胎盘植入的影像学表现(病例报道及文献复习)

目的:探讨胎盘植入(placental implantation abnormality,PIA)的影像学表现特征。方法:分析经手术病理证实的1例胎盘植入的MRI及超声表现,并复习文献资料。结果:MRI:以同序列子宫外围肌层信号为参照,T_1WI植入胎盘呈等信号或略高信号,与宫壁结构分界不清;T_2WI植入胎盘呈高信号,信号强度高于宫壁,胎盘组织侵入肌层,结合带局部变薄或中断;T_1WI增强,胎盘显著强化,明显强于宫壁。超声:局部胎盘厚度增加,其内见多个大小不一、形态不规则的无回声区;胎盘后方子宫肌层厚薄不均,其内见大片状稍强回声区;胎盘与子宫肌层接触的地方有异常的彩色的血流。结论:胎盘植入的影像学表现具有特征性,MRI结合超声检查有助于做出正确的定位和定性诊断。     

原发性肾上腺非霍奇金淋巴瘤（附9 例报告）

目的:探讨原发性肾上腺淋巴瘤(Primary Adrenal Lymphoma,PAL)的临床特点、提高对PAL的认识。方法:回顾分析解放军总医院1995年12月至2007年6月收治的9例PAL的临床表现、实验室检查、影像学特点、组织病理类型以及治疗方法等临床资料,并结合国内外文献进行分析。结果:9例患者中,1例因常规体检发现,8例因腹痛、腹胀或腰痛就诊发现;其中单侧3例,双侧6例,实验室检查无明显异常,影像学检查仅发现肾脏肿瘤,但术后病理组织学诊断为非霍奇金淋巴瘤(non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,NHL),其中8例弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤,1例T细胞淋巴瘤;7例患者术后均接受了CHOP或RCHOP方案化疗为主的综合治疗,2例常规治疗;随访至2010年2月,1例弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤患者存活4年,1例在术后3年2个月死亡,余7均在2年内死亡。结论:PAL是一种罕见的、恶性程度较高的肿瘤,临床表现和影像学检查缺乏特异性,组织病理学及免疫组织化学是明确诊断的好方法。术前确诊肾上腺原发性非霍奇金淋巴瘤可避免手术,联合化疗应为治疗首选。     

影像诊断在颅内动脉瘤中的研究进展

颅内动脉瘤(intracranial aneurysms,ICA)是由于脑血管局部异常改变而产生的血管瘤样突起,世界2%的人口患有颅内动脉瘤。颅内动脉瘤是引起脑卒中的第三大病因,仅次于脑血栓形成和高血压脑出血,脑卒中病死率、致残率极高,总病死率约为40~50%,早期诊断ICA对预防脑卒中意义重大。颅内动脉瘤的早期诊断主要依赖于影像学检查,近年多层螺旋CT、MRI及DSA技术的迅猛发展对颅内动脉瘤的早期诊断有很大帮助,本文就CT以及MRI功能成像在颅内动脉瘤的应用研究进展进行综述。     

超声诊断巨大毛发性胃结石一例及文献复习

目的:探讨毛发性胃结石的影像表现、临床特点及治疗。方法:回顾性分析1例毛发性胃结石患者的临床资料,结合文献报道,对其影像、临床表现和治疗方法进行探讨。结果:患者为一女性患儿,上腹痛不适半年余,既往有拔毛癖,超声诊断胃巨大毛发性结石,内镜证实后开腹手术,取石成功,随访痊愈。结论:毛发性胃结石与其它胃结石相比,影像表现、临床特点无明显差异,超声检查可提供可靠的诊断提示,治疗需取出结石以消除症状,并注意心理干预,防止复发。     

宝石能谱CT诊断腹腔自体异位脾种植1例并文献复习

目的:探讨宝石能谱CT对腹腔自体异位脾种植的诊断价值,并对其临床特点和影像表现进行文献复习。方法:对一例脾外伤患者行宝石能谱CT扫描,观察肿瘤强化模式及能谱曲线表现。结果:肝右叶包膜外、纵横裂区、脾区见单发或簇状多发富血供结节,大小0.64×1.14 cm~4.94×1.81 cm,动脉期呈"花斑状"强化,门静脉期、延迟期对比剂廓清程度趋于一致。能谱曲线示肝右叶包膜外、纵横裂区、脾区结节曲线斜率及走行趋势近似相同。结论:宝石CT能谱曲线斜率有助于腹腔自体异位脾种植诊断。     

