Spinal Metastasis as Presenting Feature of Follicular Type Thyroid Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Objective:Follicular type thyroid carcinoma (FTC) rarely presented with spinal metastasis. We aimed to report such a case and to review the literature.Method:A 45 year old male with L2 metastasis of FTC was reported, and other 26 cases were found in literature. Characteristics of the patients and tumors were evaluated.Results:Total 27 patients were 55.2±15 years of age, and male/female ratio was 12/15. Nineteen patients had paresis of extremities, 9 of them could not mobilize on admission. Total resection of the spinal tumor had been performed in 14 cases and subtotal resection in 5. Radioactive iodine treatment had been added in 20 cases with or without other adjuvant treatment. Twenty-three patients had been followed for 43.7±53.2 months. Only four of them died 214, 66, 36 and 7 months after their presentations. Out of other 19 cases, 13 had been neurologically normal. Type of surgery (total resection versus others) the only factor affecting outcome. In the patients treated with total resection, outcome had been statistically better.Conclusion:Spinal metastasis as initial finding is very rare in the patients with FTC. However, prognosis is quite well with total tumor resection and adjuvant treatment. This cancer type must be kept in mind for differential diagnosis and must be screened in the patients with spinal tumors

Hemorheology, melatonin and pinealectomy. What\u27s the relationship? An experimental study.

The circadian rhythm of stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) may be related to the circadian rhythm of melatonin, and erythrocyte deformability may be the key mechanism in this relationship. Therefore, this study has been performed to determine if there is a relationship between the pineal gland and melatonin and red cell deformability. Twenty-eight rats underwent pinealectomy, pinealectomy plus melatonin administration (200 mg/kg), or no treatment (n=7 in each group). Erythrocyte deformability was determined using the filtration technique. The results are reported in mean (+/-SD) seconds: control: 1.45+/-0.44; pinealectomy (A): 1.55+/-0.16; pinealectomy (B): 1.34+/-0.26 and pinealectomy and melatonin: 2.56+/-0.69. Pinealectomy by itself did not cause any statistically significant change in erythrocyte deformability but the addition of melatonin significantly decreased it. These results suggest a relationship between melatonin and erythrocyte deformability. Further investigations may uncover the causes of the circadian rhythm of stroke and MI, which may help improve chronobiological therapies