Ameloblastoma. Light and electron microscopic study

Light and electron microscopic studies of ameloblastoma were reviewed. The 21 cases of ameloblastoma examined were classified into 12 cases of the plexiform type and nine of the follicular type. The average age of the patients with the plexiform type was 25.3 years, while that of those with the follicular type was 54.4 years. Histologically, in the follicular type, the tumor cells consisted of two cell types, central polyhedral and star-shaped cells resembling the stellate reticulum and peripheral cuboidal and columnar cells similar to the inner enamel epithelium. The resemblance between the tumor follicle and enamel organ was confirmed electron microscopically. In the plexiform type, however the tumor cells did not show two cell types, but resembled squamous epithelium. Electron microscopically, all cells of the tumor strands had relatively numerous bundles of tonofilaments and were joined together by desmosomes. Differentiation of tumor cells to squamous epithelium less evident than in normal surface epithelium. We speculate that these histological differences between plexiform and follicular types represent the differentiation tendency of the remnant of the dental lamina at the time of neoplastic transformation. What decides the histological pattern is unknown but age may be a factor. Central epidermization with keratinization or microcytic changes was frequently seen in the follicular type. Keratinization and microcystic changes rarely occurred in the plexiform type. We do not believe that these changes are a form of involution or result from multipotentiality of the tumor cells.

Histological observation of the submandibular gland with special reference to the focal lymphocytic infiltration

Focal lymphocytic infiltration of the submandibular gland was investigated on the autopsy cases. The materials examined were 340 cases without the collagen diseases and 28 cases with collagen diseases. Of the 28 cases with collagen diseases, 20 were systemic lupus erythematosus, 2 with the coexistence of systemic, lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome, 4 with rheumatoid arthritis and 2 with progressive systemic sclerosis. Among the cases without the collagen diseases, the focal lymphocytic infiltration was seen in 154 cases (74%) of 209 males and in 94 cases (71%) of 131 females. All 28 cases with collagen diseases had a focal lymphocytic infiltration. The incidence of grade 3 or severe infiltration was 4% in the males and 14% in the females in the cases without the collagen diseases, 65% in the 20 cases with systemic lupus erythematosus, 50% in the 4 cases with rheumatoid arthritis and 50% in the 2 cases with progressive systemic sclerosis. No cases of very severe infiltration were found, which were seen in the classical Sjögren's syndrome, in both cases with and without the collagen diseases. Hyperplastic change in the ductal cells, which can be called an epimyoepithelial island, was found in 23% of the cases with collagen diseases. These observations suggest that the focal lymphocytic infiltrations is a focal sign of the immunologic disorder of the submandibular gland in the collagen disease.

An epidemiological study of Serratia marcescens infections by bacteriocin typing

Bacteriocin sensitivity typing according to the method of Traub (Appl. Microbiol. 1971. 21: 837-840) was carried out on 226 clinical isolates of Serratia marcescens obtained from inpatients at Nagasaki University Hospital during the period from January 1976 to December 1978. The isolates were divided into 16 different bacteriocin types, mainly 26, 4, and 9. The distribution of the types suggests that Serratia marcescens infections may be caused by cross infection. Reproducibility of bacteriocin typing and the relationship between serotypes (O-antigen) and bacteriocin types are discussed in regard to the application of this method to the study of nosocomial infections.

Amyloid deposits in the aged tongue: a postmortem study of 107 individuals over 60 years of age

The incidence and distribution of amyloid deposits in aged tongues obtained from 107 necropsies over 60 years of age were examined. Thirty-nine tongues were affected with amyloid deposits and the overall incidence was 36.4%. The incidence increased with each advancing decade, and the group over 90 years old showed the highest incidence of 59.6%. Although the amount of amyloid deposits differed in each case, severely affected cases were most frequently found in the advanced decades. Amyloid deposits were almost always confined to blood vessels, especially arterioles and arteries. They occasionally occupied the entire wall and occluded the lumen. Blood vessels affected with amyloid were usually located in the muscle layers of the tongue. Vessels in the subepithelial layer and lingual glands were, however, sometimes affected. Amyloid deposits were resistant to Congo red staining with the potassium permangante method, and stained positively with DMAB. The present study suggested that the tongue is an important organ as to the appearance of amyloid deposits in elderly persons.

