MALARIA CONTROL AMONGST TROOPS INVOLVED IN COUNTER INSURGENCY OPERATION IN RESISTANT PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM AREAS

Incidence of malaria in troops carrying out counter-insurgency operation in thick jungles in North East region was compared for the year 1995 and 1996. Since troops were on constant move in thick jungles in hostile environment and they have to sleep and rest outdoor, use of mosquito net was not feasible in both years. Counter-insurgency operation lasted for two and half months in both the years from last week of March - 1st week of June. Inspite of troops being on 300mg chloroquine (base) per week as chemoprophylaxis, 40 cases (5%) of malaria were observed in troops in the year 1995. During the year 1996 troops were advised to take 600mg chloroquine (base) per week as chemoprophylaxis. Three cases (0.40%) of malaria were observed during the year 1996. Difference was found to be statistically significant.

Attempted suicide in himachal pradesh

Seventy five cases of attempted suicide were studied over a period of one and half years (from January 1996 to June 1997). The findings revealed that 85.4% cases were in the age group 15-54 years. Females (53.4%) and unmarried (52%) attempted suicide more often. House wives (32%) and students (28%) were the two commonest occupational categories involved. Organophosphorus compounds were consumed by a vast majority (74.7%) of the cases. Psychiatric disorder (46.7%), quarrel with spouse/in-laws (13.4%), quarrel with parents/sibs (12%) and failure in love (10.6%) were the most common causes of attempted suicide while no cause could be determined in 14.7% of the cases. A need to launch suicide preventive measures and restriction in the sale of organophosphorus compounds is stressed.

Familial reactive perforating collagenosis: a case report

Reactive perforating collagenosis is characterised by trans-epidermal elimination of collagen and is hypothesized to be both autosomally dominant and recessive. We report a family in which two brothers and a sister had lesions of reactive perforating collagenosis.

False indications of an actinide lung burden arising from a contaminated finger wound

This paper presents the results of in vivo measurements on a worker from a fuel reprocessing plant who was involved in an actinide intake. The results revealed that false indications of an actinide lung burden could arise from a contaminant present elsewhere in the chest region. Consequently, it is important that lung monitoring programs for occupational workers handling actinides are conducted with this caution in mind and that due consideration is given even in cases of minor cuts/wounds in order to rule out substantial overestimation of internal radiation doses.

Operational research in malaria--why and how?

Research studies conducted so far have had little bearing on the National Malaria Eradication Programme implementation for want of operational component. In India there is no dearth of scientific knowledge and technical know-how but dearth of operational research of direct relevance to the programme. The rationale for research under the operational conditions of the NMEP is discussed in this paper.

Erythema nodosum leprosum in histoid leprosy: a case report

A 28-year-old married female developed histoid papules and nodules de novo over her face, extremities, back, buttocks and thighs. She had developed erythema nodosum leprosum lesions without any antileprosy treatment. Histopathology from a histoid nodule showed well defined nodular collections of plump, spindle-shaped histiocytes. A few globi were also seen with Ziehl Neelson staining. Leucocytoclastic vasculitis was present in the ENL lesion. The CD4:CD8 ratio was 1.5:1.

Status of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to chloroquine in Orissa

Orissa is known for its contribution of 15-20% of malaria cases to the national total. Deaths due to malaria in the state are also not uncommon. Proportion of P. falciparum cases have reached to 85%. In the recent years over 0.3 million confirmed malaria cases have been reported each year. Annual consumption of chloroquine in the state is over 170 lakh tablets. A 17 year study on monitoring of choloroquine resistance in P. falciparum in Orissa revealed that out of a total of 1165 tests conducted in vivo, in 12% of the cases RI level of resistance was detected. And 4.4% cases were of RII and 1.9% RIII level. 51% of the sample tested in vitro showed P. falciparum resistance to chloroquine. P. falciparum resistance to chloroquine appears to have been developed by the parasite over the length and breadth of the state. Strengthening of the monitoring of drug resistance in P. falciparum in the state is indicated.

Genodermatoses in paediatric age group

Pattern of genodermatoses in paediatric age group was studied. The relative incidence of genodermatoses in paediatric dermatology out patient department was 0.62%. The commonest genodermatoses observed was ichthyosis.

Clinicomycological study of tinea capitis

Clinicomycological spectrum of 72 patients of tinea capitis attending dermatological out patient departments of Kalawati Saran Children and Sucheta Kriplani Hospitals, New Delhi from May 1992 to April 1994 is studied. Majority of the patients were children (94%). Males and females were equally involved. Most of them belonged to low socioeconomic group; lived in the crowded environment; had regular bathing habit; used mustard oil and shared combs. Family history of tinea capitis was available in 29% of the cases. Duration of disease varied from 20 days to 10 years. Large number (60%) of patients had multiple lesions. Commonest site involved was occiput. Non inflammatory type of lesions were observed in 68% of the cases. KOH examnination revealed endothrix and ectothrix spores in 56 and 7 patients respectively. Positivity of culture was observed in 47% of the cases and Trichophyton violaceum was the commonest species isolated.

