Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a disease characterised by late-term reproductive failure in sows and gilts, and respiratory problems in piglets and growing pigs. In this study, 240 sera were collected from four farms that had been practicing different PRRS vaccination regime for more than a year and vaccinations were done at 2 months before sampling. Fifteen sera samples from four age groups: sows, growers, weaners and piglets were collected from each farm and analysed using IDEXX PRRS X3 ELISA for PRRSV antibodies. Pooled serum samples were tested by using nested-PCR that enable the differentiation of Type I and Type II PRRSV. Out of 80 pooled serum samples, none were positive for PRRSV indicating all age groups were not viraemic after vaccination. Results by ELISA test showed all the farms were seropositive for PRRS. ELISA testing showed no significant difference between the farms except for Farm B which practised whole herd US MLV vaccination. Farm B showed significantly lower (p<0.05) S/P ratio in their piglet, grower and sow groups which suggest there was low virus circulation in herd. Farm A which practised US MLV on sow was the only farm found to have seronegative status in their weaners. Data indicates PRRS MLV vaccination will not cause viraemia post four weeks vaccination and whole herd MLV vaccination may help to reduce virus circulation in PRRS endemic farm.

The link between diabetes mellitus and magnesium deficiency is well known. A growing body of evidence suggests that magnesium plays a pivotal role in reducing cardiovascular risks and may be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes itself. While the benefits of oral magnesium supplementation on glycemic control have yet to be demonstrated in patients, magnesium supplementation has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity. Effects of Magnesium (Mg) supplementation on the glycemic control of 63 mild gestational diabetic patients were investigated. The use of an ionic, liquid minerals containing concentrated amounts of magnesium and chloride (CMD) was used for supplementation during the two week period and showed good glycemic control in the study group without additional need foe insulin injections.

Human ; Female ; Magnesium Deficiency ; Magnesium ; Insulin Resistance ; Ionic Liquids ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Blood Glucose ; Pregnancy In Diabetics ; Insulin ; Minerals

An outbreak of rubella occurred amongst 303 newly recruited residential Form IV students in a military vocational training school in Malaysia. Of the 303 Form IV students, 77 gave a history of acute illness. Rubella specific IgM was detected in the sera of 46.5% (141/303) whereas rubella specific IgG was detected in 100% of all Form IV students. Sixty five students with no clinical history of acute illness during the outbreak period had detectable rubella IgM in their sera and rubella specific IgM was detected in the sera of all symptomatic students except one. Maculopapular rash was the commonest presenting clinical feature among students with acute rubella infection in this outbreak (97.4%) followed by fever (88.2%). The duration of rash ranged from one to nine days with a mean of 4.6 days. Of the 65 students that had both fever and rash, 56 (85.2%) students had maculopapular skin eruption on the same day as the date of onset of fever, six (9.2%) developed the rash a day after the onset of fever and three (4.6%) had the rash after two days of fever. The duration of fever ranged from one to eight days with a mean of 3.5 days. The duration of conjunctivitis ranged from one to four days with a mean of 2.3 days, and all those who developed conjunctivitis had mild eye-discharge without photophobia. The duration of arthralgia ranged from one to three days with a mean of 2.1 days. The commonest type of joints affected was knee joints (66.7%, 12/18), followed by elbow and shoulder joints (27.8%, 5/18) and wrist joints (5.6%, 1/18). A good clinical history of the temporal relationship between the occurrence of rash and fever during the outbreak could easily differentiate rubella illness from that of measles.
Rubella ; Fever ; Exanthema ; Roman Numeral IV ; Manufactured form

BACKGROUND: Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) can lead to significant morbidity, mortality, and additional healthcare resource ut i l i zat ion in chronic k idney disease. Baseline prevalence data is highly required. This study aims to determine the prevalence of secondary hyperparathyroidi sm (SPTH) in pat ient s wi th Type 2 diabetes undergoing hemodialysis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed all medical records of patients whose chronic kidney disease (CKD) was due to Type 2 diabetes mellitus and are undergoing chronic hemodialysis from 2000 to 2009. Excluded were those who underwent hemodialysis due to acute renal failure or for chronic renal failure due to other causes other than diabetic nephropathy (e.g. hypertensive nephropathy, chronic glomerulonephritis, etc). Data collected include age, sex, body mass index, bone markers, intact PTH, and urea reduction rate.
RESULTS: The age and sex adjusted period prevalence of secondary hyperparathyroidism was 28.9%, commonly seen in the 5th to the 6th decade of life. Patients with SPTH had higher serum intact PTH, higher total calcium level (mean 9.05 versus 8.6, p=.026) and a higher urea reduction rate (mean 54.1 versus 45.2, p=.045). There was a longer duration of hemodialysis sessions among those with secondary hyperparathyroidism (mean 2.4 years versus 1.78 years, p=.004). Dialysis was likewise more adequate.
CONCLUSION: Prolonged diabet ic kidney di sease is associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism for which a more aggressive monitoring of calcium and phosphorus imbalance is required.

