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B Kumar

Publications and source records attributed to B Kumar.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Contact leukoderma of the scalp or an unusual variant of vitiligo?

Contact leukoderma due to hair dyes is strongly suspected in patients presenting with depigmented patches sharply localized to the scalp. We describe three patients with a striking pattern of depigmentation, which stopped abruptly at the hair margins. However, no definite correlation with the use of hair dyes could be made in any of them. Our cases represent an unusual pattern of vitiligo of the scalp, which seems to have been previously attributed mainly to hair colorants. Careful examination of the lesions on the scalp may reveal more cases with this pattern.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Mucocutaneous manifestations of secondary syphilis in north Indian patients: a changing scenario?

During the 1990s, no studies of various clinical presentations of syphilis have been published in the indexed literature. However, a change in the clinical profile of secondary syphilis was expected during the last decade with the rapid spread of the HIV epidemic. The objective was to study the mucocutaneous manifestations of secondary syphilis in patients attending the STD clinic at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research Chandigarh, India, during the last decade and to compare them with other similar studies published during the 1980s. All patients who were diagnosed with secondary syphilis in our STD clinic from 1990 to 1999 were examined and investigated. Serological response was measured at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months post-treatment or until serological negativity was reached. Fifty-three patients (males = 34, female = 19) during this period were found to have secondary syphilis. The most common symptoms were as follows-skin rash 38 (71.7%), lymphadenopathy 26 (49%), persistent chancre 4 (7.5%), nodular syphilides 2 (3.8%), lues maligna 2 (3.8%), patches in the oral mucosa 6 (11.3%), condylomata lata 14 (26.4%), split papules 2 (3.8%). Five patients had a thin and conspicuous genital scar of the healed primary chancre. Three patients were HIV seropositive (1 patient each with lues maligna, lichenoid, and nodular syphilides). With the spread of the HIV epidemic, atypical muco-cutaneous manifestations of secondary syphilis may be seen more frequently than before and may pose problems in diagnosis. In the present study, six patients had atypical manifestations, and three of them were HIV seropositive.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Computerised antenatal fetal heart rate recordings between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation.

OBJECTIVE: To assess computerised fetal heart rate recordings between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation for gestation related differences. DESIGN: Prospective, cross sectional observational study. SETTING: Liverpool Women's Hospital. POPULATION: 112 women: 28 at 27 weeks, 30 at 26 weeks, 27 at 25 weeks and 27 at 24 weeks of gestation, respectively. METHODS: Fetal heart recordings of 60 minutes duration were performed once in each pregnancy using the System 8000 fetal heart rate programme (System 8000, Oxford Sonicaid Ltd, Chichester, UK). For each gestational age, records were analysed for short term variation, basal heart rate, accelerations and time spent in high episodes. RESULTS: The mean short term variation increased with gestation (P = 0.05). No record had a short term variation <4 msecs. There was no relationship between heart rate and increasing gestation. The mean number of accelerations per record increased with increasing gestation (P < 0.01). 20% of recordings showed no accelerations > 15 bpm. The mean duration spent in episodes of high variation increased with gestation (P = 0.05). 13% of recordings showed no time spent in high episodes. All fetuses had normal outcomes at delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Absence of episodes of high variation or absence of accelerations is not an abnormal finding at lower gestations. The standard threshold of 4 msecs for short term variation appears to remain valid at lower gestations. These differences should be considered when using computerised CTG analysis at early gestations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Dial 1097 (toll free).

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2001

Topical metronidazole in seborrheic dermatitis--a double-blind study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of topical metronidazole gel in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis. METHODS: Forty-four patients with seborrheic dermatitis were enrolled in the study. All topical treatments were stopped for at least 2 weeks before the patients were allocated at random to receive either metronidazole 1% gel or placebo for 8 weeks. The severity score was measured at the initial evaluation, and the patients were followed up at 2-week intervals for 8 weeks. A global evaluation of improvement was done at 8 weeks. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients completed the study; 21 patients in the metronidazole group and 17 patients in the placebo group could be evaluated. There was a statistically significant decrease of the mean score even at week 2; the difference became highly significant at 8 weeks (p < 0.001). On the final evaluation at 8 weeks, 14 patients in the metronidazole group showed marked improvement to complete clearance as compared to only 2 patients having moderate improvement in the placebo group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The present trial has demonstrated the effectiveness of topical 1% metronidazole gel in seborrheic dermatitis.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed2001

Differentiation genes: are they primary targets for human carcinogenesis?

