Search

Pathological calcification of basal ganglia has been encountered in children since long back and is associated with various disease entities both acute and chronic. Idiopathic hypoparathyroidism is an important cause of basal ganglia calcification and can account for up to 73.8% of cases. The pathogenesis of basal ganglia calcification in hypoparathyroidism is not clear, however, a high calcium-phosphorus product and poor calcium control are believed to be directly related to calcification. Besides, a direct correlation is seen with the duration of hypocalcemia; the critical duration being ≥4 years. In the presented patient, basal ganglia calcification was seen at a very young age of 6 months. To best of our knowledge, this is probably the youngest case of bilateral basal ganglia calcification in idiopathic hypoparathyroidism in literature. This suggests that besides duration of hypocalcemia, certain genetic factors and the intrauterine milieu may have a role in the pathogenesis of basal ganglia calcification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synovial sarcomas are rare tumors accounting for approximately 5-10% of soft tissue sarcomas. They occur predominantly in the extremities, followed by head and neck. Primary pulmonary sarcomas are very rare and comprise only 0.5% of all primary lung malignancies. The diagnosis is established only after sarcomas like primary lung malignancies, and metastatic sarcomas have been excluded. For synovial sarcomas that arise at unusual locations, a deinitive diagnosis is challenging and requires the use of ancillary diagnostic procedures such as immunohistochemistry (IHC) and molecular genetic techniques for conirmation of diagnosis. We report a case of 29-year-old male who had right lower lobe lung mass. He underwent right lower lobectomy. Intraoperative squash smears revealed spindle cell sarcoma. Subsequent histopathology and IHC conirmed the diagnosis as synovial sarcoma. We report this case on account of its rarity and to emphasize the utility of intraoperative squash smears in the diagnosis of such cases, which has been under-utilized in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]