The aim of this study is to assess tissue and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in breast lesions; to compare tissue PSA with serum PSA; to compare tissue PSA in benign and malignant lesions and to compare PSA with known prognostic factors in breast carcinoma. Tissue PSA immunoreactivity in twenty women with breast carcinoma was compared with PSA in twenty-three women with benign breast lesions. Tissue PSA was also compared with known prognostic indicators such as tumour size, axillary nodal status, histological type, histological grade, oestrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status and c-erbB-2 oncoprotein over-expression. Serum free PSAlevels from these women were measured pre- and post-operatively and an attempt was made to correlate serum PSA with tissue PSA expression. 40% and 43% of malignant and benign breast lesions respectively showed tissue PSA immunoreactivity. No significant difference was observed in the tissue PSA expression between these two groups as also between tissue PSA and known prognostic indicators. As serum PSA levels were below the detection limit (< 0.004 ng/ml) in all except two benign cases, no statistical evaluation was done for the latter. Tissue PSA expression did not correlate with other prognostic markers and detectable serum PSA levels were present in too few cases for statistical analysis. Although no definitive conclusion is possible in this preliminary study regarding the role of PSA in breast disease, it stimulates interest in further research in this direction.
MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Breast Diseases/metabolism*; Breast Diseases/pathology; Breast Neoplasms/metabolism*; Breast Neoplasms/pathology; Female; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Middle Aged; Receptors, Estrogen/metabolism; Receptors, Progesterone/metabolism; Biomarkers, Tumor/analysis*; Prostate-Specific Antigen/biosynthesis*; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood; Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism
Outbreaks of Paederus dermatitis have been reported in several Asia-Pacific countries when rove beetles (genus Paederus) are accidentally brushed or crushed on the skin, releasing haemolymph pederin. An investigation was conducted in a school to ascertain the causative agent, establish the case definition, epidemiological characterisation of cases, entomological and environmental survey and data analysis. This outbreak occurred among 36 schoolchildren attending a night tuition class conducted by their teacher. Dermatitis developed within 24 hours in 33/37 (89.2%) cases with itchiness as the first presenting symptom in 87.9% of cases. Periorbital oedema and erythematous-vesicular plaques on the upper extremities were seen in 57.6% of cases, on the back (36.4%) and on the nape (24.2%). Signs and symptoms were present 12 hours after exposure in 66.7% of cases with burning sensation within four hours in 9.1%. Seven cases received out-patient treatment. Thirty cases (90.9%) recalled exposure to Paederus fuscipes with 28 (84.8%) cases admitting crushing or brushing the insects. (Relative risk = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.2; 4.2). The school with fluorescent lighting, was located next to paddy fields. P. fuscipes was easily found in the paddy fields and along the school corridors. This strongly supports it as the likely causative agent for the dermatitis. Boarding the ventilation panes and use of insect spray were successfully implemented to control the outbreak. Increased awareness of this condition is important to prevent misdiagnosis.
Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the breast are uncommon tumors known to occur in the elderly. While focal neuroendocrine differentiation may be noted in many ductal and lobular carcinomas, the term neuroendocrine carcinoma is to be applied when more than 50% of the tumor shows such differentiation. This case report details the cytological features of a neuroendocrine carcinoma that was encountered in our hospital. The fine needle aspiration (FNA) smears showed discohesive polygonal cells with abundant cytoplasm, many of which contained eosinophilic granules located at one pole. Histology of the mastectomy and axillary lymph nodes specimen from this patient showed features of neuroendocrine carcinoma--solid type, with metastasis, confirmed with immunohistochemistry. The patient is disease free seven months after surgery. This case highlights the need to closely observe cytological details to identify this rare tumor that may otherwise appear to be invasive duct carcinoma--not otherwise specified on FNA. The implications of diagnosing neuroendocrine differentiation for prognosis and management are also discussed.
