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B Knoblauch

Publications and source records attributed to B Knoblauch.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Epithelioid sarcoma of the penis--a rare differential diagnosis of Peyronie's disease.

We report on a case of penile epithelioid sarcoma in a 29-year-old man presenting with a dorsal penile plaque that primarily was misdiagnosed as Peyronie's disease. Although the initial clinical findings of these two different entities appear similar, the consequence for the patient is severe. The only way of differentiating these disorders are histological findings. The principal microscopic characteristics of epithelioid sarcoma are the distinctive nodular arrangement, central degeneration and necrosis of the tumor cells with epithelioid appearance and eosinophilia. Immunohistochemical data (cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, vimentin, CD 34, desmin) confirm the diagnosis. We conclude that in cases with slightest doubts on the diagnosis of Peyronie's disease, especially in younger men suffering from a fast-growing penile induration, a bioptic clarification of the entity should be performed to exclude a high malignant disease that can be only treated as far as it is localized by radical surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Telepathology--applications of an emerging technology].

Due to the development of modern telecommunication by means of high speed data transfer either by normal telephone lines or the internet we are faced with new possibilities and chances in pathology. Instead of mailing slides, today images can be transferred electronically within seconds around the world, a second opinion of a highly skilled specialist can be available within the same day or even the same hour. Beside teleconsultation, telediagnostics is the most sophisticated application of telepathology. This means the evaluation of freshly prepared cryosections obtained during surgery by a pathologist using a remotely controlled microscope in a location deprived of pathological expertise. Since the technology applied has become very reliable, problems encountered by using this technology are mainly caused by either microscopic or macroscopic sampling errors. A correct diagnosis can not be obtained if the images mailed are not containing the necessary information. The same is true for telediagnostics, if the biopsy taken for cryosection does not contain the relevant lesion, a correct diagnosis will not be possible. However, these problems are not specific for telepathology, but are encountered in routinely processed specimens as well. Thus, protocols need to be developed assuring sufficient and reproducible image sampling for teleconsultation.

Biotechnology↗
PubMed2000

Telemedicine: application of telepathology-remote microscopy for intraoperative diagnoses on frozen sections.

Due to the time delay, intraoperative consultations result in an extension of operation times, leading to prolonged anesthesia and idle time during surgery. Using a remote controlled microscope for telepathology, transfer times between hospital and pathologist can be eliminated and pathological expertise obtained independently of the geographic location of the hospital. In cooperation with a community hospital located 100 km apart from the Institute of Pathology of the Justus Liebig University Giessen, telepathological intraoperative consultations have been performed since 1999. After preparation and staining of the cryosection in the hospital, the slide was examined in our institute using a remote-controlled microscope (Leica DMRXA) and a special telepathological software (Leica TPS1). Data were transferred via two ISDN connections in parallel. The telepathology system contains an additional macroscopic examination equipment. Up to now more than 40 telepathological consultations have been done. Time required for the microscopic diagnosis ranged between 4 and 25 minutes. The amount of time saved, compared to the transfer to the next available pathologist, was approximately 45 minutes. In our experience, telepathological diagnoses were fully in accordance with conventional diagnoses routinely performed afterwards. The application of telepathology can lead to a significant shortening of surgery time if a pathologist is locally not available. In the study presented, no diagnostic errors occurred. The additional application of a macroscopic equipment allows inspection and interactive guidance for sampling, thus preventing sampling errors.

Efficiency↗
PubMed1998

[Bone matrix production in osteosarcoma].

Osteosarcomas produce an extracellular matrix (ECM), called tumor osteoid, which is also the microscopic hallmark of these tumors. It can be difficult to differentiate tumor osteoid from other formations of ECM in intra-and extraskeletal soft tissue tumors, so that problems in differential diagnosis arise. Conventional special stainings provide a means to increase the reliability of the differential diagnosis, but do not identify the type of tumor conclusively as they only reflect physiochemical features and do not identify the molecular components of the matrix. The key to the solution of this problem is the immunohistochemical use of antibodies against bone matrix components. Matrix-immunohistochemistry using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against COL-I-C-peptide, Osteopontin, Osteonectin, Osteocalcin, and Decorin have proved to be a useful tool for the differentiation of osteoid in a series of 20 osteosarcomas with different variants of osteoid formation. For the detection of undifferentiated tumors, however, this method has not proved useful, since the cytoplasmatic immunoreactivity is variable. Molecular methods appear to be a more promising tool. Since the expression of Osteocalcin is known to be the last step of the osteoblastic differentiation, we have established a method to detect osteocalcin mRNA by RT-PCR. First studies of our group on the identification of the osteoblastic differentiation at the molecular level have revealed that Osteocalcin mRNA can be detected both in osteosarcoma cells and in non-skeletal tumor cell lines. In order to provide a reliable means of molecular tumor characterisation, thorough comparative studies on fresh and paraffin material of larger tumor series are in progress.

Bone Matrix↗