Paolo Scarani

Changes in the alveolar connective tissue of the ageing lung: an immunohistochemical study

The modifications of the extracellular matrix (ExM) components in the alveolar parenchyma of elderly subjects were investigated using a panel of polyclonal antibodies. The elastic fibers showed a notable decrease along the alveolar walls while type III collagen increased when compared with that of non-elderly controls. No variations of these components were detectable in the alveolar ducts or in the respiratory bronchioli. An increase in the thickness of the alveolar basement membranes was detected in some of the subjects when antibodies against type IV collagen and laminin were used, while antibodies to fibronectin and type V collagen did not reveal any modifications compared with the controls. The modifications revealed in the lungs of the elderly can be related to the alterations of the elastic recoil and pulmonary compliance observed in these subjects.

Cutaneous cryptococcosis and AIDS

The incidence of cryptococcosis in patients with the acquired immunodefficiency syndrome (AIDS) ranges from 1.9% to 9.0%. 1 The infection usually has central nervous system and /or pulmonary involvement but may progress to widespread visceral invasion by cryptococci. Cutaneous localization of the infection is rare and usually appears in the late stages of a disseminated cryptococcal disease

Fatal necrotizing pancreatitis caused by hepatitis B virus infection in a liver transplant recipient

A 32-year-old man who had undergone liver transplantation for fulminant hepatitis due to HBV infection developed fatal acute necrotizing pancreatitis on the 60th post-transplant day, while showing signs of intense viral replication. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization of the pancreas following autopsy showed the presence of HBsAG and HBV-DNA in the cytoplasm of acinar cells, together with the picture of necrotizing pancreatitis. Clinical and histological features seem to indicate that pancreatitis was directly caused by HBV infection.

Benign smooth muscle cell metaplasia in breast.

Three different benign breast lesions showing smooth muscle cells in the stroma are reported. Benign smooth muscle cells are rarely found in the breast, and it is likely that they originate from metaplastic changes of the stroma itself.

Degeneration of the corticospinal tract following portosystelnic shunt associated with spinal cord infarction

The clinicopathological aspects of a case of myelopathy that followed the creation of a surgical porto-caval shunt for hepatic cirrhosis and oesophageal varices are presented. Degeneration of the lateral corticospinal tracts associated with diffuse bilateral ischaemic changes of the spinal gray matter and proliferation of Alzheimer type 2 glia in the brain and brain stem were the most prominent findings. The association of corticospinal tract degeneration and ischaemic lesions of spinal gray matter in absence of any anatomical cause of spinal cord infarction suggests that a modification of the spinal blood flow caused by creation of portosystemic shunts might be the basic pathogenetic mechanism of this complication of severe liver disease

Oat cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Report of a case.

A case of primary oat cell carcinoma of the esophagus is described. The oat cell pattern appeared intermingled with small areas of squamous carcinoma. The origin of this mixed tumor is discussed together with the literature on esophageal carcinomas with an oat cell pattern.

Contemporaneous anatomic collections and scientific papers from the 19th century school of anatomy of Bologna: preliminary report.

Recently, a strict relationship was demonstrated between scientific pathology reports of the 19th century and a large number of specimens from the museum of pathology ‘Cesare Taruffi’ of Bologna. Such an experience suggested verifying whether a similar relationship exists between the 19th‐century collections of the museum of anatomy and the contemporaneous anatomic scientific literature. The purpose of this preliminary report is to illustrate the first documented samples recovered in Bologna in order to promote such an inventory of old anatomic and pathologic specimens in other museums. Clin. Anat. 14:19–24, 2001.

Toxoplasmic pancreatitis in a patient with AIDS

Summary The most common localization of Toxoplasma gondii infection in HIV-positive patients is the central nervous system; autoptic findings have revealed disseminated disease also. Clinical manifestations of severe gastrointestinal involvement, especially of the pancreas, have been rarely described. We report a rare case of toxoplasmic pancreatitis in a patient with AIDS. Few other cases have been described in the literature.

Cesare Taruffi: Un teratologo dimenticato

te della cultura, specialmente medica. La violenta aggressività degli antichi regimi, insieme con la grave crisi economica che, a partire dal 1815, si abbatté sull’intera Europa fu quindi causa di un diffuso malcontento, che tuttavia non sfociò in manifestazioni di diffusa ribellione, ma nello sviluppo di associazioni d’intellettuali più o meno segrete, germe del tipicamente elitario movimento per l’unità d’Italia. A Bologna, l’istituzione del museo di patologia, attorno al 1803, fu la probabile causa della crescita di Cesare Taruffi come anatomopatologo. Quest’istituzione non fu infatti abolita dal regime pontificio. Si ebbero anzi significativi gesti di promozione della raccolta di preparati ed anche a favore dello sviluppo della pratica dell’autopsia clinica, tra l’altro enormemente favorita dalla fondazione della società medicochirurgica (1823). Come in Germania, anche a Bologna ci si rendeva infatti conto dell’importanza dell’anatomia patologica, come unica area veramente oggettiva tra le discipline mediche, e della sua capacità di definire in modo preciso ed accurato le malattie. Introduzione