Anticonvulsant activities of nutmeg oil of Myristica fragrans

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anticonvulsant activity of the volatile oil of nutmeg, the dried seed kernel of Myristica fragrans Houtt, using well‐established animal seizure models and to evaluate its potential for acute toxicity and acute neurotoxicity. The volatile oil of nutmeg (nutmeg oil) was tested for its effects in maximal electroshock, subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole, strychnine and bicuculline seizure tests. All the experiments were performed at the time of peak effect of nutmeg oil. Nutmeg oil showed a rapid onset of action and short duration of anticonvulsant effect. It was found to possess significant anticonvulsant activity against electroshock‐induced hind limb tonic extension. It exhibited dose dependent anticonvulsant activity against pentylenetetrazole‐induced tonic seizures. It delayed the onset of hind limb tonic extensor jerks induced by strychnine. It was anticonvulsant at lower doses, whereas weak proconvulsant at a higher dose against pentylenetetrazole and bicuculline induced clonic seizures. Nutmeg oil was found to possess wide therapeutic margin, as it did not induce motor impairment when tested up to 600 µL/kg in the inverted screen acute neurotoxicity test. Furthermore, the LD₅₀ (2150 µL/kg) value was much higher than its anticonvulsant doses (50–300 µL/kg). The results indicate that nutmeg oil may be effective against grand mal and partial seizures, as it prevents seizure spread in a set of established animal models. Slight potentiation of clonic seizure activity limits its use for the treatment of myoclonic and absence seizures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incarcerated inguinal hernia: atypical presentation of an abdominal aortic aneurysm

The diagnosis of an inguinal hernia, be it complicated or uncomplicated, is often simple and straight forward. Rarely, this simple presentation may be the external manifestation of a distant pathology, which is in communication with the inguinal canal through its anatomic relationship. We report a case of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that presented as a strangulated left inguinal hernia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case where the patient was stable on initial presentation, both clinically and biochemically. The only clue for our patient that pointed towards a potential aneurysm was the presence of intra-operative blood in the spermatic cord. We conclude that any patient presenting with symptoms suggestive of a hernia, particularly on the left side, should have a thorough assessment to rule out AAA.     

Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in children: the role of infectious diseases and its relationship to serum enzyme

The records of 28 children whose first episode of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia occurred before 12 years (median age 10 months) were reviewed. There were 17 males and 11 females. In 17 cases the first attack occurred before the first year and in 11 of these it occurred after the first year. One case had congenital heart disease (ASD). The WPW syndrome was diagnosed in 3 cases. When first seen, most of the infants presented with signs of incipient or manifest congestive heart failure. In almost nine-tenth of cases there was an increased of serum enzymes (lactic dehydrogenase, creatine-phosphokinase and glutamic oxaloaccetic transaminase. Digitals was effective against congestive heart failure and when continued, might prevent failure during subsequent attacks. Antiarrhythmic agents other than digitals were not used. It is recommended to continue digitalis treatment for at least one year in all patients with SVT, whether or not the first episode terminated spontaneously.     

Expression and amplification of cyclin D1 in primary breast carcinomas: relationship with histopathological types and clinico-pathological parameters

Overexpression and amplification of cyclin D1 were investigated by immunohistochemistry and differential polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) in 440 formalin-fixed primary breast carcinoma tissues. Overexpression of cyclin D1 was detected in 60% (263/440) and amplification of cyclin D1 was noted in 27% (119/440) of the primary breast carcinomas. Molecular analysis demonstrated that cyclin D1 was amplified in 30% (7/23) of the comedo DCIS, 22% (9/41) of the comedo DCIS and 32% (13/41) of the adjacent invasive ductal carcinomas, 30% (82/270) of the invasive ductal carcinomas, 27% (9/33) of the invasive lobular carcinomas, 19% (4/21) of the colloid carcinomas and 13% (2/15) of the medullary carcinomas. Cyclin D1 was amplified in 11% (2/19) of the invasive ductal carcinomas but not in the adjacent non-comedo DCIS lesions. Our observation showed that cyclin D1 was strongly positive in 61% (14/23) of the comedo subtype, 61% (11/18) of the non-comedo subtype, 59% (24/41) of the comedo DCIS and 63% (26/41) of the adjacent invasive ductal carcinomas, 53% (10/19) of the non-comedo DCIS and 58% (11/19) of the adjacent invasive lesions, 58% (157/270) of the invasive ductal carcinomas, 73% (24/33) of the invasive lobular carcinomas, 52% (11/21) of the colloid carcinomas and 27% (4/15) of the medullary carcinomas. A significant association was observed between in situ components and adjacent invasive lesions for cyclin D1 expression (p<0.05) and amplification (p<0.05). A significant relationship was noted between amplification of cyclin D1 and lymph node metastases (p<0.05) but not with histological grade (p>0.05), estrogen receptor status (p>0.05) and proliferation index (Ki-67 and PCNA) (p>0.05). However, overexpression of cyclin D1 was statistically associated with well differentiated tumors (p<0.05) and estrogen receptor positivity (p<0.05). No relationship was seen with nodal status (p>0.05) and proliferation index (Ki-67 and PCNA) (p>0.05). These observations suggest that tumors positive for cyclin D1 protein may have features of good prognosis but amplification of cyclin D1 gene could be an indicator of tumors with poor prognostic features. Although majority of the Malaysian patients belong to younger age group (<50 years old), amplification and expression of cyclin D1 was not statistically associated with patient age (p>0.05). These observations indicate that amplification and up-regulation of cyclin D1 may be independent of patient age. Moreover, overexpression and amplification of cyclin D1 in preinvasive, preinvasive and adjacent invasive lesions, and invasive carcinomas suggest that the gene may play an important role in early and late stages of breast carcinogenesis.     

