Xanthomatous Hypophysitis Presenting in an Adolescent Girl: A Long-Term Follow-Up of a Rare Case and Review of the Literature.

Objective: Primary hypophysitis refers to the isolated inflammation of the pituitary gland not associated with other secondary causes. Among its histopathologic subtypes, xanthomatous is the rarest.

Methods: We describe a 22-year-old woman with xanthomatous hypophysitis (XH), its clinical progression over 8 years as well as the treatment effects of prednisolone and azathioprine.

Human tuberculosis brain promotes neuronal apoptosis but not in astrocytes with high expression of vascular endothelial growth factor.

The present study aimed to investigate the involvement of the angiogenic marker vascular endothelia growth factor (VEGF) and apoptotic markers of Bcl-2 and Bax in the neurons and astrocytes in the brain infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The immunohistochemistry staining was performed to analyze the expression of the VEGF, Bcl-2 and Bax in the astrocytes and neurons. The expression of VEGF was high in neurons and astrocytes in both the infected brain and control tissues with no difference of angiogenic activity (p = 0.

Updates on Knowledge, Attitude and Preventive Practices on Tuberculosis among Healthcare Workers.

Ranking as the most communicable disease killer worldwide, tuberculosis, has accounted with a total of 9.6 million new tuberculosis cases with 1.5 million tuberculosis-related deaths reported globally in 2014.

Sharing experiences from a reference laboratory in the public health response for Ebola viral disease, MERS-CoV and H7N9 influenza virus investigations.

An efficient public health preparedness and response plan for infectious disease management is important in recent times when emerging and exotic diseases that hitherto were not common have surfaced in countries with potential to spread outside borders. Stewardship from a reference laboratory is important to take the lead for the laboratory network, to proactively set up disease surveillance, provide referral diagnostic services, on-going training and mentorship and to ensure coordination of an effective laboratory response. In Malaysia, the Institute for Medical Research has provided the stewardship for the Ministry of Health's laboratory network that comprises of hospital pathology, public health and university laboratories.

Hypothalamic germinoma masquerading as superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome.

Objective: To report a case of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome secondary to hypothalamic germinoma.

Methods: We describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, management, and clinical course of a patient admitted with SMA syndrome who was subsequently found to have a hypothalamic germinoma.

Results: An adolescent boy was admitted to the surgical ward with progressive weight loss over a 2 year period and postprandial vomiting.

A case report of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumour in a 9-year-old girl.

Primary central nervous system atypical rhabdoid/teratoid tumour (ATRT) is a rare and highly malignant tumour that tends to occur in infancy and early childhood. The majority of tumours (approximately two-third) arise in the posterior fossa. The optimal treatment for ATRT remains unclear.

Use of dengue NS1 antigen for early diagnosis of dengue virus infection.

Accurate and timely diagnosis of dengue virus is important for early detection of dengue virus infection. In this study, the usefulness of the dengue NS1 antigen test was evaluated as a routine, rapid diagnostic test for dengue virus infection. A total of 208 sera from patients suspected of having dengue virus infection were collected and tested for dengue antibody, dengue genome and dengue NS1 antigen.

Seasonal influenza virus strains circulating in Malaysia from 2005 to 2009.

From 2005 to 2009, the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Kuala Lumpur received a total of 7,117 respiratory specimens from patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) for influenza screening. Seasonal influenza virus was isolated from 17.3% of patients with ILI in 2005, 31.