Why lactate dehydrogenase in Light's criteria?

LDH is an enzyme found in almost all cells.

Tissue injury releases LDH.

If it's level is elevated in the plasma or extracellular fluid, that indicates cell death or cell membrane injury :O

It happens in all cases of exudates.. Inflammation remember?

Hence, LDH can be used to differentiate between transudate & exudate :)

-ikaN

Exudate & Transudate

Hello everyone!

Whenever you find fluid in the body which is out of the circulatory system you need to differentiate whether this fluid is an exudate or a transudate (Only if it is in pathologically significant amounts!)

I'll let you know why this is important in a while.. Keep reading.

Hypersensitivity types mnemonic

Hypersensitivity is a state of altered reactivity in which the body reacts with an exaggerated immune response to what is perceived as a foreign substance.

What if you had no idea which hypersensitivity reaction they are talking about in the exam? Disaster right?

Well.. I got it sorted for you.. Remember, "ACID"

Type I - Anaphylaxis
Type II - Cytotoxic
Type III - Immune complex mediated
Type IV - Delayed type of hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity types mnemonic

There is another type V Autoimmune disease.. Some people put it in type II though..

Wanna remember the disorders too?
Okay.. here you go..

Type I AAA
Atopy
Allergy
Asthma

Type II GATE
Goodpasture's syndrome
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Thrombocytopenia
Erythroblastosis fetalis

Type III EARSS
Extrinsic allergic alveolitis (Hypersensitivity pneumonitis)
Arthus reaction
Rheumatoid arthritis
Serum sickness
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

Type IV CMCM
Contact dermatitis
Mantoux test
Chronic transplant rejection
Multiple sclerosis

Type V GMG
Graves' disease
Myasthenia Gravis

Hope this helps..
Have an amazing year :)


-IkaN

Updated: Image on 25th Oct, 2013.

Wanna reblog? Here's the link to the tumblr post!

Mechanism of invasion and metastasis of tumor cells comic

I made this very short comic.. Hope you understand! :)

Mechanism of invasion of tumor cells

Cadherins and catenins

Laminin and fibronectin

Type IV collagenase, cathespin D, urokinase type plasminogen activator

Autocrine motility factors and thymosin beta 15

That's all!

-IkaN

Classification of antihypertensives

Heyy guys! I'm back.. And this post is the coolest.. I have put in all my creativity!

What are anti-hypertensives?
They are used to treat high blood pressure ^_^

This post is like a mnemonic..
So lets get to the classification..
How to remember?
ABCD!
A is for awesome.. Medicowesome ;)

That's all for today!

Hope you had fun!

-IkaN

Fulminant liver failure and Hepatitis E

Hey guys! Do you know what is fulminant liver failure?

Fulminant means occurring suddenly, rapidly, and with great severity or intensity :O

Fulminant hepatic failure is generally used to describe the development of encephalopathy within 8 weeks of the onset of symptoms in a patient with a previously healthy liver..

It occurs in pregnancy.. mostly due to a viral cause..
The prevalent viral cause of ALF [acute liver failure] in pregnancy is Hepatitis E..


In fact, liver failure is the most common feature in Indian women during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy

The immunity is altered during pregnancy and the hormonal status is also different..
So, the diminished immunity and high level of steroid hormones influence viral replication and expression during pregnancy

That's all for today!
Take care ^_^
And drink boiled water!

-ikaN

Prophylaxis of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis D

Hey guys!
Guess what? I did an amazing microbiology seminar today on this topic..
So thought of posting it on the blog as well :D

Prophylaxis of Hepatitis B

Avoid sharing personal items

• Don't share needles, razors, toothbrushes, manicure tools or other items that could bear contaminated blood.. [Don't share a bloody thing! ;)]

• Don't allow yourself to be pierced or tattooed with non-sterile equipment

• Make sure your barber uses clean razors, manicure and pedicure items


Behavior Modification

• Use a new latex or polyurethane condom every time you have sex, particularly if you have multiple sex partners.

• Limit alcohol intake. [Love your liver :) ]

• If you are a medical professional, follow good practices for using and disposing of needles. [Or a wanna be doc like me!]

Passive Immunoprophylaxis

•  Hepatitis B Immune Globulin (HBIG) is a sterile solution of ready-made antibodies against Hepatitis B

• HBIG is prepared from human blood from selected donors who already have a high level of antibodies to Hepatitis B and used in passive immunoprophylaxis

• Passive immunoprophylaxis is used in:

• Newborns of mothers infected with Hepatitis B
• After liver transplantation

[I know you are probably wondering why liver transplant! See sometimes as a last resort to Hepatitis you need to get a liver transplant.. So better not get infected with the same virus again eh?]

