Deafness and blindness: A rare presentation of meningeal carcinomatosis

A 60-year-old woman presented with progressive loss of vision and deafness with recurrent simple partial seizures. This patient was treated for carcinoma breast 13 years before this presentation. Magnetic resonance imaging brain and magnetic resonance angiography was normal. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis was inconclusive. Meningeal biopsy revealed metastatic deposits and malignant cells were positive for estrogen, progesterone, and HER2nu receptor. This case has some unique features in the form of involvement of optic and vestibulocochlear nerves together, primary site of malignancy was hidden, and diagnosis was made with meningeal biopsy

New onset bullous lupus erythematosus in a systemic lupus erythematosus patient after initiation of hydroxychloroquin

We report a case of a 14-year-old Indian girl, a diagnosed case of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who developed generalized erythematous rash and joints pain for 15 days. She was prescribed hydroxychloroquin and low dose deflazacort for joint pains. Within 3 days of initiation of hydroxychloroquin she developed generalized eruptions in the form of tense, fluid-filled blisters, erosions, and crusting. Biopsy showed subepidermal blistering with a prominent neutrophilic infiltrate. Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) showed positive granular immunoglobulin (Ig)G deposition with C3 and C1q at the dermoepidermal junction which was consistent with bullous SLE (BSLE). The lesions responded dramatically to dapsone 100 mg daily

Risk factors for neurocysticercosis: A study from Northwest India

Background: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common cause of epilepsy in the low- and middle-income countries. The risk factors for NCC vary from region to region. Aims: To study the risk factors NCC among patients with NCC and compare with age-and gender-matched controls without NCC. Setting and Design: Hospital-based case-control study. Materials and Methods: A total of 214 subjects were studied (109 NCC patients and 105 age- and gender-matched controls without NCC). The participants were selected from neurology and medical wards of a tertiary referral hospital in Northwest India. They were interviewed by trained medical interns using a questionnaire. Results: Patients with NCC were more likely to dispose garbage close to water source (P = 0.01), eat nonvegetarian food (P < 0.001), and often eat in restaurants (P < 0.001). Pigs were seen more in and around the NCC patient′s houses than the control subjects residential areas (P = 0.001). A total of 15% of the NCC subjects lived close to slaughter houses, while only 2.7% of the control group stayed near a slaughter house (P = 0.002). Conclusions: Unhygienic practices, nonvegetarian food, and eating in restaurants were the risk factors for NCC in this study. There is an opportunity for prevention of NCC using public education