Sporotrichoid presentations in leprosy

Two adult patients of leprosy, one woman and one man, presented with a clinical picture simulating sporotrichosis. The skin and regional nerve trunk was affected in one, and in the other the disease was confined to the nerve. Both had features of an upgrading reaction following anti-leprosy therapy; this was seen as erosion and scarring of the plaque, and acute onset of abscesses along the easily palpable and thickened nerve that ruptured through the skin. The diagnosis was supported by histopathology. In the light of other infections that give rise to a sporotrichoid pattern of infection it is concluded that leprosy should also be included in this category so that early diagnosis and use of corticosteroids can be implemented quickly to prevent nerve destruction.     

Chanarin–Dorfman syndrome with eccrine gland vacuolation: a case report

Chanarin–Dorfman syndrome is a rare congenital disorder of lipid metabolism characterized by ichthyosis, leukocytic vacuolation (Jordan's anomaly), and variable involvement of the liver and neuromuscular system, with about 40 cases described worldwide to date. We report one more case of this rare syndrome, with certain peculiarities, namely vacuolation in eccrine glands, in a young male adult.     

Secondary Tuberculosis of the Skin

One hundred patients with secondary skin tuberculosis--59 with lupus vulgaris (LV), 27 with scrofuloderma (SD), and 14 with tuberculosis verrucosa cutis (TVC)-were included in this study. The buttocks and lower limbs were seen to be important sites of involvement in LV, besides the occurrence over the face. An active focus of tuberculosis was present in 18, a past history of pulmonary tuberculosis in 8, and intrafamilial tuberculous infections in 21. Histopathology and culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were done in all the cases. Guinea pig inoculation was done in 11. The poor results of these investigations have been highlighted and discussed with reference to studies done in the past by other workers. The need for improvement in laboratory techniques is suggested.     

Risk Factors for Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity in Preterm Low Birth Weight Neonates

Objective  

To evaluate the risk factors predisposing to severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a level III neonatal unit. This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care neonatal and ophthalmic center.     

Molecular mechanisms of reduced sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) uptake in human failing left ventricular myocardium.

BACKGROUND: Human failing heart due to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is associated with decreased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) uptake. However, it is unknown as to which mechanism leads to this abnormality. METHODS: Immunodetectable sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins (phospholamban [PLB], phosphorylated PLB at serine-16 or threonine-17, calsequestrin and Ca(2+)-ATPase levels), the activities of Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase and protein phosphatase and Ca(2+) uptake at varying Ca(2+) concentrations were determined in left ventricular specimens from the same 7 failing hearts (ejection fraction 20 +/- 2%) due to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and 5 non-failing explanted control donor hearts. RESULTS: In failing hearts, compared with control donors, decreased maximal velocity and affinity of Ca(2+) uptake for Ca(2+) were found to be associated with reduced expression levels of Ca(2+)-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), PLB and phosphorylated PLB at serine-16, but not of calsequestrin and phosphorylated PLB at threonine-17. In contrast, protein phosphatase activity increased significantly and the activity and protein expression level of the delta isoform of Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase remained unchanged in failing hearts compared with control donors. CONCLUSIONS: The impaired maximal velocity of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) uptake may be due in part to reduced protein expression level of Ca(2+)-ATPase, whereas the reduced affinity may be due in part to the reduced ratio of Ca(2+)-ATPase to PLB and reduced PLB phosphorylation at serine-16 in failing hearts. The latter abnormality may be due in part to increased protein phosphatase activity. These results suggest that selective enhancement of Ca(2+) uptake into the sarcoplasmic reticulum by pharmaceutical agents, or by molecular tools that inhibit phosphatase activity, would be a valuable therapeutic approach for treating, or at least retarding, the process of heart failure.     

Dose estimates to the public from 210Po ingestion via dietary sources at Kalpakkam (India).

Distribution of one of the natural radionuclides 210Po activity in food of plant origin such as cereals, pulses, vegetables and food of animal origin such fish, crab, prawn, chicken, egg etc. were determined in and around Kalpakkam upto a distance of 32 km radius. The general range of 210Po activity levels in all the dietary components (excluding milk and drinking water which are reported in mBq l(-1)) ranged widely from < or = 10 to 122,641 mBq kg(-1) fresh, the minimum being in vegetables and maximum being in the edible portions (muscle) of crab samples. 210Po levels in drinking water and milk samples ranged between 0.6-2.6 and 8-12 mBq l(-1) respectively. 210Po content in cereals ranged from < or = 32 to 745 mBq kg(-1) and in pulses it was found to vary between < or =32 and 294 mBq kg(-1). The range of 210Po activity in different types of vegetables was found to be < or = 10-653 mBq kg(-1). Among the different varieties of vegetables, 210Po was significantly higher in leafy vegetables (28-653 mBq kg(-1)) as compared to rooty and other types of vegetables which ranged from < or = 10-180 mBq kg(-1). In food of animal origin, the observed minimum activity of 210Po was 8 mBq l(-1) in milk and the maximum observed was 122,641 mBq kg(-1) in the muscles of crab. It was also observed that 210Po activity was found to be in higher levels in the food of aquatic animal origin (1414-122,641 mBq kg(-1)) than in the food of terrestrial animal origin (other than milk) which varied from 41 to 963 mBq kg(-1). It is evident from the present study that the foods of animal origin especially crab, fish and prawn deliver significantly greater dose (93-3364 microSv yr(-1)) to the public compared to foods of plant origin whose mean dose ranged 0.08-128 microSv yr(-1). The study showed evidence to suggest that the total ingestion dose due to 210Po received by the Kalpakkam public through dietary sources is significantly higher than the ingestion dose received due to fallout sources such as 137Cs and 90Sr.     

Myxoinflammatory Fibroblastic Sarcoma: An Uncommon Tumour at an Unusual Site

Myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma is a low grade sarcoma that is composed of a mixed inflammatory infiltrate along with spindled, epithelioid and bizarre appearing cells in a background of hyaline and myxoid zones. Seen affecting the distal extremities commonly, with an equal sex predilection, these tumors are rare and require an extensive immunohistochemical work up for proper diagnosis. They have a tendency to recur.