Fatal attraction

Seagulls are medium to large birds that survive on live food or scavenge opportunistically. Their morphology allows for equal adeptness in swimming, flying, and walking. Gulls are highly intelligent and highly adaptable to diverse environments. Many species of gull have learned to coexist successfully with humans and have thrived in human habitats

Massive haemorrhage secondary to placenta percreta in the first trimester: a case report

Placenta percreta detected in the first trimester is a very rare condition. It is a known obstetric condition leading to serious maternal morbidity and mortality. High index of clinical suspicion and anticipation of placenta percreta is highly essential in early pregnancy as it is difficult to diagnose. The authors report on a patient who presented with heavy pervaginal bleeding in week 9 of pregnancy. Pelvic examination showed a 12-week sized uterus. Ultrasonography revealed a non-viable fetus. The subsequent emergency curettage performed was complicated by massive haemorrhage which required an abdominal hysterectomy performed as a life-saving procedure

Association between HOMA-IR and cancer

Background: Type 2 diabetes which has insulin resistance as a major risk factor among other non-communicable diseases is a major public health concern with increased significance and prevalence worldwide. Cancer on the other hand was a leading cause of death worldwide in 2008 based on data from the WHO and also 3rd leading cause of death in Malaysia ministry of health hospitals. Studies have found links between carcinogenesis and insulin resistance which has been attributed to hyperinsulinemia. However, studies on the South-east Asian/ Malaysia population are largely absent. Insulin sensitivity is known to differ across different ethnicities with South-east Asians and Asian Indians least insulin sensitive. The aim of this study was to determine the association between cancer and Insulin resistance (IR) regardless of the aforementioned trait. Design: Case-control study. Method: Fasting insulin and glucose concentrations (which were used to derive the Homeostasis model assessment insulin resistant HOMA-IR) were determined in 100 respondent of which 45 were cancer patients and 55 in the control group. Data on demographics, anthropometrics, lifestyle and physical activity level and metabolic parameters were also determined in all respondents. Independent sample t-test was used to check for association between cancer and HOMA-IR and logistic regression was used to control for other co-factors. Results: From the results, there was significant difference between the mean HOMA-IR of the cancer group (3.00 ±1.52) compared to that of the controls (2.07 ±0.69) with a p-value of 0.001. Insulin Resistance was also independently associated with cancer (adjusted OR= 12.25. 95%CI = 3.20- 46.83) There was also significant association between obesity and cancer (adjusted OR = 3.33, 95% CI = 1.08 – 10.31). Conclusion: Even though there were some justifiable discrepancies, significant association was seen between cancer and HOMA-IR in this Malaysian population. These results are in line with previous studies which check for association in select cancers

Nasty beauty

A brain tumour is formed from an abnormal growth of cells in the brain that multiplies in an uncontrollable way. It can either be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign). Though non-cancerous, the tumour could be fatal if it is located at the vital region of the brain. Brain tumours affect people of any age including children even though they tend to be more common in older adults

Skin Blood Flow Response Signal Using Time and Frequency Domain Features for Pressure Ulcer Evaluation

Pressure Ulcer (PU) is an area of the skin in which cutaneous tissue is compromised and there is progressive damage on the underlying tissue caused by blood flow obstruction due to prolonged external direct pressure. Research has shown that ischemic stress response can be evaluated using skin blood flow response (SBFR) signal features which are useful for pressure ulcer evaluation. Trends of peak reactive hyperemia (RH) were observed for three repetitive loading-unloading cycles in previous animal study to investigate tissue recovery.  However, tissue recovery and tissue damage cannot be discriminated by the trends of peak RH for short recovery time. The trends of alternative time-domain SBFR features such i.e total hyperemic response as well as frequency-domain features using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) i.e total power spectrum are further investigated to indicate tissue recovery. The results show that total hyperaemic response outperforms peak RH at detecting insufficient tissue recovery with 72% of samples with increasing trend in the short recovery time group compared to 57% of samples for peak RH. Total hyperemic response is effective at discriminating insufficient recovery time while other investigated features are only effective at detecting sufficient recovery time

Little mind benders

Toxoplasma gondii is a unique yet dangerous protozoan parasite. It sneaks into the brain and alters the host’s behaviour and health. Imagine how these tiny little creatures invading the brain and becoming the inner companions, hanging out and wandering freely in the host’s brain. These little creatures possess mind altering ability that can reform the host’s central nervous system

