Glioblastoma is the most aggressive tumor in the central nervous system, with a survival rate of less than 15 months despite multimodal therapy. Tumor recurrence frequently occurs after removal. Tumoral angiogenesis, the formation of neovessels, has a positive impact on tumor progression and invasion, although there are controversial results in the specialized literature regarding its impact on survival. This study aims to correlate the immunoexpression of angiogenesis markers (CD34, CD105) with the proliferation index Ki67 and p53 in primary and secondary glioblastomas. This retrospective study included 54 patients diagnosed with glioblastoma at the Pathology Department of County Emergency Clinical Hospital Târgu Mureș. Microvascular density was determined using CD34 and CD105 antibodies, and the results were correlated with the immunoexpression of p53, IDH1, ATRX and Ki67. The number of neoformed blood vessels varied among cases, characterized by different shapes and calibers, with endothelial cells showing modified morphology and moderate to marked pleomorphism. Neovessels with a glomeruloid aspect, associated with intense positivity for CD34 or CD105 in endothelial cells, were observed, characteristic of glioblastomas. Mean microvascular density values were higher for the CD34 marker in all cases, though there were no statistically significant differences compared to CD105. Mutant IDH1 and ATRX glioblastomas, wild-type p53 glioblastomas, and those with a Ki67 index above 20% showed a more abundant microvascular density, with statistical correlations not reaching significance. This study highlighted a variety of percentage intervals of microvascular density in primary and secondary glioblastomas using immunohistochemical markers CD34 and CD105, respectively, with no statistically significant correlation between evaluated microvascular density and p53 or Ki67.

Introduction: A glioblastoma is an intra-axial brain tumour of glial origin that belongs to the category of diffuse gliomas and is the most common malignant neoplasia of the central nervous system. The rate of survival at 5 years, from the moment of diagnosis, is not higher than 10%. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, fifty-four patients diagnosed with glioblastoma, from the Pathology Department of the County Emergency Clinical Hospital of Târgu Mureș, between 2014 and 2017 were included. We studied the clinico-pathological data (age, gender, location, and laterality) and, respectively, the immunoexpression of p53, Ki67, ATRX, and IDH-1 proteins. Results: We observed a statistically significant association between the laterality of the tumour according to the age groups, with the localization on the right side being more frequent in the age group below 65 years of age, while the involvement of the left hemisphere was more prevalent in those over 65 years. Out of the total 54 cases, 87.04% were found to be primary glioblastomas; more than 70% of the cases were ATRX immunopositive; almost 80% of the glioblastomas studied had wild-type p53 profile; and 35% of the cases were found to have a Ki67 index greater than 20%. A statistically significant association between gender and ATRX mutation was found; female cases were ATRX immunopositive in 92% of the cases. Almost 70% of the cases were both IDH-1 and p53 wild-type, and we observed the presence of both mutations in only 3.7% of the cases. Approximately 83% of primary glioblastomas were ATRX positive, respectively, and all IDH-1 mutant cases were ATRX negative. Conclusions: Glioblastomas still represent a multidisciplinary challenge considering their reserved prognosis. In this study, we described the most common clinico-pathological characteristics and IHC marker expression profiles, highlighting a variety of percentage ranges in primary and secondary glioblastomas. Given the small number of studied cases, further prospective studies on larger cohorts are needed in the future to evaluate the role of these immunohistochemical markers as prognostic factors for survival or recurrence.

Glioblastoma is considered the most aggressive tumor of the central nervous system. The tumor microenvironment includes several components, such as endothelial cells, immune cells, and extracellular matrix components like matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which facilitates the proliferation of endothelial cells with pro-angiogenic roles. The MRI characteristics of glioblastomas can contribute to determining the prognosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between tumor angiogenesis in glioblastomas in association with MMP-9 immunoexpression. The results were correlated with the Ki-67 proliferation index, p53 immunoexpression, and the mutational status of IDH1 and ATRX, as well as MRI imaging data. This retrospective study included forty-four patients diagnosed with glioblastoma at the Department of Pathology, Târgu Mureș County Emergency Clinical Hospital. MMP-9 immunoexpression was observed in approximately half of the cases, more frequently in patients over 65 years old. Comparing the imaging data with the immunohistochemical results, we observed that the median tumor volume was higher in glioblastomas with IDH1 and p53 mutations, ATRX wild-type status, negative MMP-9 expression, and high Ki-67 proliferation indexes. The median values of MVD-CD34 and MVD-CD105 were higher in cases with extensive peritumoral edema in the contralateral hemisphere. Additionally, ATRX mutations were frequently associated with a more pronounced deviation of the median structures. To statistically validate the associations between MRI and the histopathological features of glioblastomas, further studies with larger cohorts are required.