Active immunization

• The vaccine contains one of the viral envelope proteins, Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

• It is produced by yeast cells, into which the genetic code for HBsAg has been inserted.

• Three doses of vaccine are required to achieve effective immunization

[I know most of you haven't got a vaccine against Hepatitis B yet.. So get vaccinated please!]

Mixed Immunization

Infants born to mothers infected with Hepatitis B virus should be treated with Hepatitis B immune globulin and hepatitis B vaccine within 12 hours of birth, with the second and third doses of vaccine given at one and six months of age.

Prophylaxis of Hepatitis D

• Hepatitis D only occurs in those who have hepatitis B

• Hepatitis D virus depends on HBV to develop, all the preventing measures that someone can take are regarding also the prevention against Hepatitis B virus

• So the vaccine against Hepatitis B, prevents both Hepatitis B and Hepatitis D infection

• Unfortunately, there is no vaccine available against the hepatitis D virus for people who are already infected with hepatitis B virus

Thats all.. Thank you so much for visiting & reading.. I appreciate all your support! ^_^
Have a rocking weekend \m/

-ikaN

Vasomotor reversal of Dale

Do you know that a particular neurotransmitter can act on different types of receptors?
So it's not the neurotransmitter but the receptor on which the response depends upon
Hence depending upon the receptor a varied effect is obtained! :O

An awesome example of this is the neurotransmitter adrenaline.
It acts on two types of receptors.. Alpha and beta receptors.
Alpha receptors cause vasoconstriction where as beta receptors mediate vasodilation.
Beta receptors are more sensitive.

So large i.v. infusion of adrenaline causes vasoconstriction which increases blood pressure via the alpha receptors.
But after a while, there is a re-uptake and dissipation of adrenaline.
This decreases the adrenaline concentration.
Which doesn't stimulate the alpha receptors but is enough to stimulate the sensitive beta receptors.
Hence there a secondary fall in blood pressure.

Vasomotor reversal of Dale

So what happens if you block only the alpha receptors?
A fall in blood pressure due to beta mediated vasodilation!
This is known as vasomotor reversal of Dale :D

To be specific, the receptors involved are Alpha 1 and Beta 2 receptors.
You may remember the mnemonic, ABCD, Alpha - Constriction, Beta - Dilation! :D

That's all!

Have an amazing weekend! :)

-IkaN

Updated: Mnemonic on 28 Nov, 2013.
Related posts: Noradrenaline and adrenaline mnemonic

Clotting factors mnemonic

Hello everyone! =D

Clotting factors are substances in the blood that act in sequence to stop bleeding by forming a clot.

Here's a mnemonic to help you remember them ^___^

Clotting factors mnemonic

Fasciculus gracilis and cuneatus

Hey guys.. Let's draw the sensory tracts that are found within the dorsal white column of the spinal cord!
Might as well read about em too ^_^

What I like to do is write down the points with the diagrams [As you guys already know]
So lemme present to you.. my notes! =D

Their primary responsibility is to carry sensory information regarding discriminative senses (viz., proprioception, vibration, stereognosis, and two-point discrimination) to higher centers
I've drawn a feather for fine touch, tuning fork for vibration and closed eye for stereognosis! [In case you didn't understand ^_^ ]
 

Here is the description point wise.. :)

Sensory regions covered by Cuneatus and Gracilis mnemonic
GRAcilis - Walk GRAcefully (Lower extremities and lower trunk)
CunEATus - EAT with your hands (Upper extremities and upper trunk)
Remember: Crude touch is NOT carried by this tract
It is carried by the anterior spinothalamic tract

That's all :)

-IkaN

Sciatic nerve distribution and Sciatica

Hey guys.. I'm gonna tell you about Sciatica today!

But first, lets see a summary of the distribution of the sciatic nerve ^_^

The sciatic supplies nearly the whole of the skin of the leg, the muscles of the back of the thigh, and those of the leg and foot

It is the largest nerve in the body! :O

It has the tibial part which is a ventral division of anterior primary rami of L4 L5 S1 S2 S3 nerves

and the common peroneal part.. the dorsal division of anterior primary rami of L4 L5 S1 S2

[My mnemonic was CD.. Common peroneal - Dorsal division & since C is the 3rd alphabet so its smaller than T which is the 20th letter of the alphabet.. hence it has lesser nerve roots]

Sciatica - The compression or irritation of Sciatic nerve.. which causes pain..

