Polylactic acid (PLA) is a versatile biopolymer. PLA is synthesized with ease from abundant renewable resources and is biodegradable. PLA has shown promise as a biomaterial in a plethora of healthcare applications such as tissue engineering or regenerative medicine, cardiovascular implants, dental niches, drug carriers, orthopedic interventions, cancer therapy, skin and tendon healing, and lastly medical tools / equipment. PLA has demonstrated instrumental importance as a three-dimensionally (3D) printable biopolymer, which has further been bolstered by its role during the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (Covid-19) global pandemic. As an abundant filament, PLA has created desperately needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilator modifications. As polymer chemistry continues to advance, so too will the applications and continued efficacy of PLA-based modalities.

Counterfeit medicines pose an ever-increasing threat to public health, although precise tracking of illegal counterfeit prescription drug activity is difficult. Available data indicate that all types of medications have been targeted. Adverse health effects, including death, have resulted from using counterfeit medications; consumers who self-medicate without appropriate interactions with the healthcare system rarely receive adequate healthcare. The Internet provides a large, convenient route for counterfeiters to reach potential buyers with unregulated, often dangerous, products. The majority of medicines purchased via unverified Internet sites are counterfeit; often, these products lack the purported drug compound or have variable concentrations of active ingredients and sometimes contain dangerous toxins. Although many consumers acknowledge some degree of risk with purchasing medications via the Internet, speed, convenience and cost often prompt these purchases. Counterfeit medications also have been detected in the legitimate supply chain, but represent a significantly smaller proportion of sales than those purchased via the Internet. Pilot programmes in Europe have demonstrated that product verification systems prevent penetration of counterfeit products into the legitimate supply chain. Significant EU legislation, including stronger penalties for counterfeiting, is in development. In the United Kingdom, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) launched an initiative against counterfeit medication. Healthcare professionals should report suspected cases of counterfeit medication to the MHRA, be alert to threats to the medicine supply, and provide practical advice to patients about ordering medications online, including avoiding unregulated Internet pharmacies, and being suspicious of sites offering substantial discounts and prescription-only medication without a prescription.

We have developed a screening methodology that analyzes the epigenome and informatically identifies candidate genes followed by in vitro culture screening of the candidate genes. To validate our screening methodology we further characterized one candidate gene, DOK2, and showed that loss of DOK2 induces chemotherapy resistance by decreasing the level of apoptosis in response to treatment.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detection of intra-axial gliomas in suspected cases keeping histopathology as gold standard. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Dow Institute of Radiology, DUHS from October 2017 - April 2018. Patients of either gender aged 30-70 years presenting with headache were included. Patients already diagnosed and referred for follow up were excluded. MRI was performed on 1.5T scanner by a trained MRI technician. T1, T2, FLAIR, diffusion weighted and T1 post contrast images were acquired and reviewed by two radiologists having more than five years post fellowship experience. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and diagnostic accuracy of MRI for intraaxial gliomas was calculated taking histopathology findings as gold standard. Results: Mean age of the patient`s was 51.71 ±10.85 years. Positive intraaxial gliomas on MRI were observed in 123 (79.90%) patients while on histopathology, positive intraaxial gliomas were observed in 131 (85.10%) patients. Diagnostic accuracy of MRI in detection of intra-axial gliomas taking histopathology findings as gold standard showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value (PPV), negative predicted value (NPV) and overall diagnostic accuracy as 89.31%, 73.91%, 95.12%, 54.84% and 87.01%. Conclusions: MRI has high sensitivity, moderate specificity and high diagnostic accuracy in detection of intraaxial gliomas. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2489 How to cite this:Munir S, Khan SA, Hanif H, Khan M. Diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in detection of intra-axial gliomas. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(1):125-130. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2489 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PurposeIn patients with erectile dysfunction, it is important to differentiate psychogenic from organic causes. Penile Doppler ultrasonography is a relatively inexpensive and minimally invasive tool for this purpose. This study was conducted to evaluate the causes of erectile dysfunction in an adult male population, using penile Doppler ultrasonography.Materials and MethodsA retrospective study was conducted in a single center. All patients who presented with complaints of erectile dysfunction and underwent penile Doppler ultrasonography between July 2014 and June 2016 were included in this study. All examinations were performed using GE Voluson S6 and GE Logiq P5 devices. Following baseline scans, an intracavernosal injection of 20 µg of prostaglandin E1 was given. Peak systolic and end diastolic velocities were measured in each cavernosal artery. Patients with a peak systolic velocity of <25 cm/s were considered to have arterial insufficiency, while an end diastolic velocity of >5 cm/s was considered to indicate venous incompetence.ResultsOut of 97 patients (mean age, 37.09±11.59 years; range, 19~69 years), 50 patients (51.5%) had normal findings, 24 patients (24.7%) had arterial insufficiency, 15 patients (15.5%) had a venous leak, and 8 patients (8.2%) patients had arterial insufficiency with a venous leak. Psychogenic erectile dysfunction was significantly higher among patients aged ≤40 years, while arterial insufficiency with or without a venous leak was significantly higher among patients aged >40 years (p=0.022).ConclusionsA majority of the studied individuals demonstrated no organic cause of erectile dysfunction, thus confirming a high prevalence of the psychogenic etiology, particularly in relatively young individuals.