This is a case report of a recurrent lesion diagnosed histologically as a unicystic ameloblastoma. The concomitant presence of a traumatic neuroma was observed within the wall of the recurrent lesion. The mode of development of the traumatic neuroma, and the reason for the recurrence were presented.
Cases of lingual thyroid are rare. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, New York, reported three cases of lingual thyroid in 800,000 admissions. We report here a case of lingual thyroid associated with hypothyroidism. The embryology, clinical features and principals of management are discussed.
Mark-release-recapture experiments were carried out in Sabah, East Malaysia on the malaria and filariasis vector, Anopheles balabacensis. Samples of wild females were marked with different colours of fluorescent pigments, released in man-baited huts fitted with exit traps. Simultaneous collections and releases were also made in night-biting catches on a water buffalo and on four men. All subsequent recaptures were made in the same situation in which the mosquitoes were marked. The same individual mosquitoes were caught biting men and buffalo on different occasions and the numbers caught showed a strong preference for man over buffalo. The length of the oviposition cycle in the field was found to be 3.0 days. After blood-feeding on man in a hut, An. balabacensis were found to exit on the night or early morning. The same individual mosquitoes were found resting in the hut or exit trap on different occasions. The results indicate that there is strong evidence for the existence of genetic variability in the tendency of An. balabacensis to rest in houses and to bite man and buffalo. The obvious existence of this phenomenon is considered discouraging for the prospects of interruption of malaria transmitted by An. balabacensis in nature.
In a prospective study of 50 patients with suspected tear of the meniscus of the knee, the clinical diagnosis, arthrographic and arthroscopic findings were compared at arthro-tomy. The clinical diagnosis was correct in 85%, arthrographic in 54%, and arthroscopy in 91%of the patients.
HLA associations were observed in unrelated Malay patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). HLA-B18 was observed in 18/45 (40%) Malay NPC patients compared to 22/167 (13%) Malay normals (P = 0.0001; Pc = 0.0027, RR = 4.4). The frequency of HLA-B17, one of the antigens associated with Chinese NPC, was also increased among Malay NPC (13/45 29%) compared to controls (18/167 11%; P = 0.003, Pc = 0.07 RR = 3.4). Similar to the findings among Chinese NPC, the frequency of B17 was higher in early onset (less than or equal to 30 years) Malay NPC resulting in a higher relative risk (RR = 5.0).
A group of Taiwan aborigines, the Toroko, was typed for 21 classical genetic loci. This is part of an ongoing program aimed at a comprehensive study of Taiwan aborigines. In this first paper a short summary of historical, archeological, and anthropological data in the literature is made, and results of the present survey are compared with older results from other aborigine tribes. An analysis of other neighboring populations from southeast Asia has also been carried out in order to give a preliminary answer to the question of origin of Taiwanese aborigines. Fifteen populations were studied for 13 loci by tree analysis, principal components, and isolation by distance. Tree analysis and principal component analysis gave results in fairly good agreement and indicate three major population clusters: a northeast cluster (Ainu, Korea, Japan, and Ryukyu); a southeast cluster (south China, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, and Toroko); and a third cluster including Malaya and Borneo. The positions of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia are somewhat peripheral. Analysis of the tree shows some potential cases of convergence, perhaps owing to admixture, and of divergence. The analysis of isolation by distance shows that geographic propinquity is a reasonably good predictor of general similarity in this area.
MeSH terms: Blood Group Antigens/genetics; Gene Frequency; Genetic Markers*; Humans; Phenotype; Taiwan; Asian Continental Ancestry Group*
A 26-year-old assistant nurse suffered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was successfully treated with combination chemotherapy. 15 months later, she relapsed with a lump in her right breast. The significance of this finding is discussed.
The relief of pain is of crucial importance in the management of patients undergoing a total three-stage oesophagectomy. Respiratory problems as a result of inadequate or overzealous analgesic regimes can ruin all pre-operative and per-operative efforts. 90 patients who underwent a total oesophagectomy over a 15-year period (1967-1982) at University Hospital Kuala Lumpur, were reviewed (36 for benign stricture and 54 for carcinoma of the oesophagus). Four post-operative analgesic regimes were used: immediate extubation and parenteral analgesics; 24-48 hour IPPV and timed dose/continuous infusion of parenteral narcotics; 24-48 hour IPPV plus extradural catheter analgesia; intra-operative direct intercostal nerve blocks, extubation and parenteral analgesics. Morbidities and mortalities are analysed.
