A rare occurrence of plasma cell myeloma with biclonal gammopathy

Plasma cell myeloma is known to cause expansion of a single clone of immunoglobulin (Ig) which results in the secretion of a unique homogeneous monoclonal protein (M component). However, there are cases which reported that it can also cause production of two different clones of these monoclonal M proteins. Although it is relatively very rare as the prevalence is only 2% of all plasma cell myeloma cases, the clinical features are said to be similar to monoclonal gammopathy. It is suggested that these biclonal gammopathy results from either one monoclonal cell clone in monoclonal gammopathy or two different monoclonal cell clones. Whichever the mechanism of the disease be, the response to treatment seems to be similar as compared to the monoclonal cases although some reports shows chemoresistant. Here, we report a rare case of plasma cell myeloma with IgG (lambda) and IgA (lambda) type of biclonal gammopathy, the clinical presentation, the haematological and biochemical markers as well as the response to the treatment

Detection of BCR-ABL T315i mutation in imatinib resistant chronic myeloid leukemia patients

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who have BCR-ABL T315I mutation, usually present in the advance phase of the disease with overall survival (OS) shorter than those without the mutation. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of T315I mutation amongst imatinib mesylate (IM) resistant CML patients and to compare the OS between T315I-mutated and non-T315I-mutated patients. Sixty consecutive CML patients who were treated with IM for at least 18 months and their treatment responses, were recorded. The mutation analysis was done using allele-specific oligonucleotide reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay followed by direct sequencing technique. Forty-two patients (70%) were found to have IM-resistance. Five out of 42 patients had detectable T315I mutation. Median OS of IM-resistant T315I-mutated patients was 96 months (95% CI:54-138) compared to 84 months (95% CI:48-120) in non T315I-mutated patients, although this was found to be statistically insignificant (p = 0.43). The present study showed a higher prevalence of T315I mutation as compared to a few local studies. Median OS of T315I-mutated patients were observed to be longer than non-T315-mutated patients. Further studies encompassing larger cohort of patients are required to confirm this finding

Physicochemical Characteristics of Magnesium Hydroxyapatite (MgHA) Derived via Wet Precipitation Method / C. M. Mardziah ... [et al.]

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been known for so many decades as an implant material for medical applications due to its chemical composition that is very similar to the inorganic component of human bone. However, synthetic HA possesses relatively low mechanical strength characteristic, making it less suitable to be used in load bearing applications. Thus, the presence of metal ion like magnesium (Mg) is expected to improve the properties of synthetic HA as biomedical devices. The main objective of this research is to develop and characterize the magnesium hydroxyapatite (MgHA) nanopowders derived from the wet precipitation method. The amount of Mg, which acts as a metallic dopant in HA were varied at 0, 5 and 10% and calcined at 700C for imperative comparison. The resultant nanopowders were then characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to examine their physicochemical properties. Morphological evaluation by FESEM showed that the particle size of 10% MgHA powders was larger and spherical in shape but still highly agglomerated at calcination temperature of 700C. This result coincides with the data obtained from the XRD analysis, which revealed that the particle size of pure HA, 5 and 10% MgHA after calcination was 87 nm, 98 nm and 116 nm, respectively. These results demonstrate that doping Mg into HA has caused an increase in the particle size, proving that Mg acts as a sintering additive during the calcination process

Fabrication of porous ceramic scaffolds via polymeric sponge method using sol-gel derived strontium doped hydroxyapatite powder

Recently, development of porous calcium phosphates ceramics have raised considerable interest. A porous structure promotes cell attachment, proliferation and provides pathways for biofluids. Therefore, a high porosity with interconnected pore structure generally favors tissue regeneration. In this work, replication of 0, 2, 5, 10 and 15% SrHA (strontium-doped hydroxyapatite) porous scaffolds via polymeric sponge method has been employed using the sol-gel derived SrHA powders. To prepare the porous samples, the synthesized SrHA powders was mixed with distilled water and appropriate amount of dispersing agent followed by drying in the ambient air and specific sintering process. Morphological evaluation by FESEM measurement revealed that the SrHA scaffolds were characterized by macro-micro interconnected porosity, which replicates the morphology of the cancellous bone. Compression test on the porous scaffolds revealed that doping 10 mol% of strontium in HA has increased the compressive strength by a factor of two compared to the undoped HA with 1.81±0.26 MPa at 41% porosity

