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Context.—Clinical autopsies have historically provided a fundamental contribution in the definition of the clinicopathologic basis of infectious diseases. Even though we are witnessing the decline of the clinical autopsy, its importance remains unchanged as it is the most exhaustive way to investigate diseases. The identification of the virus in postmortem tissues is a fundamental step in the definition of its clinical features.Objective.—To investigate the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in postmortem examination with swabs.Design.—We performed postmortem swabs in 12 autopsy cases of patients with a clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2–related pneumonia. Our protocol consisted of a rhinopharyngeal and a tracheal swab in order to search for the virus in the upper airways, and of 2 swabs on the parenchyma of each lung. We also performed a fifth swab on the parenchyma of both lungs in order to search for other viruses that could evolve in a clinical picture of interstitial pneumonia.Results.—Overall, we found 9 of 12 cases had at least 1 postmortem swab positive for SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, we evaluated the time between the antemortem and postmortem swabs, the time between death and the postmortem swabs, and the time between the postmortem swabs and acceptance to the microbiology laboratory. Of note, we did not find a relationship between the results of the swabs and either the time elapsed from their collection or the time elapsed before their acceptance in the microbiology laboratory.Conclusions.—A thorough knowledge of the eventual persistence of pathogens in deaths related to infectious diseases is fundamental for the safety of the operators during the autopsy practice, especially when referring to emergent pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2. Our study highlights the importance in performing multiple swabs in the postmortem examination, because SARS-CoV-2 swab positivity can be limited to only a single swab.

Introduction Insulinoma-associated protein 1 (INSM-1) is expressed in both normal tissues and neoplasms with neuroendocrine differentiation such as small cell lung carcinoma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the INSM-1 expression in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in the aspirated material and its preoperative diagnostic value. Materials and methods MTC cases with available cytological material from 5 institutions were retrospectively identified. INSM-1 expression was analyzed in 48 cell blocks prepared from fine-needle aspiration samples from histologically confirmed cases of MTC. Twenty-nine samples were aspirates from primary thyroid lesions and 19 from secondary lesions lymph node or liver lesions. INSM-1 immunostain was done using the Ventana Automatic System (Ventana Medical Systems, Tucson, AZ). The control group consisted of 20 samples from histologically confirmed cases of papillary, follicular, and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas and secondary thyroid malignancies (squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma). Results The male to female (M:F) ratio in MTC group was 1:1.5 and the average age was 55.6 years (range: 24-84 years). INSM-1 nuclear staining in at least 5% of cells was considered positive. Forty-five (93.75%) MTC samples were positive including all primary tumor aspirates. All control samples were negative. Conclusions INSM-1 nuclear positivity is a reliable marker of MTC neuroendocrine differentiation on cytology material from both primary tumor and metastases. INSM-1 can also discriminate MTC from other primary and secondary thyroid carcinomas when there are cytomorphologic overlaps.

AimsSeveral papers have shown that programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression is a relevant predictive biomarker in anti-PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy. While its role in several human cancers is correlated with poor prognosis and resistance to anticancer therapies, in thyroid cancers the role of PD-L1 remains questionable. Few articles have studied PD-L1 in thyroid fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), demonstrating a possible correlation with papillary thyroid carcinoma. However, its role in oncocytic thyroid lesions remains controversial. We accordingly examine the performance of PD-L1 immunostaining in liquid based cytology (LBC) from oncocytic lesions.MethodsFrom January 2019 to March 2021, 114 thyroid lesions diagnosed by FNAC from lesions with a predominant oncocytic component, were enrolled for evaluation by PD-L1 immunostaining on both LBC and corresponding histology samples.ResultsThe FNAC cohort included 51 benign (B, negative controls), 4 atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesions of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), 57 follicular lesions (follicular neoplasm/suspicious for FN, FN/SFN) and 2 suspicious for malignancy (SFM) cases. Fifty-four cases (11B, 2 AUS/FLUS, 39 FN/SFN and 2 SFM) had histological follow-up including: 1B case resulted as a hyperplastic oxyphilic nodule in Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), 10B as goitre, 2 AUS/FLUS cases as oncocytic adenomas (OAs); 39 FN/SFN included 27 OAs, 4 FA and 8 oncocytic follicular carcinoma (OFC). The two SFM cases were diagnosed on histopathology as OAs. Increased plasma membrane and cytoplasmic PD-L1 expression were found in 47 cases of the LBC cases (41.2%). Among the histological series, 67.3% of OAs and 75% of OFC had PD-L1 expression, while negative PD-L1 was found in hyperplastic oncocytic cells in HT. A positivity in more than 30% of the neoplastic cells was found in 72.9% of the cases including six OFC.ConclusionsThese data suggest that PD-L1 expression is expressed in oncocytic thyroid lesions. While weak PD-L1 expression failed to discriminate benign from malignant lesions, OFC demonstrated more intense cytoplasmic and membranous expression.

