To cite this article: Sen D, Chapla A, Walter N, Daniel V, Srivastava A, Jayandharan GR. Nuclear factor (NF)-jB and its associated pathways are major molecular regulators of blood-induced joint damage in a murine model of hemophilia. J Thromb Haemost 2013; 11: 293-306.

The clinical, radiological and pathological features of a case of lipofibromatosis, a rare paediatric soft tissue neoplasm, are described. The tumour involved the foot of a male infant and was present at birth. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a lipomatous mass, with splaying of muscles of the sole by lobules of fat. Histopathological examination revealed typical findings of an admixture of mature adipose tissue and fibroblastic elements. The radiological and pathological features helpful in differentiating this entity from other fibro-fatty paediatric soft tissue tumours is discussed, and the relevant literature is briefly reviewed.

A case in which an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the cervix and an ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour of intermediate differentiation occurred in a 13-year-old girl is described. Although initially considered as a chance association, a review of the literature showed the co-occurrence of these two uncommon neoplasms in three previous cases. The reason for this association, which is thought to be more than coincidental, is not known, although an underlying genetic abnormality is a possibility. The ovarian tumour in this case was characterised by the presence of foci of cells with extremely pleomorphic nuclei, which initially raised the possibility of metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma. These were interpreted as foci of bizarre nuclei within the Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour.

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We describe a schwannoma located in the mid-diaphyseal region of the fibula of a 14-year-old boy. Radiologically this was an expansile, lytic, globular and trabeculated lesion. MRI showed a narrow transition zone with a break in the cortex and adjacent tissue oedema. Differential diagnosis included schwannoma, fibrous dysplasia, giant cell tumour and aneurysmal bone cyst. The tumour was excised en bloc, with marginal resection limits, and there has been no recurrence two years after surgery. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of classic schwannoma. There were typical hypercellular Antoni A zones, less cellular Antoni B zones, and diffuse immunoreactivity to S100 protein. This is the first report of schwannoma involving a long bone in a child.

The calcaneum is an uncommon site for most bone tumors, and in our series, bone cysts were the most common benign lesions. Curettage and bone grafting or the use of bone substitutes can be effectively used in the treatment of symptomatic bone cysts of the calcaneum.

We present a rare case of retroperitoneal cystic schwannoma of the pelvis in a patient with Hansen's disease that mimicked an ovarian cyst. Due to economic constraints and because the lesion was assumed to be of ovarian origin, the patient did not undergo any cross-sectional imaging other than sonography. Sonographically guided fine needle aspiration of the cystic lesion was inconclusive. A cystic schwannoma was diagnosed at laparotomy.

Study Design: Animal case control study.Purpose: To create a simple, reproducible disc degeneration model for mouse coccygeal vertebrae. Overview of Literature: Back pain due to disc degeneration is probably the most common problem encountered in neurosurgical practice. An easily reproducible animal model for disc degeneration will help in understanding its pathophysiology, and serve as a platform for examining various therapeutic options.Methods: A total of 18 mice were divided into injured (n=12) and non-injured (n=6) groups. The disc height index (DHI%) at coccygeal 4–5 level was measured by computed tomography (CT) scan for all mice. Coccygeal 4–5 discs of the injury group were injured using a 32G needle fixed to a novel tool and confirmed by CT. The non-injury group underwent no procedure. DHI% was measured by CT at 2-, 4-, and 6-week post-injury, and all mice tails were sectioned for histopathology grading of disc degeneration at the respective time intervals.Results: The injured group showed significant variation in DHI% at 2, 4, and 6 weeks, whereas there was no change in the noninjured group. Histopathologic evaluation with Safranin O stain showed a worsening of the disc degeneration score at 2, 4, and 6 weeks in the injured group, but in the non-injured group there was no change. Percutaneous needle injury technique with our novel tool provided 100% accuracy and uniform degeneration.Conclusions: A simple, easily reproducible mouse model for disc degeneration was created using a simple, cost-effective, novel tool and technique, its advantage being high precision and user friendly.