Moyamoya: an uncommon variant of stroke in children

Moyamoya is a rare cause of stroke in children. It is an infrequent cerebrovascular disorder of unknown etiology. We are reporting a case of a 7-year-old girl who presented with an acute history of left-sided weakness. On imaging she was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. CT Angiogram revealed an occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery typical of Moyamoya disease. The child improved with conservative therapy

Chronic idiopathic urticaria; suggested/hypothetical role of elevated serum TSH in pathogenesis of chronic idiopathic urticaria

Urticaria is a condition in which itchy red bumps or wheals appear on the skin unexpectedly. There are two main types ,acute condition which last for up to six weeks while chronic idiopathic urticaria [CIU] last for more than six weeks. There are multiple factors in causation of chronic idiopathic urticaria [CIU] and therefore association with elevated thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH] was evaluated in this study. Prospective case control. Department of Physiology Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi. December 2004 to January 2006. A total number of ninety subjects/patients were enrolled. They were divided in three groups having 30 subjects/ patients in each group. Group A consist of diagnosed cases of chronic urticaria. Group B consist of diagnosed cases of hypothyroidism and group C consist of age and sex matched healthy subjects. In all selected patients/subjects, serum antithyroid autoantibodies and thyroid profile [serum TSH, T3 and T4], complete blood count, IgE levels, ESR were done. All patients were selected from dermatology and medical units of civil hospital, Agha Khan Hospital, JPMC and community health clinics in Karachi. Out of 90 patients, 47[78%] were found to have chronic urticaria compared to control. Out of 47 patients, serum TSH [thyroid stimulating hormone] was found to be elevated in 20[42.6%] patients with or without hypothyroidism compared to control group.[P <0.001] Statistically significant association was found between elevated serum TSH and chronic urticaria symptoms

Therapeutic effect of carnitine on atorvastatin induced mechanical myotoxicity of gastrocnemius muscles of rats

To Study Therapeutic Effect of Carnitine on Atorvastatin-induced Mechanical Myotoxicity of Gastrocnemius Muscles of Rats. Observational study. This study was conducted at Department of Physiology, University of Karachi, from 21[st] January 2012 to 30[th] December 2013. Present study showed that effect of statin on mechanical properties of gastrocnemius muscle of rats and use of carnitine as prevention of statin induced myopathies. Animals were injected statin for 6 weeks in one group and carnitine to another group along with statin to study the possible therapeutic effect. After treatment period, animals were decapitated and gastrocnemius muscles were isolated. Twitch and tetanus of muscles were recorded in each group. Our results showed that treatment of statin reduced the body weight of animals and increased the resting length [106%] of isolated gastrocnemius muscles. We also observed that force of contraction of both twitch and tetanus in statin treated group were significantly reduced [P>0.0001]. This negative effect of statin on twitch and tetanus parameters of muscle was partially decreased by an additive treatment of carnitine. Thus, carnitine plays a vital role in improving muscle contractile ability caused by statins. Our study demonstrated the potential preventive measure of atorvastatin-induced myopathy using carnitine and its impacts on mechanical function of muscles

Pulmonary infections caused by nocardia species in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases

Pulmonary Nocardiosis [PN] is a severe and infrequent infection caused by Nocardia species, pathogen that can behave both as opportunistic as well as infectious with a high morbidity and mortality that mainly affects immunocompromised patients. In recent years, an increase in PN cases has been detected among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]. The factors that are associated with its presence and determinants of its prognosis remain unknown. The aim of this study is to identify the frequency of nocardia in bronco alveolar lavage fluid [BALF] of patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Analyze the bronco alveolar lavage fluid [BALF] of patients suffering from COPD for presence of nocardia and determination of differential leukocyte count. Prospective study. This study was conducted at Tertiary Care Hospitals in Karachi from March 2012 till October 2012. It is a prospective study of COPD patients. The study comprises of 140 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with or without treatment. All patients were divided in two groups A and B according to gender, and each group was further divided according to age i.e. above 40 years and below 40 years. Out of 140 patients 68 turned out to be positive for Nocardia. Nocardiosis is considered to be uncommon in Pakistan, but out study suggests that prevalence of Nocardial infections in patients suffering from COPD is quite high and cases are not restricted to the classical immunocompromised host

Absenteeism in school going children in Rehri Goth, Landhi town, Karachi

School absentism is becoming a common problem in different countries of the world. It is known to be the indicator of school drop outs and ensuing problem in later life. The causes however, are variable in different populations of the world. The aim of this study was to assess causes of absenteeism in school children in local population of Karachi. To find out absenteeism in school going children in Rehri Goth, Karachi. This cross sectional study was conducted in Landhi town. Systemic random sampling was adopted and males were inter-viewed for data. It was found that only half of the school age children were going to school. The major reason found to be responsible for absenteeism from school was Poverty