Correlation of Antenatal Ultrasound Parameters with the Postnatal Outcome of Bilateral Fetal Hydronephrosis

The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India - To determine the role of antenatal parameters in predicting the outcome of bilateral fetal hydronephrosis. Total 50 antenatal women with...     

Modulatory effects of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) in hypobaric hypoxia induced cerebral vascular injury

Cerebral edema caused by vascular leakage is a major problem in various injuries of the CNS, such as stroke, head injury and high-altitude illness. A common feature of all these disorders is the fact that they are associated with tissue hypoxia. Hypoxia has been suggested to be a major pathogenic factor for the induction of vascular leakage in the brain. The objective of the present study was to evaluate potential of seabuckthorn (SBT) (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) seed oil in curtailing hypoxia induced transvascular fluid leakage in brain of hypoxia-exposed rats. Exposure of animals to hypobaric hypoxia (9144 m, 5h) caused a significant increase in the transvascular leakage studied by measuring water content and leakage of sodium fluorescein dye in the brain. Hypoxic stress also significantly enhanced the oxidative stress markers such as free radicals and malondialdehyde and it accompanied with decreased levels of antioxidants such as glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Pretreatment of animals with SBT seed oil significantly restricted the hypoxia induced increase in fluorescein dye leakage suggesting protection against hypoxia induced transvascular leakage in the brain. Hypoxia induced increase in the levels of free radicals and malondialdehyde were significantly lowered after SBT pretreatment. The SBT seed oil pretreatment also resulted in the significantly improved hypoxic tolerance as evidenced by increased hypoxic gasping time and survival time and decreased plasma catecholamine levels, as compared to hypoxic animals. These observations suggest that SBT seed oil possesses significant hypoxia protection activity and curtailed hypoxia induced enhanced vascular leakage in the brain.     

Pancreato‐enteric anastomosis: The duct evagination technique

Pancreatic anastomotic failure remains the most frequent and potentially life‐threatening complication following Pancreatoduodenectomy. Numerous modifications in the technique of the pancreatoenteric anastomosis have been reported. We suggest a simple modification which involves “evaginating” the cut end of the pancreatic duct. This technique helps avoid a compromise of the pancreatic ductal patency, and by achieving a wide pancreatic ductal opening can facilitate a safer pancreato‐enteric anastomosis. In addition, by possibly decreasing the likelihood of post‐operative pancreatic ductal stenosis, it has the potential to reduce post‐Pancreatoduodenectomy pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. The modification acts as an adjunct to an already established technique yielding good results. J. Surg. Oncol. 2009;100:277–278. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Altered protein kinase a in brain of learned helpless rats: effects of acute and repeated stress.

BACKGROUND: Stress-induced learned helplessness (LH) in animals serves as a model of behavioral depression and some aspects of posttraumatic stress disorder. We examined whether LH behavior is associated with alterations in protein kinase A (PKA), a critical phosphorylating enzyme, how long these alterations persist after inescapable shock (IS), and whether repetition of IS prolongs the duration of LH behavior and changes in PKA. METHODS: Rats were exposed to IS either on day 1 or twice, on day 1 and day 7. Rats were tested for escape latency on days 2 and 4 after day 1 IS or days 2, 8, and 14 after day 1 and day 7 IS. [(3)H]cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) binding, catalytic activity and expression of PKA subunits were determined in frontal cortex and hippocampus. RESULTS: Higher escape latencies were observed in rats tested on day 2 after single IS and on day 14 after repeated IS. Concurrently, reduced [(3)H]cAMP binding, PKA activity, and expression of selective PKA RIIbeta and Calpha and Cbeta subunits were observed in the brains of these rats. CONCLUSIONS: Repeated IS prolongs the duration of LH behavior, and LH behavior is associated with reductions in apparent activity and expression of PKA. These reductions in PKA may be critical in the pathophysiology of depression and other stress-related disorders.     

Pre-cancerous lesions of stomach

Total 39 cases of carcinoma stomach were noticed out of 142 malignant tumours of GIT (27.46 percent). Histologically maximum cases were of diffuse type (56.41 percent) followed by intestinal type (35.89 percent) and indolent mucoid carcinoma (7.69 percent) of the stomach. The surrounding epithelium showed lot of changes in the intestinal type of carcinoma stomach. About 78.57 percent showed intestinal metaplasia, 14.28 percent of these cases showed chronic gastric ulcer and severe dysplasia (carcinoma in situ) and another 14.28 percent revealed villous adenoma with carcinoma in situ. In contrast to this, in diffuse variety, only 13.63 percent cases revealed intestinal metaplasia, 27.27 percent showed basal cell hyperplasia, stratification of the epithelium of crypts and diffuse infiltration of mucosa by malignant cells and 4.54 percent showed atrophic gastritis also. In mucoid carcinoma all cases had basal cell hyperplasia and stratification of crypts. Hence these conditions should be taken as premalignant lesions of stomach and should be cured in proper time.     

A missing denture''s misadventure!

We report a late onset, benign, tracheoesophageal fistula in a 51-year-old man, due to an accidentally swallowed denture. In view of the extensive peri-esophageal sepsis and fibrosis, he was managed by a subtotal esophagectomy and a cervical esophagogastric anastomosis. The tracheal defect was closed with the help of an intercostal muscle flap. This report also highlights the difficulty in identifying swallowed prosthetic dental material radiologically, when no metallic component is present. This fact was also responsible for the delay in diagnosis, eventually leading to the rare complication of a tracheoesophageal fistula.