Forensic Neuropathologic Phenotypes of Fungal Central Nervous System Infections: A Case Series.

Fungal infections of the central nervous system (FI-CNS) are life-threatening infections that most commonly affect immunocompromised individuals, but immunocompetent individuals may also be infected. Although FI-CNS are relatively rare, the prevalence of FI-CNS is on the rise because of the increasing number of transplant recipients, human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals, and use of immunosuppressive therapies. Most cases of FI-CNS originate from outside the central nervous system.

Autopsy Cardiac Troponin I Plasma Levels Can Be Elevated in Myocardial Infarction Type 3: A Proposal to Modify the Definition of Myocardial Infarction Type 3.

Aims: The definition of myocardial infarction (MI) type 3 does not include the possible elevation of postmortem biomarkers if measured at autopsy. We determined postmortem cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels in plasma samples obtained at autopsy in patients who died from MI type 3 to determine whether cTnI plasma levels may be elevated.

Methods And Results: Using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay system, we determined postmortem cTnI plasma levels at autopsy performed within 24 hours of death in every decedent who died from MI type 3, confirmed by an autopsy.

Postmortem Autopsy-Confirmation of Antemortem [F-18]FDDNP-PET Scans in a Football Player With Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Currently, only presumptive diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can be made in living patients. We present a modality that may be instrumental to the definitive diagnosis of CTE in living patients based on brain autopsy confirmation of [F-18]FDDNP-PET findings in an American football player with CTE. [F-18]FDDNP-PET imaging was performed 52 mo before the subject's death.

Strong Correlation of Genome-Wide Expression after Traumatic Brain Injury In Vitro and In Vivo Implicates a Role for SORLA.

The utility of in vitro models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) depends on their ability to recapitulate the in vivo TBI cascade. In this study, we used a genome-wide approach to compare changes in gene expression at several time points post-injury in both an in vitro model and an in vivo model of TBI. We found a total of 2073 differentially expressed genes in our in vitro model and 877 differentially expressed genes in our in vivo model when compared to noninjured controls.

Poor prognostic significance of unamplified chromosome 17 polysomy in invasive breast carcinoma.

The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) oncoprotein is overexpressed in about 20% of breast cancers, with HER2 gene amplification responsible for protein overexpression in the vast majority of patients. A subset of breast cancers have chromosome 17 aneusomy, due to either 17 monosomy (a single copy of chromosome 17) or polysomy (increased copy numbers of chromosome 17). Although HER2 overexpression is an established adverse prognostic factor in breast cancer, the role of unamplified chromosome 17 polysomy is uncertain and there is a paucity of literature on the correlation of chromosome 17 aneusomy with important prognostic and predictive pathologic factors in invasive breast carcinoma.