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Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS) commonly occurs in hematological malignancies, but it is very rare in patients with a solid tumor. In cases of solid tumors, TLS usually occurs spontaneously or after the initiation of anticancer therapy, and it has a high mortality rate. This syndrome consists of a constellation of laboratory findings such as hyperuricemia, hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia, and hypocalcemia known as laboratory TLS. When clinical complications such as seizures, acute renal failure, and cardiac dysrhythmias occur in patients with laboratory TLS, the syndrome is called clinical TLS. The present case report is sixth in the series and probably the first case report of spontaneous TLS in a newly diagnosed patient of epithelial ovarian cancer and also shows the effectiveness of single dose (1.5 mg) of rasburicase along with adequate hydration to rapidly reverse TLS and also timely initiation of definitive treatment. The patient was then able to complete successfully the planned neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery without any long-term sequela. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To study the pattern and prevalence of dyslipidemia in a large representative sample of four selected regions in India. Methods: Phase I of the Indian Council of Medical Research–India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB) study was conducted in a representative population of three states of India [Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Jharkhand] and one Union Territory [Chandigarh], and covered a population of 213 million people using stratified multistage sampling design to recruit individuals ≥20 years of age. All the study subjects (n = 16,607) underwent anthropometric measurements and oral glucose tolerance tests were done using capillary blood (except in self-reported diabetes). In addition, in every 5th subject (n = 2042), a fasting venous sample was collected and assayed for lipids. Dyslipidemia was diagnosed using National Cholesterol Education Programme (NCEP) guidelines. Results: Of the subjects studied, 13.9% had hypercholesterolemia, 29.5% had hypertriglyceridemia, 72.3% had low HDL-C, 11.8% had high LDL-C levels and 79% had abnormalities in one of the lipid parameters. Regional disparity exists with the highest rates of hypercholesterolemia observed in Tamilnadu (18.3%), highest rates of hypertriglyceridemia in Chandigarh (38.6%), highest rates of low HDL-C in Jharkhand (76.8%) and highest rates of high LDL-C in Tamilnadu (15.8%). Except for low HDL-C and in the state of Maharashtra, in all other states, urban residents had the highest prevalence of lipid abnormalities compared to rural residents. Low HDL-C was the most common lipid abnormality (72.3%) in all the four regions studied; in 44.9% of subjects, it was present as an isolated abnormality. Common significant risk factors for dyslipidemia included obesity, diabetes, and dysglycemia. Conclusion: The prevalence of dyslipidemia is very high in India, which calls for urgent lifestyle intervention strategies to prevent and manage this important cardiovascular risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objectives: Overweight and obesity are rapidly increasing in countries like India. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of generalized, abdominal and combined obesity in urban and rural India. Methods: Phase I of the ICMR-INDIAB study was conducted in a representative population of three states [Tamil Nadu (TN), Maharashtra (MH) and Jharkhand (JH)] and one Union Territory (UT) [Chandigarh (CH)] of India. A stratified multi-stage sampling design was adopted and individuals ≥20 yr of age were included. WHO Asia Pacific guidelines were used to define overweight [body mass index (BMI) ≥23 kg/m2 but <25 kg/m²], generalized obesity (GO, BMI≥25kg/m²), abdominal obesity (AO, waist circumference ≥90 cm for men and ≥80cm for women) and combined obesity (CO, GO plus AO). Of the 14,277 participants, 13,800 subjects (response rate, 96.7%) were included for the analysis (urban: n=4,063; rural: n=9737). Results: The prevalence of GO was 24.6, 16.6, 11.8 and 31.3 per cent among residents of TN, MH, JH and CH, while the prevalence of AO was 26.6, 18.7, 16.9 and 36.1 per cent, respectively. CO was present in 19.3, 13.0, 9.8 and 26.6 per cent of the TN, MH, JH and CH population. The prevalence of GO, AO and CO were significantly higher among urban residents compared to rural residents in all the four regions studied. The prevalence of overweight was 15.2, 11.3, 7.8 and 15.9 per cent among residents of TN, MH, JH and CH, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that female gender, hypertension, diabetes, higher socio-economic status, physical inactivity and urban residence were significantly associated with GO, AO and CO in all the four regions studied. Age was significantly associated with AO and CO, but not with GO. Interpretation & conclusions: Prevalence of AO as well as of GO were high in India. Extrapolated to the whole country, 135, 153 and 107 million individuals will have GO, AO and CO, respectively. However, these figures have been estimated from three States and one UT of India and the results may be viewed in this light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the author of the article "Prevalence of generalized & abdominal obesity in urban & rural India- the ICMR - INDIAB Study" in the 2015 issue is presented.

Background & Objectives: The osteoporotic risk for women increases soon after menopause. Bone turnover markers are known to be associated with bone loss and fracture risk. This study was aimed to assess bone turnover using bone markers and their correlation with bone mineral density (BMD) in pre- and post-menopausal women., Methods: A total of 255 healthy women (160 pre- and 95 post-menopausal) were enrolled. Serum bone alkaline phosphatase (sBAP) and serum N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) were measured to evaluate the bone formation and resorption, respectively. Bone mineral density was determined at lumbar spine (L2-L4) anteroposteriorly, femoral neck and Ward's triangle using Prodigy dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) system. The comparison of years since menopause with respect to BMD and bone markers was also evaluated., Results: NTX and sBAP showed significant negative correlation with BMD of femur neck and Ward's triangle in postmenopausal women. BMD of all three sides were significant variables for NTX and BMD of femur neck and Ward's triangle for sBAP in postmenopausal women. BMD lumbar spine was a significant variable for sBAP in premenopausal women. The mean values of NTX increased significantly with increase in the duration of years since menopause. The BMD of all three sides decreased significantly with increase in the duration of years since menopause., Interpretation & Conclusions: Serum NTX and sBAP were inversely correlated to BMD of femur neck and Ward's triangle in post-menopausal women. Simultaneous measurements of NTX and BMD in the north Indian women, suggest that bone resorption in women with low BMD remains high after menopause.

Objective: To quantitate radiation-associated cytologic abnormalities in oral cancer cells and analyze their relationships with radiation dose, clinical stage and histologic grade., Study Design: Forty-three oral cancer patients receiving 2 Gy of fractionated radiotherapy per day were enrolled. Scrape smears were taken from the tumor surface before treatment and serially after 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-Gy fractions. Counts were done after Giemsa staining for the number of tumor cells; micronucleated, nuclear budded, binucleated and multinucleated tumor cells; cells with abnormal nuclear chromatin and membrane; cells with cytoplasmic granulation and vacuolization; and histiocytic giant cells. The variation in these counts with increasing radiation dose was assessed and compared with the histologic grade and clinical stage., Results: Before therapy, counts for 7 of 10 cytologic abnormalities were significantly different between the 3 histologic grades (Kruskal-Wallis test). With increasing radiation dose, only micronucleation and nuclear budding remained significantly different within the grades. Most cytologic features were not significantly different in early and advanced clinical stage cancers before or after irradiation (Mann-Whitney U test)., Conclusion: Cellular changes do not show a relationship with clinical stage either before or after irradiation. However, they demonstrate a partial pretherapy correlation with histology. This relationship diminishes progressively with increasing radiation dose. Since micronucleation and nuclear budding remain significantly different between histologic grades even after 24 Gy of irradiation, they may be utilized as clinically practicable alternatives to biopsy at this stage and may be useful in further studies on cytologic prognostication of irradiated oral cancer.