0000000000279171
AUTHOR
Francesca Portelli
showing 9 related works from this author
Sinonasal respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma: A report on three cases
2018
Respiratory Epithelial Adenomatoid Hamartoma (REAH) is a rare benign lesion that may occur in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. Histology is essential for the differential diagnosis with other lesions that could affect the sinonasal region. Our report focuses on three cases of male patients that were 46, 66 and 73 years old, diagnosed with REAH of the sinonasal region. All cases presented a nasal obstruction and hyposmia, and in one case cephalalgia. The definitive diagnosis of REAH was supported by the endoscopic, radiological and histological examinations. The patients underwent surgical excision with an endoscopic approach and did not experience a local recurrence at the time of wr…
Rare occurrence of Whipple Disease in a young female patient with a fatal outcome
2013
Abstract Whipple Disease is a rare chronic multi-systemic disease caused by the ubiquitous environmental Gram-positive bacterium Tropheryma whipplei . It can be fatal if untreated. Here we describe the fatal outcome in a 27-year-old Caucasian female patient with a three-month history of persistent fever, anemia, weight loss and diarrhea. The final resolution of the diagnostic process was only reached after the patient’s death thanks to autopsy. The case depicted is a classic Whipple Disease histologically characterized by digestive involvement based on positive periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining and immunohistochemical analysis for T. whipplei and systemic involvement (pericarditis, brain …
Death of a 23-year-old man from cardiac conduction system injury through a blunt chest impact after a car accident.
2014
Abstract Cardiac contusion, usually caused by blunt chest trauma, has been recognized with increased frequency over the past decades. Traffic accidents are the most frequent causes of cardiac contusion resulting from a direct blow to the chest. Myocardial contusion is difficult to diagnose; the clinical presentation varies greatly, ranging from a lack of symptoms to cardiogenic shock and arrhythmia. Although death is rare, cardiac contusion can be fatal. The authors report a case of death due to a cardiac conduction system injury from a blunt chest impact following a car accident. The autopsy showed no external signs of thoracic trauma, no evident rib or sternum fractures. A small sub-endoc…
Molecular alterations in lesions of anogenital mammary-like glands and their mammary counterparts including hidradenoma papilliferum, intraductal pap…
2017
Lesions affecting anogenital mammary-like glands (AGMLG) are histopathologically very similar to those seen in the breast but whether this morphological similarity is also reflected at the genetic level is unknown. To compare the underlying molecular mechanisms in lesions of AGMLG and their mammary counterparts, we analyzed the mutational profile of 16 anogenital neoplasms including 5 hidradenomas papilliferum (HP), 1 lesion with features of HP and fibroadenoma (FA), 7 FA, 3 phyllodes tumors (PhT)) and 18 analogous breast lesions (6 intraductal papillomas (IDP), 9 FA, and 3 PhT) by high-coverage next generation sequencing (NGS) using a panel comprising 50 cancer-related genes. Additionally,…
"Pure" large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder. Report of a case and review of the literature
2016
Primary Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) of the gallbladder are rare. Among all NETs of the gallbladder, large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) is exceedingly rare. In most of the cases LCNECs are combined with other histological components. We reviewed clinical presentation and management of all patients with "pure" LCNEC from published literature since the first case was published in 2000, as well as one patient from our experience. Only 7 cases of "pure" LCNEC has been described in the last 15 years, our case is the eighth. The diagnosis of gallbladder NETs is rarely made preoperatively since the presentation generally consists of non-specific symptoms including upper abdominal pain, d…
β-amyloid wall deposit of temporal artery in subjects with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage.
2018
// Antonino Tuttolomondo 1 , Rosario Maugeri 4 , Elisabetta Orlando 2 , Giulio Giannone 2 , Francesco Ciccia 3 , Aroldo Rizzo 5 , Domenico Di Raimondo 1 , Francesca Graziano 4 , Rosaria Pecoraro 1 , Carlo Maida 1 , Irene Simonetta 1 , Anna Cirrincione 1 , Francesca Portelli 2 , Francesca Corpora 1 , Domenico Gerardo Iacopino 4 and Antonio Pinto 1 1 Internal Medicine and Stroke Care Ward, Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 2 Human Pathology Section, Human Pathology Section, Department of Health Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 3 Rheumathology Ward, Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Univers…
A fatal iatrogenic right vertebral injury after transoral odontoidectomy and posterior cervical stabilization for a type II odontoid fracture.
2014
Abstract The authors present a singular case of an iatrogenic right vertebral artery injury, involving a 67 year-old man, who reported a type II odontoid fracture (Anderson and D'Alonzo Classification) and posterior atlantoaxial dislocation following a road traffic accident. A small injury involving the right vertebral artery occurred as a consequence of transoral odontoidectomy and posterior cervical stabilization. It was caused by bone spicules of spinal origin and their presence was confirmed by the histological section of the right vertebral artery at the level of C1–C2. The case confirms how iatrogenic vertebral artery injuries during cervical spine surgery may be potentially lethal, e…
When a death apparently associated to sexual assault is instead a natural death due to idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome: The importance of gamma…
2017
We here report a case involving a 21-year-old female, found dead in a central square of a city in the south of Italy. Initial evidences and circumstances were suggestive of a death associated with a sexual assault. Two peripheral blood and two vitreous humor samples were collected for the purpose of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) testing from the dead body at two different post-mortem intervals (PMIs): approximately 2 (t0) and 36 (t1) hours. The obtained results showed that, between t0 and t1, there was an increase of GHB concentrations in peripheral blood and vitreous humor of 66.3% and 8.1%, respectively. This case was the first evidence of GHB post mortem production in a dead body and n…
Acquired elastotic hemangioma-like changes and eccrine sweat duct squamous metaplasia in lichen simplex chronicus/prurigo nodularis-like lesions of t…
2017
Background The so-called acquired elastotic hemangioma (AEH) represents a peculiar vascular lesion affecting the sun-damaged skin of the extensor surface of the forearms or the lateral aspect of the neck of middle-aged or elderly women. Methods This is a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of a series of 6 lesions located on the knee or elbow showing epithelial features of lichen simplex chronicus (LSC)/prurigo nodularis (PN) with a marked subepidermal vascular proliferation closely resembling AEH. Results Microscopically, all cases of cutaneous lesions showed epithelial features of LSC/PN, that is compact hyperkeratosis with focal parakeratosis, irregular acanthosis, prominen…