We examined 29 autopsy cases (investigated between October 2020 and February 2021) whose postmortem swabs tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Twenty-two of 29 cases died while hospitalized (H), while the remaining 7 cases were not hospitalized (NH). Since we included only cases in which the time since death was known (excluding unwitnessed NH deaths), the interval between death and postmortem swab(s) was registered, with a mean NH value of 5.50 days and a mean H value of 3.98 days. The mean age of NH was 65 years, while H were older (mean age: 73 years). Twenty-eight nasopharyngeal and 27 lungs postmortem swabs were obtained and real-time reverse transcriptase‒polymerase chain reaction assay for total and replicative SARS-CoV-2 RNA and mRNA detection was performed. Although the mean death-postmortem swabs interval was higher in NH than in H, the mean viral load of NH was higher than that of H (2.53 × 1011 copies/mL vs 9.31 × 108 copies/mL). In 13/29 cases (6 NH and 7 H), indicators of active replication were found. The relationship between the presence of replicative mRNA and death without hospitalization and that between the minimum cycle threshold value of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and the cycle threshold value of replicative SARS-CoV-2 mRNA were found to be statistically significant (with respective P values of 0.013 and 0.000). Therefore, especially in NH, full compliance with guidelines on biological safety in the autopsy room is essential, and no autopsy can be performed on infected cases in a structure that does not meet the established safety criteria.

It is unequivocally recognized that thyroid nodules are frequently detected in the adult population and mostly characterized by benign lesions (up to 70% of them), with only 5%–15% malignant lesions. The evaluation of thyroid lesions with fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) represents one of the first and most useful diagnostic tools in the definition of their nature. Despite the fact that the majority of thyroid lesions are correctly diagnosed as either benign (70%–75%) or malignant (5%–10%) entities, the remaining nodules (20%–25%) represent the “gray zone” of follicular lesions, which belong to indeterminate categories, according to the different classification systems. This indeterminate group of lesions includes both benign and malignant entities, which cannot be easily discriminate with morphology alone. In these last decades, the increasing role of molecular testings, feasibly performed on cytological material combined with the discoveries of specific genetic alterations in the field of thyroid pathology, has opened the pace to their more accurate and specific contribution on cytology. In fact, in 2015, in the revised management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and well-differentiated thyroid cancers (WDTCs), the American Thyroid Association (ATA) confirmed the performance of molecular testing in thyroid indeterminate cytology, and the same performance was addressed in recent update of the management of thyroid nodules in the second edition of the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology (TBSRTC). In the current review, we discuss the role of molecular tests for the different thyroid diagnostic categories of the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology, mostly focusing our attention on the follicular and indeterminate lesions.

