Schizophrenia-like psychosis as the presenting feature of neurosyphilis in a non-human immunodeficiency virus-infected Indian man: A reminder of a forgotten complication!

Syphilis is a great masquerader of several diseases. About 4%-10% of patients with untreated syphilis may develop neurosyphilis (NS). Psychiatric manifestations may rarely be the presenting feature of NS.

Nasogastric tube insertion in anaesthetised, intubated adult patients: A comparison between three techniques.

Background And Aims: The existence of several methods for proper placement of nasogastric tube (NGT) and introduction of various novel methods day-by-day indicates that no method is perfect or universally accepted. However, the quest for the best is still on. Application of cold in various forms to stiffen the NGT has been tested inconsistently over the last three decades.

Cytological and histological correlation of granular cell tumor in a series of three cases.

Granular cell tumor (GCT) is an uncommon soft tissue tumor characterized by proliferation of cells with granular eosinophilic cytoplasm. We came across three such tumors, one in the tongue, one in the chest wall, and one in the right deltoid region, which were referred for fine-needle aspiration cytology. On cytological examination, the first two cases were diagnosed as GCT, and the mass in deltoid region was suggestive of proliferative myositis.

Agonistic Autoantibodies to the β2-Adrenergic Receptor Involved in the Pathogenesis of Open-Angle Glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a frequent ocular disease that may lead to blindness. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT) are common diseases with increased intraocular pressure (IOP), which are mainly responsible for these disorders. Their pathogenesis is widely unknown.

Evaluation of Preoperative Flupirtine in Ambulatory Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is the mainstay therapeutic management for nasal pathologies. We evaluated flupirtine, a centrally acting analgesic, for producing perfect perioperative conditions in FESS for adults in a day-care setting.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-two patients (25-40 years) scheduled for FESS under general anesthesia were randomly divided into Group F ( = 31) receiving preoperative flupirtine (100 mg) and Group C ( = 31) receiving identical-looking placebo capsule per oral 60 min before induction of anesthesia.

Evaluation of Endocrine Parameters as Predictor of Major Depressive Disorder.

Background: The diagnosis of the disease, major depressive disorder (MDD), entirely depends on the presence of some symptoms without any biochemical parameter to support it. Depletion of dopamine though is an established feature, is not the sole causative factor of MDD. Moreover, it has very little diagnostic value due to a short half-life.

Efficacy of transdermal buprenorphine patch on post-operative pain relief after elective spinal instrumentation surgery.

Background And Aims: Transdermal buprenorphine patch (TDB) is increasingly used for chronic pain management because of non-invasive dosing, longer duration of action and minimal side effects. However its role in acute post-operative pain management for spinal instrumentation surgery is not well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of buprenorphine patch for postoperative pain relief in patients undergoing spinal instrumentation surgery.

Over expression of HIF1α is associated with inactivation of both LimD1 and VHL in renal cell carcinoma: Clinical importance.

It is evident that the association of LimD1 and VHL could regulate stabilization of HIF1α protein. In this study, the expression of LimD1, VHL and HIF1α was analyzed in primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) samples to understand their association with development of the disease. For this purpose, immunohistochemical expression analysis of LimD1, VHL and HIF1α was performed along with proliferation marker PCNA in 32 primary RCC samples in different subtypes at different clinical stages of Indian patients (year: 2014-2016).

Postoperative Sore Throat Prevention in Ambulatory Surgery: A Comparison between Preoperative Aspirin and Magnesium Sulfate Gargle - A Prospective, Randomized, Double-blind Study.

Background: Postoperative sore throat (POST) frequently hampers the positive feedback of ambulatory surgery in spite of so many measures. This study was carried out to compare the efficacy of preoperative magnesium sulfate and aspirin gargle in preventing POST after ambulatory surgery.

Materials And Methods: It was a prospective, randomized, and double-blinded study.

Perineural Nalbuphine in Ambulatory Upper Limb Surgery: A Comparison of Effects of Levobupivacaine with and without Nalbuphine as Adjuvant in Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block - A Prospective, Double-blinded, Randomized Controlled Study.

Background And Aims: Various opioid additives have been trialed to prolong brachial plexus block. We evaluated the effect of adding nalbuphine hydrochloride to levobupivacaine for supraclavicular brachial plexus blockade. The primary end-points were the onset and duration of sensory and motor blocks and duration of analgesia.

Asymptomatic leishmaniasis in kala-azar endemic areas of Malda district, West Bengal, India.

