Parietal bone osteoid osteoma: A rare cause of button sequestrum sign in pediatrics. Case report and review of literature.

The current study evaluates a rare case of parietal bone osteoid osteoma in pediatrics and review the differential diagnosis of button sequestrum sign in the literature. A 12-year-old girl expressed localized pain in the right parietal bone. MRI represented enhancing nodule with button sequestrum sign appearance.

Bilateral intraosseous tumor of the calcaneus with imaging-pathologic discordance a case report and literatures review.

A case of bilateral intraosseous tumor of the calcaneus with different MRI imaging is presented. On the left, radiological findings suggest intraosseous lipoma, but on the right-sided lesion, imaging studies were not convincing. The microscopic report showed foreign body granulomatous reaction, a rare clinical pathological discordant.

Cardioprotective effect of saffron extract and safranal in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in wistar rats.

OBJECTIVE(S): This study was designed to evaluate the cardioprotective effect of Crocus sativus L. (saffron) aqueous extract and safranal, the major constituent of the essential oil of saffron, on lipid peroxidation, biochemical parameters and histopathological findings in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction in Wistar rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The saffron extract (20, 40, 80 and 160 mg/kg/day IP) or control were administered for 9 days along with ISO (85 mg/kg, SC, at 24 hr interval) on 8th and 9th day in rats. Activities of creatine kinase-muscle, brain (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured using standard commercial kits. The level of malondialdehyde in heart tissue was estimated with thiobarbituric acid reactive species test. For histopathological examination, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used. RESULTS: ISO administration induced a statistically significant increase (P< 0.001) in serum LDH and CK-MB and a significant increase (P< 0.001) in the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) in the heart as compared to vehicle control rats. Saffron pretreatment (20, 40, 80 and 160 mg/kg IP) or safranal pretreatment (0.025, 0.050, 0.075 ml/kg IP) for 8 days, significantly decreased (P< 0.001) the serum LDH and CK-MB and myocardial lipid peroxidation as compared to ISO- induced rats. Histological findings of the heart sections confirmed myocardial injury with ISO administration and preserved nearly normal tissue architecture with saffron or safranal pretreatment. CONCLUSION: Saffron and safranal may have cardioprotective effect in ISO-induced myocardial infarction through modulation of oxidative stress in such a way that they maintain the redox status of the cell.

Antiurolithiatic activity of Pinus eldarica medw: fruits aqueous extract in rats.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the antiurolithiatic activity of Pinus eldarica fruit on induced calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis in rats was induced by administering ethylene glycol 1% for 30 days via drinking water. The prophylactic and therapeutic groups received P. eldarica fruit extract (500 and 1000 mg/kg/day) as well for 30 days and from the 14th day through the end of the experiment, respectively. The following variables were assessed; urine volume, urinary calcium excretion, and crystalluria. Finally, rats' kidneys were histopathologically examined. RESULTS: The aqueous extract prophylactic treatment (500 mg/kg/day) increased urinary calcium excretion. Qualitative analysis of crystalluria and histopathologic examination showed that the administered dose of extract prevented stone formation in the kidneys significantly. The prophylactic treatment did not increase urine volume in comparison with ethylene glycol. Stone formation did not decrease in the treatment group. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that P. eldarica fruit extract prevents calcium oxalate deposition, without producing diuresis.

Increased microvessel density in involved organs from patients with HTLV-I associated adult T cell leukemia lymphoma.

Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATLL) is a rapidly progressive lymphoproliferative disorder secondary to infection with the human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). The role of angiogenesis in the development and prognosis of many hematologic malignancies is established. We have previously shown that ATLL derived cells secrete high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF), induce endothelial tube formation in vitro and establish functional gap junction-mediated communication with endothelial cells. We also demonstrated that plasma from ATLL and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I associated myelopathy patients exhibit very high levels of VEGF and b-FGF. Recently, we showed that treatment with the combination of zidovudine and interferon alpha reduced both HTLV-I proviral load and importantly VEGF plasma levels suggesting a potential anti-angiogenic effect of this therapy. In this report, we evaluated microvessel density (MVD) in involved organs from 20 patients with ATLL, as compared to normal organs from matched controls. We show evidence of significantly increased MVD in all tested involved organs from ATLL patients, suggesting that angiogenesis plays an important role in the development or organ invasion of ATLL, and could represent a potentially interesting target for anti-angiogenic therapy of ATLL.