ABSTRACT
Importance: The increasing prevalence of dementia worldwide has reduced the quality of life in geriatric patients, therebyincreasing the burden on the caregivers. As dementia evolves gradually, diagnosis of the disease is often delayed. Thus, theneed for a sensitive biomarker for early diagnosis is instrumental.Objective: The objective of the study was to study the association between serum uric acid levels and dementia in geriatric patients.Design: This is a case–control study comparing the age-matched geriatric patients with and without dementia (cases – 50and controls – 50).Setting and Participants: A total of 100 geriatric patients from Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital wereincluded in this study for a study period of 4 months. Out of this, 50 were cases (with dementia) and 50 were controls (withoutdementia). Mini-mental state examination test was done to categorize the cases into mild, moderate, and severe subgroups(24–30 out of 30 as normal; 20–23 out of 30 as mild; 10–19 out of 30 as moderate; and score lesser than 10 out of 30 as severe).Serum uric acid levels were measured in the study population and compared between the cases and controls.Results: The correlation of serum uric acid levels with cases and controls revealed 16% of the cases had hypouricemia,whereas none in the control group had hypouricemia. When serum uric acid levels were compared, it was found that 44% ofthe control group had normal serum uric acid levels and 82% of the cases had normal serum uric acid levels. Based on minimental state examination score, 10% of mild group and 21% of moderate group had hypouricemia and 4% of moderate grouphad hyperuricemia while the others had normal serum uric acid levels. All the data were statistically significant with “P” < 0.001.Conclusion: The study identified the prevalence of hypouricemia in the study population. This study can pave the path forfurther multicentric research to delineate the role of uric acid level as potential biomarker for dementia.Relevance: The information gained from this study will enable us to diagnose dementia in the early stages and improve thequality of life of the patients.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Breast cancer accounts for one-third of female cancers and approximately one-fourth of all malignancies.Malignancy not only poses a financial burden on the patient, their family, and society but also is responsible for emotional distress.Aim: This study aims to evaluate the frequency, age, gender, and histopathological features of breast carcinoma in a tertiarycare hospital.Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Pathology, Coimbatore Medical Collegeand Hospital, from January 2017 to October 2018. Tissue for hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) sections was fixed in 10% formalinand subjected to routine paraffin-embedded processing and stained with H and E. The histopathological features were noted, andthe tumors were diagnosed based on the WHO classification and graded adopting modified Bloom–Richardson grading system.Results: Of the 120 specimens received, 116 specimens belonged to female patients (97%). The peak age of the occurrenceof breast masses was in the 3rd decade (32% occurrence). Both malignant and non-malignant lesions were present in thespecimens. Among the 98 benign lesions, 45 cases were of fibroadenoma (46%), 23 cases were of fibroadenosis (23%). Amongthe 22 malignant lesions, 17 cases were of infiltrative duct cell carcinoma (77%).Conclusion: The pattern of breast lesions provides valuable information concerning clinicopathological profile of breast lesions.The clinical diagnosis of a breast lump must be correlated with histopathological diagnosis for correct and adequate treatmentof patient.