Tau cleavage plays a crucial role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), a widespread neurodegenerative disease whose incidence is expected to increase in the next years. While genetic and familial forms of AD (fAD) occurring early in life represent less than 1%, the sporadic and late-onset ones (sAD) are the most common, with ageing being an important risk factor. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of streptozotocin (STZ)—a compound used in the systemic induction of diabetes due to its ability to damage the pancreatic β cells and to induce insulin resistance—mimics in rodents several behavioral, molecular and histopathological hallmarks of sAD, including memory/learning disturbance, amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation, tau hyperphosphorylation, oxidative stress and brain glucose hypometabolism. We have demonstrated that pathological truncation of tau at its N-terminal domain occurs into hippocampi from two well-established transgenic lines of fAD animal models, such as Tg2576 and 3xTg mice, and that it’s in vivo neutralization via intravenous (i.v.) administration of the cleavage-specific anti-tau 12A12 monoclonal antibody (mAb) is strongly neuroprotective. Here, we report the therapeutic efficacy of 12A12mAb in STZ-infused mice after 14 days (short-term immunization, STIR) and 21 days (long-term immunization regimen, LTIR) of i.v. delivery. A virtually complete recovery was detected after three weeks of 12A12mAb immunization in both novel object recognition test (NORT) and object place recognition task (OPRT). Consistently, three weeks of this immunization regimen relieved in hippocampi from ICV-STZ mice the AD-like up-regulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP), the tau hyperphosphorylation and neuroinflammation, likely due to modulation of the PI3K/AKT/GSK3-β axis and the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activities. Cerebral oxidative stress, mitochondrial impairment, synaptic and histological alterations occurring in STZ-infused mice were also strongly attenuated by 12A12mAb delivery. These results further strengthen the causal role of N-terminal tau cleavage in AD pathogenesis and indicate that its specific neutralization by non-invasive administration of 12A12mAb can be a therapeutic option for both fAD and sAD patients, as well as for those showing type 2 diabetes as a comorbidity.

Background Mutational analysis contributes to the diagnosis and prognosis of thyroid nodules analyzed with fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Although several advanced molecular tests based on multiple molecular markers are available for clinical use and have increased their impact on clinical management of patients, they are not widely available. Among them is BRAF V600E, one of the most studied mutations. Other genetic alterations, such as TERT promoter mutations, may coexist in thyroid carcinomas. Previous studies have demonstrated that this duet might be involved in the aggressiveness of thyroid cancer, although its prognostic value related to mortality remains undefined. The detection of such genetic alterations in thyroid liquid-based cytology (LBC) thus may assist with patient management. Methods From January 2013 to June 2014, 356 thyroid FNAC samples were processed by LBC, including 174 surgical follow-up samples. BRAF V600E and TERT mutation analyses were performed on both LBC and histopathology. Results The study included 119 samples categorized as atypia of undetermined significance, 42 categorized as follicular neoplasms, 61 categorized as suspicious for malignancy, and 34 categorized as positive for malignancy. BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 10.4% of all cases, whereas TERT promoter mutations were identified in 1.1%. TERT-mutated cases belonged to the positive for malignancy category, with a histologic diagnosis of tall cell variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma. These genetic alterations correlated with lymph node metastases (P = .0349) and higher disease stage. Conclusions BRAF V600E and TERT analysis can be performed on LBC. TERT mutations are rarely identified in well differentiated thyroid carcinoma but are associated with higher stage. Although a larger molecular panel may offer more information, analyzing these few point mutations is still likely to be useful for managing potentially more aggressive thyroid carcinomas.

To report in literature the first case of fatal multi-organ embolization of ureteral stones fragments during laser lithotripsy. A tetraplegic 43-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital to undergo laser lithotripsy because of bilateral ureteral stones and right ureteral infected stent. During the removal of the right ureteral stent, the patient developed a sudden severe bradycardia followed by a reduction in the arterial oxygen saturation. In spite of a rapid and intensive medical intervention, the clinical picture did not improve; the woman was therefore transferred to the nearest Emergency Room where she was rescued but a cardiocirculatory arrest occurred. A claim of alleged medical malpractice was brought against the urologists. A complete autopsy was performed 8 days after death. The diagnosis was determined by the microscopic findings: they have unequivocally shown a massive embolization of calculus fragments in the lungs and in the heart. In the light of all these findings, the cause of death was attributable to a disseminated intravascular coagulation due to this unforeseeable embolization of calcified amorphous material. Embolization of calculus fragments represents an important challenge because it is extremely unpredictable. Indeed, a prompt diagnosis of non-thrombotic pulmonary embolism, during the urologic procedure, is extremely difficult because the condition presents with no specific clinical signs: this life-threatening pathology is often underestimated. For this reason, the autopsy and the subsequent histopathological examination are indispensable in order to prove lethal embolization: microscopic findings play a key role in the final diagnosis of death.

