An uncommon case of a fleeting rash from Western Rajasthan.

A 35 year old farmer presented with an erythematous serpiginous rash on dorsal aspect of left foot with intense pruritus and a feeling of something moving slowly in the rash. The photo of the rash is presented below and the case is discussed further.

A Case of Toxoplasma gondii and Strongyloides stercoralis Coinfection in an Immunocompromised Patient.

BACKGROUND: In India, around 23.49 lac people have HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Strongyloidiasis and toxoplasmosis are some of the opportunistic infections that occur in HIV patients, but their dual coinfection with HIV is rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 46-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with generalized weakness, loss of weight, and bleeding per rectum for the last 3 months and a few episodes of dizziness and fever. RESULTS: On routine investigation, he was diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. On further evaluation, Toxoplasma gondii and Strongyloides stercoralis coinfection, as assessed by the parasitological diagnosis of the serum sample, was positive. Patient was started on artesunate, ART regimen (Tab, TLD- Dolutegravir 50 + Lamivudine 300 + Tenofovir DF 300) and cotrimoxazole. CONCLUSION: Herein, we report a case of Toxoplasma gondii and Strongyloides stercoralis coinfection in an immunocompromised patient.

Alleviation of neuropathic pain by over-expressing a soluble colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor to suppress microgliosis and macrophage accumulation.

Microglial proliferation and activation and macrophage accumulation are implicated in neuropathic pain development. In this study, we aim to suppress microgliosis and macrophage accumulation by over-expressing a non-functional soluble colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (sCSF1R) using an adeno-associated virus 9 vector (AAV9). AAV9/sCSF1R and the control vector AAV9/GFP were intrathecally administered into the lumbar spine of adult C57BL/6 mice. Two weeks later, these mice underwent partial sciatic nerve ligation to induce neuropathic pain. GFP and sCSF1R were highly expressed in lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and spinal cord of AAV9-injected mice. A significant increase in microglia densities in the dorsal and ventral horns of lumbar spinal cords and macrophage densities in DRG and sciatic nerves were observed in the mice with either ligation alone or pre-treated with AAV9/GFP. In nerve-ligated mice pre-treated with AAV9/sCSF1R the microglia densities in the dorsal and ventral horns and macrophage densities in DRG and sciatic nerves were significantly lower compared to nerve-ligated mice pre-treated with AAV9/GFP. Behavioral tests showed that nerve-ligated mice pre-treated with AAV9/sCSF1R had a significantly higher paw withdrawal threshold, indicating the alleviation of neuropathic pain. The results implicate that viral vector-mediated expression of sCSF1R may represent a novel strategy in the alleviation of neuropathic pain.