Severe hypercalcemia in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-small cell lung carcinoma: A case report.

Rationale: Hypercalcemia is a common finding in patients with advanced-stage cancers. Paraneoplastic hypercalcemia is commonly associated with dismal prognoses, with survival rates of about 3 months. In this paper, we report on a patient with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-small cell lung carcinoma who developed severe hypercalcemia and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of this metabolic complication.

Experiences in a family with the Upshaw-Schulman syndrome over a 44-year period.

A family with a novel c.717_del frameshift and a c.3655C > T missense mutation of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type I motif, member 13 protein (ADAMTS13) is described.

Activation of coagulation in amniotic fluid during normal human pregnancy.

Introduction: Amniotic fluid (AF) is an important medium for fetal development which exhibits high procoagulant activities; however, the role of these procoagulants during pregnancy has not been elucidated and might be associated with pregnancy complications. The current study aimed to evaluate factor X (FX) activation and its association with tissue factor (TF), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and coagulation activation markers in AF during normal human pregnancy.

Methods: Activation of FX and concentration of TF, free TFPI, D-dimer and prothrombin fragments (F1+2) were evaluated in AF samples obtained for chromosome analysis from 91 women with normal pregnancy: 65 samples were taken from patients at 16-20 weeks of gestation, 9 samples were drawn at 21-30 weeks and 17 samples--after 30 weeks of gestation.