An Unusual Case of Hemosiderotic Fibrohistiocytic Lipomatous Lesion: Correlation of MRI and Pathologic Findings

The spectrum of lipomatous lesions ranges from benign to highly malignant disease. Differentiation between these lesions is important to indicate prognosis and choose the most appropriate treatment. Hemosiderotic fibrohistiocytic lipomatous lesion (HFLL) is a rare subtype of lipomatous tumor. The diagnosis is usually based on clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical information. Where magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a suitable modality to assess fatty tumors, no data is reported on MR imaging of HFLL. Here, the MR characteristics are described in correlation with pathologic findings in a case of HFLL in the left thigh, an unusual location

Outcome of all-inside second-generation meniscal repair: Minimum five-year follow-up

BACKGROUND: Meniscal repair and preservation are the goal, when possible, of the treatment of meniscal injury. Current research on second-generation all-inside repair systems has been limited to a maximum of three years of follow-up. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mid-term clinical success (at more than five years) of meniscal repair performed with a second-generation all-inside repair device, both as an isolated procedure and with a concomitant anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of patients who underwent meniscal repair with use of the all-inside FAST-FIX Meniscal Repair System (Smith & Nephew Arthroscopy, Andover, Massachusetts) from December 1999 to January 2007. Eighty-three meniscal repairs (in eighty-one patients) were identified, and follow-up data were obtained for seventy-five (90%). Twenty-six (35%) of the meniscal repairs were performed as isolated procedures. Clinical failure was defined as repeat surgical intervention involving resection or revision repair. Clinical outcomes were also assessed with the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, and the Marx activity score. RESULTS: The minimum duration of follow-up was five years (average, seven years). Twelve patients (16%) had failure of the meniscal repair, at an average of forty-seven months (range, fifteen to ninety-five months). The data did not offer enough statistical evidence, at alpha = 0.05, to establish a difference in average patient age, patient sex, or number of sutures utilized between successful repairs and failures. There was no difference in the failure rate between isolated repairs (12%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.76% to 23.76%) and those performed with concurrent ACL reconstruction (18%; 95% CI: 7.47% to 29.13%), and the average time to failure was similar between these two groups (48.1 months versus 46.6 months, p = 0.939). Postoperative KOOS and IKDC outcome scores were also similar between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This report of mid-term follow-up results of primary second-generation all-inside meniscal repair demonstrates its effectiveness both as an isolated procedure and when it is performed with concurrent ACL reconstruction. After a minimum of five years of follow-up, 84% of the patients continued to demonstrate successful repair. Treatment success was further supported by favorable results on patient-based outcome measures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence

The effect of the thioether-bridged, stabilized angiotensin-(1-7) analogue cyclic Ang-(1-7) on cardiac remodeling and endothelial function in rats with myocardial infarction

Modulation of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) by angiotensin-(17) (Ang-(17)) is an attractive approach to combat the detrimental consequences of myocardial infarction (MI). However Ang-(17) has limited clinical potential due to its unfavorable pharmacokinetic profile. We investigated effects of a stabilized, thioether-bridged analogue of Ang-(17) called cyclic Ang-(17) in rat model of myocardial infarction. Rats underwent coronary ligation or sham surgery. Two weeks thereafter infusion with 0.24 or 2.4 μg/kg/h cAng-(17) or saline was started for 8 weeks. Thereafter, cardiac morphometric and hemodynamic variables as wells as aortic endothelial function were measured. The average infarct size was 13.8 and was not changed by cAng-(17) treatment. MI increased heart weight and myocyte size, which was restored by cAng-(17) to sham levels. In addition, cAng-(17) lowered left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and improved endothelial function. The results suggest that cAng-(17) is a promising new agent in treatment of myocardial infarction and warrant further research.</p

The effect of the thioether-bridged, stabilized angiotensin-(1-7) analogue cyclic Ang-(1-7) on cardiac remodeling and endothelial function in rats with myocardial infarction

Modulation of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) by angiotensin-(17) (Ang-(17)) is an attractive approach to combat the detrimental consequences of myocardial infarction (MI). However Ang-(17) has limited clinical potential due to its unfavorable pharmacokinetic profile. We investigated effects of a stabilized, thioether-bridged analogue of Ang-(17) called cyclic Ang-(17) in rat model of myocardial infarction. Rats underwent coronary ligation or sham surgery. Two weeks thereafter infusion with 0.24 or 2.4 μg/kg/h cAng-(17) or saline was started for 8 weeks. Thereafter, cardiac morphometric and hemodynamic variables as wells as aortic endothelial function were measured. The average infarct size was 13.8 and was not changed by cAng-(17) treatment. MI increased heart weight and myocyte size, which was restored by cAng-(17) to sham levels. In addition, cAng-(17) lowered left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and improved endothelial function. The results suggest that cAng-(17) is a promising new agent in treatment of myocardial infarction and warrant further research.</p

The interplay between GPIb/IX antibodies, platelet hepatic sequestration, and TPO levels in patients with chronic ITP

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune bleeding disorder with an incompletely understood pathophysiology but includes platelet-clearance in the spleen and liver via T cells and/or platelet autoantibodies. Strikingly, thrombopoietin (TPO) levels remain low in ITP. Platelet-glycoprotein (GP)Ibα has been described to be required for hepatic TPO generation; however, the role of GPIb antibodies in relation to platelet hepatic sequestration and TPO levels, with consideration of platelet counts, remains to be elucidated. Therefore, we examined 53 patients with chronic and nonsplenectomized ITP for whom we conducted indium-labeled autologous platelet scintigraphy and measured platelet antibodies and TPO levels. Upon stratification toward the severity of thrombocytopenia, no negative association was observed between GPIb/IX antibodies and TPO levels, suggesting that GPIb/IX antibodies do not inhibit or block TPO levels. Surprisingly, we observed a positive association between GPIb/IX antibody levels and TPO levels and GPIb/IX antibodies and platelet hepatic sequestration in patients with severe, but not mild or moderate, thrombocytopenia. In addition, platelet hepatic sequestration and TPO levels were positively associated. This collectively indicates that GPIb/IX antibodies may be associated with increased platelet hepatic sequestration and elevated TPO levels in patients with severe thrombocytopenic ITP; however, further research is warranted to elucidate the pathophysiologic mechanisms.</p