Efficacy and safety of pegylated IFN alfa 2b alone or in combination with ribavirin in thalassemia major with chronic hepatitis C

Background  

Treatment of HCV infection in patients with thalassemia major (TM) is limited by the lack of large clinical trials and concerns about ribavirin-induced hemolysis.     

Reversal of hyperoxaluria-induced alteration in rat liver by administration of N-acetylcysteine

The current work was designed to study the potential of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in modulating hyperoxaluric manifestations induced by acute oxalate dose in rat liver. Hyperoxaluric conditions were induced by giving a single dose of sodium oxalate (70 mg/kg body weight) in one group, and in the other group, hyperoxaluric rats were administered NAC (200 mg/kg body weight) after 30 min of the oxalate dose. After 12 h of the above treatment, blood was taken from the orbital sinus for testing serum oxalate, and animals were sacrificed. To exploit the potential of NAC, various oxidative stress parameters [lipid peroxidation (LP) and activity of antioxidant enzymes], lipid content, and histologic analysis of rat liver were performed. The increased level of LP and activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase in hyperoxaluric rats were restored after NAC treatment. Not only the decreased amount of total lipids and phospholipids but also the increased ratio of cholesterol/phospholipid (showing decreased membrane fluidity) in hyperoxaluric rats were balanced by NAC treatment. Further restored histologic changes of liver tissue confirmed the protective antioxidant effects of the given drug. Thus, N-acetylcysteine being an extraneous antioxidant showed curative properties toward hyperoxaluric manifestations in liver.     

Wandering spleen presenting as bleeding gastric varices

Ectopic spleen (splenoptosis) is an extremely rare condition in which the spleen is present in a nonanatomical position. Patients' symptomatology is variable and ranges from mere feeling of an abdominal lump to sudden abdominal pain due to infarction. Patient may have subacute to chronic abdominal or gastrointestinal complaints. Because of nonspecific symptoms, clinical diagnosis can be difficult; hence, imaging plays an important role. Presentation as a case of portal hypertension is extremely rare. We report a case of splenic torsion in a middle-aged woman who presented with hemetemesis from gastric varices secondary to chronic volvulus of an ectopic spleen. Preoperative diagnosis was made on the basis of ultrasonography, endoscopy, and computed tomography, which was later proved on surgery and treated successfully.