Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Niger

This is the first report of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Niger subsequent to the initial finding in 1911 and the report of a second case in 1943. The clinical, histopathological, and epidemiological features of 64 parasitologically confirmed cases are described. Lesions were mostly multiple, situated on exposed areas of skin, but rarely on the face. Two clinical forms were predominant: ulcero-crusted and humid-ulcerous. Nodular lymphangitis was not uncommon. Patients were mostly from rural areas, but urban transmission did occur. The majority of lesions appeared during the June-October rainy season. All features appeared to be similar to those of this disease in other countries in the sahelian endemic zone.

Cancer of the esophagus and associated lesions: detailed pathologic study of 100 esophagectomy specimens

One hundred surgical specimens from patients with esophageal cancers were studied in detail. The characteristics of the cancers were similar to those described in the literature. Subserial sectioning of the specimens permitted determination of the type, number, and extent of noncancerous mucosal lesions and their exact location in relation to the carcinomas. Ninety-five per cent of the resected esophagi contained at least one focus of intraepithelial neoplasia, for the most part adjacent to the invasive carcinoma; in 14 per cent of the cases, intraepithelial carcinomas were detected at some distance from the invasive carcinomas. The invasive carcinomas involved an average of 20 per cent of the mucosal surface and the intraepithelial neoplasias, 5 per cent. The noncancerous mucosal lesions were analyzed, and their extent was evaluated. Esophagitis, parakeratosis, atrophy, dyskeratosis of the epithelium, and hyperplasia and metaplasia of the mucosal gland ducts were encountered. The exact significance of these lesions in esophageal carcinogenesis is not known. The mucosal abnormalities associated with preoperative irradiation are defined. The results of iodine and toluidine blue testing are presented.

[Non-parasitic cysts of the spleen: report on two cases and ultrastructural findings in one of them (author's transl)]

Two cases are reported of non-parasitic cysts of the spleen of the simple epithelial type. The pathogenic mechanism of such cysts is discussed and illustrated by ultrastructural findings in one of the cases. The wall of this cyst was mesothelial in nature. This observation is in favour of the inclusion of mesothelial tissue in the spleen, a hypothesis suggested in the published literature by several authors.

In situ carcinoma of the esophagus. Macroscopic study with particular reference to the Lugol test

The results presented here concern the study of in situ cancer and marked dysplasia revealed during the pathological study of 39 specimens removed during esophagogastrectomy for invasive carcinoma of the esophagus. In 12 cases, macroscopic study made it possible to define precisely the macroscopic features of in situ canccer; in one case, however, the mucous membrane at the site of the in situ cancer was macroscopically normal. The iodine test performed in 37 cases showed that the normal esophageal mucosa is iodine-positive and that in situ and invasive squamous cell carcinoma are always represented by sharply defined iodine-negative zones: in the case in which it was sufficiently extensive, marked dysplasia presented the same iodine-negative character. The possibilities for applying these results to early endoscopic diagnosis of esophageal cancer are presented.