Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in school-going children in rural Konkan region of Maharashtra.

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood characterised by attention deficit, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. The present study was designed to compute the prevalence of ADHD and assess the association of the predetermined demographic variables and ADHD in school-going children aged 6-12 years in rural areas of Konkan.

Material And Methods: The present study was a descriptive, cross-sectional study.

Trans-epidermal extrusion of lepra bacilli from histoid lesions: a risk of continued transmission.

The current goal of Zero Leprosy focuses on the interruption of the transmission of infection within endemic regions. While the role of the skin in the transmission dynamics of leprosy has not been clearly delineated, recent research on the environmental presence of lepra bacilli brings this aspect back into focus. We present a case of lepromatous leprosy with perforated-appearing histoid lesions on the palms and soles, demonstrating the presence of lepra bacilli throughout the epidermis.

Subcorneal Pustular Dermatosis Occuring in Association with Pyoderma Gangrenosum and Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Triple Whammy!

Neutrophilic dermatoses are a wide group of disorders encompassing indolent to severely disabling conditions. A co-existence of two such conditions, pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) and subcorneal pustular dermatosis, necessitates a thorough investigation for IgA dysglobulinemia. We report a middle-aged woman who developed PG following 18 years of (undiagnosed) subcorneal pustular dermatosis, along with rheumatoid arthritis, a known association of PG.

Efficacy and safety of ligelizumab in adults and adolescents with chronic spontaneous urticaria: results of two phase 3 randomised controlled trials.

Background: Many patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) do not achieve complete control of their symptoms with current available treatments. In a dose-finding phase 2b study, ligelizumab improved urticaria symptoms in patients with H1-antihistamine (H1-AH) refractory CSU. Here, we report the efficacy and safety outcomes from two ligelizumab phase 3 studies.

Dupilumab significantly improves sleep in adults with atopic dermatitis: results from the 12-week placebo-controlled period of the 24-week phase IV randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled DUPISTAD study.

Background: Sleep disturbance is a prominent symptom of atopic dermatitis (AD) and can result in insomnia, daytime fatigue, drowsiness, reduced productivity and impaired quality of life (QoL).

Objectives: The Dupilumab Effect on Sleep in AD Patients (DUPISTAD) phase IV randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study evaluated the impact of dupilumab treatment on sleep and other patient- and physician-reported outcomes.

Methods: Adults with moderate-to-severe AD were randomized 2 : 1 to dupilumab 300 mg once every 2 weeks (q2w) or placebo for 12 weeks; concomitant topical corticosteroids were permitted.

Triaging cases of fever with vesicular rash relevant to the monkeypox epidemic.

Fever with a vesicular rash is a common clinical scenario and monkeypox (MPX) characteristically presents as a fever with a vesiculopustular rash. The clinical morphology of MPX mimics many infectious and non-infectious disorders, and narrowing down the differentials of vesiculopustular rash necessitates thorough history taking and physical examination. The clinical evaluation involves the assessment of the primary skin lesions, sites of involvement, distribution, number and size of lesions, and pattern of progression of the rash, along with the onset of the rash relative to the occurrence of fever and other systemic signs.

Need of optical aids for schools for blind students in Pune and Nasik districts and compliance of their use.

Purpose: To assess the need for spectacles and low-vision aids (LVA) in students attending schools for the blind and study their compliance with use.

Methods: Comprehensive ocular evaluation was performed using a hand-held slit lamp and ophthalmoscope. Vision acuity was measured using a logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) chart for distance, as well as for near.

COX-2 expression mediated by calcium-TonEBP signaling axis under hyperosmotic conditions serves osmoprotective function in nucleus pulposus cells.

The nucleus pulposus (NP) of intervertebral discs experiences dynamic changes in tissue osmolarity because of diurnal loading of the spine. TonEBP/NFAT5 is a transcription factor that is critical in osmoregulation as well as survival of NP cells in the hyperosmotic milieu. The goal of this study was to investigate whether cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression is osmoresponsive and dependent on TonEBP, and whether it serves an osmoprotective role.

Detection of volatile organic compounds indicative of human presence in the air.

Volatile organic compounds were collected and analyzed from a variety of indoor and outdoor air samples to test whether human-derived compounds can be readily detected in the air and if they can be associated with human occupancy or presence. Compounds were captured with thermal desorption tubes and then analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Isoprene, a major volatile organic compound in exhaled breath, was shown to be the best indicator of human presence.

Aquaporin 1 and 5 expression decreases during human intervertebral disc degeneration: Novel HIF-1-mediated regulation of aquaporins in NP cells.

Objectives of this study were to investigate whether AQP1 and AQP5 expression is altered during intervertebral disc degeneration and if hypoxia and HIF-1 regulate their expression in NP cells. AQP expression was measured in human tissues from different degenerative grades; regulation by hypoxia and HIF-1 was studied using promoter analysis and gain- and loss-of-function experiments. We show that both AQPs are expressed in the disc and that mRNA and protein levels decline with human disease severity.

Rituximab as successful adjunct treatment in a patient with disseminated nontuberculous mycobacterial infection due to acquired anti-interferon-γ autoantibody.

