Cat fleas were reported to attack human in RPR Batu Kawa, a housing area about 3 km from Kuching town, resulting in an outbreak. A total of 19 people (10 adults and 9 children) were attacked by fleas. They presented with red spots, slightly raised (swollen) and irritation of skin, mostly found on the ankles and legs. The first 4 cases were reported on 29 September 2007 and the last case was on 17 November 2007. The remaining 12 cases which represent the majority of cases reported on 4th October 2007. The study conducted based mainly on field investigation and flea sampling from animals on field at that moment to find out the causes of the disease spread. Flea samples from human and cats were found to be Ctenocephalides felis; which is the most prevalent species in the world. However, no fleas were found on dog, rabbit and rat. This is the first reported case in Kuching; the study was carried out to determine the cause and the epidemiological pattern of the disease. This is important, because cat flea might attack human especially if house owners fail to monitor their pets and practice proper sanitation method to avoid the presence of cat flea larvae at home.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) is a common type of leukaemia in persons of predominantly European descent but is rare in the Asian population. Disparities in CLL incidence among people of Asian and European descent may be related to the genetic make-up of the two different populations. Hypermethylation event might be one of the silencing mechanisms that inactivate the tumour suppressor genes in CLL. The aim of this study was to determine the hypermethylation status of p16INK4aand p15INK4bamong CLL patients and normal individuals. Materials & Methods: A total of 25 CLL patients and 25 normal individuals were recruited for this study and their genomic DNA were extracted from the peripheral blood. The hypermethylation status of p16INK4aand p15INK4bweredetermined using Methylation Specific-PCR (MS-PCR) whereas DNA sequencing method was applied to selected samples for validation of the MS-PCR results. We also evaluated the association between hypermethylation of these genes with the clinical and demographic characteristics of each group of subjects. Results: Among the CLL patients, p15INK4bpartial-methylation occurred in 6 (24%) subjects while methylation occurred in 1 (4%) subject. All the remaining patients were unmethylated at p15INK4b. All the samples showed unmethylation at p16INK4a. Statistically significant associations were found between p15INK4bhypermethylation with the presence of CLL (p=0.01) and with race (p=0.02). Conclusion: Further study using a larger sample size is warranted to explore the significance of DNA methylation incidenceamong the CLL patients of the Malaysian population. Hence, we suggest that hypermethylation at p15INK4bhas a huge influence that kick-starts CLL disease among Malaysians and MS-PCR technique is applicable to be used in methylation study.
Recent study has shown that activation of the telomerase and p16 gene mutation are both necessary for tumorigenesis. Our objectives were to detect telomerase activity and investigate the possibility of p16 gene mutations in various types of brain tumor. We analyzed 23 tumor tissues collected in 2000 to 2002. Telomerase activity was detected by a TRAP assay using a TRAPEZE Telomerase Detection Kit (Intergen, Co). PCR-SSCP (Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism) analysis was performed to screen for p16 gene mutation at exon 1 and 2. The activity was detected in 26.1% of the brain tumor samples and mostly present in high-grade tumors. There was a significant association between telomerase activity status and tumor grade but not with patient criteria. Telomerase activity was detected in the analyzed tumors, supporting the fact that activation of telomerase is an important feature for tumorigenesis. There was no mobility shift of p16 gene using SSCP and suggested no mutation at exon 1 and 2 occurred in all samples. These results suggest that another mechanism of p16 gene alterations could be involved and associated with detectable telomerase activity in the progression of tumors.
The thyroid gland and its hormones play important roles in organ development and in the homeostatic control of physiological mechanisms in human beings. As a result of embryogenic descent of thyroid gland, it commonly resides along the midline - from tongue to mediastinum (90%). Ectopic thyroid gland is a rare occurrence, with extra-lingual ectopic thyroid gland being even rarer. Thus, there is a concern for malignant metastasis. Madam H, a 56-year-old healthy woman presented to the Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail, Johor, Malaysia in April 2020 with an increasing size of right axilla mass and history of weight loss. She was having right axilla mass for the previous 7 years but only noticed the increase in size about 1 year ago. She has no other constitutional symptoms. A tru-cut biopsy performed demonstrated a benign ectopic thyroid tissue. Thyroid function test showed primary hypothyroidism. Serum Chromogranin A and other thyroid antibodies were within the normal value. Further radiological imaging showed the normal thyroid gland at neck, with no signs of distant malignancy. There was no other axillary, mediastinal or hilar lymph node enlargement. She was started on regular T. L Thyroxine 100mcg daily and given regular follow-up in endocrine clinic. Benign ectopic thyroid gland is an unusual finding. As such, follow up is needed with possibility of carcinomatous transformation such as papillary carcinoma should be considered.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the common genetic disorders in the western world. It has been reported to be very rare in Asian populations. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Genetic Analysis Consortium, more than 1,000 mutations of the CF gene have been identified. The CF gene, named the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), is located on chromosome 7 and composed of 27 exons. This study aims to detect possible CFTR gene mutations in Malays.