Papillary thyroid carcinoma is a common thyroid malignancy reported world wide. It affects females more commonly in the 4th to 6th decades of life. The patients usually present with a painless anterior neck mass and occasionally with lymph node involvement. We report a case of an elderly male who presented with hoarseness and hemoptysis, which warranted bronchoscopy. Biopsy of the intraluminal tracheal mass revealed the diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Computed tomography scan of the neck confirmed the presence of the primary lesion in the right thyroid lobe with invasion into the adjacent trachea and esophagus.

Retroperitoneal ; Teratoma

Von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare autosomal dominantly inherited multisystem disorder characterised by the development of a variety of benign and malignant tumours. We report a case of VHL disease that was inherited by a daughter from her father, who both presented at a young age with progressive headache and were found to have a posterior fossa haemangioblastoma (HB) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Multiple benign pancreatic and renal cysts were also noted in both patients.

The notion of fruit and vegetables (FV) in preventing chronic diseases has long been discerned. To meet the recommended FV intake, FV juices have emerged as a convenient and healthy choice. Mixed fruit and vegetable juices (MFVJ) cater the blend of desirable flavor and taste of consumers. This study was carried out to determine the total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activities and sugar content of selected MFVJ. Folin-Ciocalteu assay was employed to quantify TPC, whereas DPPH and FRAP assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activities of MFVJ. The sugar content was determined using phenol-sulfuric acid method. MFVJ extracted from bitter gourd, green apple and orange (BGO) had the highest TPC content (76.4 ± 4.2 mg GAE/100 ml). Celery and green apple (CG) juice showed the highest DPPH value (522.3 ± 7.6 mg TE/100 ml) whereas carrot and starfruit (AS) juice have the highest FRAP value (419.6 ± 21.6 mg TE/100 ml). The sugar content of MFVJ was within the range of 5.7-13.3 g/100 ml. MFVJ can be considered as healthy beverages with considerable amounts of phenolic compounds and low sugar content. This study provides some useful reference for consumers who consume juices with combinations of FV. Future studies need to discover more combinations of FV juices, providing more data pertaining to MFVJ. Identification of individual phenolic compounds should also be part of future research using various instrumental analyses.

Polyphenol is a non-nutrient phytochemical compound existed abundantly in plant-based diet which has the properties to prevent age related oxidative damage induced diseases. However, there are diffi culties in quantifying its intake and local food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for the assessment is not available. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate FFQ for estimation of dietary polyphenol intake among 93 individuals aged 60 years and above recruited from several senior citizen clubs in Klang Valley. Phase I of the study involved the development of FFQ consisted of 117 items under 9 categories and formation of the database extracted from PHENOL-EXPLORER. In Phase II, the intake of polyphenol estimated using FFQ was compared with reference method consisted of 2-day diet records and diet history questionnaire (DHQ). The mean dietary polyphenol intake estimated from FFQ and the reference method was 2770.7 ± 1552.4 mg/d and 2171.4 ± 898.8 mg/d, respectively. Spearman’s rho and Kendall’s tau-b analysis indicated that there was a signifi cant positive correlation between polyphenol intake estimated from FFQ and reference method (r = 0.41, p < 0.001; r = 0.28, p < 0.001). For Bland-Altman plot, 95.7% of scattered plot fell within ± 1.96 SD limits of agreement revealed that there was good agreement between the two methods used. Cross-classifi cation analysis showed that 36.6% was categorized in the same quartile, 78.5% in identical and contiguous quartiles, with only 3.2% in the opposite quartiles. Regression analysis showed that all categories in FFQ signifi cantly account for the inter-variance for dietary polyphenol intake after controlling for the other variables (R2 = 1.000, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the newly developed FFQ is considered valid and has the potential to be used as a tool to estimate polyphenol intake among elderly individuals in Malaysia

This study was carried out to determine the inhibitory effects of phytate on the bioavalaibility of calcium (Ca), ferum (Fe) dan zink (Zn) in selected soy-based products. Phytate exerts its inhibitory effects on the absorption of minerals such as Ca, Fe and Zn by forming insoluble and undigestible complexes. The inhibitory effect of phytate on the bioavailability of minerals like Ca, Fe and Zn was estimated by measuring their molar ratios. Phytate content was determined by using anion-exchange method while mineral contents were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Soybased products were bought from the night markets and food stall located at Cheras and Sri Rampai, Kuala Lumpur. Each samples from both location was analysed in duplicates. Results from this study showed that soy cake and all dishes containing tempe did not contain phytate content. This may due to the presence of R. oligosporus that produces phytase and hydrolysed the phytate content during the fermentation process of tempe. There were fi ve food samples that have a phytate/ Ca molar ratio > 0.24, ten food samples with a phytate/ Fe molar ratio > 1, eight food samples have a phytate/ Zn molar ratio >15 and one food sample has a [phytate x Ca]/ Zn molar ratio > 200. The result of molar ratio phytate/ mineral in this study estimated the low bioavailability of Ca, Fe and Zn. In conclusion, soy cake and all dishes containing tempe contained high bioavailability of minerals, while tau-hoo pok contained low bioavailability of minerals

