Articles

Calcinosis cutis (CC) [1] is an unusual disorder characterized by calcium-phosphate deposition into cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues. There are five subtypes: dystrophic, metastatic, idiopathic, iatrogenic and calciphylaxis.Calciphylaxis or calcifying panniculitis is defined as small vessel calcification mainly affecting blood vessels of the dermis and subcutaneous fat. Despite the predominance of cases in patients with ESRD, calciphylaxis can also be found in patients with normal renal function and normal levels of calcium and phosphate. These cases are often referred to as nonuremic calciphylaxis (NUC), a heterogeneous category with several associations. Literature reveals an association with hyperparathyroidism (28%), malignancy (22%), alcoholic liver disease (17%) and connective tissue diseases (11%) while obesity, liver disease, high-serum calcium (Ca) × phosphorus (P) levels, combined therapies of calcium salts with vitamin D, warfarin and corticosteroids have been observed to increase the likelihood of this disease [2]. The lesions in both nonuremic and uremic calciphylaxis tend to be indistinguishable from each other, initially presenting as tender subcutaneous plaques that progress into nonhealing ulcers with overlying black eschar. Skin changes often begin with a livedo reticularis pattern that can progress to livedo racemes and ultimately retiform purpura.In our clinical case, we describe a patient with multiple risk factors for calciphylaxis, intense widespread calcification (vessels, tendons, joints) and cutaneous calcific stone of calcium and phosphate oxalate not elsewhere described before.

Introduction and aim: The most accurate way of measuring kidney function in GFR. Clinical formulas based on creatinine measurement may be inaccurate mainly in elderly patients (over 80 years of age). In this study we evaluated the accuracy of commonly used clinical formulas by comparing them with a direct measurement with [99mTc]-DTPA ([99mTc]-diethylene-triamine-peracetic acid) in a population of patients aged eighty and older.Material and methods: 47 patients (27 males and 20 females) with an average age of 81.9 ± 1.7 years, 80% already diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), were investigated. Two plasma samples were collected between 60-90 and 165-190 minutes after the injection of [99mTc]-DTPA and GFR were calculated. Results: When comparing the GFR values obtained from the various formulae by creatinine levels with the GFR value obtained by measuring [99mTc]-DTPA residue, the following concordance values emerged: (1) MDRD: 55.3%, (2) Cockroft-Gault 55.3% (3) CKD-EPI 57.5% (4) BIS-1 51.1%Conclusion: Our data show a poor correlation between all clinical methods and [99mTc]-DTPA, which remains a gold standard for the direct measurement of GFR.

An established side-effect of neck dissection (ND) for head and neck (HNC) tumour management includes shoulder dysfunction (SD), which can impact quality of life (QOL). Shoulder strength and range of movement (ROM) are key parameters to be monitored in SD. However, such evaluations are not routinely conducted in the clinical setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate objectively the impact of ND on shoulder functions. Methods: This is a pilot exploratory study in a tertiary cancer centre. Five participants with unilateral ND and advanced HNC, completed the study. Outcome measures consisted of self-reported QOL questionnaires, C2–T1 dermatomes and shoulder ROM and strength testing. Data was collected at baseline, 1.5-months after surgery and 6-months after diagnosis (after adjuvant treatment completion). Results: Most outcome measures on the surgically affected side were negatively impacted post-operatively, with varied recovery seen at follow-up. Sensory loss was noted at C3–4 dermatome levels. Shoulder ROM and strength was reduced on the surficial side for all participants, with some recovery after six months except for two participants.Conclusion: Results of SD after ND are diverse and unique to each patient. Findings from this pilot study indicate that regular rehabilitation/exercise may facilitate recovery of shoulder function post HNC surgery. However, customised rehabilitation may yield better outcomes. Future studies with a larger sample are indicated to validate the findings of this study.

Posterior anchorage in the mandible has always been difficult to obtain during our orthodontic treatments. We tried a large number of screw anchors and plate systems which gave us quite acceptable clinical results but had many drawbacks.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma of childhood and is very rare in the neonatal period. At this age, the alveolar type is a remarkably uncommon variety.We report a 56 days old female with alveolar RMS of the right eye noted since the age of 7 days with fast progression and unfavorable prognosis. Congenital alveolar RMS is an important cause of neonatal onset rapidly progressive proptosis. Early onset, alveolar type, and late diagnosis were poor prognostic factor.

