Epithelioid hemangioma (angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia) of the orbit: a case report

© 2007 Fernandes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Transient neutropenia in children with febrile illness and associated infectious agents: 2 years' follow-up

The aim of the study was to identify the relationship of acquired neutropenia with childhood infections and to assess its clinical course, complications, and outcome. Children admitted to two pediatric wards over a 4-year period with febrile neutropenia were prospectively investigated for underlying infections with inflammatory markers, cultures of body fluids, and serological tests. The study included 161 previously healthy children with febrile neutropenia/leukopenia aged (mean ± SD) 3.02 ± 3.86 years (range, 0.1-14). One hundred and thirty-six out of 161 patients (84.5 %) had transient neutropenia (TN), while in 25 patients, neutropenia was chronic (CN) and persisted for ≥180 days. An infectious agent was isolated in 98/161 (60.9 %) cases, in 68.4 % patients with TN, and in 20 % of those with CN (p = 0.001). Among the patients with CN, seven had positive antineutrophil antibodies (autoimmune neutropenia) and four were eventually diagnosed with hematological malignancy. In all age groups, TN was of short duration (<1 month), of mild to moderate severity, and was predominantly associated with viral infections. Two years after diagnosis, 143/161 children (88.8 %) were available for follow-up. One hundred and thirty-seven of 143 (95.8 %) had recovered completely, while the rest remained neutropenic. The latter patients had a benign course despite severe neutropenia. In conclusion, febrile neutropenia during childhood is usually transient, often following viral and common bacterial infections, without serious complications and in the majority of cases it resolves spontaneously. However, in a considerable percentage of patients, neutropenia is discovered incidentally during the course of an infection on the ground of an underlying hematological disease. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

DMSA scintigraphy in febrile urinary tract infections could be omitted in children with low procalcitonin levels

PURPOSE: The objective was to assess procalcitonin (PCT) as a marker of renal involvement in children with urinary tract infections (UTI). METHODS: The study included 60 children with UTI, aged (median) 0.6 years (range, 0.1-9.5 years), admitted to a pediatric hospital. White blood cell count, C-reactive protein (CRP), and PCT levels were measured on admission and on the third treatment day, whereas renal involvement was assessed with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy within 7 days after admission and after 6 months. RESULTS: During febrile UTI, PCT, and CRP levels increased in parallel with the severity of renal lesions in acute DMSA. During repeat DMSA, PCT levels were increased in the group with partially versus totally reversible renal lesions (5.3 μg/L vs 3.0 μg/L; P = 0.005). Procalcitonin and CRP had increased sensitivity (94% and 100%, respectively) and negative predictive values (97% and 100%, respectively), whereas PCT had higher specificity than CRP (100% vs 55%). CONCLUSIONS: Procalcitonin is a sensitive marker of the development, severity, and persistence of renal lesions in childhood UTI. Because of the high negative predictive values of PCT, we suggest that, in case of low PCT levels, the possibility of renal involvement is low, and DMSA could be omitted. © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc

Distinct 3d structural patterns of Lamin A/C expression in hodgkin and reed-sternberg cells

Classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cHL) is a B-Cell lymphoma comprised of mononuclear Hodgkin cells (H) and bi-to multi-nucleated Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells. Previous studies revealed that H and RS cells express lamin A/C, a component of the lamina of the nuclear matrix. Since no information was available about the three-dimensional (3D) expression patterns of lamin A/C in H and RS cells, we analyzed the 3D spatial organization of lamin in such cells, using 3D fluorescent microscopy. H and RS cells from cHL derived cell lines stained positive for lamin A/C, in contrast to peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), in which the lamin A/C protein was not detected or weak, although its presence could be transiently increased with lymphocyte activation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Most importantly, in H and RS cells, the regular homogeneous and spherically shaped lamin A/C pattern, identified in activated lymphocytes, was absent. Instead, in H and RS cells, lamin staining showed internal lamin A/C structures, subdividing the nuclei into two or more smaller compartments. Analysis of pre-treatment cHL patients’ samples replicated the lamin patterns identified in cHL cell lines. We conclude that the investigation of lamin A/C protein could be a useful tool for understanding nuclear remodeling in cHL

Methods for sample acquisition and processing of serial blood and tumor biopsies for multicenter diffuse large B-cell lymphoma clinical trials.

Increasingly, targeted therapies are being developed to treat malignancies. To define targets, determine mechanisms of response and resistance, and develop biomarkers for the successful investigation of novel therapeutics, high-quality tumor biospecimens are critical. We have developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to acquire and process serial blood and tumor biopsies from patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma enrolled in multicenter clinical trials. These SOPs allow for collection and processing of materials suitable for multiple downstream applications, including immunohistochemistry, cDNA microarrays, exome sequencing, and metabolomics. By standardizing these methods, we control preanalytic variables that ensure high reproducibility of results and facilitate the integration of datasets from such trials. This will facilitate translational research, better treatment selection, and more rapid and efficient development of new drugs. See all the articles in this CEBP Focus section, "Biomarkers, Biospecimens, and New Technologies in Molecular Epidemiology.&quot