Rasmussen’s encephalitis in an Indian child

A 5 year old boy with history of recurrent seizures and progressive weakness in left upper & lower limb. On MRI scan atrophy of right cerebral hemisphere with prominent right sided sulci & sylvian fissure. Temporal horn of right lateral ventricle appears prominent. Body and genu of corpus callosum appears hypo plastic. Electroencephalography revealed moderate voltage record showing mixed activity comprising ill-defined 8-10 Hz alpha rhythm plus 4-7Hz waves and random background delta components at 3Hz frequency. A clinical diagnosis of focal tonic-clonic epilepsy was made secondary to Rasmussen’s encephalitis, based on the features MRI scan findings of the brain

Potential adverse effects of long term use of Proton Pump Inhibitors

Proton-Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) have changed the therapy of numerous upper gastrointestinal tract disorders; but their use is not without risk of adverse effects. Recent studies suggest more serious adverse events with chronic use of PPIs. Because of these risks, clinicians should reassess individual patient’s needs for chronic PPI therapy

Prevention and management of thalidomide toxicity

Thalidomide is a drug whose efficacy been reported in numerous conditions which can be attributable to its various mechanism of actions. Hence it would be prudent to know its side effects and its subsequent management so as to use it effectively. The current article reviews side effects of thalidomide and discusses methods of prevention and management of thalidomide toxicity

Association Between Hepatitis B Infection And Pancreatic Cancer: A Population-Based Analysis In The United States

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the role of hepatitis B (HepB) infection in the causation of pancreatic cancer and the predictors of pancreatic cancer and mortality. Methods We identified pancreatic cancer patients 11 to 70 years of age from the 2013-2014 National Inpatient Sample. Pearson χ2 test and Student\u27s t-test were used for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. We assessed the association of HepB and pancreatic cancer and the independent mortality predictors by multivariate analyses. Results Of 69,210 pancreatic cancer patients, 175 patients with a history of HepB and 69,035 patients without a history of HepB were identified. Compared with the pancreatic cancer-non-HepB group, the pancreatic cancer-HepB group consisted more of younger (mean, 60.4 [standard deviation, 7.4] years vs 68.2 [standard deviation, 12.1] years), male, black, and Asian patients with low household income and nonelective admissions. The odds of developing pancreatic cancer among the HepB patients were significantly higher (adjusted odds ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.056-1.449; P = 0.008). Black race, age ≥ 65 years, and male sex demonstrated greater odds of mortality. Conclusions This study concluded up to a 24% increased likelihood of pancreatic cancer among the HepB patients. Blacks showed greater odds of pancreatic cancer and related mortality