Métastase rénale d’un carcinome vésiculaire de la thyroïde révélée par le balayage du corps entier à l’iode 131

Distant metastasis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma generally affect lung and/or bone tissue. Renal metastasis from thyroid carcinoma is extremely rare. We report a case of renal metastasis from a follicular thyroid carcinoma in a 55-year-old man, occuring 11 years after total thyroidectomy, fortuitously discovered on a whole body scan carried out after 131-iodine therapy for neck recurrence of disease. Salient features of our clinical case are the fortuitous mode of discovery the unilateral localization of metastases and especially the long time interval which separates its detection from that of the primitive tumour. This case report exemplifies the useful role of the whole body scan carried out after 131-iodine therapy better adapted to reveal often undetectable occult metastases with low dose, but also to ensure a regular and protracted follow-up of patients treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma.     

Tchernobyl : le vrai, le probable et le faux

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami drew attention worldwide to nuclear power plant accidents and associated health risks. Since Chernobyl 25 years ago, several studies were published and we now have precise information concerning the long-term health of the population living near nuclear power plants and also in different European countries. The authors hope to bring some answers to the key questions from the public concerning radioactive units used and their significance, the evaluation of the number of radio-induced cancers within the different countries of Europe, other eventual health effects and the problem of possible congenital anomalies. Finally, French public perception on nuclear risk is examined and the feedback of the Japanese experience is evoked.     

La TEP-TDM à la F-Dopa aurait-elle un rôle dans le suivi postopératoire des patients atteints de carcinome médullaire de la thyroïde ? Résultats préliminaires de l’expérience strasbourgeoise et revue de la littérature

Aim

Retrospective study to assess the value of fluorine-18 dihydroxyphenylalanine (¹⁸F-Dopa) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in the post-surgical follow-up of patients with history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and biological suspicion of disease relapse. A review of the literature was also performed.

Patients and methods

Ten patients (23-71 years) with MTC previously treated by surgery were examined by at least one ¹⁸F-Dopa PET/CT. All patients presented with elevated serum calcitonin (130-9076 ng/l) and/or CEA (1.2-518 ng/ml) levels. 3D whole body PET/CT was performed 45 and 120 minutes after intravenous injection of 4 MBq/kg of ¹⁸F-Dopa. Scintigraphic images were visually interpreted. For quantitative analysis, maximum standardized uptake value (SUV_max) per focus was employed. PET results were compared with histological findings and/or with the results of all other imaging procedures.

Results

Seven patients (70%) had a positive ¹⁸F-Dopa PET/CT. Twenty-five focal tracer accumulations were described. Histopathological confirmation of metastatic disease was obtained in four of the seven patients with pathologic ¹⁸F-Dopa PET/CT. No scintigraphic abnormalities were evidenced in the three other patients, whose conventional morphological imaging procedures were also negatives. Delayed PET/CT examinations didn’t increase sensitivity. No correlation between ¹⁸F-Dopa PET/CT results and both serum calcitonin and CEA levels was achieved.

Conclusion

Our results are in accordance with the existing literature, showing the potential role of ¹⁸F-Dopa PET/CT in the clinical management of patients with history of MTC and biological suspicion of relapse during post-surgical follow-up. Prospective studies including larger patient series are necessary to confirm the future place of ¹⁸F-Dopa PET/CT in follow-up of MTC.     

Introduction and Institutionalization of Genetics in Mexico Ana Barahona,Susana Pinar and Francisco J. Ayala

We explore the distinctive characteristics of Mexico’s society, politics and history that impacted the establishment of genetics in Mexico, as a new disciplinary field that began in the early 20th century and was consolidated and institutionalized in the second half. We identify about three stages in the institutionalization of genetics in Mexico. The first stage can be characterized by Edmundo Taboada, who was the leader of a research program initiated during the Cárdenas government (1934–1940), which was primarily directed towards improving the condition of small Mexican farmers. Taboada is the first Mexican post-graduate investigator in phytotechnology and phytopathology, trained at Cornell University and the University of Minnesota, in 1932 and 1933, respectively. He was the first investigator to teach plant genetics at the National School of Agriculture and wrote the first textbook of general genetics, Genetics Notes, in 1938. Taboada’s most important single genetics contribution was the production of “stabilized” corn varieties. The extensive exile of Spanish intellectuals to Mexico, after the end of Spain’s Civil War (1936–1939), had a major influence in Mexican science and characterizes the second stage. The three main personalities contributing to Mexican genetics are Federico Bonet de Marco and Bibiano Fernández Osorio Tafall, at the National School of Biological Sciences, and José Luis de la Loma y Oteyza, at the Chapingo Agriculture School. The main contribution of the Spanish exiles to the introduction of genetics in Mexico concerned teaching. They introduced in several universities genetics as a distinctive discipline within the biology curriculum and wrote genetics text books and manuals. The third stage is identified with Alfonso León de Garay, who founded the Genetics and Radiobiology Program in 1960 within the National Commission of Nuclear Energy, which had been founded in 1956. The Genetics and Radiobiology Program rapidly became a disciplinary program, for it embraced research, teaching, and training of academics and technicians. The Mexican Genetics Society, created by de Garay in 1966, and the development of strains and cultures for genetics research were important activities. One of de Garay’s key requirements was the compulsory training of the Program’s scientists for at least one or two years in the best universities of the United States and Europe. De Garay’s role in the development of Mexican genetics was fundamental. His broad vision encompassed the practice of genetics in all its manifestations.     

