Association of cord blood and maternal lipid profile

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity with dyslipidemia as an important contributing risk factor. Objective of the study was to determine whether there is an association between maternal lipid profile and the cord blood lipid profile of their newborns.Methods: This was a hospital-based Cross-sectional study on 60 mothers and their respective newborns (30 term and 30 preterm) conducted in Yenepoya medical college hospital from August to November 2019. Umbilical cord blood samples from the newborns were collected after birth and the mother's venous blood was collected in the fasting state (8hrs of fasting) before delivery. The levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and VLDL were determined in mothers and their newborns by an enzymatic colorimetric method. Data obtained was analyzed by the SSPS software 23.0 version and Pearson's correlation was done.Results: There was a significant correlation between the mean concentration of maternal Triglycerides and the Triglycerides and HDL levels of neonates (p-value <0.05).Conclusions: There was a significant association of cord blood and maternal lipid profile, hence changes in maternal lipid levels might influence the lipid levels in the cord blood of newborns.

Clinical and laboratory profile of children with dengue fever admitted at a tertiary care hospital in Mangalore, Karnataka, India: a retrospective study

Background: Dengue fever caused by dengue virus is a self-limiting acute febrile illness transmitted by Aedes aegypti, a daytime biting mosquito. Dengue virus belongs to family of Flaviviridae and there are 4 serotypes. A fifth serotype DENV-5 was isolated in 2013 which was said to cause mild form of the disease. In 2019 total numbers of dengue cases are 10,524 in Karnataka which is 138% increase over 2018 (4,427 cases).Methods: A retrospective conducted in Yenepoya Medical College hospital from January 2017 to July 2019 for a period of 2' years. Medical records of children who were diagnosed with dengue fever were retrieved and analyzed. Clinical and laboratory findings were noted down. Clinical course and outcome were noted down from the case sheet and cases were classified as per WHO 2011 classification.Results: 97 children diagnosed with dengue fever were included in the study. Common age group was 5-15 years. 49.5% had dengue fever, 40.2% had dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and 10.3% had expanded dengue syndrome. Fever was the main complaint. Children with dengue fever presented with vomiting, abdominal pain, myalgia, arthralgia in descending order of frequency. Children with DHF, petechiae were seen in 38% patients. Among bleeding manifestations, epistaxis was more common. Children with expanded dengue syndrome had atypical manifestations.Conclusions: Dengue fever like any other viral illness, presents with prodromal symptoms which should be picked up at the earliest with high index of suspicion in children coming from endemic area. Identification of atypical manifestations and co-infections at the earliest and prompt treatment avoids serious life-threatening complications.

Evaluation of cardiac performance among asymptomatic obese subjects in comparison with normal individual

Background: Obesity constitutes a major health issue in the modern world. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the effect of obesity on ventricular function by conventional 2D echocardiography and echocardiogram for assessment of early cardiac changes.Methods: In the present study, 50 asymptomatic obese subjects having BMI >30 were compared with 50 normal individuals having BMI in the range 20-24.9 to assess cardiac performance. The study was conducted over a period of 2 years, from 2009 to 2011.Results: There were 20(40%) males and 30(60%) females in both the groups. The ejection fraction was not significantly affected in obese subjects (60.86�34%) than normal individual (60.42�18%) which was found to be statistically not significant. So, in this study systolic function was not affected. The thickness of left ventricle was significantly increased in obese subjects (1.016�113 cm) than normal individual (0.77+0.073 cm) which was found to be statistically significant.Conclusions: The current study revealed increased wall thickness and mass of Left Ventricle (LV), significantly increased risk of LV diastolic dysfunction, evidence of Left Atrial (LA) enlargement associated with diastolic dysfunction, evidence of subclinical LV systolic dysfunction and Right Ventricular (RV) dysfunction among obese subjects in comparison with normal individuals.

Toxicological and pharmacological profiling of organically and non-organically cultivated Cymbopogon citratus

Background: With the rapid depletion of forests, impairing the availability of raw drugs, Ayurveda, hasreached a very critical phase. Consequently, cultivation of medicinal plants is essential to ensure theiravailability to the industry. In view of the above concept, organic farming of medicinal plants needsscientific validity.Objectives: The present study includes the organic and non-organic cultivation of Cymbopogon citratus,followed by toxicological and pharmacological profiling of extracts.Materials and methods: C. citratus was simultaneously cultivated organically (OCC) and non-organically(NCC). Toxicity profile of aqueous extracts was recorded on prokaryotes using bioluminescent bacteria,Vibrio harveyi and evaluated its type 2 anti-diabetic activity.Results: OCC have shown the higher mean values of height, number of germplasms and root lengthscompared to NCC. The higher level of toxicity was shown by NCC with decrease in bioluminescence withincreasing concentration of extract. In acute type 2 anti-diabetic study, OCC showed prominent decreasein blood glucose at postprandial condition (6th h) (48.86% OCC-200). The order of sub-chronic antidiabetic activity was observed as positive control > OCC-200 > NCC-200, while OCC at 200 mg/kg corrected the altered lipid profile and antioxidant status with significant increase in body weights of animals. Histopathological examination of pancreas showed the enlargement of pancreatic islets andformation of neo islets with degenerative changes in OCC treated animals.Conclusion: The study confirms that organically grown C. citratus is better in terms of nourishment,biological activity and safety measures.© 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services byElsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

