Colorectal cancer in young adults in a tertiary care hospital in Chhattisgarh, Raipur.

CONTEXT: Carcinoma of the colon and rectum is a relatively uncommon malignancy in India when compared with the western world. Colorectal cancer is generally a disease affecting individuals 50 years of age and older and is much less common in persons under 40 years of age. It is also a very uncommon pediatric malignancy. AIMS: To study the age, gender, site of primary tumor, histopathological type, and pathologic stage of colorectal cancer cases with specific reference to young adults. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Tertiary care hospital, Retrospective study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of all colorectal carcinomas (CRC) which were diagnosed during the past 8 years i.e., from January 2003 to December 2010. Patients were divided in to two groups - 40 years and younger, and older than 40 years. The records were analyzed in detail for age, gender, site of primary tumor, histopathological type, and pathologic stage. The results of the two groups were compared and also with information from other centers. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Nil. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty three patients were diagnosed to have CRC. Patients diagnosed below 40 years of age comprised 39.05% and those under age 20 comprised 4. 29%. Among those under 40 years of age, majority were males (63.73%), most occurred in the rectum (84.61%). Most of them were poorly differentiated mucin-secreting adenocarcinomas (80.21%) and presented at advanced pathologic T stage (71.42%). This was similar to those reported in other literatures. However, the incidence of colorectal cancer in patients younger than 40 years is much more in our study when compared with reports from other places. CONCLUSIONS: CRC in our institution is more often seen in younger individuals than what is reported in population-based cancer registries from other parts of the country. The reasons for this are not clear. Therefore, further studies are required to address the role of diet and personal habits with CRC in this region. Also, a high index of suspicion among young adults is necessary.

Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Aloe vera gel improve lipid profiles in hypercholesterolemic rats.

OBJECTIVE: The effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Aloe vera (AV) gel on lipid profiles in rats with induced hypercholesterolemia were studied. METHODS: Five treatment groups of rats (n = 7) were the fed experimental diets: a normal control diet, a hypercholesterolemic diet (HD), HD + LGG, HD + AV gel, and HD + LGG + AV gel. RESULTS: Supplementation with LGG decreased serum total cholesterol by 32%; however, in combination with AV, the decrease was 43%. The decreases in triacylglycerol levels in the HD + LGG, HD + AV, and HD + LGG + AV groups were 41%, 23% and 45%, respectively. High-density lipoprotein increased by 12% in the HD + LGG + AV group, whereas very low-density and low-density lipoprotein values decreased by 45% and 30%, respectively. The atherogenic index in the HD + LGG + AV group decreased to 2.45 from 4.77 in the HD + LGG group. Furthermore, fecal Lactobacillus species counts increased significantly when LGG was fed in combination with the AV gel. The oral administration of LGG fermented milk alone or in combination with the AV gel increased cholesterol synthesis (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase expression) and absorption (low-density lipoprotein receptor expression), whereas cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase mRNA expression levels were lower in the HD + LGG and HD + LGG + AV groups compared with the control HD group. CONCLUSION: The combination of LGG and AV gel may have a therapeutic potential to decrease cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Bronchial rhinosporidiosis: An unusual presentation.

Rhinosporidiosis is a granulomatous disease that usually affects the nasal mucosa and nasopharynx. The disease is widely prevalent in the tropics, especially in southern India and Sri Lanka. In central India, rhinosporidiosis is endemic in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Involvement of the tracheobronchial tree is extremely rare. Only two cases of bronchial rhinosporidiosis had been reported in world literature. We report a third case of bronchial rhinosporidiosis which occurred in a patient with coexisting nasal and nasopharyngeal rhinosporidiosis. Bronchoscopic guidance excision of mass and electric cauterization of base was done under local anesthesia.

Rhinosporidiosis of the parotid duct presenting as a parotid duct cyst - a report of three cases.

Rhinosporidiosis is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi. Rhinosporidiosis has been reported from many countries but is endemic in certain parts of India and Sri Lanka. The common sites of involvement are the nose and nasopharynx followed by ocular tissue. Rhinosporidiosis is also known to involve many rare sites and may become disseminated to occur in a generalized form. Rhinosporidiosis of the parotid duct is rare and only five reported cases could be found in the literature. We report three cases of rhinosporidiosis of parotid duct presenting clinically as a parotid duct cyst. Rhinosporidiosis was diagnosed by histopathology. None of these patients had rhinosporidiosis at any other site.

Rhinosporidiosis in Raipur, Chhattisgarh: a report of 462 cases.

Rhinosporidiosis is endemic in the state of Chhattisgarh. 462 cases were encountered during the period of 12 years from January 1994 to December 2005. Maximum incidence was seen in men in the age group of 21-30 years. Nose and nasopharynx were the commonest site (81.1%), followed by ocular tissue (14.2%). Many rare sites of involvement were encountered. Seven cases of generalized rhinosporidiosis were seen. Rhinosporidium seeberi could be easily identified in Haematoxylin and eosin stained sections. Sporangias and spores are better delineated by periodic Acid Schiff, Mayer's mucicarmine, Verhoff's vonGieson and Grocott Gomori methamine silver stain.