Power doppler ultrasonography guided and random prostate biopsy in prostate cancer diagnosis - a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of power Doppler-guided targeted prostate biopsy and random sextant biopsy in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. METHODS: The prospective study was carried out at the Allama Iqbal Medical College and Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from January to December, 2012, and comprised clinically suspected cases of carcinoma prostate. Power Doppler-guided biopsies using automatic biopsy gun were obtained from the suspected targeted site. One to three cores per suspected site were obtained. Subsequently random sextant biopsies were performed in the same sitting. Six cores were obtained from 6 random sites using the same gun. Biopsies from both sources were processed for routine haematoxylin and eosin stainstained sections for histopathological examination. RESULTS: Of the 50 patients in the study, 30(60%) were diagnosed with power Doppler-guided biopsy as malignant, whereas random sextant biopsy could pick up 22(44%) cases. For benign prostatic hyperplasia, random sextant biopsy labelled 28(56%)as benign, whereas only 20 (40%) were labelled as benign with power Doppler-guided biopsy. Discrepancy in the results between the two procedures was observed in 14(28%) cases, and of them, 1 1(22%) were labelled as malignant on power Doppler-guided biopsy while histopathology of sextant biopsies labelled these as benign.The sextant biopsies rendered a specificity, sensitivity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of 60.71%, 86.36%, 85%, 63.33% and 72% respectively. CONCLUSION: Random sextant biopsy in combination with power Doppler-guided targeted biopsy increases the rate of detection of prostate cancer whereas both procedures in isolation have low sensitivity and specificity for cancer detection.

Bilateral renal lymphangiectasia: Literature review of a rare entity.

Renal lymphangiectasia (RL) is a rare condition in which lymphatic vessels are dilated giving rise to cyst formation in peripelvic, perirenal and intrarenal locations. Knowledge about RL is limited and based upon individual case reports. This can be genetic or acquired. There is no significant association with any gender or age. It can be manifested as focal or diffuse forms and can be unilateral or bilateral. Most of the cases present with abdominal or flank pain. The diagnosis is based on radiological imaging. Due to rarity of diseases, it has potential to be misdiagnosed as other cystic disease of kidneys. The treatment is mainly conservative but prolonged follow up for associated complications like hypertension and renal vein thrombosis is required. We have presented a case of bilateral renal lymphangiectasia with the review of available literature.

Differential Association of Selected Adipocytokines, Adiponectin, Leptin, Resistin, Visfatin and Chemerin, with the Pathogenesis and Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia: A Case Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Sedentary lifestyles, urbanization and improvements in socio-economic status have had serious effects on the burden of diabetes across the world. Diabetes is one of the 10 leading causes of death globally, and individuals with diabetes have a 2-3-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality. Adipose tissue is increasingly understood as a highly active endocrine gland that secretes many biologically active substances, including adipocytokines. However, the exact and discrete pathophysiological links between obesity and T2DM are not yet fully elucidated. METHODS: In the current study, we present the association of five diverse adipocytokines, adiponectin, leptin, resistin, visfatin and chemerin, with T2DM in 87 patients (46 males and 41 females) with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 85 healthy controls (44 males and 41 females) from the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. The patients were divided into four groups: normal BMI, overweight, obese and severely obese. The baseline biochemical characteristics, including HbA1c and anthropometric lipid indices, such as BMI and waist-hip ratio, were determined by standard procedures, whereas the selected adipokine levels were assayed by ELISA. RESULTS: The results showed significantly decreased levels of adiponectin in the T2DM patients compared to the control group, and the decrease was more pronounced in obese and severely obese T2DM patients. Serum leptin levels were significantly higher in the females compared to the males in the controls as well as all the four groups of T2DM patients. In the male T2DM patients, a progressive increase was observed in the leptin levels as the BMI increased, although these only reached significantly altered levels in the obese and severely obese patients. The serum leptin levels were significantly higher in the severely obese female patients compared to the controls, patients with normal BMI, and overweight patients. The leptin/adiponectin ratio was significantly higher in the obese and severely obese patients compared to the controls, patients with normal BMI, and overweight patients in both genders. The serum resistin levels did not show any significant differences between the males and females in thr controls or in the T2DM groups, irrespective of the BMI status of the T2DM patients. The visfatin levels did not reveal any significant gender-based differences, but significantly higher levels of visfatin were observed in the T2DM patients, irrespective of their level of obesity, although the higher values were observed in the obese and highly obese patients. Similarly, the serum chemerin levels in the controls, as well as in T2DM patients, did not show any significant gender-based differences. However, in the T2DM patients, the chemerin levels showed a progressive increase, with the increase in BMI reaching highly significant levels in the obese and severely obese patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: In summary, it is concluded that significantly altered concentrations of four adipokines, adiponectin, leptin, visfatin and chemerin, were found in the T2DM patient group compared to the controls, with more pronounced alterations observed in the obese and highly obese patients. Thus, it can be surmised that these four adipokines play a profound role in the onset, progression and associated complications of T2DM. In view of the relatively small sample size in our study, future prospective studies are needed on a large sample size to explore the in-depth relationship between adipokines and T2DM.