ABSTRACT
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways, which is associated with excessive airway narrowing in response to stimuli that have little or no effect on healthy subjects. Airway hyper-responsiveness with a short duration of asthma is coupled with airway inflammation which may or may not be associated with lung impairment
Objectives: To study correlation of asthma duration with total anti oxidant capacity and lung function parameters
Design: Cross sectional study
Period: June 2013 to Dec 2013
Setting: Baqai Medical University and Hospital
Methodology: A total of 92 known and diagnosed cases of asthma meeting the inclusion criteria were recruited in the study. The subjects included both male and female with age ranging from 16-70 years. Portable handheld electronic Spirometer was used for performing spirometry. FRAP assay was done to measure TAC according to the method of Benzie and Strai
Results: The mean age of patients [n-92] was 34.88 +/- 12.14 SD. The mean duration of asthma was 11.57 +/- 11.30 SD years. Mean value of TAC was found to be 11.46 +/- 4.34SD. Mean FEVI was 1.90 +/- 0.82SD, mean FVC was 2.17 +/- 0.88 SD, mean PEFR was 247.8 +/- 122.7 SD and mean FEV[1]/FVC was 86.21 +/- 16.58 SD. Paired sample t - test was applied to compare the spirometric values which were found highly significant. Pearson correlation was applied and showed negative but insignificant correlation of asthma duration with patients' FEV[1], FEV[1]/FVC and PEFR as well as insignificant correlation with other spirometric parameters and TAC
Conclusion: Our study showed that duration of asthma has no significant correlation with lung function parameters and antioxidant capacity
ABSTRACT
To compare the means of Anti-Mullerian hormone levels in both fertile and infertile women.Case-Control study. This study was conducted at infertility clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics Unit-II, Civil Hospital, Karachi. The total duration of the study was approximately 1 year from October 2011 to October 2012. A total of 52 infertile women attending the Gynae-Unit-II out-patient clinic at Civil Hospital, Karachi and 48 fertile non-pregnant females of reproductive age group i.e. 20-35 years who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. The serum Anti-Mullerian hormone levels were measured in both the infertile and fertile groups. Blood samples to determine AntiMullerian hormone levels were obtained irrespective of their menstrual cycle days. Independent sample t-test showed decreased mean serum Anti-Mullerian hormone levels in infertile group [cases] than the fertile controls. Mean concentration of serum AntiMullerian hormone in infertile women was significantly lower than that in fertile control women
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Anti-Mullerian Hormone/analysis , Reproduction/physiology , Fertility , Infertility , Case-Control StudiesABSTRACT
Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are global health care problems causing morbidity and mortality. Much of it could be prevented by better education of the masses regarding its spread. The study was conducted to assess the knowledge base of internet users of Pakistan to help in formulating education strategies. A survey questionnaire consisting of 20 close ended questions was designed and hosted on a website. The responses submitted at the website were auto-emailed to the author. A total of 1024 complete responses were included. The survey shows increased level of awareness according to the educational status. The knowledge status of lowest education level was also adequate possibly due to access to internet to these respondents. Internet users in Pakistan have adequate core knowledge regarding hepatitis