Glomus tumours of the knee: a case series.

AIM: To review clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of patients with glomus tumour of the knee, and compare the present findings with cases from the English literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The orthopaedic oncology and pathology databases at The University of Chicago were reviewed for cases of glomus tumour and small subcutaneous anterior knee masses. For all glomus tumours, the site of the tumour and age and sex of the patient were recorded. For those tumours arising in the knee, the symptom profile and MRI characteristics were recorded. The English literature was reviewed for cases describing glomus tumours in the knee. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients with glomus tumour were recorded. Five glomus tumours occurred in the anterior knee, all in men aged ≥30 years, four of whom had a several-year history of pain prior to diagnosis. MRI showed small (<2 cm) nodular enhancing masses. Review of the English literature supports the anterior knee as a common location for lower-extremity glomus tumours, with a male predominance and several years of pain preceding diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Although rare, glomus tumours occur in the knee. Unlike the classic description of glomus tumours occurring in the fingers most typically in women <30 years of age, those that occur in the knee tend to do so in men >30 years, and many years of pain can precede diagnosis. The astute radiologist may be the first to suggest this diagnosis if a small, painful, enhancing, nodular subcutaneous mass is noted on knee MRI examinations.

Neurocognition and the Suicidal Process.

Early thinking about cognitive process and suicidal behaviors tended to focus on the immediate situation surrounding the individual - typically the underlying psychiatric condition that was seen as leading to his or her distress. However, we now know that the cognitive processes involved in a range of suicidal thoughts and behaviors can exert a significant impact on the expression or development of these behaviors, even without an environmental stressor or psychiatric condition. In this chapter, we summarize theoretical perspectives that led to this realization and explore the current understanding of the link between cognition and suicide from recent research and clinical findings. We present these findings first by psychiatric disorder, then by cognitive domains, and finally by specific suicidal construct in order to highlight the importance of these factors in determining the role of cognition in the suicidal process.Within and across psychiatric disorders, certain cognitive processes - negativistic thinking, impulsivity, cognitive rigidity, and altered emotional processing - are frequently found to be linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Overall cognitive performance, decreased processing speed, executive dysfunction, and negative biases in memory and attention have also been linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, these findings do not hold true for all populations. There seems to be a role both for cognitive distortions (such as hopelessness) and neurocognitive deficits (such as poor overall cognitive performance, slower processing speed, and executive dysfunction) in the suicidal process, which warrant further exploration both separately and together.

A one-million-year-old Homo cranium from the Danakil (Afar) Depression of Eritrea.

One of the most contentious topics in the study of human evolution is that of the time, place and mode of origin of Homo sapiens. The discovery in the Northern Danakil (Afar) Depression, Eritrea, of a well-preserved Homo cranium with a mixture of characters typical of H. erectus and H. sapiens contributes significantly to this debate. The cranium was found in a succession of fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine deposits and is associated with a rich mammalian fauna of early to early-middle Pleistocene age. A magnetostratigraphic survey indicates two reversed and two normal magnetozones. The layer in which the cranium was found is near the top of the lower normal magnetozone, which is identified as the Jaramillo subchron. Consequently, the human remains can be dated at approximately 1 million years before present.