Strontium-doped hydroxyapatite nanopowder via sol-gel method : effect of strontium concentration and calcination temperature on phase behavior

Strontium doped hydroxyapatite (Sr-doped HA) nanopowder has been synthesized using a sol-gel method. The concentration of strontium was varied at 2, 5, 10 and 15 mol%. The as synthesized powders were calcined at temperatures of 500 -900ºC. The calcined white Sr-doped HA powders were characterized using differential and thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTA), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Morphological evaluation by FESEM measurement shows that the particles of the Sr-doped HA agglomerates are globular in shape with an average size of 1-2 mm in diameter while the primary particles have a diameter of 30-150 nm in average. The calcined powders contained hydroxyapatite phase only for all doping concentration except for the smallest doping concentration, 2 mol%, where â-TCP appeared as the secondary phase. This indicates that the substitution of Sr atoms for Ca atoms have stabilized the HA phase, leading to the inhibition of the appearance of â-TCP phase upon high temperature calcination. Even, for 2 mol% Sr-doped HA, the appearance of â-TCP peak only started to appear at a temperature as high as of 900ˆC, compared to non- Sr doping HA which appeared at a temperature below 800ºC. © Society for Biomaterials and Artificial Organs (India), 20090119-3

Conversion of strontium hydroxyapatite nanopowders to porous scaffolds for bone implant application

The fabrication of strontium hydroxyapatite (SrHA) porous scaffolds was accomplished by using polymeric sponge method. To prepare the porous samples, the synthesized SrHA nanopowders were mixed with distilled water and appropriate amount of dispersing agent followed by drying in the ambient air and sintering at 1300°C. The compressive strength of the materials was strongly influenced by the porosity, while there was almost no dependence on the crystallinity of the powders since XRD patterns showed high crystallinity of HA phase for all porous samples. Morphological evaluation by FESEM revealed that the SrHA scaffolds were characterized by macro-micro interconnected porosity, which replicates the morphology of the cancellous bone. Compression test on the porous scaffolds demonstrated that doping 10 mol% of strontium in HA has increased the compressive strength by a factor of two compared to the undoped HA with 1.81±0.26 MPa at 41% porosity

Screening of dystrophin gene deletions in Malaysian patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Medical Journal of Malaysia63131-3

The Plasmidomic Landscape of Clinical Methicillin-Resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> Isolates from Malaysia

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a priority nosocomial pathogen with plasmids playing a crucial role in its genetic adaptability, particularly in the acquisition and spread of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, the genome sequences of 79 MSRA clinical isolates from Terengganu, Malaysia, (obtained between 2016 and 2020) along with an additional 15 Malaysian MRSA genomes from GenBank were analyzed for their plasmid content. The majority (90%, 85/94) of the Malaysian MRSA isolates harbored 1–4 plasmids each. In total, 189 plasmid sequences were identified ranging in size from 2.3 kb to ca. 58 kb, spanning all seven distinctive plasmid replication initiator (replicase) types. Resistance genes (either to antimicrobials, heavy metals, and/or biocides) were found in 74% (140/189) of these plasmids. Small plasmids (ermC gene that confers resistance to macrolides, lincosamides, and streptogramin B (MLSB) identified in 63 MRSA isolates. A low carriage of conjugative plasmids was observed (n = 2), but the majority (64.5%, 122/189) of the non-conjugative plasmids have mobilizable potential. The results obtained enabled us to gain a rare view of the plasmidomic landscape of Malaysian MRSA isolates and reinforces their importance in the evolution of this pathogen