UNASSIGNED: There has been a significant increase in global cardiac-related fatalities, particularly over the last five decades. In India, cardiovascular diseases have emerged as a prevalent condition. Moreover, the incidence of sudden cardiac death has shown a steady rise worldwide.
UNASSIGNED: The aim of this study was to research how frequently cardiac disease was found during postmortem/autopsy cases and how it affects sudden death.
UNASSIGNED: The research was conducted at the Department of Pathology, SRTR, GMC, Ambajogai, India. One hundred and eighty cardiac specimens were examined from October 2019 to October 2021. Formalin-fixed heart specimens had multiple sections cut out of them at 4-5 mm intervals. The tissues underwent preparation, followed by sectioning into 4 μm thickness using paraffin. The standard staining method of hematoxylin and eosin was used to stain the samples. Different cardiac histomorphological alterations were assessed.
UNASSIGNED: The study included 180 autopsy cases. The highest numbers of cases were observed in the age group of 31-40 years (20.2%). Triple-vessel involvement was seen in the majority of 61.5% of cases, out of 180 cases, 52.7% of cases were of hypertrophy.
UNASSIGNED: The research highlights the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, particularly atherosclerosis and hypertrophy. Notably, sudden death cases showed a distinct distribution across the study years, with males being predominantly affected. This underscores the urgent need for preventive measures and interventions to prevalent cardiovascular conditions effectively.

OBJECTIVE: Women are believed to be protected from coronary heart disease (CHD) by the effects of estrogen but detailed studies on the vessel wall level are missing. We aimed to measure sex differences in atherosclerosis during the premenopausal and postmenopausal periods directly at the coronary arteries.
METHODS: We analyzed statistics for sex differences in CHD mortality in Finland in 2020. Coronary atherosclerosis was measured using computer-assisted morphometry in 10-year age groups of 185 white Caucasian women and 515 men from the Tampere Sudden Death Study.
RESULTS: CHD mortality was rare in both women and men before 50 years of age. After 50 years of age, male mortality increased rapidly, with women reaching equal levels in the oldest age groups. In the autopsy series, there were no differences in fatty streak, fibrotic or calcified plaque areas, nor in the plaque area or stenosis percentage in coronary arteries between premenopausal women and men in the same age group. The plaque area remained 25 % smaller in both coronaries in postmenopausal women aged 51-70 years compared to men. In the oldest postmenopausal group (≥70 years), plaque area reached the level of men. In the postmenopausal period, coronary stenosis in the left anterior descending (LAD) artery remained lower among women.
CONCLUSIONS: We did not detect any major sex-difference in coronary atherosclerosis in the premenopausal period when women are considered to be protected from CHD. However, in line with CHD mortality statistics, postmenopausal women showed a slower speed of coronary atherosclerosis development compared to men.

Sarcopenia is characterized as aging-related weakness and atrophy, which decreases the diaphragm force generating capacity leading to a decrease of expulsive non-ventilatory motor behaviors, which are critical for airway clearance. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the histopathology of the diaphragm in postmortem samples. Thirty individuals were included. Diaphragm samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological analysis. Picrosirius stain was used to highlight the collagen fibers. We observed a positive association between advancing age and histopathological findings in the diaphragm structure. We suggest that age is a key factor in increasing diaphragm muscle histopathology. However, further clinicopathological studies are needed to confirm our findings.

The HOTAIR gene encodes a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), which functions in development and tumorigenesis. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs920778 in the HOTAIR gene, has been recurrently studied for susceptibility to many cancers including oesophageal cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Most of these studies were conducted in Chinese populations, and a few in Turkish, Iranian, and Portuguese populations. They mostly give rise to controversial results. It still remains largely unknown whether the cancer risk is conferred in a Japanese population. Here, we established an association study on the representative SNP rs920778, to examine its contribution to the presence of cancer in consecutive autopsy cases in the JG-SNP database. A total of 1373 subjects (mean age 80) including 827 cancer positive and 546 cancer negative subjects were analyzed. As a result, the occurrence of overall cancer was not associated with the rs920778 polymorphism (p > 0.05). For each cancer type, we did not find association except for lung cancer (p = 0.04) which was more likely a by-chance association after multiple testing. Our findings imply that rs920778 polymorphism does not affect total cancer presence and the effect on specific cancer types is also weak in the Japanese population.

OBJECTIVE: Smoking is a major risk factor for several cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, and it has also been associated with the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength leading to sarcopenia. The aim of this is study is to analyze the effects of cigarette smoking on the diaphragm muscle histopathology of postmortem samples from patients without respiratory diseases.
METHODS: Diaphragm samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological analysis. Picrosirius stain was used to highlight the collagen fibers.
RESULTS: Cigarette smokers had an increase of histopathological alterations as abnormal cytoplasm, abnormal fiber size and shape, and central nucleus. Additionally, smokers had an increase of collagen fibers on diaphragm muscle.
CONCLUSIONS: Smoking may influence in a negatively fashion the diaphragm musculature.

Toxoplasma is an obligate intracellular parasite that remains asymptomatic in humans but, at times, can cause devastating disease. Here, we describe an autopsy study of a young immunocompetent gentleman with no comorbidities whose presentation was acute transverse myelitis. Magnetic resonance imaging spine showed longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion (LESCL) that mimicked neuromyelitis optica with normal brain imaging at presentation. Investigations showed albuminocytological dissociation which prompted a course of parenteral steroid. However, the lesion relentlessly progressed to involve the brain stem and cerebrum leading to toxoplasmic encephalitis that terminated fatally. This report highlights that toxoplasma can present as LESCL and needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of atypical myelitis.