Non-pharmacologic approaches to treatment of pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders.

Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) affect up to 25% of children in the United States. These disorders are more recently known as disorders of "brain-gut" interaction. The diagnosis is based on the ROME IV criteria, and requires the absence of an organic condition to explain the symptoms. Although these disorders are not completely understood, several factors have been involved in the pathophysiology including disordered gut motility, visceral hypersensitivity, allergies, anxiety/stress, gastrointestinal infection/inflammation, as well dysbiosis of the gut microbiome. The pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments for FAPDs are directed to modifying these pathophysiologic mechanisms. This review aims to summarize the non-pharmacologic interventions used in the treatment of FAPDs including dietary modifications, manipulation of the gut microbiome (neutraceuticals, prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics and fecal microbiota transplant) and psychological interventions that addresses the "brain" component of the brain-gut axis (cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, breathing and relaxation techniques). In a survey conducted at a large academic pediatric gastroenterology center, 96% of patients with functional pain disorders reported using at least 1 complementary and alternative medicine treatment to ameliorate symptoms. The paucity of data supporting most of the therapies discussed in this review underscores the need for large randomized controlled trials to assess their efficacy and superiority compared to other treatments.

Unusual Uptake of Prostate Specific Tracer 68Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC in a Benign Thyroid Nodule.

68Ga-Prostate specific membrane antigen- N,N'-bis[2-hydroxy-5-(carboxyethyl)benzyl]ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid- positron emission tomography/computed tomography or 68 Ga- HBED-CC-PSMA PET/CT, popularly known as PSMA PET/CT, is able to detect a small volume of recurrent prostate carcinoma (PC) when there is a prostate specific antigen (PSA) rise on follow-up after prostatectomy or other definitive treatment for PC. The use of PSMA PET/CT in the initial staging in PC is uncertain at this time. Clinical studies are underway to define its exact role in the management of the disease. At the same time it is important to be aware of unexpected sites of uptake of this ligand. We present here the case of a 62-year-old male patient who underwent prostatectomy for adenocarcinoma prostate. He also had a long-standing left solitary thyroid nodule (STN). Four months after surgery, he had a rising trend in serum PSA levels on three occasions, but the absolute value was less than 4 at all times. He underwent a 68Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT, but it did not reveal any recurrent/metastatic site of disease. However, there was increased tracer uptake in the left STN. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed features of atypia of undetermined significance, Bethesda category III. The patient underwent a left hemithyroidectomy and the histopathology showed features of a follicular adenoma.

Circulating Gut-Homing (α4ß7+) Plasmablast Responses against Shigella Surface Protein Antigens among Hospitalized Patients with Diarrhea.

Developing countries are burdened with Shigella diarrhea. Understanding mucosal immune responses associated with natural Shigella infection is important to identify potential correlates of protection and, as such, to design effective vaccines. We performed a comparative analysis of circulating mucosal plasmablasts producing specific antibodies against highly conserved invasive plasmid antigens (IpaC, IpaD20, and IpaD120) and two recently identified surface protein antigens, pan-Shigella surface protein antigen 1 (PSSP1) and PSSP2, common to all virulent Shigella strains. We examined blood and stool specimens from 37 diarrheal patients admitted to the Infectious Diseases & Beliaghata General Hospital, Kolkata, India. The etiological agent of diarrhea was investigated in stool specimens by microbiological methods and real-time PCR. Gut-homing (α4ß7 (+)) antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) were isolated from patient blood by means of combined magnetic cell sorting and two-color enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) assay. Overall, 57% (21 of 37) and 65% (24 of 37) of the patients were positive for Shigella infection by microbiological and real-time PCR assays, respectively. The frequency of α4ß7 (+) IgG ASC responders against Ipas was higher than that observed against PSSP1 or PSSP2, regardless of the Shigella serotype isolated from these patients. Thus, α4ß7 (+) ASC responses to Ipas may be considered an indirect marker of Shigella infection. The apparent weakness of ASC responses to PSSP1 is consistent with the lack of cross-protection induced by natural Shigella infection. The finding that ASC responses to IpaD develop in patients with recent-onset shigellosis indicates that such responses may not be protective or may wane too rapidly and/or be of insufficient magnitude.

Dystrophic calcification in muscles of legs in calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasia syndrome: Accurate evaluation of the extent with (99m)Tc-methylene diphosphonate single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography.

We present the case of a 35-year-old man with calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly and telangiectasia variant scleroderma who presented with dysphagia, Raynaud's phenomenon and calf pain. (99m)Tc-methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy was performed to identify the extent of the calcification. It revealed extensive dystrophic calcification in the left thigh and bilateral legs which was involving the muscles and was well-delineated on single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography. Calcinosis in scleroderma usually involves the skin but can be found in deeper periarticular tissues. Myopathy is associated with a poor prognosis.

Detection of brain metastasis with 68Ga-labeled PSMA ligand PET/CT: a novel radiotracer for imaging of prostate carcinoma.

Brain metastasis in prostate cancer is rare and not expected at initial presentation especially when the patient is asymptomatic for the same. A 45-year-old male patient undergoing initial evaluation for newly diagnosed prostatic adenocarcinoma was referred to our department for 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy. As part of the study protocol, he also underwent Glu-NH-CO-NH-Lys-(Ahx)-[Ga-68(HBED-CC)] (68Ga-PSMA) PET/CT, which revealed tracer accumulation in brain lesions, apart from localization in the primary, lymph node, and bone metastases. A subsequent MR evaluation confirmed brain metastases.

Radiation-Induced Esophagitis Masquerading as Disease Progression in Case of Esophageal Carcinoma: A Diagnostic Dilemma Solved on Follow-up FDG PET/CT.