Toxoplasma gondii stimulates the behavioural changes of rodents: updated evidence

In recent years, there have been an increased number of reports in the literatures on animal behavioural changes linked with intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Evidence for animal behavioural changes with Toxoplasma gondii infection comes from experimental tests on animal models such as mice and rats. These studies describe the important mechanisms of behavioural changes which involving neuromodulator and neurotransmitter level. Furthermore, behavioural changes also have been identified in human as well as animal models that may also play a role in development of schizophrenia in humans

Parotid oncocytoma in Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome: a new pitfall in 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging study

Oncocytomas are rare head and neck neoplasms that occur most commonly in the parotid salivary gland. Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome is a rare inherited genodermatosis manifested by a group of cutaneous lesions, in association with several renal and lung pathology, parotid oncocytoma, thyroid and colonic tumours. Here we report on the case of a patient who presented with parotid oncocytoma in association with skin lesions, multinodular goitre and uterine leiomyoma. This array of lesions suggested the possibility of Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome. 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (18F FDG PET/CT) was used to evaluate head and neck malignancies, including salivary gland tumours. In this report, we highlight a case of bilateral parotid oncocytoma with suspected Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome that showed increased FDG uptake in a PET-CT study. This marked FDG avidity in a benign parotid oncocytoma, adding to the list of common pitfalls related to the parotid glands during a FDG PET-CT study

Differential time course of glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibition in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Introduction: GSK-3 is an immune regulator that plays a role in the modulation of cytokine-producing effector T cells associated with inflammation and demyelination of the CNS in EAE. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the treatment paradigm of a single dose of GSK-3 inhibitor administration at various time courses for the protection of the CNS from EAE. Materials and methods: Effects of GSK-3 inhibition on intracellular cytokine levels were evaluated from in vitro naïve CD4+ T cell cultures. Immunized C57BL/6 female mice with MOG35-55 in conjunction with CFA and Ptx were used as a chronic inflammatory EAE disease model. Tideglusib (NP12), a Thiadiazolidinone class, selective, and non-ATP competitive GSK-3 inhibitor, was injected intraperitoneally at pre-EAE, same-day of immunization or disease onset. After 30 days post-immunization, brain, and spinal cord tissues were collected for inflammation and demyelination analysis by H&E and luxol fast blue staining, respectively, whereas cytokine profiles of the serum were assessed by cytokine beads array. Results: The inhibition of GSK-3 in CD4+ T cells increased IL-10 production. The administration of Tideglusib during pre-EAE and same-day, but not during disease onset, significantly reduced clinical symptoms and delayed disease onset. Histopathological analysis of spinal cord tissues showed a significant decline in the number of inflammatory cell infiltration with a concomitant reduction in demyelination through the blocking of GSK-3, especially during pre-EAE and sameday. Upregulation of IL-10 via GSK-3 inhibition coincided with the downregulation of cytokineassociated effector T cells, including IFN-γ, IL-9, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, and IL-23. Increased IL-4 production, however, was only significant in the pre-EAE group. Conclusion: The neuroprotective effects of Tideglusib against EAE are time-dependent. Downregulation of Th1 and Th17 hallmark cytokines by Tideglusib in EAE may be associated with IL-10 production

Spontaneous Unexplained Preterm Labor with Intact Membrane: Finding Protein Biomarkers through Placenta Proteome

Spontaneous unexplained preterm labor with intact membrane (sPTL-IM) remains as an unresolved challenge in obstetrics due to the complex syndromes involved during preterm birth. Two dimensional-gel electrophoresis (2D-GE) coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight/time of flight (MALDI TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry has become an alternative in screening for potential novel protein-based biomarkers and revealing the pathophysiology of sPTL-IM. To achieve this objective, protein extracted from fetal and maternal sides of the placenta obtained from sPTL-IM (n = 5) and the respective control (n = 10) groups were separated and compared using 2D-gel electrophoresis. MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry was utilized to identify the differentially expressed proteins between both groups, and the molecular functions of these proteins were studied. A total of 12 proteins were significantly differentiated in sPTL-IM over the control. Differentially expressed proteins were identified to have involved in structural/cytoskeletal components, immune responses, fetal and placenta development, and anticoagulation cascade. More proteins were found to be differentially expressed in the fetal side compared to the maternal side of the placenta. This postulates that the influence of sPTL-IM from fetus is greater than that of the mother. Ultimately, these results might lead to further investigations in elucidating the potential of these proteins as biomarkers and/or drug targets