Solitary Giant Extradural Plasmacytoma.

Solitary plasmacytoma of the skull is very rare, and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. It remains controversial whether solitary plasmacytoma of the skull is essentially identical with solitary plasmacytoma of bone or not. Solitary plasmacytoma of bone including solitary plasmacytoma of the skull is characterized by a radiologically solitary bone lesion, neoplastic plasma cells in the biopsy specimen, fewer than 5% plasma cells in bone marrow, <2.0 g/dl monoclonal protein in the serum when present and negative urine test for Bence Jones protein (monoclonal light chain). We report one case of a 70-year-old woman who referred to our hospital because of a progressive left parietal swelling. On clinical examination, a painless large soft mass in the right parietal region was observed. Computed tomography revealed an extra-axial mass in the in the left frontoparietal region. The lesion was totally excised despite the bleeding tendency. Histology disclosed the presence of a plasmacytoma. On follow-up examination, 7 months later no tumor recurrence or evidence of multiple myeloma was detected.

Rescue Measure in Giant Intracranial Meningioma Resection by Tranexamic Acid.

Neurosurgeons may find themselves in a precarious situation, while unable to secure haemostasis following tumour resection. We report intraoperative use of tranexamic acid to secure complete haemostasis as rescue measure in intracranial meningioma resection in uncontrollable bleeding.

Immunological Subtypes of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia- Beyond Morphology: Experience from Kidwai State Cancer Institute, Bengaluru, India.

INTRODUCTION: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is disease of lymphoid precursors and is the most common cancer. Diagnosis of ALL is made by evaluating morphology and flowcytometric Immunophenotyping (FCI)and is an important adjunct in diagnosis and determining treatment in ALL, with availability of extensive monoclonal antibodies in the recent years there is tremendous progress in the field of FCI, and is a requirement by World Health Organisation for the classification of acute lymphoblastic Leukemia. Flow cytometric immunophenotyping of the leukemic blasts helps in categorization of acute lymphoblastic leukemia as B-ALL or T-ALL. Though ALL is the most common cancer, there is paucity of study in Indian scenario, and very few reports of immunologically subtyping of ALL is reported. AIM: To confirm the clinical/morphological diagnosis and to determine immunological subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia as per requirement by World Health Organization for the classification of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: At Kidwai State Cancer institute, Bangalore, we have performed of Immunophenotyping in 1425 untreated cases of acute leukemias during January 2012 - August 2015. RESULTS: Flow cytometry analysis of 1425 cases of acute Leukemias were performed, 918 (64.42%) were acute lymphoblastic Leukemia, 688 were B-ALL (74.94%), majority(480) of B-ALL were in children (69.76%), 230 were T-ALL (25.05 %), B-ALL was the most common subtype of acute leukemias. CONCLUSIONS: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common leukemia in adults and children. Immunophenotping helps in confirming the clinical/morphological diagnosis and in determining the immunological subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, thus has an important role in deciding on the treatment regime. ALL is the disease of lymphoid precursors and is more common cancer in children than adults. B-ALL was the most common subtype of acute leukemias both in adults and in children. T-ALL is less common in pediatric population. Flowcytometric techniques are used to measure (submicroscopic) minimal residual disease (MRD), and is currently incorporated in many ALL treatment protocols as a tool for risk stratification.

Double Chambered Right Ventricle: A Rare Diagnosis.

A 27 years old female was admitted to our hospital with complaints of swelling of feet and abdomen, pain abdomen and exertional dyspnea from last 1 week. On examination she was found to have congestive heart failure. Chest x-ray revealed mild cardiomegaly with left pleural effusion and electrocardiography showed right axis deviation with right ventricular hypertrophy. By echocardiography she was diagnosed to have double chambered right ventricle without any other congenital heart anomaly. She was started on medical treatment following which she recovered well and she was advised for surgery. This case is unique as usually double chambered right ventricle is associated with other cardiac malformations, common ventricular septal defect, pulmonary stenosis and aortic stenosis but no such association was present in this case.

Anti-cancerous efficacy and pharmacokinetics of 6-mercaptopurine loaded chitosan nanoparticles.

6-Mercaptopurine is a cytotoxic and immunosuppressant drug. The use of this drug is limited due to its poor bioavailability and short plasma half-life. In order to nullify these drawbacks, 6-mercaptopurine-chitosan nanoparticles (6-MP-CNPs) were prepared and evaluated to study the influence of preparation conditions on the physicochemical properties by using DLS, SEM, XRD and FTIR. The in vitro drug release profile at pH 4.8 and 7.4 revealed sustained release patterns for a period of 2 days. The nanoformulations showed enhanced in vitro anti-cancer activities (MTT assay, apoptosis assay, cell cycle arrest and ROS indices) on HT-1080 and MCF-7 cells. In vivo pharmacokinetics profiles of 6-MP-CNPs showed improved bioavailability. Thus, the results of the present study revealed that, the prepared 6-MP-CNPs have a significant role in increasing anti-cancer efficacy, bioavailability and in vivo pharmacokinetics profiles.

A rare case of foreign body causing recurrent vaginal discharge in prepubertal child.

Vaginal discharge in prepubertal children is mainly due to hypoestrogenic state of vaginal mucosa making it thin and alkaline leading to mucosal invasion by pathogen. In a paediatric case with persistent foul smelling , blood stained vaginal discharge not responding to medical therapy, vaginal foreign body should always be ruled out. Here, we report a 3 -year -old girl with complaint of recurrent vaginal discharge occasionally blood stained not relieved despite few antibiotics courses. On X -ray pelvis, a radioopaque foreign body hair clip was seen. Under sedation foreign body was removed by forceps following which child became asymptomatic.