Radiation esophagitis is one of the commonest complications of the radiotherapy involving esophagus. It is characterized by diffuse radiotracer uptake in the esophagus on ¹8F-FDG PET/CT. Thus, it can be often confused with the esophageal malignancy. We present the sequential ¹8F-FDG PET/CT images of a 45-year-old woman with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus who developed radiation esophagitis after chemoradiotherapy. It was confused with the progression of the disease, and the dilemma was resolved by the follow-up PET/CT.

Synchronous thoracic and abdominal enteric duplication cysts: Accurate detection with (99m)Tc-pertechnetate scintigraphy.

Enteric duplication cysts (EDCs) are uncommon congenital anomalies, which can occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract and vary greatly in presentation, size, location and symptoms. Ectopic gastric mucosa is reported to be found in 20-30% of these duplications. (99m)Tc-pertechnetate scintigraphy is a useful modality for preoperative localization of the ectopic functioning gastric mucosa in the EDCs. We report a case where (99m)Tc-pertechnetate scintigraphy was useful in detecting synchronous thoracic and abdominal duplication cysts with functioning gastric mucosa thus having an impact on the patient management.

An uncommon case showing three different pathologies on (99m)technetium-methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy.

(99m)Technetium-methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy (BS) has an important role in evaluating skeletal pathology, especially its extent. Incidental extra-osseous uptake may sometimes be seen in soft-tissue pathologies. We present a 64-year-old female with skull base osteomyelitis referred for BS which revealed involvement of the skull base on the left side, uptake was also noted in bilateral lungs secondary to hypercalcemia of renal failure and in the D12-L1 vertebrae as the patient had a history of Pott's spine. This is perhaps a unique case showing three findings each of a different etiology in the same scan.

Metastatic poorly differentiated prostatic carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation: negative on 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT.

Glu-NH-CO-NH-Lys-(Ahx)-[Ga-68(HBED-CC)], abbreviated as Ga-PSMA, is a novel radiotracer undergoing evaluation for PET/CT imaging of prostate carcinoma. Its major advantage is the sensitive detection of lesions even at low prostate-specific antigen level and high target-to-background ratios obtained in metastatic lesions, which is better than that obtained with F-fluoromethylcholine. We present the case of a 28-year-old man with poorly differentiated prostate carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation, whose lesions did not show significant Ga-PSMA localization. As literature on utility of Ga-PSMA PET/CT for imaging prostate carcinoma grows, it is important to be aware of potential false negatives that could influence study results.

Metastatic superscan on (99m)Tc-MDP bone scintigraphy in a case of carcinoma colon: Common finding but rare etiology.

Bone scintigraphy in which there is excessive skeletal radioisotope uptake in relation to soft tissues along with absent or faint activity in the genitourinary tract is known as a 'superscan'. Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy associated with superscan along with others such as lung cancer, breast cancer and haematological malignancies. Here we present the case of a 41 year old woman with carcinoma colon with metastatic superscan on (99m)Tc-MDP bone scintigraphy, a very rare cause for metastatic superscan.

Ciliary body metastasis in a patient with non-small cell lung carcinoma--incidental detection with 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Ciliary body metastasis in a case of lung cancer is very rare. Intraocular metastasis by any cancer most commonly involves choroid followed by iris and ciliary body. We present a case of a 71-year-old male with non-small cell lung cancer who was found to have an 18F-FDG avid right lung mass. Incidentally a focus of abnormal increased 18F-FDG uptake was noted in the region of ciliary body in the right eyeball. The findings were confirmed to be a metastatic lesion in ciliary body on Ultrasonography and MRI. Our case depicts this extremely rare occurrence corroborated by various modalities.

Record maximum oscillation frequency in C-face epitaxial graphene transistors.

The maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) quantifies the practical upper bound for useful circuit operation. We report here an fmax of 70 GHz in transistors using epitaxial graphene grown on the C-face of SiC. This is a significant improvement over Si-face epitaxial graphene used in the prior high-frequency transistor studies, exemplifying the superior electronics potential of C-face epitaxial graphene. Careful transistor design using a high κ dielectric T-gate and self-aligned contacts further contributed to the record-breaking fmax.

Iodine deficiency disorder among pregnant women in a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata, India.

The present unicentric, hospital based, non-interventional, cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the iodine status of pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at a medical college in Kolkata, India, during the different trimesters of pregnancy and to compare their iodine status with those of age-matched non-pregnant control women. Assessment of the iodine status was based on urinary iodine excretion (UIE). Serum levels of free triiodithyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were assayed as an indirect measure of iodine status. A statistical comparison between the median values for UIE, TSH, fT4 and fT3 in pregnant women and non-pregnant controls revealed a significant difference between the median values for UIE (p < 0.0047), TSH (p < 0.00001) and fT4 (p < 0.001). UIE and fT4 were significantly lower and TSH was significantly higher in pregnant women than in non-pregnant controls. However, no significant difference in median values for fT3 concentration between the groups was seen (p = 0.4). Only 4 cases out of 200 pregnant women had an UIE of less than the lower cut-off value for UIE recommended by the WHO corresponding to optimal iodine intake. The results indicate most pregnant subjects attending the antenatal clinic at Medical College Kolkata, India, a tertiary care institution, did not suffer from significant iodine depletion. This may be ascribed to increased awareness of this condition and the accessibility of iodized salt among the study population.

Sertoli Leydig cell tumour of ovary with heterologous element--a case report.

A 16 years old female who presented with abdominal swelling and secondary amenorrhoea was subsequently diagnosed as Sertoli Leydig cell tumour of ovary revealing intermediate differentiation with heterologous element. The case is reported in view of its rarity.