Oxidative damage and histopathological changes in lung of rat chronically exposed to nicotine alone or associated to ethanol.

Smoking is the most important preventable risk factor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. This study was designed to investigate oxidative damage and histopathological changes in lung tissue of rats chronically exposed to nicotine alone or supplemented with ethanol. Twenty-four male Wistar rats divided into three groups were used for the study. The nicotine group received nicotine (2.5mg/kg/day); the nicotine-ethanol group was given simultaneously same dose of nicotine plus ethanol (0.2g/kg/day), while the control group was administered only normal saline (1 ml/kg/day). The treatment was administered by subcutaneous injection once daily for a period of 18 weeks. Chronic nicotine administration alone or combined to ethanol caused a significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and catalase (CAT) activity in lung tissue compared to control rats suggesting an oxidative damage. However, these increases were mostly prominent in nicotine group. The histopathological examination of lung tissue of rats in both treated groups revealed many alterations in the pulmonary structures such as emphysema change (disappearance of the alveolar septa, increased irregularity and size of air sacs) and marked lymphocytic infiltration in perivascular and interstitial areas. However, the changes characterized in the nicotine group (pulmonary congestion, hemorrhage into alveoli and interstitial areas, edema) were more drastic than those observed in the nicotine-ethanol group, and they can be attributed to a significant degree of capillary endothelial permeability and microvascular leak. Conversely, the ethanol supplementation caused an appearance of fatty change and fibrosis in pulmonary tissue essentially due to a metabolism of ethanol. Finally, the lung damage illustrated in nicotine group was more severe than that observed in the nicotine-ethanol group. We conclude that the combined administration of nicotine and ethanol may moderate the effect of nicotine administered independently by counteractive interactions between these two drugs.

[Xanthogranuloma of the parotid gland in adults]. / Xanthogranulome parotidien de l'adulte.

UNLABELLED: Juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) is a cutaneous non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis affecting infants. We report the first case of JXG in the parotid gland of an adult. CLINICAL CASE: A 52 year-old man consulted for a painful swelling of the left parotid region, progressively increasing. On physical examination, the mass was 4 cm in diameter. A second 1.5 cm diameter tumor was found in the right parotid region. MRI revealed masses with heterogeneous hypodense on T1-weighted images and with hyper dense on T2 weighted images associated with heterogeneous enhancement after gadolinium injection. The superficial and deep lobes of the parotid gland were involved. Per-operative left-side exploration revealed a lipomatous degeneration of the parotid gland and facial nerve. A lower polar parotidectomy was performed. The histological examination identified a parotid xanthogranuloma. DISCUSSION: The JXG is usually revealed by cutaneous lesions. In fact, the morphological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of this affection lead to its diagnosis. Extra-cutaneous localizations are less frequent. The differential diagnosis is X histiocytosis.

[Acinic cell carcinoma of the nasal septum]. / Carcinome à cellules acineuses du septum nasal.

INTRODUCTION: Nasal cavity acinic carcinoma are exceptional and often of turbinal origin. We report a case of acinic carcinoma of septal origin and discuss this histological type rare in this site. OBSERVATION: A 47-year-old women, with no pathologic history, consulted for right nasal obstruction and hyposmia having evolved for a year. The clinical examination revealed a right nasal cavity lesion adhesive to the septum. Tomodensitometry showed a right nasal cavity and ethmoid opacity without bone destruction. The surgical treatment was endonasal tumor resection. The histological examination revealed a nasal fossa acinic carcinoma completely resected. A postoperative radiotherapy was initiated. The evolution was uneventful without recurrence after 4 years of follow-up. DISCUSSION: Acinic carcinoma is rarely located in the nasal cavity. Its septal origin is exceptional. It is usually located at the salivary gland level. Curative treatment is surgery associated or not to radiotherapy. The prognosis is related to tumor extension and quality of resection.

[A case of thyroid metastasis of an unusual cancer]. / Un cas de métastase intrathyroïdienne d'un primitif inhabituel.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma affects preferentially young adults and is characterized by a high rate of node and visceral metastases that explains a part of therapeutic failure. We report a case of thyroid metastasis of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A 50-year-old patient had been treated of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma (T4 N2M0). Four years after a concomitant chemoradiotherapy, he presented with a compressive mass in the thyroid loge associated to cervical nodes. He underwent a total thyroidectomy and the definitive result concluded to an carcinome indifférencié de type nasopharyngé (UCNT) thyroid metastasis. A new concomitant chemoradiotherapy was delivered and consequently the tumor disappeared. Secondly, several node recurrences occurred. Metastasis of UCNT in thyroid gland is exceptional. Several problems are related to its aetiopathogenesis and to its treatment that is not systematized in the literature. The prognosis like for all metastatic forms of nasopharyngeal cancer is unfavorable.

