Paraneoplastic dermatomyositis related to a chondrosarcoma involving the cavernous sinus.

Approximately one third of all cases of dermatomyositis may be associated with malignancy. We describe a patient with unexplained rash, joint pain, and muscle weakness, who subsequently developed a cavernous sinus syndrome due to a central nervous system chondrosarcoma. Discovery of this tumor and further dermatologic evaluation, including skin biopsy, resulted in diagnosis of paraneoplastic dermatomyositis due to cavernous sinus chondrosarcoma.

Gaze-evoked amaurosis from orbital breast carcinoma metastasis.

Gaze-evoked amaurosis (GEA) is a transient monocular vision loss provoked by eccentric gaze. Gaze-evoked amaurosis has been associated with a variety of orbital lesions, most commonly optic nerve sheath meningiomas and cavernous hemangiomas. The authors describe the first report in the literature of GEA as the presenting symptom of an orbital metastasis.

Intraorbital metastasis from solitary fibrous tumor.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare spindle cell tumor of mesenchymal origin that usually arises from pleura or pericardium but can also arise from many extraserosal sites. Although more than 50 cases of primary SFT of the orbit have been reported, there are no reports to date of a malignant nonophthalmic SFT metastasizing in the orbital soft tissues (although sphenoid wing bony involvement has been reported). The authors report here the first case of a patient with intraorbital metastasis of a CD34-positive malignant SFT.

Macrophage polarization in the maculae of age-related macular degeneration: a pilot study.

Macrophages can be polarized to exhibit either pro-inflammatory M1 or pro-angiogenic M2 phenotypes, but have high phenotypic plasticity. This pilot study investigated macrophage polarization in the macular retina and choroid of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and non-AMD subjects, as well as in AMD choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVM). All specimens were evaluated for routine histopathology.