Journal of Molecular Histology & Medical Physiology

Background

The Internal thoracic artery is today the preferred conduit for coronary bypass. This correlates with the histological characteristics of this artery. This particular topic was considered worthy of morphological researches, by the modern immune-histo-chemical techniques.

Methods

Histological researches, performed also with immune-histo-chemical techniques were performed on surgical specimens of internal thoracic artery of patients submitted to coronary surgery.

Results

Internal thoracic artery is a small-medium vessel with prevalent characteristics of elastic vessel, especially in its proximal part. It demonstrates a particular resistance to atherosclerosis, also in elderly. A possible elastotic degeneration, often secondary to age, can interests the elastic fibers of the internal membrane and of the tunica media. These degenerative lesions are repaired through a remodeling process. In this way, new smooth muscle-like cells are formed, which appear morphologically and functionally different from the vascular smooth muscle cells.

Conclusions

The internal thoracic artery, also when remodeled preserves its elastic capacity and resistance to atherosclerosis, ensuring good functional characteristics with a reactivity normal to vasodilators, but decreased to vasoconstrictors.

Background: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common parasitic disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS) caused by larval stages of Taenia solium (TS). It is an important cause of epilepsy, as well as sensory and motor deficits. NCC’s pathology relates to immunological and inflammatory interactions between host and parasite.
Methods: In human brain, the larval stage of TS and surrounding nervous tissue were evaluated by immunohistochemistry using anti-CD3, anti-CD20, anti-CD68, Masson’s trichrome, and hematoxylin eosin. Photography registered histological details.
Results: The microscopy of NCC’s lesions presents fibrosis, gliosis, perivascular infiltrate, edema, vascular changes, granulomatosis, and calcification. The cyst’s microscopy allows identifying capsule with microvilli and osmotic canaliculli, as well as parasite head with filaments and muscular structures. Immunohistochemistry demonstrates cells responsible for antigen-antibody reactions and wound-repair.
Conclusion: Abnormalities in the nervous tissue and parasite characteristics permit diagnosis and explain pathologic mechanisms within NCC’s lesion, particularly chronic inflammation. The protection of neurons recruits chemical mediators, immunological cells (lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages) and wound-repair cells (fibroblasts, giant cells, epithelioid cells and glial cells).

The complex relationships between chronic kidney disease (CKD), type 2 diabetes, and anemia poses a difficult clinical challenge. The interrelationships between these diseases typically affect hematological profiles in CKD patients. There is a paucity of literature regarding the effects of anemia on patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes in any single ethnic group. We investigated hematologic levels associated with anemia between patients with and without a type 2 diabetes diagnosis within a single ethnic population. A cohort of adult Hispanic, hemodialysis patients attending seven dialysis facilities in San Antonio, Texas was recruited for this retrospective study. Medical record data were collected to ascertain three hematological indicators of anemia: hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and transferrin saturation (TSAT) level. A statistically significant difference for hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels between patients with and without type 2 diabetes was not identified. However, TSAT levels showed a statistically significant difference between both groups. Type 2 diabetic patients exhibited a lower TSAT level of 21.24 ± 9.67%, compared to their non-diabetic counterparts at 23.64 ± 12.19%. Our findings underscore the need for diverse anemia clinical care in patients with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and incite the need for further research in this discipline.