[Cutaneous basosquamous carcinoma]. / Carcinome basocellulaire métatypique.

INTRODUCTION: Basosquamous carcinoma is a rare entity that essentially affects the head and neck region in male patients. The authors present the clinical signs and progression as well as the therapeutic consequences of this disease through two observations. CASE REPORT 1: A 41-year-old man presented with basosquamous carcinoma of the right temporoparietal region treated initially with surgery alone. Five years later, he was operated on for a local and lymph node recurrence followed by radiation therapy, stabilizing the disease for 4 years; subsequently a second recurrence with metastasis to the chest area occurred. The patient died 10 years after the onset of his disease of diffuse pneumopathy with severe septicemia. CASE REPORT 2: A 71-year-old man presented retroauricular basosquamous carcinoma at first treated with wide resection, but the surgical limits were invaded. He developed local recurrences treated with surgical resection until total petrosectomy, but the surgical limits were always invaded. Radiotherapy was delivered. Seven years after the end of treatment, he developed a local recurrence invading the brain, which was deemed untreatable. DISCUSSION: Basosquamous carcinoma is characterized by its severe aggression and its tendency to recur. Treatment is essentially surgical. Radiotherapy is an adjuvant for the cases with high risk of recurrence. The role of chemotherapy is not yet proved.

[Study of malabsorption of lactose by the hydrogen breath test in a population of 70 Tunisian adults]. / Etude de la malabsorption du lactose par le test respiratoire à l'hydrogène dans une population de 70 adultes tunisiens.

Lactose malabsorption was studied by the hydrogen breath-test in 23 adults suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (group A) and in 47 healthy subjects (group B). The concentration of hydrogen in end-expired alveolar samples was measured after ingestion of 25 g of lactose. Among the 70 subjects, 6 (8.5 p. 100) were not hydrogen producers and were excluded from the study. Lactose malabsorption was shown in 51 of the remaining 64 subjects (79.6 p. 100). Among these 51 patients, 36 were healthy and 15 had an irritable bowel syndrome. The frequency of lactose malabsorption among the 43 healthy hydrogen producers was 83 p. 100. This value is similar to those observed in other studies (greek and italian). Our results suggest that lactose malabsorption is frequent among the tunisian adult population.

[Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma: a palatine and a labial location]. / Adénocarcinome polymorphe de bas grade: deux localisations palatine et labiale.

INTRODUCTION: Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA) is a variant of malignant tumor of minor salivary glands. We had for aim to discuss morphology, evolution and differential diagnosis of this rare tumor. CASE REPORTS: The first case was a 65-year-old woman admitted for a two-month history of a right submaxillary swelling. The examination revealed a tumor of the right side of the palate. Biopsy was positive for a pleomorphic adenoma. The mass was enlarged and surgical resection was performed. The diagnosis was a partially resected PLGA. The patient also received adjuvant radiotherapy. There was a local recurrence 28 months after complete treatment. The second case was a 57-year-old woman who consulted for a 12-year history of lower lip swelling. The examination revealed a painless 2cm long located nodule in the mucosal side of the lower lip. An excisional biopsy was performed. The pathological examination concluded to a completely resected PLGA. The patient was free of disease at 54 months follow-up. DISCUSSION: The morphologic diversity and cytological uniformity of PLGA may make the differential diagnostic difficult especially with adenoid cystic carcinoma and pleomorphic adenoma. Its aggressiveness is proved by a local infiltrative growth pattern requiring a large surgical excision.

Localization of a novel autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing impairment locus DFNB63 to chromosome 11q13.3-q13.4.

Hereditary hearing impairment is the most genetically heterogeneous trait known in humans. So far, 50 published autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing impairment (ARNSHI) loci have been mapped, and 23 ARNSHI genes have been identified. Here, we report the mapping of a novel ARNSHI locus, DFNB63, to chromosome 11q13.3-q13.4 in a large consanguineous Tunisian family. A maximum LOD score of 5.33 was obtained with microsatellite markers D11S916 and D11S4207. Haplotype analysis defined a 5.55 Mb critical region between microsatellite markers D11S4136 and D11S4081. DFNB63 represents the sixth ARNSHI locus mapped to chromosome 11. We positionally excluded MYO7A from being the DFNB63-causative gene. In addition, the screening of two candidate genes, SHANK2 and KCNE3, failed to reveal any disease-causing mutations.