Intra-gastric balloons - The past, present and future.

Obesity is a complex metabolic illness that is interrelated to a plethora of complications that predispose to avoidable morbidity and mortality. The considerable impact of obesity has invited various therapies ranging from lifestyle advice, pharmacotherapy, endoscopic bariatric therapy and ultimately surgery. Intragastric balloons are space-occupying therapies that aim to increase satiety through mechanical and neuroendocrine mechanisms. Their prevalence is owed to their ease of administration and general safety. However, long term data concerning safety and efficacy is scarce when considering the various types of balloons in use. In this review, we discuss the intragastric balloon comprehensively in terms of efficacy, safety, limitations and future direction.

Malignant adenomyoepithelioma of the breast: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant breast adenomyoepithelioma (AME) is a rare subtype of breast cancer. AME is mostly a benign disease that uncommonly undergoes malignant transformation. PRESENTATION OF CASE: Here we present a case of a young, previously healthy female who initially presented with a painless breast lump. The patient underwent wide local excision for atypical cells with squamous metaplasia by core biopsy, but final histopathology showed AME with carcinoma. Thus, a mastectomy and a sentinel lymph node biopsy was undertaken. The patient had an uneventful recovery and no recurrence after the second surgery. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Malignant transformation of adenomyoepithelioma is reported in a small number of cases. Benign AME may be treated with wide local excision as recurrence is rare locally. Whereas malignant AME tends to be treated with simple mastectomy with or without lymph node biopsy.

Relationship between Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Stress in Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disease of autoimmunity and inflammation, is characterized by deterioration of the myelin sheath that protects the nerve fibers. The high levels of neutrophils in serum may be related to the chronic inflammation and caused by other triggers such as infections that have been associated with relapses in MS. AIM: To investigate the value of Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) as a possible marker and relationship with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DAS) score in MS patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 MS patients and 60 age and sex matched healthy controls were recruited for the present study. We measured DAS score, NLR, calcium, phosphate, magnesium, chloride, alkaline phosphatase, albumin in serum levels in MS patients and in healthy controls. RESULTS: The mean age was not significantly different in both case and control groups. The case and control groups were similar in terms of sex; however, the majority of the MS group was female. The NLR values of MS patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls (p=<0.001). The NLR values were also significantly (p<0.001) correlated with stress score. CONCLUSION: NLR could be considered as a quick, cheap, easily measurable and inflammatory marker for assessment of inflammation in MS patients. The role of NLR in MS must be explored further.