidant-oxidant imbalance and cholinergic damage, which may contribute to the improvement of neural network dynamics of auditory processes in this rat model.

Bone metastases without primary tumor: A well-differentiated follicular thyroid carcinoma case.

Metastases to the bone are the most common malignant bone tumors. Prostate, breast, and lung carcinomas are the most common primaries of bone metastases. Bone metastases show poor prognosis in means of median survival; however, some patients with highly curable tumors such as thyroid carcinoma may benefit from treatment. We report and discuss a unique case of a 70-year-old female patient presenting with arm pain, diagnosed with metastatic well-differentiated follicular carcinoma without a primary tumor in the thyroid.

Tumorous Conditions of the Hand: A Retrospective Review of 402 Cases.

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge concerning treatment and care of hand lesions is often based on small case series, case reports and a few large general case series. The aim of this study is to present our experience with hand tumors' and tumor-like lesions' incidence, age range and localizations. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Between 2006-2016, 402 patients operated and histopathologically diagnosed with bone and soft tissue tumorous conditions of the hand were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: Three hundred sixty one out of 402 cases (89.8%) were soft tissue tumors and 41 cases (10.2%) were osseous tumors of the hand. A total of 10 malignant tumors (2.5%) were encountered in the hand. The average age of the patients was 41.9 years (ranged from 1 to 83 years). Among 361 soft tissue tumors, only 6 cases (1.6%) were malignant and they were squamous cell tumors (n=5) and synovial sarcoma (n=1). The most common soft tissue pathology was ganglion cyst (n=125). The most common bone tumor was enchondroma, diagnosed in 26 patients (6.4% of all patients). Primary malignant bone tumors were extremely rare in the hand; one osteosarcoma and one chondrosarcoma were reported. Metastatic tumors to the hand were seen in two patients; and they were lung carcinoma and chondrosarcoma metastasis. CONCLUSION: Up-date knowledge and a thorough understanding of the nature and demographic characteristics of the tumorous conditions of the hand are crucial for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Associated anomalies with neural tube defects in fetal autopsies.

Neural tube defects (NTD), the consequences of aberrant neural tube closure during embryogenesis, have been mostly investigated in terms of their high prevalence, rate of mortalities and serious morbidities. A proper prenatal outcome counseling of couples coming across a fetal anomaly necessitates the detection and categorization of the primer abnormality, all the co-existing malformations. The aim of this work is to study the incidence and relevance of associated malformations in order to offer a complete pathology report with a true diagnosis. In this study, among 542 fetal autopsy 62 (%11.4) cases with NTD was recorded by the Akdeniz University Pathology Department between January 2006 and June 2012. Twenty (32.4%) NTD cases were associated with anomaly. Twelve cases of associated groups consisted of a congenital syndrome/association, spondylothoracic dysplasia, amniotic band syndrome, Meckel-Gruber syndrome, schisis association. The frequency of associated NTD was 32%, this result was higher than previous reports. NTDs have a significant genetic component to their etiology that interacts with environmental risk factors, which might pose Turkey to be a country with high prevalence of NTD. We want to emphasize that intensive screening, documentation of co-existent abnormalities of NTD, should be conducted in order to exhibit certain diagnosis, to perform proper prenatal genetic counseling of parents for on-going/future pregnancies.

Effect of atorvastatin on atherosclerotic plaque formation and platelet activation in hypercholesterolemic rats.

We aimed to investigate whether atorvastatin influenced the CD40-CD40L pathway in atherosclerosis formation in rats fed a high cholesterol diet. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were divided among 4 groups as follows: control (C), statin (S), 5% cholesterol fed (HC), and statin-administered hypercholesterolemic (HCS). Serum levels of lipids, soluble CD40L, platelet factor 4, and interleukin-6 were assayed with commercial kits. The number of platelets expressing surface P-selectin, CD40, and CD40L were determined by flow cytometry. Aortas were examined for fatty streaks. In the HC group, we observed a significant increase in serum lipid levels and platelet activation markers compared with the control group. Rats in the HCS group had a significant decrease in lipid levels and downregulation in the number of platelets expressing surface P-selectin, CD40, and CD40L compared with the HC group. We observed decreased fatty streak formations in aortas in HCS rats. A positive correlation was found for platelet activation markers and atherosclerotic fatty streak formations. Regression analysis revealed that the predictor of atherosclerosis was CD40L. Our study suggests that in a rat hypercholesterolemic model, statin treatment may influence the CD40-CD40L dyad, and that this effect is parallelled by a suppression of progression of atherosclerotic plaque formation.

Diagnosis and demarcation of skin malignancy using elastic light single-scattering spectroscopy: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Elastic light single-scattering spectroscopy (ELSSS) is a noninvasive and real-time technique that has been used to differentiate tumors from surrounding nontumor tissue in animal models and humans. OBJECTIVE: To investigate potential application of ELSSS as an adjunctive tool for noninvasive, in vivo, real-time differentiation of malignant and benign skin lesions and to detect positive surgical margins of excised biopsy samples. METHODS: In vivo spectroscopic measurements were performed on 28 lesions in 23 patients. The distribution of the lesions was as follows: nine basal cell carcinoma (BCC), four melanoma, two squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and 13 benign lesions. Intraoperative margin assessments were performed on the 28 biopsy samples using ELSSS. RESULTS: The sign of the spectral slopes was positive for benign and negative for malignant tissues. It was used as a discrimination parameter between malignant and benign lesions with a sensitivity and specificity of 87% and 85%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of the system in detecting positive surgical margins on 14 excised biopsy samples were 80% and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSION: ELSSS has the potential for use as an adjunctive tool to reduce the number of negative biopsies and to detect positive surgical margins in real time.