We present the case of an elderly woman who died from COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. The physicians in charge of the patient were later accused of medical malpractice resulting in the death of the patient. The article reviews the comprehensive medico-legal investigations into this case that included an analysis of the medical history, clinical imaging, post-mortem imaging, autopsy, histopathology, and microbiology as well as an assessment of the medical knowledge regarding transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the management of COVID-19 at the time of the patient's death. The investigation resulted in a verdict of not guilty. This case highlights the value of clinical and post-mortem imaging as well as various challenges of medico-legal investigations of COVID-19 related deaths.

Biopsy proven Gleason score is essential to decide treatment modalities for prostate cancer, either surgical (radical prostatectomy) or non-surgical (active surveillance, watchful waiting, radiation therapy and hormone therapy). Several studies indicated that biopsy proven Gleason score may underestimate Gleason score at radical prostatectomy, hence we aimed to calculate the minimum length of biopsy cores needed to have Gleason score agreement. We evaluated 115 prostate cancer patients who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance/transperineal ultrasonography fusion biopsy and subsequently, radical prostatectomy. Biopsy proven Gleason score was consistent with Gleason score at subsequent radical prostatectomy in 82.6% of patients, while in 17.4% of patients, Gleason score was higher at radical prostatectomy. Gleason score agreement showed a strong direct association with a ratio &gt, 0.05 between the total volume of biopsies performed in tumor area and the volume of the corresponding tumor at radical prostatectomy. A significant association was also found with a ratio &ge, 0.0034 between the tumor volume in the biopsy and the volume of the corresponding tumor at radical prostatectomy and with a ratio &ge, 0.086 between the tumor volume in the biopsy and the total volume of biopsies performed in the tumor area. These results could be exploited to calculate the minimum length of biopsy cores needed to have a correct Gleason score estimation and therefore be used in fusion targeted biopsies with volume adjustments.

Cardiac myxoma is a rare benign neoplasm of the heart. Historically myxomas were incidental findings during autopsies, however improved imaging techniques made these diagnosis possible in living patients, making the surgical treatment of these neoplasms achievable. Cardiac myxomas may occur both sporadically and in a familial context, often in the clinico-pathological picture of the Carney complex. While familial myxomas occur in the context of well-known genetic mutations, the molecular etiology of sporadically occurring myxomas is still not completely clear. We must note however that many of the patients affected by myxomas are asymptomatic; when symptoms are present they are often nonspecific and hard to decipher, especially when referring to sporadically occurring heart myxomas. In this paper we describe a case of sudden death from the massive embolization of a left atrial cardiac myxoma. We also reviewed all the cases in the literature of sudden death from heart myxoma embolism. An accurate epidemiology of heart myxomas would be the key to outline the best treatment practices and the etiology of sporadic myxomas, nevertheless this target could only be pursued with a deep revaluation of the clinical autopsy as a fundamental diagnostic tool.

Background: Despite the fact that the majority of thyroid cancers are indolent, 15% of patients with well-differentiated carcinoma including papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) present with locally advanced thyroid cancer (LATC) at diagnosis. The current study analyzes a cohort of patients with LATC focusing on their risk for local recurrence, distant metastases, and overall survival. Materials and methods: From January 2010 to December 2020, 65 patients with LATC were retrieved, including 42 cases with preoperative cytological samples. BRAFV600E and TERT mutations were performed on both cytology and histopathology specimens in this cohort. Results: Among the 65 cases, 42 (65%) were women. The median age was 60.1 years. Histological diagnoses included 25 (38.4%) with classic PTC and 30 (46.1%) aggressive variants of PTC, mostly tall cell variant (17 cases, 26.1%). Multifocality was seen in 33 cases (50.8%). All patients had nodal metastases. The most common site of extrathyroidal extension was the recurrent laryngeal nerve (69.2%). Staging revealed 21 cases were stage I, none were stage II, 33 were stage III, and 7 were stage IVa and 4 stage IVb. No differences were found between well and poorly/undifferentiated thyroid cancers. Conclusion: These data suggest that locally advanced thyroid cancers, including variants of PTC, exhibit a more aggressive biological course and should accordingly be more assertively managed.

