Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine
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Electron microscopic findings in a case of suspected scleroderma (progressive systemic sclerosis) showed platelet aggregates within numerous capillary lumens of the kidney. Evidence suggests that platelets may be a factor in the pathogenesis of renal scleroderma.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Apr 1983
Case ReportsMassive mural edema in severe pseudomembranous colitis.
Three patients had severe acute pseudomembranous colitis due to Clostridium difficile toxin and required surgical resection. In addition to the characteristic mucosal lesions, the colonic specimens showed a marked degree of diffuse mural edema that extended into the muscularis propia and involved areas of the colon with and without pseudomembranes. ⋯ Lesser degrees may be seen in other forms of acute colitis, but it would appear that the presence of massive and diffuse mural edema is most typical of Clostridia-associated colitis. The detection of such edema in a case of acute colitis should prompt an investigation for antibiotic usage and C difficile toxins.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Dec 1982
Acetylthiocholinesterase staining activity of rectal mucosa. Its use in the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease.
Increased acetylthiocholinesterase (AchE) reactivity in the rectal lamina propria and lamina muscularis mucosae was used to diagnose Hirschsprung's disease. We processed 131 specimens with the AchE reaction; 43 were suction biopsy specimens and the rest were full-thickness specimens. Of the 68 specimens in which neurocytes were present, none demonstrated a diffuse increase in the number of nerve fibers. ⋯ All patients with a diffuse increase in nerve fibers, regardless of the type of biopsy, were shown to have Hirschsprung's disease. The AchE staining reaction did, however, produce a 29% rate of false-negative reactions (16 of 56 specimens) in patients with Hirschsprung's disease. These data demonstrate that an abnormal pattern of AchE reaction is diagnostic of aganglionic megacolon, whereas a normal pattern does not exclude the disease.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Feb 1982
Case ReportsSturge-Weber syndrome. A case with thyroid and choroid plexus hemangiomas and leptomeningeal melanosis.
We studied a case of Sturge-Weber syndrome in a 66-year-old woman, who displayed associated angiomas of the thyroid gland and choroid plexi and leptomeningeal melanosis. These findings are discussed in light of the proposed pathogenesis of the syndrome and its relationship to the other neuroectodermal dysplasias.