We would like to highlight an unusual clinical presentation of Kimura's disease, a rare, benign, idiopathic condition, usually seen as swelling and lesions of the head and neck region and commonly affecting young men of Asian descent. It is rare for this disorder to present with lesions on other parts of the body, especially the lower limbs. We report a 27-year-old man who presented with a large mass located at the inguinal region and extending down to the upper thigh. Due to the large size of the mass (28 x 18 cm), our provisional diagnosis was a soft tissue sarcoma. Open biopsy showed that the lesion was benign.
PURPOSE: This review was performed to determine the association between demographic characteristics and the histopathological findings of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients operated in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA) Kuantan Pahang Malaysia. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the histopathological reports of 119 CRC cases operated in HTAA from January 2001 to December 2005 which met the inclusion criteria of histologically proven adenocarcinoma. The following demographic characteristics which include age, gender, and ethnicity were assessed. The histopathological related variables which include the site of primary tumor, Astler and Coller stage, tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis were analyzed. Chi square test was used for categorical variables. Data with low expected counts were assessed using Fisher’s exact tests. RESULTS: There were 59 males and 60 females with age ranging from 23 to 93 years. 81.5% of the patients were older than 50 years (p=0.038). Malays accounted for 58.8% of the total cases, followed by Chinese (36.1%) and Indian (5%). Rectosigmoid region and rectum were the most common sites for primary tumor (55.6%). Cancer in male predominantly occurred in the rectum (p=0.023). Malays were commonly diagnosed with stage C2 (54.3%) while Chinese were diagnosed with stage B2 (58.1%) (p=0.011). Fifty percent of the patients who are less than 50 years old were diagnosed with stage C2 (p=0.024). There was significant change from well to moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (p=0.000). Sixty percent of female patients diagnosed to have cancer with lymph node metastasis (p=0.044). Significant lymph node metastasis was also observed among Malay patients (p=0.022). CONCLUSION: The findings from the present review suggest that there are several associations between demographic distribution and histopathological characteristics of CRC. More than fifty per cent of CRC are found in the rectosigmoid region and the rectum. CRC are more common in Malay race and rectal cancer is predominantly affecting the male. About forty five percent of patients harbor metastases in the lymph nodes and fifty percent of the younger age group were presenting with nodal metastases.
1. The effects of a mixture of 12 Lactobacillus strains (LC) on the growth performance, abdominal fat deposition, serum lipids and weight of organs of broiler chickens were studied from 1 to 42 d of age. 2. One hundred and thirty-six 1-d-old male broiler chicks were assigned at random to two dietary treatments: a basal diet (control), and a basal diet with 0.1% LC. 3. The supplementation of LC in broiler diets improved the body weight gain and feed conversion rate from 1 to 42 d of age and was effective in reducing abdominal fat deposition but only after 28 d of age. 4. The LC diets reduced serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides in broilers from 21 to 42 d of age. However, there was no significant difference in serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol between control and LC-fed broilers. There was also no significant difference in the weights of organs of control and LC-fed broilers. 5. The results indicated that the mixture of 12 Lactobacillus strains have a hypolipidaemic effect on broilers.
Malignancy is a significant long-term complication of successful renal transplantation. Not only the rate is higher but also cases are highly aggressive. We report a case of metastatic, small cell, neuroendocrine tumor in a post-renal transplant patient with progressive left inguinal nodes and right lumbar swellings. He had a remarkably elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase levels with multiple metastatic masses in the left inguinal, left iliac fossa, and right lower abdominal wall on abdominal computed tomography scan. Excisional biopsy of a left inguinal node revealed extensive infiltration with malignant cells in it. Immunohistochemistry staining was positive for synaptophysin, prostatic specific antigen, and CD56. While the primary small cell carcinoma of genitourinary organs is rare, the case illustrates the highly aggressive nature of the disease in a kidney transplant recipient.
