"Osler Warned": Was William Osler a Grave Robber While at McGill or Was He a Victim (or Perpetrator) of One Final Practical Joke?

Bodysnatching was an illegal way to procure cadavers for anatomical dissection before the existence of effective anatomy legislation. As knowledge of anatomy was fundamental to medical practice, many famous nineteenth century physicians turned a blind eye to this activity or even participated. Sir William Osler, perhaps the most revered physician of all time, received his medical degree from McGill University in 1872 and then served as pathologist at Montreal General Hospital from 1874 to 1884, where he began a career which culminated in him becoming both the first Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins and then Regius Professor at Oxford.

Utility of serum IGF-1 for diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency following traumatic brain injury and sport-related concussion.

Background: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a potential consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI), including sport-related concussion (SRC). GH stimulation testing is required for definitive diagnosis; however, this is resource intensive and can be associated with adverse symptoms or risks. Measurement of serum IGF-1 is more practical and accessible, and pituitary tumour patients with hypopituitarism and low serum IGF-1 have been shown to have a high probability of GHD.

Characterization of a novel allele, HLA-C*02:135N, by full-length gene sequencing in a bone marrow donor.

A frameshift because of a two-nucleotide deletion results in an HLA-C null allele, HLA-C*02:135N.

The Paddington International Virtual Chromoendoscopy Score in ulcerative colitis exhibits very good inter-rater agreement after computerized module training: a multicenter study across academic and community practice (with video).

Background And Aims: Electronic virtual chromoendoscopy (EVC) can demonstrate ongoing disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC), even when Mayo subscores suggest healing. However, applicability of EVC technology outside the expert setting has yet to be determined.

Methods: Fifteen participants across 5 centers reviewed a computerized training module outlining high-definition and EVC (iScan) colonoscopy modes.

Validation of a 10-gene molecular signature for predicting biochemical recurrence and clinical metastasis in localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: To validate a previously characterized 10-gene signature in prostate cancer with implication to distinguish aggressive and indolent disease within low and intermediate patients' risk groups.

Methods: A case-control study design used to select 545 patients from the Mayo clinic tumor registry who underwent radical prostatectomy. A training set from this cohort (n = 359) was used to build a 10-gene model, based on high-dimensional discriminant analysis (HDDA10) to predict several endpoints of clinical patients' outcome.

Application of strict criteria in adrenal venous sampling increases the proportion of missed patients with unilateral disease who benefit from surgery for primary aldosteronism.

Objectives: Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is intended to confirm unilateral forms of primary aldosteronism, which are amenable to surgical cure. Excessively strict AVS criteria to define lateralization may result in many patients incorrectly categorized as bilateral primary aldosteronism and opportunity for surgical cure missed.

Methods: Retrospective review of an AVS-primary aldosteronism database in which surgical cases are verified by standardized outcomes.

Assessing the performance of a Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection and subtyping of high-risk suptypes of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) for Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC) without DNA purification.

Background: Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC) is increasing in incidence despite a decline in traditional risk factors. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), specifically subtypes 16, 18, 31 and 35, has been implicated as the high-risk etiologic agent. HPV positive cancers have a significantly better prognosis than HPV negative cancers of comparable stage, and may benefit from different treatment regimens.

Incidence of acute lymphocytic leukemia in Calgary, Alberta, Canada: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a rare malignant neoplasm that develops from abnormal lymphoid stem cells. ALL incidence is highest among children and declines towards adolescence. There is limited data on the epidemiology of ALL, especially in Canada.

Eggerthella lenta Bloodstream Infections Are Associated With Increased Mortality Following Empiric Piperacillin-Tazobactam (TZP) Monotherapy: A Population-based Cohort Study.

Background: Eggerthella lenta is a anaerobic gram-positive bacilli associated with polymicrobial intraabdominal infections. Recently, E. lenta was recognized as an important cause of anaerobic bloodstream infections (BSIs) associated with high mortality.

Martha Wollstein: A pioneer American female clinician-scientist.

Martha Wollstein was not only the first fully specialized pediatric perinatal pathologist practicing exclusively in a North America children's hospital, she also blazed another pathway as a very early pioneer female clinician-scientist. Wollstein provided patient care at Babies Hospital of New York City from 1891 until her retirement in 1935, and also simultaneously worked for many years as a basic scientist at the prestigious Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Wollstein published over 65 papers, many frequently cited, during her career on a wide range of topics including pediatric and infectious diseases.

