THE SIZE OF GROWTH HORMONE GRANULES IN PITUITARY ADENOMAS PRODUCING ACROMEGALY

1977 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex M. Landolt ◽  
Verena Rothenbühler

ABSTRACT Measurements of the diameters of large numbers of granules in electron micrographs of pituitary adenomas in cases of acromegaly do not show that a typical size exists which allows of the retrospective diagnosis of the hormone secreted by the tumour. The granule diameters found in single cases show a normal distribution. The average values determined in 19 unselected cases of acromegaly range between 160 and 342 nm. They are also normally distributed about the mean for the entire group which is 238 nm. With histo-immunological electron microscopic techniques hGH can be demonstrated in small, medium and large granules. The size of hormone granules is determined by functional factors such as the speed of hormone synthesis and hormone release but not by the type of hormone secreted.

Author(s):  
D. J. McComb ◽  
N. Ryan ◽  
E. Horvath ◽  
K. Kovacs ◽  
E. Nagy ◽  
...  

Conventional light and electron microscopic techniques failed to clarify the cellular composition and derivation of spontaneous and induced, intrasellar and transplanted pituitary adenomas in rats (1). In the present work, electron microscopic immunocytochemistry was applied to evaluate five adenohypo-physial tumors using a technique described by Moriarty and Garner (2). Spontaneously occurring pituitary adenomas (group 1) were harvested from aging female Long-Evans rats. R-Amsterdam rats were treated with 2 x 1.0 mg estrone acetate (HogivaI) s.c. weekly for 6 months. Pituitary adenomas in excess of 30 mg were removed from these animals to make up the tumors of group 2. Groups 3 and 4 consisted of estrogen-induced autonomous transplan¬ted pituitary tumors MtT.WlO and MtT.F4. Group 5 was a radiation-induced transplanted autonomous pituitary tumor MtT.W5. The tumors of groups 3,4 and 5 were allowed to proliferate in host rats 6-8 weeks prior to removal for processing. Tissue was processed for transmission electron microscopy (glutaraldehyde fixation, OsO4 postfixation and epoxy resin embedding), and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry (3% paraformaldehyde fixation and Araldite embedding).


1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. LIVINGSTON

SUMMARY Freeze-etched preparations of rabbit neurohypophysis and isolated hormone granules from cow neurohypophyses were examined electron microscopically. Many features seen in conventionally prepared sections were also apparent in freeze-etched replicas, particularly the neurosecretory nerve-endings containing elementary granules and elongated pituicyte processes. Measurements of diameters of both isolated and hormone-containing granules in situ indicated that they were slightly larger in freeze-etched material than in that prepared by conventional electron microscopic techniques. Fractures through the cores of hormone-containing granules showed a lamellar internal structure of 4 nm periodicity in both species examined.


Author(s):  
T. G. Merrill ◽  
B. J. Payne ◽  
A. J. Tousimis

Rats given SK&F 14336-D (9-[3-Dimethylamino propyl]-2-chloroacridane), a tranquilizing drug, developed an increased number of vacuolated lymphocytes as observed by light microscopy. Vacuoles in peripheral blood of rats and humans apparently are rare and are not usually reported in differential counts. Transforming agents such as phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen induce similar vacuoles in in vitro cultures of lymphocytes. These vacuoles have also been reported in some of the lipid-storage diseases of humans such as amaurotic familial idiocy, familial neurovisceral lipidosis, lipomucopolysaccharidosis and sphingomyelinosis. Electron microscopic studies of Tay-Sachs' disease and of chloroquine treated swine have demonstrated large numbers of “membranous cytoplasmic granules” in the cytoplasm of neurons, in addition to lymphocytes. The present study was undertaken with the purpose of characterizing the membranous inclusions and developing an experimental animal model which may be used for the study of lipid storage diseases.


Author(s):  
K. Kovacs ◽  
E. Horvath

Chromophobe pituitary adenomas arise from adenohypophysial cells and fail to exhibit cytoplasmic staining with conventional acid or basic dyes by light microscopy. The aim of the present work was to study the electron microscopic features of these tumors, to separate them into distinct entities and to correlate their fine structural appearances with secretory activity.Among 48 surgically removed various pituitary adenomas 30 tumors were found which, based on the tinctorial characteristics of the cytoplasm, corresponded to chromophobe adenomas. For electron microscopic investigation pieces of these tumors were fixed in 2.5 per cent glutaraldehyde in Sorensen's buffer, post fixed in 1 per cent osmium tetroxide in Millonig's buffer, dehydrated in graded ethanol and embedded in Epon 812. Ultrathin sections were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate.By electron microscopy it was possible to separate chromophobe adenomas into 3 distinct entities: 1) adenomas consisting of sparsely granulated growth hormone cells (7 cases).


