Stevens-Johnson syndrome due to carbamazepine.

Two patients with psychotic disorders who developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome while on treatment with carbamazepine is reported due to its rarity. Dermatological side-effects of carbamazepine may be more common in psychiatric as compared to neurological patients.

Development of a computer software for analysis of SDS-PAGE protein fingerprints of bacterial isolates.

Protein fingerprinting is a widely used technique in epidemiological studies for typing bacterial strains. This study reports the development of a computer based gel analysis system. The system has the capability to analyse SDS-PAGE whole-cell protein profiles using digital image processing techniques. The software incorporates spatial and frequency domain operators for image enhancement, support for geometric correction of images and new algorithms for identification of strain tracks and protein bands. The system also provides facilities for correcting imaging defects for inter-gel comparison, similarity analysis, clustering and pictorial representation of results as a dendrogram. The software is highly interactive, user-friendly and can produce accurate results for differentiation of bacterial strains with minimal overhead of time.

Effect of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on growth and proteolytic activity of different muscles in rats.

Fibre and non-fibre components and proteolytic activity of fore- and hindlimb muscles with different fibre composition and functions were examined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. From hindlimb, extensor digitorum longus (EDL), medial gastrocnemius (MG) and soleus (SOL) were selected to represent muscles rich in fast oxidative-glycolytic, fast glycolytic and slow oxidative fibres, respectively. The biceps brachii (BB) and extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL), represented forelimb muscles having similar fibre composition but performing flexor and extensor functions respectively. Among the five muscles studied, all but SOL showed decrease in muscle weight and protein in diabetic rats indicating the atrophy of these muscles. Atrophy was greater in EDL and MG as compared to ECRL and BB. This differential atrophy could be negatively correlated to the percentage of slow oxidative fibres. Despite the loss of fibre mass in diabetic group, elevated fibre protein concentration was observed in BB (flexor) but not in ECRL (extensor). There was a significant reduction in non-fibre protein concentration with markedly enhanced alkaline proteolytic activity in EDL of diabetic rats. Non-protein solid concentration was also increased in EDL and MG. These observations showed that fast muscles are more susceptible to diabetes induced atrophic changes and diabetes affected various muscle components differently in muscles with different fibre composition and functions. Therefore, fibre composition and function of a muscle may be the factors in determining muscle growth in diabetes.

A case cancer control study of reproductive in breast cancer.

The role of reproductive factors, such as, parity, age at menarche, age at first child's birth have been investigated in a hospital based case-control study, for their independent as well as combined influences on the incidence of female breast cancer. The study indicates that except for parity, these factors have no influence on the age at onset of the disease. Parity is positively correlated with age at onset. The patient and the control groups were found to be similar in respect of age at first child's birth and age at menarche, but the patient group was significantly lower both in parity and age at onset of the disease. Both these factors are negatively associated with the incidence of breast cancer. Therefore, preventive action should be focussed on young women with low parity.

Correlation of metal distribution, reduced glutathione and metallothionein levels in liver and kidney of rat.

Effect of group IIB metals on the endogenous status of metallothionein (MT) and reduced glutathione (GSH) was studied in two vital detoxifying organs namely, liver and kidney of rat. The metals were administered at non lethal levels (1/10 LD50) which were found to cause no death. Zinc showed accumulation in both liver and kidney, cadmium preferentially in the liver while mercury in the kidney. Hepatic MT content was increased by 18-fold, 15-fold and 2-fold by cadmium, zinc and mercury respectively while renal MT was increased maximally by zinc. Among the metals, mercury caused highest depletion of hepatic GSH level (51%). The renal GSH showed differential response to the metal treatment, the level increasing slightly by cadmium and depleting significantly by zinc and mercury. A positive correlation was found between group IIB metal accumulation and the manifestation of toxic response.

Eating epilepsy: a study of twenty cases.

Twenty cases of eating epilepsy have been studied over a period of 5 years (1985-1989). Males outnumbered females (4:1). Heavy meal comprising conventional Indian diet (viz, rice, vegetables, etc), was found to be the most important provocating factor (14 out of 20 cases). The attacks occurred at lunch time in most cases (15). Thirteen cases had generalised seizures. Electro-encephalogram showed focal changes in 10 cases, generalised changes in 6 cases, while 4 cases had normal electro-encephalogram. Computerised tomography scan was normal in all the cases (7) when it was done.

Repeated isolation of nocardia like organisms from multibacillary cases of leprosy.

Nocardia like organisms were isolated from all the 22 multibacillary cases of leprosy, on minimal media consisting of only mineral salts and supplemented with simple C-sources (e.g., liquid paraffin, tetradecane etc.) and N-sources (e.g. ammonium salts, urea, asparagine, gelatin etc.). Complex organic substances, e.g., xanthine, tyrosine, casein, peptone, meat extract, egg proteins, serum, blood, yeast extract as well as medium 199, did not support the growth of these organisms at all. Paraffin-urea minimal (PUM), paraffin gelatin minimal (PGM) and gelatin minimal medium, as well as the agar slants of these media, selectively allowed good growth of these organisms on which these could be serially propagated continuously, and isolated as pure cultures; these were acid-fast long slender rods which were seen to arise directly from fragmented or unfragmented long, slender hyphae, forming at places mycelial tufts many of which, on ageing, sporulated abundantly. Their acid-fastness was pyridine susceptible and these were DOPA-Oxidase positive; these grew best under reduced 02 tension, at pH 7.0-8.0 and temperature about 28 degrees C. Serologically, these appeared to be sufficiently related to, each other, 2 nocardiae (N. brasiliensis and N. caviae) and some mycobacteria.

Prothionamide and dapsone therapy in leprosy--a clinical study.

Combined therapy with prothionamide and dapsone was instituted in fifteen active untreated lepromatous leprosy cases for a period of 18 months. Clinical improvement was good with attainment of zero morphological index in about 66% cases. Bacteriological improvement was rather unsatisfactory as one case only reached zero level. Side effects were observed in few cases necessitating withdrawal of combined therapy and patients' prothionamide compliance was rather unimpressive.

Evaluation of multidrug therapy with rifampicin, clofazimine and D.D.S. in multibacillary leprosy cases.

Rifampicin, Clofazimine and D.D.S. have been tried in fifteen active untreated lepromatous cases for a period of two years. Compared to dapsone monotherapy remarkable clinical and bacteriological improvement was observed with this combined therapy with attainment of negative BI in ten cases. Use of this combination therapy is thus advocated to achieve noninfectivity in a shorter period and to prevent emergence of dapsone resistance thereby causing the path of leprosy control before it becomes unmanageable due to dapsone resistance.