The Sion Test

Endosonography as a tool for checking the patency of Fallopian tubes was an expected development in the progress the field of gynaecology was taking. We at Sion Hospital have used transvaginal sonography in evaluating the patency of Fallopian tubes with a technique which encompasses a thorough pelvic scan as well. We offer The Sion Test not as a substitute for hysterosalpingography, laparoscopy or hysteroscopy but as a screening technique in infertility investigation. The Sion Test can be performed in the gynaecologists' office at the same time as the pelvic examination. A series of 50 infertile patients had a diagnostic laparoscopy and hysterosalpingography after our test was done. We have compared the accuracy of the 3 methods of evaluating tubal patency and have found our test an excellent screening technique for investigations in infertility.     

Peroneal Nerve Dysfunction in Patients with Clubfoot Deformity: Evaluation of Clinical Presentation and Treatment

BackgroudComplete peroneal nerve dysfunction associated with congenital clubfoot is uncommonly reported. Our retrospective study highlights the recognition of clinical presentation and mid-term outcomes of treatment in these patients.MethodsEight out of 658 patients undergoing treatment for clubfoot were identified with unilateral complete peroneal nerve dysfunction associated with congenital clubfoot. Three patients presented primarily to our center; 5 were treated elsewhere initially. All patients were treated with Ponseti casts, Achilles tenotomy, and subsequent foot abduction bracing. Diagnosis of complete peroneal nerve dysfunction was confirmed using nerve conduction velocity studies in all patients. After full-time bracing, an insole polythene molded ankle foot orthosis was given. Three patients underwent tibialis posterior transfer to improve foot dorsiflexor power.ResultsThe mean age at presentation was 1.3 years (range, 1 week–5 years). All patients had prominence of lateral 3 metatarsal heads and dimpling of intermetatarsal spaces. At a mean follow-up of 5.1 years, mean shortening of 1.2 cm in tibia (range, 1–2.5 cm) and mean calf wasting of 4.4 cm were observed. There was no relapse of any clubfoot deformity till the final follow-up.ConclusionsProminence of lateral metatarsal heads and dimpling of intermetatarsal spaces should raise early suspicion of peroneal nerve dysfunction. Standard Ponseti protocol is useful in treatment of these patients. Tibialis posterior transfer to dorsum partially restores the ankle dorsiflexion.     

Laparoscopic Transabdominal Preperitoneal Repair of Ventral Hernia: A Step Towards Physiological Repair

The laparoscopic ventral hernia repair with preperitoneal placement of mesh minimizes the complications related to the intraperitoneal position of mesh and fixating devices. It allows safe use of conventional and less expensive polypropylene mesh. The prospectively collected data of 68 patients who underwent laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal mesh hernioplasty, for different types of ventral hernias between January 2005 and December 2009 was retrospectively reviewed. The study included 68 patients, 16 males and 52 females with a mean age 51.1 ± 11.1 years (range 23–74 years). Most of the hernias (67.6%) were in the midline position. The mean size of the defect was 30.8 ± 24.4 cm2 (range, 4–144 cm2) and the mean mesh size was 237.8 ± 66.8 cm2 (range, 144–484 cm2). The mean operating time was 96.7 ± 16.7 min (range 70–150 min). All repairs were done with polypropylene mesh. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 1.5 ± 0.6 days (range, 1–4 days). Nineteen patients (27.9%) suffered from postoperative complications. Four patients (5.8%) were detected to have seroma formation. There were two recurrences (2.9%). The mean follow up was 22.7 ± 13.4 months (range, 6–48 months). The laparoscopic preperitoneal ventral hernia repair with polypropylene mesh is cheaper and has acceptable postoperative outcomes. Peritoneal coverage of the mesh not only acts as a barrier between mesh and bowel and thereby prevents adhesions, it also provides an additional security of fixation. This is a safe and feasible option of ventral hernia repair in expert hands. However, for proper validation of these conclusions a long term prospective clinical trial is required.     

Targeting metabolic flexibility by simultaneously inhibiting respiratory complex I and lactate generation retards melanoma progression

Melanoma is a largely incurable skin malignancy owing to the underlying molecular and metabolic heterogeneity confounded by the development of resistance. Cancer cells have metabolic flexibility in choosing either oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) or glycolysis for ATP generation depending upon the nutrient availability in tumor microenvironment. In this study, we investigated the involvement of respiratory complex I and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in melanoma progression. We show that inhibition of complex I by metformin promotes melanoma growth in mice via elevating lactate and VEGF levels. In contrast, it leads to the growth arrest in vitro because of enhanced extracellular acidification as a result of increased glycolysis. Inhibition of LDH or lactate generation causes decrease in glycolysis with concomitant growth arrest both in vitro and in vivo. Blocking lactate generation in metformin-treated melanoma cells results in diminished cell proliferation and tumor progression in mice. Interestingly, inhibition of either LDH or complex I alone does not induce apoptosis, whereas inhibiting both together causes depletion in cellular ATP pool resulting in metabolic catastrophe induced apoptosis. Overall, our study suggests that LDH and complex I play distinct roles in regulating glycolysis and cell proliferation. Inhibition of these two augments synthetic lethality in melanoma.     

Needs of Indian schizophrenia patients: an exploratory study from India

Background  

Although there are many studies from the West, no study has evaluated the needs of schizophrenia patients in Indian setting.