S Tebes | PubMed Health

PubMed2001

Liposarcoma complicating pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: An adnexal mass in pregnancy is a common occurrence. Malignancy is uncommon and only seven cases of liposarcoma have been reported in association with pregnancy. CASE: We present a case of a pregnant patient who was diagnosed with an adnexal mass detected by ultrasound at 13 weeks gestation. The mass was surgically removed postpartum, when it was found to be a liposarcoma. Postoperatively she received chemotherapy but eventually succumbed to her disease. CONCLUSIONS: Liposarcoma is rarely found in association with pregnancy and may follow an aggressive course.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Mycoplasma pneumoniae in women.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (primary atypical or Eatons' agent) is a common cause of walking or atypical pneumonia in young adults. It is responsible for approximately 43% of the cases of community-acquired pneumonia in patients between the ages of 17 and 44. Patients with Mycoplasma pneumonia typically present with the gradual onset of a nonproductive cough, sore throat, fever, and pulmonary infiltrates on chest x-ray. The diagnosis is based on symptomatology and on radiographic findings such as interstitial infiltrates, patchy infiltrates, plate-like atelectasis, nodular infiltration, or hilar adenopathy. The primary treatment for Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a macrolide antibiotic, preferably azithromycin: 500 mg initially and then 250 mg daily for 4 days.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Molecular and mechanistic validation of delayed healing rat wounds as a model for human chronic wounds.

The purpose of this study was to provide molecular and mechanistic evaluation of an ischemic wound model in rats to determine if it is a valid model for human chronic wounds. Compared to acute wounds, human chronic wounds contain markedly elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases, while matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors and growth factor activity are diminished. Accordingly, tissue from ischemic and normal rat wounds were analyzed for cytokine, proteases and growth factor levels. Dorsal full thickness punch wounds were created in rats using a reproducible template. The ischemic wound group (n = 10) had six uniformly placed wounds within a bipedicled dorsal flap. The control group (n = 10) had the same wounds created without elevation of a flap. On postwound days 3, 6 and 13 wounds were excised and analyzed. Protein levels for tumor necrosis factor-alpha were determined with a rat-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, while mRNA was determined by RNase protection assay. Matrix metalloproteinases and serine protease detection was done using gelatin and casein zymography, respectively. Significant delay in healing was achieved in the ischemic group: 50% healing for control wounds was at 7 days and 11 days for ischemic wounds (p < 0.001). No significant differences between wound groups were found for interleukin-1beta, and mRNA for tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1beta. However, at day 13 ischemic wounds contained significantly more tumor necrosis factor-alpha than controls and normal skin (586 +/- 106 pg/biopsy vs. 79 +/- 7 pg/biopsy vs. 52 +/- 2 pg/biopsy; p < 0. 001). Zymography showed substantially greater quantities of matrix metalloproteinase-2, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and serine proteases in ischemic wounds. This model of delayed healing in rats shares many of the key biochemical, molecular and mechanistic characteristics found in human chronic wounds, namely elevated tumor necrosis factor-alpha and protease levels. As such, this model will likely prove to be useful in chronic wound research, particularly in developing novel therapeutics.

Animals↗