Successful pregnancies following remission in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia--case report.

We report two successful pregnancies in a 17-year-old Arab girl who had received modern combination chemotherapy and central nervous system minimal disease therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of 9.5 years.     

Physiological analysis to quantify training load in badminton.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the training load of specific on court training regimens based on the magnitude of variation of heart rate-lactate response during specific training and to determine the magnitude of variation of biochemical parameters (urea, uric acid, and creatine phosphokinase (CPK)) 12 hours after the specific training programme so as to assess training stress. METHODS: The study was conducted on six national male badminton players. Maximum oxygen consumption (VO2), ventilation (VE), heart rate, and respiratory quotient were measured by a protocol of graded treadmill exercise. Twelve training sessions and 35 singles matches were analysed. Heart rate and blood lactate were monitored during technical training routines and match play. Fasting blood samples collected on two occasions--that is, during off season and 12 hours after specific training--were analysed for serum urea, uric acid, and CPK. RESULTS: Analysis of the on court training regimens showed lactate values of 8-10.5 mmol/l in different phases. The percentage of maximum heart rate ranged from 82% to 100%. Urea, uric acid, and CPK activity showed significant changes from (mean (SD)) 4.93 (0.75) mmol/l to 5.49 (0.84) mmol/l, 0.23 (0.04) to 0.33 (0.06) mmol/l, and 312 (211.8) to 363 (216.4) IU/l respectively. CONCLUSION: Maximum lactate reported in the literature ranges from 3-6 mmol/l. Comparatively high lactate values and high percentage of maximum heart rate found in on court training show a considerable stress on muscular and cardiovascular system. The training load needs appropriate monitoring to avoid over-training. Workouts that are too intensive may interfere with coordination, a factor that is important in sports requiring highly technical skill such as badminton.     

Biological standardization of pollen allergens from India.

Standardization of allergens are achieved by in vitro and in vivo methods. Some of the allergens from Western countries are standardized using biological potency of the extracts but no attempt has been made till now to standardize any of the pollen extracts from India based on biological units. Therefore, we have attempted to standardize two important pollen allergens Ricinus communis and Holoptelea integrifolia by biological methods. Broadly the methods adopted by Dreborg and Grimmer (1983) was followed. Skin prick tests were carried out with the extracts of R. communis and H. integrifolia on 15 allergic patients in five three fold log dilutions starting with 1:10, in 50% glycerinated buffer. Glycerinated buffer (50%) and histamine dihydrochloride (1 mg/ml) were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. The mean wheal diameter obtained with different concentrations showed a gradual systematic fall with increase in dilution. The mean relative diameter (% of histamine reaction) varied from 124.1 +/- 8.9 to 33.7 +/- 6.1 and 78.9 +/- 5.5 to 21.4 +/- 3.8 with the highest and lowest concentrations of R. communis and H. integrifolia pollen antigens, respectively. The histamine equivalent concentration of antigen 1,000 Biological Units (BU) obtained for crude pollen extracts of R. communis and H. integrifolia was 1:17 and 1:22 respectively.     

Aggressive giant fibroepithelial lesion with unusual vascular stroma--a case report.

The stroma of fibroadenoma and phyllodes tumor usually consists of fibroblastic proliferation. Rarely the stroma contains bundles of smooth muscle. Pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia of the mammary stroma has been described in fibroadenomas. However, true benign vascular stroma has not been reported. We report a case of a 34-year-old Chinese woman who presented with a large mass occupying the entire left breast. Left mastectomy was performed and showed a large, well-circumscribed, lobulated, rubbery-firm tumor measuring 13 x 10 x 6 cm. Microscopic examination revealed a fibroepithelial tumor formed by an organoid pattern of ductal structures with a very striking stromal appearance composed of extensive vascular proliferation and that demonstrated strong immunoreactivity for CD31, CD34, and Factor VIII. Ultrastructural examination revealed intercellular junctions, basal lamina, pinocytotic vesicles, and Weibel-Palade bodies in the cells lining the vascular spaces, confirming their endothelial nature. These findings rule out the diagnosis of pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia. The patient developed local recurrence a year later, and the resection showed malignant phyllodes tumor with ductal carcinoma in situ.The extensive vascular stroma noted in the primary tumor may have played a role in the malignant transformation of the epithelial and stromal components in this tumor.     

Computed tomography of the abdomen with fat density oral contrast medium.

A 12.5% corn oil-emulsion (COE) was tested as an oral contrast agent for abdominal computed tomography (CT) examinations in 100 patients. The results were compared with those obtained from another group of patients who received a conventional, high-density, oral contrast agent (2-3% iodinated solution). There was no statistically significant difference in the subjects' tolerance to the two agents (P greater than 0.05). There was, however, a significant improvement in image quality with COE (P less than 0.05). Gastrointestinal tract discrimination, and mucosal and mural visualisation was of higher quality with fat density oral contrast medium than with the high-density contrast agent. These data suggest that COE should be considered for routine use as an alternative to conventional high density oral contrast agents in upper abdominal CT.