Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Vercelli-Retta.
A 55 year-old woman underwent a wide surgical excision because a left thigh mass. The histopathological study showed a focal myositis of the vastus lateralis muscle. The patient remains asymptomatic after four years follow-up. The differential diagnosis with soft tissue sarcomas and other inflammatory myopathies is discussed.
Several serum proteins were immunohistochemically studied in benign and malignant breast lesions in 13 patients. The majority of infiltrating duct and lobular carcinomas showed albumin and IgG abundant immune reactive cells. Fewer cells contained immune reactive alpha-1-antitrypsin and transferrin. Staining was diffuse and limited to the cell cytoplasm. Immune reactive cells alternated with non reactive ones in a characteristic heterogeneous pattern. The parenchymal cells in carcinomas were non reactive to ceruloplasmin, fibrinogen and alphafetoprotein. Myoepithelial and epithelial cells in fibroadenomas were also positive for albumin and IgG, but less frequently for alpha-1-antitrypsin and transferrin. Normal breast tissue surrounding fibroadenomas as well as a lactational adenoma showed no immune reactive cells. Mechanisms that may be involved with the presence of plasma proteins in the cytoplasm of parenchymal cells in breast lesions are discussed.
Sixteen human cases of Fasciola hepatica infection are described. The liver was involved in 13 cases, the gall bladder in 9 cases and the stomach in 2 cases. Lesions containing parasitic remnants or fluke eggs were rarely seen. Surface scarring of the liver, scar tracks and granulomas within organs were the most characteristic changes seen and were the most useful for the histopathological diagnosis of the disease. The associated liver, bile and gastric lesions are briefly discussed.
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A right thoracic accessory liver lobe with a normal diaphragm is reported in a stillborn fetus. A review of the literature reveals seven cases affecting adult patients.
The interfascicular oligodendroglia of the rat striatum nucleus is studied in control animals and under experimentally induced brain edemas. Enzyme histochemical studies were performed. Normal oligodendrocytes show two different enzymatic distributions. While Mg2+-ATPase, TPPase, TPPase, adenylate cyclase and SDH are shown to be situated at the cell bodies and some proximal processes, 5'-nucleotidase reaction is seen at the cell fine distal processes. In spite of its trong activity in oligodendroglial endings the latter enzyme is not seen at the myelin sheath. This sheath and the interfascicular cells being intimately related, 5'-nucleotidase appears to be important not only during myelination, as almost all authors emphasize, but also in the adult myelin metabolism. Experimental brain edema shows some changes in the interfasicular oligodendroglia enzymatic activites for 5'-nucleotidase, Mg2+-ATPase and adenylate cyclase. A progressive disappearance of the former enzyme is observed. These features and those of derived from local ionic alterations may be concerned with the special susceptibility of white matter for some types of brain swellings.
Healthy germinal membranes of hydatid cysts from lungs of human and bovine sources were dissected and isolated for histochemical and histoenzymatic research. These techniques were performed in frozen sections and pieces of the whole membrane. Enzymatic research showed that the germinal membrane presents highly differentiated metabolic areas. These areas were topographically related with the origin and insertion of brood capsules, having differentiated structures for metabolic interchange with scolices. Taking our data into account it may be suggested that this functional differentiation could be transitory and variable for all the membrane surface. The accumulation of lipids and enzymes such as simple estarase, lipase, beta-HDH, alpha-GDH and NADPH-reductase in those areas, suggests that lipids are not a simple excretory product. This distribution probably implies that lipid metabolism or its resultant products are important in development and growth of scolices. In that sense other authors' findings and hypothesis about the possible existence of an endocrine system of the parasite, are considered. This idea being demonstrated in further researches, the lipid metabolic pathways shall bring a good pharmacological approach to the interference with parasite development.
Scolices and brood capsules of healthy hydatid cysts from lungs of human patients were studied with histochemical and histoenzymatic methods. The subtegumental and flame cells were sepcially rich in glycogen, RNA and some dehydrogenases such as SDH, MDH, NADH-reductase and G-6-PDH. The rostellar zone or invaginated pole, an area of marked contractile movements, showed intense activity in ATP'ase and simple esterase. The so-called excretory pole shows strong activity in simple esterases, lipase, beta-HBH, alpha-GDH and NADPH-reductase. Lipids are also abundant in this zone implying the important role of this metabolic path in the development of the parasite. Intense activity in alkaline phosphatase was observed in cells associated to the calcereous corpuscles. The largest corpuscles were devoid of enzymatic activity. The enzyme could play some role in the calcification of the corpuscles. Wide enzymatic variations are described according to morphology being orthoscolices the most rich in enzyme activity. Accumulations of small cells surrounded by specialized cells on the germinal membrane are interpreted as the origin or "embryo" of brood capsules. Some enzymes detected in the wall of mature brood capsules depicted alternating types of cells. Some of them are positive for ATP'ase that may be related to active transport of substances across the brood capsule wall. The intenst ATP'ase activity at the stalks of scolices may be similarly interpreted. However, a miosine-like activity is a more feasible explanation since this area showed striking contractile movements in vivo.