Cysts of the adrenal gland: revision of a 15-year experience.

Ten specimens of adrenal cyst resected during the period 1984-1999 were re-examined. Thorough examination of multiple sections and the use of immunohistochemistry allowed to change the recorded diagnosis in 8 cases: three epithelial cysts and five pseudocysts were redefined as endothelial cysts. All 10 cysts were of the endothelial type. A synthetic review of the current knowledge about the pathogenesis, the classification and the clinical aspects of this rare disease is presented.

[Inflammatory aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. Study of 355 patients with aortic aneurysm]. / Aneurisma infiammatorio dell'aorta addominale. Studio su 355 portatori di aneurisma aortico.

The Authors report their experience in the treatment of inflammatory aneurysm, on a whole of 355 patients consecutively operated on for abdominal aortic aneurysm. The incidence was 5.6% when relying on clinical aspects; 10.6% when considering the results of microscopy. All patients were operated on through a retroperitoneal approach: early and late results of surgery were not significantly different between the two groups of patients (inflammatory aneurysm 38, atherosclerotic aneurysm 317).

[Inflammatory aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. Review of the literature of the past 30 years]. / Gli aneurismi infiammatori dell'aorta addominale. Revisione della letteratura dell'ultimo trentennio.

A careful review of the available literature on the clinical and pathologic features of the so-called inflammatory aneurysm of the abdominal aorta is reported. The etiology of this peculiar disease is still obscure and controversial, even if the current trend is to define it as an immunomediate phenomenon consisting on an "exaggerated" inflammatory response to atherosclerosis. Suggestions about the similarity or identity from the pathologic viewpoint, of inflammatory aneurysm, periaortic fibrosis and idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis are attractive, but not universally accepted. The surgical treatment aims at the same objectives than for atherosclerotic aneurysms (i.e. prevention of rupture); operative management is however endangered by greater difficulties which hopefully may be reduced in the coming years by the use of corticosteroids and mainly through the wider application of endografting procedures.

[Post-natal maturation of the retina in the albino rat. I. The pigment epithelium]. / Maturazione post-natale della retina nel ratto albino: I. L'epitelio pigmentato.

The Authors studied the postnatal development of the retinal pigment epithelium in the albino rat, in order to elucidate its morphological and functional evolution, correlated to the numerous functional roles played in Vertebrates (Scheme 1). At birth, epithelial cells show few cytoplasmic organules and the apical surface provided of small depressions. From the third to the fifth postnatal day the first apical microfolds surround the depressions. From the seventh to the ninth day inner segments develop, whilst the apical surface of the epithelial cells is covered by many finger-like microfolds. During the eleventh postnatal day the buds of the outer segments and many lamellar microfolds can be demonstrated. During the sixteenth day the retina reaches its adult morphology. It is therefore well-evident that birth, similarly to many other Vertebrates, is not the last step, but only a moment, in the development of the retina: this process is completed only during postnatal life, when environmental light is able to stimulate every ocular structure.

[Significance of the evaluation of C-peptide in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus]. / Interesse della valutazione del peptide C nel bambino affetto da diabete mellito tipo 1.

In type I diabetes mellitus (DM) the presence of C peptide (Cp), whose determination is unaffected by exogenous insulin, is considered expression of a residual beta-cell activity, which allows a better metabolic control. In 35 children affected by type I DM the fasting Cp was measured: in 18 cases (1st group) a value greater than or equal to 1 ng/ml was observed, while in the remaining 17 (2nd group) the Cp value was less than 1 ng/ml. A statistical comparison between the two groups demonstrated that in the first one a better metabolic control was achieved with a daily lower insulin dosage. Moreover in the 1st group the onset of the disease was more recent, while there was no difference between the two groups with regard to the age at diagnosis. The Cp evaluation and follow-up is useful in the assessment of the individual case; furthermore, on the basis of these studies, an immunosuppressive treatment may be considered during the early phase of the disease, when a residual beta-cell activity is demonstrated.

[Histochemical aspects of the differentiation of the gastric glands]. / Aspetti istochimici del differenziamento delle ghiandole gastriche

The Authors have studied some aspects of the differentiation of gastric mucosa, during the prenatal and postnatal development in man and mouse. They have demonstrated that in both species the first elements of glandular rudiments can be already recognised, owing to the richness of their mitochondrial store, as parietal cells, where oxireductase activities are already present. The functional differentiation in the membrane of such elements takes place later on: from the point of view of the function the parietal cell can then be considered as completely differentiated. Chief cells, on the contrary, define their morphological and functional characters starting from the fifth month of foetal life. At any rate, at least for the studied characters, the gland store of human gastric mucosa, at birth and in the adult, is exactly alike.