Search

The genetic composition of the medieval populations of Central Europe, Poland in particular, has been poorly investigated to date. Although a few DNA datasets from Poland have been published recently, no large-scale ancient DNA study on medieval populations has hitherto been reported. This paper reports the study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and presents the first population-level human DNA study from Lesser Poland by establishing mitochondrial DNA profiles for 13 samples from the Grodowice cemetery dated to the Medieval Period (11th to mid-13th century). The medieval sequences encompass almost the entire range of Western Eurasian macro-haplogroups: H, J, U. Interestingly, there is one sample which belongs to the Asian haplogroup G. aDNA sequences were compared with a dataset of 35,203 present-day sequences of the HVR I region of mtDNA including European, Near Eastern, and Asian populations, as well as 775 ancient sequences. Analyses of population genetics were performed, including genetic distances (FST), multidimensional scaling (MDS), principal component analysis (PCA) and shared haplotype analysis (SHA). The shared haplotype analysis (SHA) showed that the medieval population from Grodowice shares the majority of haplotypes with the medieval populations from the contact-zones of today’s Slovakia and Croatia (53.85%) as well as with Hungarian conquerors (46.15%).

Ten years after the Chernobyl fall-out, a significant increase was found in the number of childhood and adolescent papillary thyroid carcinomas (p < 0.05) and Hashimoto thyroiditis (p < 0.01) among the 1226 thyroid patients operated on at the 1st Department of Surgery of the University Medical School of Debrecen.

The nuclear DNA content of tumour cells is correlated with the clinical outcome of a wide range of malignant disorders, among them thyroid neoplasia. The authors performed DNA determinations by means of the Feulgen cytofluorimetric method and demonstrate the connection between ploidy and biological aggressivity in cases of highly malignant thyroid tumours. The nuclear DNA content was measured in fresh surgical specimens from 53 patients suffering from malignancy, 13 of which proved pathohistologically to be highly malignant: 8 were anaplastic giant cell carcinomas, 3 squamous cell carcinomas and 2 were malignant lymphomas. 4 of the 8 giant cell carcinomas contained co-existent well-differentiated areas, namely follicular carcinomas in 3 patients and a papillary carcinoma in the 4th patient. 11 of the patients died of cancer, 9 within the 1st year. A different DNA distribution was found in the two survivors over a 10-year follow-up period. One of them showed a diploid cell population and the other facultative polyploidy, as opposed to the aneuploid pattern found in the 11 deceased patients. Both patterns confirm the correlation with a favourable outcome.

Reported in this paper are early and late results obtained from pancreatoduodenectomy on 51 patients for chronic pancreatitis. Reference is made to the symptoms of the disease as well as to diagnosis and indications for surgery. Three different approaches were taken by the authors to the caudal section of the pancreas, with "mucosa-to-mucosa" anastomosis between pancreatic duct and jejunum being considered the best of them. Postoperative complications occurred to 15.7 per cent of the patients (n = 51), and only one of them died. Late results were characterised by deterioration, which was in agreement with the literature. Mortality during an average follow-up period of 34.1 months went up to 17.6 per cent. At that time, 60.8 per cent of the above patients were assigned to the group with "good" surgical outcome.

Treatment of patients for acute pancreatitis is reported in this paper, with particular reference being made to the effectiveness of peritoneal lavage. Aetiological factors as well as surgical indications and techniques are communicated against the background of ten years of experience. Results are separately reported for two periods under review, with no peritoneal lavage used in the first phase. Results improved, and lethality rates dropped in the second five-year period, despite growing numbers of severe courses. Effects of peritoneal lavage are considered possible in the latter cases. However, mortality in the wake of early surgery has continued to be high, that is in connection with most severe forms of pancreatitis (when surgical action had been taken in the first week of manifest illness). No improvement appeared to be obtainable in such cases from postoperative peritoneal lavage.

During the last 10 years the authors operated upon 8 patients with illnesses beginning with different lung alterations. In all cases the basic illness was a papillary or papillo-follicular cancer of the thyroid gland which later was found indirectly after other operation and histologic examination. By evaluation of clinical symptoms, operative and morphologic findings conclusions as well as the results of reexamination the authors draw conclusions as to the biological attributes of this tumor type. They recognize that the carcinomas of the thyroid gland cause metastases of regional lymph nodes or distant lung metastases approaching the TO stage. Lung metastases appeared in different shapes and were in all cases the fist clinical sign of the basic illness. Considering the biological attributes of this tumor the authors emphasize that it is not inoperable or untreatable.

Pregnancies and deliveries of ten patients are reported who underwent a complex treatment (surgery, 131J, thyroid hormone) for highly differentiated follicular and papillary thyroid carcinomas. Out of ten cases, in 3 cases two were pregnant and in two cases two delivered. Besides papillary and papillofollicular carcinomas, surgery revealed that six patients had regional lymph node metastases of N1 or N2. On the evidence of the deliveries, follow-up examinations after the operation, and complementary treatment of these two types of tumor, pregnancy is not contraindicated, since a progression of the primary disease, neonatal hypothyroidism, and factitious hyperthyroidism have not been found.

The authors report on the morphological and clinical features of occult thyroid carcinomas confirmed by detailed histological examinations following the surgical treatment of hyperthyreotic goiters recurrent after prolonged thyreostatic treatment, as well as on the follow-up data of the patients. Joint occurrence of hyperthyroidism and thyroid tumors was observed in five patients, two of whom showed progressive endocrine ophthalmopathy. In the surgical preparations of three patients, chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis was also diagnosed. On the grounds of postoperative care, the authors draw conclusions of practical clinical significance. They take a stand on the questions of surgical and adjuvant treatment favored by them in the case of the joint occurrence of the two diseases.

Reported in this paper are findings recorded from nine thyroid cancer patients in childhood and adolescence. T-cell sub-populations were determined by means of the rosette method and by reference to monoclonal antibodies. The investigations were concerned also with detectability of tumour antigens and with cytotoxicity. The immune activity exhibited by young patients was better than that recordable from adults. These findings are likely to suggest relative benignity of thyroid cancer, when surgically treated in childhood and adolescence.

62 patients who were strumectomized on account of carcinoma of the thyroid gland, hyperthyroidism and thyroiditis underwent an after-examination on an average 6 years after operation. In preclinical hypothyroidism which cannot be differed from euthyroidism on the basis of the thyroid hormone concentrations, or only by means of the TRH-tolerance test, an increased TSH-response after TRH-tolerance and a T3-preference in comparison to T4 were observed. In manifest hypothyroidism the compensatory mechanisms exhausted and despite the increased TSH-concentration in the serum the ability for TRH-stimulation and the concentrations of the thyroid hormone are reduced. In preclinical and manifest hypothyroidism are recommended ca. 160-170 micrograms thyroxin per day for the substitution therapy after operation of benign diseases of the thyroid gland and after operations of the thyroid tumour the suppression therapy with ca. 220 micrograms thyroxin per day.

The authors report on the clinical and morphological features of patients who had been previously treated for toxic adenoma with different doses of 131I isotope, and were then operated on for cold nodule. Progressive pseudoatypic and Hürthle-cell transformations, which are difficult to distinguish from different-type thyroid carcinomas, were revealed in one and a solid anaplastic carcinoma in another of the five patients during histological examination of operative specimens in serial sections. On the basis of these findings the authors support the function-protective operative treatment of single toxic adenomas, although the causal relationship between isotope treatment and consecutive carcinoma can not be verified unanimously.