Spinal intradural neuroepithelial cyst associated with multiple congenital anomalies in a child

A case of spinal intradural neuroepithelial cyst is presented. The patient, who had thoracolumbar hypertrichosis, underwent magnetic resonance imaging which demonstrated a cystic lesion within spinal canal. The cystic lesion was removed surgically. Histological study proved it to be a neuroepithelial cyst. Spinal intradural neuroepithelial cyst associated with other congenital malformations is a rare condition.     

Assessment of quality assurance in HIV testing in health facilities in Lake Victoria zone, Tanzania

Tanzania is currently implementing the antiretroviral treatment programme, and has a target of putting about 400,000 eligible HIV infected individuals on treatment by 2008. This will involve screening a large number of people, which will require non-laboratory personnel to be involved in doing HIV testing. In order to guarantee reliable and quality HIV test results, there is a need to ensure that quality assurance (QA) procedures are followed from specimen collection, testing and reporting of results. In light of the above a survey was conducted to assess QA in HIV testing in health facilities in Lake Victoria zone, Tanzania. A total of 89 health facilities (29 hospitals, 34 health centres, 9 dispensaries and 17 voluntary and counselling testing centres) were surveyed. Only three (10.3%) health facilities reported performing Uniform II ELISA for HIV diagnosis. All other health facilities reported to be using HIV rapid tests Capillus and Determine. Five (5.6%) of health facility laboratories performed CD4 counts. Internal quality control (IQC) were performed in 21 (63.6%) of the hospitals. Kits for HIV testing were reported to be readily available by 54 (60.7%) of the facilities. Only 16 (18%) of the health facilities had standard operating procedures in place. Systems of equipment calibration were reported by 13 (14.6%) of the health facilities. Counselling services were available in all health facilities and all counsellors had received the 6-week mandatory training course. These findings show that most of health facilities in the Lake Victoria zone do not adhere to QA procedures in HIV testing. There is therefore, a need to establish a monitoring system to laboratories performing HIV testing for the purpose of ensuring QA procedures are done. Personnel doing HIV testing should be re-trained at a regular basis to cope with new techniques and ensure QA procedures are followed.     

Microsatellite and mitochondrial genetic differentiation of Anopheles arabiensis (Diptera: Culicidae) from western Kenya, the Great Rift Valley, and coastal Kenya

The population genetic structure of the African malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis from western Kenya, the Great Rift Valley, and coastal Kenya was investigated using 12 microsatellite loci and a partial sequence of mtDNA dehydrogenase gene subunit 5 (ND5). The mean number of alleles and the observed heterozygosity were similar for the mosquito populations from the three regions as revealed by the microsatellite data. A total of 30 polymorphic sites in the ND5 gene defined 39 haplotypes. Six haplotypes were shared among four populations from the three distinct ecological conditions, and they constituted 92% of the total number of individuals sequenced. Mitochondrial haplotype and nucleotide diversity were high. Microsatellite markers within polymorphic inversions revealed a level of genetic differentiation (F(ST) = 0.116) four to seven times higher than markers outside inversions (F(ST) = 0.016) or inside fixed inversions (F(ST) = 0.027). Mitochondrial ND5 gene sequences did not reveal significant genetic differentiation for the same four populations (phi(ST) = -0.008). The contrasts in the level of genetic differentiation between microsatellite markers inside polymorphic inversions, the mitochondrial ND5 gene, and microsatellite markers outside inversions suggest that the level of genetic differentiation in An. arabiensis populations across the Great Rift Valley varies significantly among different areas of the genome. Variations in the degree of genetic differentiation with respect to the chromosomal location of microsatellite markers may result from intrinsic characteristics of the markers, demographic or historic factors affecting these populations, and the possible adaptive significance of chromosomal inversions to climatic conditions.     

Seminal plasma prostate-specific antigen level in benign prostatic hyperplasia

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the role of the seminal plasma PSA level in the prediction of the response to alpha-blocker treatment in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 18 male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms were enrolled in the study. After their blood was sampled for PSA, ejaculates of all the subjects were obtained. Serum and seminal plasma PSA levels were calculated by Active PSA IRMA kit. Patients were given 4 mg/day doxazosin for a period of 6 weeks, following which their International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) evaluation was repeated. The correlation between serum PSA, seminal plasma PSA and PSA density levels and the percentage improvement in IPSS was investigated. RESULTS: The mean serum PSA level, the mean PSA density and the mean seminal PSA level of the patients were 2.7 +/- 1.2 ng/ml, 0.05 +/- 0.02 ng/ml/cm(3) and 0.7 +/- 0.39 g/l, respectively. The percentage improvement in IPSS varied from 26.9 to 53.5%. Serum PSA and serum PSA density were not useful in the prediction of the response to alpha-blocker treatment, but the seminal PSA levels correlated with the percentage improvement in the IPSS (p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Seminal plasma PSA has been found to be a better predictor of the response to alpha-blocker treatment when compared to serum PSA and PSA density.     

Species-specific primer for identification of Anopheles quadriannulatus sp. B (Diptera: Culicidae) from Ethiopia using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay

Anopheles quadriannulatus Theobald historically has been reported from southern Africa, Zanzibar islands, and Ethiopia. However, based on evidences of genetic incompatibility between crosses of South African and Ethiopian populations, the population from Ethiopia was recently reported as a distinct species designated as An. quadriannulatus sp. B. An. quadriannulatus sp. A, denoted the southern African population. To distinguish the two populations, the IGS (intergenic spacer) region of rDNA was sequenced to design a primer specific for An. quadriannulatus sp. B. A cocktail polymerase chain reaction (PCR) involving Anopheles gambiae Giles universal (UN) primer, the new primer and other primers specific for members of the An. gambiae complex produced the expected diagnostic products for the respective species. Using extracted DNA and crushed body parts as sources of template DNA, this assay was reliably used to identify samples of An. quadriannulatus sp. B.     

Chemotherapy with spaced doses of diethylcarbamazine preceded by levamisole in Bancroftian filariasis

The administration of levamisole (2 · 5 mg/kg) in a single oral dose, the day before beginning weekly spaced doses of diethylcarbamazine (DEC), resulted in low blood levels of microfilariae of Wuchereria bancrofti six weeks after commencing treatment. This rapid decrease in microfilaraemia associated with the addition of levamisole overcomes a major disadvantage of using DEC alone—namely the necessity to commence spaced dose treatment several months before the transmission season.A further advantage of combined levamisole-DEC therapy is that levamisole is effective in ascariasis and hookworm—conditions which often co-exist in areas endemic for Bancroftian filariasis.