Darier disease is a rare genodermatosis clinically characterized by multiple hyperkeratotic papules and plaques predominantly on seborrheic areas. It has characteristic histopathological features; corps-ronds, grains, suprabasal clefts or lacunae, villi projections etc. We present a case of Darier disease in a 36-year-old woman. She had suffered from skin lesions which bore a great resemblance to those of verruca plana or eruptive syringoma. We could confirm the diagnosis as Darier disease because she had the characteristic nail changes.
Adult ; Edible Grain ; Darier Disease* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Skin ; Syringoma ; Warts

Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors of the ovary are rare, accounting for no more than 0.5% of all ovarian neoplasms. These tumors occur predominantly in women 10 to 30 years of age. Heterologous elements are found in over 20% of the moderately and poorly differentiated Sertoli- Leydig cell tumors. The most common element is gastrointestinal mucin-secreting epithelium, found in approximately 20% of all cases. Approximately 4% of Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors contain immature skeletal muscle and/or cartilaginous elements. The origin of these neoplasms is regarded as neometaplasia of the mesodermal neoplastic element. While the degree of differentiation of Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors is probably of greater importance in determining prognosis than the presence of heterologous components, recent evidence does point to an unfavorable effect on clinical outcome when heterologous mesenchymal components such as cartilage and striated muscle are present. We experienced two cases of ovarian heterologous Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors with gastrointestinal type epithelium and striated skeletal muscle in 20 and 21 year-old females, respectively. One case involved a patient who had complained of amenorrhea for 3 years while the other case involved a patient who had complained of left lower abdominal tenderness and amenorrhea for one and one half years. It was determined by ultrasonography of the pelvis that the two patients suffered from right and left ovarian masses. Both patients underwent adnexectomy. These tumors were large with partly solid and partly cystic areas. Based on light microscopic examination one case was classified as an intermediate Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor with heterologous gastrointestinal type epithelium, while the other case was classified as a poorly differentiated Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor with heterologous striated skeletal muscle.
Female ; Humans

Compared with osteosarcoma of bone, primary osteosarcoma of the soft tissue is very rare. Extraskeletal osteosarcoma is also a highly malignant pleomorphic sarcoma composed of cells exhibiting primarily osteoblastic, and to a lesser extent, chondroblastic differentiation. A case of extraskeletal osteosarcoma in the right sole is presented in a 67 year old male. The patient had noticed a progressively enlarging soft tissue mass, during about 14 months. This sarcoma was located in the soft tissues without attachment to the skeleton, as determined by examination of the X-Ray findings. The mass of right plantar portion was simply excised and pathologically confirmed to be an extraskeletal osteosarcoma. The clinical and pathological features of this sarcoma are described, and brief review of the literature is made.

Crescentic glomerulonephritis in rheumatoid arthritis is described recently with increasing frequency. It can occur directly as a manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis or may be a reaction to drugs such as D-penicillamine and bucillamine. We report a case of crescentic glomerulonephritis in a 46-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis for 20 years who had been treated intermittently with herb medicine or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Light microscopic examination showed severe focal segmental and global necrotizing glomerulonephritis with crescent formation in 50% of the glomeruli. Immunofluorescent study revealed scanty amount of mesangial granular deposits of IgA, IgM, C3 and fibrinogen in a diffuse pattern.
Female ; Humans

Three rare tumors of the oral cavity are presented. Lingual chondromas, approximately twenty to thirty cases appear to have been reported since the lesion was first described by Berry in 1892, which are usually seen on the lateral borders in the anterior two thirds of the tongue, while the ventral surface and the posterior third are rarely involved. Chondromas of the tonsil are of very rare occurrence, which are thought to arise as a result of metaplasia, rather than from embryonic rests, with chronic fibrosing inflammation being the inciting factor. Because of its rarity, the following cases of chondroma of the tongue and tonsil are being added to small list of such case reported in the literature.

Epidermoid cysts occur rarely on the palms and soles, where hair is not present. These cysts have long been assumed to arise from traumatic implantation of epidermal fragment, but the pathogenesis is still controversial. Recently, with microscopic findings, immunohistochemical features, and molecular studies, the epidermoid cysts of the sole may be induced by the human papillomavirus. We report two cases of epidermoid cysts of the sole with the discussion of the pathogenesis.
Epidermal Cyst* ; Hair ; Humans*