[Compared studies of antimicrobial agents against E. coli, Klebsiella, Citrobacter and Proteus isolated from urinary tract infections]

In vitro activities of antibacterial agents against E. coli, Klebsiella, Citrobacter and Proteus which were isolated from patients urinary tract infections at 8 hospitals in Japan, were investigated by agar dilution method from July to October in 1979. The summarized results are as follows. 1. Among oral antibacterial agents, MPC and PPA have showed potent antibacterial activities against E. coli and Klebsiella. Among parenteral antibiotics, CTM was the most active against E. coli and Klebsiella. However, ABPC-resistant E. coli and Klebsiella have appeared to occupy about 40% and 96% of bacteria isolated from urinary tract infections, respectively. 2. In vitro activities of antibacterial agents against Proteus and Citrobacter showed not so potent. 3. Causative organisms in female patients with simple urinary tract infections were mainly E. coli and Klebsiella. 4. Among oral antibacterial agents, PPA have shown similar antimicrobial activities against E. coli isolated from simple and complicated urinary tract infections. ABPC and MPC have been influenced in some degree by these factors. However, parenteral antibiotics are not influenced by these factors. On the other hand, in vitro activities of antibacterial agents against Klebsiella isolated from simple and complicated urinary tract infections were similar.

In vitro activity of MK0787 (N-formimidoyl thienamycin) and other beta-lactam compounds against Bacteroides spp

The susceptibilities of 82 strains of the Bacteroides fragilis group to eight beta-lactam compounds, lincomycin, and metronidazole were determined by using an agar dilution technique. MK0787 (N-formimidoyl thienamycin) was the most active compound, inhibiting all strains at a concentration of 1 microgram/ml. Metronidazole was the only other drug of similar activity. Of the beta-lactam compounds, cefoxitin and MK0787 showed uniform activity against all species, whereas most other compounds were relatively less active against Bacteroides distasonis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron than against B. fragilis and Bacteroides vulgatus. Using a well diffusion technique, we determined the relative stability of each beta-lactam compound to sonicated cultures of selected resistant strains. Whereas MK0787 was completely stable to inactivation--and with one exception, cefoxitin was also--ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, cephaloridine, and cefoperazone always showed some inactivation, often quite substantial. Moxalactam and ceftazidime were completely stable to some of the enzyme preparations.

Sialadenoma papilliferum: report of case

A case of sialadenoma papilliferum, which occurred on the hard palate off a 61-year-old man, is reported. The tumor is considered to be a true neoplasm rather than hyperplasia of the duct cells of the salivary gland.

[[Clinical and experimental study on the genesis of lumbar spinal stenosis (author's transl)]

In recent years, the entity of lumbar spinal stenosis has been generally accepted. It's pathogenesis is thought to be the results of developmental stenosis of the lumbar spinal canal. In this paper, some factors that can produce this developmental stenosis were investigated. There were positive correlations between the degree of lumbar lordosis by using indices of Ferguson's angle and width of the lumbar spinal canal based on the Jones' body to canal ratio and body to pedicle ratio in 130 children when examined by radiograms. Experimentally induced bipedal rats are known to have the burden to develop the lordosis in the lumbar spine. They had narrower spinal canal than the quadripedal rats according to the radiograms and indices described above. These data strongly suggest that those with severe lordosis or bipedal rats have more burden to the posterior part of the lumbar vertebrae, followed by it's unusual growth leading to narrower spinal canal posteriorly.

