Background: Many studies on the role of apoptosis in cancer development and management have been undertaken. Apoptotic activity depends partly on the balance between anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) and pro-apoptotic (Bax) activities. This study compared Bcl-2 and Bax expression in the tumour cells and endothelial cells of tumour blood vessels in soft tissue sarcoma, and examined the association of these with tumour characteristics. Methods: A cross sectional (retrospective) study was conducted on 101 cases of various types of soft tissue sarcoma tumour cells and endothelial cells of tumour blood vessels. The immunohistochemical expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax were compared by correlating them according to site, size, depth, tumour margin, lymph node involvement, and histological type. Results: Higher Bax than Bcl-2 expression in tumour cells was observed, although the difference was not statistically significant. There was a significant direct association between Bcl-2 and Bax in tumour cells with endothelial cells. Among tumour characteristics, the only significant correlation was that of the Bcl-2 expression in tumour cells with tumour histological subtypes (synovial sarcoma and leiomyosarcoma). Conclusion: The findings in this study support the role of endothelial cells in the survival and regression of tumour cells in tumour genesis. Therefore, inhibition of endothelial cell survival and activation, or induction of tumour cell apoptosis offers a promising prospect for tumour management.

Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMLBL) is an uncommon non-Hodgkin lymphoma with a distinct clinicopathological entity in the WHO classification of lymphoid malignancies. It is known to originate from B-cells of the thymus. It mimics thymic neoplasms and other lymphomas clinically and histopathologically. We reported a 33-year-old obese man who presented with shortness of breath off and on for 4 years. Radiologically, there was a huge anterior mediastinal mass. Tru-cut biopsy was initially diagnosed as type-A thymoma. Histopathological examination of the excised specimen revealed PMLBL with stromal fibrosis and sclerosis which created a diagnostic difficulty. The neoplastic cells varied from medium-sized to large pleomorphic cells, including mononuclear cells with centroblastic and immunoblastic features as well as bi-lobed Reed Sternberg (RS)-like cells and horse-shoe like hallmark cells. Some interlacing spindle cells and epithelioid cells were also present. Immunohistochemically, tumour cells expressed diffuse positivity for LCA, CD20, CD79a, CD23, Bcl2, MUM-1 and heterogenous positivity for CD30 and EMA, and were negative for CD10, CD15 and ALK. Ki67 scoring was very high. Tumour cells infiltrated into peri-thymic fat and pericardium. No malignant cells were detected in the pleural fluid and there was no bone marrow infiltration. The patient showed partial response to 6 cycles of RICE chemotherapy, and was planned for second line chemotherapy using hyper-CVAD regimen followed by autologous stem cell transplantation. This case illustrates the importance of thorough sampling and immunohistochemistry in differentiating PMLBL from its differential diagnoses.

INTRODUCTIONThe use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Singapore for a variety of conditions has been reported to be high. However in Asian chronic pain patients, there is no data on their use of CAM and its perceived benefits.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA cross-sectional survey of 210 patients was carried out in Pain Management Centre. Patients were interviewed directly on their use of CAM. The outcomes were prevalence of CAM use, the types of CAM used, the perceived efficacy and factors influencing its use.

RESULTSThe prevalence of CAM users in chronic pain is 84%. The most common class of CAM is traditional Chinese medicine (68%) the subset of which, acupuncture, was most frequently utilised (49% of patients using CAM). In univariate analyses, ethnicity was significantly linked to CAM use but not gender, age, education level and income (P = 0.027). Specifically for neck pain, it was significant that patients were more likely to see a chiropractor, to use massage, to take take vitamins and ginseng to alleviate their symptoms. With upper limb pain, it was the use of Tui na, massage and seeing a TCM practitioner. For abdominal pain, it was the use of herbal medicines. The majority felt that CAM helped with their pain (72%) although less expressed satisfaction with CAM (64%). Reasons for using CAM included: having more control over their pain; fewer side effects; safety and lower costs compared to conventional medicine.

