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Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) is a mosquito-borne virus endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Encephalitis due to MVEV is potentially devastating, and no therapeutic interventions of proven value exist. Prevention relies largely on personal protective measures against mosquito bites. We present a case of MVEV encephalitis with a favourable outcome following intensive care management and prolonged rehabilitation, and the epidemiological features of a further 21 cases notified to the health department of Australia’s Northern Territory. As cases occur in travellers, and epidemics occur sporadically in south-eastern Australia, clinicians across Australia and further abroad should be familiar with the disease and its diagnosis and management.

Background: Medical schools play a role in ensuring that their outcomes ultimately have positive effects on the health status of communities. We describe an initiative that translates this broad intent into meaningful activities that foster positive attitudes to social accountability among medical students in the context of an already full curriculum. Methods: Faculty members from an urban community-based medical education program undertook broad consultation with its community groups. Medical students then undertook activities designed to assist in the well-being of socio-economically disadvantaged adolescents through near-peer counselling and health education. Results: Early evaluation from medical students, secondary students, community organisations and faculty indicates that the activities undertaken to-date have been of value to stakeholders. Discussion: This initiative is intended to develop one model for incorporating social accountability into the medical curriculum with sustainable activities that benefit the community and medical students. Further research and evaluation of the impact of this initiative on both the community group involved and on medical students is essential.

A 75-year-old woman was brought to the emergency department following a syncopal episode in August, 2007. She had a 6 week history of weight loss, exertional dyspnoe a, and non-productive cough, and a 2 month history of increased hair growth. On examination she had new lanugo hair and eyelash trichomegaly (fi gure), and a deeply furrowed tongue. Work-up showed a mass in the right upper lobe. Histology of a biopsy sample of the mass was consistent with adenocarcinoma of the lung stage 3B. She was given a course of palliative radiotherapy, with minor regression of lanugo hair and some improvement in her dyspnoea and cough. She died of pneumonia 3 years after initial presentation. Hypertrichosis lanuginosa acquisita is a rare dermatological disorder sometimes accompanied by lingual papillary hypertrophy or eyelash trichomegaly. It can be associated with malignancy, most often adenocarcinoma of the lung or colon. It is important that clinicians watch for, ask about, and completely investigate any new hair growth. Doing so can enable earlier detection of a malignancy and potentially improve prognosis.

Background Magnesium plays a key role in maintaining internal homeostasis through actions in the musculoskeletal, nervous, endocrine and cellular messenger systems. Renal excretion is the major route of magnesium elimination from the body. A positive magnesium balance would be expected in renal failure. However, a compensatory decrease in tubular reabsorption is expected to operate to maintain adequate urinary magnesium excretion even when glomerular filtration rate is very low. Patients with end-stage renal disease and those on dialysis have impaired regulatory mechanisms, predisposing them to disturbances in magnesium levels. The effects of high or low magnesium can have deleterious health outcomes, which impact on the co-morbidities and outcomes of chronic renal disease. This systematic review aims to determine the prevalence and clinical outcomes of magnesium disorders in end-stage renal disease. Methods/Design We will undertake a comprehensive search of various databases, MEDLINE, PubMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Cochrane Collaboration, CIHNAL (Ebsco), Web of Science and Google Scholar, for observational studies and clinical trials on magnesium disorders in end-stage renal disease using key terms to identify papers for inclusion. Paper selection and data extraction (where appropriate) will be performed in duplicate on socio-demographic characteristics of participants, diagnosis of end-stage renal disease, magnesium levels, prevalence and clinical outcomes. An assessment of quality will be performed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), including identification of any bias, which may influence findings. Data will be pooled together according to whether the studies were on pre-dialysis, hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis participants. References from individual papers will also be screened as appropriate. Paper organisation and data extraction and analysis will take place using Microsoft Excel® and Stata version 13®. Discussion This systematic review will represent a significant effort at pooling together information on prevalence and outcomes of magnesium disturbances amongst end-stage renal disease patients, which may guide further research and management of the disorders. Systematic review registration PROSPERO: CRD42014014354 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-015-0063-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.