Asymptomatic leishmaniasis may drive the epidemic and an important challenge to reach the goal of joint Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) elimination initiative taken by three Asian countries. The role of these asymptomatic carriers in disease transmission, prognosis at individual level and rate of transformation to symptomatic VL/Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) needs to be evaluated. Asymptomatic cases were diagnosed by active mass survey in eight tribal villages by detecting antileishmanial antibody using rK39 based rapid diagnostic kits and followed up for three years to observe the pattern of sero-conversion and disease transformation.

Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP) mediated host protective intracellular mechanisms against tuberculosis infection: Involvement of TLR-4 mediated signaling.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection inflicts the disease Tuberculosis (TB), which is fatal if left untreated. During M. tuberculosis infection, the pathogen modulates TLR-4 receptor down-stream signaling, indicating the possible involvement of TLR-4 in the regulation of the host immune response.

Photocatalytic and antibacterial activity of cadmium sulphide/zinc oxide nanocomposite with varied morphology.

Nanocomposites with multifunctional application prospects have already dragged accelerating interests of materials scientists. Here we present CdS/ZnO nanocomposites with different morphology engineering the precursor molar ratio in a facile wet chemical synthesis route. The materials were structurally and morphologically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).

Genetic diversity and multiplicity of infection of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

The study of genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum is necessary to understand the distribution and dynamics of parasite populations. The genetic diversity of P. falciparum merozoite surface protein-1 and 2 has been extensively studied from different parts of world.

Induced hypotension in ambulatory functional endoscopic sinus surgery: A comparison between dexmedetomidine and clonidine as premedication. A prospective, double-blind, and randomized study.

Background: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is the mainstay of a therapeutic technique for nasal pathologies. This study is to compare the ability of preoperative dexmedetomidine versus clonidine for producing controlled hypotensive anesthesia during FESS in adults in an ambulatory care setting.

Materials And Methods: Sixty patients (25-50 years) posted for ambulatory FESS procedures under general anesthesia were randomly divided into Group C and D (n = 33 each) receiving dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg and clonidine 1.

Does the preoperative administration of tranexamic acid reduce perioperative blood loss and transfusion requirements after head neck cancer surgery? A randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) surgery is associated with high intraoperative blood loss which may require urgent blood transfusion. Many strategies have been recommended to decrease the need for allogenic transfusion. Use of perioperative tranexamic acid (TA) has a promising role.

Association of single-nucleotide polymorphism of cholecystokinin receptor A gene with schizophrenia in an Eastern Indian population.

Context: Cholecystokinin A receptor (CCK-AR) gene polymorphism is being increasingly reported in schizophrenia. It varies among different population groups but is associated with several complications of schizophrenia.

Aims: The present study was undertaken to assess whether the CCK-AR polymorphism is stabilized and is more consistently associated with schizophrenia in an Eastern Indian sub-population.

Hirschsprung's Disease in Neonates with Special Reference to Calretinin Immunohistochemistry.

Background: Hirschsprung's disease is a classic example of a complex genetic disease, characterized by the lack of enteric ganglia in the submucosal and myenteric plexuses, along variable portions of the distal gut. The diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease is based on a combination of clinical features, radiological appearance of the bowel and histological features in Haematoxylin & Eosin stained sections of intestinal biopsies. Calretinin Immunohistochemistry is emerging to be one of the newer methods.

Retroperitoneal Sarcoma. Outcome Analysis in a Teaching Hospital in Eastern India- a Perspective.

Primary Retroperitoneal Sarcomas are relatively uncommon tumors with varied manifestations, ill-defined prognostic factors and uncertain management modalities. We undertook this study to review patients who presented with primary or recurrent RPS at our institute during the study period. Between 2008 and 2010, 23 patients were evaluated.

IgG Lambda Myeloma Presenting as Plasmacytic Ascites: Case Report and Review of Literature.

Multiple myeloma is a neoplastic disease of plasma cells accounting for 13 % of haematological malignancies and 2 % of all malignancies worldwide. Ascites may develop very rarely during the course of disease in multiple myeloma. We report the case of a 78 years old male with IgG lambda multiple myeloma who initially presented with plasmacytic ascites.

Comparison between general anesthesia and spinal anesthesia in attenuation of stress response in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A randomized prospective trial.

Background: Laparoscopy though minimally invasive produces significant hemodynamic surge and neuroendocrine stress response. Though general anesthesia (GA) is the conventional technique, now-a-days, regional anesthesia has been accepted for laparoscopic diagnostic procedures, and its use is also being extended to laparoscopic surgeries.

Objective: The aim was to compare the hemodynamic surge and neuroendocrine stress response during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) under GA and spinal anesthesia (SA) in American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) PS 1 patients.