The prevalence of comorbidity and predictors in ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of comorbidities and related factors in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between June 2013 and January 2014, a total of 100 patients with AS (64 males, 36 females; mean age 43.1±10.7 years; range, 25 to 73 years) who were under routine follow-up in the outpatient clinic were included in this cross-sectional study. The demographic characteristics of the patients were recorded. The Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Scale (ASDAS), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI) scores were calculated. Comorbidities were evaluated using the modified Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS). Both the number and severity of the affected systems were scored. RESULTS: The mean amount of cigarette consumption was 17.3±13.5 pack/year. The mean disease duration was 191.3±122.4 months. The BASFI, BASDAI, BASMI, and ASDAS-C-reactive protein scores were 3.4±2.3, 3.7±2.0, 4.5±1.8, and 2.5±0.9, respectively. The mean number of system-related problems was 4.3 (range, 1 to 11). The mean CIRS scores for the severity of comorbidities were 7.36±3.48 (range, 3 to 23). The most frequent system combinations were hematopoietic, eye, ear, nose and throat, and upper gastrointestinal in 11 patients, hematopoietic, respiratory and upper gastrointestinal in 11 patients, and hematopoietic, respiratory and eye, ear, nose and throat in 10 patients. When the estimated total CIRS scores was assessed in the multivariate reduced model, age, disease duration, and BASFI values showed a significant independent effect. CONCLUSION: Our study results showed that the frequency of comorbidities was more than four, although the severity of system problems were mild in AS patients as measured by CIRS. The most frequently involved systems included hematopoietic, upper gastrointestinal, lower gastrointestinal, renal, and musculoskeletal-skin systems. Age, disease duration, and BASFI scores were found to be predictors of comorbidities in our patients.

Associations Between Nucleus Size, and Immunohistochemical Galectin-3, Cytokeratine-19 and Hbme-1 Markers in Thyroid Papillary Carcinoma: A Morphometric Analyze.

This study aimed to evaluate the morphometric measurements in cases with papillary thyroid carcinoma, and determine a cut-off value to support diagnosis. Fifty cases with a diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) were included in the study with their Galectine-3, CK-19 and HBME-1 immunohistochemical staining results. Demographic and clinical data gathered from pathology reports, which included demographic information such as patients' sex, age, macroscopic tumor size, number of tumor focuses; prognostic parameters such as lenfovascular invasion, perineural invasion, thyroid capsule invasion; and results of immunohistochemical CK- 19, Galectin-3 and HBME-1 staining. Longest nuclear diameters of 150 tumor cells and 150 normal thyrocytes of each case were manually measured in an image analysis software, and mean longest nuclear diameters (MLND-TC and MLND-NC), and also tumor cell/normal cell longest nuclear diameter ratio (TC/NC-LNDR) were calculated. MLND-TC was higher than MLND-NC. The cases with higher MLND-TC had increased risk of capsule invasion in case of a negative staining with Galectine-3, HBME-1, or CK-19. When TC/NC-LNDR was high, number of tumor focus tended to be multiple and lymphovascular invasion risk was also increased. Subtypes of PTC were not differed regarding staining patterns. And finally, increased TC/NC-LNDR was associated with increased risk of having poor prognostic factors. The results of this study suggest that MLND-NC, MLND-TC, and TC/NCLNDR are valuable and easy-to-use measures, which can assist routine histology practice.

Second primary malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the paranasal sinuses after nasopharynx carcinoma.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors are uncommon neoplasms that arise out of Schwann cells from the peripheral nerves, which rarely occur in the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity. Especially with the increasing long-term survival of patients with nasopharynx carcinoma, second primary cancers can be diagnosed. Second primary cancers are not uncommon in patients with the prior radiation therapy. However, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in the head and neck region after radiation is an exceedingly rare condition. We report the first case of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the paranasal sinuses as a second primary malignancy in a patient treated with radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma 10 years ago.