A study on the serum adenosine deaminase activity in patients with typhoid Fever and other febrile illnesses.

BACKGROUND: Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) has been suggested to be an important enzyme which is associated with the cell mediated immunity, but its clinical significance in typhoid fever has not yet been characterized. The present study was taken up to evaluate the serum ADA activity in patients of typhoid fever. The levels of ADA were also measured in the patients who were suffering from other febrile illnesses. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This was a case control study. The subjects who were included in this study were divided into 3 groups. Group A consisted of 50 normal healthy individuals who served as the controls. Group B consisted of 50 patients, both males and females of all age groups, who were suffering from culture positive typhoid fever. Group C consisted of 50 patients who were suffering from febrile illnesses other than typhoid fever like viral fever, gastro enteritis, malaria, tonsillitis, upper respiratory tract infections, etc. The serum levels of ADA were estimated in all the subjects who were under study. RESULTS: The serum ADA level was found to be increased in the patients of typhoid fever as compared to that in those with other febrile illnesses and in the controls. CONCLUSION: From the present study, it can be concluded that there was a statistically significant increase in the serum ADA levels in the patients with typhoid.

Bariatric surgery improves cardiac function in morbidly obese patients with severe cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Longstanding morbid obesity can be associated with severe cardiomyopathy. However, the safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in patients with severe cardiomyopathy has not been studied, and the effect of surgical weight loss on postoperative cardiac function is also unknown. In addition, morbidly obese patients have significantly increased mortality associated with cardiac transplantation, often precluding them from becoming recipients. METHODS: A retrospective study of patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction < or =35% who underwent bariatric surgery (1998-2005) was performed. Short-term morbidity/mortality, length of stay, excess weight loss, pre- and postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 14 patients (10 men and 4 women) with a mean preoperative body mass index of 50.8 +/- 2.04 kg/m(2) underwent bariatric surgery (10 underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, 1 open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, 2 sleeve gastrectomy, and 1 laparoscopic gastric banding). The complications were pulmonary edema in 1, hypotension in 1, and transient renal insufficiency in 2. The median length of stay was 3.0 days (range 2-9). The mean excess weight loss at 6 months was 50.4%, with a decrease in the mean body mass index from 50.8 +/- 2.04 kg/m(2) to 36.8 +/- 1.72 kg/m(2). The mean left ventricular ejection fraction at 6 months had significantly improved from 23% +/- 2% to 32% +/- 4% (P = .04), correlating with improved functional capacity, as measured by the NYHA classification. Preoperatively, 2 patients (14%) had an NYHA classification of IV, 6 (43%) a classification of III, and 6 (43%) a classification of II. At 6 months postoperatively, no patient had an NYHA classification of IV, 2 (14%) had a classification of III, and 12 (86%) an NYHA classification of II. Two patients had undergone cardiac transplant evaluations preoperatively and underwent successful transplantation after weight loss. CONCLUSION: The results of our study have shown that bariatric surgery for patients with cardiomyopathy is feasible and effective. Surgically induced weight loss results in both subjective and objective improvement in cardiac function. In addition, surgical weight loss can provide a bridge to transplantation in patients who were prohibited secondary to their morbid obesity.

Primary tumors of the ovary and colon associated with pseudomyxoma peritonei.

The patient presented had primary tumors of the ovary and colon in association with pseudomyxoma peritonei. Since pseudomyxoma peritonei has been associated with mucin-producing tumor of the genital and gastrointestinal tract, a thorough evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract should be performed in patients thought to have pseudomyxoma peritonei secondary to an ovarian neoplasm.

Hearing loss in perforations of the tympanic membrane.

70 patients with dry central perforations have been studied to assess the hearing loss. The hearing loss is greater at the lower frequencies and increases with the size of the perforation. Malleolar perforations cause more hearing loss than the non-malleolar unless the perforation involves less than 10 per cent of the tympanic membrane surface area. Perforations of the postero-inferior quadrant cause more hearing loss than those in the antero-inferior quadrant.

Measurement of thermoelectric power of solids up to 10 GPa.

A method of measuring thermoelectric power of solids as a function of pressure up to nearly 10 GPa is described. A tungsten carbide opposed anvil setup is used to generate the pressure.

11-Oxa and 17alpha-hydroxymethyl analogues of steroid hormones and their derivatives.

PIP: The syntheses of 11-oxa and 17alpha-hydroxymethyl analogues of steroid hormones and their derivatives are reported and some of their biological activities are discussed. Generally, the replacement of the 11-methylene group by oxygen results in a diminution of the progestational, androgenic-anabolic, and estrogenic activities. This effect is least pronounced in the case of the progestational activity of 11-oxa-ethisterone and particularly strong in the case of the uterotropic activity of 11-oxa-estradiol. 17alpha-acetoxymethylprogesterone and 17alpha-hydroxymethylprogesterone were synthesized by 2 pathways, 1 of which can be advantageously applied also to the synthesis of 17alpha-acyloxymethyl and 17alpha-hydroxymethyl glucocorticoids. 17alpha-acetoxymethylprogesterone was inactive in the Clauberg test even at high doses.^ieng