A comparison of the femur heads histomorphometrically regarding trabecular bone properties in the patients with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

The purpose was to compare the bone samples histomorphometrically regarding trabecular bone properties in the patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis (OP). Femoral head specimens were obtained from 18 patients with OA and 17 patients with femoral neck fracture due to OP during hip arthroplasty. Histomorphometric analyses were performed by soft ware program (Carl Zeiss) to measure trabecular area (Tb.a, mm(3)), trabecular thickness (Tb.th, µm) and trabecular separation (Tb.s, µm). In the results, Tb.a and Tb.th values were significantly lower (p < 0.05), Tb.s was higher in the patients with OP (p < 0.05). Bone metabolism parameters were different between the groups (p < 0.05). All histomorphometric parameters were highly correlated with the BMDs (p < 0.01). This study showed inverse relation between OA and OP regarding trabecular bone properties, BMD and bone turnover metabolism markers. The strong relations between results suggest that either BMDs or bone turnover markers can be used for prescience of the fractures.

Giant cell tumor of the bone with an asymptomatic huge solitary lung metastasis; case presentation and literature review.

A case concerning a man having giant cell tumor (GCT) of the leg and huge lung metastasis is presented. This case is discussed with a brief review of the relevant literature regarding detection and treatment of this care condition.

Eosinophil infiltration of the oesophageal mucosa in patients with pollen allergy during the season.

BACKGROUND: The oesophagus is normally devoid of eosinophils. There are some disorders accompanying with eosinophil infiltration. Food allergy has been reported as a common reason, especially in children but some other studies have also indicated that aeroallergens might have a role in oesophageal eosinophil accumulation. OBJECTIVE: In this study we investigated whether there is any eosinophil recruitment in the oesophagus of pollen-allergic patients who had respiratory symptoms during the season. METHODS: Thirty-eight symptomatic patients (allergic rhinitis (AR) with or without asthma) who had sensitization to grass pollen were included in the study during the pollen season. Controls were composed of 25 healthy non-atopics and 24 patients diagnosed as having gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Reflux was excluded in allergic and non-atopic groups, whereas the presence of allergy was eliminated in control groups. Gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed in all participants, and biopsy specimens were taken from both the proximal and the distal oesophagus to evaluate eosinophil accumulation. At the same time, blood eosinophil numbers were counted. Results Oesophageal eosinophil accumulation was found in 10 allergic patients (26%) and in five patients (21%) with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease but none of the healthy controls had eosinophils (0%) (P<0.05). Blood eosinophils were higher in these 10 patients than the rest of the 28 patients without infiltration. In this group, blood eosinophils were also correlated with the number of accumulated eosinophils in the oesophagus (P<0.001). There was more intense eosinophil infiltration at the distal part of the oesophagus in the reflux group when compared with the allergic group (mean 7.6+/-5.6 vs. 3.2+/-3.7). Nevertheless, eosinophils were found to be concentrated (mean 5.5+/-7.3) in the proximal oesophagus of allergic patients, although it was 1.7+/-1.5 in reflux patients (P>0.05). Conclusion Our results showed that eosinophil infiltration might be observed in oesophageal tissue of patients with respiratory tract allergy during the symptomatic period. This finding may possibly reflect the systemic and common mucosal aspects of allergic inflammation.

Severe colitis after administration of UFT chemotherapy for temporal bone carcinoma.

UFT (Uftoral), a blend of uracil and Tegafur, is an antitumour agent for oral administration that is presumed to maintain the concentration of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in tumour tissue. As a result of increased use of high-dose 5-FU-based chemotherapy for various solid tumours, complicated drug-induced colitis is more frequently observed. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of 5-FU and its deficiency is responsible for the severe toxicities encountered in cancer patients receiving 5-FU. The authors present the case of a patient with locally advanced temporal bone carcinoma who developed haematochezia during a course of chemotherapy with UFT. Colonoscopy of the patient showed bleeding petechia-like lesions and superficial inflammatory exudate, whilst histology revealed non-specific inflammatory changes of the colon mucosa. As the haematochezia improved with supportive treatment, neutropenia complicated the clinical picture. This patient developed life-threatening UFT toxicity without an exon-14 DPD gene mutation.