MeSH terms: Aged, 80 and over; Breast Neoplasms/metabolism; Breast Neoplasms/pathology*; Breast Neoplasms/surgery*; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Lymphatic Metastasis/pathology; Mastectomy; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/pathology; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine/metabolism; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine/pathology*; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine/surgery; Biopsy, Fine-Needle
Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD), also known as sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML), is a systemic disease involving nodal and extranodal tissues. We report a 48-year-old female with recurrent nasal obstruction due to polypoidal masses involving the nasal sinuses, turbinates and septum bilaterally, and lumps in the right infra-orbital region and region of the right lacrimal sac. A 4 cm right upper neck mass was also noted, which was initially diagnosed as histiocytic lymphoma. Histopathology of the nasal and infraorbital lesions revealed fibro-inflammatory masses containing histiocytic cells with large vesicular nuclei and abundant foamy cytoplasm exhibiting emperipolesis and lymphophagocytosis, admixed with scattered plasma cells and lymphocytes. These histiocytes revealed immunohistochemical positivity for S-100 protein and CD68, but were negative for CDla. The findings supported a diagnosis of RDD. This report serves to remind pathologists and clinicians of the extranodal manifestations of RDD and its potential confusion with lymphomas.
Collection of biological samples from pteropid bats requires chemical restraint of the bats to minimize risks to humans and stress to the bat. The effectiveness of an intravenous combination of ketamine and xylazine for short-term restraint of wild-caught variable flying foxes (Pteropus hypomelanus) in a field situation was evaluated. Eight adult male variable flying foxes were injected intravenously with 0.1 ml of ketamine and xylaxine containing 5 mg of ketamine and 1 mg of xylazine. The mean induction time was 80 +/- 20 sec, and mean immobilization time was 26 +/- 10 min. The ketamine-xylazine combination used in this study produced effective short-term immobilization of wild variable flying foxes for the collection of biological samples.
Positron emission tomography (PET) has emerged as an important diagnostic tool in the management of lung cancers. Although PET is sensitive in detection of lung cancer, but FDG (2-deoxy-2- 18 fluro-D-glucose) is not tumor specific and may accumulate in a variety of nonmalignant conditions occasionally giving false positive result. Addition of CT to PET improves specificity foremost, but also sensitivity in tumor imaging. Thus, PET/CT fusion images are a more accurate test than either of its individual components and are probably also better than side-by-side viewing of images from both modalities. PET/CT fusion images are useful in differentiating between malignant and benign disease, fibrosis and recurrence, staging and in changing patient management to more appropriate therapy. With analysis and discussion it appears that PET/ CT fusion images have the potential to dramatically improve our ability to manage the patients with lung cancer and is contributing to our understanding of cancer cell biology and in development of new therapies.
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a common extramammary malignancy in pediatric age groups, but it rarely metastasizes to the breast. Breast rhabdomyosarcomas are commonly metastatic, with possible primary locations at the head and neck, trunk, extremities, retroperitoneum and perianal region. We report a case of primary alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma of the upper extremities in a 17-year-old adolescent female who presented with bilateral lower limb weakness and bilateral breast lumps.
MeSH terms: Adolescent; Biopsy, Needle; Breast Neoplasms/secondary*; Female; Hand/pathology*; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Rhabdomyosarcoma, Alveolar/pathology*; Rhabdomyosarcoma, Alveolar/secondary*
BACKGROUND: Worldwide the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is escalating. Parents’ recognition of overweight or obesity in their own children is very important for a successful intervention in these children. This study examined parental perception of their children’s weight status, and its association with their knowledge on nutrition and obesity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross sectional study of parents with children aged 9 to 12 years, in a primary school of Kuala Lumpur. Parents responded to a self-administered questionnaire which contains parental perception of their child weight status as well as knowledge on nutrition and obesity. The parents’ perception of the children’s weight status was then compared with the actual measured weight status.
RESULTS: There were 204 parents who participated in the study. Parents were found to underestimate their child weight status and 38.2% were inaccurate in their perception. The mean score of knowledge on nutrition and obesity was 78.5±14.4; and this did not associate with the accuracy of their perception on the child weight status. Parents showed inadequate knowledge in food pyramid and preparation of low fat meals.
CONCLUSION: The Malaysian Health Campaigns had resulted in overall good knowledge on nutrition and obesity in the parents except in few domains. However, this was insufficient to make the parents recognize the growing overweight and obesity problem in their children.
Key Words: overweight, obesity, children, parental perception, knowledge
MeSH terms: Adult; Awareness; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Surveys; Humans; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*; Malaysia; Male; Obesity/diagnosis; Obesity/epidemiology; Obesity/psychology*; Parents/education; Parents/psychology*; Surveys and Questionnaires; Social Perception; Body Mass Index; Nutrition Policy*; Child Nutrition Sciences/education*
The aims of this study were to review the deaths of Malaysian pediatric oncology patients in order to determine the major causes and the proportion of patients who received palliative care.
