Effect of tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)-induced oxidative stress on mice sperm quality and testis histopathology.

Male infertility is responsible for approximately 50% of infertility worldwide. Reactive oxygen species are one of the major causes of male infertility. In this study, the effects of oxidative stress induced by tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) on sperm quality and testis tissue are investigated. After determination of LD50 , TBHP with a concentration of 1 : 10 LD50 was injected in adult male mice strains Balb/c for two consecutive weeks. Their testis tissues were used for cell viability, histopathology analysis and ROS assay. The epididymis was also surveyed for sperm analysis by CASA system. The sperm motility, count and viability decreased in the TBHP-treated mice compared to the control mice. The flow cytometry analysis showed a significant increase in H2 O2 and O2 ·- levels in both testis and sperm within 2 weeks after intraperitoneal injection. Body weights revealed no treatment-related effects, but atrophy of testis and a decrease of testis cells viability were observed. The results showed that exposure to TBHP could lead to morphological changes in seminiferous tubules. TBHP-induced oxidative stress caused a decrease in sperm parameters and testis cells viability. That is due to an increase level of ROS in the testis and their deleterious effects on genomic levels.

Pathology of congenital syphilis in rabbits.

We have developed a model for congenital syphilis in the rabbit. This report provides additional information on newborn tissue pathology in animals that were infected in utero. A total of 35 pregnancies were evaluated, each containing 6 to 12 newborns. In the infected group, the mortality was approximately 50%; of the live newborns, half appeared normal and half were hyperreflexic, weak, and runty. Gross pathology in the sickly newborns was quite prevalent and involved enlarged spleens with isolated spots of necrosis; enlarged livers that were overtly congested and hemorrhagic and had numerous granular, white spots; and brains with hemorrhage in the occipital area. Histopathology was apparent in different tissues. Lymphocytes, plasma cells, and vacuolated macrophages were prominent in livers, spleens, brains, and bones. A few actively motile treponemes were visualized by dark-field microscopy within extracts of spleen and within cerebrospinal fluid. Low numbers of treponemes were also demonstrated in sections of brain and liver by using the Warthin-Starry silver stain technique. Blood hematocrits were decreased, and extramedullary hematopoiesis was prominent within spleens and livers; this is consistent with anemia. This rabbit model exhibits many of the same pathologic features commonly found in human congenital syphilis.

Intracerebral mesenchymal chondrosarcoma.

The current case report deals with a 14-year-old girl with an intracerebral mesenchymal chondrosarcoma which has been recognized in two males and two females varying from 25 to 59 years of age. Three of the five patients had an associated malignant glioma. The present girl died eight years after her initial neurologic deficits and never received any definitive treatment for her deep seated neoplasm. These unique sarcomas may be confused with vascular lesions and have not been found to spread through the neuraxis. This unusual primary intracerebral mesenchymal chondrosarcoma appears to represent a field phenomenon with cartilaginous differentiation of glial and mesenchymal elements in the central nervous system.

Oncocytoma of kidney involved by multiple myeloma. Report of a case.

An unusual combination of renal oncocytoma with multiple myeloma in a 69-year-old woman is reported. The possible hematogenous spread and/or direct extension of malignant plasma cells to the kidney tumor is discussed.

Congenital oesophageal stenosis.

Clinical and radiographic observations in 34 infants and children with congenital stenosis of the oesophagus are reported. (1) Congenital stenosis of the oesophagus occurs more frequently than the previous literature suggests. (2) A congenital stenosis most commonly affects the lower oesophagus at the junction of its middle and distal thirds. (3) High oesophageal stenosis is less common, usually producing respiratory distress. Low oesophageal stenosis is more frequent, usually producing vomiting and oesophageal obstruction at the time the patients begin eating solid foods. (4) Oesophageal stenosis persists into adult life although its clinical course is benign. (5) An infant who vomits undigested food should have an oesophagram for evaluation of possible congenital oesophageal stenosis. (6) A child who impacts a foreign body in the oesophagus, particularly in the distal half of the oesophagus, should have a follow-up oesophagram after removal of the foreign body to assess the possibility of congenital oesophageal stenosis.

