Neurosurgical Residency Training in Latin America: Current Status, Challenges, and Future Opportunities.

Background: This analysis provides an overview of neurosurgery residency programs in Latin America; it evaluates strengths, weaknesses, and limitations within the Latin American Federation for Societies in Neurosurgery countries. Considering the shared cultural background between these neighboring countries and globalization of neurosurgical education, similarities in training characteristics and equal opportunities are expected. However, program differences are inevitable and should be investigated to promote collaboration and homogenization of training.

Collagen Type XI Alpha 1 Expression in Intraductal Papillomas Predicts Malignant Recurrence.

Despite the progress achieved in the treatment of breast cancer, there are still many unsolved clinical issues, being the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of papillary diseases, one of the highest challenges. Because of its unpredictable clinical behavior, treatment of intraductal papilloma has generated a great controversy. Even though considered as a benign lesion, it presents high rate of malignant recurrence.

Collagen, type XI, alpha 1: an accurate marker for differential diagnosis of breast carcinoma invasiveness in core needle biopsies.

Accurate diagnosis of invasive breast lesions, when analyzed by Core Needle Biopsy, may suppose a major challenge for the pathologist. Various markers of invasiveness such as laminin, S-100 protein, P63 or calponin have been described; however, none of them is completely reliable. The use of a specific marker of the infiltrating tumor microenvironment seems vital to support the diagnosis of invasive against in situ lesions.

Clinical and radiological features of breast tumors according to history of false-positive results in mammography screening.

Background: Women with a false-positive result after a screening mammogram have an increased risk of cancer detection in subsequent participations, especially after assessments involving cytology or biopsy. We aimed to compare women's personal characteristics, tumoral features and the radiological appearance of cancers with and without a previous false-positive result generated by additional imaging or invasive procedures.

Methods: From 1996 to 2007, 111,098 women aged 45-69 years participated in four population-based breast cancer screening programs in Spain, and 1281 cancers were detected.

Differences in radiological patterns, tumour characteristics and diagnostic precision between digital mammography and screen-film mammography in four breast cancer screening programmes in Spain.

Objectives: To compare tumour characteristics between cancers detected with screen-film mammography (SFM) and digital mammography (DM) and to evaluate changes in positive predictive values (PPVs) for further assessments, for invasive procedures and for distinct radiological patterns in recalled women.

Methods: 242,838 screening mammograms (171,191 SFM and 71,647 DM) from 103,613 women aged 45-69 years, performed in four population-based breast cancer screening programmes in Spain, were included. The tumour characteristics and PPVs of each group were compared.

Reduction in false-positive results after introduction of digital mammography: analysis from four population-based breast cancer screening programs in Spain.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the introduction of digital mammography on the recall rate, detection rate, false-positive rate, and rates of invasive procedures in a cohort of women from four population-based breast cancer screening programs in Spain.

Materials And Methods: The study was approved by the ethics committee; informed consent was not required. A total of 242,838 mammograms (171,191 screen film [screen-film mammography group] and 71,647 digital [digital mammography group]) obtained in 103,613 women aged 45-69 years were included.

Surgery of cosmetic sequelae after breast-conserving therapy.

Although a considerable number of patients have an unfair cosmetic result after breast-conserving therapy, which correlates with poor psychosocial functioning, surprisingly, really only very few patients undergo surgical correction. The purpose of this article was to report our experience in the surgical treatment of such patients and analyze a special subgroup which required bilateral reduction mammaplasty because of associated symptomatic macromastia and their desire to reduce their breast size. From July 2000 to November 2008, some 23 patients consulted for unsatisfactory cosmetic outcome after breast-conserving therapy, fourteen of them accepting the surgical treatment proposed and these were operated upon.

New protocol for the isolation of nitrocellulose from gunpowders: utility in their identification.

In this work, a new approach for the isolation of nitrocellulose from smokeless gunpowders has been developed. A multistep solvent extraction method was needed to purify nitrocellulose contained in gunpowders. For single-base or double-base gunpowders six consecutive solvent extractions were selected: three extractions with methanol (to remove nitroglycerin, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, ethyl-centralite, diphenylamine, and diphenylamine derivatives); one extraction with dichloromethane (to remove colorants and plasticizers of organic nature); one extraction with methanol (to facilitate a final polar extraction); and one extraction with water (to remove ionic components) were necessary at 35 degrees C.

Reduction mammaplasty: an advantageous option for breast conserving surgery in large-breasted patients.

Oncoplastic breast conserving surgery is a good approach for large-breasted women with breast cancer, as it increases the rate of breast conserving surgery, improves cosmetic results and prevents both cosmetic sequelae and the symptoms associated with macromastia. We reviewed ten publications in which 276 patients had been treated with bilateral reduction mammaplasty. All showed the same conclusion: women with breast cancer and macromastia candidates for breast conserving surgery could obtain clear oncological and cosmetic advantages and an improvement in quality of life if they were treated using bilateral reduction onco-therapeutic mammaplasty.

Postoperative spindle cell nodule of the breast: Pseudosarcomatous myofibroblastic proliferation following endo-surgery.

Despite the frequent use of fine-needle aspiration, core biopsy and surgery, postoperative spindle cell nodule (PSCN) is a rare pathological complication that may be diagnostically treacherous. Presented herein is the case of a 52-year-old woman who developed a 7 mm mammary nodular lesion 66 days after removal of an area of columnar cell hyperplasia involving cellular and architectural atypia, performed with the Mammotome Breast Biopsy System. The lesion was highly cellular and composed of intersecting fascicles of plump spindle cells with blunt-ended elongated nuclei and nucleoli easily visible.

Subcutaneous ossifying lipoma: case report and review of the literature.

Background: Lipomas can undergo a variety of changes, one of which is ossification. Ossifying lipoma (OL), independent of bone tissue, is rare. No case has been reported with this heading in the dermatopathological literature.

Needle-wire-guided breast tumor excision.

Complete resection of large-size tumors can be easily approachable developing needle-guide tumour excision, in the context of Oncoplastic Conservative Breast Surgery. Needles are used as markers showing optimal excision margins, especially at conflicting points.

A novel ergot alkaloid as a 5-HT(1A) inhibitor produced by Dicyma sp.

In the course of a search for small-molecule inhibitors of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors we have identified a novel ergoline derivative (1) from the fungal culture of Dicyma sp. This compound has a pK(i) of 10.2 versus the 5-hydroxytryptamine(1A) receptor subtype.