[Benign tumors and pseudotumor of the maxilla in children]. / Tumeurs bénignes et pseudo-tumeurs des maxillaires de l'enfant.

The underlying causes in series of benign tumours and pseudo-tumours and cysts of the maxillary bone observed in children over a ten-year period in the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Hospital in Paris are reported. Besides the frequently encountered odontogenic cysts, most cases involved aneurysmal cysts and benign odontogenic tumours, as well as rare tumours including a hydatic cyst. Several lesions were discovered on a panoramic X ray performed for orthodontal survey.

Improved detection of human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in cervical scrapes by a multiplex polymerase chain reaction: a 4% prevalence among 120 French women with normal cytology.

BACKGROUND: Cancer of the cervix is still a deadly disease. Since the finding of an association between human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical carcinoma, the development of a reliable means of detecting viral DNA in cervical scrapes has become a priority. We have used the polymerase chain reaction to detect DNA from HPV types 16 and 18 in cervical scrapes. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We designed a protocol that minimizes manipulation steps and improves control of the reaction. Our technique involves elaboration of a unique reaction mixture (core reagent) containing all reagents except Taq polymerase. Each cervical sample from controls and patients treated during the same experiment, received an aliquot of this core reagent, with the DNA polymerase added just before dispensing. The results of the amplification are visualized on a polyacrylamide gel stained with ethidium bromide. Positive results for viral DNA are confirmed by restriction mapping of the amplified products. We used HeLa cells as the positive control for HPV 18 and negative control for HPV 16 and SiHa cells for the reciprocal controls. As an internal control, we used a target in the exon 3 of the human embryonic myosin heavy chain gene. RESULTS: The polymerase chain reaction in our experiments assure a sensitivity at least equal to two copies of target per cell. We analyzed 120 cervical smears with normal cytology; only 4% gave a positive result for HPV 16. We did not detect any HPV 18 DNA. CONCLUSIONS: This prevalence, which is among the lowest reported in the literature to date, supports the concept that HPV detection may have value in aiding the prevention of cervical cancer.

Agyria--pachygyria and Miller-Dieker syndrome: clinical, genetic and chromosome studies.

Twelve cases of lissencephaly are reported. A high resolution chromosome study was performed on each in order to detect small chromosomal anomalies, undetectable with routine techniques. Only one case was shown to have an unbalanced karyotype with a microdeletion of the short arm of chromosome 17 (del 17p). This child also had symptoms of the Miller-Dieker syndrome, consisting of lissencephaly, characteristic facies, pre- and post-natal growth retardation and other birth defects. As proposed by Dobyns, it seems justifiable to classify lissencephalies into four different groups, according to other clinical manifestations and results of chromosome studies.

Interstitial dup(1p) and severe intrauterine growth retardation.

An 1,860 g baby girl was born spontaneously after a 38 weeks pregnancy with important foetal hypotrophy and died at 6 weeks of life. She had an inverted duplication of a small part of the short arm of chromosome 1p:46, XX, inv dup(1) (pter p31::p11p13::p31 ter). This observation is compared to three others reported in the literature with intrachromosomal duplication of 1p.

[A radio-endoscopic case: Barrett esophagus in children]. / Observation radio-endoscopique: endobrachyoesophage de l'enfant.

The authors report a case of Barrett's oesophagus in a child. This observation is characterized by the extent of the lesion which is of three types of metaplasic epithelium usually seen in this disease (fundic, cardial and intestinal tissue); the difficulties in differential diagnosis from uncomplicated hiatal hernia justify radiological and endoscopical examinations with multiple biopsies. The discussion centers on the risk of malignant transformation with its therapeutical consequences and the long term follow-up of such patients.

[Untimely extraction in mandibular sarcoma. Apropos of 2 cases]. / L'extraction intempestive dans des sarcomes mandibulaires. A propos de deux cas.

Two patients with chondrosarcoma and fibrosarcoma of the mandible respectively were seen after abusive extraction of first molars from the tumoral regions. It is essential to recognize presenting signs of mandibular tumors since dental extractions are contraindicated in these cases. These untimely procedures increase the delay between the onset of the first clinical signs, the diagnosis, and the start of therapy, and thus make for a poorer prognosis.

[Malignant teratomas of the thyroid body. Apropos of 2 cases]. / Les tératomes malins du corps thyroïde. A propos de deux observations.

The literature was reviewed in the light of two cases of malignant teratoma of the thyroid in young women. It would seem that the histological diagnosis is easy, with frequent predominance of neuroid tissue at varying levels of maturity. By contrast, the histogenesis remains in the area of hypothesis: germinal theory and embryonic theory of teratomas, or heterotopism of cells of the neural crest, taken up by thyroid C cells.