原发性肝透明细胞癌影像学及临床分析

目的:探讨原发性肝细胞癌(PCCCL)的影像学及临床病理等特点,提高对肝透明细胞癌的认识,早期确诊、早期治疗、改善预后等,以避免临床误诊,并评价PCCCL的预后比例及疗效。方法:回顾性分析了2009年至2010年我院肿瘤科收治的3例肝透明细胞癌患者的临床资料、影像学质料,以及临床治疗和随访情况。结果:3例均为男性,2例行氩氦刀靶向消融治疗,1例行CT引导下射频消融治疗,术后随访半年2例过世,1例生存。结论:原发性肝细胞癌透明细胞型早期诊断尤为重要,及时手术切除及消融治疗是取得较好疗效的关键。     

Burkitt's Lymphoma: A Time-space Cluster of Cases in Bwanba County of Uganda

Seven cases of Burkitt''s lymphoma have to date (March 1971) been diagnosed in the county of Bwamba in Uganda. All these patients had the clinical onset of their tumour in the 27 months from October 1966 to December 1968; five of them in the last six months of this period. Two of the patients were full sibs living in the same house. This is the most discrete time-space cluster of the disease yet recorded and provides further evidence for a role in the aetiology of Burkitt''s lymphoma of an infective agent with a relatively short latent period.     

Primary malignant tumors of orofacial region at Benghazi,Libya: A 17 years review

The aim of this study was to systematically analyze the clinical presentations of orofacial malignant tumors in a Libyan population over a period of 17 years and compare the results with the reports from other countries. During the study period, tumors of epithelial origin were found in 160 patients (82%), followed by tumors of immune system, 22 (11%) and tumors of mesenchymal origin, 14 (7%). Of the total malignant tumors, 115 were men and 81 were women and the male to female ratio was 1.41:1. Malignant non-odontogenic tumors were seen in 194 patients (99%) and malignant odontogenic tumors were seen in 2 patients (1%). Among the epithelial tumors, squamous cell carcinoma (50.6%) was the most common neoplasm, followed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma (15%) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (8.7%). The incidence of oral malignancy is impressively low with respect to the corresponding levels in other countries in Africa and some European countries.     

Acromegaly: A Review of 100 Cases

Clinical and pathological findings in 100 cases of acromegaly were reviewed. Great individual variation in manifestations of the disease was apparent. The chronic course was evidenced by 30 patients presenting symptoms unrelated to acromegaly. Headache, visual disturbances, arthritis and elevated blood pressure were common. The incidence of diabetes mellitus, thyroid and adrenal dysfunction was similar to that reported in other series. Gonadal disturbances were frequent. Two patients had galactorrhea and two had hyperparathyroidism. Radiologically, pituitary fossae were normal in 24. Pituitary histology in 29 cases revealed four eosinophilic adenomas, but most were mixed eosinophilic-chromophobic. Fifty-two patients received radiation therapy. Rhinorrhea and optic nerve fibrosis were seen in this group. Twenty-four patients were operated upon, with no operative deaths since 1945 and no morbidity since 1952. Visual failure was the clearest indication for surgery. Treatment will be difficult to evaluate until an index of growth hormone secretion is generally available.     

Improving Clinical Risk Stratification at Diagnosis in Primary Prostate Cancer: A Prognostic Modelling Study

IntroductionOver 80% of the nearly 1 million men diagnosed with prostate cancer annually worldwide present with localised or locally advanced non-metastatic disease. Risk stratification is the cornerstone for clinical decision making and treatment selection for these men. The most widely applied stratification systems use presenting prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration, biopsy Gleason grade, and clinical stage to classify patients as low, intermediate, or high risk. There is, however, significant heterogeneity in outcomes within these standard groupings. The International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) has recently adopted a prognosis-based pathological classification that has yet to be included within a risk stratification system. Here we developed and tested a new stratification system based on the number of individual risk factors and incorporating the new ISUP prognostic score.ConclusionsA novel and simple five-stratum risk stratification system outperforms the standard three-stratum risk stratification system in predicting the risk of PCSM at diagnosis in men with primary non-metastatic prostate cancer, even when accounting for competing risks. This model also allows delineation of new clinically relevant subgroups of men who might potentially receive more appropriate therapy for their disease. Future research will seek to validate our results in external datasets and will explore the value of including additional variables in the system in order in improve prognostic performance.     