In spite of extensive research in molecular carcinogenesis, genes that can be considered primary targets in human carcinogenesis remain to be identified. Mutated oncogenes or cellular growth regulatory genes, when incorporated into normal human epithelial cells, failed to immortalize or transform these cells. Therefore, they may be secondary events in human carcinogenesis. Based on some experimental studies we have proposed that downregulation of a differentiation gene may be the primary event in human carcinogenesis. Such a gene could be referred to as a tumor-initiating gene. Downregulation of a differentiation gene can be accomplished by a mutation in the differentiation gene, by activation of differentiation suppressor genes, and by inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Downregulation of a differentiation gene can lead to immortalization of normal cells. Mutations in cellular proto-oncogenes, growth regulatory genes, and tumor suppressor genes in immortalized cells can lead to transformation. Such genes could be called tumor-promoting genes. This hypothesis can be documented by experiments published on differentiation of neuroblastoma (NB) cells in culture. The fact that terminal differentiation can be induced in NB cells by adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) suggests that the differentiation gene in these cells is not mutated, and thus can be activated by an appropriate agent. The fact that cAMP-resistant cells exist in NB cell populations suggests that a differentiation gene is mutated in these cancer cells, or that differentiation regulatory genes have become unresponsive to cAMP. In addition to cAMP, several other differentiating agents have been identified. Our proposed hypothesis of carcinogenesis can also be applied to other human tumors such as melanoma, pheochromocytoma, medulloblastoma, glioma, sarcoma, and colon cancer.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed2001

Use of short-lived green fluorescent protein for the detection of proteasome inhibition.

Human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells were stably transduced with a retroviral vector containing an expression cassette for a short-lived green fluorescent protein (d2EGFP) and the neomycin resistance gene (Neor). When Neor HEK293 clones were treated with proteasome inhibitors, lactacystin or MG132, an increase in the constitutive levels of d2EGFP expression was observed. Based on flow cytometry, proteasome inhibitors induced a 5- to 10-fold increase in the fluorescent intensity of d2EGFP in HEK293 cell clones. However, in the presence of proteasome inhibitors, HEK293 clones showed a 4- to 6.5-fold increase in d2EGFP concentration as determined by western blot analysis. Our data suggest that d2EGFP is a useful indicator of proteasome inhibition. Therefore, stable expression of d2EGFP in mammalian cells is potentially useful for high-throughput screening of cDNAs or pharmaceutical drugs that repress proteasome functions in vivo.

Cell Line↗
PubMed2001

Involvement of male genitalia in leprosy.

Four hundred and sixty-seven male patients with leprosy were screened for genital involvement. Genital lesions were observed in 6.6% of all male cases of leprosy. They were seen most frequently in lepromatous leprosy (25.8%), followed by borderline lepromatous (13.3%) and borderline tuberculoid (1.4%) leprosy.

Genitalia, Male↗
PubMed2001

Value of different cut-off points of tuberculin skin test to diagnose tuberculosis among patients with respiratory symptoms in a chest clinic.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the utility of various cut-off points of tuberculin skin test in making a diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients with respiratory symptoms. METHODS: Tuberculin skin test was conducted on consecutive new patients attending chest clinic for various respiratory symptoms. All subjects were then investigated to establish diagnosis, and categorized into tuberculous and nontuberculous groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate discrimination by tuberculin skin test. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive value were also calculated at various cut-off points. RESULTS: Of 250 patients, 59 (23.6%) had tuberculosis on clinical and microbiological criteria (other than the tuberculin test). Sensitivity and specificity of tuberculin test at readings greater than 5, 10 and 15 mm were 0.8136 and 0.7068, 0.6271 and 0.8901, and 0.2034 and 0.9738 respectively. Area under ROC curve for this test was 0.80. CONCLUSION: A cut-off point of 10 mm is likely to be useful in supporting a diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients with strong clinical suspicion of tuberculosis, in other patients, 15 mm cut-off may be more suitable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Zosteriform pilar leiomyoma.

