Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 33 in total

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  1. Zulfiqar MA, Nair S, Lily M, Norizan MA
    Med J Malaysia, 1999 Dec;54(4):471-7.
    PMID: 11072464
    This is a review of the positive biopsy rate of nonpalpable breast lesions detected on mammography. The histology of 130 hookwire excision biopsy from 1990 to 1995 and the cytology of 39 stereotactic fine needle aspiration cytology in 1995 were reviewed. The yearly positive biopsy rate of each procedure was determined. In 1990, the positive biopsy rate for hookwire excision biopsy was 15%, in 1991 20%, in 1992 11%, in 1993 17%, in 1994 33% and in 1995 39%. In 1995, the positive biopsy rate for stereotactic fine needle aspiration cytology was 21%. The positive biopsy rate for hookwire excision biopsy had improved from 15% in 1990 to 39% in 1995.
  2. Zulfiqar MA, Nair S, Lily M, Norizan MA, Samad SA
    Med J Malaysia, 1996 Dec;51(4):457-61.
    PMID: 10968034
    The main objective of this study is to illustrate the role of ductography in the management of nipple discharge. Thirty-six patients had ductography for the investigation of blood-stained or serous nipple discharge. The ductogram findings were reviewed. Ductography showed an intraductal lesion in 13 patients, duct ectasia in 16 and normal ducts in 7. Fourteen patients had surgery. Eight had preoperative ductography using a mixture of methylene blue and contrast media. Histology revealed 5 cases of duct papilloma, 2 cases of epithelial hyperplasia, 4 cases of fibrocystic change and 3 cases of duct ectasia. Twenty had follow-up without surgery and of these, the nipple discharge ceased in 11 patients. Two patients did not come for follow-up. Ductography has a significant role in the management of nipple discharge. Firstly, surgery might be averted in patients with normal ducts or duct ectasia on ductography. Secondly, intraductal methylene blue will demonstrate the abnormal ductal system to the surgeon and allow for a less radical surgery.
  3. Zulfiqar A, Param V, Meah FA, Nair S, Siti-Aishah MA, Norizan A
    Med J Malaysia, 1993 Sep;48(3):317-24.
    PMID: 8183145
    Radiologically guided localization procedures are indicated pre-operatively when breast lesions are nonpalpable. The results of 42 percutaneous hookwire localizations over a period of 3 years are described. Of the total, 7 (17%) were found to be malignant. Biopsy was indicated by mammographically detected mass in 48%, by microcalcifications in 40% and by microcalcifications with an associated mass in 12%.
  4. Wong HJ, Moy FM, Nair S
    BMC Public Health, 2014;14:785.
    PMID: 25086853 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-785
    Childhood malnutrition is a multi-dimensional problem. An increase in household income is not sufficient to reduce childhood malnutrition if children are deprived of food security, education, access to water, sanitation and health services. The aim of this study is to identify the characteristics of malnourished children below five years of age and to ascertain the risk factors of childhood malnutrition in a state in Malaysia.
  5. Tan RR, Aviso KB, Foo DCY, Migo-Sumagang MV, Nair PNSB, Short M
    Nat Comput Sci, 2022 Aug;2(8):465-466.
    PMID: 38177791 DOI: 10.1038/s43588-022-00286-1
  6. Ross IN, Nair S, Jayakumar CR
    Singapore Med J, 1985 Jun;26(3):271-8.
    PMID: 4048988
    The results of 2449 investigations of the upper gastrointestinal tract were analysed to determine the incidence of disease. Abnormalities were detected in 53% of patients who had endoscopy, but were found in only 24% of patients who had barium studies (p <= 0.001). Altogether 916 patients had abnormal findings. Duodenal ulcer accounted for 42% of cases, gastric ulcer 16% and gastric cancer 9%. The prevalence of perforated ulcer was 13%. The annual incidence/1000 in males and females (>14 years) were respectively, for duodenal ulcer 1.66 and 0.42, for gastric ulcer 0.57 and 0.25, for perforated ulcer 0.36 and 0.05, and for gastric cancer 0.29 and 0.14. Most types of gastro-duodenal disease were less common in Malays than expected (p = <0.001). However oesophageal cancer and varices were more common in Indians compared to Malays and Chinese (p = <0.001). This study showed that the pallern of perforating ulcers was not the same as that of non-peforating ulcers, suggesting a differing pathogenesis. Identification of the factors causing a different prevalence of disease between the three ethnic groups would help in the understanding of the causes of upper gastrointestinal disease.
  7. Ramli N, Nair SR, Ramli NM, Lim SY
    Clin Radiol, 2015 May;70(5):555-64.
    PMID: 25752581 DOI: 10.1016/j.crad.2015.01.005
    The purpose of this review is to illustrate the differentiating features of multiple-system atrophy from Parkinson's disease at MRI. The various MRI sequences helpful in the differentiation will be discussed, including newer methods, such as diffusion tensor imaging, MR spectroscopy, and nuclear imaging.
  8. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Nair S
    Saudi Pharm J, 2016 Sep;24(5):600-604.
    PMID: 27752233
    Pharmacy students' knowledge about adverse drug reaction reporting can impact their attitude towards patient care and issues on patient safety. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and perception of pharmacy students about adverse drug reaction reporting and pharmacovigilance and to study their willingness to report. A cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire was conducted among the university students. The demographic details of the respondents were studied. The number of female respondents was comparatively higher than the male respondents. There were no significant differences by gender regarding the knowledge on adverse drug reaction reporting and pharmacovigilance except with the knowledge of post-marketing surveillance for which male students appeared to be more knowledgeable than female students. The results showed that the pharmacy students had sufficient knowledge and there are significant differences in perception among the students on adverse drug reaction reporting.
  9. Ooi EH, J Y Chia N, Ooi ET, Foo JJ, Liao IY, R Nair S, et al.
    Int J Hyperthermia, 2018 12;34(8):1142-1156.
    PMID: 29490513 DOI: 10.1080/02656736.2018.1437282
    A recent study by Ooi and Ooi (EH Ooi, ET Ooi, Mass transport in biological tissues: Comparisons between single- and dual-porosity models in the context of saline-infused radiofrequency ablation, Applied Mathematical Modelling, 2017, 41, 271-284) has shown that single-porosity (SP) models for describing fluid transport in biological tissues significantly underestimate the fluid penetration depth when compared to dual-porosity (DP) models. This has raised some concerns on whether the SP model, when coupled with models of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to simulate saline-infused RFA, could lead to an underestimation of the coagulation size. This paper compares the coagulation volumes obtained following saline-infused RFA predicted based on the SP and DP models for fluid transport. Results showed that the SP model predicted coagulation zones that are consistently 0.5 to 0.9 times smaller than that of DP model. This may be explained by the low permeability value of the tissue interstitial space, which causes the majority of the saline to flow through the vasculature. The absence of fluid flow tracking in the vasculature in the SP model meant that any flow of saline into the vasculature is treated as losses and do not contribute to the saline penetration depth of the tissue. Comparisons with experimental results from the literature revealed that the DP models predicted coagulation zone sizes that are closer to the experimental values than the SP models. This supports the hypothesis that the SP model is a poor choice for simulating the outcome of saline-infused RFA.
  10. Nair SV, Madhulaxmi, Thomas G, Ankathil R
    J Maxillofac Oral Surg, 2021 Sep;20(3):340-344.
    PMID: 34408360 DOI: 10.1007/s12663-020-01462-4
    Objective: In this article, we provide a gestalt idea about NGS technologies and their applications in cancer research and molecular diagnosis.

    Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) advancements like DNA sequencing and RNA sequencing allow uncovering of genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic scenes of individual malignant growths. An assortment of genomic abnormalities can be screened at the same time, for example common and uncommon variations, auxiliary variations like insertions and deletions, copy-number variation, and fusion transcripts.

    Conclusion: NGS innovations together with bioinformatics investigation, which extend our insight, are progressively used to analyze multiple genes in a cost-effective way and have been applied in examining clinical cancer samples and offering NGS-based molecular diagnosis.

    Application: NGS is progressively significant as a device for the diagnosis of cancers.

  11. Nair S, Schreiber E, Thong KL, Pang T, Altwegg M
    J Microbiol Methods, 2000 Jun;41(1):35-43.
    PMID: 10856775
    Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) is a recently developed, PCR-based high resolution fingerprinting method that is able to generate complex banding patterns which can be used to delineate intraspecific genetic relationships among bacteria. In the present study, AFLP was evaluated for its usefulness in the molecular typing of Salmonella typhi in comparison to ribotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Six S. typhi isolates from diverse geographic areas (Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Switzerland) gave unique, heterogeneous profiles when typed by AFLP, a result which was consistent with ribotyping and PFGE analysis. In a further study of selected S. typhi isolates from Papua New Guinea which caused fatal and non-fatal disease previously shown to be clonally related by PFGE, AFLP discriminated between these isolates but did not indicate a linkage between genotype with virulence. We conclude that AFLP (discriminatory index=0.88) has a higher discriminatory power for strain differentiation among S. typhi than ribotyping (DI=0.63) and PFGE (DI=0.74).
  12. Nair S, Karim R, Cardosa MJ, Ismail G, Pang T
    J Microbiol Methods, 1999 Oct;38(1-2):63-7.
    PMID: 10520586
    We describe a convenient, versatile and safe method for preparing bacterial DNA for ribotyping analysis. In this method, extraction of bacterial DNA from Salmnonella typhi and Burkholderia pseudomallei. and subsequent restriction endonuclease digestion, was performed in agarose blocks/plugs thus minimizing shearing and loss of DNA, problems commonly associated with liquid phase phenol extraction. Digested DNA in the plugs was then electrophoresed directly, transferred to nylon membranes and hybridized with labeled rDNA probes in the usual manner to provide reproducible restriction patterns. This method is particularly useful for bacterial species where standard DNA extraction in the liquid phase using phenol has been problematic (e.g. B. pseudomallei) but can be used for any bacterial species. The DNA extracted within the agarose plugs can be stored for long periods and can be used in other, widely-used typing methods such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and PCR-based techniques. Embedding live cells directly in agarose plugs also minimizes the risk of exposure to these virulent human pathogens among laboratory workers.
  13. Nair S
    Cureus, 2021 Oct;13(10):e18846.
    PMID: 34804700 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.18846
    COVID-19 infection is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was declared a pandemic in 2020. Dengue fever (DF) is caused by the dengue virus (DENV) from the Flaviviridae family and is transmitted via the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito. COVID-19 pneumonia and dengue fever coinfection is a relatively difficult diagnosis to be established considering the similarities in the clinical manifestation of both diseases. I hereby report an unusual case of dual diagnosis involving COVID-19 pneumonia and dengue fever (DF) on the same day of presentation to the hospital. A 62-year-old male presented to the emergency department with a fever of six days duration associated with chills, rigors, arthralgia, myalgia, and a generalized pinpoint rash over the chest and abdomen. He had contact with a worker who recently tested positive for COVID-19. However, his vital signs were stable with peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SPO2) of 99% under room air. Laboratory investigations showed polycythemia, increased hematocrit levels, and thrombocytopenia. Liver function tests showed evidence of acute hepatitis. Otherwise, the basic metabolic panel and coagulation profile were normal. Viral screens for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were negative. The posterior-anterior chest radiograph of the patient showed ground glass opacity in both middle and lower zones of the lungs, which is mostly peripheral with preservation of lung markings. The diagnosis was confirmed by a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test with a cycle threshold (CT) value of 19.97 and positive immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers on the dengue serology panel on the same day of testing. Predisposing risk factors were chronic medical illnesses (type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease) and exposure to probable COVID-19-infected individuals. The patient fully recovered after treatment with oral paracetamol 1 g four times a day for five days and an intravenous drip of 0.9% sodium chloride for 24 hours.
