Humans can get infected with several zoonotic diseases from being in close contact with rats. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence and histopathological changes caused by Calodium hepaticum and Cysticercus fasciolaris in infected livers of wild caught urban rats. Of the 98 urban rats (Rattus rattus diardii and Rattus norvegicus) autopsied, 64.3% were infected; 44.9% were infected with Caladium hepatica, 39.3% were infected with Cysticercus fasciolaris, and 20.4% were infected with both parasites. High infection rates suggest that urban rats are common reservoir for both parasites, which are potentially a threat to man. Calodium hepaticum infections were identified by the presence of ova or adults in the liver parenchyma. They appear as yellowish white nodules, measuring 1–7 mm in diameter or in streaks scattered widely over the serosal surface of the liver. Cysticercus fasciolaris infections are recognized morphologically by their shape (round or oval) and are creamy white in colour. Histological studies of Calodium hepaticum showed areas of granulomatous lesions with necrotic areas around the dead ova and adults. In almost all cases, the rats appeared robust, looked healthy, and showed no visible signs of hepatic failure despite the fact that more than 64.0% of their livers were infected by either one or both parasites.

Intramedullary upperdorsal epidermoid tumor is very rare. As far as we know, a small number of epidermoid tumors in the spinal cord have been reported in the journal for a long time. Most of the time, the spinal cord epidermoids are intradural extramedullary. We are reporting a case of a 21-year-old young man with paraplegia and upper dorsal pain for 6 months with normal physical findings. Magnetic resonance imaging scan shows that spinal intramedullary space occupying lesions in the dorsal 2/3 (D2/3) level. Total clearance was accomplished by performing laminectomy. Day to day paraplegia was improved. Histopathology was confirmed as an epidermoid tumor from two different centers.

Rectal malignancy is usually symptomatic due to its location, and most of the time presents with pain and bleeding due to its growth and ulceration. It is difficult to identify the primary as carcinoma or lymphoma based on symptoms only, as both have a similar presentation. As it presents the rarest form of histology, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the rectum is still difficult to diagnose initially, and its treatment is debatable. We describe the case of a 49-year-old male from Bangladesh with the same presentation. His treatment was delayed for more than a month as immunohistochemistry and staging delayed the final diagnosis. The disease was diagnosed as stage IE with the help of a positron emission tomography (PET)-CT scan, and due to the local progression the patient had a massive rectal bleeding that needed an urgent intervention. Radiotherapy was applied to stop the bleeding. Hypofraction followed by a conventional fraction of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with a total of 40 Gy was applied. Post-EBRT digital rectal examination showed no residual except scaring, and a PET scan was also negative for residual disease. Due to uncertainties and lack of any precious guideline, 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy with the R-CHOP schedule were also completed. Without surgery, the combination of EBRT and chemotherapy helped to preserve the organ, and the patient has been disease free for more than 2.5 years since his treatment.

Background: There is lack of consensus if hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA can be regarded as a surrogate marker of liver damages in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).Methods: A total of 77 patients with CHB were enrolled in this study. The sera of the patients were tested for HBV DNA and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). The extent of hepatitis and hepatic fibrosis was assessed by liver biopsy.Results: Out of total of 77 patients with CHB, 29 were HBeAg-positive and 48 were HBeAg-negative. Twenty-seven of 29 HBeAg-positive patients and eight of 48 HBeAg-negative patients had high levels of HBV DNA (HBV DNA>10 5 copies/ml). The extent of hepatitis was minimal or mild in most HBeAg-positive CHB patients (27 of 29) irrespective of the levels of HBV DNA in the sera. Moderate levels of hepatitis were seen in two HBeAg-positive patients and five HBeAg-negative patients. Moderate levels of hepatic fibrosis were seen in four of eight HBeAg-negative patients with high HBV DNA. Conclusion:This study shows that HBV DNA and HBeAg do not reflect the extent of hepatitis or hepatic fibrosis in CHB patients of Bangladesh. Combination of different HBV-related markers with liver biopsy is required for proper diagnosis and management of CHB in Bangladesh.

The chance of two chromosome abnormalities occurring in one conceptus is rare. Here we report two cases of double aneuploidy with karyotype 48,XYY,+21 and 48,XXY,+21.The diagnosis was confirmed by cytogenetic analysis using peripheral blood followed by Giemsa banding technique. Clinically both the children had most of the phenotypic features of Trisomy 21. However phenotypic features of XYY were not present but the child with XXY had undescended right testis .The purpose of this communication is to report such rare disorders discovered as the result of the evaluation for Trisomy 21.J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2014; 32: 171-173