DNA repair and cell synthesis proteins: immunohistochemical expression and correlation with recurrence-regrowth in meningiomas.

Meningiomas are considered the second most common neoplasm of the central nervous system in adults. Most of them are benign with slow growth, frequent in women and with a high recurrence rate. In tumors, DNA error repair processes lose efficacy, providing mutagenesis and genomic instability.

The acromegalic spine: fractures, deformities and spinopelvic balance.

Introduction: Axial skeleton arthropathy and osteoporotic vertebral fractures are common findings in acromegalic patients and can result in severe spinal deformity.

Objective: To investigate the presence of spinal fractures and deformities, sagittal imbalances, and spinopelvic compensatory mechanisms in acromegalics.

Patients And Methods: 58 patients with acromegaly from a referral neuroendocrinology center were prospectively evaluated by panoramic spine radiographs to detect the presence of fractures and scoliosis, to measure thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT) and sagittal vertical axis (SVA).

PTTG overexpression in non-functioning pituitary adenomas: Correlation with invasiveness, female gender and younger age.

Background: Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) are prevalent pituitary neoplasms. Because they do not present with hormonal hypersecretion, there is no marker that indicates regrowth or recurrence, as in other adenomas.

Objectives: Evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of PTTG, CD105 and Ki-67 and their relationships with age, gender, invasiveness, hormonal expression and regrowth or recurrence in the follow-up of NFPA operated and not submitted to radiotherapy.

Gene and protein expression of E-cadherin and NCAM markers in non-functioning pituitary adenomas.

Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) are classified as benign tumors of slow growth, but 40% of them present local invasion, a characteristic of behavior still unpredictable with the use of current tumor markers. This work aims to evaluate the tissue markers E-cadherin and NCAM, which act on cell adhesion, in tumor tissue samples of NFPA and its relationship with the degree of local invasiveness. Gene expression of E-cadherin (CDH1) and NCAM (NCAM1) was assessed by real-time PCR and tissue expression by immunohistochemistry.

Michelangelo buonarroti's code in the frescoes of the sistine chapel - an allusion to gematria of the hebrew/greek alphabet and the Golden Ratio.

According to Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), the great genius of anatomy, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), in painting the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512), demonstrated to the world a new dimension/perspective of painting, especially in the sublime manner with which the artist represented the anatomical details of the characters that made up his frescoes. Since then, the Sistine Chapel has received millions of tourists annually, who marvel at the anatomical beauty of the characters depicted on its ceiling. It has also received many scholars of art and even anatomists, who have often tried to infer theses and explanations regarding Michelangelo's real intentions in elaborating this great work.

Pagan symbols associated with the female anatomy in the Medici Chapel by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Numerous studies have shown that many works of art from the Renaissance period contain hidden symbols and codes that could have religious, mathematical and/or pagan significance and even anatomical allusions. In this context, the present manuscript offers new evidence that the great genius of anatomy, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), included pagan symbols associated with female anatomy in the funerary monuments found in the Sagrestia Nuova/Medici Chapel (1519-1533) in Florence, Italy. The interpretation of the symbols provided in this study will interest those with a passion for the history of anatomy.

Decreased TAp63 and ΔNp63 mRNA Levels in Most Human Pituitary Adenomas Are Correlated with Notch3/Jagged1 Relative Expression.

Despite recent advances in molecular genetics, the pituitary adenoma initiation, development, progress, and the molecular basis of their unique features are still poorly understood. In this sense, it is proposed that stem cell could be involved in pituitary adenoma tumorigenesis. It is suggested that TP63 has important functions in stem cells, and it may have interplay of TP63 and Notch and its ligand Jagged in this process.

NUTRITIONAL AND METABOLIC ASSESSMENT IN OVERWEIGHT PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT HYPERPROLACTINEMIA CAUSED BY PROLACTINOMA.

Introduction: prolactinomas are pituitary adenomas that express and secrete prolactin. These patients are overweight and the mechanisms are being studied.

Goals: assess nutritional and metabolic status of overweight patients with and without hyperprolactinemia caused by prolactinoma and compare them.

A case of sibutramine-induced hyperprolactinemia.

Introduction: Several drugs may cause hyperprolactinemia, especially antipsychotic drugs and prokynetic drugs. Serum prolactin concentrations increase within hours after acute administration of these drugs and return to normal within two to four days after cessation of chronic therapy. So far, sibutramine, a sympathomimetic drug used in the management of obesity, was not described to be associated with altered prolactin levels.

Expression of cell growth negative regulators MEG3 and GADD45γ is lost in most sporadic human pituitary adenomas.

We aimed at the evaluation of MEG3 and GADD45γ expression in sporadic functioning and clinically non-functioning human pituitary adenomas, morphologically characterized by immunohistochemistry analysis and their association with clinical features. Thirty eight patients who had undergone hypophysectomy at São José Hospital of Irmandade Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Porto Alegre, Brazil, were included in this study. We evaluated tumor-type specific MEG3 and GADD45γ expression by qRT-PCR in the pituitary adenomas, and its association with clinical features, as age, gender and tumor size, obtained from medical records.

Immunohistochemical expression of aromatase and estrogen, androgen and progesterone receptors in normal and neoplastic human meningeal cells.

Evidence suggests that sex hormones may play a role in the tumorigenesis of meningiomas, and studies have demonstrated the expression of hormone receptors in these tumors. Aromatase expression has been detected in several normal tissues, including neurons in the CNS, and tumor tissues. We aim to assess the expression of aromatase (ARO) and of progesterone receptor (PR), estrogen receptor (ER) and androgen receptor (AR) in both normal and neoplastic meningeal cells.

Hyperprolactinemia and immunohistochemical expression of intracellular prolactin and prolactin receptor in primary central nervous system tumors and their relationship with cellular replication.

The role of prolactin (PRL) in the CNS remains uncertain. We evaluated the presence of hyperprolactinemia, intracellular prolactin (ICP), and prolactin receptor (PRL-R) in primary CNS tumors, and their relationship with cellular replication with a prospective cross-sectional study of 82 consecutive patients with primary CNS tumors admitted for neurosurgical resection between October 2003 and September 2005. Patients submitted to a questionnaire, and venous blood samples were obtained for measurement of serum PRL and TSH.

Association between systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, hyperprolactinemia and thyroid autoantibodies.

Background: Hyperprolactinemia (hyperPRL) has been associated with autoimmune rheumatic disorders and the presence of thyroid autoantibodies (tAb). The interrelation between these variables was the focus of this prospective study.

Methods: The study assessed six groups of individuals: 26 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 20 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 28 with tAb (tAb+), 14 with untreated hyperprolactinemia (hyperPRL), 10 with treated hyperPRL, and a control group (n = 28).

Bone mineral density in early-onset hypogonadism and the effect of hormonal replacement.

Hypogonadism is associated with reduction of bone mineral density (BMD), especially if sex steroid deficiency occurs early in life. In this situation, the effect of hormonal replacement therapy on bone mass is controversial. We evaluated the BMD through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in patients with genetically determined hypogonadism or hypogonadism acquired in adulthood.