Evaluation of Mitochondrial Copy Number in Thyroid Disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the mitochondrial DNA (mitDNA) copy number in blood samples of patients with thyroiditis, benign nodules or malignant nodules is different from that in healthy individuals, and to examine whether mtDNAcn has the ability to distinguish between different thyroid diseases. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This study consists of principal groups as thyroid patients and control group. The thyroid patient group comprised 30 patients with malignant nodules, 33 with benign nodules and 31 with thyroiditis, whereas the control group was composed of 21 healthy individuals. Blood samples were collected from the patients before treatment. Results were evaluated between groups. RESULTS: We could not find an adequate number of participants for inclusion to match the groups. Similarly, since there is a gender difference in terms of disease prevalence, it was not possible to pair the populations in terms of gender. Instead, the results were analyzed with an adjusted model, including man characteristics as cofounders. We found that the mtDNAcn of the thyroid patients was significantly lower than that measured for the control group (p = 0.01). Furthermore the mtDNAcn of the benign group was significantly lower than that measured in the control group (p = 0.0001). A similar significant difference was found between the thyroiditis group and the control group (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: It was observed that mtDNAcn in the malignant group was significantly higher than that measured in the benign group (p = 0.004), which would indicate that it may be used as a diagnostic and therapeutic marker in thyroid diseases.

Atypical maculopapular cutaneous mastocytosis showing a nevus spilus-like lesion.

A 13-year-old Korean girl presented with a 7-year history of a pruritic, light-brown patch containing multiple 0.2- to 0.5-cm brownish-to-reddish maculopapules on the left anterior chest. When her skin was rubbed, the lesion became itchy and red. Histopathologic evaluation demonstrated marked dense dermal infiltration of mast cells. We report a rare case of atypical maculopapular cutaneous mastocytosis with clinical features similar to those of nevus spilus.

Benign and malignant neoplasias in 261 necropsies for HIV-positive patients in the period of 1989 to 2008 / Neoplasias benignas e malignas em 261 necropsias de pacientes HIV positivos no período de 1989 a 2008

Considering that there are some studies with autopsies from AIDS describing only malignant neoplasias and that changes can occur after the introduction of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), our objectives were to analyze the frequency of benign and malignant neoplasms in AIDS patients in the periods of both pre- and post-HAART. This is a retrospective study with 261 autopsies of HIV-positive patients between 1989 and 2008 in Uberaba, Brazil. Sixty-six neoplasms were found (39 benign, 21 malignant and six premalignant) in 58 patients. The most frequent malignant neoplasms were lymphoid, in 2.7 percent (four Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, one Hodgkin, one multiple myeloma and one plasmablastic plasmacytoma), and Kaposi's Sarcoma, in 2.3 percent (six cases). The most frequent benign neoplasms were hepatic hemangiomas in 11 (4.2 percent) of 261 cases and uterine leiomyoma in 11 (15.7 percent) of 70 woman. In the pre-HAART period eight (9.8 percent) benign neoplasias and four (4.9 percent) malignant occurred in 82 patients; in the post-HAART period, 29 (16.2 percent) benign and 17 (9.5 percent) malignant were present; however, the differences were not significant. We conclude that the introduction of HAART in our region doesn't look to have modified the frequency of neoplasms occurring in patients with HIV.

Tendo em vista que trabalhos sobre necropsias de AIDS analisam apenas neoplasias malignas e que ocorreram alterações após a terapia antiretroviral altamente eficaz (HAART), este estudo foi feito com objetivo de avaliar a frequência de neoplasias benignas e malignas nos períodos pré e pós-HAART. Estudo retrospectivo de 261 necropsias de HIV positivos entre 1989 e 2008 em Uberaba - Brasil. Foram encontradas 66 neoplasias (39 benignas, 21 malignas e seis lesões pré-invasivas) em 58 pacientes. As neoplasias malignas mais frequentes foram linfóides, em 2,7 por cento (quatro linfomas não Hodgkin, um Hodgkin, um mieloma múltiplo e um plasmocitoma plasmoblástico) e, sarcoma de Kaposi, em 2,3 por cento (seis casos). As benignas mais frequentes foram hemangiomas hepáticos em 11 (4,2 por cento) dos 261 casos e leiomiomas uterinos em 11 (15,7 por cento) das 70 mulheres. No período pré-HAART ocorreram oito (9,8 por cento) neoplasias benignas e quatro (4,9 por cento) malignas em 82 pacientes; no pós-HAART, 29 (16,2 por cento) benignas e 17 (9,5 por cento) malignas; entretanto, essas diferenças não foram estatisticamente significantes. Concluímos que a introdução da HAART em nossa região não parece ainda ter alterado a frequência de neoplasias em pacientes HIV.

Sonographic Findings of Breast Hamartoma: Emphasis on Compressibility

The characteristic features of hamartoma in terms of discrepancies in mammographic and sonographic shapes of the mass were evaluated. We reviewed 16 pathologically proven breast hamartomas, which had undergone preoperative mammography and ultrasonography. All masses were analyzed according to ACR-BIRADS on mammography. On sonography, each mass was analyzed for size, shape, margin, internal echogenicity, and posterior acoustic enhancement. We also analyzed the echogenicity of halo, and compared the characteristic changes in the shape of hamartomas attributable to compression in mammograms and sonograms. The most common sites were at 12 o'clock in the right breast and 2 o'clock in the left. The most common mammographic findings of the hamartomas were a round shape (11/16), a circumscribed margin (13/16), internal fat densities (D4) (16/16) and radiolucent halos (14/16). The most common sonographic findings of the hamartomas were an oval shape (16/16), circumscribed margins (10/16), heterogeneous internal echogenicity (14/16), echogenic (7/16) or echolucent halos (5/16), and posterior enhancements (12/16). The characteristic feature of hamartomas was a change of the mammographic round shape mass into an elongated oval shape mass by sonography (11/11), suggesting the compressibility of hamartomas. Three of the hamartomas contained a pathologically proven internal calcification. The presence of a hamartoma was suggested by a change in a mammographic round mass with a radiolucent halo into an oval heterogeneous mass surrounded by an echogenic or echolucent halo on the sonogram. This characteristic difference between the mammographic and sonographic findings was attributed to the hamartoma compressibility, and was associated with the over-proliferation of fat containing mature normal breast tissue.