Clinicopathological spectrum of teratomas: An 8-year retrospective study from a tertiary care institute.

BACKGROUND: Teratomas are tumors that contain tissues derived from three different germ cell layers and having a wider range of differentiation with different site and age at presentation. The aim of the present study was to know the frequency of teratomas in various sites and to analyze their clinicomorphological features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a retrospective study conducted in tertiary care hospital of Central India. All the cases diagnosed as teratoma in the period of 8 years were included and studied with reference to age, sex, site, size, gross, and microscopic features. RESULTS: A total of 92 cases were retrieved. The most common teratoma was ovarian (78.26%) followed by intracranial/intraspinal and sacrococcygeal in frequency of 7.61% each. Out of 92 cases, 89 were mature and benign, 2 cases were immature teratoma each in ovary and in sacrococcyx, and 1 case of teratocarcinoma in testis. CONCLUSION: Teratomas have much diversity in their age at presentation, location, gross features, and in degree of differentiation. The prognosis and treatment also depends on the histological grading of teratomas. Thus, pathologists have an important role in establishing a reliable prognostic profile.

Role of radiological-assisted cytology in intra-abdominal lesions: A 3 years' experience in a tertiary care center.

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) with assistance of radiological tools such as ultrasonography (USG) and computed tomography (CT) is an effective and safe technique for diagnosing intra-abdominal neoplastic and nonneoplastic lesions. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess the utility of image-guided cytology in the diagnosis of intra-abdominal lesions. (2) To categorize various intra-abdominal lesions according to their site of occurrence and study their cytomorphological features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pathology between January 2012 and January 2015. A total of 174 cases with intra-abdominal lesions were included in the study. RESULTS: In our study, diagnostic yield was 84.5%. The mean age was found to be 52 years with M: F ratio 1.1:1. We found that 92 (52.87%) cases were in hepatobiliary region, 33 (18.96%) in adnexa, 13 (7.47%) in pancreatic-ampullary region, 14 (8.04%) in unknown abdominal lumps, 8 (4.6%) in lymph nodes, 6 (3.4%) in renal, 5 (2.87%) in retroperitoneum, 2 (1.1%) in omental nodules, and 1 (0.5%) in splenic mass. Of total 174 cases, 106 (61%) cases were malignant, 10 (5.7%) benign, 16 (9.1%) inflammatory, 27 (15.5%) inadequate, and 15 (8.7%) suspicious for malignancy. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound and CT-guided FNA cytology had a significant role in diagnosis of palpable and nonpalpable intra-abdominal lesions. Being a relatively quick and safe method, it also avoids invasive diagnostic procedures.

Pharmacological evaluation of fruits of Terminalia belerica Roxb. for antiulcer activity.

The antiulcer activity of 70% methanolic extract of fruits of Terminalia belerica Roxb. (Combretaceae) was evaluated using ethanol induced, aspirin induced, cold stress restraint and pylorus ligated ulcer in rats. The methanolic extract (100, 250, 500, 1000 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly suppressed the peptic ulcer induced by ethanol. Methanolic extract at a dose of 500 mg/kg showed, promising antiulcer activity hence, this dose was selected for further evaluation of antiulcer studies. The methanolic extract (500 mg/kg) showed significant (p<0.05) reduction in gastric volume, free acidity, total acidity, ulcer index, protein and pepsin content and increase in mucus content in pylorus ligated rats as compared to control. Treatment with Terminalia belerica methanolic extract further provided significant antiulcer protection against aspirin induced ulcers but not in cold stress restraint model. These results suggested that the 70% methanolic extract of Terminalia belerica increased resistance to necrotizing agents, providing a direct protective effect on the gastric mucosa and exhibited antiulcer effect.

Fibrinolytic activity of kaempferol isolated from the fruits of Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley.

This study was undertaken to isolate a flavonol, kaempferol, from the fruits of Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd) as a sole compound and to explore the fibrinolytic potential of the methanolic extract of the fruits of L. siceraria and the isolated compound using their in vitro activity. The fibrinolytic activity in terms of percentage of plasma clot liquefaction was determined by plasma clot lysis at 37°C in 24 h. The fibrinolytic activity of both substances was compared to the well-known thrombolytic agent streptokinase (30,000 IU). The percentage of fibrinolytic activity of the extract and isolated compound were found to be 54.72 ± 0.7210 and 77.37 ± 1.3010, respectively. Streptokinase was considered as the standard fibrinolytic enzyme for comparative purposes and had 91.46 ± 0.7625% fibrinolytic activity. The conclusion drawn in our study after testing the hypothesis by experimental procedures is that in vitro fibrinolytic activity on plasma clots is an inherent property of kaempferol isolated from the fruits of L. siceraria, and its comparison with streptokinase is a new aspect for further study.