The value of 1.5-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in diagnosing endometrial cysts and differentiating them from other gynecologic masses was prospectively evaluated in 374 female patients with clinically suspected adnexal masses. A suggestive diagnosis of endometrial cyst was made when a cyst that was hyperintense on T1-weighted images exhibited homogeneous hyperintensity on T2-weighted images. A definitive diagnosis was made when a cyst that was hyperintense on T1-weighted images exhibited hypointense signal on T2-weighted images (shading) or when the lesion consisted of multiple hyperintense cysts on T1-weighted images (multiplicity) regardless of the signal intensity on T2-weighted images. Surgery was performed in 293 patients, and confirmation was obtained in 354 lesions. MR imaging enabled accurate diagnosis of 77 of 86 endometrial cysts and exclusion of the diagnosis of endometrial cyst in 263 of 268 other gynecologic masses with or without internal hemorrhage. The overall diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 90%, 98%, 96%, respectively. MR imaging seems to be an acceptable diagnostic test on which clinical decisions can be based in selecting treatment.

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Aberrant transcriptional regulation in the brain is thought to be one of the key components of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Heat shock factors (HSFs) modulate cellular homeostasis through the control of gene expression. However, the roles of HSFs in brain function have yet to be elucidated fully. In the present study, we attempted to clarify the role of HSF1-mediated gene regulation in neuronal and behavioral development using HSF1-deficient (HSF1 −/− ) mice. We found granule neurons of aberrant morphology and impaired neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of HSF1 −/− mice. In addition, HSF1 −/− mice showed aberrant affective behavior, including reduced anxiety and sociability but increased depression-like behavior and aggression. Furthermore, HSF1 deficiency enhanced behavioral vulnerability to repeated exposure to restraint stress. Importantly, rescuing the HSF1 deficiency in the neonatal but not the adult hippocampus reversed the aberrant anxiety and depression-like behaviors. These results indicate a crucial role for hippocampal HSF1 in neuronal and behavioral development. Analysis of the molecular mechanisms revealed that HSF1 directly modulates the expression of polysialyltransferase genes, which then modulate polysialic acid-neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) levels in the hippocampus. Enzymatic removal of PSA from the neonatal hippocampus resulted in aberrant behavior during adulthood, similar to that observed in HSF1 −/− mice. Thus, these results suggest that one role of HSF1 is to control hippocampal PSA-NCAM levels through the transcriptional regulation of polysialyltransferases, a process that might be involved in neuronal and behavioral development in mice.emotion | spine density | neuronal maturation | polysialylation T here is increasing evidence that aberrant transcriptional regulation is one of the key components of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders (1, 2). It has been suggested that neuronal activity regulates a complex program of gene expression involved in structural and functional plasticity (3). Recent evidence has indicated that aberrant gene regulation in early brain development can affect brain function and subsequent affective behavior, as well as behavioral responses to stress during adulthood in rodents (4, 5).Heat shock factors (HSFs) bind to the conserved heat shock element (HSE) consensus sequence and facilitate the transcriptional activation or repression of HSE-containing target genes (6). In mammals, the HSF family consists of four members (HSF1-4) that are considered functionally distinct. HSF1 is an essential molecule for facilitating the response to cellular stress (e.g., elevated temperature, oxidative stress, and increased protein misfolding) and also is required for developmental processes, whereas HSF2 and HSF4 are involved in cell differentiation and development (7). Among the mammalian HSFs, HSF1 is the master transactivator of heat shock proteins, which function as molecular chaperones at various...

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