Risk Factors of Breast Cancer Among Women – A Cross-Sectional Study in Selected Slums of Bhubaneswar City, India

Background: Breast carcinoma is the most commonly diagnosed cancer (27·7%) and the leading cause of death (23·5%) among women in India as per GLOBOCAN 2018. There is considerable evidence that breast cancer risk is related to certain modifiable and nonmodifiable lifestyle factors. Thus, this study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of risk factors of breast cancer in women of age group 18-70 years in selected urban slums.Methodology: This community based cross sectional study was conducted in selected 13 urban slums of Bhubaneswar which comes under the field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, Bhuba-neswar, IMS and SUM Hospital Bhubaneswar, Odisha from September 2018 to October 2020. Data were entered to an excel sheet and SPSS software version 20 was used for analysis. Results: Among the total population of 300, the mean age of the study subjects was 42 + 12 years rang-ing from 20 to 69 years. Married women in the study were 95.3%. Including both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors, 57% of the participants were having risk factors of breast cancer. Conclusion: Women need to be aware of both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for breast can-cer to adopt appropriate practices for prevention of Breast cancer.

Synchronous occurrence of anaplastic, follicular and papillary carcinomas with follicular adenoma in thyroid gland.

Various combinations of thyroid carcinomas have been reported including those between different cancers of follicular cell origin and those between follicular and C-cell histogenesis. Accordingly, anaplastic carcinomas have been seen to coincide with simultaneous papillary and follicular cancers. We report a case of composite anaplastic and papillary cancer on one thyroid lobe with a follicular carcinoma in the other lobe in a female patient aged 64 years. The patient also had a separate and independent follicular adenoma in the same lobe as the composite anaplastic and papillary carcinoma. The papillary carcinoma was continuous with the anaplastic carcinoma. The findings were supported by immunohistochemistry. The patient was managed by a total thyroidectomy with bilateral modified radical neck dissection followed by chemotherapy. However, she died two months after surgery. The common follicular cell origin will explain the concurrent presence of all these cancers. This could result from the dedifferentiation of a pre-existing differentiated carcinoma.

Alteration of brain monoamines & EEG wave pattern in rat model of Alzheimer's disease & protection by Moringa oleifera.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The monoaminergic systems which exert a modulatory role in memory processing, are disturbed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Moringa oleifera (MO) has been shown to exert its effect in CNS by altering the brain monoamines. The present study aims to see whether chronic oral treatment of ethanolic extract of MO leaves can alter the brain monoamines (norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin) in distinct areas of brain in rat model of AD caused by intracerebroverticle (ICV) infusion of colchicine and hence can provide protection against monoaminergic deficits associated with AD. METHODS: Rats were given ICV infusion of colchicine (15 microg/5microl) and MO leaf alcoholic extract was given in various doses. The effective dose was standardized by radial arm maze (RAM) training. From the selected dose of 250 mg/kg body weight, the biochemical estimations and EEG studies were performed. RESULTS: Stereotaxic ICV infusion of colchicine significantly impaired the RAM performance together with decrease in norepinephrine (NE) level in cerebral cortex (CC), hippocampus (HC) and caudate nucleus (CN). Dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) levels were decreased in CC, HC and CN. The EEG studies showed a decrease in beta and alpha waves and increase in biphasic spike wave pattern in experimental Alzheimer rat model. Treatment with MO extract markedly increased the number of correct choices in a RAM task with variable alteration of brain monoamines. The EEG studies showed an increase in beta waves and a decrease in spike wave discharges. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Our results showed that brain monoamines were altered discreetly in different brain areas after colchicine infusion in brain. After treatment with MO, leaf extract the monoamine levels of brain regions were restored to near control levels. Our findings indicated that MO might have a role in providing protection against AD in rat model by altering brain menoamine levels and electrical activity.

Castlemans disease in HIV infected patient from eastern India.

Castlemans disease is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder. We report a patient of Castlemans disease with advanced HIV infection who responded well to conventional HAART. This case is interesting because of the rarity of the disease in the eastern part of India and its good out come with antiretroviral therapy.

Squatting, blood pressure and stroke.

Most Indians still adopt squatting posture in toilets. In a group of 67 healthy volunteers, squatting produced a small (8.09 +/- 7.04 mm Hg) but significant rise in systolic blood pressure (SBP) but not in diastolic (DBP). However, in a group of randomly selected treated hypertensives (N=104) squatting produced a much greater and significant rise in both SBP (14.46 +/- 11.63 mm Hg) and DBP (9.10 +/- 9.19 mm Hg). The possible clinical significance of this rise of BP in squatting has been evaluated in 100 consecutive CT proved patients with stroke by analysing their stroke onset data in relation to time, place, posture and activity. Most strokes (52%) occurred in the morning hours (5 am-9 am) and at home (86%) and over a third (36%) while in toilets. Thirty six percent of strokes occurred when the subjects squatted, mostly during defecation. More than half of hemorrhagic strokes occurred in the squatting position. The relationship of these clinical observations with the BP changes noted above on squatting appears to be more than fortuitous. We would suggest that hypertensive subjects and those at risk of stroke should avoid squatting and urge physicians to check squatting BP while monitoring anti-hypertensive therapy.