A rare presentation of primary cardiac myxofibrosarcoma: Case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Primary cardiac myxofibrosarcoma is a rare and aggressive malignancy, with the majority of approaching strategies relying on case reports. This article provides insights into its diagnosis and treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: This paper presents the case of a 40-year-old man with sudden onset hemoptysis, leading to the diagnosis of primary cardiac myxofibrosarcoma. Treatment involved open-heart surgery to excise the left atrium tumor, followed by 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. Unfortunately, brain metastasis developed, leading to the patient's death 1 year after initial diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Primary cardiac myxofibrosarcoma remains a clinical challenge with an unfavorable prognosis. Early diagnosis through advanced imaging is crucial, and research is needed to explore innovative treatments. This case underscores the complexities of managing this rare cardiac malignancy and highlights the necessity for ongoing investigations to enhance patient outcomes.

Concurrent Collagenous Gastritis and Collagenous Colitis: A Case Presentation and Review of the Literature.

Collagenous gastritis is a rare gastrointestinal condition, and its presence with collagenous colitis may be an exception. We describe a 31-year-old man with simultaneous collagenous gastritis and collagenous colitis. The patient initially presented with dyspepsia, anemia, and weight loss. Endoscopy assessment revealed irregular gastric atrophy with the normal colon. Gastric biopsies illustrated increased thickness and subepithelial collagen band.

An Analysis of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Functions in Cirrhotic Rats in Response to Surgical Stress.

INTRODUCTION: The activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis through severe diseases and stress courses leads to a rise in circulatory cortisol for an adequate response to stress. This axis is one of the important systems that involve in neuroendocrine response to the surgical stress. Hepatoadrenal syndrome that is a manifestation of adrenal insufficiency (AI) in the course of liver disease is described as insufficient production of steroid hormones mainly cortisol due to primary dysfunction of the adrenal gland or secondary malfunction of the HPA axis to provoke the adrenal gland leading to severe illness and increased mortality. Through this evidence, we presented this question as to whether cirrhotic patients have a greater mortality rate than other patients after surgery and if the HPA axis is partly responsible for this phenomenon. Also how the adrenal gland functions during surgery in cirrhotic rats. We conducted this study to assess the effect of cirrhosis on the HPA axis through surgery in cirrhotic rats by evaluating the changes in serum corticosterone level and blood sugar before, immediately, and 30 minutes after surgery. METHOD: This study was performed in the animal lab approved by the Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2014, on 25 male Wistar rats. Thioacetamide was used for induction of cirrhosis in rats with new method of monitoring weekly changes of rats' weight which had 100% success in procedure and reduction in mortality rate. Laparotomy was performed on all of the rats during 9-12 in the morning within 10-15 minutes. Laparotomy was chosen as surgical stress because of its simplicity and feasibility. Three blood samples were obtained from each rat immediately after inducing anesthesia, immediately after the conclusion of surgery, and 30 minutes after surgery. The plasma concentration of corticosterone was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. P value of 0.05 or less was considered as statistical significance. RESULT: Cirrhotic rat group consisted of 15 rats and control group consisted of 10 rats. There was a significant difference in the mean level of corticosterone and blood sugar between the cirrhotic rat group and control group in the 3 time levels (P=0.044/P < 0.001). Pairwise comparison of mean corticosterone and blood sugar levels between case (mean: 249.359 ± 3.90) and control (mean: 262.40 ± 4.69) showed a significant difference (P=0.04, 95% CI = 0.30-25.79/P < 0.001, 95% CI = 129.62-233.96). Unlike the control group, the level of serum corticosterone was compared in the cirrhotic rat group (group 1) before, immediately, and 30 minutes after surgery, which showed a significant difference in our study (P value = 0.005). However, this result was also significant in comparing the blood sugar in 3 time levels of surgery in the control group (P value < 0.001) but not in the cirrhotic rat group (P value = 0.233). CONCLUSION: There was a significant rise in corticosterone levels during 3 time levels of surgery in cirrhotic rats; nevertheless, this elevation was significantly lower than the control group. Also the mean level of blood sugar was higher in the control group than in cirrhotic rats. However, this difference was significant in comparison with the same times of surgery between the two groups. These results approximately can substantiate our hypothesis that AI in the field of cirrhosis would also affect the response of HPA axis to stress during and after surgery that can be concomitant with higher rate of cardiovascular unsteadiness incidences, deteriorating the severity of illness and rise in mortality rate.

Clinical outcomes of endoscopic versus microscopic trans-sphenoidal surgery for large pituitary adenoma.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical outcomes of large pituitary adenomas (≥3 cm in maximum diameter), operated on by Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery (ETS), versus Microscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery (MTS). METHODS: Medical records and MRI Scans of patients with a diagnosis of pituitary adenoma for whom transphenoidal surgery was done were reviewed. Complete pre and post-operative data were available for 121 patients. Thirty five patients had large pituitary adenoma and were enrolled in this study. ETS was done in 16 patients, and 19 underwent MTS. All patients were followed for at least six months. Clinical and imaging characteristics were reported in details. Post-operative clinical outcomes were defined as clinical outcomes persisted 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: The average tumor size was 36.3 ± 4.4 mm in ETS group, and 34.0 ± 4.6 mm in MTS group, (p = .46). Six months after surgery, tumor size was 4.6 ± 6.6 mm in ETS and 17.7 ± 12.2 mm in MTS group, (p = .002). Gross total resection (GTR) was observed in the 81.2% of the patient in the ETS group. In the MTS group, GTR was observed in 15.8%. Post-operative clinical outcomes including new onset hypopituitarism, visual impairment, and permanent diabetes insipidus (DI) were comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSION: ETS is superior to MTS in treatment of large pituitary adenomas with comparable post-operative complications.

Collagenous Gastritis, a Rare Cause of Dyspepsia Resistant to Treatment; A Case Report.

Collagenous gastritis is hardly ever found in children and adults. Based on the extent of collagenous changes in the bowel, various symptoms may develop including iron deficiency, anemia, and abdominal pain in most of the patients. We present a 30-year-old man with persistent abdominal pain and anemia due to collagenous gastritis.

Uterine primitive neuroectodermal tumor.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors are fairly rare in uterus. A case of uterine body primitive neuroectodermal tumor in a 32-year-old Iranian woman is presented. The patient was admitted with abdominal pain and fever and underwent emergency exploratory surgery with total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic lymph node dissection. Posterior wall of the uterus was necrotic and ruptured and a huge tumor disrupted the uterine body. The tumor was strongly positive for CD99, NSE, and chromogranin; No reaction was seen for CD10, CD45 and myogenin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an uterine body primitive neuroectodermal tumor and the second report of uterine primitive neuroectodermal tumor from Iran.

Protective effect of ghrelin on acetaminophen-induced liver injury in rat.

Ghrelin is a peptide that has protective effects on many tissues of the body. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. Acetaminophen, a commonly used analgesic-antipyretic drug, has hepatotoxic side effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective role of ghrelin in liver toxicity due to acetaminophen overdose. Thirty male rats were used in this study and divided into five groups. They were control, propylene-glycol (as a solvent of acetaminophen), acetaminophen, acetaminophen and NAC, acetaminophen and ghrelin groups. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and hepatic enzymes, AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase), were assessed and histologic study of liver were performed as indicators of liver damage following acetaminophen toxicity. Results showed that Ghrelin decreased ALT and AST to the normal level, and also reduced TNF-α. Although NAC (the standard antidote of acetaminophen toxicity) also reduced ALT, AST and TNF-α levels, our results show that ghrelin is more potent than NAC in protecting the liver from acetaminophen-induced liver injury.