Composition des faunes de mammifères quaternaires en Chine selon un gradient Nord-Sud

During Pleistocene Epoch, quite a number of meridionale mammals inhabited north China, such as Stegodon, Macaca, Hystrix, Dicerorhinus, Bubalus and several kinds of other probscideans. On the contrary, some boreal mammals once appeared in south China, such as Megaloceros and Ursus arctos etc. The frequent appearance of warm-adapted mammals in North China can be explained by two alternative assumptions: one is that those mammals were of palearctic origin; the other is the climate-driven northward dispersal. According to the fossil evidences, it seems that the northward dispersal events were much more frequent than the southward ones during Pleistocene in China. It maybe means that during Pleistocene, the temperature fluctuated very frequently and the boundary between the Paleartic and Oriental Regions were always keeping on shifting. But it's still not clear how many episodes or phases of such dispersal events had occurred. The Qinling Mountains weren't responsible for the faunal differentiation between the North and the South, neither was the Yangtze River; because the former is not big enough, and the latter cannot be regarded as an efficient barrier for those animals, which are capable of flying and swimming. Maybe the climate zonation is the root cause of zoogeographical changes.     

多发性抽动症的脑电图观察

目的:进一步探究脑电图对多发性抽动症患儿的辅助诊断价值。方法:本文对45例多发性抽动症患儿进行脑电图描记录,选择理想信号段进行分析。结果发现24例异常,异常率为53.3%。其中中度异常6例,占25%,脑波表现为在高幅δ、θ波长程阵发的背景上偶发尖波;轻度异常18例,占75%,表现背景脑波频率变慢,出现高幅δ、θ波及活动,伴短程出现;正常21例,较同年龄组的脑电图调节差,波形杂乱。结论:脑电图反映脑功能活动,通过计算机分析方法可提供更多信息,并且脑电图操作方便,无痛无创,易于被儿童接受,在多发性抽动症早期临床诊断中具有较高的应用价值。     

Rongements sélectifs des os par les porcs-épics et autres rongeurs : cas de la grotte Tianyuan, un site avec des restes humains fossiles récemment découvert près de Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien)

The Tianyuan cave near Zhoukoudian is among the most special localities in North China for its many porcupine gnawing marks on the bones, as is often the case acknowledged only in South China. But porcupines did not gnaw all the bones, that is gnawing is selective. Skulls, mandibles, tooth roots and long bones are frequently gnawed. The short bones are almost free from gnawing. The selection indicates that, for porcupines, bone gnawing is not only a necessity for attrition of incisors, but also a process of extracting nutrients from the marrow. Additionally, the porcupine gnawing marks can also be employed to determine the provenance of the fossils that were discovered by the local people before the systematic excavation. Those bearing porcupine tooth marks only appear in the upper assemblage. The other significance of the gnawing marks is to infer the habitant of the cave. The bones from the human fossil bearing layer have few tooth marks, which may represent a period of human occupation of the cave. In the upper assemblage, the gnawing marks appear frequently, it may indicate that porcupine and other rodents lived in the cave during this time span.     

Les industries acheuléennes de la France septentrionale

The excavations of several open air sites in Northern France and, especially in the Somme basin, have given numerous data concerning the age and the environment of the human occupations for the period from MIS 12 to MIS 8. The quality of the raw material and the function of the different sites have a great effect on the composition of the lithic assemblages as it has been seen for the different sites located near the confluence of the Somme and Avre (Cagny-la Garenne, Cagny-l’Épinette, Ferme de l’Épinette, Gentelles). The characteristics of the lithic industries of Gouzeaucourt show the complexity of the transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic.     

Metals contents in two fishes of different feeding behaviour in the Lower Paraná River and Río de la Plata Estuary

Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb concentrations were measured in the water and these plus Zn were measured in the diet, muscle and liver of the detritivorous fish Prochilodus lineatus and the omnivorous fish Pterodoras granulosus at two sites (Lower Paraná River and Río de la Plata right margin) located upstream and downstream, respectively, from Buenos Aires, an important source of xenobiotics. Cu and Cr concentrations in water were higher in the Río de la Plata coastal waters, while Cd and Pb were below detection limits. The stomach contents of P. lineatus showed a higher metal content at the estuary, attaining concentrations within the range reported for contaminated sediments. However, metals in fish tissue were not higher at the estuary and, except for Cd in liver, were lower than in the organic fraction of the stomach content. Thus, only Cd was accumulated. The P. granulosus diet was composed mainly of river vegetation debris and clams, Corbicula fluminea, at the estuary. Cd, Cu and Pb in liver were higher at the estuary while only Cu was higher in the diet at this site. The different nature of the diet seems associated with a differential bioavailability of its metal content. P. granulosus accumulates Cu at both sites and Cd at the estuary. Both fishes showed higher metal content in liver than in muscle. Cr in liver was below detection limits. No relation was found between metal content and fish size. Overall, metal content in fish tissues were low, except for Cu in P. granulosus and Cd in P. lineatus, similar to those of uncontaminated sites, suggesting that homeostatic mechanisms prevent metal accumulation.