Ilkser Akpolat

Familial Mediterranean fever and glomerulonephritis and review of the literature

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by recurrent and self-limited attacks of fever usually accompanied by polyserositis. Amyloidosis is its most common renal complication. A number of reports have shown vasculitic diseases such as polyarteritis nodosa and Henoch-Schönlein purpura affecting the kidney in FMF. Here we present a patient with FMF and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and analyze the data published on these two entities.

Comparison of ProEx C With p16INK4a and Ki-67 Immunohistochemical Staining of Cell Blocks Prepared From Residual Liquid-based Cervicovaginal Material : A Pilot Study

Although liquid‐based cervicovaginal cytology has high sensitivity for detecting dysplastic/malignant lesions, many pitfalls exist. Cell blocks can be prepared from residual liquid‐based cervicovaginal material and used for immunohistochemistry. The aim of this study was to evaluate a new marker, ProEx C, on cell blocks and its ability to distinguish dysplastic/malignant lesions from morphologically abnormal but benign cells. The results of this study were compared with previously reported results for p16 and Ki‐67 on the same material.

Renal Behçet's Disease: An Update

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study are (1) to report 33 patients with Behçets disease (BD) having various renal manifestations, and (2) to update current data using our patients and published papers about BD and renal manifestations. METHODS The PubMed database was searched using the terms BD or Behçets syndrome. We found reports of 94 patients (including ours) with BD and specific renal diseases (amyloidosis, 39; glomerulonephritis [GN], 37; renal vascular disease, 19; interstitial nephritis, 1). RESULTS The presentation of renal disease was edema/nephrotic syndrome in 12 patients (36%). Renal disease was incidentally diagnosed by routine urine analysis and measurement of serum creatinine level in 20 patients (61%). Renal failure was present in 23 patients (70%) and 5 of them have had cyclosporine treatment. The frequency of renal disease among BD patients has been reported to vary from less than 1 to 29%. CONCLUSIONS The clinical spectrum of renal BD shows a wide variation. Amyloidosis (AA type), GN, and macroscopic/microscopic vascular disease are the main causes of renal BD. Patients with vascular involvement have a high risk of amyloidosis and amyloidosis is the most common cause of renal failure in BD. Several types of glomerular lesions are seen in BD. Current treatment options for renal BD are not evidence based. Radiological vascular intervention combined with immunosuppressive drugs can be useful in selected cases. Routine urine analysis and measurement of serum creatinine level are needed for early diagnosis of renal BD.

Behçet's disease and amyloidosis. Review of the literature.

In this report, we present a patient with BD, amyloidosis and end-stage-renal-disease and discuss the literature on BD and amyloidosis. Forty-four patients with BD and amyloidosis are described in the literature. The type of amyloid fibrils were studied in 27 of this 44 patients and all were AA. The interval between the onset of first symptom of BD and the diagnosis of amyloidosis ranged from one to 27 years. This clinical observation and AA type amyloid fibrils in BD suggest that amyloidosis is secondary to inflammation. Behçets disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of AA amyloidosis.

Behçet’s Disease and AA-Type Amyloidosis

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a multisystem disorder characterized by vasculitis. To our knowledge, 52 patients with BD and amyloidosis have previously been described in the literature. Nephrotic syndrome was the most common type of presentation of amyloidosis in these patients. The prognosis of patients with BD and amyloidosis has not been reported before. In this report, we present a patient with BD and AA-type amyloidosis and analyze the prognosis in these patients. Follow-up and prognosis have been reported in 23 patients. Ten of these 23 patients died and most of these deaths occurred within 3 months after the diagnosis of amyloidosis. End-stage renal disease developed shortly in 4 patients. BD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of AA amyloidosis. In conclusion, the cases with BD and amyloidosis carry poor prognosis.

The coexistence of invasive ductal carcinoma and malignant phyllodes tumor with liposarcomatous and chondrosarcomatous differentiation in the same breast in a post-osteosarcoma case.

Malignant phyllodes tumors of the breast are rare biphasic neoplasms, the stromal component of which may show homologous and heterologous sarcomatous elements. Malignant epithelial transformation is rare. It has been reported in a few cases of in situ and infiltrating ductal or lobular carcinoma. Rarely, breast carcinomas and phyllodes tumors may also develop in the same breast independent of each other. To our knowledge, this is the first case of two different types of tumor occurring in the same breast at the same time in a post-osteosarcoma case.

