Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of familial adrenocorticotropin-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (AIMAH). Methods The clinical and laboratory data of 3 patients with familial AIMAH were retrospectively analyzed. Results Case 1 was the proband. The mean age of onset of familial AIMAH was 59.3 years, and mean duration of disease was 6.7 years. The plasma ACTH levels of case 1 and case 2 were below 2.2pmol/L, and the secretion rhythm of serum cortisol in them was disorderly. Low or high dose of dexamethasone failed to suppress cortisol secretion in case 1, while only low dose of dexamethasone failed to suppress cortisol secretion in case 2. In case 3, all the plasma cortisol, ACTH level and their secretion rhythm were normal, and either low or high dose of dexamethasone suppressed cortisol secretion successfully. Ultrasound examination revealed multiple hypoechoic nodules in both adrenal glands, and CT scanning showed bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia in all 3 cases. Pituitary MR imaging was normal in all 3 cases. Conclusions The pathogenesis of sporadic and familial AIMAH remains unclear. Familial AIMAH provides an evidence that genetic transmission of the disease may happen. The clinical characteristics of familial AIMAH are similar to those of sporadic AIMAH. It is possible that some subclinical cases among familial AIMAH ascape the diagnosis.

Objective: To evaluate the noise characteristic of different reconstruction type CT image by using the noise power spectrum (NPS), and analyze the correlation between this results and subjective vision noise evaluation. Methods: QA water phantom of CT equipment was scanned and 8 common reconstruction algorithms were applied to dispose image. NPS peak value, the peak frequency and standard deviation (SD) were compared with the subjective evaluation measurements, such as granularity, contrast, sharpness and optical noise level, by using the correlation analysis. Results: Each reconstruction algorithm owned different peak value and peak frequency. Granularity negatively correlated with the peak frequency. A positive correlation was found between contrast and peak value. Sharpness was positively correlated with both peak value and peak frequency. All of the subjective evaluation measurements were correlated with SD. Conclusion: Comparing with SD, NPS can reflect both intensity and morphological feature of the noise and possess applicative potential as a more comprehensive evaluation index.

The tumor metastasis is the major cause of the death of cancer patients.S-100A4 is a member of the S100 family of calcium-binding proteins and has been categorized as a metastasis-associated protein.S-100A4 is a candidate as a molecular marker for metastatic potential with high prognostic significance.An increase in S-100A4 protein expression has been correlated with poor prognosis of patients with breast,colorectal,gallbladder,bladder,esophageal,nonsmall-cell lung,gastric,medulloblastoma,pancreatic and hepatocellular cancers.The overexpression of S-100A4 protein can induce the increase of invasion and mobility of the tumor cells.It has been considered that S-100A4 is secreted by the tumor and stroma cells as a regulator of tumor metastasis.S-100A4 can regulate the progress of cell cycle,change cell adhesion,cell mobility and increase the survival ability of the tumor cells.

Oncogene-induced senenscence(OIS) is defined as a stable proliferative arrest of normal cells upon overexpression of aberrant proliferative signals of oncogenes through MAPK and PI3K pathway.The molecular mechanism of OIS is related to the formation of heterochromatin and DNA-damage check-point response.The markers of OIS includ senescence-associated ?-galactosidase and senescence-associated heterochromatin foci.With the growing recognization of OIS,the new models of tumor progression are emerging.The further investigation on the mechanism of OIS is of great significance to understanding of the tumorigenesis and provide new ideas and methods of cancer treatment.

To investigate the changes in the expression of G proteins ? subunit mRNA in non functioning thyroid adenoma (NFTA) and thyroid papillary cancer (TPC). Eleven thyroid specimens were obtained during surgery, 6 of which from patients with NFTA and 5 from patients with TPC. The expression levels of stimulating and inhibiting G protein ? subunit mRNAs were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR). The expression levels of Gsa mRNA in TPCs were significantly higher than those in normal thyroids and NFTAs( P

A retrospective study of endocrine dysfunction in 65 patients with Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) was conducted. Before surgical operation, most patients with RCC had various degrees of pituitary dysfunction.Impaired gonadotropin secretion and prolactinemia were the prevalent abnormalities. Erectile dysfunction or diminished libido in male and menstrual disorder or galactorrhea in female were frequently seen. The panhypopituitarism appeared in a few patients with RCC. The patients would benefit by surgical removal, however,attention should be paid to avoid new damage of the pituitary gland during operation.

Female ; Genital Neoplasms, Female ; classification ; Humans ; World Health Organization

China ; Humans ; Pathology Department, Hospital ; standards ; Quality Control

A total of 173 patients with Cushing's syndrome, including 35 patients with clinical data before and after operation, were retrospectively analyzed in this study. The results showed that patients with Cushing's syndrome had high prevalence of metabolic disorder and cardiovascular risk factors. Remission of diease and normalization of circulating cortisol level were not always followed by complete disappearance of metabolic disorder and cardiovascular risk factors.

Humans ; Lymphoma ; classification ; diagnosis