The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a therapeutic place for monitoring critically ill patients. However, it is a stressful area for the patients and it is causing them great anxiety. Previous studies have identified three groups of stressors in ICU namely; physical, psychological and environmental. The aims of this study were to determine the ICU stressors as experienced by patients and to determine the level of stressors felt by patients in ICU. A cross sectional study was done on 70 patients from two tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. A face-to-face interview with structured questionnaire was used for patients. Data collection occurred from 15 December 2006 to 31 January 2007. The five major ICU stressors perceived by patients were pain, being stuck with needles, boredom, missing their spouses and being too hot/cold. The ICU physical stressors were the major items ranked by post ICU patients. The findings from this study provided a set of baseline information to the health care providers, particularly ICU nurses in Malaysia, with which to provide better care for the patients in ICU.
MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Attitude to Health*; Boredom; Critical Care/organization & administration; Critical Care/psychology*; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Facility Environment/organization & administration*; Health Services Needs and Demand; Hospitals, Public; Humans; Intensive Care Units/organization & administration; Length of Stay; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Nursing Methodology Research; Critical Illness/psychology*; Federal Government; Young Adult
The 2008 annual conference of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet), Asia's oldest bioinformatics organisation set up in 1998, was organized as the 7th International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB), jointly with the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology in Taiwan (BIT 2008) Conference, Oct. 20-23, 2008 at Taipei, Taiwan. Besides bringing together scientists from the field of bioinformatics in this region, InCoB is actively involving researchers from the area of systems biology, to facilitate greater synergy between these two groups. Marking the 10th Anniversary of APBioNet, this InCoB 2008 meeting followed on from a series of successful annual events in Bangkok (Thailand), Penang (Malaysia), Auckland (New Zealand), Busan (South Korea), New Delhi (India) and Hong Kong. Additionally, tutorials and the Workshop on Education in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (WEBCB) immediately prior to the 20th Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB) Taipei Conference provided ample opportunity for inducting mainstream biochemists and molecular biologists from the region into a greater level of awareness of the importance of bioinformatics in their craft. In this editorial, we provide a brief overview of the peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication herein, grouped into thematic areas. As the regional research expertise in bioinformatics matures, the papers fall into thematic areas, illustrating the specific contributions made by APBioNet to global bioinformatics efforts.
The aims of the present study were to determine whether Allium sativum (garlic) extract has any effect on the morphology transformation of Candida albicans, and to investigate whether it could alter the gene expression level of SIR2, a morphogenetic control gene and SAP4, a gene encoding secreted aspartyl proteinase.
OATP1B1 is a liver-specific transporter that mediates the uptake of various endogenous and exogenous compounds including many clinically used drugs from blood into hepatocytes. This study aims to identify genetic variations of SLCO1B1 gene in three distinct ethnic groups of the Singaporean population (n=288). The coding region of the gene encoding the transporter protein was screened for genetic variations in the study population by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and DNA sequencing. Twenty-five genetic variations of SLCO1B1, including 10 novel ones, were found: 13 in the coding exons (9 nonsynonymous and 4 synonymous variations), 6 in the introns, and 6 in the 3' untranslated region. Four novel nonsynonymous variations: 633A>G (Ile211Met), 875C>T (Ala292Val), 1837T>C (Cys613Arg), and 1877T>A (Leu626Stop) were detected as heterozygotes. Among the novel nonsynonymous variations, 633A>G, 1837T>C, and 1877T>A were predicted to be functionally significant. These data would provide fundamental and useful information for pharmacogenetic studies on drugs that are substrates of OATP1B1 in Asians.
Primary central nervous system (CNS) atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumours (ATRT) are highly malignant neoplasms which usually present in infancy or early childhood. Although ATRT may arise anywhere within the CNS, the majority (approximately two-thirds) arise in the cerebellum or posterior fossa, and the remainder in the cerebrum. We described the imaging characteristics of CNS ATRT in the posterior cranial fossa of a 14-month-old boy.