Hepatitis C in haemodialysis and nonuraemic patients: A histopathological study

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of posttransfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis. Haemodialysis patients carry the risk of HCV infection. The aim of this study is to compare the morphological changes related to chronic HCV infection found in haemodialysis and nonuraemic patients. Liver biopsies from nine haemodialysis patients and 37 patients with normal renal function were studied. This study shows that haemodialysis patients may have less active and progressive chronic hepatitis C than patients with normal renal function. The number of patients in this study is limited, therefore further studies are needed for definite conclusion.

The Effects of Experimental Left Varicocele on the Epididymis

Most of the studies investigating the relationship between varicocele and male infertility are mainly focused on the testicles. It is obvious that varicocele would affect the morphology and function of the epididymis which is an intrascrotal organ. In this study, the effects of experimental left varicocele (ELV) on the epididymal morphology were investigated in adult rats. ELV was induced via partial obstruction of the left renal vein in 20 Sprague-Dawley adult rats. An additional twelve rats served as controls, and another twelve served as shams. Half of the rats in the groups were sacrified by the end of the first month of the experiment, and the rest were sacrified by the end of the second month. Epididymides were weighed; tubular diameters of the caput, corpus, and cauda of the epididymis were measured. The TUNEL assay was used to assess apoptosis within the epididymal tubules. The mean weight of each right and left epididymis in the varicocele group was lower than that in the control and sham groups (p < 0.01). In the varicocele group, the left epididymis weighted less than the right by the end of the second month (p < 0.01). The mean tubular diameter in the varicocele group was narrower than that in the control and sham groups (p < 0.001). Tubular diameter was significantly narrower in the caput segments in rats with varicocele by the end of the second month (p < 0.001). Apoptosis was significantly increased in principal cells of the epididymal epithelium in the varicocele groups. The apoptotic cells in the caput epididymis epithelium were more numerous than those in the other segments. In conclusion, ELV significantly decreases epididymal weight and tubular diameters presenting increased apoptosis within the principal cells. There is a positive correlation between the epididymal damage and the duration of varicocele.

Comparison of muscle-to-nodule and parenchyma-to-nodule strain ratios in the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules: which one should we use?

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of muscle-to-nodule strain ratio (MNSR) in the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules and to see if there was a difference between MNSR and parenchyma-to-nodule strain ratios (PNSR) in diagnosis. METHODS A total of 106 consecutive patients (88 women and 18 men; age range 19-79 years) with thyroid nodules were prospectively examined using ultrasound and sonoelastography before the fine-needle aspiration biopsy. The mean MNSR and PNSR were calculated for each nodule and the elasticity score was determined according to four-point scoring system. RESULTS According to the four-point scoring system, 44 of the 83 benign nodules had a score of one or two while 22 of the 23 malignant nodules had a score of three or four (p<0.001). Using ROC analysis, the best cutoff point for MNSR 1.85 and for PNSR 3.14 was calculated. The sensitivity and specificity for the MNSR were 95.6%, 92.8%, respectively; for the PNSR were 95.6%, 93.4%, respectively, when the best cutoff points were used (p<0.001). The κ value for the PNSR and MNSR methods was 0.87, which indicated an almost perfect agreement (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Sonoelastography has a high diagnostic accuracy in the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. There was no significant difference between MNSR and PNSR in the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Therefore, we think that MNSR could safely be used in situations where PNSR could not be used.

Metastatic Oligodendroglioma: Diagnosis with Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology

Extracranial/systemic metastasis of a primary central nervous system glial tumor is very rare, but the incidence is ever-increasing. Oligodendroglial tumors are uncommon; however, after high-grade astrocytomas, they constitute an important group of tumors which are reported to cause extracranial metastases. In the majority of literature-reported cases, the likelihood of a second primary tumor is considered as the first approach; therefore metastases are overlooked. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is currently accepted as a reliable, accurate, cost-effective and rapid diagnostic method for possible metastatic lesions in a patient with known primary tumor. FNAC findings of metastatic oligodendroglioma and small-round-cell tumors (SRCT) are quite similar, therefore differential diagnosis requires combination of the clinical and radiological data. In addition, application of immunochemistry and detection of 1p/19q co-deletion on cytological material confirm the diagnosis.