Author(s):  
Stuart McKernan ◽  
C. Barry Carter

The determination of the absolute polarity of a polar material is often crucial to the understanding of the defects which occur in such materials. Several methods exist by which this determination may be performed. In bulk, single-domain specimens, macroscopic techniques may be used, such as the different etching behavior, using the appropriate etchant, of surfaces with opposite polarity. X-ray measurements under conditions where Friedel’s law (which means that the intensity of reflections from planes of opposite polarity are indistinguishable) breaks down can also be used to determine the absolute polarity of bulk, single-domain specimens. On the microscopic scale, and particularly where antiphase boundaries (APBs), which separate regions of opposite polarity exist, electron microscopic techniques must be employed. Two techniques are commonly practised; the first [1], involves the dynamical interaction of hoLz lines which interfere constructively or destructively with the zero order reflection, depending on the crystal polarity. The crystal polarity can therefore be directly deduced from the relative intensity of these interactions.


Author(s):  
G.E. Visscher ◽  
R. L. Robison ◽  
G. J. Argentieri

The use of various bioerodable polymers as drug delivery systems has gained considerable interest in recent years. Among some of the shapes used as delivery systems are films, rods and microcapsules. The work presented here will deal with the techniques we have utilized for the analysis of the tissue reaction to and actual biodegradation of injectable microcapsules. This work has utilized light microscopic (LM), transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopic techniques. The design of our studies has utilized methodology that would; 1. best characterize the actual degradation process without artifacts introduced by fixation procedures and 2. allow for reproducible results.In our studies, the gastrocnemius muscle of the rat was chosen as the injection site. Prior to the injection of microcapsules the skin above the sites was shaved and tattooed for later recognition and recovery. 1.0 cc syringes were loaded with the desired quantity of microcapsules and the vehicle (0.5% hydroxypropylmethycellulose) drawn up. The syringes were agitated to suspend the microcapsules in the injection vehicle.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-265
Author(s):  
Monica Vereş ◽  
Aurel Babeş ◽  
Szidonia Lacziko

Abstract Background and aims: Gestational diabetes represents a form of diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy that is not clearly overt diabetes. In the last trimester of gestation the growth of fetoplacental unit takes place, thus maternal hyperglycemia will determine an increased transplacental passage, hyperinsulinemia and fetal macrosomia. The aim of our study was that o analyzing the effect of maternal glycemia from the last trimester of pregnancy over fetal weight. Material and method: We run an observational study on a group of 46 pregnant women taken into evidence from the first trimester of pregnancy, separated in two groups according to blood glucose determined in the third trimester (before birth): group I normoglycemic and group II with hyperglycemia (>92mg/dl). Results: The mean value of third trimester glycemia for the entire group was of 87.13±22.03. The mean value of the glycemia determined in the third trimester of pregnancy was higher in the second group (109.17 mg/dl) in comparison to the first group (74.,21 mg/dl). The ROC curve for third trimester glycemia as fetal macrosomia appreciation test has an AUC of 0.517. Conclusions: Glycemia determined in the last trimester of pregnancy cannot be used alone as the predictive factor for fetal macrosomia.


1971 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 15-19
Author(s):  
George B. Rybicki

AbstractIt is shown that the time of relaxation by particle encounters of self-gravitating systems in the plane interacting by 1/r2 forces is of the same order of magnitude as the mean orbit time. Therefore such a system does not have a Vlasov limit for large numbers of particles, unless appeal is made to some non-zero thickness of the disk. The relevance of this result to numerical experiments on galactic structure is discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 01 (04) ◽  
pp. 1250013 ◽  
Author(s):  
IOANA DUMITRIU ◽  
ELLIOT PAQUETTE

We study the global fluctuations for linear statistics of the form [Formula: see text] as n → ∞, for C1 functions f, and λ1, …, λn being the eigenvalues of a (general) β-Jacobi ensemble. The fluctuation from the mean [Formula: see text] turns out to be given asymptotically by a Gaussian process. We compute the covariance matrix for the process and show that it is diagonalized by a shifted Chebyshev polynomial basis; in addition, we analyze the deviation from the predicted mean for polynomial test functions, and we obtain a law of large numbers.


1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2738-2746 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Saphner ◽  
D C Tormey ◽  
R Gray

PURPOSE To determine if the long-term increase of recurrence for breast cancer is stable or slowly decreasing, or if it ever reaches zero; and to determine the effect of prognostic factors on the hazard of recurrence. METHODS All patients entered onto the seven completed and unblinded Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) coordinated studies of postoperative adjuvant therapy for breast cancer were analyzed in terms of annual hazard of recurrence of breast cancer. RESULTS For the entire group, the peak hazard of recurrence occurred in the interval of 1 to 2 years. The hazard decreased consistently in the interval of 2 to 5 years. Beyond 5 years, the hazard of recurrence decreased very, very slowly through year 12. The average hazard of recurrence between years 5 and 12 for the entire population was 4.3% per year. The pattern of a peak hazard of recurrence during the first 5 years with a slowly decreasing hazard of recurrence beyond 5 years was also observed to varying degrees in most subsets. Higher risk subsets such as patients with more than three nodes positive had a higher hazard of recurrence at all time intervals, while lower risk subsets such as patients with negative nodes had a lower hazard of recurrence in all time periods. CONCLUSION Patients 5 years postsurgery for breast cancer appear to have a very slowly decreasing hazard of recurrence. The mean hazard of recurrence between years 5 to 12 postsurgery is 4.3% per year. This group of patients may be well suited for trials evaluating cytostatic drugs or differentiating agents.


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