We described the findings of fine needle aspiration cytology of the lung from a patient with Wegener's granulomatosis. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of the patients with Wegener's granulomatosis is essential for a better prognosis. However, the variety of clinical presentations and nonspecific radiologic infiltrates of Wegener's granulomatosis frequently make the diagnosis difficult. Although an open lung biopsy is required for a firm diagnosis, fine needle aspiration cytology & biopsy preparation can also provide an adequate tissue sample, when the findings of fine needle aspiration are considered with clinical manifestations and ANCA value in the serum. The cytologic smears showed scattered necrotic tissue fragments entrapping many neutrophils and occasional epithelioid cells. Multinucleated giant cells were infrequently observed. Ziehl-Neelsen stain for acid fast bacilli was negative. All the cytologic features recapitulated the histopathologic findings of purulent and necrotizing granulomatous inflammation seen in Wegener's granulomatosis.
Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Epithelioid Cells ; Giant Cells ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Neutrophils ; Prognosis ; Wegener Granulomatosis*

AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compounds), which was at first extracted from cultured broth of Basidiomycotina, is known to be one of the Biological Response Modifiers (BRM). We examined the protective effects of AHCC on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver injury in mice. The AHCC pretreatment prevented the suppression of several physiological and biochemical parameters in the mice injected with CCl4 or TAA for 5 days. The liver weights and serum ALT and AST levels were increased by CCl4 or TAA, the degree of which was significantly reduced with the AHCC pretreatment. The AHCC pretreatment induced increasing activity of GST (glutathione s-transferase) and showed an increasing tendency of P450 and EROD (ethoxyresorufin o-dealkylation). The AHCC pretreatment also showed negative effects against the suppression of drug metabolizing enzymes, such as P450, EROD, and GST induced by CCl4 or TAA. AHCC pretreatment showed protective effects with significant inhibition of fatty change, inflammation, and necrosis in CCl4 and TAA intoxicated mice liver. The present study suggests that the protective effect of AHCC pretreatment might be related to the protection of liver from the drug induced liver injury in mice model.
Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Drug-Induced Liver Injury* ; Immunologic Factors ; Inflammation ; Liver ; Mice* ; Necrosis ; Thioacetamide ; Weights and Measures

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an almost essential component of extracellular matrices. Early in embryogenesis mesenchymal cells migrate, proliferate and differentiate, in part, because of the influence of HA. Since the features of embryogenesis are revisited during wound repair, including bone fracture repair, this study was initiated to evaluate whether HA has an effect on calcification and bone formation in an in vitro system of osteogenesis. Mouse calvaria Pre-osteoblast (MC3T3-E1) cells were cultured in alpha-MEM medium with microorganism-derivative hyaluronic acid that was produced by Strep. zooepidemicus which of molecular weight was 3 million units. The dosages were categorized in each 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/ml concentration experimental groups. After 2 and 4 days cultures in expeirmental and control groups, the tendency of cell proliferation, MTT assay, protein synthesis ability, collagen synthesis and alkaline phosphatase activity were analysed and bone nodule formation capacity were measured with Alizarin Red S stain after 29 days cultures. The cell proliferation was increased in time, especially the group of 0.5 and 1.0 mg/ml concentration of HA were showed prominent cell proliferation. After 2 and 4 days culture, experimental groups in general were greater cell activity in MTT assay. The protein synthesis was increased in all experimental groups compared to control group, especially most prominent in 1.0 mg/ml concentration group. The collagen synthesis capacity were increased in HA experimental groups, especially prominent in 1.0 mg/ml group and the activity of alkaline phosphatase were increased, especially also prominent in 1.0 mg/ml group, compared to control group. Above these, the activity of mouse carvarial pre-osteoblast cells was showed greater bone osteogenesis activity in all applied HA experimental group, especially group of 1.0 mg/ml concentration of HA.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Collagen ; Embryonic Development ; Extracellular Matrix ; Female ; Fractures, Bone ; Hyaluronic Acid* ; Mice* ; Molecular Weight ; Osteogenesis* ; Pregnancy ; Skull* ; Wounds and Injuries

Variable clinical manifestations and the unpredictable biological behavior of renal cell carcinomas are well known. About a third of patients have metastasis by the time they are first seen by a physician, most commonly to the lung, frequently to the bone and/or liver and less commonly to a virtually unlimited range of tissues and organs. Vaginal cancer represents approximately 1-3% of all genital tract malignancies, and most cases present as metastasis from the cervix, endometrium or colon. Vaginal metastasis from a renal cell carcinoma can be confused with a primary vaginal clear cell carcinoma, and metastasis of a renal cell carcinoma to the vagina is extremely rare. Here, we report a case of a renal cell carcinoma, detected by a metastatic vaginal mass.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Cervix Uteri ; Colon ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Vagina ; Vaginal Neoplasms