Plexiform neurofibromatosis of the liver: an extremely rare case.

Herein, we report an extremely rare case of histopathologically proven neurofibromatosis of the liver. A 15-year-old male, a known case of type I neurofibromatosis (NF1), referred to our hospital with a complaint of right upper quadrant pain. He had a café-au-lait spot and positive family history of NF1 in his mother. Laboratory data was within normal limits, and computed tomography (CT) revealed a large predominantly less attenuated infiltrative liver mass along the porta hepatis with extension to both lobes of the liver. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a large hypo-signal mass in T1-weighted images and hypersignal lesion in T2-sequences with faint enhancement, periportal distribution, and encasing of major branches of the portal vein without evidence of narrowing and invasion. A CT-guided biopsy was taken from both liver lobe lesions, and pathological diagnosis of the biopsy specimens confirmed plexiform neurofibromas of the liver. According to the extensive intrahepatic extension and periportal infiltration, the mass was unrespectable. Radiologists need to be familiar with the typical imaging features of the uncommon hepatic neoplasms. If imaging findings are not typical or diagnostic, a further biopsy should be performed again.

Intricate role of yes-associated protein1 in human liver cirrhosis: TGF-ß1 still is a giant player.

Numerous investigations have been performed on the role of the transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) pathway in the development of chronic liver diseases (CLDs); however, they failed to explain the underlying mechanism of its pathogenesis, suggesting that other alternative pathways might have been overlooked. The involvement of yes-associated protein1 (YAP1) has been attributed to liver fibrosis; yet, the precise function of this protein has not been fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the activity of the YAP1 pathway in human liver cirrhosis (regardless of its causality) and its correlation with the TGF-ß1 and sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathways. In this case-control study, the immunohistochemical and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses were carried out to determine the activation of the YAP1 pathway in patients with liver cirrhosis (n = 38) and control 1 individuals (n = 10). The western blot analysis and ELISA method were also performed to assess the SHH and TGF-ß1 pathways. Although significantly increased expression of cytoplasmic YAP1 was found in patients with liver cirrhosis (P < 0.045), the rate of the nuclear YAP1 expression was similar to that of the control 1 subjects. Moreover, the hepatic expression of amphiregulin (AREG), known as the YAP1 target, along with proteins involved in the TGF-ß1 pathway was significantly elevated in all cirrhotic patients, compared with the control subjects. Our results showed that the increased activity of the TGF-ß1 pathway is strongly associated with the expression of AREG, denoting a direct and positive relationship between the TGF-ß1 and YAP1 pathways. It seems that, unlike the TGF-ß1 and SHH pathways, the YAP1 pathway does not play a significant role in the development of liver cirrhosis.

Value of Ultrasound in the Detection of Benign and Malignant Breast Diseases: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for benign and malignant breast lesions. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in 203 patients with complete medical records who visited Mehr Medical Imaging Center for breast ultrasound between March 2014 and February 2016. The collected data comprised of demographic characteristics, ultrasound results (consisting of the anatomic area of the lesion, the involved side, and the ultrasound characteristics of the lesion), mammogram results, and pathology reports (if surgery or biopsy was performed). RESULTS: For the diagnosis of malignant and benign lesions, ultrasound had a sensitivity of 93.9% and specificity of 86.5%; its positive and negative predictive values were 86.9% and 93.8%, respectively. Lesion type was significantly associated with a family history of breast cancer and fertility status (p < 0.005), but there was no significant association between the involved side and tumor type (p > 0.050). CONCLUSIONS: Mammography is the best technique for screening and identifying patients with non-mass-like breast lesions and microcalcifications. Considering the false positive and false-negative results, ultrasound is not a perfect screening modality. Future studies are recommended to study the value of ultrasound in the detection of high-risk breast cancer patients.

The ultrasound identification of fetal gender at the gestational age of 11-12 weeks.

INTRODUCTION: The early prenatal identification of fetal gender is of great importance. Accurate prenatal identification is currently only possible through invasive procedures. The present study was conducted to determine the accuracy and sensitivity of ultrasound fetal gender identification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 women in their 11th and 12th weeks of pregnancy in Hamadan in 2014. Ultrasound imaging performed in the 11th and 12th weeks of pregnancy for fetal gender identification identified the fetus either as a girl, a boy, or as a "gender not assigned." Frequency, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of the gender identification was assessed using SPSS version 20. The significant level was 0.05 in all analyses. RESULTS: Of the total of 150 women, the gender was identified as female in 32 (21.3%), as male in 65 (43.3%), and not assigned in 53 (35.3%); overall, gender identification was made in 64.6% of the cases. A total of 57 male fetuses were correctly identified as boys, and 8 female fetuses were wrongly identified as boys. As for the female fetuses, 31 were correctly identified as girls, and 1 was wrongly identified as a boy. The positive predictive value for the ultrasound imaging gender identification was 87.6% for the male fetuses and 96.8% for the female fetuses. CONCLUSION: The present study had a much higher gender identification accuracy compared to other studies. The final success of fetal gender identification was about 91% in the 11th and 12th weeks of pregnancy.

Comparison of allergic adverse effects and contrast enhancement between iodixanol and iopromide.

BACKGROUND: Iodinated X-ray contrast media are the most commonly used contrast agents in the world with an annual application of 40-50 million. New non-ionic contrast agents are subdivided into low osmolar agents such as iopromide and iso-osmolar agents such as iodixanol. Regarding different biochemical characteristics, these agents are different in the allergic reactions and contrast enhancement and final lesion conspicuity. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to compare allergic adverse effects and contrast enhancement between iodixanol and iopromide. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One-hundred and twenty patients who were referred for abdominal CT scan to Besat Hospital were included in this study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups (A and B). Group A received 100 cc iodixanol (300 mgI/mL) and group B received 100 cc iopromide (300 mgI/ml) by power injector. CT examination was performed using Helical CT Scanner (Somatom, Siemens, Germany). Sixty seconds after injection, images were obtained and enhancement of port, liver and aorta were determined. Allergic adverse effects were recorded one hour and up to one week after injection. RESULTS: Iodixanol produced a significantly greater enhancement of the hepatic, aorta and portal vein than iopromide (P < 0.01). Sixty seconds after injection, associated pain and heat sensation were less frequent in iodixanol in comparison with iopromide (P = 0.03). Immediate reactions such as nausea and vomiting were less frequent in iodixanol (P = 0.01). Late skin reactions such as rash was more frequent in iodixanol (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Iodixanol is safe and is better tolerated in the early phase of injection with better contrast enhancement and lesion conspicuity. Mild late skin rash is its disadvantage.