Background/Objectives: Prostate cancer (PCa) remains a major global health issue, associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, predicting biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy remains challenging, highlighting the need for reliable biomarkers to guide prognosis and therapy. The study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the PTEN and ERG biomarkers in predicting BCR and tumor progression in PCa patients who underwent radical prostatectomy. Methods: This study consisted of a cohort of 91 patients with localized PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy between 2016 and 2022. From this cohort, 77 patients were selected for final analysis. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) were constructed from paraffin blocks, and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for PTEN and ERG was performed using specific antibodies on the Ventana BenchMark ULTRA system (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN, USA). Stained sections were evaluated and correlated with clinical and pathological data. Results: PTEN expression showed a significant negative correlation with BCR (r = −0.301, p = 0.014), indicating that reduced PTEN expression is associated with increased recurrence risk. PTEN was not significantly linked to PSA levels, tumor stage, or lymph node involvement. ERG expression correlated positively with advanced pathological tumor stage (r = 0.315, p = 0.005) but was not associated with BCR or other clinical parameters. Conclusions: PTEN appears to be a valuable prognostic marker for recurrence in PCa, while ERG may indicate tumor progression. These findings support the potential integration of PTEN and ERG into clinical practice to enhance risk stratification and personalized treatment, warranting further validation in larger patient cohorts.

Introduction Osteoporosis is characterized by a reduction in bone mineral density. Among the factors that can contribute to the onset of osteoporosis we can enumerate alcohol consumption, smoking, glucocorticoid therapy, or the presence of diabetes mellitus. The incidence of osteoporosis increases with age. Materials and Methods A total of 183 women over the age of 50, with a mean age of 67.9 ± 7.74 years, were studied to visualize spinal column alterations. From this cohort, 103 patients underwent bone mineral density testing using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and dorsolumbar radiography, while 80 patients did not undergo DXA testing. Assessment of the degree of vertebral involvement was performed using the Genant semiquantitative method. Results The highest percentage of vertebral fractures was observed in patients aged >70 years (100%). Within the studied cohort, 28% of patients displayed multiple vertebral fractures associated with age (p = 0.01). The most common site for vertebral involvement was the dorsolumbar region (D11–L2) across all age groups (p = 0.35). No statistically significant correlation (p = 0.22) was identified between DXA values and the presence of vertebral fractures, despite a trend of increased incidence of fractures as the T-score decreased. Conclusion Within the cohort, vertebral fractures were identified both in women with normal values

Introduction The sural nerve is a sensitive nerve whose function is to provide sensory supply for the posterolateral aspect of the distal third of the leg and the lateral side of the dorsum of the foot. This nerve is formed in the upper third of the calf from the terminal branches of the tibial and common peroneal nerves and the communicating branch of the sural nerve. Objectives The aim of our study is to showcase two anatomical variants of the sural nerve. Materials and methods Two formalin-preserved cadavers, one male and one female, embalmed using formalin 4% were dissected with the intent of being used as teaching materials for the students attending anatomy classes at the “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania. Results In both cases, less common anatomical variations of the formation of sural nerve were discovered. On the male cadaver, we identified the sural nerve as a continuation of the medial sural cutaneous nerve. The lateral sural cutaneous nerve and the communicating branch of the sural nerve were both absent. On the female cadaver, we identified both the medial sural cutaneous nerve and the lateral sural cutaneous nerve. The sural nerve was, however, a continuation of only