Medico-Legal Findings,Legal Case Progression,and Outcomes in South African Rape Cases: Retrospective Review

Background

Health services for victims of rape are recognised as a particularly neglected area of the health sector internationally. Efforts to strengthen these services need to be guided by clinical research. Expert medical evidence is widely used in rape cases, but its contribution to the progress of legal cases is unclear. Only three studies have found an association between documented bodily injuries and convictions in rape cases. This article aims to describe the processing of rape cases by South African police and courts, and the association between documented injuries and DNA and case progression through the criminal justice system.

Methods and Findings

We analysed a provincially representative sample of 2,068 attempted and completed rape cases reported to 70 randomly selected Gauteng province police stations in 2003. Data sheets were completed from the police dockets and available medical examination forms were copied. 1,547 cases of rape had medical examinations and available forms and were analysed, which was at least 85% of the proportion of the sample having a medical examination. We present logistic regression models of the association between whether a trial started and whether the accused was found guilty and the medico-legal findings for adult and child rapes. Half the suspects were arrested (n = 771), 14% (209) of cases went to trial, and in 3% (31) of adults and 7% (44) of children there was a conviction. A report on DNA was available in 1.4% (22) of cases, but the presence or absence of injuries were documented in all cases. Documented injuries were not associated with arrest, but they were associated with children''s cases (but not adult''s) going to trial (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] for having genital and nongenital injuries 5.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.87–18.13, p = 0.003). In adult cases a conviction was more likely if there were documented injuries, whether nongenital injuries alone AOR 6.25 (95% CI 1.14–34.3, p = 0.036), ano-genital injuries alone (AOR 7.00, 95% CI 1.44–33.9, p = 0.017), or both nongenital and ano-genital injuries (AOR 12.34, 95% CI 2.87–53.0, p = 0.001). DNA was not associated with case outcome.

Conclusions

This is the first study, to our knowledge, to show an association between documentation of ano-genital injuries, trials commencing, and convictions in rape cases in a developing country. Its findings are of particular importance because they show the value of good basic medical practices in documentation of injuries, rather than more expensive DNA evidence, in assisting courts in rape cases. Health care providers need training to provide high quality health care responses after rape, but we have shown that the core elements of the medico-legal response require very little technology. As such they should be replicable in low- and middle-income country settings. Our findings raise important questions about the value of evidence that requires the use of forensic laboratories at a population level in countries like South Africa that have substantial inefficiencies in their police services. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

Physical Child Abuse: A Review of All Cases Seen at Sacramento Medical Center in 1975

This report presents physical, socioeconomic, demographic and follow-up information on all 18 cases of physical child abuse seen at the Sacramento Medical Center in 1975. Of the 18 abused children, 16 were initially discharged to Children''s Protective Service; 13 were placed in foster homes. There were 17 alleged abusers; all were arrested; 12 came to trial; 8 were convicted. Preventive programs offer a less expensive approach and deserve the highest priority.     

Cultural Evolution: A Review of Theory,Findings and Controversies

The last two decades have seen an explosion in research analysing cultural change as a Darwinian evolutionary process. Here I provide an overview of the theory of cultural evolution, including its intellectual history, major theoretical tenets and methods, key findings, and prominent criticisms and controversies. ‘Culture’ is defined as socially transmitted information. Cultural evolution is the theory that this socially transmitted information evolves in the manner laid out by Darwin in The Origin of Species, i.e. it comprises a system of variation, differential fitness and inheritance. Cultural evolution is not, however, neo-Darwinian, in that many of the details of genetic evolution may not apply, such as particulate inheritance and random mutation. Following a brief history of this idea, I review theoretical and empirical studies of cultural microevolution, which entails both selection-like processes wherein some cultural variants are more likely to be acquired and transmitted than others, plus transformative processes that alter cultural information during transmission. I also review how phylogenetic methods have been used to reconstruct cultural macroevolution, including the evolution of languages, technology and social organisation. Finally, I discuss recent controversies and debates, including the extent to which culture is proximate or ultimate, the relative role of selective and transformative processes in cultural evolution, the basis of cumulative cultural evolution, the evolution of large-scale human cooperation, and whether social learning is learned or innate. I conclude by highlighting the value of using evolutionary methods to study culture for both the social and biological sciences.