Negative association of serum IL-6 and IL-17 with type-II diabetes retinopathy

Diabetes mellitus [DM] is a health concern which leads to complications such as retinopathy. Pakistan has 6.9 million people living with DM and this toll will be doubled by 2025. To determine serum IL-6 and IL-17 of type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM] patients with retinopathy. In this cross-sectional case- control study, 212 subjects enrolled which were categorized into 3 groups. Group-I included 30 subjects without diabetes, group-II consisted of 30 subjects with T2DM without retinopathy and group-III consisted of 152 subjects with T2DM and retinopathy. Serum IL-6 and IL-17 levels were determined by ELISA. Data was analysed using SPSS 17.0 and one way ANOVA to observe group mean differences. Longer mean duration of disease was detected in group-III than group-II [p=0.007]. Highest IL-6 level was detected in group-II and highest IL-17 level was detected in group-I. For IL-6, significant differences were detected among groups in total, between Group-I and Group-III and between Group-II and Group-III [p<0.0001 each]. Regarding IL-17, significant differences were found among groups in total [p=0.002] and between Group-I and Group-III [p=0.001]. No significant difference in the percentages of HbA1c observed between groups. Age, gender and duration of diabetes contribute to T2DM retinopathy. Serum IL-6 and IL-17 were inversely associated with T2DM retinopathy

Anti-mycobacterial activity of garlic [Allium Sativum] against multi-drug resistant and non-multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Emergence of multi-drug resistant [MDR] and extensively drug resistant [XDR] TB throughout the developing world is very disturbing in the present scenario of TB management. There is a fundamental need to explore alternative anti-TB agents. Hence natural plants should be investigated to understand their antimicrobial properties and safety. Garlic [Allium sativum] is one of natural plant which possesses variety of biological properties like anti-tumor, anti-hyperlipedemic and anti-microbial etc. The present study was evaluated for antibacterial activity of garlic against non-MDR and MDR isolates of M. tuberculosis. A total of 20 clinical isolates of MTB including 15 MDR and 5 non-MDR were investigated. Ethanolic extract of garlic was prepared by maceration method. Minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] was performed by using 7H9 middle brook broth dilution technique. MIC of garlic extract was ranged from 1 to 3 mg/ml; showing inhibitory effects of garlic against both non-MDR and MDR M. tuberculosis isolates. Alternate medicine practices with plant extracts including garlic should be considered to decrease the burden of drug resistance and cost in the management of diseases. The use of garlic against MDR-TB may be of great importance regarding public health

Percentage of CD4[+] and CD8[+] T-lymphocytes in blood of tuberculosis patients

Tuberculosis is a fatal infectious disease, mainly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Spread of TB is controlled by cell-mediated immunity. Purpose of this study was to determine CD4[+] and CD8[+] T cell percentages in TB patients. 77 subjects consisted of 39 patients of active tuberculosis and 37 normal healthy individuals were recruited for the study. Among patients, 27 were at different stages of anti-tuberculous therapy while rests of the patients were not taking treatment. Sixteen patients were sputum positive for AFB while other patients were sputum negative for AFB. T cells percentages were determined by flow cytometer. In TB patients CD4[+] and CD8[+] T cells percentages were 34.4 +/- 9.8 and 32.0 +/- 9.8 while in controls these were 37.1 +/- 6.9 and 30.2 +/- 7.2 respectively but the difference was statistically insignificant. CD4[+] T cell percentage in newly diagnosed TB patients was 28.8 +/- 8.7 while it was 37.9 +/- 8.9 in TB patients who were on therapy and difference was statistically significant whereas difference in CD8[+] T-cell percentages was statistically insignificant. A negative correlation between CD8[+] Tcells percentage and the duration of ATT was found. CD4[+] and CD8[+] T-cells percentages may help to find out the immune status of TB patients before and after the completion of ATT