Effects of altered photoperiod due to COVID-19 lockdown on pregnant women and their fetuses

Maternal circadian rhythms provide highly important input into the entrainment and programming of fetal and newborn circadian rhythms. The light-dark cycle is an important regulator of the internal biological clock. Even though pregnant women spend a greater part of the day at home during the latter stages of pregnancy, natural light exposure is crucial for the fetus. The current recommended COVID-19 lockdown might dramatically alter normal environmental lighting conditions of pregnant women, resulting in exposure to extremely low levels of natural daylight and high-intensity artificial light sources during both day and night. This article summarizes the potential effects on pregnant woman and their fetuses due to prolonged exposure to altered photoperiod and as consequence altered circadian system, known as chronodisruption, that may result from the COVID-19 lockdown.

A 65-year old female with synchronous HIV and Extramedullary Plasmacytoma of Maxillary sinus

Extramedullary plasmacytoma in the head and neck region is a rare malignant neoplasm comprising approximately 3% of all the plasma cell neoplasms and less than 1% of head and neck tumors. This extraskeletal lesion is a unifocal, monoclonal, neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells. Some investigators believe that this lesion represents the least aggressive part of the spectrum of plasma cell neoplasms which extends to multiple myeloma. Therefore, plasmacytoma is believed to have clinical importance. We report a case of extramedullary plasmacytoma in the right maxillary sinus of a 65-year-old HIV positive female as a clinical rarity with review of the relevant literature.