Atypical hyperplasia in prostates of 20 to 40 year old men.

One hundred prostates from 20 to 40 year old men obtained at necropsy were completely sectioned and studied microscopically. Atypical hyperplasia was found in 10 (20%) of 20-29 year old men and in 12 (24%) of 30-40 year old men. The prostates with atypical hyperplasia had similar weights as those without, and the atypical hyperplasia was most common in the lateral lobes of the prostate and near the apex. The atypical hyperplasias were (i) usually mild in degree rather than moderate or severe; (ii) almost equally divided between circumscribed and "infiltrating" lesions; (iii) usually occurred as multiple foci within the same prostate rather than as a single focus of atypical hyperplasia; and (iv) were not associated with inflammation. The finding that atypical hyperplasia is common in men between the ages of 20 and 40 years may be helpful in increasing the understanding of the histopathology of the prostate.

Isolated eosinophilic coronary arteritis and eosinophilic myocarditis. A limited form of Churg-Strauss syndrome.

Eosinophilic coronary arteritis is rare, and it occurs principally as a manifestation of cardiac involvement in Churg-Strauss syndrome (allergic granulomatosis and angiitis). A 39-year-old white man, who was an asthmatic, died suddenly and unexpectedly. Autopsy showed isolated eosinophilic coronary arteritis associated with myocardial necrosis, and isolated eosinophilic myocarditis as the cause of death. This limited form of Churg-Strauss syndrome, to our knowledge, has not been reported previously.

Localization patterns of plasma apolipoproteins in human atherosclerotic lesions.

The localization patterns of human plasma lipoproteins and their respective apoproteins and of neutral lipid were determined in normal and atherosclerotic arteries. Specific antisera were prepared against plasma low-density lipoproteins(LDL) and their apoproteins (apoB), high-density lipoproteins(HDL) and one of their major apoproteins (apoA-I1, and apoC-III, which is a major apoprotein of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). Using immunofluorescence techniques, the various antigens were localized in arterial samples obtained at surgery or autopsy. The three apoproteins and neutral lipid were localized to the same tissue areas, namely, lipid core regions and certain connective tissue of atherosclerotic lesions, in 61% of the fibrous plaques and 48% of the fatty streaks examined. In marked contrast, none of the uninvolved arterial regions showed the presence of all four factors together. As controls, the localization of other serum proteins was also determined in these arteries using immunofluorescence techniques. Fibrinogen was associated with regions of maximum complementary localization of factors in 37% of the fibrous plaques and 64% of the fatty streaks. However, albumin was found in only 4-5% of these same regions. The present results suggest that not only LDL but also HDL and VLDL or their respective apoproteins as well as fibrinogen are specifically retained by certain tissue components of the atherosclerotic lesion.