Now how does that happen? :O
It may be due to tumors, pregnancy or infection of muscles [causing inflammation and irritation]
I'll elaborate on spinal disc herniation and Piriformis syndrome :D

Nerves called the spinal nerves or nerve roots, branch off the spinal cord and pass out through a hole in each of the vertebrae called the foramen
Now if you have studied the spinal cord well.. You'll know that the spinal disc are right up against the nerve..
If herniation of disc occurs.. It'll push up against that nerve.. which will create pain that is transmitted all the way down to the sciatic nerve

Also there is a muscle called Piriformis.. which runs from the sacrum to the hip.. in most people muscle is on top of the sciatic nerve.. Which is normal
In some people the nerve pierces the muscle.. which causes compression of the nerve and hence the Piriformis syndrome

Course of Sciatic nerve - Description is pending and will be updated later :)

Diagnosis:
The Straight leg raise, also called Lasegue's sign is done to determine whether the patient has a herniated disk
With the patient lying down on his back.. the examiner lifts the patient's leg while the knee is straight
If pain in the sciatic distribution is reproduced between 30 and 70 degrees passive flexion of the straight leg the test is positive

Tenderness in the area of the sciatic notch indicates Piriformis syndrome



Low back and leg pain? Check Sciatica! :D

That's all!
Thank you so much for reading :)

-ikaN

Decompression sickness - Caisson's disease

 

Caisson's disease.. key-suh n.. :D

Occurs when you return to normal pressure from area of high pressure. 

Do you know that even at about 10 m below the surface the water exerts twice the pressure?
So when you go underwater, the pressure increases.. That's how your lungs end up taking more nitrogen than usual! :O

How?
Water pressure increases.
Pressure of nitrogen increases in compressed air.
Gas density increases.
So you are taking more nitrogen than you'd take on sea level. 
Get it?

You know O2 and CO2 are metabolized... so they get their way out! ;)

BUT instead of being exhaled, however, the extra nitrogen safely dissolves into the tissues, where it remains until the diver begins his or her return to the surface!

On the way up, decompression occurs (in other words, the water pressure drops)
and with the change in pressure, the extra nitrogen gradually diffuses out of the tissues and is delivered by the bloodstream to the lungs, which expel it from the body.

If the diver surfaces too quickly, however, potentially dangerous nitrogen bubbles can form in the tissues. 
The precise reasons for bubble formation remain unclear.

These bubbles can compress nerves, obstruct arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels, and trigger harmful chemical reactions in the blood.

Treatment: Decompress again and recompress slowly in a recompression chamber.
Also give hyperbarric oxygen therapy.

So next time you go underwater, beware! :P
Come up slowly.

That's all! :)

Thank you so much for reading ^_^

-IkaN 

Ondine's curse

̉Do you know that the voluntary and automatic control of respiration is seprate?

Sometimes the automatic control of respiration is disrupted without loss of voluntary control :O
And this clinical condition is know as Ondine's curse!

Lemme tell you a German legend.. Once upon a time, a water nymph, Ondine, fell in love with a human being (aww!)

Nymphs are immortal and they never age, unless they have a child with a mortal. Ondine gave up her immortality for this guy (Lawrence, his name.)

She starts to age and loses her beauty. Lawrence is no longer in love with her.
Ondine finds out Lawrence cheated on her! She sees him in the arms of another woman! :O (That bastard, I know!)

Just like the women of twenty first century.. Ondine was a vindictive one!

She curses Lawrence saying "You swore faithfulness to me with every waking breath, and I accepted your oath. So be it. As long as you are awake, you shall have your breath, but should you ever fall asleep, then that breath will be taken from you and you will die!"

To make it simple for all my medico friends.. It translates to the curse took away all his automatic functions and in this state, he could stay alive only by staying awake and remembering how to breathe.

To all those who are still wondering how this sad love story ends.. He eventually fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, and his respiration stopped.

Patients with this intriguing condition generally has bulbar poliomyelitis or disease processes that compress the medulla. Or it may be genetic.

Remember: The pathways for voluntary control pass from the neocortex to the motor neurons innervating the respiratory muscles, bypassing the medullary neurons!

That's all about Ondine's curse ^_^
Thank you so much for reading :)

-IkaN