Internal medicine
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Review Case Reports
A resected perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) of the pancreas diagnosed using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration.
Primary perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) of the pancreas are extremely rare. We herein report our experience with a patient who had a primary PEComa of the pancreas that was diagnosed by the preoperative histopathological examination of a biopsy specimen obtained by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). The patient was a 43-year-old woman whose chief complaint was abdominal pain. ⋯ The tumor cells proliferated in a sheet-like fashion and stained positive for the melanoma-associated antigen HMB-45. A PEComa was thus diagnosed. If an adequate tumor specimen can be obtained using EUS-FNA, immunostaining may facilitate the diagnosis of extremely rare diseases and therefore assist in deciding the treatment policy.
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Review Case Reports
Rifampicin-induced acute kidney injury during the initial treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis: a case report and literature review.
A 47-year-old man diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis was referred to our hospital. Rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol were administered, and the patient's symptoms promptly improved. On the 19th hospital day, he developed acute kidney injury with a fever and chills. ⋯ We herein report this case and review eight cases reported in Japan. We found that the rifampicin toxicity appeared at both the initial administration and readministration. All eight patients presented with proteinuria.
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Autophagy is a process of lysosomal self-degradation that helps to maintain the homeostatic balance between the synthesis, degradation and recycling of cellular proteins and organelles. Autophagy does not simply function as the machinery for supplying amino acids in response to energy demands, it is an adaptive pathway of cytoprotection against cellular stressors, including starvation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and microbial infection. ⋯ Due to the organ-specific role of gas exchange, various cell types within the lungs are serially exposed to a diverse array of cellular stressors, and growing evidence has revealed the crucial involvement of autophagy in the pathogenic processes underlying pulmonary diseases. We herein review recent findings regarding the role of autophagy in cellular processes and cell fates and summarize the role that autophagy appears to play in the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases.
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Review Case Reports
Hepatic perivascular epithelioid cell tumor: a case report and review of the literature.
A perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) is a rare type of mesenchymal tumor. Cases that arise from the liver are extremely rare. We report a case of a 41-years-old woman suffering from a hepatic PEComa with an emphasis on its imaging findings, primarily those of contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CECT) and sonography. We also conducted a literature review to evaluate imaging findings that could provide some information for preoperative diagnosis.
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Review Case Reports
Dilated cardiomyopathy as a presenting feature of Cushing's syndrome.
Cardiovascular complications, including cardiomegaly, myocardial ischemia and left ventricular hypertrophy, are some of the major determinants of the mortality rate in patients with Cushing's syndrome. We herein report the case of a patient with Cushing's syndrome caused by an adrenal adenoma who presented with congestive heart failure secondary to dilated cardiomyopathy. Follow-up echocardiography showed a marked improvement in the left ventricular cardiac function, and the plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels regressed after successful treatment. "Reversible" dilated cardiomyopathy is rarely associated with Cushing's syndrome; however, it should be recognized. Administering appropriate treatment in a timely manner can reverse this cardiomyopathy along with the other symptoms of Cushing's syndrome.