  14. Nair S, Lin TK, Pang T, Altwegg M
    J Clin Microbiol, 2002 Jul;40(7):2346-51.
    PMID: 12089246
    PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analyses were carried out on the 1.6-kb groEL gene from 41 strains of 10 different Salmonella serovars. Three HaeIII RFLP profiles were recognized, but no discrimination between the serovars could be achieved by this technique. However, PCR-SSCP analysis of the groEL genes of various Salmonella serovars produced 14 SSCP profiles, indicating the potential of this technique to differentiate different Salmonella serovars (interserovar differentiation). Moreover, PCR-SSCP could differentiate strains within a subset of serovars (intraserovar discrimination), as three SSCP profiles were produced for the 11 Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis strains, and two SSCP profiles were generated for the 7 S. enterica serovar Infantis and five S. enterica serovar Newport strains. PCR-SSCP has the potential to complement classical typing methods such as serotyping and phage typing for the typing of Salmonella serovars due to its rapidity, simplicity, and typeability.
  15. Nair RS, Nair S
    Curr Drug Deliv, 2015;12(5):517-23.
    PMID: 25675336
    Mortality rate due to heart diseases increases dramatically with age. Captopril is an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE) used effectively for the management of hypertension. Due to short elimination half-life of captopril the oral dose is very high. Captopril is prone to oxidation and it has been reported that the oxidation rate of captopril in skin tissues is considerably low when compared to intestinal tissues. All these factors make captopril an ideal drug candidate for transdermal delivery. In this research work an effort was made to formulate transdermal films of captopril by utilizing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as film formers and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) as a plasticizer. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and dimethylformamide (DMF) were used as permeation enhancers. Physicochemical parameters of the films such as appearance, thickness, weight variation and drug content were evaluated. The invitro permeation studies were carried out through excised human cadaver skin using Franz diffusion cells. The in-vitro permeation studies demonstrated that the film (P4) having the polymer ratio (PVP:PVA = 80:20) with DMSO (10%) resulted a promising drug release of 79.58% at 24 hours with a flux of 70.0 µg/cm(2)/hr. No signs of erythema or oedema were observed on the rabbit skin as a result of skin irritation study by Draize test. Based on the stability report it was confirmed that the films were physically and chemically stable, hence the prepared films are very well suited for transdermal application.
  16. Naidu R, Yadav M, Nair S, Kutty MK
    Br. J. Cancer, 1998 Nov;78(10):1385-90.
    PMID: 9823984
    Expression of c-erbB3 protein was investigated in 104 primary breast carcinomas comprising nine comedo ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), 91 invasive ductal carcinomas and four invasive lobular carcinomas using two monoclonal antibodies, RTJ1 and RTJ2. Of the 91 invasive ductal carcinomas, seven contained the comedo DCIS component adjacent to the invasive component. An immunohistochemical technique was used to evaluate the association between expression of c-erbB3 and clinical parameters and tumour markers such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), c-erbB2, cathepsin-D and p53 in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour tissues. Our results indicated that RTJ1 and RTJ2 gave identical staining patterns and concordant results. It was found that the overexpression of c-erbB3 protein was observed in 67% (6/9) of comedo DCIS, 52% (44/84) of invasive ductal carcinomas, 71% (5/7) of carcinomas containing both the in situ and invasive lesions and 25% (1/4) of invasive lobular carcinomas. A significant relationship (P < 0.05) was observed between strong immunoreactivity of c-erbB3 protein and histological grade, EGFR and cathepsin-D, but not with expression of c-erbB2, p53, oestrogen receptor status, lymph node metastases or age of patient. However, we noted that a high percentage of oestrogen receptor-negative tumours (59%), lymph node-positive tumours (63%) and c-erbB2 (63%) were strongly positive for c-erbB3 protein. We have also documented that a high percentage of EGFR (67%), c-erbB2 (67%), p53 (75%) and cathepsin-D-positive DCIS (60%) were strongly positive for c-erbB3. These observations suggest that overexpression of c-erbB3 protein could play an important role in tumour progression from non-invasive to invasive and, also, that it may have the potential to be used as a marker for poor prognosis of breast cancer.
