Sjögren's syndrome sufferers have increased oral yeast levels despite regular dental care

Aim:  To investigate the prevalence and quantity of oral yeasts and their association with oral candidiasis in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients receiving regular dental care.
Materials and methods:  Yeasts in oral rinse and full-mouth supra-gingival plaque samples from 25 primary SS, 27 secondary SS and 29 control subjects were selectively cultured. All yeasts except single-species isolates were genotyped using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
Results:  Ten (19%) SS sufferers had symptomless candidiasis. SS subjects had a higher prevalence (73% vs 7%) and quantity of yeasts than controls in both oral rinse and plaque samples ( P  < 0.05). The prevalence of yeasts in plaque was associated with candidiasis regardless of denture wearing ( P  ≤ 0.04). Candida albicans was the predominant yeast isolated. PFGE showed 20 (66% of total) C. albicans isolate pairs, i.e. C. albicans species isolated from plaque and oral rinse samples of the same individual, were of closely related genetic clonal types ( P  < 0.01).
Conclusions:  Despite effective oral hygiene, more SS subjects than controls had detectable levels of oral yeasts and their presence in supra-gingival plaque was associated with candidiasis. Candida albicans colonized supra-gingival biofilm even in well-maintained SS individuals, posing a challenge to the control of oral candidiasis.     

A STUDY OF HYPERINSULINAEMIA AND DYSLIPIDAEMIA IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS OF ARMED FORCES

All patients attending the outpatient department were screened for hypertension. An attempt was made to correlate presence of hyperinsulinaemia (HI), dyslipidaemia and anthropometric characteristics in these hypertensives. Effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and beta blockers on serum insulin was also studied. 85 patients with blood pressure (BP) ≥ 160/90 mm Hg and 94 controls with a BP of < 130/85 mm Hg were studied. All underwent clinical examination, anthropometric measurements (body mass index (BMI), waist hip ratio (WHR), skin fold thickness (SFT) and laboratory investigation (serum insulin, glucose, lipid profile) and post oral glucose load (POGL) for insulin and glucose. Serum insulin was estimated by I¹²⁵ radio immuno assay. Patients were randomly divided into group A (Tab enalapril) and group B (Tab atenolol). In 51 patients who completed the study, fasting and POGL insulin and fasting lipid profile were estimated two months after treatment. Mean age of cases was 38.91 years. 50% of patients had stage II hypertension. BMI was increased in 36 cases (42.35%) as compared to 9 in (9.57%) controls. Increased WHR was found in 40 cases as compared to 26 in controls. The SFT was more in cases compared to controls. 47 (55.29%) of 85 cases had abnormal lipid profile as compared to 25 (26.60%) in 94 controls. The fasting and POGL insulin levels (13.85 and 60.05 micro u/ml respectively) in cases were significantly higher than in controls (6.87 and 16.16 micro u/ml respectively). The mean POGL insulin values were much higher in obese compared to non-obese hypertensives. The decrease in mean fasting and POGL insulin values in patients taking ACEI and beta blockers were similar. Abnormal lipid profile was significantly more in cases than controls. Increased total cholesterol (TC), Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) and total cholesterol (TC)/high density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio were the most frequent abnormality. The mean insulin (both fasting and POGL) levels were higher in obese hypertensives and those with abnormal lipid profile. Both drugs had equal efficacy in reducing the insulin values.KEY WORDS: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, Beta-blockers, Body mass index, Hyperinsulinaemia     

Outbreak of meningococcal infection amongst soldiers deployed in operations

Background: Meningococcal infection may lead to life threatening meningitis and fulminant meningococcal sepsis. Sporadic cases of meningococcal infection have been reported in soldiers but no outbreak in soldiers has been reported earlier from India. This outbreak in soldiers serving in counter insurgency role under field setting was effectively controlled without compromising their operational commitment.     

A pregnant lady with intermittent vaginal bleeding (2007: 3b)

Placenta percreta is a potentially life-threatening complication of pregnancy, which is increasing in incidence. Ante-natal diagnosis with ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging aids the obstetric team in planning further management. We present a case of placenta percreta with imaging and a brief review of the literature.     

Scoring inflammatory activity of the spine by magnetic resonance imaging in ankylosing spondylitis: a multireader experiment

OBJECTIVE: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine is increasingly important in the assessment of inflammatory activity in clinical trials with patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). We investigated feasibility, inter-reader reliability, sensitivity to change, and discriminatory ability of 3 different scoring methods for MRI activity and change in activity of the spine in patients with AS. METHODS: Thirty sets of spinal MRI at baseline and after 24 weeks of followup, derived from a randomized clinical trial comparing a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-blocking drug (n = 20) with placebo (n = 10) and selected to cover a wide range of activity at baseline and change in activity, were presented electronically in a partial latin-square design to 9 experienced readers from different countries (Europe, Canada). Readers scored each set of MRI 3 times, using 3 different methods including the Ankylosing Spondylitis spine Magnetic Resonance Imaging-activity [ASspiMRI-a, grading activity (0-6) per vertebral unit in 23 units]; the Berlin modification of the ASspiMRI-a; and the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) scoring system, which scores the 6 vertebral units considered by the reader as the most abnormal, with additional scores for "depth" and "intensity." Both the order of the methods used by each reader and the timepoints (before/after treatment) were randomized. Feasibility of each scoring system was evaluated by measuring the mean time needed to score each set of MRI, and inter-reader reliability was evaluated by smallest detectable change (SDC) and by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for all readers together and for all possible reader pairs separately. Sensitivity to change was investigated by calculating Guyatt's effect size on change scores. Discriminatory ability was assessed using Z-scores (Mann-Whitney test) comparing change in score between patients treated with TNF-blocking drug and placebo. RESULTS: The mean time to score one set of MRI was shortest for the Berlin method. SDC was lowest for the Berlin method and highest for SPARCC. Overall inter-reader ICC per method were between 0.49 and 0.77 for scoring activity status, and between 0.46 and 0.72 for scoring activity change. ICC for all possible reader pairs showed much more fluctuation per method, with lowest observed values of about 0.05 (very low agreement) and highest observed values over 0.90 (excellent agreement). In general, ICC for SPARCC were consistently higher than for other systems. Sensitivity to change differed per reader, and was more consistent with SPARCC than with the other methods, but was in general excellent for all 3 methods. Discrimination between groups (TNF-blocker vs placebo) assessed by Z-scores was good and comparable among methods. CONCLUSION: This experiment demonstrates the feasibility of multiple-reader MRI scoring exercises for method comparison, provides evidence for the feasibility, reliability, sensitivity to change, and discriminatory capacity of all 3 tested scoring systems to be used in assessing spinal activity on MRI in patients with AS in clinical trials. On the basis of these results it is not possible to prioritize one of the 3 methods.     

Is there a preferred method for scoring activity of the spine by magnetic resonance imaging in ankylosing spondylitis?

This report summarizes the discussion during a module update at OMERACT 8 on scoring methods for activity in the spine on magnetic resonance imaging. The conclusion was that the 3 available scoring methods are all very good with respect to discrimination and feasibility: the Ankylosing Spondylitis spine MRI score for activity (ASspiMRI-a), the Berlin method (a modification of the ASspiMRI-a), and the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada Magnetic Resonance Imaging Index for Assessment of Spinal Inflammation in AS (SPARCC). All 3 methods were judged to be similar with respect to responsiveness and discrimination, although the differences in between-reader intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were judged to be relevant (the SPARCC method provided consistently higher ICC). The Berlin and SPARCC methods were preferred most frequently. The development of a new method combining the best elements of all methods is an additional possibility.