Menstrual-Linked Asthma

This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of menstrual-linked asthma (MLA) in India in 100 consecutive female asthmatics in the reproductive age group. The patients were required to respond to a questionnaire concerning the relationship between their asthma and the menstrual cycle. Twenty-three patients had subjective perception of deterioration in symptoms of asthma in relation to the menstrual cycle. Ten patients from both groups were also required to maintain a daily peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) diary for 2 consecutive menstrual cycles. The mean total duration of illness in patients with MLA was significantly longer than in patients without cyclic exacerbation. Cough and breathlessness were also significantly more severe as was the disease. This was evidenced by the more frequent emergency room visits and hospitalizations in these patients. Menstrual-linked worsening of asthma was most common in the premenstrual week (17 patients). In 8 of these 17 patients, this phenomenon continued to occur during the menstrual week also. Interestingly, 1 patient complained of deterioration of asthma 2 days after menstruation was over. Such an observation is yet to be recorded. Fourteen patients reported an increase in symptoms with almost every cycle while 3 had worsening related to specific season only. Sixteen patients often required extra medication during the premenstrual and/or menstrual weeks. A significant association was also observed between severity of premenstrual syndrome and MLA. The mean PEFR values over 2 cycles revealed a significant fall in the morning as well as evening values in the premenstrual and menstrual weeks as compared to the midcycle week in patients with MLA. This fall was maximal in the premenstrual week. Such a fall was not observed in asthmatics without menstrual exacerbation of symptoms. MLA was detected in about a fourth of the female asthmatics in India and it appears to represent a more severe form of the disease. This study also documented that MLA was associated with an increase in airway resistance and was not simply due to an increased perception of symptoms during the premenstrual or menstrual weeks.     

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome in human immunodeficiency virus-1-infected children

We describe the clinical and pathological findings of the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in two children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Both patients presented with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and subsequently developed renal failure. The diagnosis of HUS was confirmed by renal histopathology in both patients. None of these children presented with bloody diarrhea, evidence of circulating antibody response to Escherichia coli O157 lipopolysaccharide, or other known risk factors for HUS, except for the presence of HIV infection. Each patient was treated with intravenous plasma infusion and renal replacement therapy. Their clinical course was characterized by non-oliguria and lack of significant hypertension throughout the acute phase of the disease. Despite these favorable clinical parameters, both patients developed end-stage renal failure. The etiology of this atypical HUS characterized by poor renal survival remains unknown and the role of HIV infection in its pathogenesis, although possible, is unclear. Received March 5, 1996; received in revised form and accepted October 15, 1996     

Spontaneous regression of extramedullary plasmacytoma--a case report

A case of extramedullary plasmacytoma in the soft tissues of the posterior chest wall of an 80-year old man is reported herein. Immunofluorescence study showed that the tumor cells produced IgG lambda. An M-component was also detected in the patient's serum by paper electrophoresis. Two months following the open biopsy done to establish diagnosis, the tumor underwent spontaneous regression and the M-component in the serum also disappeared. This is the first case report of spontaneous regression of an extramedullary plasmacytoma and the probable reasons for this spontaneous regression are discussed herein.     

Wilson's disease in children: 37-year experience and revised King's score for liver transplantation.

Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare liver-based disorder of copper metabolism. Prognostic criteria described by our group in 1986 to predict death without transplantation have not been universally validated. The clinical features of 88 children were reviewed, retrospectively in 74 and prospectively in 14. Data from the retrospectively recruited patients that died or survived on long-term chelation were used to evaluate the validity of our old scoring system and to devise a new prognostic index, then assessed in the 14 prospectively recruited patients. Using the old scoring system, 5 children scoring > or = 7, the cutoff value for death without transplantation, survived, whereas 4 scoring < or = 7 died (sensitivity 87% and specificity 90%). A new index based on serum bilirubin, international normalized ratio, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and white cell count (WCC) at presentation identified a cutoff score of 11 for death and proved to be 93% sensitive and 98% specific, with a positive predictive value of 88%. When the new index was evaluated prospectively in 14 patients, it predicted the need for transplantation in only the 4 who required it, although 1 child with a score of 11 survived on medical treatment. In conclusion, the new Wilson Index is more sensitive and specific in predicting mortality without transplantation than the old scoring system, but needs to be validated in a larger number of patients.     

Role of the dopaminergic system in depression.

A hypothesis implicating dopamine in depression was proposed over 15 years ago (Randrup et al 1975). The identification of multiple new subtypes of dopamine receptors and evolving views regarding the function of the dopamine systems in the brain require a reexamination of this hypothesis. Results from studies in depression, Parkinson's disease, and animal models of depression suggest a deficiency of dopamine in depression. Dopamine precursors, dopamine agonists, and dopamine reuptake inhibitors show therapeutic efficacy in depression. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and standard pharmacological antidepressants enhance dopamine function. Studies using receptor-specific drugs in clinical trials and neuroimaging studies are needed to further clarify the role of dopamine in depression.     

Primary breast lymphoma.

Primary breast lymphoma (PBL) is a rare tumor of the breast. Three cases of PBL are being described. All three cases achieved remission following biopsy, chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy. The literature is extensively reviewed with emphasis on true incidence of PBL and survival rates.