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  1. Tay YK, Kong KH, Khoo L, Goh CL, Giam YC
    Br J Dermatol, 2002 Jan;146(1):101-6.
    PMID: 11841373
    BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is a common disease that appears to be increasing in frequency during recent decades. Most of the studies are based on the Western population, and there are few data in the Asian population.

    OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and descriptive epidemiology of atopic dermatitis among school children in the general community in Singapore.

    METHODS: This is a questionnaire study of 12 323 students done over a 1-year period, comprising 7 year olds (4605), 12 year olds (3940) and 16 year olds (3778) from 19 primary and 17 secondary schools randomly selected in Singapore. All children had a complete cutaneous examination. The diagnosis of atopic dermatitis was based on the U.K. Working Party diagnostic criteria. The questionnaire was translated into Chinese and both the English and Chinese versions were issued simultaneously to the students.

    RESULTS: The 1-year period prevalence of atopic dermatitis was 20.8%. Atopic dermatitis was present in 22.7% of 7 year olds, 17.9% of 12 year olds and 21.5% of 16 year olds. The overall sex ratio was equal. There were slightly more boys with atopic dermatitis among the younger children (6 and 12 year olds, 1.18 : 1 and 1.19 : 1, respectively) but more girls were affected (1.57 : 1) among the 16 year olds. Atopic dermatitis was more common among the Chinese (21.6%) and Malays (19.8%) compared with the Indians (16%) and other races (14%). The onset of the disease occurred before the age of 10 years in 49.5% of the 16 year olds. "Pure" atopic dermatitis without concomitant respiratory allergies was noted in 788 respondents (30.7%); 1775 (69.3%) suffered from a "mixed" type, with 34.3% having allergic rhinitis, 9.5% having asthma and 25.5% having both asthma and allergic rhinitis. More boys had atopic dermatitis and concomitant respiratory allergies whereas more girls were affected with "pure" atopic dermatitis alone (1.4 : 1). At least one first-degree family member with atopy was noted in 1435 children (56%): atopic dermatitis (70%), asthma (62%) and allergic rhinitis (68%). Among siblings with one parent with atopic dermatitis, 37% had either a father or a mother with atopic dermatitis. Common aggravating factors reported included exercise, heat and sweating, grass intolerance, thick clothing and stress. Pityriasis alba was noted in 25% of the study population, keratosis pilaris in 13% and ichthyosis vulgaris in 8%. Most respondents had mild to moderate atopic dermatitis that could be controlled with a fairly simple regimen of moisturizers, topical steroids, antihistamines and antibiotics.

    CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Singapore is similar to that observed in developed countries, suggesting that environmental factors may be important in determining the expression of the disease.

  2. Khoo LS, Hasmi AH, Abdul Ghani Aziz SA, Ibrahim MA, Mahmood MS
    Malays J Pathol, 2016 Apr;38(1):1-10.
    PMID: 27126658 MyJurnal
    A disaster is a natural or man-made (or technological) hazard resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment. It is a phenomenon that can cause damage to life and property and destroy the economic, social and cultural life of the people; and overwhelms the capacity of the community to cope with the event. The recent tragic aviation accidents in 2014 involving Malaysia Airlines flights MH370 and MH17 shocked the world in an unprecedented manner. This paper focuses on the Malaysian experience in the MH17 mission in Ukraine as well as the first ever international Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) operation for the Malaysian DVI team. The DVI operations in Hilversum, the Netherlands were well described in stages. The Netherlands' Landelijk Team Forensische Opsporing as the lead DVI team in Hilversum operated systematically, ensuring the success of the whole mission. This paper discusses the lessons learned by the Malaysian team on proper DVI structure, inter- and intra-agency cooperation, facilities planning and set up, logistics and health and safety aspects, as well as effective communication and collaboration with other international delegates. Several issues and challenges faced by the Malaysian team were also documented. In addition, the authors shared views, opinions and recommendations for a more comprehensive DVI operation in the future.
  3. Nairismägi ML, Tan J, Lim JQ, Nagarajan S, Ng CC, Rajasegaran V, et al.
    Leukemia, 2016 06;30(6):1311-9.
    PMID: 26854024 DOI: 10.1038/leu.2016.13
    Epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma (EITL, also known as type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma) is an aggressive intestinal disease with poor prognosis and its molecular alterations have not been comprehensively characterized. We aimed to identify actionable easy-to-screen alterations that would allow better diagnostics and/or treatment of this deadly disease. By performing whole-exome sequencing of four EITL tumor-normal pairs, followed by amplicon deep sequencing of 42 tumor samples, frequent alterations of the JAK-STAT and G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling pathways were discovered in a large portion of samples. Specifically, STAT5B was mutated in a remarkable 63% of cases, JAK3 in 35% and GNAI2 in 24%, with the majority occurring at known activating hotspots in key functional domains. Moreover, STAT5B locus carried copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity resulting in the duplication of the mutant copy, suggesting the importance of mutant STAT5B dosage for the development of EITL. Dysregulation of the JAK-STAT and GPCR pathways was also supported by gene expression profiling and further verified in patient tumor samples. In vitro overexpression of GNAI2 mutants led to the upregulation of pERK1/2, a member of MEK-ERK pathway. Notably, inhibitors of both JAK-STAT and MEK-ERK pathways effectively reduced viability of patient-derived primary EITL cells, indicating potential therapeutic strategies for this neoplasm with no effective treatment currently available.
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