An open comparative trial was conducted in 58 adult obese patients (Body Mass Index > or = 25 kg/square metre). Group I (n = 27), non-drug, was advised diet (1200-1600 cals) and a brisk walk for 30 minutes. Group II, in addition, received Guggulu (Medohar) 1.5-3 gms/day for 30 days. Mean difference in weight loss between Guggulu and non-drug group was 0.32 kg (ns) on day 15 and 0.58 kg on day 30 (ns). The mean weight reduction in patients (> 90 kgs) was 1.92 kg (ns) and 2.25 kg (ns) higher in Guggulu group. All patients weighing > 90 kg lost weight in Guggulu group whilst 3 in non-drug group did not lose weight. Guggulu was tolerated well. The data from this pilot study suggest a synergistic diet-Guggulu interaction over 30 days in patients weighing > 90 kgs which needs to be confirmed in a large placebo controlled study.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF] [CITATIONS]  [PubMed]

A 3 day old female neonate with Hallerman Streiff Syndrome presented with white spots in both the eyes. Both eyebrows and eyelashes were found to be sparse. Anterior chamber was found to be shallow. Total cataract was detected with posterior synechiae. Fundus could not be viewed. General examination revealed other features of Hallerman-Streiff Syndrome--short stature, bird like face, atrophy of skin and natal teeth. Lensectomy was carried out for left eye at the age of 10 weeks. However, the child had repeated respiratory tract infections and died at the age of 22 weeks.

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A neonate was born to a mother who had consumed an organophosphorus(OPC) compound with suicidal intent. The mother was administered atropine and this caused mydriasis in the neonate without any other pharmacological effects. There was no evidence of placental dysfunction. There are no case reports of OPC consumed in pregnancy and its effect on neonates or of effects of massive doses of atropine in the mother and its effects on the fetus or the newborn.

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A sixty year old female referred for thyroid and liver scintigraphy had a clinical history of progressive swelling in the neck with hepatomegaly. A large cold area was detected in the right thyroid lobe using 99mTc pertechnetate and in the right lobe of liver using 99mTc phytate. Subsequent whole body scan with 99mTC DMSA(V) showed avid tracer uptake in right lobe of thyroid and liver. Aspiration cytology of thyroid and liver showed medullary carcinoma of thyroid with its metastasis in liver. Histopathology following thyroidectomy confirmed the diagnosis. Thus 99mTc pentavalent DMSA contributes specificity to diagnose medullary carcinoma of thyroid and metastatic lesions.

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Increased urinary calcium (Ca++) excretion and the presence of negative Ca++ balance is well documented in primary hyperaldosteronism. However, renal calculi as a major manifestation of this disorder is not previously described. This report describes probably the first patient who presented with renal calculi in association with primary hyperaldosteronism. We believe that primary hyperaldosteronism was a major pathogenetic factor in formation of renal calculi since increased urinary excretion of Ca++ and uric acid noted at the onset declined following short-term spironolactone administration and remission from renal calculi has persisted following initial nephrolithotomy and continued spironolactone therapy which also corrected hypertension and hyperkalemia, a hallmark of this disorder.

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Early detection of site and extent of biliary tract disruption can significantly reduce mortality and morbidity in a postoperative biliary leak. We report a case in whom extent and location of post surgical biliary leak was detected with the help of 99mTc BULIDA cholescintigraphy and showed a good correlation with "T" tube cholangiography. Cholescintigraphy was also useful in assessing the follow up of this patient. We conclude that 99mTc BULIDA cholescintigraphy is a non-invasive, safe, simple and sensitive procedure in the detection of the site, extent of the leak and in follow up of the postoperative biliary leak.

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A chance diagnosis of kala-azar in a patient referred from Acworth Leprosy Home in Bombay was followed up, resulting in an investigation of a total of 25 patients (inpatients and residents) for the presence of the disease. 30.3% of the patients investigated were found to be suffering from the disease. This confirms the earlier suspicion that Bombay and especially the Acworth Leprosy Home is an endemic area for kala-azar.

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A carcinoma arising within a fibroadenoma is an unusual occurrence, with only a little over 100 reported cases. The purpose of this report is to increase the awareness of this entity and to discourage the practice of rendering a diagnosis on gross examination of the tumor. We are reporting a case with two distinct primary tumors within the same breast, one of which was arising within the fibroadenoma. Only two such cases have been previously reported.

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Craniofacial osteogenic sarcomas are rare primary malignant bone tumors and very few cases involving zygomatic bone were reported in literature. We present our experience of multimodality management of a case of primary osteogenic sarcoma of zygoma. Wide radical excision of the tumor including the parotid gland was done followed by three cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy and fifty Gy of external radiotherapy. The patient is disease-free at two years follow-up. Till 1970s, craniofacial osteogenic sarcomas were managed mainly by radical surgery with a high local failure rate. With the advances made in the field of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, multimodality therapy is playing a major role in the treatment of these aggressive tumors with better overall and disease-free survival.

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The entity of nonspecific granulomatous inflammatory lesions(NSGIL) of the small bowel is a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. Data of 52 histopathologically proven cases of NSGIL seen by us between 1986 and 1991 were analysed. All these patients presented with either intestinal obstruction or perforation. They were thoroughly evaluated and investigated for tuberculosis. Of the 52 patients, 6 patients received antitubercular therapy (ATT) before and after surgery and 32 patients only after surgery. Fourteen patients did not receive ATT. Surgical procedures undertaken included stricturoplasty, resection/anastomosis and simple suturing of perforation. No complications were seen in patients who received ATT; however, six of 14 patients who did not receive ATT developed wound sepsis and 2 developed partial wound dehiscence. Many of these NSGIL lesions could be tuberculous in etiology though typical caseating granulomas were not seen.

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In our country both pterygium and cataract have a high incidence. Hence in this study, thirty patients with pterygium and cataract were treated with a simultaneous pterygium excision and cataract extraction procedure. These patients after pterygium excision were treated intra-operatively with 500 rads of beta radiation over the pterygium site. Then, the cataract was extracted and the patients were treated post-operatively with topical betamethasone 0.1% for a duration of three months. They were followed up for a duration of 6 months postoperatively. Nineteen patients (63%) had visual recovery to 6/12. Twelve of 30 patients (40%) had recurrence of pterygium. The combined procedure did not result in any surgical complications following cataract removal. Post-operatively, after 6 months 13 patients had with the rule astigmatism (WRA) for a mean WRA of 1.3 D, and 17 had against the rule astigmatism (ARA) for a mean ARA of 1.2 D.

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A cheap and practical approach of steel chains attached to the station outlet quick couplers helps in maintaining the shape of the quick couplers and ensures their effective functioning over a long period of time and avoids mishap of connection due to damage of these couplers.

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