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After a review of the mechanisms of anti-schistosomal activity of praziquantel and the treatment of Schistosoma mekongi with this drug, the authors report two cases of Schistosoma mekongi treated with praziquantel with failure. Rectal mucosa biopsies are performed and eggs are present. Light microscopic, electron microscopic and on ultra-thin sections examination of these samples don't reveal morphological alterations of Schistosoma mekongi eggs after treatment.

Hereditary osteodystrophy of Albright's is a set of hereditary dystrophies associated or not with renal and bony resistance to the parathyroid hormone. Two observations of a true brotherhood are reported. These two patients had in common: short stature, obesity (especially facio-troncular), round face, flat and saddled nose, short neck, early cataract and mental deficiency. One of them showed fourth metacarpals. In these two cases there were cutaneous ossifications, markedly profuse on one of them than the other. These ossifications are a frequent manifestation of the osteodystrophy of Albright's. They appear as cutaneous nodules on any part of the body and are visible, palpable and present on X-ray examination. These ossifications share other phenotypic expressions of the disease and do not seem to be related to the resistance against parathyroid hormone.

A striking ovarian tumour was observed in a post-menopausal, 54-year-old woman. Most of the tumour shows histologic features of a malignant mesodermal (müllerian) mixed tumour. However, this tumour harbours a peculiar component suggesting neuroectodermal neoplasia. Histochemical and immunohistochemical studies demonstrate focal pheochromocytomatous (or paraganglionic) and ganglionic differentiations. Several types of cells could be identified: ganglion cells (NSE +, neurofilaments +), pheochromocytes or paraganglion cells (chromogranin +), Schwann cells (S 100 protein +), and neuroblastomatous elements (NSE +). This neoplastic component could be compared with compound tumours such as pheochromocytomaganglioneuroblastoma or gangliocytic paraganglioma. This type of tumour has not been reported in ovary, notably in association with a mesodermal mixed tumour. Such observation prompts us to consider tumours of somatic origin containing germ cell-type elements, with a review of the literature.

A systematic search for endocrine cells in the excurrent duct system of the testis was carried out by means of histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. A panel of antibodies against amine and polypeptide hormones was used. 80 specimens comprising representative areas of rete testis, ductuli efferentes, ductus epididymis and 30 examples of ductus deferens were investigated. Cells immunoreactive for serotonin were detected in four out of 110 specimens. They were invariably in normal-appearing ductuli efferentes. A salient feature was their rarity and focal distribution. We failed to detect any endocrine cells in other segments of the excurrent duct system and notably not among epididymal epithelium. It seems of interest that serotonin cells are specifically distributed throughout remnants of excretory mesonephric tubules in both males and females.

This report describes serologic evidence for a virus similar to that known as simian T-lymphotropic virus type III of African Green monkeys (STLV-IIIAGM) infecting apparently healthy people in Senegal, West Africa, and the isolation of virus from these individuals. Serum samples from selected healthy West African people showed unusual serologic profiles when tested with antigens of HTLV-III/LAV, the etiologic agent of AIDS, and of STLV-IIIAGM. The samples reacted strongly with all of the major viral antigens of STLV-IIIAGM but showed variable or no reactivity with the major viral antigens of HTLV-III/LAV by radioimmunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A new human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-IV) isolated from these people was grown in vitro and shown to have retroviral type particles, growth characteristics, and major viral proteins similar to those of the STLV-III and HTLV-III/LAV group of retroviruses. The gp120/160, gp32, p64, p55, p53, p24, and p15 proteins precipitated were the same size as and reactive with STLV-IIIAGM proteins. The serologic data suggest that this virus shares more common epitopes with STLV-IIIAGM than with the prototype HTLV-III/LAV that infects people in the United States and Europe. Further study of this virus and of the origin of the HTLV-III/LAV group of viruses may expand our understanding of the human AIDS virus.

Microfibrils about 100 A wide are isolated by mechanical procedures (sieving and ultrasonic disintegration from villosities of human placenta. Amino acid and carbohydrate compositions seem to be related to structural glycoproteins described before in connective tissues.

Two cases of calcitonin-producing carcinomas of the prostate are reported. Light microscopical, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural investigations have been performed. These tumors displayed a remarkable dual, endocrine and common epithelial (exocrine), differentiation. However, they presented two different architectural growth patterns. Of particular interest, numerous calcitonin cells were immunocharacterized. In addition, the endocrine component could harbour carcinoembryonic antigen, serotonin, human chorionic gonadotrophin, and prostate-specific acid phosphatase immunoreactive cells. Ultrastructural analysis confirmed the presence of numerous endocrine cells. These findings are not unexpected, since calcitonin, serotonin, and human chorionic gonadotrophin immunoreactive cells are normal and constitutive inhabitants of prostate gland. In the current cases, calcitonin cells showed a strong carcinoembryonic antigen immunoreactivity, as observed also in thyroidal C-cells. This peculiar kind of prostatic carcinoma might be compared to certain thyroidal tumors of intermediate type coupling parafollicular and follicular differentiation.

The authors report two cases of Schistosomiasis mekongi observed in Laotian people living in Touraine. Discussions about epidemiology, clinical, biology and treatment are taken up.

A case of uterine malignant mixed mesodermal tumor harboring endocrine cells is reported. Endocrine cells were immunocharacterized as serotonin, somatostatin and pancreatic polypeptide cells. This variety of mixed müllerian tumor is added to other endocrine cells-containing neoplasms of the uterus.

Previous works demonstrated that microfibrils stimulate blood platelets to aggregate. The present study compares the activation of platelets by human placental and bovine aortic microfibrils and by type III collagen. We studied the morphological changes occurring in in platelets during their activation and aggregation, as well as the kinetics of the release reaction and thromboxane B2 formation. As for collagen, the microfibrils-induced platelet aggregation followed a lag phase, during which progressive emission of pseudopodes and centralization of organelles occurred. Aggregation was associated with secretion of beta-thromboglobulin and adenylic adenylic nucleotides, and with formation of thromboxane B2; it was established that the kinetics of secretion and the aggregation curve were parallel. Microfibrils-induced aggregation was also inhibited by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, creatine phosphate-creatine phosphokinase, and aspirin, showing that it was calcium-dependent and required a secretion of ADP and formation of endoperoxide and thromboxane. The response to microfibrils was much more rapid than to collagen; placental microfibrils reacted faster than aortic microfibrils. The requirement of plasma in the microfibrils platelets interaction was confirmed: 10 microliters is the minimal amount of plasma necessary for an aggregation of platelets in 400 microliters of buffer. This fact supports the idea of the existence of two different pathways in the interaction between platelet and the subendothelium, depending on the vascular structure (microfibrils or collagen) involved, even though the sequence of events leading to the formation of an aggregate is similar.