An acquired immune deficiency due to interferon gamma (IFN-γ) autoantibodies was diagnosed in a 78-year-old Japanese man with treatment-refractory disseminated nontuberculous mycobacterial infection. In addition to standard antimycobacterial therapy, he was successfully treated with rituximab to eliminate B cells and thereby the autoantibody. Subsequently, he obtained a sustained remission from infection.

Prolyl hydroxylase 3 (PHD3) modulates catabolic effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on cells of the nucleus pulposus through co-activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)/p65 signaling.

Recent studies suggest a differential role of prolyl hydroxylase (PHD) isoforms in controlling hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-α degradation and activity in nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. However, the regulation and function of PHDs under inflammatory conditions that characterize disc disease are not yet known. Here, we show that in NP cells, TNF-α and IL-1β induce PHD3 expression through NF-κB.

Tonicity enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) coordinate heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression in hypoxic nucleus pulposus cells: role of Hsp70 in HIF-1α degradation.

The objective of our study was to examine the regulation of hypoxic expression of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in nucleus pulposus cells and to determine if Hsp70 promoted hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α degradation. Rat nucleus pulposus cells were maintained in culture in either 21% or 1% oxygen. To determine the regulation of Hsp70 expression by tonicity enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) and HIF-1/2, loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments and mutational analysis of the Hsp70 promoter were performed.

Hypoxic regulation of β-1,3-glucuronyltransferase 1 expression in nucleus pulposus cells of the rat intervertebral disc: role of hypoxia-inducible factor proteins.

Objective: To determine whether hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) proteins regulate expression of β-1,3-glucuronyltransferase 1 (GlcAT-1), a key enzyme in glycosaminoglycan synthesis in nucleus pulposus cells.

Methods: Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to measure GlcAT-1 expression. Transfections were performed to determine the effect of HIF-1α and HIF-2α on GlcAT-1 promoter activity.

IL-2 and IL-4 stimulate MEK1 expression and contribute to T cell resistance against suppression by TGF-beta and IL-10 in asthma.

The T cell-driven airway inflammation in chronic asthma is uninhibited and sustained. We examined the resistance of T cells from asthmatic patients against suppression by TGF-β, IL-10 and glucocorticoids and explored its signaling mechanism. CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells from allergic asthmatic subjects demonstrated increased TCR-stimulated proliferation as compared with healthy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease controls.

BMP-2 and TGF-beta stimulate expression of beta1,3-glucuronosyl transferase 1 (GlcAT-1) in nucleus pulposus cells through AP1, TonEBP, and Sp1: role of MAPKs.

The goal of the study was to investigate bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) control of the expression of beta1,3-glucuronosyl transferase 1 (GlcAT-1), an important regulator of chondroitin sulfate synthesis in cells of the nucleus pulposus. Treatment with both growth factors resulted in induction of GlcAT-1 expression and promoter activity. Deletion analysis indicated that promoter constructs lacking AP1 and TonE sites were unresponsive to growth factor treatment.

Pediatric biomarkers in asthma: exhaled nitric oxide, sputum eosinophils and leukotriene E4.

Purpose Of Review: Markers of disease status that provide a numerical measure of disease activity, biomarkers, have come into more routine use in medicine. This is evidenced by troponin and brain natriuretic peptide when measuring cardiac function or glomerular filtration rate in relation to kidney function. Similar markers to assess inflammation in the asthmatic lung have emerged as possible tools to guide treatment.

A reproducible modified method for direct preparation of chorionic villi cytogenetic analysis.

Chorionic villi are finger like projections, which surrounds the embryonic sac in early pregnancy and will later form the placenta. The outer layer of the chorionic villi consists of trophoblast cells. These cells are actively dividing and can be used for direct preparation or short-term culture for prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities.

Investigation of an epidemic of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis in Pune, India.

An epidemic of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) was reported from Pune in August-September, 1996. Conjunctival swabs and scrapings were taken from acute patients attending the OPD of the Ophthalmology department of B. J.

Disease prevalence in women attending the STD clinic in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India.

Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and its association with other STD causing organisms. Three hundred and thirty-six consecutive women (female sex workers (FSWs) and married contacts), attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic in Mumbai, were screened for N. gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Trichomonas vaginalis.

Regulation of preB cell apoptosis by aryl hydrocarbon receptor/transcription factor-expressing stromal/adherent cells.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are environmental chemicals that mediate immunosuppression. In long-term bone marrow B-cell lymphopoiesis models, PAH induce apoptosis in immature (preB) lymphocytes. Since the biologic function of PAH is often mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor/transcription factor (AhR), the role of the AhR or AhR-regulated genes was assessed in preB cell apoptosis.

Risk factors for laparoscopically confirmed pelvic inflammatory disease: findings from Mumbai (Bombay), India.

Objectives: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are an important cause of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) but have often not been detected in microbiological studies of Indian women admitted to hospital gynaecology wards or private clinics. In this cross sectional study, women living in the inner city of Mumbai (Bombay) were investigated for socioeconomic, clinical, and microbiological risk factors for PID.

Methods: Microbiological tests and laparoscopic examination were carried out on 2736 women aged < or = 35 years who came to a health facility with suspected acute salpingitis or infertility or for laparoscopic sterilisation.