Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Terminating In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Safoorah Khalid, Salman Adil, Mohammad Khurshid

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare condition, accounting for approximately 2% of haematologic malignancies. The most common causes of death in these patients are progression of the malignant lymphoproliferative process, infection and cardiac failure. Acute leukemia is a rare event in the clinical course of WM. A number of case reports have documented the development of terminal acute leukemia in patients with WM following prolonged chemotherapy.

Significance Of Cytogenetic Abnormalities In Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, Mahadev S. Harani, Salman Adil, Ghulam Nabi Kakepoto, Zahida Khilji, Usman Shaikh, Mohammad Khurshid

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: To evaluate the role of karyotype in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) as a predictor of response to induction chemotherapy.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the department of Pathology and Oncology, Aga Khan University Karachi from January 2003 to January 2005. Newly diagnosed patients with denovo AML admitted to the hospital were included in the study. Diagnosis of AML was based on FAB criteria, immunophenotyping and cytogenetic studies. They were treated according to standard protocols (combination of anthracycline and cytarabine -3+7) and those who had acute promyelocytic leukaemia additionally received all- trans retinoic acid (ATRA). …

Clinico-Pathologic Features Of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia And Risk Stratification According To Sokal Score, Naveen Naz Syed, Mikal Usman, Gulnaz Khaliq, Salman Adil, Mohammad Khurshid

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

To compile the clinical and haematological parameters of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and risk stratification according to Sokal score in our population. A descriptive analysis. The Aga Khan University Hospital, during the period from August 1997 to August 2005. All patients with diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia treated as outpatient in haematology clinic, or admitted in haem-oncology wards in The Aga Khan University Hospital were included. Records were retrospectively analyzed for clinicopathologic features. Risk groups were assigned as per Sokal scoring. During the 8 years study period, 245 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia were analyzed, the median age of presentation …

Blood And Body Fluid Exposure And Risk To Health Care Workers, Afia Zafar

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

No abstract provided.

Psycho-Social Consequences Of Secondary Infertility In Karachi., Neelofar Sami, Tazeen Saeed Ali

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the experiences of social consequences among women suffering from secondary infertility.

METHODS:

Descriptive case series of 400 women with secondary infertility attending tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.

RESULTS:

More than two thirds (67.7%) of women stated that their inability to give live births or give birth to sons had resulted in marital dissonance. The respondents had been threatened for divorce (20%), husband's remarrying (38%) or to be returned to their parent's home (26%) by their in laws or husbands. Majority (68%) of the women threatened did not have any live births. However, those who had live …

Living With Globalization: A Menace Or A Chance?, Fauziah Rabbani, Babar T Shaikh, Sarah Wamala

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Breast Cancer Risk Factor Knowledge Among Nurses In Teaching Hospitals Of Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study, Faiza Ahmed, Sadia Mahmud, Juanita Hatcher, Shaista M. Khan

Community Health Sciences

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in both the developed and the developing world. The incidence of breast cancer in Karachi, Pakistan is 69.1 per 100,000 with breast cancer presentation in stages III and IV being common (>or= 50%). The most pragmatic solution to early detection lies in breast cancer education of women. Nurses constitute a special group having characteristics most suited for disseminating breast cancer information to the women. We assessed the level of knowledge of breast cancer risk factors among registered female nurses in teaching hospitals of Karachi. We also identified whether selected …

Pharmaceutical Research: Paradox, Challenge Or Dilemma?, Abdul Latif Sheikh

Community Health Sciences

A great deal of pharmaceutical research is nowadays carried out in developing countries such as Pakistan. Is it, however, beneficial for the country and the participants, often the poorly educated and illiterate? Pharmaceutical research in Pakistan can bring benefits to both patients and country. Promotion of good clinical practice and the development of national guidelines are advocated. Government and industry both have a role to play to maintain the right balance.

Extra Pulmonary Uptake Of Tc-99m-Maa Perfusion Lung Scan As A Result Of Right To Left Intra Cardiac Shunt, Riffat Hussain, Maseeh-Uz-Zaman, Sohail Abrar Khan, M Nadeem Ahmad

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Extra pulmonary accumulation of Tc-99m-macroaggregate of albumin (MAA) is rarely seen on perfusion lung scan, and has been reported in less than 4% of a study population of nearly 380 patients1. It occurs when the agent bypasses the lungs due to a right to left (R-L) cardiac or pulmonary shunt, when it is shunted to the portal vein before reaching the right atrium and ventricle of the heart, and when the agent is degraded to a submicron particle size.2 When a pharmaceutical problem is excluded, extra-pulmonary uptake implies unusual hemodynamics with a shunt.

Screening For Cystic Fibrosis: The Importance Of Using The Correct Tools, Uzma Shah, Tariq Moatter

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a potentially lethal genetic disorder. The most frequent mutation worldwide in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene is designated as the Delta F508 mutation. This mutation was found in only 33% of Pakistani patients studied. Since the common Pakistani mutations remain to be identified, appropriate screening tools are required to identify disease. Sweat chloride determinations remain the gold standard for diagnosing CF. This study was done to emphasize the importance of using the correct tests.
Methods: The study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital. The CFTR delta F508 mutation was tested …

M. Leprae Inhibits Apoptosis In Thp-1 Cells By Downregulation Of Bad And Bak And Upregulation Of Mcl-1 Gene Expression, Zahra Hasan, Mussarat Ashraf, Ali Tayyebi, Rabia Hussain

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Virulent Mycobacterium leprae interfere with host defense mechanisms such as cytokine activation and apoptosis. The mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis is regulated by the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Expression of Fas ligand and apoptotic proteins is found in leprosy lesions and M. leprae has been shown to activate pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 genes, Bak and Bax. However, the mechanism by which M. leprae modulates apoptosis is as yet unclear. We investigated expression of apoptotic genes in THP-1 monocytes in response to infection by M. leprae and non-pathogenic M. bovis BCG.
Results: M. leprae did not induce apoptosis in THP-1 cells, while BCG …