ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Cutaneous myeloid sarcoma is a rare extramedullary tumour of immature myeloid cells. It is most often associated with acute myeloid leukaemia, and more rarely with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Herein we report a case of cutaneous myeloid sarcoma associated with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease in an 84-year-old man with a diffuse purple papular and nodular rash. The disease course was marked by a spontaneous and total regression for two months. Given the patient's age and general condition, chemotherapy could not be given. DISCUSSION: Cutaneous myeloid sarcoma is rare. It is often associated with acute myeloid leukaemia, and more rarely with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease, but it can occur in isolation. Diagnosis is particularly difficult and is based a consistent body of clinical and histological evidence. Spontaneous regression is very rare and involves immunological mechanisms that are still incompletely understood. Recurrence occurs within a variable time frame and is often associated with transformation to acute myeloid leukaemia if this was not already present at the time of diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Herein we report an extremely rare case of spontaneous regression of cutaneous myeloid sarcoma associated with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease.
Subject(s)
Sarcoma, Myeloid , Skin Neoplasms , Aged, 80 and over , Humans , Male , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local , Remission, Spontaneous , Sarcoma, Myeloid/diagnosis , Sarcoma, Myeloid/drug therapy , Skin , Skin Neoplasms/drug therapyABSTRACT
Chemical redox reactions are extremely efficient to prepare fully reduced or oxidized phases that are formed during the topotactic insertion/extraction of alkaline ions. Herein, we report these reactions and discuss the possibility to generate new ordered or disordered rock salt-type structures depending on the structure of the mother phase. We have shown that a disordered rock salt-type structure is formed when the transition element is located at the tetrahedral site, as exemplified by the formation of Na3V2O5 upon chemical reduction of V2O5.
ABSTRACT
Noncontact, depth-resolved, optical probing of retinal response to visual stimulation with a <10-microm spatial resolution, achieved by using functional ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (fUHROCT), is demonstrated in isolated rabbit retinas. The method takes advantage of the fact that physiological changes in dark-adapted retinas caused by light stimulation can result in local variation of the tissue reflectivity. fUHROCT scans were acquired from isolated retinas synchronously with electrical recordings before, during, and after light stimulation. Pronounced stimulus-related changes in the retinal reflectivity profile were observed in the inner/outer segments of the photoreceptor layer and the plexiform layers. Control experiments (e.g., dark adaptation vs. light stimulation), pharmacological inhibition of photoreceptor function, and synaptic transmission to the inner retina confirmed that the origin of the observed optical changes is the altered physiological state of the retina evoked by the light stimulus. We have demonstrated that fUHROCT allows for simultaneous, noninvasive probing of both retinal morphology and function, which could significantly improve the early diagnosis of various ophthalmic pathologies and could lead to better understanding of pathogenesis.
Subject(s)
Retina/cytology , Retina/physiology , Tomography, Optical Coherence/methods , Animals , In Vitro Techniques , Photoreceptor Cells/metabolism , RabbitsABSTRACT
CONTEXT: The " Standards, Options and Recommendations" (SOR) project, which started in 1993, is a collaboration between the French Federation of Cancer Centres (FNCLCC), the 20 French Regional Cancer Centres, and specialists from French public universities, general hospitals and private clinics. The main objective is the development of clinical practice guidelines to improve the quality of health care and the outcome of cancer patients. OBJECTIVE: To develop good practice guidelines for second opinion in anatomic and surgical pathology in oncology, in collaboration with the French Society for Anatomic and Surgical Pathology. METHOD: The methodology is based on a literature review and critical appraisal by a multidisciplinary group of experts who define the CPGs using the definitions of the Standards, Options and Recommendations project. Once the guideline has been defined, the document is submitted to independent reviewers for review. RESULTS: The working group defined four types of second opinions in anatomic and surgical pathology: personal consultation, inter-institutional consultation, peer review consultation for a scientific survey, intra-departmental consultation in the context of quality control. The main recommendation is that second opinion should respect the patients' rights and the medical ethics code. For each of the four situations defined recommendations have been developed, taking this principle into consideration.
Subject(s)
Neoplasms/pathology , Referral and Consultation/standards , Ethics, Medical , Humans , Patient Rights , Quality Assurance, Health CareABSTRACT
A compact, low-cost, prismless Ti:Al2O3 laser with 176-nm bandwidth (FWHM) and 20-mW output power was developed. Ultrahigh-resolution ophthalmic optical coherence tomography (OCT) ex vivo imaging in an animal model with approximately 1.2-microm axial resolution and in vivo imaging in patients with macular pathologies with approximately 3-microm axial resolution were demonstrated. Owing to the pump laser, this light source significantly reduces the cost of broadband OCT systems. Furthermore, the source has great potential for clinical application of spectroscopic and ultrahigh-resolution OCT because of its small footprint (500 mm x 180 mm including the pump laser), user friendliness, stability, and reproducibility.
Subject(s)
Lasers , Optics and Photonics , Tomography , Aluminum Oxide , Animals , Equipment Design , TitaniumABSTRACT
A national organized mass-screening effective programme is the only way to reduce the risk of cervical cancer, if properly organized and correlated with a system of Quality Assurance. Since 1900, an Association for Quality Assurance was created by the French pathologists, named "AFAQAP". These pathologists thus demonstrated their interest in this kind of action that should be effective if women and clinicians are also implied. The pathologists have concluded the first part of their programme with these French guidelines for internal quality control of pap smears.
Subject(s)
Mass Screening/methods , Papanicolaou Test , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathology , Vaginal Smears/standards , Female , France , HumansABSTRACT
Thin films transparent to optical radiation offer polarization properties that are enhanced when the thickness of the film is an odd multiple of the quarter-wavelength. The transmission and reflection properties of a 1.16-µm-thick film of diamond realized by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition have been studied at 10.6 µm. A compact polarizer built with four films at a Brewster angle revealed an extinction ratio of better than 1:1000 of the S polarization. The interest in optics in which parasitic-reflected or transmitted beams do not exist is pointed out. The high damage threshold of diamonds opens the possibility of controlling the polarization characteristics of high-power lasers used, for example, for soldering and cutting applications.
ABSTRACT
Herpes simplex virus antigen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and production of leukocyte migration inhibitory factor (LMIF) and lymphocyte-derived interferon were studied in normal individuals and patients with recurrent Herpes labialis and Herpes progenitalis. Virus-specific lymphoproliferative responses were regularly detected in patients with recurrent infection irrespective of the clinical stage of infection. In contrast, transient deficiencies in herpes-specific lymphoid production of both LMIF and interferon were regularly documented at the time of and immediately before herpes simplex-induced vesicular eruptions. During the convalescence, pronounced production of these mediators in response to antigenic stimulation with inactivated virus antigen preparations were regularly detected. The biology of these fluctuations in lymphokine production is evaluated and discussed.