Bacteriocin (marcescin) typing of clinically isolated Serratia marcescens

A study of bacteriocin (marcescin) typing was carried out by an agar cross streaking method (without any induction reagent) with 654 strains of Serratia marcescens recently isolated from clinical materials in Nagasaki University Hospital. In a complete checker board experiment with 80 strains on bacteriocin production and sensitivity, 43 strains (54%) were productive, 74 (93%) were sensitive and 4 (5%) were negative. Immunity was confirmed in all strains. Eight out of 80 strains of Serratia marcescens were selected as indicators in order to achieve the best differentiation of strains in bacteriocin typing, and 654 strains were classified into 30 types by bacteriocin production typing and into 49 types by bacteriocin sensitivity typing; the former showed more stable results than the latter in reproducibility. Bacteriocins produced by this method were considered to be high molecular, phage tail-like group A bacteriocins reported by Prinsloo (1966). Bacteriocin production typing was more useful for classification and subdivision of strains than serotyping (0-group).

Pancreatic cancer with metastasis to the larynx

A laryngeal metastasis from pleomorphic carcinoma of the pancreas is described. The patient was a 70-year-old male. The tumour was located on the right margin of the epiglottis. Bilateral neck lymph node metastases were also found. The patient underwent supraglottic laryngectomy, right radical neck dissection and left suprahyoid neck dissection. Following surgery, the patient's general condition deteriorated day by day, and one month after the surgery he died. The autopsy findings demonstrated a big mass of cancer in the pancreatic tail, multiple lymphatic metastases, carcinomatous peritonitis, and possibly a lymphatic spread of the pancreatic cancer to the larynx.

A case of severe scoliosis associated with cerebral palsy showing remarkable improvement following soft tissue release around the hip and axilla and transfer of m. tensor fasciae latae to the ribs

A 21 year old Japanese male of normal intelligence with severe athetosis, scoliosis with pelvic obliquity, and a positive Galant's reflex was seen with complaint of difficulty in maintaining a sitting posture. After release of the soft tissues around the hip and axilla, followed by physiotherapy, he underwent ipsilateral transfer of the tensor fasciae latae to the rib cage. Six years after the final operation there has been remarkable improvement of his scoliosis and pelvic obliquity but also diminution of Galant's reflex. In addition his daily activities have been improved by the muscle transferred. He can sit for more than one hour.

Heterogeneous RNA of the Prague strain of Rous sarcoma virus caused by undiluted passages

The size of genomic RNA in PR-RSV A passaged in chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF) or quail embryo fibroblasts (QEF) was determined by gel electrophoresis. The results showed that 3 undiluted passages resulted in heterogeneity of RNA. The heterogeneity of the smaller incomplete RNAs in the virus stock was decreased by diluted passage or cloning, but RNA of the b subunit size and a subunit RNA of complete genome size were relatively stable. These heterogeneous RNAs were characterized by hybridization analysis. The RNAs from 4 peaks hybridized with both cDNAtotal and cDNAsrc to appreciable extents, indicating that they were derived from viral RNA and that at least some of them contained the src sequence. This finding and the failure to isolate a td mutant from the undiluted-passaged virus stock or from some subclones that had a and b subunits of RNA indicate that the td virus was only a minor constituent of the incomplete virus population caused by undiluted passages. Some viruses with incomplete RNA in the virus stock could produce foci with the aid of td B77 or RAV-60. The emergence of rd viruses by undiluted passages was indicated.

An autopsy case of Menkes kinky hair disease

An autopsy cases of Menkes kinky hair disease in a 1 year and 8 months old male infant is presented and compared with the morphological findings of the previous literatures. The main pathological changes are atrophy of the whole cerebellar cortex and bilateral temporal lobe, atrophy with demyelination of the white matter, tortuous running of the cerebral arteries, multiple diverticulosis of the urinary bladder and hyaline-like deposition in the gastric submucosa. Microscopically, the peculiar degenerative change of Purkinje cell (somal sprout) is the only characteristic lesion in our case and the others. It is suggested that Menkes kinky hair disease may be a syndrome due to metabolic disturbance appearing not only in ectoderm such as the central nervous system, but also in mesoderm such as connective tissue and bone.