Comparison of Immunoprotection of Leptospira Recombinant Proteins with conventional vaccine in experimental animals.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira affecting humans and animals. Untreated leptospirosis may result in severe kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death. Virulent leptospirosis can rapidly enter kidney fibroblasts and induce a programmed cell death. Thus, it is a challenge for immunologists to develop an effective and safe leptospirosis vaccine.Here, we compared the commercial canine leptospira vaccine and recombinant proteins (OmpL1 and LipL41) with and without adjuvant in terms of immune response and challenge studies in hamsters and immune response studies alone in experimental dogs. The outer membrane proteins viz., lipL41 and OmpL1 of leptospira interrogans serovars icterohaemorrhagiae were amplified. The primers were designed in such a way that amplified products of OmpL1 and lipL41 were ligated and cloned simultaneously into a single vector. The cloned products were expressed in E.coli BL21 cells. The immunoprotection studies were conducted for both recombinant proteins and commercial vaccine. The challenge experiment studies revealed that combination of both rLip41 and rOmpL1 and commercial vaccine gave 83% and 87% protection, respectively. Histopathological investigation revealed mild sub lethal changes were noticed in liver and kidney in commercially vaccinated group alone. The immune responses against recombinant leptospiral proteins were also demonstrated in dogs.

Oral Myiasis: Case report.

Oral myiasis is a rare disease caused by larvae of dipteran flies. Houseflies are strongly suspected of transmitting at least 65 diseases to humans, including typhoid fever, dysentery and cholera. Flies regurgitate and excrete wherever they come to rest and thereby mechanically are the root cause for disease organisms. A case of oral myiasis caused by Chrysomya bezziana in the maxillary anterior region in a 40‑year‑old patient is presented. Manual removal of maggots, and surgical debridement of wound was done followed by broad‑spectrum anti‑parasitic medications. A note on the identification of the larva and histopathology of the tissue is also highlighted here.

Zosteriform cutaneous metastases: A case report and brief review of literature.

A 56-year-old woman presented with painful erythematous, papulo-nodular lesions on the left side of the trunk in a dermatomal distribution of two-weeks duration. She had earlier undergone surgery for breast carcinoma and was receiving palliative chemo-radiotherapy, when seen by us. A diagnosis of zosteriform cutaneous metastases was made and biopsy was done from the representative lesion which showed chords and sheets of malignant cells. Majority of these cases in the past have been misdiagnosed as herpes zoster and were treated with antiviral drugs. Metastatic diseases should be considered in the differential diagnosis of zosteriform rash in elderly.

Persistent nodular contact dermatitis to gold: Case report of two cases.

Metallic gold has long been regarded as a relatively safe and inert material when in contact with the skin and mucosal membranes, with only sporadic reports of allergic contact dermatitis. We report two cases, where persistent nodules developed at sites of gold piercing with gold jewelry with positive patch test reactions to gold.

Giant granular cell tumor of the vulva.

A 55-year-old lady presented with a large skin colored growth on her vulva since the age of 15 years, which gradually increased to the present state, with the development of a new lesion on her left thigh. There were no systemic symptoms. Biopsy followed by immunohistochemistry showed features consistent with a granular cell tumor.

Chronic idiopathic urticaria: comparison of clinical features with positive autologous serum skin test.

BACKGROUND: Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), in its extremely severe form, can pose a therapeutic challenge to the treating physician. It has been noted that in one third of such patients, autoantibodies against the IgE receptor are seen and such patients have more severe and unremitting urticaria. AIM: To compare clinical features of autoimmune urticaria with those of other CIU patients. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study in an attempt to correlate the clinical features with autoantibodies, indirectly detected via the autologous serum skin test (ASST), which is the simplest and the best in vivo clinical test for detection of basophil histamine-releasing activity. DISCUSSION: Out of 100 patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria, 34 showed a positive reaction to the autologous serum skin test and it was found that the frequency and severity of attacks was higher in these patients. CONCLUSION: ASST may be used as a simple and cost-effective test for the classification of chronic urticaria, which has proven to be a therapeutic challenge to the treating physician.

Nasal NK/T cell lymphoma presenting as a lethal midline granuloma.

Nasal NK/T cell lymphomas are aggressive, locally destructive, midfacial, necrotizing lesions. The nonspecific clinical symptoms constitute a major stumbling block in the early diagnosis and management of these lymphomas. We report here a case of probable nasal NK/T cell lymphoma in an apparently healthy male that progressed rapidly in a short span of time and was managed subsequently with chemotherapy and external beam irradiation with which the lesion regressed.