Routine examination for spinal deformity as part of a school health screening programme was introduced in Singapore in 1981. The three different ethnic groups included in the study provided figures for the prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis in an Asian population. A three-tier system of examination was used and a total of 110744 children in three age groups were studied. In those aged 6 to 7 years the prevalence was 0.12%. The prevalence in those aged 11 to 12 years was 1.7% for girls and 0.4% for boys, a ratio of 3.2 to 1. In girls aged 16 to 17 years the prevalence was 3.1%. In the latter two age groups there was a significantly higher prevalence in Chinese girls as compared with Malay and Indian girls. The optimal age for school screening seemed to be 11 to 12 years, but repeated examinations may be worthwhile.
In a study of suicide in Singapore in 1980 there were 230 cases and the suicide rate for the general population was 9.5 per 100,000. The age-specific rates increased steeply after 50 years and there was a male preponderance especially in the age group 60 years and over. Comparing the three major ethnic groups in Singapore, the highest rate was seen in the Indians and Chinese, whereas the Malays had the lowest. Amongst the suicides there were 59 (25.7%) with mental illness, mainly schizophrenia, and they were of a younger age group, 20-39 years. The commonest method of suicide was jumping from high-rise flats.
Studies on the bionomics and host-parasite relationship of Robertsiella kaporensis and Malaysian Schistosoma were investigated. The study was divided into 4 parts: cultivation of snails, R. kaporensis, and maintenance of Malaysian Schistosoma life cycle, daily cercarial shedding cycle in R. kaporensis, miracidial load and cercarial shedding pattern and the infectivity of Malaysian Schistosoma cercariae. R. kaporensis were cultured in the laboratory with the use of plastic container provided with fine sand. The snails were fed with diatoms and Saraca leaves. The development period for the snail eggs was about 20-30 days, the young grew to maturity in 14-15 weeks, and the average growth rate of snails was 0.23 mm per week. The daily cercarial shedding cycle of snails had shown that the peak emergence of cercariae of Malaysian Schistosoma occurred at night, between 6-10 pm. The miracidial load which yielded the best results in terms of percentage infection rates of snails and cercarial output was the miracidial concentration of 8 miracidia per snail. The study on infectivity of Malaysian Schistosoma cercariae has shown that there was a decrease in infectivity of the cercariae to mammalian hosts as the cercariae increased in age. The percentage infection rate of mice and numbers of worms recovered were highest in mice infected with cercariae of 0-1/2 hr. old. Infection of cercariae fell rapidly after the cercariae were 16 hr. old.
The pathogenicity of Bacillus sphaericus strain 1593 was tested against laboratory-reared larvae of four local species of mosquitoes of public health importance in Malaysia; Aedes aegypti, Anopheles balabacensis, Mansonia uniformis and Culex quinquefasciatus. The bacteria was shake-cultured at 28 +/- 1 degrees C for three days, using Glucose-Yeast Extract Salts medium. After which, the spores and vegetative cells were harvested and stored at 4 degrees C before use. Conditions for bioassays were mean temperature of 25 +/- 1 degrees C and relative humidity 65 +/- 5.0. Twenty third-instar larvae of each species were assayed in 90 ml of diluted spore solution. Each concentration and a control were replicated three times for each bioassay. Larval mortalities at 24 hours and 48 hours were taken and analyzed through Probit Analysis using a computer (IBM 370). LC50 values after 48 hours of exposure showed an increasing order of larval susceptibility as follows: Ae. aegypti (417.70 x 10(4)), An. balabacensis (45.84 x 10(4)), Ma. uniformis (18.23 x 10(4)) and Cx. quinquefasciatus (4.14 x 10(4) spores/ml). With the ability to kill 90% of the Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae tested with just a concentration of 10(5) spores/ml, B. sphaericus (strain 1593) has shown good potential as a biocontrol agent for this species of mosquito.
Toxoplasmosis was found not to be an important cause of intrauterine infection in Malaysia as the rate of toxoplasma-specific IgM in 1,060 congenitally defective Malaysian children, 0 to 4 months old (0.4%) was lower than that in 405 normal children of the same age group (2.0%). A total of 8.2 intra-uterine toxoplasmic infections per 1,000 live births was detected of which one-third (2.7 per 1,000 live births) was overt, manifesting symptoms more of liver damage, than eye or brain damage. A comparison was made with the rates in U.S.A. and Europe. The role of toxoplasmosis in abortion needs to be studied.