The Malaysian fish production is about 1.5 million metric tonnes and 86.9% of this comes from the marine sector and 13.1% from the inland sector. This included fish production by capture and culture. (DOF, 2002). Fisheries genetic resources need to have a value in terms of economic, ecological and social uses and they need to characterized. This is the mandate to FAO and it is also necessary for fisheries management and aquaculture development. The vast aquatic diversity that exists in Malaysia consist of numerous taxa of marine and freshwater fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, plants and animals. These figures could be an underestimate to the actual figure. The levels of genetic diversity includes ecosystems, communities, population, genotypes and individual genes. A knowledge of the genetic background of a species and its population structure is essential for its management, breeding and conservation programmes in fisheries. Problems like how to choose the right candidates for breeding, identifiying and monitoring lines, families and individuals, monitoring and control of inbreeding, inheritance of simple traits and genetic improvement through selection for favourable gene and gene combinations can potentially be answered through the use of molecular markers in the management of fisheries genetic resources.
The need to detect genetic variation has fueled the development of novel marker systems in fisheries biology. In this study, a simple, fast and cost effective method was used to differentiate between species of freshwater fishes focusing on Malaysian freshwater fishes by employing
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs) analysis of a 470-bp cytochrome b mtDNA segment. RFLP analysis using six restriction enzymes (AluI, BamHI, BsuRI, Csp61, HpaII and SalI) found variations in the digestion profile among most of the fish samples analyzed. Diagnostic digestion profiles were observed among the Hampala fishes, especially between H. macrolepidota and the other Hampala species/forms (using BsuRI and Csp61). Diagnostic digestion profiles were also detected between H.
bimaculata Type A and Type B (using AluI, BamHI, BsuRI and SalI), supporting their status as distinct species. Additionally, unique digestion profiles were observed in other species such as Leptobarbus hosii (Csp61), Osteocheilus hasseltii (Csp61), Osteocheilus sp. (Csp61), Puntioplites bulu (Csp61), Puntius bramoides (AluI), P. sealei (AluI) and Helostoma temmincki (AluI and Csp61), which can be used as genetic markers for discriminating these species. Overall, the RFLP analysis of the cytochrome
b mtDNA segment has proven to be a considerably effective, fast and non-expensive technique to discriminate among several freshwater fish species in Malaysia.
MeSH terms: Animals; Cyprinidae; DNA Restriction Enzymes; DNA, Mitochondrial; Fisheries; Fresh Water; Genetic Markers; Malaysia; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Cytochromes b
Two isolates of brown root disease fungi were obtained from diseased roots of sentang (Azadirachta excelsa). Morphological characters from macroscopic and microscopic studies suggested that both isolates were from the same genus namely Phellinus noxius and Phellinus sp. Cloning and sequencing of ITS region were conducted to investigate further the variation between the two species at
molecular level. PCR-amplified ITS regions were cloned in pCR2.1 and sequenced. DNA sequences sized 723bp and 710bp were obtained for Phellinus noxius and Phellinus sp respectively. Comparison between the two sequences showed 98% similarity where three nucleotide substitutions and three insertion/deletion regions were found sized 8bp, 2bp and 3bp respectively.
Animal species identification is one of the important fields in forensic science. Unlike human forensics which makes use of DNA fingerprinting techniques to identify individuals of the same species - humans, animal forensic species identification is much more complicated as it involves the ability to identify and distinguish between hundreds to thousands of species when the material evidence is only a trace of animal tissue without the presence of any visual physical morphology. It is even more difficult when the specimen is an unknown and no reference material is available. Animal species identification is not only important for the prevention of wildlife crimes for the purpose of wildlife protection and conservation but it is also becoming more and more significant in food safety issues especially for the meat industry. Owing to the demand and the necessity of providing such services for regulation and enforcement in the context of environmental protection, food safety and biosafety, the Department of Chemistry (DOC)
Malaysia has initiated the use of DNA techniques employing the most widely used genetic markers as part of its scientific solution for animal species identification.
A 45-year-old Malay housewife was seen at a health clinic with the chief complain of recurrent lower abdominal pain for 9 months. The pain was colicky in nature and occasionally it radiated to the back. There was no history of fever, vaginal discharge or any urinary or bowel symptoms. She had been using an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD Cu250) for the past 5 years. The last change of the IUCD was 2 years ago. Her annual pap smear results were normal. She had been to many primary care clinics and was reassured by the doctors that her symptom was due to her IUCD. She was prescribed mefenamic acid repeatedly for the past 9 months. However her symptoms worsen and she was worried because prior to this she did not have similar problems. Her physical examination was unremarkable. On pelvic examination, the IUCD string was visualised, indicating that her IUCD was still in-situ. Her cervix was pink and healthy. There was no abnormal vaginal discharge.
