Valproic acid induces microglial dysfunction, not apoptosis, in human glial cultures.

Valproic acid (VPA) is widely used for the treatment of mood disorders and epilepsy, but its mechanism of action is unclear. In vivo and in vitro studies using rodent models have demonstrated that VPA has both neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects. These beneficial effects are, in part, through modulation of glial cell function.

Cellular composition of human glial cultures from adult biopsy brain tissue.

Microglia and astrocytes play vital roles in normal human brain function and in neurological disorders. To study their physiological and pathological roles it is desirable to establish in vitro systems that are derived from the adult human brain. Although several groups have successfully cultured cells from the human brain, the composition of these cultures remains controversial.

Mediastinal and pulmonary metastases of malignant ossifying fibromyxoid tumor.

Ossifying fibromyxoid tumor is usually a benign tumor. However some of these tumors with histologic and clinical evidence of malignancy have also been reported and little information is available regarding surgery for metastatic ossifying fibromyxoid tumor. We present a case involving extensive excision of a huge metastatic ossifying fibromyxoid tumor occupying the upper mediastinum and upper half of the right hemithorax.

Pleomorphic Angiomyolipoma of Digestive Tract: A Heretofore Unrecognized Entity.

Two cases of pleomorphic angiomyolipoma (AML) composed of bizarre epithelioid smooth muscle cells located in the gastrointestinal tract are reported. One involved the appendix of a 6-year-old girl, and the second the cecum of a 22-year-old woman. In both instances the tumor cells were immunoreactive for HMB-45 and A103.