Difficulties in the diagnosis of intracystic tumors of the female breast.

The objective of the current study was to determine the accuracy of radiological and cytological diagnoses of intracystic and papillary lesions in distinguishing between true papillary benign and malignant lesions. Seventy cytological reports of intracystic proliferations were selected from our cytopathological database at the Breast Health Corporation, Budapest, Hungary, dating back to the last 7 years. Retrospective analysis of the diagnostic approaches--mammography, ultrasonography, clinical examination and cytology--was performed in selected cases. The results of imaging and cytological examination are routinely reported on a categorical scale ranging from 1 to 5. 44 patients underwent surgical excision: histology showed benign lesions in 21 and malignant lesions in 23 cases. Twelve patients, who did not undergo biopsy and presented a stable disease at follow-ups, were also included in the group of benign lesion. Fifteen patients were not available for follow-up. Concerning the total investigated cases the mean categorical values of mammography, ultrasonography and cytology were 2.24, 2.78 and 3.05 respectively. The malignant and benign groups significantly differ from each other concerning the mean age of the patients (p=0.0216), the distribution of the coded mammographical results (p= 0.0171) the cytological results (p=0.0001), and average tumor size measured on mammogram images (p=0.0199). The two group does not significantly differ over the distribution of mammographical density patterns (p=0.1075), radiomorphological appearance (p=0.1101), average tumor size measured on ultrasonography (p=0.2665), and patient complaints (p=0.2634). The evaluation of ultrasonography shows borderline significance (Pearson Chi-square test: p=0.0616, M-L Chi-square test: p=0.0404) between the malignant and benign groups. Differential diagnosis between malignant and benign intracystic and papillary lesions is feasible using common radiological diagnostics. However, more efficient teamwork is needed with the cooperation of a well-trained cytologist and radiologist, who are able to produce precise images of the lesions, and guides the aspiration of the adequate samples for cytology, which is the most valuable examination.

Canine onchocercosis in Greece: report of further 20 cases and molecular characterization of the parasite and its Wolbachia endosymbiont.

Recently, sporadic cases of subconjunctival Onchocerca infection have been reported in dogs in Greece and Hungary. Herein we report further cases from Greece and the results of the molecular analysis of Onchocerca sp. removed from Greek dogs and its Wolbachia endosymbionts. Twenty dogs of various breeds, 1-11 years of age with subconjunctival onchocercosis (4 cases each in right or left eye, 12 cases in both eyes) were presented having similar manifestations. Periorbital swelling, exophthalmos, lacrimation, discharge, photophobia, conjunctival congestion, corneal edema, protrusion of the nictitating membrane, and subconjunctival granuloma or cyst formation were the most important clinical signs. After surgical excision of the periocular masses containing the worms, all animals recovered fully from onchocercosis. Based on the similarities of the clinical picture of the Greek and Hungarian cases, the similar morphology of the Greek and Hungarian isolates, and the identical sequences of the cytochrome oxidase gene of the filarial parasites and that of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene from their Wolbachia endosymbionts, the Onchocerca sp. isolated from dogs in Greece and Hungary appears to belong to the same species.

Characterization of Cryptosporidium spp.--recent developments and future needs.

Cryptosporidia, widely distributed protozoan parasites of vertebrates have recently attracted increasing interest due to several serious waterborne outbreaks, the life-threatening nature of infection in immunocompromised patients, and the realization of economic losses caused by these pathogens in livestock. Genetic polymorphism within Cryptosporidium spp. is being detected at a continuously growing rate, owing to the widespread use of modern molecular techniques. The aim of this paper is to review the current status of taxonomy, genotyping, molecular phylogeny, and characterization of cryptosporidia, and to highlight the need for polyphasic typing, i.e. an integrated approach comprising standardized morphologic, biologic, and molecular methods for describing Cryptosporidium species and isolates, and for establishing "virtual" reference strains.

Ocular onchocercosis in dogs: a review.

In recent decades, sporadic cases of ocular Onchocerca species infection have been reported in dogs in the USA and Europe. In the acute stage of the disease severe inflammation of the ocular and periocular tissues was observed. In chronic cases, the strongly coiled, gravid nematodes were incorporated in pea- to bean-sized granulomatous nodules in various parts of the eye, including the retrobulbar space, orbital fascia, eyelid, third palpebra, conjunctiva and sclera. Apart from the ophthalmological significance of the disease, the large number of microfilariae in the skin may be responsible for acute and chronic dermatological problems. The geographical distribution and prevalence of the infection may be greater than currently thought, because the lesions may have been erroneously regarded as other ocular diseases. Onchocerciasis is the world's second most prevalent infectious cause of blindness in human beings and parasitologists have long searched for an experimental model of human onchocerciasis; ocular onchocercosis infections in dogs may provide a useful experimental system.

Subconjunctival zoonotic onchocerciasis in man: aberrant infection with Onchocerca lupi?

In the past few decades, 10 cases of cryptic, zoonotic onchocerciasis, including two subconjunctival infections, have been reported in man. In the majority of cases, Onchocerca cervicalis, O. gutturosa or O. dewittei, which normally infect horses, cattle and wild boar, respectively, were responsible for the lesions. However, the taxonomic status of the parasites involved in the two subconjunctival infections, both of which were European, has never been unambiguously determined. In such infections, the acute phase appears to be characterized by conjunctivitis. A single, strongly coiled, immature, female worm was found incorporated in a large granulomatous nodule, in the ocular and peri-ocular tissues, in the chronic stage of each of the two eye infections. Several, patent, sporadic cases of subconjunctival O. lupi infection have recently been reported in dogs. In terms of the location of the worms, clinical signs and histopathology, these canine infections were very similar to those seen in the two human patients with eye infection. When the parasites recovered from human eyes were compared morphologically with the Onchocerca spp. infecting animals in Europe, they appeared to be most similar to O. lupi. Although O. lupi is normally a parasite of dogs, it may thus also be responsible for aberrant, zoonotic, subconjunctival infections in man.

Polyphasic typing of Cryptosporidium baileyi: a suggested model for characterization of cryptosporidia.

The present study was undertaken to characterize the oocyst morphology, host specificity, organ location, virulence, and sequences of the small subunit ribosomal RNA, 70-kDa heat shock protein, and oocyst wall protein genes of Cryptosporidium baileyi, and to compare this strain with other Cryptosporidium species. This study also aims to serve as a model for polyphasic (phenetic and genetic) characterization of Cryptosporidium species and strains. On the basis of these results, further genetic and phenetic characterization of an avian isolate is needed if the difference between the length or width, or both, of oocysts of an isolate and of C. baileyi is > or = 10% or if the difference between the oocyst shape index of the isolate and of C. baileyi is > or = 3% (or both). The isolate is infectious for mammals or lower vertebrates, or the host range is narrow, i.e., infectious only for some bird species; after oral or intratracheal inoculation, the parasites are not located in the cloaca and in the bursa of Fabricius or the respiratory tract; clinical disease or weight gain reduction can be observed after oral inoculation; the genetic distance for the examined gene between C. baileyi and the isolate is similar in magnitude to that observed between most closely related Cryptosporidium species.