MeSH terms: Adult; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Case Reports; Diagnostic Errors; Female; Humans; Intrauterine Devices; Malaysia; Primary Health Care; Abdominal Pain; Urolithiasis*
Osteopoikilosis is a rare bone dysplasia which is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with a prevalence of less than 0.1 per million.1 It is characterised by dense ovoid or circular spots in cancellous bone which may appear at birth or during skeletal growth. It is usually found in the metaphyseal and epiphyseal regions of long bones, the carpals and tarsals, the end of large turbular bones and around the acetabula. It is clinically asymptomatic and occasionally associated with hereditary multiple exostosis and dermatofibrosis lenticularis disseminata. It is not associated with spontaneous fractures and treatment is unnecessary. However a case of osteosarcoma developing in a man with osteopoikilosis has been reported. The first case of osteopoikilosis was reported in Malaysia four years ago in a 25 years old lady who is also of Indian descent. It would be interesting to know if these two patients are related. Since the bone lesions could easily be mistaken for metastatic disease, it is important that family physicians be aware of the benign nature of this condition.
Significant changes have occurred in relation to how chronic asthma is being treated. Emphasis has now shifted from viewing asthma as a condition of smooth muscle dysfunction to one of chronic inflammation. As such, anti-inflammatory therapy forming the cornerstone of treatment represents the first important milestone in the evolution of asthma treatment. For this purpose, inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) is by far the most effective anti-inflammatory therapy. Another important milestone is the recognition of the superiority of adding long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) to ICS over escalating ICS dose alone or other forms of add-on therapies in treating asthmatic patients not responding to regular ICS alone. The effectiveness of adding LABA to ICS in treating asthma logically led to combining the two drugs into one single inhaler (salmeterol/fluticasone and budesonide/formoterol) that has the attractiveness of being user-friendly and ensuring that ICS is not missed out. The unique property of formoterol that allows for repetitive flexible dosing paved way to the concept of using Symbicort for both regular maintenance dosing and as required rescue medication. This revolutionary approach has been recently shown to provide improved asthma outcome, achieved at an overall lower or at least comparable corticosteroid intake, and may represent another evolutionary step in the treatment strategy of chronic asthma.
Current asthma treatment is directed by severity of symptoms and lung function. In Malaysia, spirometry is not widely available and therefore not used in most medical consultations. In 163 asthmatic patients [mean (95% CI) age: 41 (38-44) yrs; 29% male; 32% Malays, 32% Chinese, 34% Indians] who were being followed up in a State Hospital medical outpatient clinic and a large urban-based health clinic, we studied the effect on Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) disease severity classification and the appropriateness of currently prescribed treatment when forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was considered together with symptom severity. We showed that 52% of the patients were upgraded to a higher severity classification and 71% of the patients were under-treated. If based on symptoms alone to assess severity, 39% of the patients were still under-treated. We concluded that the disease severity in many asthmatic patients might have been underestimated and therefore not adequately treated, because spirometry was not available or used to assess asthma severity. The use of spirometry should be advocated more widely among clinicians treating asthma in Malaysia.
Study site: Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan; Klinik Kesihatan Seremban, Malaysia
Thyroid diseases are common in women, including at the time of pregnancies. Many typical features of hyperthyroidism are common in normal pregnancies and this may delay or mask the diagnosis. Uncontrolled thyrotoxicosis increases the rate of miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), premature labour and perinatal mortality. Multi-disciplinary efforts are required to achieve optimal control of thyrotoxicosis. Anti-thyroid drugs are safe and should be used with the lowest possible doses. Radioiodine treatment is contraindicated during pregnancy and lactation. Indications of surgery include: compression symptoms, thyroid malignancy, non-compliance to medications or when the patient develop drugs side effects
Uterine AVM should be included in the differential diagnosis in patients with excessive postpartum haemorrhage. Colour and spectral flow Doppler US can aid diagnosis and clinical management. Conservative treatment by uterine artery embolisation should also be considered in the treatment of these lesions as it appears safe and effective .