  17. Naidu R, Yadav M, Nair S, Kutty KK
    Anticancer Res, 1998 Jan-Feb;18(1A):65-70.
    PMID: 9568057
    Expression of p53 protein was investigated by immunohistochemical techniques in archival cases of 134 primary breast carcinomas comprising 13 comedo ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), 105 invasive ductal carcinomas, 7 contained the comedo DCIS component adjacent to the invasive ductal component, 5 invasive lobular carcinomas, three colloid carcinomas and one medullary carcinoma. Overexpression of p53 gene product was studied to determine the association with clinico-pathological parameters and also its relationship to c-erbB2. Overexpression of p53 protein was observed in 31% (4/13) of comedo DCIS, 37% (39/105) of invasive ductal carcinomas, 57% (4/7) of carcinomas containing both the in situ and invasive lesions and all medullary carcinomas. A significant relationship (p < 0.05) was observed between strong immunoreactivity of p53 protein and absence of estrogen receptor, histological grade and c-erbB2 but not with lymph node metastases or age of patient. These observations suggest that overexpression of p53 protein may play an important role in tumor progression from noninvasive to invasive in some breast carcinomas and may have potential as an indicator for poorer prognosis.
  18. Naidu R, Wahab NA, Yadav M, Kutty MK, Nair S
    Int J Mol Med, 2001 Aug;8(2):193-8.
    PMID: 11445874
    Amplification of int-2/FGF-3 gene was investigated by differential polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) in 440 archival primary breast carcinoma tissues. Of these, 23 were comedo ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), 18 were non-comedo DCIS, 41 were comedo DCIS with adjacent invasive ductal carcinomas, 19 were non-comedo DCIS with adjacent invasive ductal carcinomas, 270 were invasive ductal carcinomas, 33 were invasive lobular carcinomas, 21 were colloid carcinomas and 15 were medullary carcinomas. Int-2 was amplified in 22% (96/440) of the primary breast carcinomas. It was shown that int-2 was amplified in 13% (3/23) of the comedo DCIS, 17% (7/41) of the comedo DCIS and 29% (12/41) of the adjacent invasive ductal carcinomas, 26% (71/270) of the invasive ductal carcinomas, 18% (6/33) of the invasive lobular carcinomas, 10% (2/21) of the colloid carcinomas and 13% (2/15) of the medullary carcinomas. In contrast, int-2 was not amplified in non-comedo DCIS and invasive ductal carcinomas with adjacent non-comedo DCIS lesions. A significant association was observed between int-2 amplification in the in situ components and adjacent invasive lesion (P<0.05). All tumors with int-2 amplification in the in situ lesions (7/7) also demonstrated same degree of amplification in the adjacent invasive components. However, 9% (5/53) of the tumors with no amplified int-2 gene in the in situ components showed int-2 amplification in the adjacent invasive lesions. A significant relationship was noted between amplification of int-2 and lymph node metastases (P<0.05) and poorly differentiated tumors (P<0.05) but not with estrogen receptor status (P>0.05) and proliferation index (Ki-67 and PCNA) (P>0.05). In Malaysia, majority of the patients belong to younger age group (<50 years old) but a comparison of the age groups showed that the amplification of int-2 was not statistically associated with patient age (P>0.05). These observations indicate that amplification of int-2 tends to strengthen the view that int-2 may have the potential to be an indicator of poor prognosis regardless of the age of the patient. Moreover, the presence of int-2 amplification in preinvasive, preinvasive and adjacent invasive lesions, and invasive carcinomas suggest that int-2 could be a marker of genetic instability occurring in early and late stages of tumor development.
  19. Lear SA, Hu W, Rangarajan S, Gasevic D, Leong D, Iqbal R, et al.
    Lancet, 2017 Dec 16;390(10113):2643-2654.
    PMID: 28943267 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31634-3
    BACKGROUND: Physical activity has a protective effect against cardiovascular disease (CVD) in high-income countries, where physical activity is mainly recreational, but it is not known if this is also observed in lower-income countries, where physical activity is mainly non-recreational. We examined whether different amounts and types of physical activity are associated with lower mortality and CVD in countries at different economic levels.

    METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, we recruited participants from 17 countries (Canada, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Poland, Turkey, Malaysia, South Africa, China, Colombia, Iran, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe). Within each country, urban and rural areas in and around selected cities and towns were identified to reflect the geographical diversity. Within these communities, we invited individuals aged between 35 and 70 years who intended to live at their current address for at least another 4 years. Total physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPQA). Participants with pre-existing CVD were excluded from the analyses. Mortality and CVD were recorded during a mean of 6·9 years of follow-up. Primary clinical outcomes during follow-up were mortality plus major CVD (CVD mortality, incident myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure), either as a composite or separately. The effects of physical activity on mortality and CVD were adjusted for sociodemographic factors and other risk factors taking into account household, community, and country clustering.

    FINDINGS: Between Jan 1, 2003, and Dec 31, 2010, 168 916 participants were enrolled, of whom 141 945 completed the IPAQ. Analyses were limited to the 130 843 participants without pre-existing CVD. Compared with low physical activity (<600 metabolic equivalents [MET] × minutes per week or <150 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity), moderate (600-3000 MET × minutes or 150-750 minutes per week) and high physical activity (>3000 MET × minutes or >750 minutes per week) were associated with graded reduction in mortality (hazard ratio 0·80, 95% CI 0·74-0·87 and 0·65, 0·60-0·71; p<0·0001 for trend), and major CVD (0·86, 0·78-0·93; p<0·001 for trend). Higher physical activity was associated with lower risk of CVD and mortality in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries. The adjusted population attributable fraction for not meeting the physical activity guidelines was 8·0% for mortality and 4·6% for major CVD, and for not meeting high physical activity was 13·0% for mortality and 9·5% for major CVD. Both recreational and non-recreational physical activity were associated with benefits.

    INTERPRETATION: Higher recreational and non-recreational physical activity was associated with a lower risk of mortality and CVD events in individuals from low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Increasing physical activity is a simple, widely applicable, low cost global strategy that could reduce deaths and CVD in middle age.

    FUNDING: Population Health Research Institute, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Ontario SPOR Support Unit, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, AstraZeneca, Sanofi-Aventis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Servier, GSK, Novartis, King Pharma, and national and local organisations in participating countries that are listed at the end of the Article.
  20. Klionsky DJ, Abdelmohsen K, Abe A, Abedin MJ, Abeliovich H, Acevedo Arozena A, et al.
    Autophagy, 2016;12(1):1-222.
    PMID: 26799652 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356
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