Rejected

Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is an inflammatory thyroid disorder of viral origin, generally preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection. Since the disorder is self-limiting, it is frequently underdiagnosed. However, the disease should not be overlooked since the associated thyrotoxicosis may worsen the clinical course of concomitant disorders (e.g., respiratory distress) and long-term sequelae, such as autoimmune hypothyroidism, have been reported.

Vulvar lichen planus is a debilitating skin condition usually complicated by delayed diagnosis due to its highly variable clinical appearance and inconsistent histopathological characteristics. This study aims to devise a clinical diagnostic tool for the disease and to correlate this with histopathology findings.

This work tested the role of carbamazepine in alleviating alloxan-induced diabetic neuropathy and the enhancement of spinal plasticity. Mice were randomized into four groups: normal, control, carbamazepine (25-mg/kg) and carbamazepine (50-mg/kg). Nine weeks after induction of diabetes, symptoms of neuropathy were confirmed and carbamazepine (or vehicle) was given every other day for five weeks. After completing the treatment period, mice were sacrificed and the pathologic features in the spinal cord and the sciatic nerves were determined. The spinal cords were evaluated for synaptic plasticity (growth associated protein-43, GAP43), microglia cell expression (by CD11b) and astrocyte expression (glial fibrillary acidic protein, GFAP). Further, sciatic nerve expression of Nav1.5 was measured. Results revealed that carbamazepine 50 mg/kg prolonged the withdrawal threshold of von-Frey filaments and increased the hot plate jumping time. Carbamazepine improved the histopathologic pictures of the sciatic nerves and spinal cords. Spinal cord of carbamazepine-treated groups had enhanced expression of GAP43 but lower content of CD11b and GFAP. Furthermore, specimens from the sciatic nerve indicated low expression of Nav1.5. In conclusion, this work provided evidence, for the first time, that the preventive effect of carbamazepine against diabetic neuropathy involves correction of spinal neuronal plasticity and glia cell expression.

A 51-year-old woman with a past medical history of migraine presented with severe headache for the last three weeks. The pain was intermittent and throbbing in nature. She has not experienced any headaches in the past several years. She took her migraine pills and over-the-counter analgesics, but the pain did not resolve. Initial evaluation including physical exam and neurological exam was normal. Her serum chemistry was unremarkable and CT scan of the brain was nonsignificant. The patient was diagnosed with possible trigeminal neuralgia and the pain resolved after being started on tegral (carbamazepine). Unilateral headache is a typical presentation of atypical trigeminal neuralgia and is rarely reported in literature.

A 12-year-old boy presented with a prolonged history of headache, fatigue and hypertension. Initial investigations were consistent with presumed non-oliguric end-stage renal disease, leading to a provisional diagnosis of juvenile nephronophthisis. Subsequent imaging demonstrated bilaterally enlarged kidneys without cystic change. Mutation analysis was negative for nephronophthisis, causing diagnostic uncertainty which prompted renal biopsy. Histology revealed a primary renal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma which was highly responsive to chemotherapy, including the anti-CD20 monoclonal agent, rituximab. Renal function improved during lymphoma treatment, with residual chronic kidney disease stage 3a once chemotherapy was completed. Atypical diagnostic features should always prompt re-evaluation of a patient. In this case, the delayed malignancy diagnosis did not have an adverse effect on patient survival or morbidity. The outcome for primary renal lymphoma (PRL) has improved markedly following the introduction of rituximab.

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a connective tissue disease involving multiple organs and systems such as cardiovascular, skeletal, and ocular systems and is also an autosomal dominant inheritance disorder.

Forty percent of patients continue to use opioids at 3 months after joint arthroplasty. We sought to identify clinical and psychological risk factors associated with prolonged opioid use.

To determine whether changes to cortical processing of visual information can be objectively evaluated using three simple ocular motor tasks to measure performance in patients with visual snow syndrome (VSS).

The underlying mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are poorly researched. This study characterised the nature, frequency, severity and treatable causes for GI symptoms prospectively in patients undergoing chemotherapy for GI malignancy.