GIANT CAVERNOUS MALFORMATION WITH UNUSUALLY AGGRESSIVE CLINICAL COURSE: A CASE REPORT

Giant cavernomas (GC) are rare lesions, with less than 50 cases reported so far. Clinical presentation usually involves epileptic seizures and less typically focal neurological deficit, due to repeated hemorrhages and GC mass effect and consequentially increased intracranial pressure. Although individual cases have been reported, due to the rarity and variable imaging appearance, GCs are usually not considered in the differential diagnosis of large hemorrhagic lesions, especially when significant mass effect is present. A 17-year-old boy presented due to severe headache, right-sided weakness, and slurred speech. Symptoms started three days before with occasional headaches, which intensified gradually. Emergency computed tomography revealed a left frontal massive heterogeneous lesion. Soon after, right-sided hemiparesis and speech impairment progressed, and the patient became drowsy with the slightly dilated left pupil. Emergency surgery was performed, and the lobed grayish lesion was entirely removed. Based on the macroscopic appearance, the surgeon assumed it was a metastasis of melanoma. Histopathologic analysis result was cavernoma. GC should be considered as an option in hemorrhagic lesions, especially in the young age population. Emergency surgery for mass lesions is not uncommon in neurosurgery; however, bleeding cavernomas are usually planned for elective surgery due to the specific approach and complications.

High-content analysis of factors affecting gold nanoparticle uptake by neuronal and microglial cells in culture

Owing to their ubiquitous distribution, expected beneficial effects and suspected adverse effects, nanoparticles are viewed as a double-edged sword, necessitating a better understanding of their interactions with tissues and organisms. Thus, the goals of the present study were to develop and present a method to generate quantitative data on nanoparticle entry into cells in culture and to exemplarily demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by analyzing the impact of size, charge and various proteinaceous coatings on particle internalization. N9 microglial cells and both undifferentiated and differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were exposed to customized gold nanoparticles. After silver enhancement, the particles were visualized by epipolarization microscopy and analysed by high-content analysis. The value of this approach was substantiated by assessing the impact of various parameters on nanoparticle uptake. Uptake was higher in microglial cells than in neuronal cells. Only microglial cells showed a distinct size preference, preferring particles with a diameter of 80 nm. Positive surface charge had the greatest impact on particle uptake. Coating with bovine serum albumin, fetuin or protein G significantly increased particle internalization in microglial cells but not in neuronal cells. Coating with wheat germ agglutinin increased particle uptake in both N9 and differentiated SH-SY5Y cells but not in undifferentiated SH-SY5Y cells. Furthermore, internalization was shown to be an active process and indicators of caspase-dependent apoptosis revealed that gold nanoparticles did not have any cytotoxic effects. The present study thus demonstrates the suitability of gold nanoparticles and high-content analysis for assessing numerous variables in a stringently quantitative and statistically significant manner. Furthermore, the results presented herein showcase the feasibility of specifically targeting nanoparticles to distinct cell types.

Reference values for apolipoproteins A-I and B in healthy subjects, by age

We determined reference values of apolipoproteins A-I (apo A-I) and B (apo B) in serum from a population of 448 healthy subjects (265 men and 183 women, ages 18 to 61 years) by a kinetic immunonephelometric procedure. Frequency distributions of apo A-I were normal, whereas those of apo B were not and yielded asymmetrical curves. Thus, reference intervals for apo A-I were determined as mean +/- 2SD (1.08-1.89 g/L), but a nonparametric method was used for determining reference intervals for apo B (0.60-1.94 g/L). Apo B concentrations were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) in men than in women (0.63-2.01 g/L, mean 1.21 g/L; and 0.54-1.91 g/L, mean 1.08 g/L, respectively). No significant differences for apo A-I between men and women were observed. Concentrations of both proteins increased with age, but apo B increased more than apo A-I. We conclude that not only sex but also the age of the subjects must be considered in interpreting laboratory results for apolipoproteins.

Reference Values for Apolipoproteins A-I and B in Healthy Subjects, by Age

We determined reference values of apolipoproteins A-I (apo A-I) and B (apo B) in serum from a population of 448 healthy subjects (265 men and 183 women, ages 18 to 61 years) by a kinetic immunonephelometric procedure. Frequency distributions of apo A-I were normal, whereas those of apo B were not and yielded asymmetrical curves. Thus, reference intervals for apo A-I were determined as mean +/- 2SD (1.08-1.89 g/L), but a nonparametric method was used for determining reference intervals for apo B (0.60-1.94 g/L). Apo B concentrations were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) in men than in women (0.63-2.01 g/L, mean 1.21 g/L; and 0.54-1.91 g/L, mean 1.08 g/L, respectively). No significant differences for apo A-I between men and women were observed. Concentrations of both proteins increased with age, but apo B increased more than apo A-I. We conclude that not only sex but also the age of the subjects must be considered in interpreting laboratory results for apolipoproteins.