Lipedematous alopecia is a rare condition of unknown etiology characterized by a thick, boggy scalp with varying degrees of hair loss that occurs in adult black females, with no clearly associated medical or physiologic conditions. The fundamental pathologic finding consists of an approximate doubling in scalp thickness resulting from expansion of the subcutaneous fat layer in the absence of adipose tissue hypertrophy or hyperplasia. Observations by light and electron microscopy detailed in this report suggest that this alteration principally manifests by localized edema with disruption and degeneration of adipose tissue. Some diminution in the number of follicles as well as focal bulb atrophy is noted. Aberrant mucin deposition such as that seen in myxedema or other cutaneous mucinoses is not a feature. The histologic findings bear some resemblance to those seen in lipedema of the legs, a relatively common but infrequently diagnosed condition. We present a case of lipedematous alopecia with emphasis on histologic and ultrastructural features. The etiology is unknown.

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Glucose injections attenuate deficits in memory under several conditions in both rodents and humans. The present study examined effects of glucose on memory in two such amnesic populations, scopolamine-treated and old mice, and then assessed effects of glucose on brain (lHJ2deoxyglucose (2DG) uptake. In Experiment lA, scopolamine (3 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly impaired performance of mice tested in a spontaneous alternation task. Glucose (100 mg/kg, i.p.) administration did not itself affect alternation performance, but when administered with scopolamine, it attenuated the deficit in alternation performance. Scopolamine (3 mg/kg) also resulted in significant reductions in brain 2DG uptake in hippocampus and in thalamus (Experiment lB). Glucose (100 mg/kg) injections did not themselves affect 2DG uptake, but when administered with scopolamine, they attenuated the scopolamine-induced reductions in 2DG uptake, with the largest reversal occurring in hippocampus. Glucose similarly enhanced spontaneous alternation behavior (Experiment 2A) and hippocampal 2DG uptake (Experiment 2B) in 2-year-old mice. These findings provide additional evidence that the brain becomes more sensitive to circulating glucose in several amnestic conditions and, more generally, extend the view that circulating levels of glucose influence a wide range of brain activities.Acute peripheral administration of glucose near the time of training enhances memory in rodents and humans (

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Cutaneous deciduosis is an exceedingly rare manifestation of endometriosis potentially mistaken for malignancy and thus far documented solely within surgical scars. We describe two additional cases, one occurring in a pregnant 21-year-old woman as a solitary flat erythematous vulvar papule, an extraordinary location not previously recorded. Histologic examination in that case revealed a subepithelial nodular aggregate of atypical large dyscohesive cells with accompanying edema and inflammation. An immunohistochemical panel showed positivity of the cells for vimentin and Ki-1 (CD30). Intracellular sulfated mucin and glycogen were also demonstrated. In a second case, a 27-year-old woman had a nodule at the umbilicus, removed incidentally during the course of cesarean section. Microscopically there were several circumscribed, multilobulated, intradermal nodules with variably sized lumens formed by crowded large epithelioid cells. The disparate histologic appearance of these examples highlights an essential challenge in their diagnosis. Clinical recognition is difficult unless suggested by more characteristic history or location.