Cancer-related microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA) is a rare and life-threatening condition. We present a patient who had been treated for invasive lobular breast carcinoma in clinical remission with fever and hemolytic anemia. The peripheral blood film showed MAHA and thrombocytopenia, and a functional deficiency of ADAMTS13 activity of 23% consistent with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Bone marrow aspirate and trephine biopsy confirmed metastatic carcinoma. Further evaluation revealed the involvement of multiple bone sites without recurrence of the primary tumor. The patient received a daily plasma exchange with cryosupernatant and was pulsed with corticosteroids. MAHA related to breast cancer appears to be a rare occurrence

Volten VR4® capsules containing herb extract of Kaempferia parviflora has been claimed to reduce blood glucose in patients with diabetes. This preliminary study is conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Volten VR4® on healthy individuals and type-2 diabetes mellitus volunteers. The extracts of 400 mg capsules of Kaempferia parviflora (KP) were used to measure the blood glucose level of 2-hour postprandial. The healthy group consists of 15 young adults aged 20-30 with no history of serious diseases, while the diabetic group includes 12 individuals aged 35-75 diagnosed with type-2 diabetes mellitus. Data were validated through the Willcoxon and Friedman test statistics and error distribution. The investigation was continued to trace the capsules contents of elements using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) techniques. It has been shown that KP reducing blood sugar levels has been associated with flavonoids and methoxyflavones components. The result specifically showed that consuming VR4® capsules can significantly reduce blood glucose, either at the state of fasting or postprandially. In the study the content of mineral and heavy metal elements in VR4® capsules has been evaluated. Volten VR4® Kaempferia parviflora extract is safe to be consumed at a single dose of 400 mg. The study also has shown that the participants are free from adverse reactions and hypoglycaemia.

The Sysmex XN-3000 is a new automated haematology analyser designed to improve the accuracy of cell counts and the specificity of the flagging events of unusual parameters. By comparing the previous full blood count (FBC) reference intervals in Malaysia for Sysmex XE-5000, we determined a reference interval for all parameters measured by the Sysmex XN-3000 for the Malaysian population. Through the voluntary recruitment of 397 adults ages 18-45 years, both genders, and the three main ethnic groups, FBC was performed on the two analysers. Qualified healthy participants were screened using a health questionnaire. This was followed by reference intervals, probability distribution measurements, and dispersion with point estimate determination. Complete data were available in 390 subjects comprising 222 females and 168 males, which were included in the reference interval calculation. Parameters such as haemoglobin, red blood cell count, platelet count including immature platelet fraction (IPF) showed significant differences in Malaysians. XN-3000 showed excellent precision and linearity results. Within- and between-run precisions were met for all parameters tested, except for IPF. For all parameters tested, ≤ 0.5% carry-over was seen. An acceptable correlation with both XN-3000 and XE-5000 was achieved in comparison studies performed. XN-3000 showed good analytical performance and could provide a solution for laboratories with medium-to-high workloads and evolving clinical needs. Local guidelines are required for the establishment of reference intervals.