Development of bioconjugate from Streptomyces tyrosinase and gold nanoparticles for rapid detection of phenol constituents.

Most of the phenol compounds are toxic and have been considered as hazardous pollutants. Several physicochemical and biological methods are available to detect and monitor the phenol pollutants in water and soil. In the present study, phenol constituents of winery, paper and plastic industrial effluents were successfully detected employing tyrosinase-gold nanoparticles bioconjugate. The synthesis of extracellular tyrosinase and gold nanoparticles was achieved by a single isolate of Streptomyces sp. DBZ-39. Enhanced production (369.41 IU) of tyrosinase was produced in submerged bioprocess employing response surface method with central composite design. Extracellular gold nanoparticles synthesized (12-18 nm) by Streptomyces sp. DBZ-39 were characterized with TEM, EDAX and FTIR analysis. A rapid detection (within 10 min) of phenol constituents from winery effluents was achieved by bioconjugate, when compared to tyrosinases and gold nanoparticles independently. Streptomyces tyrosinase could exhibit relatively a better performance than commercially available mushroom tyrosinase in the detection of phenol constituents. Winery effluent has shown much higher content (0.98 O.D) of phenol constituents than paper and plastic effluents based on the intensity of color and U.V absorption spectra.

Anti-osteoporotic activity of aqueous-methanol extract of Berberis aristata in ovariectomized rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Traditionally Berberis aristata is employed for its supposed properties in treatment of joint pain and also used in alleviating symptoms of menopause. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the antiosteoporotic effect of Berberis aristata in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into sham and OVX groups. The OVX rats were further divided into four groups, which received standard estrogen (0.0563 mg/kg) and 100, 300, and 500 mg/kg aqueous-methanol extract of Berberis aristata, daily for 42 days. The uterine weight, bone loss, ash content, biomechanical, biochemical and histopathological observation were carried out for antiosteoporotic activity. RESULTS: The experimental animals treated with Berberis aristata aqueous-methanol extract showed dose dependent activity. The significant increase in uterine weight, femur BMD, ash content and lumbar hardness were observed. In addition, increased levels of calcium and phosphorus in serum and significant decreased in urine were observed as compared to control OVX group. The histopathological results also confirm the protective effect of extract. CONCLUSION: The present findings strongly suggest that Berberis aristata possess the potent antiosteoporosis activity in ovariectomized rats and substantiates the ethnic use in treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Screening of selected biological activities of artocarpus lakoocha roxb (moraceae) fruit pericarp.

Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb (Moraceae) is cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Khasi Hills and Western Ghats. Objectives of the present study were to determine antibacterial, antioxidant, anthelmintic and insecticidal efficacy of methanol extract of A. lakoocha fruit pericarp. Antibacterial activity was tested against by Agar well diffusion method. Antioxidant activity in terms of free radical scavenging ability was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Anthelmintic efficacy was determined using adult Indian earthworm. Insecticidal activity was tested against second and third instar larvae of Aedes aegypti. The extract has shown dose dependent antibacterial, antioxidant, anthelmintic and insecticidal activity. Among bacteria, S. aureus has shown more susceptibility than K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. The extract exhibited marked antioxidant activity by scavenging DPPH free radical. The IC50 value for extract was found to be 49.42µg/ml. The extract exhibited marked anthelmintic activity by causing paralysis and death of worms and the effect was found to be dose dependent. The extract concentration 100mg/ml has shown marked anthelmintic effect than standard drug. In insecticidal study, the 2(nd) instar larvae were shown to be more susceptible than 3(rd) instar larvae. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins and alkaloids. The presence of these phytoconstituents might be responsible for the biological activities of extract tested. The extract could be used to treat free radical damage, bacterial and helmintic infections and to control insect vectors. Further studies on isolation of constituents and their bio-efficacies in vitro and in vivo are under investigation.

Declines in risk behaviour and sexually transmitted infection prevalence following a community-led HIV preventive intervention among female sex workers in Mysore, India.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact on sexual behaviour and sexually transmitted infections (STI) of a comprehensive community-led intervention programme for reducing sexual risk among female sex workers (FSW) in Mysore, India. The key programme components were: community mobilization and peer-mediated outreach; increasing access to and utilization of sexual health services; and enhancing the enabling environment to support programme activities. METHODS: Two cross-sectional surveys among random samples of FSW were conducted 30 months apart, in 2004 and 2006. RESULTS: Of over 1000 women who sell sex in Mysore city, 429 participated in the survey at baseline and 425 at follow-up. The median age was 30 years, median duration in sex work 4 years, and the majority were street based (88%). Striking increases in condom use were seen between baseline and follow-up surveys: condom use at last sex with occasional clients was 65% versus 90%, P < 0001; with repeat clients 53% versus 66%, P < 0.001; and with regular partners 7% versus 30%, P < 0.001. STI prevalence declined from baseline to follow-up: syphilis 25% versus 12%, P < 0.001; trichomonas infection 33% versus 14%, P < 0.001; chlamydial infection 11% versus 5%, P = 0.001; gonorrhoea 5% versus 2%, P = 0.03. HIV prevalence remained stable (26% versus 24%), and detuned assay testing suggested a decline in recent HIV infections. CONCLUSION: This comprehensive HIV preventive intervention empowering FSW has resulted in striking increases in reported condom use and a concomitant reduction in the prevalence of curable STI. This model should be replicated in similar urban settings across India.