Cytopathologic characteristics of permanent cell lines derived from anaplastic human gliomas.

Five permanent cell lines derived from human gliomas were examined at 24-hour intervals to determine optimal phases of their population growth curves for comparative morphologic studies. In early exponential growth phase, individual cytologic criteria were well displayed, while the increased cellular density of late exponential and plateau phase growth was advantageous for evaluating growth pattern, bizarre multinucleate giant cells and abnormal mitoses. These morphologic characteristics of permanent cell lines derived from human gliomas are potentially useful for correlation with their biologic, immunologic, biochemical and cell biologic parameters.

Rhabdomyosarcoma arising in a pineal teratoma.

Pineal teratomas are relatively uncommon intracranial neoplasms. A rhabdomyosarcoma developed in a pineal teratoma in a 14-year-old boy and was rapidly fatal despite radiation therapy. This is the second reported case of a pineal teratoma giving rise to a rhabdomyosarcoma.

Anaplastic astrocytoma following radiation for a glomus jugular tumor.

Evaluation of radiation therapy for a given neoplasm includes consideration of possible treatment complications as well as potential benefit. A 43-year-old male with a glomus jugular tumor or the right middle ear had received 4480 rad to the right middle and inner ear and temporal bone. Eight years later, he developed an anaplastic astrocytoma of the right cerebellar hemisphere. At this time a third neoplasm, a left carotid body tumor, was demonstrated angiographically. Although radiation can be implicated in the genesis of the glial neoplasm, the presence of two neural crest derived tumors suggests that a lowered threshold for neoplastic transformation in neuroectodermal cells may have been an additional factor. Long-term follow-up of large numbers of patients with glomus jugulare tumors will be necessary to determine if multiple paragangliomas predispose to radiation-associated gliomas.

Corpora amylacea in cerebrospinal fluid. A source of possible diagnostic error.

Corpora amylacea in the central and peripheral nervous system are round, amorphous intracellular bodies which are frequently found in large numbers around the ventricles of elderly individuals. These bodies were recently identified in a cytologic preparation of ventricular fluid. Although they have no known diagnostic significance, their possible confusion with yeast forms makes recognition of these structures important.

The neuropathology of leptophos in the hen: a chronologic study.

Recent investigation into a possible association between exposure to Leptophos and neurological symptoms in insecticide factory workers makes study of the neurological effects of Leptophos in the experimental situation particularly important. The present study utilizes a single oral dose of 200 mg/kg of Leptophos in 20 chickens which are sacrificed in pairs to define the temporal sequence of changes in the sciatic nerve, its major branches, and the spinal cord and to correlate these findings with the clinical symptoms of the animals. At this dose Leptophos produces degeneration of the spinal cord in a pattern similar to that seen with tri-o-cresyl phosphate (TOCP). The ataxia seen in these birds is probably due to the posterior and lateral column involvement. At this dose onset of paralysis correlates roughly with both the degeneration of the anterior descending tract of the spinal cord and degeneration of the peripheral nerve. The minimal degree of nerve involvement suggests that the cord lesion is more significant at this dose in the hen. Using TOCP, spinal cord lesions predominate in the hen while the peripheral nervous system appears more sensitive in the human and non-human primate. Assuming that Leptophos resembles TOCP in this regard, peripheral nerve damage would be the expected earliest change, especially in the low-dose situation in the human.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma: relationship of method of diagnosis to pathologic staging.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) develops in virtually all patients affected with multiple endocrine neoplasia type II (MEN II), a disease inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. The thyroid tumor cells secrete calcitonin (CT) and the detection of elevated plasma levels (>300 pg/ml) of this hormone in MEN II kindred members strongly suggests the presence of MTC even though it may not be evident clinically. Intravenously administered calcium ion (Ca(++)) and pentagastrin (Pg) are potent CT secretagogues which are of particular value in establishing the early diagnosis of MTC. In evaluating seven kindreds with MEN II, we detected 90 patients with MTC. Depending on the method of diagnosis, they could be divided into three categories: Group 1; patients with no clinical evidence of MTC whose undetectable basal plasma calcitonin levels became elevated following intravenous Ca(++) or Pg, Group II; patients with no clinical evidence of MTC who had elevated basal plasma CT levels, and Group III; patients with clinically evident MTC. At the time of diagnosis of MTC, the patients in Group I were younger (20.5 +/- 1.9 years) than the patients in Group II (32.5 +/- 4.7 years, p < 0.005) and Group III (34.3 +/- 2.0, p < 0.00005). The incidence of residual MTC, as indicated by an elevated plasma CT level following provocative testing postoperatively, was less frequent in patients diagnosed biochemically ([6/34]; Group I, 4/26 and Group II, 2/8) than in those diagnosed clinically (Group III, 15/26, p < 0.002). Furthermore, regional nodes were involved less often in patients diagnosed biochemically ([5/28]; Group I, 2/22 and Group II, 3/6) than in those diagnosed clinically (Group III, 15/24, p < 0.02). Distant metastases were only evident in Group III patients. Patients with MEN II who had the diagnosis of MTC established biochemically rather than clinically, had a more favorable pathological stage of disease at the time of thyroidectomy. This was especially true if the biochemical diagnosis had been by provocative testing.