Sterile folliculitis as an important diagnostic clue to Crohn's disease.

Sterile folliculitis is known to be one of the rare cutaneous manifestations of Crohn's disease (CD). To our knowledge it has never been emphasized as a marker of significant diagnostic value, perhaps maybe even more significant than more common cutaneous manifestations such as erythema nodosum (EN).

Thoracoscopic findings and pharmacokinetics of inhaled fluorescein in a pig model.

BACKGROUND: Fluorescein-enhanced autofluorescence thoracoscopy (FEAT) reveals regions of abnormal fluorescence in patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax and in normal subjects. Some of these lesions are undetectable by white light thoracoscopy and it has been hypothesized that they represent underlying pleural and/or parenchymal abnormalities. OBJECTIVES: In order to standardize and evaluate this novel technique, we developed an animal model. METHODS: Six pigs underwent thoracoscopy after the inhalation of nebulized sodium fluorescein by either volume-controlled mechanical ventilation or spontaneous ventilation. Pleural cavity and lung surface were inspected by white light thoracoscopy and FEAT during a period of 90 min. Fluorescence intensities were quantified in pleura and in blood. Regions of interest were examined postmortem for a histological assessment of the lesions. RESULTS: FEAT lesions were observed in all animals, with a maximum intensity of the lesions 20-30 min after the onset of fluorescein administration. The plasma concentrations of sodium fluorescein reached a maximum after approximately 20 min. The microscopic findings suggest that fluorescein accumulates in the subpleural space of better ventilated lung areas. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first animal model using FEAT. Valuable information has been gathered but further investigations are required to explain the phenomena observed in humans and pigs.

Intestinal Spirochetosis: A Case Series and Review of the Literature.

A clinical suspicion of intestinal spirochetosis is required when patients have long lasting complaints of abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss, and nausea. An endoscopy with biopsies needs to be performed to confirm the diagnosis of intestinal spirochetosis. The diagnosis of intestinal spirochetosis is based on histological appearance. Intestinal spirochetosis can also be associated with other intestinal infections and juvenile polyps (JPs). JPs seem to be more frequent in patients with intestinal spirochetosis than in patients without intestinal spirochetosis. Intestinal spirochetosis in children should be treated with antibiotics. Metronidazole is the preferred option. In this article, we describe 4 cases of intestinal spirochetosis in a pediatric population and provide a review of the literature over the last 20 years. Intestinal spirochetosis is a rare infection that can cause a variety of severe symptom. It is diagnosed based on histological appearance.

Hemorrhagic regression of melanoma metastases during therapeutic vaccination: a report of three cases.

Melanoma metastases are characterized by pronounced neo-angiogenesis and spontaneous bleeding frequently occurring within central nervous system metastases. Clinically apparent spontaneous hemorrhage within subcutaneous melanoma metastases, however, is a rare event that coincides with progression of such metastases. We report, to our knowledge the first observation, on regression of subcutaneous metastases with hemorrhage of the overlying skin in three patients with stage IV melanoma who participated in clinical trials on therapeutic vaccination. In two patients, loss of arterial flow on Doppler ultrasound imaging was documented in the metastasis at the time of hematoma formation. One patient suffered from an intracranial hemorrhage in a subcentimetric brain metastasis coincident with the hemorrhagic regression of some of his skin metastases.

Expression pattern of the Y-linked PRY gene suggests a function in apoptosis but not in spermatogenesis.

In this study, we aimed at analysing the expression of the PRY (PTPN-13 like on the Y chromosome) gene, located on the Y chromosome, in order to define the function of this gene. Active copies of the PRY gene (PRY1 and PRY2) are located in the AZFb region. PCR amplification of PRY cDNA indicated that the PRY gene is expressed in testicular tissue and ejaculated sperm, but not in Percoll-treated sperm. Furthermore, immunocytochemistry on testicular tissue showed the expression of the PRY gene in a small number of spermatozoa and spermatids. In the ejaculate of the male partner of 18 infertile couples, the PRY protein was found in 1.5-51.2% of spermatozoa and in most of the sperm precursor cells. The percentage of spermatozoa showing DNA fragmentation was also determined in 13 of these samples, by using the TdT (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase)-mediated dUDP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) reaction. These data correlated with the percentage of PRY-positive cells. When double labelling for PRY and DNA fragmentation was performed to assess whether PRY-positive cells also show DNA fragmentation, we saw that 27-48% of the PRY-positive spermatozoa were also positive for the TUNEL reaction. The overall data of RNA analysis, immunocytochemistry and the TUNEL reaction indicate that the role of the PRY gene in spermatogenesis can be questioned, but suggest its involvement in apoptosis of spermatids and spermatozoa.