Clot features along with patients' clinical features may influence thrombus compactness predisposing at distal embolization during thrombectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate thrombus features assessed by radiological and histopathological analysis along with patient-related features to predict distal embolization during thrombectomy.We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained dataset of a tertiary stroke center inclusive of all cases of endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke involving anterior circulation occlusion. All patients underwent head and neck CT-angiography (CTA) at baseline. Patients were enrolled if thrombus material was suitable for histopathologic analyses.A total of 327 patients underwent mechanical thrombectomy between March 2017 and May 2020. Among them, 133 (40.7%) had thrombus material suitable for histopathological analysis but 11 patients were excluded due to posterior circulation occlusion. A total of 122 patients were included in the analysis. A distal embolism was documented in 27 patients (28.4%). Multivariable analysis with distal embolism as dependent variable showed an adjusted OR of 2.64 (95%CI: 0.9-7.73; p-value: 0.08) for anticoagulant therapy, an adjusted OR of 1.38 (95%CI: 1.01-1.91; p-value 0.05) each 5-mm increasing of thrombus length at CTA. No association was found with age, sex, thrombolysis and first thrombectomy technique used.The combined effect of anticoagulant therapy and thrombus length may have a potentially harmful effect on reperfusion during mechanical recanalization, causing distal embolization and this aspect should be taken into account in patient's risk assessment and when planning treatment strategy.

Background Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression is emerging as an important predictive biomarker in anti-PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy. Its role has been clearly defined in various human cancers and is linked to a poor prognosis and resistance to anticancer therapies. The role of PD-L1 in thyroid cancers has not been well defined in fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). The authors examined the performance of PD-L1 immunostaining in liquid-based cytology (LBC) to determine whether it could be a biomarker of malignancy or aggressive disease. Methods From January 2018 to March 2019, 236 thyroid lesions, which had been diagnosed by FNAC as indeterminate lesions, suspicious for malignancy (SFM), and malignant, were enrolled. PD-L1 immunostaining was performed on both LBC and corresponding histology samples. Results The FNAC cohort included 50 benign negative controls, 42 samples of atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), 33 samples of follicular neoplasm/suspicious for follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN), 53 samples that were suspicious for malignancy (SFM), and 58 malignant samples. AUS/FLUS samples included 3 goiters, 32 follicular adenomas (FAs), 1 noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP), 5 invasive follicular variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma (I-FVPTCs), and 1 follicular carcinoma; whereas FN/SFN samples included 24 FAs and 9 malignancies (4 I-FVPTCs, 1 NIFTP, 3 papillary thyroid carcinomas [PTCs], and 1 oncocytic follicular carcinoma). The 53 SFM samples were diagnosed on histopathology as 2 FAs, 5 NIFTPs, 15 I-FVPTCs, and 31 PTCs; whereas the 58 malignant specimens included 5 NIFTPs, 5 I-FVPTCs, and 48 PTCs. Increased plasma membrane and cytoplasmic PD-L1 expression was found in 79 cases (38.5%), including 61 PTCs (conventional and variants). Negative PD-L1 expression was found in NIFTPs and FAs. A BRAF V600E mutation was identified in 15% of PD-L1-positive malignancies. Conclusions The current data suggest that PD-L1 expression in the thyroid gland might represent a marker of malignancy that correlates with PTC, but not with NIFTP. Thyroid neoplasms with PD-L1 expression also ae enriched with BRAF V600E mutations, suggesting that they are associated with more aggressive behavior.

