Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus endemic throughout Asia. Incidence in nonendemic countries is rare, with an estimate of less than one case per one million travelers. Most human JE infections are asymptomatic or cause a mild, nonspecific febrile illness. Neurological involvement, if present, is usually severe and associated with high mortality or ongoing neurological sequelae in survivors. Ocular manifestations are rare with JE, but uveitis has been described to be associated with other flavivirus infections, including West Nile virus. We report the first probable case of JE chorioretinitis acquired by a 45-year-old Australian traveler to Bali. This case highlights the importance of a detailed ocular examination when there is clinical suspicion of JE.

Prothionamide/PAS treatment-associated hypothyroidism is common in MDR-TB patients in Australia, emphasising the importance of regular thyroid function monitoring during this treatment. Thyroid hormone replacement if initiated, may not need to be continued after MDR-TB treatment is completed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Objective: Aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy provides oncological benefits in postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. However, AI treatment has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk. In nonbreast cancer populations, experimentally induced low oestrogen states and natural transition to menopause have been associated with increases in visceral adipose tissue (VAT), a known surrogate marker for cardiometabolic risk. Given that AI treatment blocks oestradiol production, we hypothesized that AI treatment would increase VAT. Methods:We conducted a prospective 12-month cohort study of 52 postmenopausal women newly initiating AI treatment (median age: 64.5 years) and 52 women with breast pathology not requiring endocrine therapy (median age: 63.5 years). VAT area and other body composition parameters were measured at baseline, 6 months and 12 months using dual X-ray absorptiometry. Other risk markers of cardiometabolic health were also assessed. Results:In women initiating AI treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in VAT area after 12 months when compared to controls, with a mean adjusted difference of −5.00 cm 2 (−16.9, 6.91), p = .55. Moreover, changes in total fat mass, lean mass, subcutaneous adipose tissue area, hepatic steatosis and measures in endothelial function were also not statistically different between groups after 12 months. Findings were similar after adjustments for activity levels and coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown duration.Conclusions: These data provide reassurance that over the initial 12 months of AI therapy, AI treatment is not associated with metabolically adverse changes in body composition, hepatic steatosis or vascular reactivity. The impact of extended AI therapy on cardiometabolic health requires further study.

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Purpose: We previously demonstrated that 12-months of aromatase inhibitor (AI) treatment was not associated with a difference in body composition or other markers of cardiometabolic health when compared to controls. Here we report on the pre-planned extension of the study. The pre-specified primary hypothesis was that AI therapy for 24-months would lead to increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area when compared to controls. Methods: We completed a 12-month extension to our prospective 12-month cohort study of 52 women commencing AI treatment (median age 64.5 years) and 52 women with breast pathology not requiring endocrine therapy (63.5 years). Our primary outcome of interest was VAT area. Secondary and exploratory outcomes included other measures of body composition, hepatic steatosis, measures of atherosclerosis and vascular reactivity. Using mixed models and the addition of a fourth-timepoint, we increased the number of study observations by 79, and were able to rigorously determine the treatment-effect. Results: Among study completers (AI=39, controls=40), VAT area was comparable between groups over 24-months, mean-adjusted difference (-1.54cm2 [95% CI: -14.9; 11.9], p=0.79). Both groups demonstrated parallel and continuous increases in VAT area over the observation period, that did not diverge or change between groups. No statistically significant difference in our secondary and exploratory outcomes were observed between groups. Conclusions: While these findings provide reassurance that short-to-medium-term exposure to AI therapy is not associated with metabolically adverse changes when compared to controls, risk evolution should be less focused on the AI-associated-effect, and more on the general development of cardiovascular risk over time.