Assessment of interleukin 15 [il-15] gene polymorphism in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

From its beginnings two decades ago with the analysis of chromosomal translocation break points, research into the molecular pathogenesis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL] has now progressed to the large scale sequencing of candidate genes that might be linked to the pathogenesis of leukemia. Interleukon-15 [IL-15] gene has gained the interest of many oncologist with five single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs] proved to be associated with childhood ALL. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between IL-15 gene polymorphisms and the risk for adult ALL and whether these polymorphisms are related to the immunophenotype of the disease. This study included 60 subjects classified into 2 groups: 30 patients with adult ALL [ALL group] and 30 healthy subjects of matched age and sex as control group. All subjects were genotyped for rs 10519613 and rs35964658 polymorphisms of IL-15 gene using PCR-RFLP technique.Results revealed that there was no statistical difference between ALL group and control group regarding the distribution of the genotypes of both for rs 10519613 and rs35964658 polymorphisms however there was 2.1 fold increased risk for ALL in C-allele carriers of rs 10519613 polymorphism [OR:2.1 95% CI: 0.45 - 9.84]. Concerning immunophenotype of the disease, there was no statistical difference between B-cell type and T-cell type regarding the distribution of the genotypes of the two polymorphisms, however there is 1.2 fold increased risk for B-cell type in G-allele carriers of rs35964658 polymorphism [OR: 1.2 95% CI: 0.07 - 19.63]. It wasconcluded that there was no association between both rs 10519613 and rs35964658 polymorphisms and neither the risk of ALL nor the immune-phenotype of the disease

Patella dislocation association with drop foot

All limb injuries should be examined with complete documentation of neurovascular assessment as they are often ignored in the busy emergency department setup. This may lead to delay in such diagnosis during the treatment of limb injuries at a follow-up in orthopaedic clinics. Early diagnosis can help orthopaedic team to investigate and start treatment which may help in the recovery of such neurovascular injuries. We report a case of missed neurovascular assessment in the emergency department on a patellar dislocation of a young person leading to foot drop and sensory numbness in the deep peroneal nerve distribution, which improved completely within three and a half months with conservative treatment. This is also the first reported case of foot drop in association with patellar dislocation

Visual outcome and complications of phacoemulsification catract surgery performed by residents at al ibrahim eye hospital, karachi

To describe visual outcome and the complications related to cataract surgery performed by phacoemulsification technique by fourth-year ophthalmology residents at Al-ibrahim eye hospital, Karachi, who are trained to perform phacoemulsification with prior experience with manual extracapsular extraction. Prospective, observational case series. We prospectively analyzed the incidence of complications and visual outcomes in the initial 575 phacoemulsifications [575 patients] performed by the 5 residents learning phacoemulsification in our training programe. All were experienced in standard [manual] extra capsular cataract extraction. Postoperative follow up of 6 weeks was available in 547 eyes. The 28 patients [28 eyes] lost to follow up did not have any intra-operative complications. Of 575 cataract surgeries, 559 eyes [97.2%] were performed using phacoemulsification technique. Posterior capsule disruption without vitreous loss occurred in 16 [2.8%], vitreous loss in 15 [2.6%] and IOL displaced into vitreous in 4 [0.7%] of 559 cases that underwent phacoemulsification technique. Other complications encountered in-Cluded localized corneal edema [23 eyes], iris damage interiorly [1 eye] and clinical cystoid macular edema [1 eyes]. A best corrected visual acuity of 6/ 12 or better was obtained in 521 eyes [95.2%] of the 547 eyes available for the six week follow up. In the eyes with vitreous loss, 10 out of 15 had visual acuity better than 6/12. The residents can perform phacoemulsification well with a very low complication rate, with prior training with extra capsular cataract extraction technique

incidence of HCV infection among type-II diabetic patients, is there an association?

To study the relationship between diabetes mellitus [DM] and hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection, this study included: 200 diabetic patients of type 2 and 185 apparently healthy blood donors as their controls. It included also 50 diabetic patients of type 1 and 42 blood donors as their controls. All patients and their controls were age and sex matched. Patients were attendants of Diabetic Out-Patients Clinic, Faculty of Medicine Menoufiya University. Fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, glycosylated haemoglobin [Hb Al[c]], kidney function tests, liver function tests, viral hepatitis markers [hepatitis B surface antigen, HBs Ag and anti-HCV antibodies] were performed for all studied subjects. All anti-HCV positive cases were evaluated for HCV viraemia by RT-PCR for HCV-RNA. On comparing results of type 2 diabetic patients with their controls, results revealed a significant high prevalence of anti-HCV seropositivity in patients group as 67 out of 200 patients [33.5%] were anti-HCV seropositive vs. 32/185 [17.3%] in their controls [p<0.01]. It was found that 55/67 [82.1%] of anti-HCV positive cases were also HCV-RNA positive. HBs Ag seropositivity was significantly higher among type 2 DM [15.5% of 200 patients vs. 4.3% of 185 controls, p<0.01]. Statistically significant differences [p<0.01] in the levels of ALT and AST were observed between HCV-seropositive and HCV-seronegative patients with type 2 DM. Blood urea and serum creatinine showed significant elevated values [p<0.01] among type 2 diabetic patients. No significant correlation was observed between HCV-seropositivity and glycaemic control [Hb Alc]. In type 1 DM there was a significant high prevalence of anti-HCV seropositivity [42% of 50 patients vs. 19.04% of 42 controls, p<0.01]. It could be concluded that both HBV and HCV infections are equally frequent in diabetes; therefore, diabetes mellitus is considered as an important risk factor for acquiring chronic liver disease. These findings, although suggestive, don't establish a cause and effect relationship and are not consistent with the conjecture that diabetes leads to HCV infection, but instead favor hypothesis suggesting that persistent HCV infection is associated with the subsequent development of diabetes