Resolution of Spurious Immunonephelometric IgG Subclass Measurement Discrepancies by LC-MS/MS.

Background: The Binding Site immunonephelometric (IN) IgG subclass reagents (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG, BSIN) are used for assessment of both immunodeficiency and IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). In our laboratory, suspected analytic errors were noted in patients with increases in IgG4: The sum of the individual IgG subclasses was substantially greater than the measured total IgG concentrations (unlike samples with normal IgG4), and the IgG4 concentration was always less than the IgG2 concentration.

Methods: We developed a tryptic digest LC-MS/MS method to quantify IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 in serum.

A novel Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease mutation defines a precursor for amyloidogenic 8 kDa PrP fragments and reveals N-terminal structural changes shared by other GSS alleles.

To explore pathogenesis in a young Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker Disease (GSS) patient, the corresponding mutation, an eight-residue duplication in the hydrophobic region (HR), was inserted into the wild type mouse PrP gene. Transgenic (Tg) mouse lines expressing this mutation (Tg.HRdup) developed spontaneous neurologic syndromes and brain extracts hastened disease in low-expressor Tg.

Reappraisal of Morphologic Differences Between Renal Medullary Carcinoma, Collecting Duct Carcinoma, and Fumarate Hydratase-deficient Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Renal medullary carcinomas (RMCs) and collecting duct carcinomas (CDCs) are rare subsets of lethal high-stage, high-grade distal nephron-related adenocarcinomas with a predilection for the renal medullary region. Recent findings have established an emerging group of fumarate hydratase (FH)-deficient tumors related to hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC-RCCs) syndrome within this morphologic spectrum. Recently developed, reliable ancillary testing has enabled consistent separation between these tumor types.

Evaluation of Simplexa Group A Strep Direct Kit Compared to Hologic Group A Streptococcal Direct Assay for Detection of Group A Streptococcus in Throat Swabs.

Diagnosis of bacterial pharyngitis is confirmed by detection of group A (GAS) in patient throat samples. Testing of throat samples has historically relied on culture, but new molecular methods allow much faster test turnaround time (i.e.

Benign mimics of prostatic adenocarcinoma.

Benign mimics present either as common challenges in daily routine practice or may cause diagnostic dilemmas because some are less commonly seen and one may be less familiar in recognizing them. There are a multitude of mimics of prostatic adenocarcinoma, which may represent normal gland structures, benign proliferations, atrophic lesions, hyperplastic or metaplastic changes, and inflammatory processes. Some of them are preferentially found in certain anatomic areas of the prostate, either confined to the prostate, or outside of the gland.

Stabilizing specimens for routine ammonia testing in the clinical laboratory.

Background: In vitro deamination generates ammonia in freshly collected blood specimens. To prevent this, samples for ammonia testing are usually collected on ice and run rapidly (e.g.

Rates of colonization with extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing in Canadian travellers returning from South Asia: a cross-sectional assessment.

Background: A previous study in Calgary showed that travel to India was associated with high risk of community-onset infections with extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing . We performed a follow-up study to determine the rate of rectal acquisition of ESBL-producing among travellers to South Asia and to identify the behaviours putting such travellers at high risk for acquiring ESBL-producing METHODS: The study was performed at a travel clinic in Calgary. Travellers 18 years or older who were planning to visit South Asia for a period of at least 5 days were included.

Initial flow cytometric evaluation of the Clearllab lymphoid screen.

Introduction: Flow cytometric immunophenotyping (FCI) is an integral part in the diagnosis and classification of hematologic malignancies. FCI results also influence therapeutic decisions and disease prognosis. ClearLLab LS is a 12-antibody 10-color cocktail provided in dry format designed as a screen for patients suspected of having hematolymphoid disease.

A novel HLA-A*26 allele, HLA-A*26:01:44, identified in a Caucasian individual.

HLA-A*26:01:44 differs from HLA-A*26:01:01 by a single substitution in exon 5.

Biphasic papillary renal cell carcinoma is a rare morphological variant with frequent multifocality: a study of 28 cases.

Aims: To further characterise biphasic squamoid renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a recently proposed variant of papillary RCC.

Methods And Results: We identified 28 tumours from multiple institutions. They typically showed two cell populations-larger cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm and higher-grade nuclei, surrounded by smaller, amphophilic cells with scanty cytoplasm.