[HRT in post-menopausal women: endometrial histology and bleeding patterns].

Background: In this open prospective study the correlation between bleeding patterns and endometrial histology has been evaluated in 101 postmenopausal women after 2 years of continuous sequential hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Methods: All patients received continuous transdermal 17-b-estradiol supplementation, 0.05 mg/daily, with cyclic progestogen for 12 days every month.

True prostatic blue nevus associated with melanosis: case report, histogenesis and review of the literature.

We describe a case of true blue nevus of the prostate associated with prostatic melanosis, occurring in a 66-year-old man, who underwent multiple echo-guided prostatic fine-needle biopsies for a suspect prostatic adenocarcinoma. The histological features observed in the bioptic samples were chronic and acute inflammation, together with the presence of polygonal or elongated dendritic elements, scattered within the fibromuscular stroma and containing in their cytoplasm a brown pigment, staining black with the Fontana Masson stain, negative for the Perls stain, bleaching with potassium permanganate treatment and imunoreactive for S-100 protein. The presence of melanin pigment in the prostate is an extremely rare occurence, which may be due to melanosis, blue nevus and malignant melanoma, the latter showing distinctive cytological atypia.

CD10 is a marker for cycling cells with propensity to apoptosis in childhood ALL.

CD10 constitutes a favourable prognostic marker for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Since correlations between CD10, cell cycle and apoptotic abilities were demonstrated in various cell types, we investigated whether differences existed in the cycling/apoptotic abilities of CD10-positive and CD10-negative B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells. Twenty-eight cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (mean age of 6.

An open trial of morning light therapy for treatment of antepartum depression.

Objective: About 5% of pregnant women meet criteria for major depression. No pharmacotherapy is specifically approved for antepartum depression; novel treatment approaches may be welcome. The authors explored the use of morning bright light therapy for antepartum depression.

Sacral neuromodulation and pregnancy.

Purpose: Sacral neuromodulation is effective for lower urinary tract dysfunction. However, despite its increasing use and a preponderance of female patients treated to our knowledge its effect in pregnant women and developing fetuses remains unknown. Therefore, we obtained information on patients on sacral neuromodulation who then achieved pregnancy.

Quality of life assessment in patients who undergo sacral neuromodulation implantation for urge incontinence: an additional tool for evaluating outcome.

Purpose: We investigated the impact of sacral neuromodulation on quality of life and assessed the importance of quality of life for determining the success of sacral neuromodulation in patients with detrusor hyperactivity, including instability and hyperreflexia. We also compared it with parameters documented in a voiding diary.

Materials And Methods: From May 1998 to December 2000, 82 female and 31 male patients 17 to 79 years old (mean age 51.

Urodynamic and clinical evidence of acute inhibitory effects of intravesical nociceptin/orphanin FQ on detrusor overactivity in humans: a pilot study.

Purpose: Management of neurogenic incontinence is complex and available treatments are not satisfactory. Nociceptin/orphanin FQ, a recently discovered neuropeptide, has been reported to inhibit the voiding reflex in the rat. These experimental results prompted us to investigate the urodynamic and clinical effects of intravesical instillation of nociceptin/orphanin FQ in humans.

Neuromodulation for fecal incontinence: outcome in 16 patients with definitive implant. The initial Italian Sacral Neurostimulation Group (GINS) experience.

Purpose: Sacral nerve modulation appears to offer a valid treatment option for some patients with fecal incontinence and functional defects of the internal anal sphincter or of the striated muscle.

Methods: Sixteen patients with fecal incontinence (4 males; mean age, 51.4 (range, 27-79) years) with intact or surgically repaired (n = 1) anal sphincter underwent permanent sacral nerve stimulation implant.

Chronic sacral neuromodulation in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms: results from a national register.

Purpose: The Italian Register was created in February 1997 to collect the national results of sacral neuromodulation. All Italian centers at which sacral neuromodulation is performed were invited to participate in our study. We present the results from retrospective and prospective registers.

Flt-3 and its ligand are expressed in neural crest-derived tumors and promote survival and proliferation of their cell lines.

