Histoplasma capsulatum in adrenal gland aspirate--a case report.

We report a case of disseminated histoplasmosis in a 60-year-old non-immunocompromised patient who presented to us with fever and hepatosplenomegaly. Sonographic & CT examination of the abdomen showed bilateral adrenal masses. Cytological examination of the aspirated material from the mass showed yeast forms of H. capsulatum.

Choice of cooking oils--myths and realities.

In contrast to earlier epidemiologic studies showing a low prevalence of atherosclerotic heart disease (AHD) and type-2 dependent diabetes mellitus (Type-2 DM) in the Indian subcontinent, over the recent years, there has been an alarming increase in the prevalence of these diseases in Indians--both abroad and at home, attributable to increased dietary fat intake. Replacing the traditional cooking fats condemned to be atherogenic, with refined vegetable oils promoted as "heart-friendly" because of their polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content, unfortunately, has not been able to curtail this trend. Current data on dietary fats indicate that it is not just the presence of PUFA but the type of PUFA that is important--a high PUFA n-6 content and high n-6/n-3 ratio in dietary fats being atherogenic and diabetogenic. The newer "heart-friendly" oils like sunflower or safflower oils possess this undesirable PUFA content and there are numerous research data now available to indicate that the sole use or excess intake of these newer vegetable oils are actually detrimental to health and switching to a combination of different types of fats including the traditional cooking fats like ghee, coconut oil and mustard oil would actually reduce the risk of dyslipidaemias, AHD and Type-2 DM.

ANA-negative SLE presenting with nephritis and oculomotor palsy--a case report.

Most large series of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have revealed a very small group of patients who are persistently antinuclear antibody (ANA) negative with prominent dermatologic involvement but infrequent neurological and renal involvement. We present a very unusual case report of a young female with ANA-negative SLE presenting with lupus nephritis and oculomotor palsy without any dermatologic manifestations.

Epidemiology and clinical presentation of abdominal tuberculosis--a retrospective study.

The epidemiology and clinical presentation of abdominal tuberculosis were studied retrospectively in 298 adult cases admitted in Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi over a 3-year period. These constituted 17% of the total number of admissions for tuberculosis. Age at presentation was variable with maximum cases in 21 to 40-year age group (58% of cases) with a mean age of 32.7 years. There was a slight female preponderance (57%). Sixty-three per cent were residing in urban areas. Pain abdomen, ascites and subacute intestinal obstruction were the commonest modes of presentation (34%, 30%, 28% respectively). Other clinical features included fever (21%), altered bowel habits (19%), weight loss (8%) and lump abdomen (6%). Acute intestinal obstruction and lower gastro-intestinal bleeding were uncommon (5% and 4% respectively). Co-existent pulmonary tuberculosis was seen in 16% cases. Histological evidence was available in 41% cases. Majority improved with conservative management with only 21% requiring surgical intervention. Mortality recorded was 11%.