The objective of this study was to isolate, identify, and characterize some lactic acid bacterial strains from human milk, infant feces, and fermented grapes and dates, as potential probiotics with antimicrobial activity against some human pathogenic strains. One hundred and forty bacterial strains were isolated and, after initial identification and a preliminary screening for acid and bile tolerance, nine of the best isolates were selected and further identified using 16 S rRNA gene sequences. The nine selected isolates were then characterized in vitro for their probiotic characteristics and their antimicrobial activities against some human pathogens. Results showed that all nine isolates belonged to the genus Lactobacillus. They were able to tolerate pH 3 for 3 h, 0.3% bile salts for 4 h, and 1.9 mg/mL pancreatic enzymes for 3 h. They exhibited good ability to attach to intestinal epithelial cells and were not resistant to the tested antibiotics. They also showed good antimicrobial activities against the tested pathogenic strains of humans, and most of them exhibited stronger antimicrobial activity than the reference strain L. casei Shirota. Thus, the nine Lactobacillus strains could be considered as potential antimicrobial probiotic strains against human pathogens and should be further studied for their human health benefits.
A 16-wk feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of a prebiotic, isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO), a probiotic, PrimaLac®, and their combination as a synbiotic on the chemical compositions of egg yolks and the egg quality of laying hens. One hundred and sixty 16-wk-old Hisex Brown pullets were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments: (i) basal diet (control), (ii) basal diet + 1% IMO (PRE), (iii) basal diet + 0.1% PrimaLac® (PRO), and (iv) basal diet + 1% IMO + 0.1% PrimaLac® (SYN). PRE, PRO, or SYN supplementation not only significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the egg yolk cholesterol (24- and 28-wk-old) and total saturated fatty acids (SFA; 28-, 32-, and 36-wk-old), but also significantly (P < 0.05) increased total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA; 28-, 32-, and 36-wk-old), total omega 6 and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), including linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid levels in the eggs (28-wk-old). However, the total lipids, carotenoids, and tocopherols in the egg yolks were similar among all dietary treatments in the 24-, 28-, 32-, and 36-wk-old hens. Egg quality (Haugh unit, relative weights of the albumen and yolk, specific gravity, shell thickness, and yolk color) was not affected by PRE, PRO, or SYN supplementation. The results indicate that supplementations with IMO and PrimaLac® alone or in combination as a synbiotic might be useful for improving the cholesterol content and modifying the fatty acid compositions of egg yolk without affecting the quality of eggs from laying hens between 24 and 36 wk of age.
Two previously isolated Lactobacillus strains (L. fermentum HM3 from human milk and L. buchneri FD2 from fermented dates), intended as probiotic for human, were assessed for their safety using acute and subacute oral toxicity tests in rats. In addition, their effects on cecal microflora and harmful bacterial enzymes (β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase) of the tested animals were also determined. The results showed that L. buchneri FD2, L. fermentum HM3, or a mixture of them were safe up to a level of 1010 CFU/kg BW/day in a 14-day or 28-day treatment period. Both strains were well tolerated and there were no observed adverse effects on growth, feed consumption, cellular blood components and vital organs of the treated animals. The Lactobacillus strains were also able to reduce harmful intestinal bacterial enzymes, and decrease pathogenic bacterial populations while increasing beneficial bacterial populations. These results suggest that the two Lactobacillus strains are safe and could be potential probiotic for human.
Twelve previously isolated Lactobacillus strains were investigated for their in vitro bioactivities, including bile salt hydrolase (BSH), cholesterol-reducing and antioxidant activities, cytotoxic effects against cancer cells, enzyme activity, and biogenic amine production. Among them, only 4 strains showed relatively high BSH activity, whereas the rest exhibited low BSH activity. All 12 strains showed cholesterol-reducing and antioxidant activities, especially in their intact cells, which in most of the cases, the isolated strains were stronger in these activities than the tested commercial reference strains. None of the tested strains produced harmful enzymes (β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase) or biogenic amines. Among the 12 strains, 3 strains were tested for their cytotoxic effects against 3 cancer cell lines, which exhibited strong cytotoxic effects, and they also showed selectivity in killing cancer cells when compared to normal cells. Hence, all 12 Lactobacillus strains could be considered good potential probiotic candidates because of their beneficial functional bioactivities.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The Lactobacillus strains tested in this study could be considered good potential probiotic candidates for food/feed industry because of their beneficial functional bioactivities such as good cholesterol-reducing ability, high antioxidant activity, and good and selective cytotoxic effect against cancer cells.