Stereological analysis of liver, spleen and bone of Leishmania infantum-experimentally infected hamsters.

Leishmaniasis is remaining as one of the important health problems of many countries around the world. The histopathology of the disease and the effects of the parasite on various tissues have not yet been fully elucidated. The current study aimed to evaluate the stereological features of the liver, spleen, and bone of hamsters infected with Leishmania infantum. In this experimental study, the L. infantum parasite was mass cultivated in a culture medium. Then, 15 golden hamsters were selected, of which 5 animals were considered as controls and another 10 animals were injected intravenously, with 1 × 108 promastigotes of L. infantum. Four months later, the hamsters were euthanized and impression smears were prepared from the liver and spleen. Moreover, pathology slides were prepared from the spleen, liver, and femur. The orientated method was used to obtain isotropic uniform random (IUR) sections. For stereological evaluation, the tissues were fixed with formalin buffer, and sections (4 and 25 µm thick) were prepared and stained with Heidenhain's AZAN trichrome and hematoxylin-eosin, respectively. The tissue samples were examined by stereological methods and all changes in the samples of the infected hamsters were compared with the control group. The number of hepatocyte and their nuclei volumes were significantly decreased in the Leishmania-infected group, compared to the control group. The number of Kupffer cells and their volume in the liver of the Leishmania-infected group was higher than that of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant. The volume of trabeculae and central arteries in the spleen of the Leishmania-infected group was lower than that of the control group and the number of lymphocytes and macrophages in the spleen of the Leishmania-infected group was increased compared to the control group. The trabecular volume and the number of osteoblasts and osteoclasts of the femur in Leishmania-infected animals decreased, whereas the volume of bone marrow was significantly raised. Leishmaniasis leads to changes in tissue structure and their function in the host by the involvement of various organs of the immune system including the liver, spleen, and bone. Understanding these changes are important in identifying the effective mechanisms of the parasite and host interaction.

Osseous hydatidosis of the proximal femur: a rare diagnosis in revision total hip arthroplasty.

Musculoskeletal hydatidosis is a rare but severe disease in central Europe. This case report presents the incidental finding of an osseous hydatidosis after cementless revision total hip arthroplasty in a patient without a preoperative history of hydatidosis or any clinical symptoms. Revision total hip arthroplasty had been necessary due to a septic osteonecrosis of the femoral head 2 years after osteosynthesis of a traumatic proximal femur fracture with a sliding hip screw. The positive sample was taken out of the greater trochanter in the area of the possible former entry point for the lag screw, which was macroscopic inconspicuous. Sero-analysis could afterwards confirm the suspected diagnosis. Postoperative chemotherapy with albendazole was performed for 6 months. A full-body MRI did not reveal any further cysts. This case demonstrates a possible impact of migration on the expected pathogens in revision arthroplasty. This demonstrates that in revision arthroplasty, an infection with this parasite also has to be taken into account, if the patients come from an area endemic for hydatidosis.

Musculoskeletal hydatid disease: report of a rare case with primary and exclusive localization in right hemi-pelvis and femur.

Hydatid Disease (HD), also called Echinococcosis or Hydatidosis, is a parasitic infection caused by the larval stage of the tapeworm Echinococcus: E. granulosus or E. multilocularis. HD occur most frequently in liver or lungs, rarely in brain, skeletal muscles, bones, kidneys, spleen. Bone infestation of Echinococcosis hydatid cysts occurs respectively by haematogenous seeding and progressive invasion into bone by lesions in the adjacent soft tissues. Patients with musculoskeletal HD clinically show the disease in adulthood because the lesions develop very slowly. In some cases, HD is an uncommon cause of soft tissue mass, pain and neurovascular symptoms due to compression or to secondary infection. Diagnostic imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis of HD and in the differential diagnosis with soft tissue tumors. We present a rare case of male patient of 42 year-old with diagnosis of HD with primary and exclusive localization in right hemi-pelvis and femur.

[Primary cystic echinococcosis in the left femur: a case report].

This article reported a case with primary cystic echinococcosis in the left femur.

Hydatid cyst of femur, radiologically mimicking a sarcoma.

Hydatid disease is a rare pathology, but relatively common in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central Asia, and East Africa. It may develop in almost any part of the body, although most hydatid cysts occur in the liver or in the lung. Bone involvement is rare, and accounts for only 0.5% to 4% of all locations. Most of the hydatid cyst are diagnosed on the basis of their clinical and radiological presentation. However, in cases with an atypical presentation, FNAC may be used to evaluate the nature of lesion.

