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Context.--The Pathology Medical Student Fellowship (PSF) is a unique, year-long immersive educational experience. Review of institutional archives describes a medical student 'Fellowship in Pathology' founded in 1919. Objective.--To characterize the impacts of this 100year-old program. Design.--We determined the subsequent medical specialty of each PSF graduate in our department and surveyed those with available contact information. Results.--Of 145 pathology student fellows graduating between 1924 and 2020, a total of 50 (34.4%) matched into pathology; medical, surgical, and radiology subspecialties were also well-represented career choices. Between 2001 and 2020, of 36 students who matched into pathology from our institution, 19 (52.8%) had completed the fellowship. Survey respondents (n = 42) indicated that before the PSF, 11 of 42 students (26.2 %) were undecided in their specialty, with only 6 (14.3%) identifying pathology as their primary field of interest. Of survey respondents who had completed training, 26 (61.9%) practice in academic settings. Nonpathology physicians reported frequent utilization of skills gained during the PSF year, with 5 of 23 (21.7%) responding 'daily,' and 9 (39.1%) responding 'weekly.' The most useful skills included knowledge of pathophysiology of disease and anatomy, improved communication with multidisciplinary teams, and/or interpretation of pathology results (each selected by 17 to 20 students, 73.9%-87.0%). Free-text responses on impacts of the PSF described enhanced knowledge of disease pathobiology and diagnostic complexity and increased confidence and autonomy. Conclusions.--We describe the program structure, educational benefits, graduate specialty choices, and career impacts of 100 years of the PSF at our institution. Although undecided before pathology exposure, many PSF graduates subsequently enter pathology careers. Regardless of specialty choice, PSF graduates have a high rate of subsequently pursuing academic medical careers. (Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2022;146:1037-1042; doi: 10.5858/arpa.2021-0220-OA), The Pathology Medical Student Fellowship (PSF) is a unique educational experience that allows medical students to explore the field of pathology as practiced in the clinical and academic setting, and [...]

The severe pain, ischemia and organ damage that characterizes sickle cell disease (SCD) is caused by vaso-occlusion, which is the blockage of blood vessels by heterotypic aggregates of sickled erythrocytes and other cells. Vaso-occlusion is also a vasculopathy involving endothelial cell dysfunction, leukocyte activation, platelet activation and chronic inflammation resulting in the multiple adhesive interactions between cellular elements. Since platelets mediate inflammation as well as thrombosis via release of pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules, we hypothesized that platelets may play an active inflammatory role in SCD by secreting increased amounts of cytokines. Since platelets have been shown to contain mRNA and actively produce proteins, we also hypothesized that SCD platelets may contain increased cytokine mRNA. In this cross-sectional study, we sought to compare both the quantity of cytokines secreted and the cytokine mRNA content, between SCD and control platelets. We measured the secretion of Th1, Th2, and Th17-related cytokines from platelets in a cohort of SCD patients. We simultaneously measured platelet mRNA levels of those cytokines. Platelets from SCD patients secreted increased quantities of IL-1β, sCD40L, and IL-6 compared to controls. Secretion was increased in patients with alloantibodies. Additionally, mRNA of those cytokines was increased in SCD platelets. Platelets from sickle cell patients secrete increased amounts of inflammatory cytokines, and contain increased cytokine mRNA. These findings suggest a novel immunological role for platelets in SCD vasculopathy, in addition to their thrombotic role, and strengthen the rationale for the use of anti-platelet therapy in SCD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As previously well described in the literature, the intercostal muscle (ICM) flap can be used to buttress bronchial stumps following lung resection. We describe a harvesting technique of ICM flap which enabled a bi-lobectomy to be avoided in a patient with poor pulmonary function. The Key to this technique is the preservation of the neurovascular bundle. Therefore the flap is not divided anteriorly thereby differentiating it from any previous technique described.We have called it the 'bucket handle' technique, which was used to repair an intra-operative tear in bronchus intermedius. Its efficacy was tested to the full when the patient developed severe adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to pseudomonas pneumonia and required high-pressure mechanical ventilation. This case demonstrates that ICM flap is an effective buttress to bronchial stumps or repairs and offers reassurance for optimal outcome due to its intact vascular pedicle., (Copyright © 2011 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common syndrome among young women. It is associated with fertility problems, clinical manifestations of hyperandrogenism and metabolic disturbance, particularly insulin resistance. The long-term consequences of PCOS have not been fully determined, but there is an increased risk of progression to diabetes and an increase in cardiovascular risk factors. The extent to which PCOS is present in postmenopausal women and the degree to which it increases various risk factors in addition to the known risk of the postmenopausal period are not yet known. This paper reviews the pathophysiology of PCOS and its long-term consequences and considers the evidence to date that is applicable to the postmenopausal woman.

Whether environmental contaminants increase breast cancer risk among women on Long Island, NY, is unknown. The study objective is to determine whether breast cancer risk is increased in relation to organochlorines, compounds with known estrogenic characteristics that were extensively used on Long Island and other areas of the United States. Recent reports do not support a strong association, although there are concerns with high risks observed in subgroups of women. Blood samples from 646 case and 429 control women from a population-based case-control study conducted on Long Island were analyzed. No substantial elevation in breast cancer risk was observed in relation to the highest quintile of lipid-adjusted serum levels of p,p'-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethene (DDE) [odds ratio (OR), 1.20 versus lowest quintile; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.76-1.90], chlordane (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.62-1.55), dieldrin (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.69-2.72), the sum of the four most frequently occurring PCB congeners (nos. 118, 153, 138, and 180; OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.54-1.29), and other PCB congener groupings. No dose-response relations were apparent. Nor was risk increased in relation to organochlorines among women who had not breastfed or were overweight, postmenopausal, or long-term residents of Long Island; or with whether the case was diagnosed with invasive rather than in situ disease, or with a hormone receptor-positive tumor. These findings, based on the largest number of samples analyzed to date among primarily white women, do not support the hypothesis that organochlorines increase breast cancer risk among Long Island women.