Benign schwannoma of posterior mediastinum accompanied by bloody pleural effusion misdiagnosed as solitary fibrous tumor: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Schwannoma is a peripheral nerve sheath tumor originating from schwann cells. It is the most common neurogenic tumor of the posterior mediastinum. Pleural effusion is a rare presentation of benign schwannoma and it is mainly related to malignant tumors. Histologically, schwannoma as well as solitary fibrous tumor should be considered as a differential diagnosis of spindle cell lesions. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we report a case of an asymptomatic 61-year-old female misdiagnosed as solitary fibrous tumor of posterior mediastinum which was revealed to have blood stained pleural effusion during the video-assisted thoracic surgery. Eventually pathological study and immunohistochemistry profile of the tumor was reported as benign schwannoma. CONCLUSION: This report indicates that benign schwannoma can be accompanied by bloody pleural effusion and it also emphasizes the role of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of biopsy specimen of spindle cell lesions.

Piperine-loaded chitosan-STPP nanoparticles reduce neuronal loss and astrocytes activation in chemical kindling model of epilepsy.

Recent evidence suggests that encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs in biodegradable polymers opens a new horizon in nanomedicine filed. Piperine, a main alkaloid form of black pepper possesses potent anticonvulsant activity. However, the low water solubility of piperine has limited its clinical application. In this study, piperine was loaded on chitosan-sodium tripolyphosphate nanoparticles (CS-STPP NPs) and the effect of piperine NPs on seizures behavior and astrocytes activation was assessed in pentylentetrazol (PTZ)-induced kindling model. Animals have received the daily injection of free piperine or piperine NPs at doses of 5 or 10mg/kg, 10days before PTZ injections and their intraperitoneally (i.p) administration continued until the last PTZ injection. The neuroprotective effects of piperine NPs were evaluated using nissl staining and immunostaining against NeuN. Astrocytes activation was examined by GFAP immunostaining. Behavioral data showed that piperine NPs have inhibited the development of seizure parameters compared to the free piperine groups. In addition, the levels of cell loss and astrocytes activation were reduced in piperine NPs groups. In conclusion, these data suggest that piperine NPs enhance the neuroprotection and ameliorate the astrocytes activation in chemical kindling model of epilepsy. This may provide an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of epilepsy disorder.

Curcumin-loaded chitosan-alginate-STPP nanoparticles ameliorate memory deficits and reduce glial activation in pentylenetetrazol-induced kindling model of epilepsy.

Despite several beneficial effects of curcumin, its medical application has been hampered due to low water solubility. To improve the aqueous solubility of curcumin, it has been loaded on chitosan (CS)-alginate (ALG) - sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) nanoparticles (NPs). Then, the effect of curcumin NPs on memory improvement and glial activation was investigated in pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced kindling model. Male NMRI mice have received the daily injection of curcumin NPs at dose of 12.5 or 25mg/kg. All interventions were injected intraperitoneally (i.p), 10days before PTZ administration and the injections were continued until 1h before each PTZ injection. Spatial learning and memory was evaluated using Morris water maze test after the 7th PTZ injection. Animals have received 10 injections of PTZ and then, brain tissues were removed for histological evaluation. Nissl staining was used to determine the level of cell death in hippocampus and immunostaining method was performed against NeuN and GFAP/Iba1 for assessment of neuronal density and glial activation respectively. Behavioral results showed that curcumin NPs exhibit anticonvulsant activity and prevent cognitive impairment in fully kindled animals. The level of cell death and glial activation reduced in animals which have received curcumin NPs compared to those received free curcumin. To conclude, these findings suggest that curcumin NPs effectively ameliorate memory impairment and attenuate the level of activated glial cells in a mice model of chronic epilepsy.