Kleptomania presenting with major depressive disorder : a case report

A 35 year old, married, educated woman of well to do economic condition who was referred by court for psychiatric opinion was found to suffer from "Kleptomania" with "recurrent major depressive disorder." The patient had been stealing and hoarding (at times giving away when caught) defective and useless objects for the past 3 years .mostly during periods of depression and had been arrested twice for stealing. Her kleplomanic symptoms improved moderately when her depression lifted with antidepressants.

Probucol suppresses oxidant stress in hypertensive arteries. Immunohistochemical evidence

Oxy-free radicals may be involved in the pathogenesis of accelerated atherosclerosis in hypertension. We evaluated the direct antioxidant potential of probucol in hypertensive arteries by studying the spatial immunohistochemical distribution of three primary antioxidant enzymes (AEs). Nineteen normocholesterolemic New Zealand White rabbits were divided into two groups: normotensive controls (NT; n = 6) and 13 animals rendered hypertensive by surgical coarctation of abdominal aorta. The hypertensive group was subdivided into hypertensive alone (HT; n = 8) and hypertensive treated with 1% probucol (PO) for 9 weeks (HT-P; n = 5). Blood pressure rose significantly in both hypertensive groups (P < .005). At autopsy, both hypertensive groups showed similarly significant increases in mean arterial intima-media thickness (IMT) whether or not they were treated with probucol. However, only HT rabbits revealed significant increases in the intima-media depth penetration of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase AEs. By contrast, in HT-P animals probucol produced significant reductions of immunostaining of all three AEs compared to the HT group (P < .05). Additionally, specific macrophage immunostaining revealed that the arterial wall of HT rabbits had numerous (10 to 12 per high power field) subintimal and medial macrophages as compared to the HT-P animals (1 to 2 per high power field). The blood pressure level correlated significantly with IMT in all three groups, but with depth penetration of the three AEs only in the NT and HT groups. Probucol, therefore, appears to act in concert with the native arterial antioxidant enzymes as a potent free radical scavenger to reduce oxidative stress and thus attenuate the macrophage invasive response in hypertensive arteries.

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome : report of three cases

Three patients, one male and two females who developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome following exposure to depot and oral neuroleptic are presented. The patients satisfied Levenson's criteria for diagnosis. Bromocriptine and Electro Convulsive Therapy were found effective whereas trihexyphenidyl proved unsatisfactory in the treatment. All the patients recovered completely without complications.

Quantitation and localization of regional body fat distribution--a comparison between magnetic resonance imaging and somatometry

The emerging concept that various fat compartments are metabolically active and play separate and decisive roles in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis, hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes and stroke, has given obesity research a new direction. Of particular interest is the relative amount of intra-abdominal fat thought to be responsible for the metabolic complications. We studied the precise fat distribution and its correlations with the metabolic parameters in 44 non-human primates (Macaca fascicularis). Intra-abdominal, subcutaneous, and total abdominal fat (IAF, SAF, TAF) were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and somatometry. Quantitative computer analyses of abdominal MRI scans revealed predominant IAF distribution. Box plot analysis of IAF and SAF revealed wide diversity in the amounts of fat, especially in monkeys with body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m2. Primates with similar BMI in each quartile revealed an extensive heterogeneity in IAF as well as SAF. Numerous significant correlations within site-specific somatometric measurements as well as within the MRI determinants of abdominal fat were seen. However, only body weight correlated with IAF and skinfolds could predict SAF. After adjusting for body weight, partial correlation analysis showed a significant correlation (P < 0.05) between total cholesterol and IAF.

CONCLUSION

MRI revealed considerable heterogeneity of IAF, SAF and TAF in cohort of primates believed to be homogeneous by somatometric definition. Male cynomolgus monkeys appear to be a valuable model for a systematic evaluation of fat. Individuals with identical body weight and height may show a diverse pattern of fat distribution.

P-glycoprotein confers methotrexate resistance in 3T6 cells with deficient carrier-mediated methotrexate uptake

P-glycoprotein (Pgp), a transmembrane efflux pump encoded by the MDR1 gene, transports various lipophilic drugs that enter the cell by passive diffusion through the lipid bilayer. Pgp-expressing multidrug-resistant cell lines are not usually cross-resistant to a hydrophilic antifolate methotrexate (MTX). MTX enters cells primarily through a folate carrier, but passive diffusion becomes the primary mode of MTX uptake in carrier-deficient cells. To test if a deficiency in MTX carrier would allow Pgp to confer resistance to MTX, a MTX carrier-deficient cell line (3T6-C26) was infected with a recombinant retrovirus expressing the human MDR1 gene. The infected 3T6-C26 cells showed increased survival in MTX relative to uninfected cells. Multistep selection of the infected cells with vinblastine led to increased Pgp expression and a concomitant increase in resistance to MTX. MTX resistance of Pgp-expressing 3T6-C26 cells was reduced by Pgp inhibitors, including a Pgp-specific monoclonal antibody UTC2. In contrast, the expression and the inhibition of Pgp had no effect on MTX resistance in 3T6 cells with normal carrier-mediated MTX uptake. Thus, a deficiency in the MTX carrier enables Pgp to confer resistance to MTX, suggesting that hydrophilic compounds may become Pgp substrates when such compounds enter cells by passive diffusion.