Our data demonstrate that both haemolytic anaemia and thrombocytopenia are associated with ACL but not anti-dsDNA antibodies. When faced with a patient with a severe haematological manifestation of lupus, active disease in other organs is likely to be present.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most common gram-negative microorganisms identified in the clinical specimens of hospital admitted patients. This was a retrospective study done among the patients attending Dhaka Medical College Hospital during January to December, 2006. A total 294 strains of P. aeruginosa were isolated of which 206 (70%) were from admitted patients and 88 (30%) from outpatients. Some 175 (60%) of the isolates were from males while 119 (40%) from females. Majority of the patients (141, 41.2%) were aged between 21-40 years and 102 (34.7%) were below 20 years. A significant proportion (about 45%) of the patients were from casualty wards, surgical outdoor, ear-nose-throat outdoor and burn unit. Four of the clinical specimens including wound swab, pus, aural swab and urine comprised of 279 (95%) of the total samples. The bacteria isolated were identified by colony morphology, microscopy and relevant biochemical tests. Antimicrobial sensitivity pattern was tested using standard guidelines. Almost all of the P. aeruginosa isolates were resistant to cefixime (93.3%) and co-trimoxazole (93.5%), majority were resistant to ceftazidime (86.8%), gentamycin (77.3%) and ciprofloxacin (75.5%). The result of the study shows that imipenem is the most effective drugagainst P. aeruginosa, followed by amikacin and ciprofloxacin.Bangladesh J Med Microbiol 2007; 01 (02): 48-51

Key points Spasticity is a disorder of muscle tone that is associated with lesions of the motor system. This condition involves an overactive spinal reflex loop that resists the passive lengthening of muscles. Previously, we established that application of anodal trans‐spinal direct current stimulation (a‐tsDCS) for short periods of time to anaesthetized mice sustaining a spinal cord injury leads to an instantaneous reduction of spasticity. However, the long‐term effects of repeated a‐tsDCS and its mechanism of action remained unknown. In the present study, a‐tsDCS was performed for 7 days and this was found to cause long‐term reduction in spasticity, increased rate‐dependent depression in spinal reflexes, and improved ground and skill locomotion. Pharmacological, molecular and cellular evidence further suggest that a novel mechanism involving Na‐K‐Cl cotransporter isoform 1 mediates the observed long‐term effects of repeated a‐tsDCS. Abstract Spasticity can cause pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances; restrict daily activities such as walking, sitting and bathing; and complicate rehabilitation efforts. Thus, spasticity negatively influences an individual's quality of life and novel therapeutic interventions are needed. We previously demonstrated in anaesthetized mice that a short period of trans‐spinal subthreshold direct current stimulation (tsDCS) reduces spasticity. In the present study, the long‐term effects of repeated tsDCS to attenuate abnormal muscle tone in awake female mice with spinal cord injuries were investigated. A motorized system was used to test velocity‐dependent ankle resistance and associated electromyographical activity. Analysis of ground and skill locomotion was also performed, with electrophysiological, molecular and cellular studies being conducted to reveal a potential underlying mechanism of action. A 4 week reduction in spasticity was associated with an increase in rate‐dependent depression of spinal reflexes, and ground and skill locomotion were improved following 7 days of anodal‐tsDCS (a‐tsDCS). Secondary molecular, cellular and pharmacological experiments further demonstrated that the expression of K‐Cl co‐transporter isoform 2 (KCC2) was not changed in animals with spasticity. However, Na‐K‐Cl cotransporter isoform 1 (NKCC1) was significantly up‐regulated in mice that exhibited spasticity. When mice were treated with a‐tsDCS, down regulation of NKCC1 was detected, and this level did not significantly differ from that in the non‐injured control mice. Thus, long lasting reduction of spasticity by a‐tsDCS via downregulation of NKCC1 may constitute a novel therapy for spasticity following spinal cord injury.

AimBangladesh has the highest level of incidence and mortality rates due to cervical cancer among women. The prevalence of cervical cancer in Bangladeshi women is 25–30/100 000. Human papillomavirus is an important cause of cervical cancer. The study was conducted to assess the immunogenicity and safety profile of human papillomavirus-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted cervical cancer vaccines in healthy Bangladeshi girls aged 9–13 years.ProcedureThis was a randomized (3:1) controlled trial with two parallel groups, the vaccine and control groups, that included 67 participants in Bangladesh. Subjects were given GlaxoSmithKline human papillomavirus-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted cervical cancer vaccine (and controls no vaccine) at the first day of vaccination (Day 0), at 1- and 6-month schedule and followed up until 7 months. Blood samples were taken for human papillomavirus antibody at enrollment and 1 month post-schedule at Month 7 from both subjects and controls. Safety data were gathered throughout the study period.ResultsFifty subjects received vaccine at Day 0, 1 month and 6 months. All subjects were initially sero-negative in the vaccine group, and developed sero-conversion for human papillomavirus-16 and -18 antibodies except for one at Month 7. Seventeen controls did not receive vaccine. Clients were followed up for serious medically important events and blood samples were taken for human papillomavirus antibody detection at Day 0 and Month 7. Sero-conversion was found in 97.5% of subjects and no sero-conversion was found in the controls. Bivalent human papillomavirus vaccine was generally well tolerated, with no vaccine-related serious adverse experiences.ConclusionsThe human papillomavirus-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine was generally well tolerated and highly immunogenic when administered to young adolescent females and could be a promising tool for the prevention and control of cervical cancer in Bangladesh.

We have developed a curcumin-based vaginal cream, which effectively eradicates HPV(+) cancer cells and does not affect non-cancerous tissue. Our preclinical data support a novel approach for the treatment of cervical HPV infection.

It is suggested that NO may modulate the cardiovascular changes during pregnancy and impaired production of the molecule may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia.

Abstract-Case-based reasoning (CBR) based on the memorycentered cognitive model is a strategy that focuses on how people learn a new skill or how they generate hypothesis on new situations based on their past experiences. Among various Artificial Intelligence tracks, CBR, due to its intrinsic similarity with the human reasoning process has been very promising in the utilization of intelligent systems in various domains, in particular in the domain of medicine. In this paper, we extensively survey the literature on CBR systems that are used in the medical domain over the past few decades. We also discuss the difficulties of implementing CBR in medicine and outline opportunities for future work.

Context:Infection caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) producing organism is a major problem regarding antibiotic resistance.Aims:The aim of this study was to find out the antibiogram of ESBL producing organisms isolated from various samples.Settings and Design:This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January to June 2014.Subjects and Methods:One Hundred and seventy-nine ESBL producing Gram-negative organisms detected phenotypically by double-disc synergy test were enrolled in this study. Required data were collected from the records of the Microbiology laboratory.Results:ESBL production was detected in 16.07% (179/1114) of isolated organism. Of Escherichia coli, 15.75% were ESBL producers; 14.01% Pseudomonas spp., 36.84% Proteus spp., 18.57% Klebsiella spp., and 21.05% of Acinetobacter spp., were ESBL producers. Maximum (43.58%) ESBL producers were isolated from surgery departments, and wound swabs yielded majority (53%) of them. About 13% ESBL producers were isolated in outdoor patients mostly from community-acquired infections. Most ESBL producers were resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Carbapenems especially imipenem was the most effective drug showing excellent sensitivity; colistin and piperacillin/tazobactam also had better sensitivity result. Most of the ESBL producers showed a good sensitivity to amikacin, but all of them were highly resistant to ciprofloxacin.Conclusions:ESBL production should be detected routinely in all Microbiology laboratories. Infection control, rational use of antibiotics must be done promptly to prevent the development and spread of ESBL producing organisms.