Pilar leiomyomas are usually multiple and are commonly found on the extensor aspects of the arm, trunk, and face. They are rarely distributed in a linear fashion or seem to follow a dermatome. We report a case of painful, unilateral, zosteriform cutaneous leiomyoma in a 25-year-old housewife. Histopathology revealed interlacing smooth muscle bundles arising from arrector pili muscles. Nifedipine (10 mg) twice daily was remarkably effective in diminishing the pain in our patient.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Impact of combined Mycobacterium w vaccine and 1 year of MDT on multibacillary leprosy patients.

A total of 20 bacteriologically positive multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients older than 18 years of age with a bacterial index (BI) of 2+ or greater were given standard World Health Organization multiple drug therapy (MDT-MB) for 12 consecutive months plus four intradermal doses of Mycobacterium w vaccine at 3 monthly intervals (Study group). Twenty age-matched MB patients were given WHO/MDT alone (Control group). The patients of both groups were followed up for 1 year. Improvements in the patients were periodically monitored by clinical (Ramu's score), bacteriological (SSS), histopathological (skin biopsy) and immunological (lepromin conversion) parameters. Study group patients showed more significant improvements in all parameters except for lepromin conversion compared to patients in the Control group. The incidence of type 1 reaction was more in the Study group (30% vs 10%), while the incidence of type 2 reaction was more in the Control group (25% vs 15%). Neuritis associated with reactions was seen more often in the Control group compared to the Study group (20% vs 10%). The addition of Mycobacterium w vaccine as an adjunct to the 1-year WHO/MDT regimen appears to be significantly more beneficial in MB leprosy patients with a high initial BI compared to WHO/MDT given alone. Studies on larger numbers of patients with extended follow up will be in order.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Comparison of cellular schizont, soluble schizont and soluble piroplasm antigens in ELISA for detecting antibodies against Theileria annulata.

The efficacy and suitability of cellular schizont, soluble schizont and soluble piroplasm antigens was compared for detecting antibodies against Theileria annulata. Fifty bovine sera of known identity were evaluated in ELISA using the above mentioned antigens. Antibody titres of 1:100 to 1:51,200 were detected while using soluble piroplasm and cellular schizont antigen in ELISA. The titres ranged between 1:100 to 1:25,600 with the soluble schizont antigen. Soluble piroplasm antigen exhibited the highest antibody titres followed by cellular schizont and soluble schizont antigens. Cellular schizont antigen proved to be better than soluble schizont antigen for detecting anti-schizontal antibodies. Antibody titres obtained by the three antigens exhibited a good linear correlation amongst each other. The study showed that soluble piroplasm and cellular schizont antigens can be used successfully for detecting antibodies against piroplasm and schizont stages of T. annulata, respectively in bovine sera.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Development of a polymerase chain reaction dot-blotting system for detecting cutaneous tuberculosis.

For a definitive diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis the demonstration of mycobacteria is essential, but this is generally not possible in skin lesions. Routinely available techniques have poor sensitivity and are time consuming, therefore, delaying the institution of timely therapy. The high sensitivity and speed of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of infectious agents has prompted investigators to use this technique for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in body fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid or pleural fluid. In the present study, PCR was used to examine punch biopsy specimens from the affected skin of 10 patients with clinical diagnoses of tuberculosis verrucosa cutis, lupus vulgaris, scrofuloderma, papulonecrotic tuberculide and erythema induratum. A control group of 20 patients included individuals having skin manifestations with definite clinical diagnoses other than cutaneous tuberculosis, such as leprosy, fungal mycetoma, chronic bullous disease of childhood and pemphigus vulgaris. The PCR amplified products were dot hybridized with a probe which was random prime labelled with 32P. The results were compared with routine microbiological and histological findings. Among the test group, six of 10 (60%) were positive for M. tuberculosis by PCR, although their histopathology showed non-specific chronic inflammation with no definite diagnosis. Microbiological investigations, including acid-fast bacillus smear and culture, were positive in a single case of scrofuloderma. All patients in the control group were negative by PCR for M. tuberculosis. The data indicate that the combination of dot hybridization with PCR markedly increased the sensitivity and specificity of PCR. This may be a useful tool in the diagnosis of tuberculosis when conventional methods fail.

Humans↗