Combination drug chemotherapy and massive skeletal allograft in the management of hydatid disease of femur.

Hydatid disease of long bone is a rare presentation. Chemotherapy and surgery constitute the standard treatment of choice. Non-union of a pathological fracture of femur particularly due to hydatid disease has been known to be resistant to treatment. These resistant cases require combination drug chemotherapy and excision of the lesion. Reconstruction of a large skeletal defect following resection of the lesion poses a challenge to the orthopaedic surgeons. We discuss the staged treatment of hydatid disease of shaft of femur with resection and cement spacer application followed by reconstruction using massive skeletal allograft under cover of combination drug chemotherapy.

[Hydatid disease of the femoral shaft treated with surgery and hypertonic solution wash-out combined with albendazole]. / Kyste hydatique de la diaphyse fémorale traité par l'association chirurgie, sérum hypertonique et albendazole.

We report a case of pathological fracture of the femoral shaft in a patient presenting a diaphyseal hydatid cyst. Surgical treatment consisted in wide resection followed by washout using a 20% hypertonic saline solution and nail plate fixation. Albendazole was given as adjuvant treatment. Postoperatively, the patient developed rhabdomyolysis with local superinfected necrosis which required early revision to remove the material. At twenty-two months, the local and general course was satisfactory. The pathological fracture healed and no secondary localization could be identified. Echinococcosis serology remained negative. The surgery-hypertonic solution-albendazole combination appears to be an attractive therapeutic solution for bone hydatid disease.

Hydatid cyst of bone.

Hydatid disease is an extremely uncommon differential diagnosis in the cystic/lytic lesions of bone. We present a rare case of echinococcal infection of femur which presented as pathological fracture in a middle-aged female and diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology. Hydatid disease of bone is often asymptomatic, and its diagnosis is usually made when lesions have become extensive.

The development and persistence of phanerozoites in experimental infections of Plasmodium sasai.

Phanerozoites of Plasmodium sasai parasitised virtually all tissues of Takydromus tachydromoides infected by inoculation of blood, and persisted until each lizard died, 2-296 days postinoculation. At 4 days postinoculation, phanerozoites were larger than at 2 and 6 days; many were observed rupturing, suggesing a maturation time of approximately 4 days. The proliferation of phanerozoites decreased after 2 months postinoculation, but small phanerozoites were still present at 296 days. A few encysted phanerozoites (chronozoites) appeared at 2 days postinoculation, but from 75 days comprised over half of parasites present in most tissues. Some differences in mean size and shape were evident among various organs. Phanerozoites occurred in connective tissue and endothelium in all organs, but were most plentiful in the heart in every infection, often occurring in clusters of > 30 schizonts, with up to 105 found in single sections at 4 days. Phanerozoites did not parasitise reticular cells of the spleen and bone marrow, in contrast to Plasmodium mexicanum as described in unnatural host species. Little difference was seen between two strains of P. sasai in its natural host T. tachydromoides and a strain isolated from Takydromus smaragdinus.

Two cases of femoral hydatidosis secondary to canine tapeworm treated by albendazole and prosthetic reconstruction.

Osseous hydatidosis is a very severe and recurrent complication of hydatidosis. The two cases reported here illustrate the severity of this invasive and destructive osseous parasitosis located at the femur and the hip joint, which required extensive resection and prosthetic reconstruction. The first case had a long history of liver and lung hydatidosis with a wide 'en-bloc' extra-articular resection of the right hip joint including the proximal femur; the second case had an 'en-bloc' total femur resection and total femur prosthesis. Preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy with albendazole was combined with surgery and was applied for many months. These two cases occurred several years after the incomplete treatments of recurrent lung or liver hydatidosis and might have been prevented if chemotherapy had been initially applied.

Multi-organ hydatidosis with extensive involvement of the hemi-pelvis and ipsilateral femur.

Bone involvement of hydatid disease is uncommon but when encountered, it presents few unique pathological features. The pattern of tissue involvement is largely different from that of visceral hydatid cyst. We describe the case of a 47 year-old man from northern India, a case of systemic hydatidosis including the liver and the right lung, presenting with an abscess like lesion in the left gluteal region with pathological fractures of the left femur. Radiographs and CT-scan images showed extensive invasion of the left hemi-pelvis and left proximal femur. Debridement of the honeycombed ilium yielded hydatid fluid, numerous small cysts and necrotic material. Multiple large devitalized and sequestrated bone pieces were recovered from the bone cavity of the affected ilium. A histopathological study of the bone sequestrums revealed the unique pattern of bone invasion by the characteristic laminated multi-layered cyst walls into areas of least resistance. Bone sequestration has not often been described or demonstrated elaborately in published studies of the past. The bone defects formed after debridement of the ilium and proximal femur were filled with bone cement along with augmentation of the femur using intra-medullary nail. The surgical technique adopted in our case although was not expected to be curative owing to the multi-system disease; it did result in significant functional improvement in the patient.

