Can Homeopathic Arsenic Remedy Combat Arsenic Poisoning in Humans Exposed to Groundwater Arsenic Contamination?: A Preliminary Report on First Human Trial

Groundwater arsenic (As) has affected millions of people globally distributed over 20 countries. In parts of West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh alone, over 100 million people are at risk, but supply of As-free water is grossly inadequate. Attempts to remove As by using orthodox medicines have mostly been unsuccessful. A potentized homeopathic remedy, Arsenicum Album-30, was administered to a group of As affected people and thereafter the As contents in their urine and blood were periodically determined. The activities of various toxicity marker enzymes and compounds in the blood, namely aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione, were also periodically monitored up to 3 months. The results are highly encouraging and suggest that the drug can alleviate As poisoning in humans

Hemangioendothelioma of soft tissue: Cytological dilemma in two cases at unusual sites

Hemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor of intermediate malignancy. Cytologically, it can simulate a non-vascular malignant tumor. We report two cases of this tumor, which were misdiagnosed at cytology. In the first case, a 27-year-old man presented with an anterior abdominal wall tumor. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the tumor showed polygonal cells with vacuolated cytoplasm in clusters having moderate nuclear atypia in a background of necrosis. A diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma was made. The histological examination showed features of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. In the second case, a 13-year-old female child presented with unilateral enlargement of the right tonsil. At ultrasound-guided FNAC, a diagnosis of, ‘small round cell tumor, could be consistent with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma,’ was made. The histological examination showed features of papillary intralymphatic angioendothelioma (Dabska's tumor). We conclude that epithelioid hemangioendothelioma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma and small round cell tumor even at unusual sites

Development of Human Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumor Organoids to Facilitate Effective Targeted Treatments of Cushing’s Disease

(1) Background: Cushing’s disease (CD) is a serious endocrine disorder caused by an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET) that stimulates the adrenal glands to overproduce cortisol. Chronic exposure to excess cortisol has detrimental effects on health, including increased stroke rates, diabetes, obesity, cognitive impairment, anxiety, depression, and death. The first-line treatment for CD is pituitary surgery. Current surgical remission rates reported in only 56% of patients depending on several criteria. The lack of specificity, poor tolerability, and low efficacy of the subsequent second-line medical therapies make CD a medical therapeutic challenge. One major limitation that hinders the development of specific medical therapies is the lack of relevant human model systems that recapitulate the cellular composition of PitNET microenvironment. (2) Methods: human pituitary tumor tissue was harvested during transsphenoidal surgery from CD patients to generate organoids (hPITOs). (3) Results: hPITOs generated from corticotroph, lactotroph, gonadotroph, and somatotroph tumors exhibited morphological diversity among the organoid lines between individual patients and amongst subtypes. The similarity in cell lineages between the organoid line and the patient’s tumor was validated by comparing the neuropathology report to the expression pattern of PitNET specific markers, using spectral flow cytometry and exome sequencing. A high-throughput drug screen demonstrated patient-specific drug responses of hPITOs amongst each tumor subtype. Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a CD patient carrying germline mutation CDH23 exhibited dysregulated cell lineage commitment. (4) Conclusions: The human pituitary neuroendocrine tumor organoids represent a novel approach in how we model complex pathologies in CD patients, which will enable effective personalized medicine for these patients

Primary splenic diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma presenting as a splenic abscess

Abstract Diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) arising in the spleen, also known as primary splenic DLBCL (PS‐DLBCL), is a rare form of malignant lymphoma. It is defined as a lymphoma confined to the spleen or involving splenic hilar lymph nodes. Here we report a case of PS‐DLBCL with CD30. The patient was a 62‐year‐old who presented with 2 weeks of left flank pain, chills, and abdominal distension. Computed tomography identified an 8‐cm splenic mass with central necrosis interpreted as an abscess. A drain was placed, yielding purulent necrotic material; cytologically, only neutrophils were identified. However, purulent drainage continued for 28 days without resolution, prompting splenectomy. Pathological dissection revealed a multinodular mass with central necrosis. Microscopic examination revealed extensive karyorrhexis, abundant ghosts of large cells, and scattered large cells with pleomorphic, multilobated, and vesicular nuclei with moderately abundant cytoplasm. Immunohistochemical staining revealed large, atypical cells positive for CD20, CD30, CD45, PAX5, MYC (>40%), MUM1 (>30%), and p53 (focally). The large cells were negative for CD3 (polyclonal), CD4, CD5, CD8, CD10, CD15, CD34, BCL2, BCL6, AE1/AE3, S100, HHV8, and ALK. The Ki‐67 proliferation rate was approximately 80% in large cells. Notably, this PS‐DLBCL was positive for CD30, an unusual finding among non‐Hodgkin B‐cell lymphomas, which, coupled with the Reed‐Sternberg‐like morphology, raised the possibility of classic Hodgkin lymphoma. Therefore, we reviewed the literature to confirm the unique features of this large B‐cell lymphoma, its abscess‐like appearance, and its expression of CD30

(–) Typical skin symptom on palms (upper row) and soles (lower row) of a victim before (left) and 2 months (right) after administration of Arsenicum Album-30

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Can Homeopathic Arsenic Remedy Combat Arsenic Poisoning in Humans Exposed to Groundwater Arsenic Contamination?: A Preliminary Report on First Human Trial"</p><p>Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2005;2(4):537-548.</p><p>Published online 19 Oct 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1297497.</p><p>© The Author (2005). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.</p