Quantity and quality of retrograde menstruation: a case control study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that menstruation is associated with a higher concentration of endometrial cells in peritoneal fluid(PF) and with increased white and red blood cell concentration in PF when compared to nonmenstrual phases of the cycle.

Methods: PF was obtained at laparoscopy from 107 women with endometriosis (n = 59) and controls with a normal pelvis (n = 48) during the luteal (n = 46), follicular (n = 38) or menstrual (n = 23) phase of the cycle. Endometriosis was classified according to the classification of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (rAFS into minimal (n = 25), mild(n = 20), moderate(n = 6) and severe(n = 8) disease.

Plumbism or lead intoxication mimicking an abdominal tumor.

The clinical presentation of lead intoxication may vary widely and in the absence of a high clinical index of suspicion, the diagnosis may be missed. The effects of lead on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and its interaction with calcium-mediated processes explain the heterogenous presentation. In this case report, the diagnosis was finally made when bilateral wrist drop developed on top of abdominal cramps and anemia.

Clonal proliferation of T-Cell large granular lymphocytes.

Background: T-cell large granular lymphocyte (T-LGL) leukemia is a disorder only rarely reported in children. We diagnosed a new case of a clonal T-LGL proliferation in a 6-year-old girl presenting with severe neutropenia and pure red blood cell aplasia (PRCA).

Procedure: Flow cytometric analysis including TCR-Vbeta repertoire analysis and molecular studies using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), PCR heteroduplex analysis and GeneScan analysis were performed to investigate the clonal nature of the T-LGL.