Seizures and arousals from sleep--which comes first?

Epileptic seizures may be associated with arousals from sleep. The temporal sequence of seizures and arousals is often uncertain and it may be impossible to determine their relationship by surface electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings alone. We describe a 28-year-old right-handed man with medically refractory partial epilepsy in whom seizure onset appeared to follow arousal from stage 2 nonrapid eye movement sleep based on the surface EEG.

Aplastic anaemia versus hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome.

It is important to differentiate non-dyplastic aplastic anaemia from hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Four patients presenting with hypocellular bone marrow and different evolution patterns are being described. Certain morphological features and variable hypocellularity were found to be useful indices for this purpose.

Morphology of spleen in steroid resistant idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpuras.

Twenty spleens of steroid resistant cases of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpuras were studied by light and electron microscopy. Weights of the spleen were within normal range and were unremarkable grossly. On light microscopy reactive lymphoid follicles were seen in the five of the cases.

Relative efficacy of bone marrow trephine biopsy sections as compared to trephine imprints and aspiration smears in routine hematological practice.

The relative efficacy of trephine sections, trephine imprints and aspiration smears in yielding diagnostic and additional information was compared in 767 sets of bone marrow samples. Trephine sections were diagnostic in significantly more cases as compared to trephine imprints and aspiration smears (P < 0.001).

A reappraisal of underlying pathology in adult patients presenting with pancytopenia.

An analysis of the underlying pathology and different clinico-haematological features of 202 adult pancytopenic patients is presented. Aplastic anaemia (40.6%), megaloblastic anaemia (23.

Cytodiagnosis of granulocytic sarcoma presenting as superior vena cava syndrome in acute myeloblastic leukemia. A case report.

We describe a rare case of acute myeloblastic leukemia presenting with superior vena cava syndrome due to a mediastinal granulocytic sarcoma. The morphologic diagnosis of granulocytic sarcoma was obtained from computed tomography-guided fine needle aspiration cytology. This is the second such case described in the world literature.

Gelatinous transformation of bone marrow.

Gelatinous transformation of bone marrow is usually encountered in patients of anorexia nervosa. We report two cases of gelatinous transformation of the marrow, one without any detectable cause and the other associated with visceral leishmaniasis.

High dose nebulized steroid in the treatment of chronic steroid-dependent asthma.

Despite the dramatic success of inhaled steroids in controlling asthma symptoms there remains a small number of patients in whom asthma can only be treated with continuous oral steroids. Eighteen such patients, aged 19-62 years (seven males, 11 females) were followed in an open trial of nebulized budesonide over 12-18 months. All had required at least 7.

Extrathoracic Castleman's disease.

Castleman's disease is an uncommon clinical entity. We report two cases of this disease with a brief review of literature. Both of them had extrathoracic disease which is relatively infrequent.

Prolonged, pregnancy-related pure red cell aplasia; a case report.

We describe the clinical course of a patient with pregnancy-related, acquired, pure red cell aplasia (PRCA). The course of PRCA was prolonged and ultimately responded only to corticosteroids. It did not recurr over 4 years of observation despite another gestation, and no other cause for PRCA could be detected during this long period.

Gelatinous transformation of the bone marrow and Leishmania donovani infection.

To the best of our knowledge, gelatinous transformation of the marrow has not been described in association with Leishmania donovani infection. Here we report one such case.

Tracheobronchomegaly in association with ankylosing spondylitis.

We present a case of tracheobronchomegaly seen in association with ankylosing spondylitis. To the authors' knowledge this combination has not been previously described. A review of the chest radiographs of 30 other patients with ankylosing spondylitis revealed no evidence of tracheal dilatation.

Dysmyelopoietic Features and Bone Marrow Histology in 30 Cases of Primary Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

Thirty cases of primary myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were diagnosed according to the FAB criteria. The age ranged between 5-78 years, the median age being 38 years. Twelve (40%) patients were younger than 30 years of age.

Iron overload: detection using a micromethod for iron-binding capacity.

Depending upon the transferrin saturation value, 214 serum samples were divided into three groups--iron overloaded (46 cases), iron deficient (61 cases) and normal (107 cases)--and tested with a micromethod based upon detection of unsaturated iron binding capacity. All the samples with iron overload could be distinguished from the other two groups, the results of the normal and iron deficient groups showing wide scatter and overlap. The high prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia and thalassaemia (iron overload) syndromes in India and other developing countries emphasises the need to differentiate these disorders at the earliest opportunity.