Dr. Fausto Rodriguez presents on the topic of tumefactive pseudoneoplasms on PathCast

Here's a link to the whole PathCast series on YouTube. Great lectures from prominent pathologists -- completely free! Dr. Rodriguez has another lecture uploaded on the site, and Dr. Arie Perry has two.

Primum non nocere

Dr. Edward Lee

Dr. Edward Lee is among several others who have authored an interesting commentary on CTE entitled: Primum non nocere: a call for balance when reporting on CTE. It's worth a read!

Neuropathologist Robert Corona named CEO of Upstate Medical University

Robert J. Corona, DO, MBA

Dr. Robert Corona has been named chief executive officer of Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY. Corona had been serving as the hospital’s interim CEO before his permanent appointment last month.

Corona did his neuropathology fellowship at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC (1990) and SUNY Health Sciences Center at Syracuse (1991).

At Upstate, Corona has served as chair of the pathology department, and medical director of neuropathology. He previously worked as a vice president at Welch Allyn in Skaneateles, NY.

Corona was on my 2016 list of neuropathologists who are department chairs.

Stanford neuropathologist Hannes Vogel featured on cover of the Palo Alto Weekly

A blog fan spotted this while walking his dog down a street in Palo Alto today:

The story about Dr. Vogel can be seen here.

Radiologically suspected meningioma turns out to be WHO grade II Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma

Rosethal fiber in oval. Eosinophilic granular body in rectangle

Rosenthal fibers can be seen in non-neoplastic "compressed" brain tissue. For example, I once saw Rosenthal fibers in the spinal cord adjacent to an epidural abscess.

An inquiry from Dr. Mike Lawlor

Dr. Mike Lawlor (Medical College of Wisconsin)

Hi Everyone,

The time has come for me to pursue re-certification from the American Board of Pathology, and my test period is in March.  As I’ve become a bit super-specialized in a single area, I feel that I’ll likely need to brush up on some topics in order to continue to be considered a neuropathologist.  I haven’t kept up very well with the range and type of educational resources available to neuropathologists for test preparation, and I could use some advice.  Does anyone have advice on educational materials appropriate for ABP re-certification in neuropathology?  I’m sure that others taking the exam this year would also read your comments with interest.

Thanks again,

-Mike Lawlor

AANP 94th Annual Meeting Highlights on YouTube

Check out this three and a half minute video on last year's annual meeting of the American Association of Neuropathologists!

Escourolle and Poirier's Manual of Basic Neuropathology, sixth edition, is now available

The newest (2019) edition of this classic is now available!

The new WHO Ocular Tumour “Blue Book” is now available!

Prepared by 64 contributors from 22 countries

More than 400 tables and color photos 

The new edition of the WHO Classification of Tumours of the Eye is now on sale, just in time for Christmas! The latest edition is edited by Drs. Hans E. Grossniklaus, Charles Eberhart, and Tero Kivela. There are sections on all recognized neoplasms of the eye, lacrimal apparatus, and conjuctiva. Included are substantial changes to the classification of conjunctival neoplasia and melanoma, based on the latest molecular studies.  Information on clinical features in addition to prognostic and predictive factors for each tumour type are provided. Also included are updates to the existing ICD-O codes and new codes for use in epidemiology and cancer registration.

Chapters are as follows:

1. Conjunctiva and caruncle

2. Iris, ciliary body, and choroid

3. Retina and retinal pigment epithelium

4. Optic disc and optic nerve

5. Lacrimal gland

6. Lacrimal drainage system

Creating a Google Earth of the Brain

A recent New York Times article describes a $50 million project by more than a dozen research centers aiming to create a sort of Google Earth of the brain. In a series of 11 papers, published in Science and related journals, a consortium of researchers has produced the most richly detailed model of the brain’s genetic landscape to date, one that incorporates not only genes but also gene regulators, cellular data and developmental information across the human life span.

The PsychENCODE Consortium, initiated in 2015 and financed by the National Institute of Mental Health, involves more than a dozen research centers and scores of specialists in cell biology, genetics and bioinformatics. It is an all-hands, brute-force effort, coordinating top brain banks and brain scientists at major research centers, led by Yale, Mount Sinai, UCLA, and UCSF.

Dr. Matthew State, chair of the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and a co-author on two of the papers, said: “Essentially what these papers do is lay out cellular and molecular landscape at a resolution that’s never existed before. I see it as foundational work, and an investment that will pay off in giving us a far richer context to develop new hypotheses and study these disorders.”

Best Post of November 2018: The exquisite cellular uniformity of the central neurocytoma

The next in our "Best of the Month" series is from November 20, 2018:

Intraoperative ThinPrep smear demonstrates the striking cellular uniformity

Permanent section of the same tumor