Malignant melanoma is a neoplasm of melanin-producing cells predominantly of cutaneous origin, which uncommonly develops within gut mucosa. We present the case of a 58-year-old woman with complaints of abdominal pain, loss of appetite and weight.Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a gastric mass and systemic imaging demonstrated widespread nodal and bilateral adrenal gland involvement. Histopathology of the gastric mass confirmed primary malignant mucosal melanoma of the stomach. The patient received three cycles of Nivolumab but did not respond, and thus, was then offered best supportive care. Although infrequent, mucosal melanoma can arise from the gastrointestinal tract, and in contrast to the cutaneous form, advanced disease usually has a dismal prognosis and responds poorly to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Primary gastric melanoma is an aggressive disease that is diagnosed by exclusion after the differential diagnosis of metastasis from a cutaneous or unknown primary site has been conducted. If available, patients with treatment-naïve mucosal melanoma should be considered for enrollment in clinical trials.

Bergenia ciliata (Family: Saxifragaceae) is a folklore remedy for the treatment of various ailments in Asian countries. Bergenin (1) has been isolated as an active constituent in many studies, however, the amount of bergenin has not been determined in all parts of the plant. A simple RP-HPLC method was developed to determine the amount of bergenin in methanol extracts of leaves, rhizomes and roots of the plant. Separation was achieved on an Agilent Eclipse XDB-C18 column maintained at 25 o C using isocratic solvent system (water: methanol: acetic acid; 62.5:37:0.5 v/v/v) adjusted at pH 2 0 at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. and detected at 275 nm. Correlation coefficient (0.9952) showed linearity of concentration (5-200 μg/mL) and response. The values of LOD (0.00947 μg/mL) and LOQ (0.02869 μg/mL) indicated that method was sensitive. The recovery of bergenin was 99.99-100% indicating accuracy of method. The methanol extract of rhizomes contained higher amount of bergenin (19.4%) than roots (9.2%) and leaves (6.9%). It is concluded that methanol extract of rhizomes is a better source of bergenin than other parts of the plant. The findings are useful for standardization of bergenin containing extracts and herbal preparations.

Bergenia ciliata (Family: Saxifragaceae) is a folklore remedy for the treatment of various ailments in Asian countries. Bergenin (1) has been isolated as an active constituent in many studies, however, the amount of bergenin has not been determined in all parts of the plant. A simple RP-HPLC method was developed to determine the amount of bergenin in methanol extracts of leaves, rhizomes and roots of the plant. Separation was achieved on an Agilent Eclipse XDB-C18 column maintained at 25 o C using isocratic solvent system (water: methanol: acetic acid; 62.5:37:0.5 v/v/v) adjusted at pH 2 0 at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. and detected at 275 nm. Correlation coefficient (0.9952) showed linearity of concentration (5-200 μg/mL) and response. The values of LOD (0.00947 μg/mL) and LOQ (0.02869 μg/mL) indicated that method was sensitive. The recovery of bergenin was 99.99-100% indicating accuracy of method. The methanol extract of rhizomes contained higher amount of bergenin (19.4%) than roots (9.2%) and leaves (6.9%). It is concluded that methanol extract of rhizomes is a better source of bergenin than other parts of the plant. The findings are useful for standardization of bergenin containing extracts and herbal preparations.

Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan disease that is caused by Toxoplasma gondii in livestock and humans. Due to its medical and veterinary importance, it is essential to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among humans and animals in various parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants (sheep and goats) of north-eastern region, Pakistan. A total of 1,000 animals comprising of sheep (n=470) and goats (n=530) were examined for T. gondii infection by using ELISA. An epidemiological data was collected in the form of questionnaire. A surface has been generated by using method of interpolation in Arc GIS with the help of IDW (inverse distance weight). The results showed higher seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats (42.8%) as compared to sheep (26.2%). The seroprevalence was higher in females as compared to males in all examined ruminants. Similarly, there is a wide variation in the seroprevalence of T. gondii in different breeds of sheep and goats showing higher seroprevalence in Teddy (52.8%) and Damani breed (34.5%) of goat and sheep's, respectively. The geographical and spatial distribution of T. gondii shows that it is widely distributed in different parts of the north-eastern region of Pakistan. Our results suggest widespread environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts. It suggests us that small ruminants could be a potentially important source of T. gondii infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked.
Animals ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Goats* ; Humans ; Livestock ; Male ; Meat ; Methods ; Oocysts ; Pakistan* ; Ruminants ; Seroepidemiologic Studies* ; Sheep* ; Toxoplasma ; Toxoplasmosis*

From 2013 to 2015, the National Institute of Health, Pakistan, received 1,270 blood samples of suspected dengue cases reported from inpatient and outpatient departments of various hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. In this study, we determined the circulating dengue virus (DENV) serotypes using real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR to understand the serotype-based epidemiology of DENV. All four serotypes (DENV-1 [6%], DENV-2 [33%], DENV-3 [47%], and DENV-4 [0.1%]) were found circulating during the study period. Our findings suggest the need for an active surveillance system coupled with the laboratory diagnosis, especially in the chronic endemic areas of the country. Public awareness programs are needed for effective control and prevention of outbreaks in the future.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Dengue/diagnosis/*epidemiology/virology ; Dengue Virus/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Disease Outbreaks ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pakistan/epidemiology ; RNA, Viral/genetics/metabolism ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serogroup ; Young Adult

Objective To evaluate NS1 antigen detection ELISA for the early laboratory diagnosis of dengue virus infection. Methods The present study was conducted to evaluate the overall positivity of NS1 antigen detection ELISA and its comparison with viral RNA detection via real time PCR and IgM antibodies detection by ELISA. Results A total of 1270 serum samples were tested 86% (1097/1270) were detected positive by one or more than one diagnostic test. Out of 1 270, 64% (807/1270) were positive by NS1 ELISA and 52% (662/1270), 51% (646/1270) were positive by real-time RT-PCR and IgM ELISA respectively. Conclusions NS1 antigen detection ELISA is highly suitable diagnostic tools and it also has great value for use in outbreak and epidemic situation.

Objective: To high light some epidemiological, clinical and diagnostic features of dengue fever during an outbreak and the role of different diagnostic techniques to achieve the highest level of accuracy in results. Methods: Blood samples (n = 323) were collected along with epidemiological and clinical data from suspected dengue patients who visited different hospitals in Swat and Mansehra district of Pakistan between May-November 2013 during a dengue outbreak. Samples were tested for the detection of viral nucleic acid by real-time PCR, non structural protein-1 (NS1) antigen and IgM antibodies by ELISA. Results: Out of 323 cases with clinical dengue infection, 304 were positive by one or more diagnostic parameter; 201 samples were positive by real-time PCR, 209 were positive by NS1 ELISA and 190 were positive by IgM antibodies. Sensitivities of real-time PCR and NS1 ELISA were comparable for early diagnosis of dengue virus infection, IgM antibody detection assay was found useful for the diagnosis in the samples collected later than day 5 of onset. Conclusions: The use of real-time PCR or detection of non structural protein NS1 by ELISA followed by IgM antibodies detection can be recommended for early diagnosis of dengue virus infection with a high level of accuracy.