Viruses becoming day by day dominate over humans, as a covid-19 pandemic is not jet over, new monkeypox virus infection cases emerged in the month of May 2020. On 13th May 2020 WHO reported monkeypox virus cases from 12 member states that are epidemic for this virus. In the past monkeypox virus are rarely seen outside of west and central Africa. Investigations are going to establish a travel link between reported cases and epidemic areas. There are very little data regarding viral mechanism or time of shading and still, we have no licensed treatment. Two smallpox-approved drugs brincidofovir and tecovirimat have efficacy against monkeypox shown in animals. Now two smallpox-recommended vaccinations JYNNEOS and ACAM2000 are also available and are efficient to prevent the monkeypox virus. Two second- and third-generation Vaccinations are recommended by WHO for people that are immunocompromised and children’s MVA-BN, LC16. This article aims to raise awareness of virus spread, providing information regarding virus detail, severity, precautions, and detection.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a serious long-term condition with a major impact on the lives and well-being, of societies worldwide. Poor disposal practices of devices potentially result in personal injury and injuries to people in the household and the general community. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and self-reported practice of insulin injection device disposal and associated factors among diabetes patients in TASH, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 182 adults with diabetes. The study participants were selected through systematic random sampling. Data were collected from March/17/2020 - May/18/2020. Patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data were entered into Epi-data version 4. 6 and exported to SPSS version 25.0 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression with crude and adjusted odds ratios along with the 95% confidence interval was computed and interpreted accordingly. Good practice and adequate knowledge were defined based on median calculation; a result above the median value of good practice and adequate knowledge with a p - value < 0.05 was considered to declare a result as statistically significant.Results: About 54% of the participants had inadequate knowledge about safe insulin injection waste disposal. More than two-thirds (73%) of respondents had poor practice and 92.3% of respondents did not know how to dispose of lancets after use.Conclusion: This study revealed that the knowledge and practice of diabetic patients were inadequate and poor towards safe insulin injection waste disposal in the study area. Educating patients and awareness creation training on proper insulin injection device disposal should be considerable. 

Background: Persistent contrast staining is highly associated with stent thrombosis. Case summary: A 75-year-old woman presented with new-onset effort angina. A coronary angiogram revealed a 90% blockage of the distal left main trunk (LMT) and a 99% blockage of the ostial left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). A 3.0 × 18-mm CYPHER™ the stent had previously been implanted into the dominant proximal circumflex artery (LCx) in 2009 because of unstable angina. The patient developed pulseless ST elevation myocardial infarction after the withdrawal of antiplatelet therapy before a scheduled CABG. The patient recovered with VA-ECMO and PCI using aspiration thrombectomy and urgent CABG.Discussion: This case highlighted that a preoperative patient may develop thrombosis at a previous stent site with peri-stent contrast staining and withdrawal of an antiplatelet regimen in certain settings poses an imminent risk for preoperative deterioration. A bridging strategy using intravenous PY12 inhibitor before CABG should be considered in this setting. The revascularization strategy should be selected based on coronary anatomy, hemodynamic status and baseline risk for CABG. A hybrid revascularization approach should be considered in this patient population.

Objective: Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious and economically important disease affecting cloven-hoofed domestic and wild animals. Early diagnosis and serotyping of the agent are very important to effectively design and implement the control approach. This study was conducted on serum samples collected from Amhara, Tigray, Oromia and Addis Ababa between October 2018 to February 2020. The animals were kept under a semi-intensive to an extensive system of rearing. Serum samples with low OD values (positive) using competition NSP-ELISA were subjected to serotyping ELISA. Results: In the present study, three serotypes were identified from 186 NSP ELISA positive sera of which 156 serotype O, 40 serotypes A and 28 serotype SAT2. In this analysis, multiple serotype infection was observed which is why the number of serotypes was beyond the samples analyzed. Among 23 samples from Addis Ababa 10, 3 and 5 were O, A and SAT2 serotypes respectively, while in samples from the Oromia region 12 were O and 3 were SAT2 serotypes. From the Amhara region, 99 samples analyzed were found to be serotype O and SAT2 in 7 of the serum samples. From the Tigray region, 30 samples were seen to have Serotype O infection, whereas 13 of them were SAT2. The proportion of serotypes identified based on the production system practices was also found that semi-intensive production takes the largest share in all three serotypes followed by extensive production. Generally, early determination of the serotype from past infection helps to aware of the epidemiology as well as the infection immunity of the herd/individual animals.

Heterologous expression of proteins often pursues high expression levels, but it can easily result in misfolding and loss of biological function. L-α-glycerophosphate oxidase (GlpO) is a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent oxidase which is widely used in the clinical determination of triglycerides. We found that the total enzymatic activity of GlpO expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) was extremely low, probably due to the absence of FAD cofactors and the misfolding of GlpO at a high synthesis rate. Therefore, decreasing the expression rate was used to improve the activity of GlpO. The specific activity of GlpO expressed on the pUC19 vector with lac promotor was approximately 30 times higher than that expressed on the pET28a vector with T7 promotor, but the expression levels of GlpO on the two vectors were completely opposite. It indicated that the specific activity of GlpO was increased as the expression level decreased. However, too low expression greatly influences the total amount and activity of the functional enzyme. In order to resolve this problem, two new plasmids, GlpO-CG4 and GlpO-CG6, were constructed by inserting 4 or 6 nucleotides, respectively, between the ribosome binding site (RBS) and the start code (ATG) on pET28a. Compared with the expression on the GlpO-pET vector, the expression rates of GlpO on the GlpO-CG4 and GlpO-CG6 were dramatically decreased. The total activity of GlpO expressed on GlpO-CG6 was 11 times and 1.5 times higher than that expressed on the GlpO-pET and GlpO-pUC, respectively. Results suggest that the activity of GlpO can be improved by decreasing the expression rate.