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been associated with an acute stress response mediated by the sympathoadrenomedullary axis, which can be assessed by measuring blood glucose level. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted for a year in 2007 among 294 patients who had been treated for TBI in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Patients fulfilling the set criteria were recruited into the study and data, including blood glucose level and Glasgow Outcome Score at 3-month follow-up, were collected. Results: 294 patients were included in the study: 50 females (17.0%) and 244 males (83.0%). The majority of cases were young adult patients (mean age of 34.2 years, SD 13.0). The mean blood glucose level during admission and post-surgery were 6.26 mmol/L (SD 1.30, n = 294) and 6.66 mmol/L (SD 1.44, n = 261), respectively. Specifically, the mean admission glucose level associated with mild TBI was 5.04 mmol/L (SD 0.71); moderate TBI, 5.78 mmol/L (SD 1.02); and severe TBI, 7.04 mmol/L (SD 1.18). The mean admission glucose level associated with a poor outcome in patients with isolated TBI was 6.98 mmol/L (SD 1.21). Patients with admission glucose of 5.56 mmol/L (SD 1.21) were more likely to have a favourable outcome. Conclusion: Mild, moderate, and severe TBI were associated with an increase in blood glucose levels during admission, and the mean increase in glucose levels is based on the severity of the isolated TBI. Surgical intervention did not cause further significant changes in blood glucose levels. Patients with isolated TBI and minimal increases in blood glucose levels were more likely to have a favourable outcome.

Objective: To establish a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique based on cytochrome b (cytb) gene of mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) for blood meal identification. Methods: The PCR technique was established based on published information and validated using blood sample of laboratory animals of which their whole gene sequences are available in GenBank. PCR was next performed to compile gene sequences of different species of wild rodents. The primers used were complementary to the conserved region of the cytb gene of vertebrate’s mtDNA. A total of 100 blood samples, both from laboratory animals and wild rodents were collected and analyzed. The obtained unknown sequences were compared with those in the GenBank database using BLAST program to identify the vertebrate animal species. Results: Gene sequences of 11 species of wild animals caught in 9 localities of Peninsular Malaysia were compiled using the established PCR. The animals involved were Rattus (rattus) tanezumi, Rattus tiomanicus, Leopoldamys sabanus,Tupaia glis, Tupaia minor, Niviventor cremoriventor, Rhinosciurus laticaudatus, Callosciurus caniseps, Sundamys muelleri, Rattus rajah and Maxomys whiteheadi. The BLAST results confirmed the host with exact or nearly exact matches (>89% identity). Ten new gene sequences have been deposited in GenBank database since September 2010. Conclusions: This study indicates that the PCR direct sequencing system using universal primer sets for vertebrate cytb gene is a promising technique for blood meal identification.

Literature review suggests that polyphenols in particular fl avonoids, are benefi cial for mental health during aging process. This review examines the effect of consumption of all polyphenols groups on mental health and cognitive status during aging process. The keywords searched were “mental health,” “depression,” “anxiety,” “stress” and “cognitive” combined with “dietary,” and “polyphenols.” The databases including PubMed, Web of Science and CAB Abstracts were searched for a period of 10 years. A total of 11 studies were identifi ed to fulfi ll the inclusion criteria. From this review, polyphenols may confer benefi cial effects towards mental health, in particular the decline in cognitive functions during aging process, however, some studies showed contradictory results. Polyphenols have been proven to improve language and verbal ability, which is among the main vulnerable aspects in cognitive decline in pathological brain aging. In contrast, polyphenols intake did not seem to affect executive functioning. The effects of polyphenols towards cognitive status were more prominent among the elderly as compared to young and middle-aged adults. This review also shows that fl avonoids is the main type of polyphenols that confer positive effects towards cognitive status during aging. This review provides evidence that consumption of polyphenols may lead to cognitive and mental health benefi ts. Further clinical trials involving human subjects are required with carefully designed methodology to elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between polyphenols consumption and improvement in cognitive and mental health status