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Fulltext Distribution of alpha thalassaemia in 16 year old Malaysian Students in Penang, Melaka and Sabah

Rahimah AN, Nisha S, Safiah B, Roshida H, Punithawathy Y, Nurul H, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2012 Dec;67(6):565-70.
PMID: 23770946 MyJurnal

OBJECTIVES: Alpha thalassaemia is wide spread in Malaysia and is a public health problem. This study aimed to describe the carrier frequencies of α‒thalassaemia and its distribution among major ethnic groups in three states of Malaysia.

METHODS: Educational forums were organised and study was explained to students from three schools. Students were invited to take part in the screening with parent consent. A total of 8420 adolescent students aged 16 years volunteered to participate in the study. Peripheral blood samples were analysed for complete blood counts, haemoglobin quantification and typing, and serum ferritin levels. Genomic DNA was used for screening alpha thalassaemia alleles by PCR based molecular methods.

RESULTS: We identified seven α‒globin gene defects in 341 (4.08%) students: amongst them α(+)‒ and α(0)‒thalassaemias were detected in 232 (2.77%) and 107 (1.28%) students respectively. Genotype ‒α(3.7)/αα was the most prevalent among sub-populations of Malay, indigenous communities of Sahab and Indian, while ‒‒(SEA)/αα deletion is more prevalent in Malaysian Chinese. It is estimated that 63 pregnancies annually are at risk of Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis.

CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated the prevalence and mutation patterns of α‒thalassaemia in the 16 year olds in three states of Malaysia. High α(0)‒thalassaemia deletions amongst the study subjects place these carriers at an increased risk of conceiving fetuses with HbH disease and Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis should they choose another heterozygous partner. It is therefore highly recommended to institute community screening programmes and provide prospective carriers with genetic counselling to help them make informed choices.
Fulltext The Asia Pacific Hidradenitis Suppurativa (APHiS) foundation: promoting hidradenitis suppurativa research in the Asia Pacific

Kamil MAA, Chandran NS, Sulistyaningrum SK, Rajagopalan M, Tahiliani S, Hsiao J, et al.

Int J Dermatol, 2020 Aug;59(8):e289-e290.
PMID: 32436230 DOI: 10.1111/ijd.14960
Multifaceted profile of an unusual paramedian occipital condyle-anatomical and computerised tomographic evaluation

Arora J, Mehta V, Abhishek K, Nisha S, Suri RK, Rath G, et al.

Clin Ter, 2014;165(2):111-4.
PMID: 24770815 DOI: 10.7471/CT.2014.1687

During extensive osteological study of 150 dry skulls in the Department of Anatomy, Vardhman Mahavir Medical college, an unusual Paramedian Occipital (POC) condyle was detected in the occipital bone of a cadaveric skull. The anatomical details of this unusual occipital condyle were carefully studied and its morphometric measurements taken. A coronal multiplanner reformatted image and a volume rendered image were taken to study radiological details and establish significant clinical correlation. Precise understanding of anatomy of craniovertebral junction and its anomalies have become immensely important for the present day surgeon during orthopaedic and neurosurgical procedures of this region . Technical advancements in imaging modalities such as CT and MRI scans further signify the importance of these anatomical variations ,which are often missed in routine examination. Osteological study combined with radiological details of the paramedian occipital condyle in the present case aims to emphasize the importance of bony anomalies in the craniovertebral region and their role in diagnosis and appropriate treatment of neurovascular compression syndromes of craniovertebral junction. The present study highlights anatomical details, clinical relevance and embryological basis of such a rare unusual paramedian occipital condyle.
The objective assessment of the effects on cognition functioning among military personnel exposed to hypobaric-hypoxia: A pilot fMRI study

Nisha SN, Fathinul Fikri AS, Aida AR, Salasiah M, Hamed S, Rohit T, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2020 01;75(1):62-67.
PMID: 32008023

OBJECTIVE: To identify regions of the brain affected during cognitive working memory during tasks to assess attention, planning and decision making among military aviation personnel who have chronic intermittent exposure to high altitude environment.
METHOD: A case-control study was conducted in the Universiti Putra Malaysia among eight military personnel, four of whom had chronic intermittent exposure to high altitude training. They were divided into two groups, chronic intermittent exposure group (CE) (n=4) and a control group (n=4). They underwent a task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that utilised spatial working memory task to objectively evaluate the neural activation in response to the Tower of London paradigm. Each correct answer was given a score of one and the maximum achievable score was 100%.
RESULTS: A consecutive dichotomised group of CE (4/8) and control (4/8) of age-matched military aviation personnel with a mean age of 37.23±5.52 years; showed significant activation in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG). This in turn was positively correlated with response accuracy. A significant difference in the response accuracy was noted among both the groups at p<0.05.
CONCLUSION: At the minimum results of power analysis of this preliminary fMRI study, our group of aviation personnel who had chronic intermittent exposure to hypobaric hypoxic environment, did not have any significant decrease in cognitive function namely attention, decision-making and problem solving compared to controls during a working memory task.