A comparative study of quality of life among elderly people living in old age homes and in the community

Background: The ageing process is not determined truly by genes and personal characteristics but mainly by his adjustment with the environment he lives. Ageing of a person depends on many factors which influence the course of life like physiological, social, psychological, economic, environmental and cultural factors which in turn affect the quality of life (QoL). Given these findings, quality of life is influenced by the place where a person lives. The objective of the study was to assess and compare the quality of life of elderly living in old age homes and community. Methods: This was a cross sectional, questionnaire based study done on elderly people (>60 years) living in old age home, urban and rural area. The study was carried out for a period of 3 months from April to June 2016 after taking consent from the study participants. WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life. Results: Elderly females were more than elderly males in rural and old age home. The study participants of all the three places were concentrated in the age group 65-70 years old. The mean scores of physical, psychological and social domains were high in urban elderly people. Most of the study population was illiterate in urban and rural area but in old age home most of them were educated. There was significant difference between the mean scores for psychological and environmental domain (p=0.048 and 0.001 respectively). Conclusions: Participants living in the urban area had higher mean scores in the physical, psychological and social domains as compared to rural area and old age home. The mean score of environmental domain was high in rural area as compared to urban and old age home.

A study to assess valvular heart disease in a tertiary care hospital: a single centre finding

Background: Diseases of the heart valves constitute a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide with an enormous burden on healthcare resources. The present study was undertaken to study incidence and demography of valvular heart disease, to assess echocardiography and colour doppler findings of patients with valvular heart disease and to find out complications in patients with valvular heart disease.Methods: A hospital based longitudinal case study was undertaken at medicine department of Dr. V.M. Government Medical College, Solapur, Maharashtra, India for a period of two years. One hundred and twenty-four (124) patients attending OPD participated in the study.Results: In the present study, out of 124 patients, mitral valve was most commonly involved, 105(84.67%) and the least common involved was tricuspid 1(0.81%). The most common aetiology was rheumatic origin 75(94.94%). In the present study the most common complication was pulmonary hypertension 69(55.65%), followed by congestive cardiac failure (33.87%), acute pulmonary edema (12.09%), infective endocarditis (4.84%), cerebrovascular accident (4.03%), left atrial thrombus (3.23%) and death (3.23%).Conclusions: Multiple valves were affected in more than a third of all cases, although recent research in India continue to demonstrate a declining trend in the prevalence of RHD, rheumatic involvement is still the dominant form of valvular heart disease in India.

The Causal Relationship Between Infant Mortality Rate, Health Expenditure And Economic Growth In India

The Infant Mortality Rate defined as the risk for a live born child to die before its first birthday, is known to be one of the most sensitive and commonly used indicators of the social and economic development of a nation. This paper investigates the causal relationship between infant mortality rate, economic growth and private health expenditure [% Gross Domestic Product (GDP)] in India using the co-integration and Granger causality frameworks for the period from 1995 to 2013 using secondary data from various sources. We have examined the presence of a long-run equilibrium relationship using the bounds testing approach to co-integration within the Unrestricted Error- Correction Model (UECM). We have also examined the direction of causality between infant mortality rate, economic growth and private health expenditure (% GDP) in India using the Granger causality test within the Vector Error-Correction Model (VECM). As a summary of the empirical findings, we find the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Per-Capita Gross Domestic Product (PCGDP) and private health expenditure (% GDP) are co-integrated. The results of Granger Causality suggested that no short-run effect was existing between all the three variables. The error-correction term implies that the variable is non-explosive and long-run equilibrium relationship is attainable.​​

Occurrence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections and its correlation with haemotological Parameters in a tertiary care centre.

