ABSTRACT
We report an 8 month-old infant with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAME) due to Naegleria fowleri. The child was treated with amphotericin B, chloramphenicol and rifampicin for 3 weeks. PAME is an almost universally fatal condition with very few survivors till date. Our patient was one of the rare survivors who recovered after treatment and was discharged without any residual neurological deficit.
Subject(s)
Amphotericin B/therapeutic use , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Antibiotics, Antitubercular/therapeutic use , Chloramphenicol/therapeutic use , Humans , Infant , Male , Meningoencephalitis/diagnosis , Naegleria fowleri/isolation & purification , Protein Synthesis Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Rifampin/therapeutic useSubject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Bacteremia/diagnosis , Chromobacterium/isolation & purification , Fatal Outcome , Gentamicins/therapeutic use , Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/diagnosis , Hospitals, Public , Humans , Infant , Male , Protein Synthesis Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Sri Lanka , Thienamycins/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Orbital rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common orbital malignancy of childhood with the common presentation of rapidly evolving unilateral proptosis. We studied six patients who were diagnosed and treated for rhabdomyosarcoma between January 1999 and June 2004. The age of the patients ranged from 4 to 29 years. Four patients presented with acute onset proptosis associated with signs of inflammation, mimicking orbital cellulitis. One patient presented with lid mass. Another patient presented with a soft, blind eye that was pushed superotemporally by a large inflammed, vascularised mass. Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma was the commonest histopathological type in our series found in five patients. One patient was completely cured with chemotherapy alone whereas two patients were treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Three patients in our series required exenteration.
Subject(s)
Adult , Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating/therapeutic use , Child , Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use , Dactinomycin/therapeutic use , Female , Humans , Male , Orbital Neoplasms/diagnosis , Protein Synthesis Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Radiotherapy , Retrospective Studies , Rhabdomyosarcoma/diagnosisABSTRACT
We have previously shown that cycloheximide significantly inhibited apoptosis, and reduced ensuing cerebral infarction in a newborn rat model of cerebral hypoxiaischemia. This study was performed to determine the therapeutic window for cycloheximide therapy. Seven day-old newborn rat pups were subjected to 100 min of 8% oxygen following a unilateral carotid artery ligation, and cycloheximide was given at 0, 6, 12 and 24 hr after hypoxia-ischemia (HI). Apoptosis or necrosis was identified by performing flow cytometry with a combination of fluorescinated annexin V and propidium iodide, and the extent of cerebral infarction was evaluated with triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) at 48 hr and 72 hr after HI, respectively. With cycloheximide treatment at 0 hr after HI, both apoptotic and necrotic cells by flow cytometry were significantly reduced, only necrotic cells were significantly reduced at 6 and 12 hr, and no protective effect was seen if administration was delayed until 24 hr after HI compared to the HI control group. Infarct volume, measured by TTC, was significantly reduced by 92% and 61% when cycloheximide was given at 0 or 6 hr after HI respectively; however, there was an insignificant trend in infarct reduction if cycloheximide was administered 12 hr after HI, and no protective effect was observed when administration was delayed until 24 hr after HI. In summary, cycloheximide was neuroprotective when given within 6 hr after HI in the developing newborn rat brain.