Atypical trichinellosis without eosinophilia associated with osteomyelitis.

Human trichinellosis is an important food-borne zoonosis caused by a nematode worm, Trichinella. The symptoms of the disease vary widely depending on the infection load, stage of infection and host immunity and include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, facial edema and muscle pain. The disease is usually characterized by moderate to high eosinophilia. We hereby discuss an atypical case of trichinellosis, which presented with myositis of the thigh muscles but had no eosinophilia and no facial or periorbital edema and was associated with osteomyelitis of the femur. The diagnosis was made by the demonstration of anti-trichinella antibodies and later confirmed by the presence of larvae of Trichinella in the digested muscle biopsy. Physicians must be aware of trichinosis and should include it in their differential diagnosis when examining patients with fever and myositis with or without eosinophilia.

Recurrence of femoral echinococcosis 5 years after a primary surgical procedure.

We report a case of recurring femoral hydatid disease in a trisomic-21 patient 5 years after a primary surgery. The patient presented a thigh abscess with a lateral supracondylar area fistula. The workup demonstrated massive osteolysis involving the proximal, diaphyseal,and distal femur as well as multiple soft tissue cystic masses but no metastases. Treatment consisted in cystic masses debridment, extensive bony-curettage of the intraosseous cystic zones, temporary weight-bearing suppression, and albendazole. The patient remains under follow-up and cannot be considered definitely cured.

A rare case of femoral hydatidosis.

BACKGROUND: We present a case of a hydatid cyst located in the left thigh. CASE REPORT: A 67-year-old man was admitted to our department with a 10 × 5 × 4 cm mass in the medial compartment of the left thigh. Computed tomography scan indicated possible hydatidosis. Serological testing (indirect hemagglutination) was positive for hydatidosis. The patient was operated seven years ago for liver hydatidosis. RESULTS: The patient, after evaluation, underwent surgical excision of the cyst under epidural anesthesia. The cyst was located in the left quadriceps muscle; had a soft, elastic substance; was firmly attached to the muscle fibers; and contained transparent fluid and daughter cysts. Histologic examination confirmed the initial diagnosis. The patient was discharged on the fifth postoperative day. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of muscular hydatidosis is difficult and the usual diagnostic methods are the serological tests for hydatidosis and imaging (e.g., ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging). In every soft tissue mass with benign characteristics the existence of a hydatid cyst should always be considered. Careful surgical excision of the intact cyst is the treatment of choice, but complementary control for liver-or other organ-hydatidosis should be performed.

Deep onchocercomata close to the thigh bones of a Liberian patient.

During nodulectomies on a 53 year old Liberian woman, multiple onchocercomata were detected on the femur distal to the greater trochanter on both sides of the body. The nodules were attached to the periosteum. This location along the shaft of the thigh bone provides a further hint as to where clinically undetectable deep onchocercomata can be located.

Primary hydatid disease of the femur: unsuspected and incidental MRI findings with long-term curative results on medical treatment alone.

This report describes the early magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and long-term follow-up results of albendazole treatment in a 16-year-old girl with primary hydatid disease of the femur diagnosed incidentally during the course of a post-traumatic knee infection. As far as we know, this is the first report of the early MRI findings and long-term outcome of medical treatment in primary hydatid disease of the femur in this age group.

Hydatid disease of bone with adjacent joint involvement. A radiological follow-up of 12 years.

Osseous lesions have been reported in only 1-2% of patients with hydatid disease. Joint involvement is usually due to secondary extension from the adjacent bone, although primary hydatid synovitis after haematogenous spread of the infection can be seen. We present a long-term radiological follow-up (12 yr) in a patient who developed hydatid disease of the left pelvic and femoral bones with cartilage destruction of the ipsilateral hip joint. After a Girdlestone arthroplasty, she received mebendazole (3 g/day) for 10 yr and albendazole (400 mg/day) for 2 yr with radiological impairment of the lesions. Complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice for osseous hydatid disease. Isolated medical therapy with mebendazole or albendazole is not adequate for controlling the process, but it can be added to surgery or, as in our case, used like isolated therapy when complete excision is not possible.