Aim: The single emulsion or single screen system is usually reserved for mammography since its use in general radiography is limited. The purpose of this study is to compare the mammographic film screen combination (MFC) and the standard film-screen combination (SFC) in terms of fracture and soft tissue injuries detection. Patients, methods and materials: In this prospective study, 41 patients from Accident and Emergency suspected of having injury in the hands, wrists, ankles and feet regions were radiographed using both MFC and SFC. These were compared in terms of image quality, presence of fractures and soft tissue injuries. The two different film-screen combinations were also compared in terms of detection of bony fragments, film characteristics such as film speed, contrast and spatial resolution, dose and cost. Results: The MFC gives statistically better image quality compared to SFC. In 10% of patients, fractures were detected only in the MFC, which also detects tiny bone fragments that may not be resolved by the SFC. The spatial resolution of the MFC is greater than the SFC. The film speed and contrast of the MFC are lower than that of the SFC. The doses of MFC were higher compared to SFC. Conclusions: The MFC detects fractures better compared with SFC. However, the entrance skin dose for the mammographic film-screen combination was about 35% to 55% higher than the standard film screen combination.
We report a case of a 12 year old girl who presented with cord compression. Imaging studies demonstrated an extradural spinal tumour in the lower thoracic and upper lumbar levels. Histology confirmed the diagnosis of schwannoma while associated findings suggested the possibility of Neurofibromatosis Type I.
The elderly consume many medications including traditional medicines. In 1986, it was found that 29% of elderly took traditional medicines although in 1996, the National Health Morbidity survey reported a 2.3% prevalence. However, studies from other countries showed much higher percentages. The Ministry of Health in Malaysia is concerned that some of these preparations maybe contaminated with steroids, antihistamines, hormones and other poisons. The aims of the study were to determine a). the health seeking behaviour of elderly Malays living in rural areas, b). the utilization of both modern and traditional medicines and c). the steroid content of the traditional medicines used. Methodology included interviews using structured questionnaires of elderly Malays living in rural areas of Kelantan, aged above 60 years. Samples of traditional medications collected were sent to the Pharmacology Department, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, for steroid content analysis using Thin Layer Chromatography. A total of 599 elderly respondents were interviewed comprising 62.4% females and 37.6% males. The 60-69 years cohort group made up 48.7%, followed by 70-79 years at 36.1% and the remainder 15.2% were more than 80 years. There were 82% of elderly taking medicines. The trends of utilization of modern and traditional medicine in the last two weeks among elderly were 59.3% and 40.9% respectively. The utilization of traditional medicine by rural elderly Malays was therefore much higher than that reported in the previous study and nearly similar to that of France and Australian studies. There were 102 samples of traditional medications collected and analysed for steroid content. Results showed that 27.5% were positive for prednisolone, 34.3% positive for unknown steroids (a total of 61.8%) and 38.2% were negative for both steroids. The present study therefore once again confirmed the high usage of traditional medicines where some of which are contaminated with steroids.
This retrospective study attempted to identify the pattern of ambulance calls for the past two years at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Hospital Kota Bharu (HKB). This study will provide a simple method of acquiring information related to ambulance response time (ART) and to test whether it met the international standards and needs of the client. Additionally, this paper takes into account the management of emergency calls. This included ambulance response time, which was part of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) episode: onset of ART, which started when details like phone number of the caller, exact location of the incident and the nature of the main complaint had been noted. ART ended when the emergency team arrived at the scene of incident. Information regarding ambulance calls from the record offices of HUSM and HKB was recorded for the year 2001 and 2002, tabulated and analyzed. There was a significant difference in the total number of calls managed by HUSM and HKB in the year 2001. It was noted that 645 calls were managed by HUSM while 1069 calls were recorded at HKB. In the year 2002, however, HUSM led with 613 extra numbers of calls as compare to HKB with 1193 numbers of calls. The pattern of ambulance calls observed is thought to possibly be influenced by social activities like local festivities, school holidays and the seasons. Further, it is observed that no studies were previously undertaken to compare the ART at both the HUSM and HKB to that of the international standards. In fact, a literature review undertaken so far showed no similar studies have been done for the whole Malaysia.