Radiographic clues to chest tube perforation of neonatal lung.

A premature infant with hyaline membrane disease who developed a pneumothorax and was treated by a thoracostomy tube subsequently died of intracranial hemorrhage. At autopsy the tube was unexpectedly found to have penetrated completely through the right upper lobe. Observation of the course of a thoracostomy tube on both frontal and lateral radiographs may give additional evidence for perforation of the lung if the tube is not located peripherally and if it does not lie in the expected location of an interlobar fissure. In turn, a heightened index of suspicion may lead to more timely operative intervention if complications ensue after placement or after removal of a thoracostomy tube that has lacerated the lung.

Human chorionic gonadotropin-secreting pure dysgerminoma.

A young woman with a preoperative diagnosis of molar pregnancy was found to have a pure dysgerminoma in the right ovary. Immunohistochemical study of formalin-fixed tissue revealed human chorionic gonadotropin-secreting small stromal cells. This is in contradistinction to previous reports of functioning dysgerminomas, in which the secretory activity was associated with the presence of syncytiotrophoblasts and chorionic tissue. Reports of ultrastructural and biochemical analyses of pure dysgerminomas confirming this observation are discussed.

Antemortem diagnosis of systemic aspergillosis: ten-year review and report of a case.

A review of the medical literature over the last ten years indicates the rarity of antemortem diagnosis and treatment of systemic aspergillosis despite its rapid increase in incidence in the United States. We report a case of systemic aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus flavus which was isolated from the blood of an immunosuppressed patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The fungus grew rapidly on brain-heart infusion medium and Sabouraud dextrose agar cultures. Autopsy examination of tissue and subsequent cultures confirmed the antemortem diagnosis.

Cystic meconium peritonitis: ultrasonographic features.

Meconium peritonitis occasionally occurs as a localized, encysted collection of meconium ranging from a few centimeters in size to huge cysts occupying most of the abdominal cavity. The cyst wall consists of fibrous granulation tissue and the cyst may contain only meconium or may also encase loops of bowel. Gas within the cyst indicates persistent communication between the perforated bowel and the cyst cavity; if the perforation seals over in utero the cyst remains gasless. Calcification is a variable finding. Sonography in two neonates with cystic meconium peritonitis showed well-defined, echogenic masses, one of which contained calcifications and was detected in utero.

A comparative study of physiologic intracranial calcifications.

It has been the impression of clinicians that pineal calcification is infrequent in Shiraz, Iran. In order to evaluate this clinical impression 2000 consecutive skul X-rays taken at Saadi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, were reviewed for the presence of physiologic intracranial calcifications. The incidence of these clasifications in male and female in consecutive age groups of 10 years from 0 to over 70 years of age were assessed and compared with previous reports from other countries. The average incidence of pineal calcification for those over 20 years of age was 18.29% in this study compared with 55% in the U.S.A. The incidence of calcification in the choroid plexus and the falx cerebri was also considerably less than previously reported. The literature is reviewed and the possible causes for the geographical differences in the reported frequency of physiologic intracranial calcifications is discussed. It is possible that racial and dietary factors may be significant in the variation in the incidence of pineal and other cranial calcifications noted in different countries. Within a population group, age and sex are additional factors.

Radiological changes in pica.

The significance of pica and geophagia as a public health problem is well known. The objective radiographic diagnosis of geophagia depends on the abnormal opacification of the bowel as an immediate manifestitation of the condition. The chance of detectability of geophagia is highest in the colon and can be improved by using low penetration films, particularly for smaller amounts of ingested clay. Other radiologic changes frequently associated with the prolonged practice of geophagic are an atonic pattern of the colon, secondary radiographic changes due to iron-deficiency anemia and bone-age retardation. The occurrences of intestinal obstruction due to pica in the presence of preexisting bowel stricture is demonstrated.