ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: OCD is one of the most debilitating psychiatric conditions with complex etiopathological profile causing interference with a wide range of social and cognitive demands. NeuroPsychological and neuro-imaging studies on OCD patients have implicated that the frontal cortex andsubcortical structures are involved in this disorder and testing has revealed evidence of impairment in visuospatial abilities, non-verbal memory and executive function. To evaluate cognitive impairment in ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder patients.Methods: Thirty patients who presented to Psychiatry Department of Dayanand Medical College andHospital, Ludhiana with diagnosis of OCD as per ICD-10 were taken up for the study. Cognitive impairmentwas assessed using PGI brain dysfunction battery designed for Indian population by Dwarka Pershad andSantosh K. Verma (3rd edition 2015). PGI brain dysfunction battery is a measure of cognitive impairmentconsisting of: Verbal Adult intelligence scale, Revised Bhatia short battery of performance tests ofintelligence, PGI memory scale, Nahor Benson test, Bender Visuo-Motor Gestalt test. Those patients whohad any major medical disorder or any other Psychiatry disorder on AXIS-I were excluded from the study.Results: In the present study, dysfunction was noticed in areas of immediate recall ,abstract thinking,arithmetical ability in verbal intelligence subscale and in visuo-motor coordination. These all areas areexecutive functions of frontal lobe. This shows that OCD patients are having difficulty in calculations dueto interference of the obsessive symptoms, though their attention and concentration were found intact.Visuo-motor coordination problem may be due to compulsive tendency due to which overlap, perseverationand partial rotation were found dysfunctional.Conclusion: Since OCD is highly distressing to the patient, the superadded cognitive dysfunctions such asmemory impairment, abstract thinking, impairment in visuo-motor coordination further worsens theoutcome of the illness. So, early identification of these dysfunctions would provide considerable benefit tothe patients.
ABSTRACT
Background: Free radicals and other reactive species are constantly generated in vivo and cause oxidative damage to biomolecules. DNA is probably the most biologically significant target of oxidative attack. Among numerous types of oxidative DNA damage the formation of 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is a sensitive biomarker of oxidative stress, an adduct formed as a result of biochemical reaction between ROS and DNA. Chronic exposure to Organophosphorus (OP) pesticides is implicated in many health conditions that result from the induction of oxidative stress, including cytogenetic damage. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the biochemical levels of 8-OHdG in spot urinary samples under the exposed OP pesticide sprayers and farm workers. Methods: In this study, 51 male pesticide sprayers and 39 farm workers in the age group of 18-47 years having exposure ranged from 3 to 15 years in duration were selected. The referents (n=31) were selected on the same criteria as well as they were never exposed to pesticides at any time. This study was conducted during the growing season (January, 2009 – September, 2010). The most commonly used OP pesticides like chlorpyriphos, Diazinon, Dimethioate, Monocrotofos etc., were used in this study. Urine samples from each participant were taken in sterile tubes and were stored at -200C till analysed. The concentration of 8-OHdG in samples were analyzed using ELISA. Results: The urinary levels of 8-OHdG were found to be significantly higher in the farm workers and pesticide sprayers in contrast to the level observed in the control group (p<0.05). When the data was analyzed in the exposed groups in relation to duration of exposure it was found that both the farm workers and sprayers who were exposed to OP pesticides for less than 5 years showed the maximum mean values of 8-OHdG in comparison to those exposed to for more than 10 years. Conclusions: In view of this regular bio monitoring studies in target human populations are imperative necessary due to frequent changes in pesticide formulations and introduction of newer pesticides. Despite that several life style factors may influence the urinary concentrations of 8-OHdG but still this non-invasive bio-marker 8-OHdG is preferred over other invasive techniques to evaluate the environmental and occupational exposure effect of OP pesticides on the genotoxicity of the exposed workers.
ABSTRACT
Terminal fragments of sheep pox virus DNA identified by snap-back analysis showed terminal covalent cross-links. Southern blot hybridization using a terminal fragment probe confirmed the termini and terminal repeats (common sequences) of the sheep pox virus genome. Terminal fragment length variability was observed between virus isolates.