This chapter analyses how China and the UK have implemented policies transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The UK pioneered renewable energy incentives and various government policy instruments have been applied, including direct subsidies, green certificates and feed-in-tariffs. The country now looks to move away from government incentives towards greater corporate involvement. Policies have also been introduced in transportation and other sectors, to decarbonise the economy by 2050. China represents an example of a government-led, top-down approach to energy transitioning building the world’s largest installed capacity of hydropower, solar PV and wind power. In other sectors such as e-mobility, decarbonisation policies and initiatives by local and central government are driving a shift in favour of the use of electric vehicles.

Introduction The detection of rosette-like clusters (RLC) of follicular cells in thyroid carcinoma has been reported mostly in the columnar cell variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Despite the fact that diagnosing variants of PTC is no longer encouraged by The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology, the identification of cytomorphological features such as RLC linked with these tumours might help reduce possible misinterpretation in thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. We accordingly investigated the potential correlation of architectural patterns including RLC with PTC variants. Methods We analysed 225 thyroid FNA cytology cases diagnosed as suspicious for malignancy (SFM) and positive for malignancy (M) over a 1-year time where all samples had corresponding histology. We also included 150 benign lesions from the same period. The presence of RLC vs similar appearing solid clusters, papillary structures and microfollicles were evaluated. We also performed immunocytochemistry and molecular testing for BRAFV600E. Results We included 100 (44.4%) SFM favouring PTC and 125 (55.6%) M cases with cyto-histological correlation. On histology, all SFM and M cases showed malignancy including 140 (62.2%) classic PTC and 85 (37.8%) PTC variants. The cytomorphological patterns in all FNA samples included solid (74%), papillary (89%), microfollicular (70%), and pseudo-RLC morphology (25.7%). We identified only pseudo-RLC in 33 FNA specimens from PTC variant cases that included tall cell variant (42.4%), hobnail variant (21.2%) and miscellaneous variants (36.3%) of PTC. No definitive RLC were detected in our series. Immunocytochemistry and BRAFV600E were not specifically linked with an RLC pattern. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that in our dataset the architectural pattern of RLC was not recognised within PTC variants. However, we did identify a pseudo-RLC pattern that was observed in association with tall cell variant and hobnail variant cases of PTC.

Background Hyalinizing trabecular tumors (HTTs) are rare, essentially benign, follicular cell-derived thyroid neoplasms characterized by a trabecular growth pattern and nuclear pseudoinclusions. Their cytological findings are misleading, because these tumors are often misinterpreted on fine needle aspirate cytology as malignant lesions, such as papillary thyroid cancer and/or medullary thyroid cancer, leading to unnecessary total thyroidectomy. The aim of this study was to analyze the cytomorphological features and application of ancillary techniques in a series of HTTs. Methods Of 26 histological cases of HTT collected from September 2001 to December 2018, 18 cases had concomitant cytopathology. Cytological cases were processed with liquid-based cytology (LBC). Immunocytochemistry for HBME-1 and galectine-3 as well as molecular testing for BRAFV600E mutation were performed on both LBC and histological specimens. Results The 18 lesions with fine needle aspirate cytology ranged in size from 5 to 45 mm. Cytological diagnoses included: 1 benign lesion favoring goiter (5.5%), 4 atypia of undetermined significance (22.2%), 6 follicular neoplasms (33.3%), 5 suspicious for malignancy favoring papillary thyroid cancer (28%), and 2 malignant (11%). Hence, 89% HTT had a negative concordant immunopanel, and they were 100% wild-type BRAFV600E . Conclusion The majority of our HTTs (83.3%) were diagnosed in the indeterminate Bethesda categories, suggesting that their cytomorphological features pose issues for reaching a conclusive cytological diagnosis. The ancillary test results in our series support the fact that HTT is a benign neoplasm.

The relative prosperity which Argentina enjoyed at the beginning of the century made it a candidate to be a major economic power. Despite its abundant natural resources and skilled manpower, Argentina has consistently failed to live up to its potential. Periods of growth have either been too sporadic or political upheavals too frequent for coherent economic policies to be effective. In recent decades the Argentine economy has been characterised by a deterioration in current account,1 exchange rate,2 gross domestic product (GDP) growth,3 investment,4 and has seen inflation become an endemic phenomenon.5 These factors have exacerbated the economy's inability to tackle its mounting foreign debt.