Intestinal parasitic infections are highly prevalent among the general population in developing countries and these infections can lead to a number of adverse effects. This study was done to determine the predominant intestinal parasitic infestations with haematological correlation among all age groups of patients attending tertiary care hospital. A total of 238 stool & blood samples were collected from the patients for examination and haematological analysis. Out of 238 stool samples, 52 (21.8%) showed presence of ova/cysts of Protozoa or helminths. Helminthic eggs were 14.3% and Protozoal cysts or trophozoites were found in 7.5% of them screened for the parasites. Among these Ancylostoma duodenale was found predominant with 10.5% followed by Entamoeba histolytica with 5.5% of total patients. In our study parasitic infestations was predominant in 41-60 yrs. The study showed a relationship between parasitic infestation and Hb, Platelet count, PCV and MCHC which was decreased in protozoal infestations. Their occurrence is quite low compared to other studies which suggests an improved awareness of hygiene. Prevalence of helminths was higher than protozoa in the present study. Hence, it is recommended that appropriate steps be taken at the district level to prevent such infections among pediatric and adult age groups in rural Devanahalli.

Antibiotic Resistance in Non-humans and its Impact on Human Health.

Antimicrobial drugs are magic bullets which are used in humans, animals and plants to treat and prevent bacterial infections. The inevitable side effects of the use of antibiotics are the emergence and dissemination of resistant bacteria. Their level of resistance is considered to be a good indicator for selection pressure by antibiotic use and for resistance problems to be expected in pathogens. At least twelve classes of antimicrobials namely arsenicals, polypeptides, glycolipids, tetracyclines, elfamycins, macrolides, lincosamides, polyethers, beta-lactams, quinoxalines, streptogramins, and sulfonamides have been used in veterinary practice. The effect of this selection pressure has been the appearance of numerous resistant strains of Escherichia coli , Salmonella species , Staphylococcus aureus , Pasteurella hemolytica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Clostridium perfringens and many other bacterial species. Bacteria also acquire genes conferring resistance by a variety of mechanisms including acquisition of extrachromosomal plasmids that replicate apart from the chromosomal DNA. Damage caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria is a kind of pollution. The precise effect of agricultural antibiotic use on resistance levels in the general population is not known, but the evidence points to a link. Considerable attention has been focussed on a very small minority of bacteria that cause disease but a vast sea of commensal and environmental bacteria continuously and promiscuously exchange genes totally unnoticed. Immediate action has to be taken to prevent the antibiotic resistance in bacteria by judicious and rational use of antibiotics, effective hospital infection control programs and research for the development of new antibiotics or by combination therapy.

Prevalence of Group A beta- hemolytic streptococcal carriers in school going children.

Group A Streptococci (GAS) are one of the common pathogens responsible for causing tonsillitis and pharyngitis in both children and young adults. The asymptomatic pharyngeal carriage of GAS in children may lead to spread of respiratory infection in the community. Children aged 5 to 15 years with no signs and symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections and no history of antibiotic therapy within last two weeks were included in study. Throat swabs collected were cultured on blood agar. GAS was identified by conventional method and serogrouped using latex agglutination assay. GAS was isolated from 7 children, out of 250 children. The carrier rate was 3.6% which correlated well with other South Asian studies. Our study showed the importance of surveillance programme to keep carriers in check.

Evaluation of antidiabetic antihyperlipidemic and pancreatic regeneration, potential of aerial parts of Clitoria ternatea

The aim of the present study was to investigate the pancreatic regeneration potential of of diferent fractions of the ethanol extract Clitoria ternatea L., Fabaceae. The antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic potential was evaluated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and correlated with its in vivo and in vitro antioxidant activity. The extract and its fractions were initially screened for acute and sub-chronic antidiabetic activity in the dose range of 100200 mg/kg. The most potent extract and fractions were further evaluated for pancreatic β-cells regeneration activity along with antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic activity. The polyphenolic, flavonoid and flavanone contents were assessed and correlated with its antidiabetic activity. The most significant pancreatic regeneration activity, antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic activity and was shown by ethanol extract and butanol soluble fraction at a dose level of 200 mg/kg, while rutin was found to be least potent. In conclusion, pancreatic regeneration studies of ethanol extract treated rats show nesidioblastosis. It is also suggested that the factors causing regeneration are present within the pancreas. The newly generated islets may have formed from the ductal precursor cells and reduced oxidative stress helps in restoration of β-cell function.

A prospective, open labeled, comparative study to assess the efficacy of montelukast as add on to β2-agonist and inhaled corticosteroid in patients of moderate persistent asthma.