MeSH terms: Cranial Fossa, Posterior*; Humans; Infant; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Teratoma/diagnosis*; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Rhabdoid Tumor/diagnosis*; Skull Base Neoplasms/diagnosis*
Supernumerary derivative (22) syndrome is one of the rare genomic syndromes. It is characterised by severe mental retardation, microcephaly, failure to thrive, ear anomalies, preauricular tags or sinus, cleft palate or high arch palate, microganathia, renal anomalies, congenital cardiac defects and genital abnormalities in males. In 99 percent of the cases, one of the parents is a balanced carrier of a translocation between chromosome 11 and chromosome 22. We report the first known case, a female neonate, of supernumerary derivative (22) syndrome from Malaysia.
The purpose of the results section is to present the main data collected and the observations made during the research. It provides interpretation of the analysed data and does not contain details on the methods, materials or discussion. The first step in writing the results section is to review the analysed data and determine which results to present. This can be done by deciding which results are relevant to the question(s) presented in the introduction, and may be supplemented by illustrative tables and figures. The results section guides the reader through the questions investigated in the study and sets the stage for the discussion in the next section.
MeSH terms: Publishing/standards*; Statistics as Topic; Writing/standards*
The place of laparoscopic appendicectomy in the management of complicated appendicitis remains unsettled with reports of a higher incidence of postoperative intraperitoneal abscess. Most studies on laparoscopic appendicectomy in children have been done in the Western population. This retrospective review was done to compare laparoscopic appendicectomy with open appendicectomy in children with complicated appendicitis in a hospital in Malaysia.
Validity and reliability of the information relating to hand-transmitted vibration exposure and vibration-related health outcome are very important for case finding in hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) studies. In a local HAVS study among a group of construction workers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a questionnaire translated into Malay was created based on the Hand-transmitted Vibration Health Surveillance--Initial Questionnaire and Clinical Assessment, from Vibration Injury Network. This study was conducted to determine the reliability of standardised questions in the questionnaire used in the study.
MeSH terms: Adult; Humans; Language; Malaysia; Occupational Diseases/diagnosis*; Surveys and Questionnaires*; Vibration/adverse effects; Reproducibility of Results; Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome/diagnosis*
Beta-thalassaemia major is an autosomal recessive disorder that results in severe microcytic, hypochromic, haemolytic anaemia among affected patients. Beta-thalassaemia has emerged as one of the most common public health problems in Malaysia, particularly among Malaysian Chinese and Malays. This study aimed to observe the spectrum of mutations found in Kelantan Malay beta-thalassaemia major patients who attended the Paediatrics Daycare Unit, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia, the data of which was being used in establishing the prenatal diagnosis in this Human Genome Centre.
Despite being an emergent major public health problem, little research has been done on domestic violence from the perspectives of early detection and prevention. Thus, this cross-sectional study was conducted to identify domestic violence among female adult patients attending health centers at the primary care level and to determine the relationship between social correlates of adult patients and domestic violence screening and subsequent help/health-seeking behavior if abused. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 710 female adult patients from 8 health centers in Selangor who matched the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in the study, using a structured questionnaire that included adaptation of a validated 8-item Women Abuse Screening Tool (WAST). Statistical tests showed significant differences in ethnicity, income, and education between those screened positive and those screened negative for domestic violence. Of the participants, 92.4% reported that during consultations, doctors had never asked them whether they were abused by their husband/partner. Yet, 67.3% said they would voluntarily tell the doctor if they were abused by their husband/partner. The findings indicate that primary care has an important role in identifying domestic violence by applying the WAST screening tool, or an appropriate adaptation, with women patients during routine visits to the various health centers. Such assessment for abuse could be secondary prevention for the abused women, but more important, it will serve as primary prevention for nonabused women. This approach not only will complement the existing 1-stop crisis center policy by the Ministry of Health that copes with crisis intervention but also will spearhead efforts toward prevention of domestic violence in Malaysia.
MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Ambulatory Care Facilities; China/ethnology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; India/ethnology; Interviews as Topic; Malaysia; Malaysia/ethnology; Mass Screening/methods*; Middle Aged; Primary Health Care*; Primary Prevention; Surveys and Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Spouse Abuse/diagnosis*; Spouse Abuse/ethnology; Spouse Abuse/prevention & control*; Spouse Abuse/statistics & numerical data; Prevalence; Chi-Square Distribution; Women's Health; Substance-Related Disorders; Early Diagnosis; Young Adult