A 9-year-old girl presented with progressive, painful swelling over the left index finger, associated with local signs of inflammation and restriction of finger movements. After the swelling was punctured using a needle, chronic discharging sinus formed. Examination revealed firm swelling over the right parotid area, bilateral cervical and left axillary lymphadenopathy, and firm swelling over the left index finger with a chronic discharging sinus over the lateral aspect of proximal phalanx. Mantoux intradermal injection was reactive (22x24 mm induration). Blood and pus cultures were sterile. Hand radiograph revealed dactylitis (Figure 1A-C). Fine aspiration and cytology of the cervical lymph node showed degenerated inflammatory cells, epithelioid granuloma and acid-fast bacilli. She was initiated on 4-drug antitubercular therapy (ATT). At 2-months follow-up, she was asymptomatic and had the pain and swelling over the left finger have reduced with significant radiological improvement. Tubercular dactylitis or 'spina ventosa' (wind-filled sail) refers to cystic expansion of short, tubular bones. It is commonly seen in younger children (between 1 and 6 years of age) and adults (between 20 and 50 years of age). A common presentation in endemic areas is presence of a painless, fusiform swelling over a single digit, most commonly the proximal phalanx of index or middle finger as in the index case, or over the metacarpals of middle and ring fingers. Earliest radiological clues include periosteitis followed by gradual destruction of bone and cyst formation in the cavity giving a ballooned-out appearance.

As of October 1, 2024, Japan implemented a revised COVID-19 vaccination strategy, shifting from a fully publicly funded model to one where costs are partially or fully borne by recipients. This new annual program targets individuals aged 65 and above, and those aged 60-64 at higher risk of severe illness, requiring them to cover some vaccination expenses. For others, the vaccine remains voluntary and self-funded. Notably, this program includes the world's first self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, zapomeran (Kostaive®, Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd) approved on November 28, 2023. This vaccine's innovative self-amplifying feature has ignited debates across media platforms, with widespread public division and confusion. The new vaccine encodes replicase proteins and the spike protein antigen, allowing for reduced doses of 5 ug compared to traditional mRNA vaccines that require 30 ug. However, concerns have been raised, primarily around four misconceptions: shedding, perpetual mRNA replication, integration into human DNA, and its non-approval situation outside Japan. Despite these scientifically unfounded concerns, they have fueled vaccine hesitancy, influenced by misleading information spreading rapidly on social media. Alarmingly, biased statements from an academic university and an academic society aggravate this hesitancy. Japan's history has experienced vaccine hesitancies in human papillomavirus and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination cases. To prevent a public health crisis, it is crucial that governmental bodies and academic groups actively counter misinformation, advocating for evidence-based understanding and encouraging vaccination among those most at risk.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive and lethal phenotype form of breast cancer, which afflicts young women at high incidence in North Africa compared to other continents of the world. IBC is characterized by highly metastatic behavior and possesses specific pathobiological properties different from non-IBC. IBC disease displays unusual common properties at typical presentation, including positive metastatic lymph-nodes, high infiltration of tumor associated monocytes/macrophages, rapid progression to distant metastasis, and possibly the production of a unique repertoire of growth factors, cytokines and chemokines, as well as a striking association with different polarized macrophages compared to non-IBC. Indeed, tumor associated monocytes/macrophages (TAM/M) play a crucial role in breast cancer development. Previously, we showed that cross talk between IBC cells and patient derived TAMs occurs via secretion of inflammatory mediators from TAMs that act on specific extracellular domain receptors activating down-stream signaling pathways that promote the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, cancer cell invasion, IBC stem cell properties, drug resistance, local and metastatic recurrence of residual tumor cells and other key markers of malignancy, including in vitro colony formation capacity. In this mini review, we will discuss the role of TAMs in IBC cancer metastatic potential and molecules involved. The review also discusses the recent discoveries in the field of IBC research.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection can lead to multiple comorbidities in women, including mental health problems. However, few studies have examined the association between maternal HPV infection and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in their offspring.