Multicentric Castleman's Disease in a Hepatitis C-Positive Intravenous Drug User: A Case Report

Introduction. We report a rare presentation of Castleman's disease in a hepatitis C-positive patient and present a short review of treatments described in other similar case reports and studies. Case Presentation. A 46-year-old male with untreated hepatitis C and a 16-year history of intravenous drug use presented with pleuritic chest pain and bony pain in the knee, hip, and lower back, on a background of unexplained weight loss of 40 kilograms, fevers, night sweats, and repeated infections over the last two years. Examination discovered tender hepatomegaly, a warm right knee effusion, and painless lymphadenopathy. The patient was reactive to Epstein Barr virus and cytomegalovirus; however, HIV and HHV-8 viral testing was negative. Osteomyelitis of vertebrae T8–T11 and septic arthritis of the knee were found on investigation. A lymph node biopsy revealed histology suggestive of plasmacytic Castleman's disease. The patient is to commence rituximab treatment. Conclusion. Castleman's disease continues to present in novel ways, which may lead to difficulties in clinicopathologic diagnosis. A growing body of evidence suggests larger studies are required to determine the best treatment for multicentric Castleman's disease, particularly in patients with a concomitant disease, including hepatitis C

Real exchange rate and economic growth in east asian countries: The role of financial integration

© 2017 World Scientific Publishing Company. This study examines the role of financial integration in determining the relationship between the real exchange rate (RER) and economic growth in East Asian countries. It hypothesizes that a competitive RER could play a greater role in promoting economic growth in countries with a low degree of financial integration. A growth model was specified using a RER misalignment index and its interaction terms with financial integration as explanatory variables. Different proxies for financial integration were employed to verify the interaction. The empirical results demonstrate the significance of the interaction terms and largely validate the hypothesis. This result demonstrates that a competitive RER policy is not a general solution for economic growth and its effectiveness could largely depend on a country's degree of financial integration

Successful reconstructive surgery to alter distorted vaginal axis causing apareunia\ud \ud \ud

Abdomino-perineal resection (APR) is a commonly performed surgical procedure in the treatment of colonic and rectal cancer. This operation leaves the patient with a permanent colostomy and a large pelvic floor defect significantly contributing to patient morbidity.\ud \ud Sexual dysfunction, as a complication of APR, is often overlooked, because the focus remains on disease eradication and in most cases, there are limited if any adjunct treatments available. As the incidence of bowel cancer increases in younger populations, this can have a significant impact on the quality of life and wellbeing of women.\ud \ud It is well known that vaginal wall defects, incontinence and sexual dysfunction are expected complications of radical lower gastrointestinal and urological surgery. Vaginal axis deviation secondary to radical surgery is a rarer or perhaps less reported complication, which if left untreated, may have a significant impact on sexual function.\ud \ud To date, most case reports have dealt with concomitant vaginal reconstruction with myocutaneous flaps, but none have addressed surgical options that specifically target vaginal axis deviation. We present the first case of successful reconstructive surgery to alter vaginal axis in an attempt to reverse apareunia years after APR

The law of one price: a test based on prices for selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture

The law of one price (LOOP) is an essential foundation of both the pure theory of trade and monetary theory. Strictly speaking, the law relates to prices of individual commodities. However, empirical tests of LOOP have often relied on aggregated data. In this paper, a model is derived and estimated using price data for 15 selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture. The results offer no support for the LOOP in the short run, and the results for the long run are mixed. It may be inappropriate, therefore, to assume that the LOOP holds generally in modelling exercises, particularly when models are used for policy purposes