Human ; Male ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Acute Kidney Injury ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; Glomerulonephritis ; Hyperparathyroidism, Secondary ; Hypertension, Renal ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Nephritis ; Prevalence ; Renal Dialysis ; Urea

BACKGROUND: Insulin glulisine  is a  new  rapid-acting insulin  analogue.  Currently,  few  data   are   available on its safety and tolerability among patients in the Asia-Pacific   region.
OBJECTIVES:
Primary Objective: To assess the safety and tolerability of insulin glulisine as part of an insulin treatment   regimen   in   Filipinos   with   diabetes
Secondary  Objectives:
1.    To compare the change in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and post-prandial blood glucose (PPBG) levels at baseline and after  three  and  six months on an insulin treatment regimen with insulin  glulisine
2.    To measure patients' level of  satisfaction  in  using   the   Insulin   glulisine  pen
METHODS: This was a multicenter, observational, post- marketing  surveillance  study   of   adult   patients   (18   to Results: Among 1,805 patients included, 132 (7.31%) experienced hypoglycemia. The overall incidence of adverse events other than hypoglycemia was 0.78%. There  was  a  significant  reduction  in   baseline  levels   of HbA1c,  FBG  and  PPBG  during  the  follow-up  visits  at third and sixth months (all p<0.0001). Patient satisfaction  with  using  the  pen  was  good  to    excellent.
CONCLUSION: This post-marketing surveillance study demonstrates the safety and tolerability of  insulin  glulisine  when  used   as   part   of   an   insulin   regimen in an actual clinical setting for the management of diabetes among Filipino  patients.  Insulin  glulisine  as  part of  a   diabetes  treatment  regimen  was   effective  in improving glycemic  parameters.  The  glulisine  pen  was   also   well   tolerated   and   accepted   by patients.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Insulin Glulisine ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Insulin, Short-acting ; Excipients ; Fasting ; Insulin ; Hypoglycemia

A prospective study was carried out to evaluate the sensitivity of dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA in comparison with dengue virus isolation, conventional RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR for laboratory confi rmation of acute dengue based on single-acute serum samples. Four primary healthcare centres were involved to recruit patients with clinical diagnosis of dengue illness. Patient’s demographic, epidemiological and clinical information were collected on a standardized data entry form and 5 ml of venous blood was collected upon consent. In the laboratory, six types of laboratory tests were performed on each of the collected acute serum sample. Of the 558 acute serum samples collected from 558 patients with clinical diagnosis of dengue from mid-August 2006 to March 2009, 174 serum samples were tested positive by the dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA, 77 by virus isolation, 92 by RT-PCR and 112 by real-time RT-PCR. A total of 190 serum samples were tested positive by either one or a combination of the four methods whereas, only 59 serum samples were tested positive by all four methods. Thus, based on singleacute serum samples, 190 of the 558 patients (34.1%) were laboratory-confi rmed acute dengue. The overall test sensitivity was 91.6%, 40.5%, 48.4% and 58.9% for dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA, virus isolation, conventional RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR respectively. Statistically, dengue NS1 antigen-capture ELISA was the most sensitive and virus isolation was the least sensitive test for the laboratory confi rmation of acute dengue based on single-acute serum specimens. Real-time RT-PCR was signifi cantly more sensitive than the conventional RT-PCR.

Permanent visual loss is a well established major sequela of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). It is often insidious and frequently unnoticed by patients with IIH. It is vital to monitor these patients with serial perimetric and visual acuity tests because visual loss can be halted and occasionally reversed if treatment is begun early. We report a case of IIH with an empty sella turcica and polycystic ovary syndrome who developed visual field loss over ten years. This report illustrates the importance of close ophthalmic monitoring and detailed neurological and endocrinological evaluation to prevent complications in such patients.
Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Empty Sella Syndrome ; complications ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; complications ; diagnosis ; Pseudotumor Cerebri ; complications ; diagnosis ; Vision Disorders ; diagnosis ; etiology

Arthroscopy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Rotator Cuff/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To identify the avoidable causes of childhood blindness and visual impairment in a school of the blind in the Philippines.

METHODS: The medical records of students enrolled at the Resources for the Blind early intervention and preschool program from 1999 to 2012 were reviewed. Demographic characteristics and causes of visual disability were abstracted and tabulated.

RESULTS: A total of 90 records were included in the study. Eighty six (76.7%) had visual acuity classified as blind (<20/400) or severe visual impairment (<20/200 - 20/400, 18.9%). Majority (69.8%) were below 6 years of age and most (44.2%) were below 1 year. Retinopathy of prematurity was the most common cause (47.7%), followed by retinablastoma (11.6%). Perinatal factors accounted for most of the etiologic causes (58.1%) of visual loss.

CONCLUSION: More than half of the causes of severe visual impairment and blindness were potentially avoidable, with retinopathy of prematurity as the leading etiology.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Child Preschool ; Infant ; Early Intervention (education) ; Retinopathy Of Prematurity ; Visually Impaired Persons ; Blindness ; Vision, Low ; Visual Acuity ; Students ; Medical Records