Early diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma: an observation in southern Brazil.

Background: The incidence of melanoma cutaneous and the mortalities rates are rising in most countries worldwide.

Objective: to describe the histopathological characteristics of cutaneous melanoma, according to the criteria established by the Brazilian Group of Melanoma, and to evaluate early diagnosis in a cancer treatment referral center.

Methods: we performed a cross-sectional descriptive study of cases of primary cutaneous melanoma identified after excisional biopsy and processed at the pathology laboratory of Complexo Hospitalar Santa Casa between Jan 1st 2000 and Jan 15th 2005.

Steatocystoma simplex of the eyelid.

A 68-year-old woman presented with a nodular pretarsal tumor on her right upper eyelid that had slowly grown over 6 months. Excisional biopsy was performed through an eyelid crease approach, and histopathology evidenced the lesion to be steatocystoma simplex. Steatocystoma simplex is an uncommon benign cutaneous lesion thought to be a circumscribed malformation arising from the pilosebaceous duct junction, rarely reported to occur in the periorbital region.

Angiographic coronary artery disease is associated with progressively higher levels of fasting plasma glucose.

This study evaluated the association between progressively higher levels of fasting glycemia (G) and insulin resistance parameters with coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients referred for coronary angiography. All 145 patients (age 58.4+/-0.

Effectiveness of acetylcysteine in prevention of contrast nephropathy.

Background: Acetylcysteine may provide prophylaxis against contrast nephropathy (CN) in some patients. Its benefit may vary according to the characteristics of patients and contrast used. The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of oral acetylcysteine in preventing CN after coronary procedures in our practice.