DOES METHYLPHENIDATE ENHANCE COGNITION IN NORMAL RATS AND DOES IT AFFECT NEURONAL POPULATION?

Objective: Methylphenidate [MPH] is one of the drugs of choice for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD] since many decades with good effect. Consumption of this drug by normal children and adolescents to boost their cognition skills is of concern. MPH induced cognitive enhancement involves brain dopamine and norepinephrine levels in areas concerned with cognition especially hippocampus. Altered expression of these neurotransmitters can affect neuronal population of hippocampus which may have the significant effect in later part of the life. Hence we evaluate the effect of MPH on cognition and histopathological changes in the hippocampus and dentate gyrus.Methods: Two month old male wistar rats were given either 2 or 5 mg/kg dose of MPH for 10 successive days and another set of rats served as control. The rats were tested for learning and memory activities followed by histopathological studies in hippocampus and dentate gyrus using Nissl staining.Results: MPH at both the doses has enhanced learning abilities as well as retention of memory. The histopathological studies did not show any significant effect on dentate gyrus as well as hippocampus.Conclusion: Though MPH is known to provide sound results in ADHD, from the present study it is clear that MPH treatment in normal rats also temporarily enhance the cognitive skills especially declarative memory. However, its effect on long term memory is to be investigated. MPH treatment has not affected the neuronal population hence possible cytotoxic effects on neurons can be ruled out from the present study.Â

Inflammatory Breast Cancer and Warm Antibody Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia: A Rare Paraneoplastic Syndrome

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a disease process that involves the destruction of red blood cells mediated by the humoral immune system. It can be characterized as a cold agglutinin syndrome, paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria, and warm, mixed type, and drug-induced AIHA. Although a well-established relationship exists between the presence of AIHA and lymphoproliferative malignancy, AIHA rarely presents in association with solid malignancies. An analysis of the limited number of published cases of AIHA in association with solid malignancies performed showed that AIHA may present before the diagnosis of a solid malignancy, concurrently with the presence of a solid malignancy, or even on resolution of a solid malignancy. Few cases of solid cancers associated with AIHA have been reported. AIHA rarely presents as a paraneoplastic syndrome indicating existence of a solid cancer. We report a case of inflammatory breast cancer with AIHA

Study - Minimal erythema response (MED) to solar simulated irradiation in normal Indian skin

BACKGROUND: Phototesting is an essential tool in the investigation of photodermatoses. AIMS: The main aim was to study the cutaneous response to UVR in terms of minimal erythema dose (MED) to both UVA and UVB in normal Indian subjects with a solar simulator and to study the relationship of skin type to MED. METHODS: One hundred healthy volunteers not on any medication and without any history of photodermatoses were phototested using a solar simulator with whole spectrum irradiation (UVA, UVB and visible light) and only visible and UVA radiation. The tested areas were marked with gentian violet and readings were taken after 24 hrs. RESULTS: Of the 100 volunteers, 48% were males and 52% were females, with a mean age of 36.6 \ub1 11.6 yrs. The most common skin type among Indians was type 5 (46%) followed by type 4 (41%). The mean MED for UVB was 61.5 \ub1 17.25J/cm2. The MED for UVA could not be determined as none of the patients showed any erythema after irradiation for 45 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: As the MED is found to be low in idiopathic acquired photodermatoses, the MED in the normal population could serve as a baseline data in the investigation

Acute Kidney Injury, Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, and the Infection That Binds Them Together: Disseminated Histoplasmosis

Untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be complicated by opportunistic infections, including disseminated histoplasmosis (DH). Although endemic to portions of the United States and usually benign, DH can rarely act as an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients presenting with uncommon complications such as acute kidney injury and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. We report a rare presentation of DH presenting with acute kidney injury and immune thrombocytopenic purpura in an immunocompromised patient with HIV

A Sierpinski Carpet Five Band Antenna for Wireless Applications

A compact Sierpinski Carpet square fractal multiband antenna operating at 3.9 (WiMAX) /6.6 (Satellite TV) /8.1/10.7/11.8 GHz (X-band) is presented. The proposed Microstrip Patch Antenna (MSPA) consists of a Sierpinski Carpet square fractal radiator in which square slots are etched out and a tapered microstrip feed line. The Sierpinski Carpet square fractal patch modifies the current resonant path thereby making the antenna to operate at five useful bands. Impedance matching at these bands are solely achieved by using Sierpinski square slot and tapered feedline, thus eliminating the need of any external matching circuit. The dimensions of the compact antenna is  and exhibits S11<-10dB bandwidth of about 4.8% (4.01-3.82 GHz), 2.1% (6.62-6.48 GHz), 2.7% (8.24-8.02 GHz), 2.1% (10.77-10.54 GHz) and 21% (12.1-11.60 GHz) with the gain of 7.57/3.91/3.77/6.74/1.33 dB at the operating frequencies 3.9/6.6/8.1/10.7 and 11.8 GHz, respectively under simulation analysis carried out by using HFSS v.13.0

Use of thiopurines in inflammatory bowel disease : an update

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), once considered a disease of the Western hemisphere, has emerged as a global disease. As the disease prevalence is on a steady rise, management of IBD has come under the spotlight. 5-Aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents and biologics are the backbone of treatment of IBD. With the advent of biologics and small molecules, the need for surgery and hospitalization has decreased. However, economic viability and acceptability is an important determinant of local prescription patterns. Nearly one-third of the patients in West receive biologics as the first/initial therapy. The scenario is different in developing countries where biologics are used only in a small proportion of patients with IBD. Increased risk of reactivation of tuberculosis and high cost of the therapy are limitations to their use. Thiopurines hence become critical for optimal management of patients with IBD in these regions. However, approximately one-third of patients are intolerant or develop adverse effects with their use. This has led to suboptimal use of thiopurines in clinical practice. This review article discusses the clinical aspects of thiopurine use in patients with IBD with the aim of optimizing their use to full therapeutic potential.Peer reviewe

Long QT Syndrome Unveiled by a Fatal Combination of Medications and Electrolyte Abnormalities

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) can present with syncope and seizure-like activity in the setting of torsades de pointes (TdP) with hemodynamic instability. Electrolyte abnormalities and medications can predispose to TdP in the setting of latent LQTS. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is needed if patients with TdP continue to be symptomatic despite medical treatment. We report a case of a patient who presented with seizures and was found to have prolonged corrected QT interval (QTc). During her admission, she was treated with ondansetron. She went into torsades de pointes and continued to have prolonged QTc. She underwent implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) placement and remains asymptomatic to date

Antidote or Poison: A Case of Anaphylactic Shock After Intra-Articular Corticosteroid Injection

Although glucocorticoids are often used as an adjunct to epinephrine to treat anaphylactic shock, glucocorticoids can also be a rare cause of anaphylactic shock. Only through the administration of a challenge dose of different glucocorticoids and different substrates that glucocorticoids are delivered in can the determination be made about which glucocorticoid or accompanying solvent may be the culprit which caused the anaphylactic reaction. These challenge tests should only be performed in a controlled environment as repeat anaphylaxis is a risk, especially if the patient has a history of glucocorticoid-induced anaphylaxis