Conflicting pathology reports: a diagnostic dilemma.

The differential diagnosis of a brain lesion with two discordant pathology reports includes the presence of collision tumor, metaplastic changes, and labeling errors that occurred during the processing of the specimen. The authors present a case in which the first brain biopsy from a 47-year-old patient with a history of heavy smoking was compatible with metastatic small cell carcinoma, and the second biopsy taken during decompression craniotomy 3 weeks later was compatible with WHO Grade IV glioblastoma. Using short tandem repeat (STR) analysis of the two specimens and nontumor-derived patient DNA, the authors found that the two specimens did not belong to the same individual.

Electromyography (EMG) accuracy compared to muscle biopsy in childhood.

Reports show wide variability of electromyography (EMG) in detecting pediatric neuromuscular disorders. The study's aim was to determine EMG/nerve conduction study accuracy compared to muscle biopsy and final clinical diagnosis, and sensitivity for myopathic motor unit potential detection in childhood. Of 550 EMG/nerve conduction studies performed by the same examiner from a pediatric neuromuscular service, 27 children (ages 6 days to 16 years [10 boys; M:F, 1:1.

Asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic hyperCKemia: histopathologic correlates.

Background: Persistent creatine kinase elevation is occasionally encountered in subjects without any clinical manifestation of a neuromuscular disorder or any condition known to be associated with increased serum CK levels. It is still unresolved whether extensive investigations and specifically a muscle biopsy should be performed in clinically normal individuals with elevated CK levels.

Objective: To study the muscle pathology of patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic hyperCKemia.

Efficacy of anti-angiogenic treatment of tumors in old versus young mice.

Cancer treatment in the older population, the most afflicted by the disease, is as yet, inefficient. A reduced aggressiveness of tumors is often observed in the elderly, implying the necessity for therapeutic modalities adjusted to age. A rational design of age-related cancer therapy could be based on the mechanisms of this phenomenon.

Predominantly upper limb weakness, enlarged cisterna magna, and borderline intelligence in a child with de novo mutation of the skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene.

We present a 10-year-old boy from nonconsanguineous parents of Libyan (Sephardi) Jewish origin. Mild dysmorphism, hypotonia, and clubfoot deformities were noted at birth. On follow-up, he had borderline intelligence and nonprogressive muscle weakness, predominantly in the upper extremities.