Aneurysmal bone cysts are benign bone tumors that most commonly occur in people younger than 30 years. The cysts are most often found in the metaphyses of long bones and rarely affect the skull. We present a 54-year-old woman with a rapidly enlarging mass in the left occipital region that caused tenderness for 2 weeks. Computed tomography (CT) revealed an expansile, osteolytic lesion with characteristic soap-bubble appearance and fluid-fluid levels. Magnetic resonance images showed a dark rim surrounding the lesion, as well as multilocular spaces with fluid-fluid levels. The tumor was soft, fragile, and pulsatile during surgery. The patient was treated with en bloc resection of the tumor with cranioplasty. Follow-up CT 5 months later showed no evidence of recurrence.

Cellular neurothekeoma (CNT) is a benign dermal tumor mainly affecting the head and neck and the upper extremities. It is characterized histologically by interconnecting fascicles of plump spindle or epithelioid cells with ample cytoplasm infiltrating in the reticular dermis. The histogenesis of CNT has been controversial, although it is generally regarded as an immature counterpart of classic/myxoid neurothekeoma, a tumor with nerve sheath differentiation. Two rare cases of CNT containing melanin-laden cells were described. Immunohistochemical study with NKI/C3, vimentin, epithelial membrane antigen, smooth muscle antigen, CD34, factor XIIIa, collagen type IV, S100 protein and HMB-45 was performed. Both cases showed typical growth pattern of CNT with interconnecting fascicles of epithelioid cells infiltrating in collagenous stroma. One of the nodules contained areas exhibiting atypical cytological features. Melanin-laden epithelioid or dendritic cells were diffusely scattered throughout one nodule, and focally present in the peripheral portion of the other nodule. Both nodules were strongly immunoreactive to NKI/C3 and vimentin, but negative to all the other markers employed. CNT harboring melanin-laden cells may pose diagnostic problems because of their close resemblance to nevomelanocytic lesions and other dermal mesenchymal tumors. These peculiar cases may also provide further clues to the histogenesis of CNT.

Metabolic homeostasis balances the production and consumption of energetic molecules to maintain active, healthy cells. Cellular stress, which disrupts metabolism and leads to the loss of cellular homeostasis, is important in age-related diseases. We focus here on the role of organelle dysfunction in age-related diseases, including the roles of energy deficiencies, mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, changes in metabolic flux in aging (e.g., Ca2+ and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), and alterations in the endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites that regulate the trafficking of metabolites. Tools for single-cell resolution of metabolite pools and metabolic flux in animal models of aging and age-related diseases are urgently needed. High-resolution mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) provides a revolutionary approach for capturing the metabolic states of individual cells and cellular interactions without the dissociation of tissues. mass spectrometry imaging can be a powerful tool to elucidate the role of stress-induced cellular dysfunction in aging.

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