Pheochromocytoma with hypertensive crisis due to glucocorticoid administration: a case report and review of the literature.

We report a patient who presented with single episode of severe hypertension after intramuscular injection of betamethasone which was given to treat acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. Episode of severe arterial hypertension was associated with pulmonary edema, acute renal failure and hyperkalemia. Further evaluation by appropriate diagnostic tests revealed that the patient is a case of phaechoromocytoma. This neoplasm was excised successfully and the patient is presently asymptomatic.We believe that this episode was initiated by glucocorticoid injection.

Antineoplastic Activity of N-salicylideneglycinato-di-aquanickel (II) Complex against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) Cells in Mice

In order to find out compounds having antineoplastic activities N-salicylideneglycinato-diaquanickel (II) complex was synthesized and characterized. The antitumour activity was studied against Ehrlich Ascite Carcinoma (EAC) cells in Swiss Albino mice by monitoring the parameters like tumour weight measurement; survival time of tumour bearing mice; tumour cell growth inhibition etc. Some haematological parameters such as RBC; WBC; Hb; differencial counts (lymphocytes; neutrophill; monocytes); alkaline phosphatase activity etc. were also measured. The results showed that Ni(II) complex has positive effect against EAC cells. This assessment was done by comparing the results with those obtained with the standard drug bleomycin. The compound can be considered as an effective anticancer agent

Clinical and etiological profile of hyperprolactinemia--data from a tertiary care centre.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical presentation and etiology of hyperprolactinemia, a common disorder encountered in endocrine practice. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical data, hormone profile and imaging reports of 187 females with documented hyperprolactinemia, over a period of 6 years (5 years retrospective analysis and one year prospective study). RESULTS: Majority of the 187 subjects studied presented in 3rd or 4th decade. Galactorrhoea was the commonest presenting symptom occurring in 159 subjects (85%), followed by amenorrhea in 68.9%; both amenorrhea and galactorrhea were seen in 45.4%. A microprolactinoma was demonstrated in 67 patients (35.8%), a nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma with stalk hyperprolactinemia occurred in 30 patients (16%) and polycystic ovarian disease was documented in 24 (12.8%). In 52 patients (27.8%) no apparent cause could be ascertained. CONCLUSIONS: Syndrome of amenorrhea and/or galactorrhea is the commonest presentation in hyperprolactinemia. Microprolactinoma was the most frequent identifiable etiology followed by idiopathic and stalk hyperprolactinemia in our series.

Prevalence and pattern of sick euthyroid syndrome in acute and chronic non-thyroidal illness--its relationship with severity and outcome of the disorder.

BACKGROUND: Non-thyroidal illness is a common cause of alterations in thyroid hormone economy in absence of underlying intrinsic thyroid disorder. OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence and pattern of alterations in thyroid hormone economy in various non-thyroidal illnesses in our region and also to correlate these alterations with the severity and outcome of the non-thyroidal illness. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed circulating T3, T4, TSH in 382 patients with non-thyroidal illness (285 acute and 97 acute on chronic) and correlated the alterations with severity and outcome of the non-thyroidal disorder. The patients had one or more organ failure at the time of enrollment to the study. The hormones were estimated at the onset of sickness, and at 3rd and 24th week. T3, T4 and TSH in 75 age and sex matched euthyroid subjects were taken as controls. RESULTS: T3 (mean +/- SEM) was significantly reduced at the onset of illness, in both acute and chronic patient groups (1.61 +/- 0.05 nmol/l) compared to that in the controls (3.17 +/- 0.06 nmol/l). In spite of clinical improvement in most instances, T3 continued to remain low in the 3rd week (1.49 +/- 0.11 nmol/ l) but increased (2.14 +/- 0.09 nmol/l) in 24th week. Low T3 was found in 93 (32.6%) cases with acute illness in 20 (20.6%) cases with chronic illness. A combination of low T3 and T4 was found in 35 (12.3%) of cases with acute and 15 (15.5%) with chronic illness. Although serum TSH showed noticeable fall and rise in some individuals, no significant difference in mean TSH was observed during any period of illness compared to that in the controls. Severity of illness correlated with decrease in T3 (r=0.58) and T4 (r=0.38). A low T3 and T4 with low or undetectable TSH were associated with increased mortality. At the onset of acute illness low T3 was seen in 113 (29.6%, low T3 -low T4 in 50 (13.1%), high T4 in 28 (7.3%) lowT3-lowT4- low TSH in 10 (2.6%) and low T4 alone in 4 (1%) patients. Fifty one 1 (13.4%) of our patients demonstrated alterations in TSH in presence of normal T3 and T4-26 patients had decreased TSH while as 25 had increased TSH. Of 118 patients who followed at 24 weeks, 11 (9.3%) had low T3, 7(5.9%) had low T3- low T4 and 13 (11%) had elevated TSH. CONCLUSION: Pattern and prevalence of sick euthyroid syndrome in this part of the world, a recognized iodine deficient region, appears to be similar to that reported elsewhere. Important finding in our study was higher percentage of TSH elevation, which we believe to reflect the underlying iodine deficiency state of our community. Besides a significant number of subjects persisted with alterations in thyroid functions even after 6 months of therapy. Though the severity of thyroid hormone derangement correlated with severity of sickness, the derangement was similar in acute vs. acute on chronic nonthyroidal illnesses.