Coeliac disease: more than villous atrophy

A continuing flow of new scientific developments concerning coeliac disease in the last decade asks for the formulation of a new concept of pathophysiology and clinical approach of the coeliac condition. Immunogenetic studies have shown a correlation of the disease to the HLA region on the short arm of chromosome 6. Immunological research has led to the concept of a T-cell driven immunologic response of the small intestine, with the identification of highly sensitive and specific antibodies, and in addition the understanding of the histopathology of coeliac disease has changed dramatically, initiated by the proposition of a spectrum of gluten sensitive enteropathy by Marsh in 1992. Clinical studies report a significant change in patient characteristics and epidemiology. The incidence of the disease has shifted to a majority of adult coeliacs and the disease may present with less severe symptoms of malabsorption while screening studies suggest an overall prevalence of up to 1 in 200-300. In the present paper (an update on histopathology) we specifically describe the work of our group in Arnhem, concerning the identification and validation of the spectrum of intestinal histopathology in gluten sensitive enteropathy, i.e. lymphocytic enteritis (Marsh I lesion), lymphocytic enteritis with crypthyperplasia (Marsh II lesion), and villous atrophy, subdivided in partial villous atrophy (Marsh IIIA), subtotal villous atrophy (Marsh IIIB) and total villous atrophy (Marsh IIIC). Special attention is given to a subgroup of "refractory coeliacs", including the identification of (pre-) malignant aberrant T-cells in the intestinal mucosa of these patients. The new data on immunogenetics, epidemiology, histo-pathology and patient characteristics point to a significant change of views on coeliac disease.     

Electrocardiographic signs of right ventricular overload useful in improving diagnosis of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTE-PH) in patients with chronic exertional dyspnea

The early recognition of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTE-PH) is troublesome because of "honey moon" period with chronic dyspnea on exertion as the only one symptom. To find if routine electrocardiography may be useful in improving the diagnosis, value of right ventricular overload (RVO) signs in recognition echocardiographically determined chronic pulmonary hypertension (CPH) and angiographically confirmed CTE-PH in 90 consecutive patients hospitalized due to chronic exertional dyspnea was studied. CPE was found in 76.5% and CTE-PH in 33% of those patients, at least one of twelve founded electrocardiographic signs of RVO was present in 50% patients. The most frequently occurred signs: negative T wave in lead V1-V6, right axis deviation and pulmonale P wave as well as 9 other occurred at frequency below 20% signs of RVO had low to medium sensitivity and negative predictive value and 80-90% positive predictive value for diagnosing CPE and 90-100% positive predictive value for diagnosing CTE-PH. It was concluded that in patients with chronic exertional dyspnea electrocardiographic signs of RVO may be useful in initial diagnosing of CPH and CTE-PH in particular.     

Poor correlation between hemolysis and jaundice in glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient babies

BACKGROUND: The role of hemolysis in the pathophysiology of neonatal jaundice (NNJ) in patients with glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency has been questioned recently. The aim of the present study was to determine the contribution of hemolysis to the pathophysiology of jaundice in Malay neonates with G6PD deficiency and NNJ. METHODS: Four groups of babies were included in the study: (i) G6PD deficient with NNJ; (ii) G6PD deficient without NNJ; (iii) G6PD normal with NNJ; and (iv) normal controls. Babies with other known causes of jaundice were excluded from the study. All subjects underwent the following investigations on day 3-5 after birth: hemoglobin level (Hb), serum bilirubin level, carboxyhemoglobin (CO-Hb) concentration, reticulocyte count and full blood picture. The results of the investigations were compared between the groups using SPSS version 11. RESULTS: Babies with G6PD and jaundice had a similar percentage of CO-Hb to babies with G6PD without NNJ or babies with normal G6PD and NNJ (1.76 +/- 0.40% vs 1.66 +/- 0.31% and 1.67 +/- 0.28%, respectively; P: 0.23 and 0.41, respectively). Total Hb levels and reticulocyte counts were not significantly different between the groups. The blood film showed more (even though not reaching significance) hemolysis in the G6PD patients but results of the blood film were very similar for G6PD patients with and those without NNJ. CONCLUSION: Hemolysis is not a main determinant of neonatal jaundice in G6PD-deficient babies.     

Cystic fibrosis in a large kindred family in Qatar

We describe 45 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), diagnosed between June 1987 and May 1999, seen at the Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar in the Arabian Gulf. Twenty-six of 32 families in the study were related and belonged to the same Bedouin tribe. The parents of 98% of these cases were consanguineous. Metabolic alkalosis and/or hypo-electrolytaemia were found in a large proportion of infants with CF. Cystic fibrosis in Qatari children is phenotypically variable with mild to moderate respiratory symptoms, and none of them died during this study. Among the non-Arabic-Asian patients, pulmonary symptoms were more severe, Pseudomonas colonization was earlier, pancreatic insufficiency occurred in infancy and four died in early life.     

Diphenylamine, an antihyperglycemic agent from onion and tea

Diphenylamine has been isolated as one of the active antihyperglycemic agents of onion. It was identified by ir, uv, cmr, pmr, and mass spectra. It attained the highest percentage in mature onion bulbs; other onion organs contained diphenylamine in lower percentages. Green and black teas were found to contain relatively high percentages of diphenylamine, being higher in the former. Cooking was found to decrease the diphenylamine content.