Flt-3 ligand (FL) is a cytokine that promotes the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors in synergy with other growth factors, such as stem cell factor. Previously we have demonstrated that stem cell factor and its receptor c-kit are expressed in neural crest-derived tumor cells and that a c-kit block induces their apoptosis. Here we have evaluated the expression of flt-3 and its ligand in 12 neuroectodermal tumor cell lines from neuroblastoma (NB), neuroepithelioma (NE), Ewing sarcoma (ES), and peripheral neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) and in 38 biopsies: 19 from NB and 19 from ES and PNET.

A systematic investigation of 16 cases of neonaticide.

Objective: Neonaticide, or infant murder on the day of birth, is often preceded by denial of pregnancy. The preponderance of case reports of neonaticide describes a pattern of pregnancy denial, dissociation, and ego disorganization. The author systematically investigated the clinical characteristics of 16 women charged with homicide in the United States after alleged neonaticides.

[Neurofibromatosis (NF1) and neuroleprosy: immunoreaction against pathologic Schwann-cells. Physiopathogenetic observations].

Background: We reviewed the literature evaluating the immune reaction in neurofibromatosis (NF1) and neuroleprosy, so as to underline the immunopathegenetic parallelism and the possible therapeutic implications regarding the treatment of these two disorders. In particular we evaluated the systemic modifications and the local fibrotic events that lead to nerve damage in NF1 and complete neuronal destruction as in leprosy.

Methods: With the above aim in mind we studied the histology, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry (Schwann cells and immunoglobulins) of four plexiform neurofibroma, one common neurofibroma and one case of borderline neuroleprosy (BT).

[Benign unclassified tumor of the gonadal stroma: importance of alpha-inhibin expression].

We present a begin unclassified gonadal stroma tumor in a 62 year-old menopausal woman. We discuss the differential diagnosis with the most frequent fibromas and thecomas and with the rarer sclerosing stromal tumor of the ovary. The immunohistochemical staining for alpha-inhibin was important to confirm the origin of the spindle-cell proliferation from undifferentiated (unclassified) ovarian gonadal stroma.

Antepartum and postpartum depression.

Psychiatric mood disorders can and do occur in pregnant women. Women with antepartum depression have a risk of poor nutrition, substance abuse, and prenatal noncompliance. Careful assessment of risk and benefits to the pregnant woman and to the unborn child must be made before pharmacologic therapy is initiated.

Intravesical resiniferatoxin for the treatment of hypersensitive disorder: a randomized placebo controlled study.

Purpose: Present therapeutic approaches to control hypersensitive disorder of the lower urinary tract and bladder pain are clinically and scientifically unsatisfactory. We performed a randomized placebo controlled study with followup after 1 and 3 months using intravesical resiniferatoxin to treat hypersensitive disorder and bladder pain.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively randomized 18 patients into 2 groups to receive a single dose of 10 nM.

Primary pulmonary meningioma may arise from meningothelial-like nodules.

A rare case of primary pulmonary meningioma, associated with meningothelial-like nodules in the same lung resection, with preoperative fine needle aspiration cytological findings and ultrastructural features, is described. The simultaneous presence of meningioma and meningothelial-like nodules, never before described, corroborates the unifying hypothesis of their common origin and nature.

Carcinosarcoma of the parotid gland: cytological, clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of a case.

Manifesting a putative origin from a pleomorphic adenoma, carcinosarcoma of the salivary gland is a heterologous neoplasm in which a sarcomatous and a carcinomatous component coexist. We present a parotid gland carcinosarcoma in a 77-year-old man with peculiar morphological findings. Fine-needle aspiration cytology allowed a preoperative diagnosis of poorly differentiated carcinoma.

Quantitative multiparametric immunophenotyping in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: correlation with specific genotype. I. ETV6/AML1 ALLs identification.

The t(12;21)(p13;q22) fusion gene is the most frequent genetic lesion described in precursor B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) of childhood occurring in a quarter of cases. This gene rearrangement is associated with a good outcome presenting a high response rate to chemotherapy. In spite of its potential clinical relevance, the t(12;21) translocation usually goes undetected with conventional cytogenetic procedures.