A critical evaluation of signs and symptoms in the diagnosis of Addison's diseases.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the usefulness of clinical symptoms and signs in the diagnosis of Addison's disease. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective, hospital based study from analysis of case records of over 12 years period (1988-1999). Individual or groups of signs and symptoms in 66 patients of confirmed Addison's diseases were compared with 76 subjects with normal ACTH stimulation test, when clinical presentations were similar. RESULTS: Age spectrum of the two groups was similar. Signs and symptoms like weakness, weight loss, gastro-intestinal disturbances, skin/mucosal pigmentation and blood pressure were not statistically different between the two groups. Similarly blood glucose, sodium and potassium were not different between the two groups. Combination of three or more symptoms/signs had a high predictive value of diagnosing the disease than any individual or a combination of < 3 signs/symptoms (P=0.033). CONCLUSIONS: Combination of skin and mucosal pigmentation with gut disturbances and weight loss carried high predictive value in diagnosis of Addison's disease, while individual sign and symptom has poor differentiating value.

Pregnancy in premature ovarian failure: a possible role of estrogen plus progesterone treatment.

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a common occurrence in women during their reproductive years. There is paucity of data on spontaneous ovulation and subsequent pregnancies in such women. In this report, we describe three women with POF, two of whom had spontaneous conceptions and the third resumed spontaneous regular menstrual cycles. All these women had received oestrogen-progesterone tablets for many cycles (ethyl oestradiol 0.05 mg and levonorgestrel 0.25 mg a day, 21 days a month). We speculate about the possibility of elevated gonadotrophins causing down regulation of gonadotrophin receptors and restoration of the sensitivity of the few remaining ovarian follicles by lowering of serum gonadotrophins with oestrogen therapy.

Regular ovulatory menstrual cycles in a case of Sheehan's syndrome.

In this report we describe an unusual case of postpartum pituitary necrosis who had clinical and biochemical suggestion of decreased thyrotroph, somatotroph, lactotroph, and corticotroph reserve but continued to have regular ovulatory menstrual cycles.

Spontaneous remission in idiopathic hyperprolactinemia.

In this report we describe a 37 year old lady who was demonstrated to have hyperprolactinemia causing amenorrhea-galactorrhea syndrome. Computerized tomography scan done twice did not reveal any sellar or suprasellar abnormality and there was no clinical or biochemical evidence of primary hypothyroidism. She had regression of galactorrhea, resumed regular menstrual cycles, and conceived twice on bromocriptine therapy. Following her second delivery she noticed spontaneous remission of galactorrhea and, prolactin levels estimated multiple times were normal.

Pre-operative and post-operative evaluation of circulating immune complexes in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.

Circulating immune complexes (CICs) in the sera of patients with histologically proven adenocarcinoma of stomach were sequentially studied. Serial CICs levels, quantitated using a sensitive method F(ab')2 anti-C3 ELISA, were measured before surgery and in a post-operative follow up. CICs could be detected in 85% of the patients pre-operatively, while ten days after surgery positivity decreased to 71%. Thirty days after surgery, the mean CIC levels decreased significantly and positivity fell to 46%. The results indicate that removal of primary tumor mass results in a sharp decline of CIC levels.