Strongyloides stercoralis infection in an HIV positive patient--a case report from RIMS, Imphal, Manipur

Strongyloides stercoralis, a nematode parasite in human with free living and autoinfective cycles, is often an asymptomatic infection of the upper small intestine. If the host becomes immunocompromised, autoinfection may increase the intestinal worm burden and lead to disseminated strongyloidiasis. We report a case of a 33 year old male HIV positive patient admitted on 2/6/08 in male medical ward, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur with complaints of loose stools, pain abdomen, nausea, vomiting, generalized weakness, loss of appetite and loss of weight for past one month with fever off and on. Stool examination reveals larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis. The patient was successfully treated with Ivermectin 200 microgm/kg daily for 2 days.     

Post-irradiation carcinosarcoma of uterus--a case report

The carcinosarcoma (malignant mixed mullerian tumour) of uterus is an aggressive neoplasm composing of malignant glands in the malignant stroma showing biphasic appearance. A 55 year old woman presented with discharge per vaginum of one month duration. Earlier she was given radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of vulva, six years back. Abdominal examination was insignificant. USG suggested presence of post-radiation effect with uterine mass. Panhysterectomy was done and on histopathology, the diagnosis of carcinosarcoma (heterologous variant) was made. The case is being reported and discussed.     

Multiple functions of generic drugs: future perspectives of aureolic acid group of anti-cancer antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and aureolic acid group of anti-cancer drugs belong to the class of generic drugs. Research with some members of these two groups of drugs in different laboratories has unveiled functions other than those for which they were primarily developed as drugs. Here we have reviewed the molecular mechanism behind the multiple functions of these drugs that might lead to employ them for treatment of diseases in addition to those they are presently employed.     

Plasma cell leukaemia with papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma of ovary--a case report

A rare case of plasma cell leukaemia and papillary serous cystadenacarcinoma of ovary in a 58-year-old female is reported.     

Pattern of hepatitis C virus genotypes in HIV infected patients in RIMS, Hospital, Imphal, Manipur

The present study was carried out to find the pattern of genotype distribution of Hepatitis C virus. Twenty-three Hepatitis C virus positive serum samples in various age-groups of both sexes attending, Microbiology Department, RIMS during the period from September 2002 to December 2004 were studied for Hepatitis C genotype. These HCV positive serum samples were sent to National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata. The serum samples were tested for HCV-RNA by qualitative RT-PCR test and then genotyped by type specific RT-PCR. Out of 23 serum samples, 22 were males. All the 23 HCV positive serum samples were also tested positive for HCV-RNA by qualitative RT-PCR. Majority of the cases belonged to the age group of 31-40 years. Higher percentage of Hepatitis C cases were Injecting Drug Users and next to it were patients with multiple sexual contacts. Among the IDUs, Hepatitis C virus 3a type was the commonest genotype (61.1%) followed by 1b (22.2%) and 3b (16.7%) respectively. Hepatitis C genotype 3a was predominant (52.2%) followed by 1b (26%) and 3b (21.8%). HCV genotype 3a occurred most commonly in the age group of 21-40 years.     

Sulfur free radical reactivity with curcumin as reference for evaluating antioxidant properties of medicinal zingiberales.

Rhizome extracts of some members of the medicinal Zingiberales are widely used in dietary intake as well as in the traditional system of medicine. Curcumin, the chrome orange-yellow coloring compound present in turmeric rhizomes, has long been known to possess antioxidant property. Crude methanol extracts of the rhizomes of 11 species--Alpinia allughas, A. galanga, Curcuma amada, C. caesia, C. leucorrhiza, Hedychium coronarium, H. coccineum, H. flavescens, Kaempferia galanga, Zingiber cassumunar, and Z. officinale--were evaluated for their antioxidant properties using sulfur free radical reactivity with curcumin as a reference indicator. Sulfur free radicals (GS.) are generated by irradiating 15 mM glutathione (GSH) solution using a 5100 Ci cobalt-60 gamma irradiator. As reference indicator for the reactivity with sulfur free radicals, we used the depletion of pure curcumin sample in vitro as determined by a simple spectrophotometric method. The addition of the supernatant from crude rhizome extracts to the reaction mixture significantly decreased the depletion of curcumin, indicating that these crude extracts possessed antioxidant properties. The relative curcumin protection by different crude extracts against GS. showed that Z. cassumunar gave the highest degree of radioprotection. Our results reveal the potential medicinal use of rhizomes of medicinal Zingiberales as dietary agents.     

An autopsy case of sudden death in a patient with giant cell myocarditis

We present a case of a 28-year-old male weight lifter who died suddenly while driving a bicycle. Forensic autopsy and histopathological examinations revealed granulomatous lesions in the myocardium and hilar lymph nodes. The latter had massive caseation necrosis, epithelioid granulomas and Langhans' giant cells suggestive of tuberculosis. However, the myocardium showed predominantly multinucleated foreign body and myogenic giant cells, lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages, eosinophils. Staining for acid-fast bacilli was negative. The present case highlights the difficulty in establishing whether the granulomatous lesions in the hilar lymph nodes and the myocardium are incidental findings or whether they are related by the same pathogenetic mechanisms.