CONCLUSIONThe use of CAM in chronic pain patients is higher than the general population. Most felt that it improved their pain. As part of multimodal therapy, CAM may have a role in the management of chronic pain.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Chronic Pain ; therapy ; Complementary Therapies ; utilization ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Singapore ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Young Adult

Leprosy caused by Mycobacterium leprae, primarily manifests with cutaneous and neurological symptoms. Bone marrow (BM) involvement without skin lesions is exceedingly rare, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Here is a case of a 40-year-old HIV-infected man with a nadir CD4 count of 29 cells/mm³ who presented with recurrent anaemia, massive hepatosplenomegaly, and no apparent skin lesions. BM analysis revealed epithelioid granulomas with foamy histiocytes containing acid-fast bacilli, confirmed by Wade-Fite staining. This case highlights the rare presentation of lepromatous leprosy, emphasising the diagnostic challenges posed by the absence of typical cutaneous features.
Leprosy ; HIV

PURPOSE: Physician empathy is a core attribute in medical professionals, giving better patient outcomes. Medical school is an opportune time for building empathetic foundations. This study explores empathy change and focuses on contributory factors. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 881 students (63%) from Years 1 to 5 in a Singaporean medical school using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student version (JSPE-S) and a questionnaire investigating the relationship between reported and novel personal-social empathy determinants. RESULTS: Empathy declined significantly between preclinical and clinical years. Female and medical specialty interest respondents had higher scores than their counterparts. Despite strong internal consistency, factor analysis suggested that the JSPE model is not a perfect fit. Year 1 students had highest Perspective Taking scores and Year 2 students had highest Compassionate Care scores. High workload and inappropriate learning environments were the most relevant stressors. Time spent with family, arts, and community service correlated with higher empathy scores, whilst time spent with significant others and individual leisure correlated with lower scores. Thematic analysis revealed that the most common self-reported determinants were exposure to activity (community service) or socialisation, personal and family-related event as well as environment (high work-load). CONCLUSION: While the empathy construct in multicultural Singapore is congruent with a Western model, important differences remain. A more subtle understanding of the heterogeneity of the medical student experience is important. A greater breadth of determinants of empathy, such as engagement in arts-related activities should be considered.
Art ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; *Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; *Empathy ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine ; *Physician-Patient Relations ; Physicians ; Self Report ; Sex Factors ; Singapore ; Social Participation ; *Students, Medical ; Workload

OBJECTIVEMyanmar has a long history of using medicinal plants for treatment of various diseases. To the best of our knowledge there are no previous reports on antiglycation activities of medicinal plants from Myanmar. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant, antiglycation and antimicrobial properties of 20 ethanolic extracts from 17 medicinal plants indigenous to Myanmar.

METHODSIn vitro scavenging assays of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO), superoxide (SO) radicals were used to determine the antioxidant activities. Folin-Ciocalteu's method was performed to determine the total phenolic content. Antiglycation and antimicrobial activities were detected by bovine serum albumin-fluorescent assay and agar well diffusion method.

RESULTSTerminalia chebula Retz. (Fruit), containing the highest total phenolic content, showed high antioxidant activities with inhibition of 77.98% ± 0.92%, 88.95% ± 2.42%, 88.56% ± 1.87% and 70.74%± 2.57% for DPPH, NO, SO assays and antiglycation activity respectively. It also showed the antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans with inhibition zone of 19, 18, 17, 25 and 15 mm, respectively. Garcinia mangostana Linn. showed the strongest activities for SO and antiglycation assays with inhibition of 93.68% ± 2.63% and 82.37% ± 1.78%. Bark of Melia sp. was the best NO radical scavenger with inhibition rate of 89.39%± 0.60%.

CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that these plants are potential sources of antioxidants with free radical-scavenging and antiglycation activities and could be useful for decreasing the oxidative stress and glycation end-product formation in glycation-related diseases.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Anti-Infective Agents ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Antioxidants ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Bacteria ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Biphenyl Compounds ; metabolism ; Candida albicans ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Fruit ; Garcinia ; chemistry ; Glycation End Products, Advanced ; metabolism ; Humans ; Magnoliopsida ; chemistry ; Medicine, Traditional ; Melia ; chemistry ; Myanmar ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Phenols ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Phytotherapy ; Picrates ; metabolism ; Plant Bark ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; Superoxides ; Terminalia ; chemistry