Efficacy of lodoxamide eye drops on tear fluid cytology of patients with vernal conjunctivitis.

A double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of lodoxamide tromethamine 0.1% eyedrops in preventing inflammatory cell accumulation in the tear fluid of patients with vernal conjunctivitis. A 1-week baseline period was followed by 4 weeks of treatment with either lodoxamide tromethamine 0.1% ophthalmic solution or placebo in 30 symptomatic subjects with vernal conjunctivitis. Cytological evaluation of tear fluid was performed before and after the treatment. In the lodoxamide-treated group, but not in the placebo-treated group, the number of neutrophils (P = 0.051) and eosinophils (P = 0.020) in the tears significantly decreased at the end of 4 weeks when compared with baseline (Wilcoxon-signed rank test). It was concluded that lodoxamide treatment was significantly more effective than the placebo in terms of reducing inflammatory cells in the tear fluid in vernal conjunctivitis. This objective inhibition of inflammatory cells may be associated with clinical relief.</p

A Protective Effect of Ischemic Preconditioning on the Rat Lung Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Objective: To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of ischemic preconditioning (IP) on the rat lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Methods: Forty-five specific pathogen-free SD rats were randomly divided into Sham group (n＝15), ischemia-reperfusion group (I/R group, n＝15) and IP＋IR group (n＝15). All groups were dealt differently. The pathological changes and apoptosis of the lung tissue were observed, and its water content was measured. Additionally, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentrations in serum and lung tissue homogenate were detected. Results: Compared with Sham group, the lung tissue lesions obviously became worse, apoptotic number, water content in the lung tissue, MDA and ET-1 concentrations in serum and lung tissue all increased significantly, while SOD activity decreased markedly in I/R group under a light microscope (P＜0.01). By comparison to I/R group, the lung tissue lesions got better, apoptotic number, water content in the lung tissue, MDA and ET-1 concentrations in serum and lung tissue all decreased significantly, while SOD activity decreased markedly in IP＋I/R group (P＜0.01). Conclusion: IP has a protective effect on IRI, and this effect may be related to activation of endogenous antioxidation, inactivation or reduction of oxygen free radicals and protection of pulmonary vascular endothelial injury

A CASE WITH POSTCHEMOTHERAPY ERUPTIVE COMPOUND NEVUS

An 8-year-old male patient who had been diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) 4 years ago and received 120 cures of chemotherapy presented at our clinic complaining of spots on his body 3 months after the end of chemotherapy. Anamnesis of the patient revealed that the lesions started 3 months after the last cure of chemotherapy on the abdomen and spread throughout the body. It was learnt that the number of spots increased very rapidly in a period of 2 months, and exceeded 100. A dermatological examination of the patient showed 142 hyperpigmented macules, the largest of which was 1 cm × 1 cm and the smallest was 0.2 cm × 0.2 cm in size, diffusely scattered to the skin and oral mucosa. When the biopsy material taken from the lesions was histopathologically examined, nest structures composed of nevus cells with oval nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm starting from the dermoepidermal junction and extending toward the lower epidermis were observed and found to be consistent with the compound nevus. We present this rare case who was diagnosed as “eruptive compound nevus” on the basis of clinical signs, ALL diagnosis, chemotherapy history and histopathologic evaluation

Two sisters with idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis

Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (IPH) is a rare cause of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage with unknown etiology. In the present report, the presentations of two sisters are described: one sister had IPH, eosinophilia and a high serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) level; and the other had IPH, pneumothorax, eosinophilia and a high serum IgE level. Both cases had quite unusual presentations. The first patient was 23 years of age, and had suffered from dry cough and progressive dyspnea for four years. Her hemoglobin level was 60 g/L, total serum IgE level was 900 U/mL and eosinophilia was 9%. Her chest radiography revealed diffuse infiltration. She died due to respiratory failure. The second patient was 18 years of age. She had also suffered from dry cough and gradually increasing dyspnea for two years. She had partial pneumothorax in the right lung and diffuse infiltration in other pulmonary fields on chest radiography. Her hemoglobin level was 99 g/L, total serum IgE level was 1200 U/mL and eosinophilia was 8%. IPH was diagnosed by open lung biopsy. All these findings suggested that familial or allergic factors, as well as immunological factors, might have contributed to the etiology of IPH

Increased liver mast cells in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Background and Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the mast cell (MC) concentration in the liver tissue of patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C and to determine whether there was a correlation with clinical and pathological characteristics of patients. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on liver biopsy samples from 60 patients with chronic hepatitis C. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from follow-up records. Stained liver biopsies were examined. Immunohistochemical staining was performed by using an anti-c-kit antibody. Patients were divided into four groups (minimal, mild, moderate, and severe) based on the intensity of inflammation and their hepatic activity index scores and into two groups (no-mild, moderate-severe) according to fibrosis grade. Results: Among patients enrolled, 60.0% (n=36) were men with a mean age of 48.3±12.7 (range 18-64) years. The mean number of mast cells per portal area in the liver was 0.87±0.86 (0-4.0). No correlation was found between alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Ribonucleic acid ( RNA ) levels and the degree of inflammation of cases with number of mast cells and liver steatosis (P>0.05). As the degree of fibrosis increased in the liver so did the number of mast cells in portal areas (P=0.001). On the other hand, no correlation was found between the degree of fibrosis and the number of MCs in the sinusoids and steatosis (P<0.05). The increase in the number of MCs in the portal areas correlated with an increase in liver steatosis (t: 0.02, P=0.04). Conclusion: In light of these findings, it appears possible that MC accumulation in chronic HCV patients may be used as an indicator of fibrosis and possibly be considered in the follow-up of these patients