Regenerative activity in acute hepatitis A virus. Autoradiographic study after in vitro incorporation of 3H-thymidine

The in vitro incorporation of 3H-thymidine by liver tissue obtained using needle biopsy from 14 patients with acute hepatitis A virus (AHAV) in the fully developed and recovery stage of disease was studied by the autoradiographic technique. Marked incorporation in hepatocyte nuclei was observed in the biopsies of patients in the fully developed stage, while incorporation was absent in the recovery stage of the disease. Results show that hepatocyte regeneration begins early in the course of AHAV disease, during which signs of cellular suffering and necrosis are still present

Immunohistologic detection of estrogen receptors in paraffin-embedded breast cancers: correlation with cytosol measurements

Paraffin-embedded sections of 76 human breast tissue specimens were analyzed for estrogen receptors (ER) and endogenous bound estrogen (ER-E). Preincubation of sections with polyestradiol phosphate was followed by stabilization of the complex with glutaraldehyde. The bound hormone was then visualized by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique with antiestradiol as the primary antiserum. Normal breast tissue and benign proliferations were consistently positive for ER and ER-E. All specimens were examined for free and bound receptors in cytoplasm and nuclei. Among the carcinomas examined, a high correlation was found between the presence of ER by the PAP method and by the biochemical analysis of cytosol preparations. The PAP method, requiring no special preparation of surgical specimens, overcomes many of the disadvantages of the cytosol method and adds the advantage of independent evaluation of nuclear and cytoplasmic estrogen binding sites

Neutrophil mobility during anaesthesia in children. A trial of ascorbate premedication

In 20 healthy children undergoing elective surgery, mobility of neutrophils, both unstimulated and stimulated by endotoxin, was studied using a millipore filter system with microscopic determination of leading front migration. Paired samples were incubated with 10(-2) mol l-1 calcium ascorbate and ten children also received 10 mg kg-1 ascorbic acid before premedication. Stimulation of mobility was reduced after the opioid premedication (P less than 0.05) in the ascorbate group only, but not significantly during anaesthesia and surgery. A few individuals showed persisting abnormally low values. No effect of ascorbate in vivo or in vitro was demonstrated. There were no infections

Pulmonary Immunohistochemical Detection of Surfactant Protein A (SP-A) in Fatal Drowning

L'annegamento rimane ancora una delle diagnosi più difficili della patologia forense perché i risultati macroscopici e microscopici dell'autopsia sono aspecifici. Un marker diagnostico ideale per annegamento deve ancora essere sviluppato, ma alcuni autori hanno recentemente studiato l'SP-A come marcatore di soffocamento e annegamento. Lo scopo di questo studio è quello di confrontare le caratteristiche istopatologiche e la SP-A espressione immunoistochimica nei tessuti polmonari in caso di annegamento con quelli determinati da altre cause di discriminare tra sommersione di cadavere e annegamento.Drowning still remains one of the most difficult diagnoses in forensic pathology because macroscopic and microscopic autopsy findings are unspecific. An ideal diagnostic marker for drowning still needs to be developed, but some authors have recently studied SP-A as a marker of asphyxiation and drowning. The aim of this study is to compare the histopathological features and the SP-A immunohistochemical expression in lung tissue in the case of drowning with those determined by other causes to discriminate between cadaver submersion and drowning

[Occult carcinoma of the thyroid gland: an epidemiological study of autopsy material]

The occurrence of occult thyroid carcinoma at autopsy was examined in 507 consecutive autopsies performed over one-year in subjects without clinical evidence of thyroid cancer, from different regions of Italy, including areas of endemic goiter. We found 54 (10.65%) occult thyroid carcinomas. In 37 cases the histologic pattern was of the papillary type, with diameter ranging between 176 and 6000 microns, 12 of these cases showed a typical papillary pattern, 6 had a marked fibrosis, 2 had a cystic pattern, one showed a lymphoid stroma, and 17 had a follicular pattern. The remaining 17 cases were medullary carcinomas, with a diameter ranging from 50 to 1600 microns. The percentage of occult thyroid carcinomas reported in the present study may constitute real value of the occurrence of this tumor in the Italian population

Mullerian adenosarcoma of the uterus

A case of adenosarcoma of the uterus in a 59-year-old woman is here reported. Adenosarcoma is a low malignant glandular and a malignant stromal component. The treatment is usually hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Debated is the usefulness of adjuvant chemotherapy, while radiation treatment is not beneficial. Long term follow-up is necessary for these patients because of high recurrence risk, mostly in cases with myometrial invasion