Respiratory Epithelial Adenomatoid Hamartoma: A Very Rare Entity Originating from the External Auditory Canal.

Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma (REAH) is an uncommon lesion of the upper aerodigestive tract. It is characterized by abnormal glandular formations with ciliated epithelium arising from the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses and nasopharynx, but other locations have also been described. We did not find any other cases of this hamartomas in the external auditory canal in the literature. A 40-year-old man was referred to the otorhinolaryngology department due to otorrhea and decreased hearing from 1 year ago. Otoscopic examination showed a reddish hemorrhagic mass in the left external auditory canal. Intraoperatively, the tumor was completely resected. The pathologic findings were consistent with REAH.

Expression of miR-520c in intestinal type gastric adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that participate in post-transcriptional gene regulation in cells thereby playing active role in pathological conditions and have been nominated as new class of biomarkers in disease including cancer. miR-520c has been reported as potential oncogenic micro-RNA in several previous studies. Gastric cancer is the most common cancer of digestive tract and the fourth prevalent cancer worldwide with the intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma (IGA) the dominant type of gastric malignancies. This study aimed to explore miR-520c putative role, in IGA and patient's clinicopathological features. METHODS: Total RNA was first extracted from 42 pairs of IGA tissues and relevant non-tumorous adjacent tissues. cDNA was synthesized from extracted RNAs using specific primers for miR-520c. The level of miR-520c was quantified using SYBER Green Real-Time PCR master mix. The relationship between miR-520c expression and clinicopathological features were examined. RESULTS: Our study resulted in no differential expression of miR-520c in IGA. There was no significant correlation between miR-520c expression and clinicopathological features including tumor grade, genus and age groups. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report about exploring miR-520c expression in IGA tissue samples. Our results do not verify miR-520c previously established oncogenic role in IGA.

Air pollution and admissions due to ST elevation myocardial infarction-a time-series study from northwest of Iran.

We investigated the association between the levels of air pollutants and the number of daily admissions due to ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in a metropolitan in the northwest of Iran. Daily concentrations of common air pollutants were obtained for the greater city of Tabriz for a period of 2 years. These reports included sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen byproducts (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and particulate matters < 10 µm (PM10). The census of admissions for STEMI was retrieved for the same period from hospital registries. The association of daily variations in air pollutant levels and the daily number of STEMI admissions were investigated in a time-series analysis. In the multi-pollutant model adjusting for long-term trend, seasonality, and temperature, a significant association was found for 1-h [NO2] and 24-h [CO]. A marginally significant association was observed for 24-h [NO2] and 8-h [CO]. The 24-h [CO] had the strongest association with the number of admissions with STEMI. Maximum 1-h concentrations of NO2 on the same day and on the prior day as well as 24-h concentrations of CO on the prior day were independently associated with increased number of STEMI admissions. However, daily concentrations of SO2, NO, O3, and PM10 were not associated with the frequency of hospital admissions for STEMI.

The value of peripheral blood eosinophil count in predicting in-stent restenosis in patients with stable angina pectoris undergoing drug eluting stenting.

INTRODUCTION: In-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a major limitation of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A role for peripheral blood cells as major regulators of immune and inflammatory systems has been proposed. We aim to evaluate the relationship between eosinophil count and development of restenosis after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. METHODS: In this prospective study, all consecutive patients undergoing elective DES implantation for chronic stable angina (CSA) in a university-affiliated heart center within a 6-month period were enrolled and followed for another 6 months. Complete blood count with differentiation was performed 6 weeks after the index procedure. During the follow-up period, the cohort of patients who developed ISR was compared to the cohort of patients without ISR, descriptively and the total number of eosinophilic white cells was used to predict the occurrence of ISR. RESULTS: 153 men and 48 women with CSA underwent PCI with DES implantation, from which, 26 patients needed repeat coronary angiography for recurrent symptoms. There was an established ISR in 17 (8.5%) patients. The total number of eosinophils in their peripheral blood was 267 ± 132 cells/µL in patients with ISR, significantly higher than the number of eosinophils in those without ISR 174 ± 133 cells/µL (P-value < 0.010). Eosinophil count remained an independent predictor of ISR in multivariate analysis as the eosinophil count value over 242 cells/µL had sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 84.5% for the presence of ISR. CONCLUSION: The total number of eosinophils, counted 6 weeks after DES implantation, prevails as the sole predictor of ISR occurrence in our study. This suggests an association between immune sensitivity reaction to DES material and development of ISR in patients after PCI.

A Case of Subcutaneous Granuloma Annulare (SGA) in the Scalp of a Child: Histological Findings.

Subcutaneous granuloma annulare is type of granuloma annulare which usually occurs in children. Scalp involvement is rare. The authors report a 3-year-old girl with subcutaneous granuloma annulare confirmed by imaging and histologic findings. No treatment was provided. The patient was followed for 6 months with no considerable complications.