on calcium oxalate crystals and to compare the effects of Plantago major extract with clinically used drugs like allopurinol and potassium citrate (positive controls). Modified Schneider slide gel method was used for the in vitro study and the crystals formed were measured by Image Analyser system KS 300, 3.0 Carl Zeiss. The concentrations of Plantago major extract used were from 100ppm to 350ppm. Plantago major extract at concentrations in the range of (100ppm-350ppm) significantly inhibited the size of calcium oxate crystals (dihydrate variety) against negative control (p
A dose range study to assess the teratogenic potential of aqueous extract of Labisia pumila var. alata (Kacip Fatimah) was conducted in rodents. The extract at doses of 0 (control), 2, 20, 200, 400, 1000 mg/kg/day were respectively administered by gavaging to 6 groups of pregnant Sprague Dawley rats from day 6 through day 16 of pregnancy and sacrificed on day 21. No significant agent-related effects including changes in maternal body weight (MBW) nor weight gain were observed. The corrected maternal body weights (CMBW) were slightly higher in animals receiving low dose extracts (2 mg/kg/day) as compared to all groups of animals. However, body weight differences were not statistically significant. Gravid uterine weight, number of corpora lutea, number of implantation sites, percentage of foetal resorptions, number of life foetuses, foetal weight and foetal sex ratio showed no significant differences among all group animals. None of the foetuses from all dams showed evidence of external congenital malformations. These findings may suggest that aqueous extracts of Labisia pumila var. alata up to 1000 mg/kg/day statistically do not show any significant teratogenic effects in rats but do affect the maternal body weight and this is dose dependent.
Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genetic makeup determines the response to a therapeutic intervention. It has the potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine by individualisation of treatment through the use of novel diagnostic tools. This new science should reduce the trial-and-error approach to the choice of treatment and thereby limit the exposure of patients to drugs that are not effective or are toxic for them. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) holds the key in defining the risk of an individual’s susceptibility to various illnesses and response to drugs. There is an ongoing process of identifying the common, biologically relevant SNPs, in particular those that are associated with the risk of disease. The identification and characterization of large numbers of these SNPs are necessary before we can begin to use them extensively as genetic tools. As SNP allele frequencies vary considerably across human ethnic groups and populations, the SNP consortium has opted to use an ethnically diverse panel to maximize the chances of SNP discovery. Currently most studies are biased deliberately towards coding regions and the data generated from them therefore are unlikely to reflect the overall distribution of SNPs throughout the genome. The SNP consortium protocol was designed to identify SNPs without any bias towards these coding regions. Most pharmacogenomic studies were carried out in heterogeneous clinical trial populations, using case-control or cohort association study designs employing either candidate gene or Linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping approaches. Concerns about the required patient sample sizes, the extent of LD, the number of SNPs needed in a map, the cost of genotyping SNPs, and the interpretation of results are some of the challenges that surround this field. While LD mapping is appealing in that it is an unbiased approach and allows a comprehensive genome-wide survey, the challenges and limitations are significant. An alternative such as the candidate gene approach does offer several advantages over LD mapping. Ultimately, as all human genes are discovered, the need for random SNP markers diminishes and gene-based SNP approaches will predominate. The challenges will then be to demonstrate convincing links between genetic variation and drug responses and to translate that information into useful pharmacogenomic tests.
We report a case of actinomycosis presenting as a knee swelling in a 34 year-old man. Knee actinomycosis poses a diagnosis challenge to clinicians as it is rare, often mimics knee tuberculosis and culture of the causative microbes is technically difficult. The classic microscopic appearance of this Gram-positive bacteria often forms the basis of diagnosis.
Stress tends to worsen the prognosis of patients with coronary heart disease. The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between stress related psychosocial factors like anxiety, depression and life events and temporally cardiac events specified as acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina 65 subjects with confirmed myocardial infarction or unstable angina were interviewed using 2 sets of questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Life Changes Stress Test, a segment of the Rahe’s Stress and Coping Inventory first at time of occurrence of their cardiac event and the second time was 6 months later. Anxiety, depression and life events scores were calculated for both and recurrence of cardiac event for the 6 month duration was also recorded. Patients who had significant levels of depression and or life events were ten times more likely to have recurrence of cardiac events as compared to those without risk for either of these psychological symptoms. Anxiety, depression and stress levels are significantly increased after the onset of ischemic heart disease and could be contributing or predisposing factors for the recurrence of cardiac events for these patients.
Even though extensive studies have been conducted on the effect of noise exposure on hearing apparatus / auditory system, information on the effect of noise on the other body functions is sparse. The present study examined the effect of exposure of albino rats to acute and chronic noise stress on two important interlaced endocrine levels. In acute experiments the animals were exposed to 120 dB noise for a duration of 1, 2, 3 hrs. In chronic experiments the animals were exposed to noise for one hour daily for 30, 60 and 90 days. Plasma corticosterone and leptin levels were measured in these animals. There was significant elevation in the levels of corticosterone and leptin after exposure to noise stress. The elevation in corticosterone level after noise stress is in agreement with earlier reports. So noise acts like a stressor and elevates the secretion of the corticosterone, the stress hormone and leptin, the product of the ob gene there is an elevation in leptin levels after noise stress.