Background: Steroid, bronchodilator and the leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast have demonstrated efficacy in children with mild persistent asthma, but comparative long-term studies in adult patient with moderate persistent asthma is needed. A randomized and prospective study was undertaken to find out the efficacy of montelukast as add on to β2-agonist and inhaled corticosteroids in patients of moderate persistent asthma. Methods: This was a continuous, longitudinal, prospective study carried out at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Newly diagnosed patients of moderate persistent asthma attending the chest out patient department (OPD) were enrolled. Group I was treated with salbutamol 200 mcg rotacap SOS and formoterol 6 mcg + budesonide 400 mcg rotacap BD. In addition to these medicines group II also received montelukast 10 mg OD. The patients were followed up every two months. Clinical examination and pulmonary function tests (PFT) were carried out at baseline and during each visit. Unpaired ‘t’ test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Comparison of clinical symptoms revealed a better improvement in group II as compare to group I [cough - 83% vs. 33%; breathlessness - 75% vs. 33%; and wheezing - 83% vs. 78%] at the end of one year. A significantly better (p < 0.05) improvement in forced expiratory volume (FEV1) was also observed in group II. Conclusions: Treatment with montelukast leads to better improvement in clinical symptoms and PFT in the patients of moderate persistent asthma.

Knowledge and attitude towards the use of emergency contraceptive pills among college students.

Background: Emergency contraception is applied to prevent pregnancy after 72-120 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse. Emergency contraceptive (EC) pill is used to reduce unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. EC pill is available as OTC in India since 2005. As EC pill highly used among adolescents we carried out to this study among college students. Methods: The study was conducted among female college students. A pre-validated questionnaire was used as tool for the study. It contains consent form and questions knowledge and attitude regarding EC pill. Results: We divided students into group A (medical, paramedical and pharmacy colleges) and group B (nonmedical colleges like science, arts and engineering). In group A 470 and group B 280 students were participated. Knowledge about appropriate time of taking EC pill (within 72 hours after sexual intercourse) was 44% in group A which is significant than 15% in group B. Knowledge about brand name, availability cost and side effects were more in group A than group B. Electronic media was the most common source of information mentioned by both the groups. Attitude regarding advice to use of EC pill to other was more in group A than group B. Conclusions: Knowledge about use of EC pill was higher in group A than group B. Attitude was not positive regarding availability of EC pill as OTC. So education about EC pill among young population is necessary.

Antibacterial activity of Indian cherry during its growth and ripening.

The fruits of Cordia dichotoma, which are underutilized, have been used to identify its antibacterial activity. Among the different non-polar to polar extracts used diethyl ether extracts showed inhibition of more number of bacterial strains than other extracts used. Methanol fraction however showed highest zone of inhibition against Salmonella paratyphi using premature and mature fruit extracts and recorded minimum inhibitory concentration value of 0.5 mg/ml. Among all the extracts used gram positive bacterial strains were more susceptible than the gram negative bacterial strains. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Bacillus cereus proved to be highly susceptible, while Escherichia coli proved to be most resistant among all the bacterial cultures used. Further studies are however needed to identify and ascertain the role of bioactive compounds responsible for the antibacterial activity.

Pseudophakic hyperopia in nanophthalmic eyes managed by a posterior chamber implantable collamer lens.

We report a case of a bilateral posterior chamber implantable collamer lens (ICL) implantation post-clear lens extraction, to reduce the residual hyperopia, in a patient with nanophthalmic eyes. A 30-year-old female patient, keen to reduce her dependency on glasses and contact lenses, came to our refractive surgery department. Her refractive error was +12.0 and +12.5 diopters in the right and left eye, respectively, with steep corneas on keratometry and a shallow anterior chamber depth. She underwent clear lens extraction with implantation of +35.0 D and +40.0 D IOL in the right eye and left eye, respectively. Her post-operative best-corrected visual acuity was 20/30 with +8.5 D in the right eye and +6 D in the left. She underwent bilateral ICL implantation. Postoperatively after 6 months, her unaided visual acuity was 20/30 in both eyes. In conclusion, ICL implantation can be considered to correct residual hypermetropic ametropia in pseudophakic eyes when other options have limitations.

Antidiabetic properties of Hibiscus rosa sinensis L. leaf extract fractions on non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse.

On fractionation the ethanolic extract of H. rosa sinensis leaves, 5 fractions were obtained. Of these, fraction-3 (F3) and fraction-5 (F5) were chosen for detailed investigation on non obese diabetic (NOD) mouse to study anti-diabetic properties because they were more active than others. Serum glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, triglyceride, cholesterol, blood urea, insulin, LDL, VLDL, and HDL were estimated. Both fractions F3 and F5 on oral feeding (100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) demonstrated insulinotropic nature and protective effect in NOD mice. These fractions may contain potential oral hypoglycemic agent.

Cardiac sarcoidosis causing sudden death.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease of young adults. Cardiac involvement is rarely diagnosed clinically. In most cases it presents with arrhythmias and conduction disorders. We report a case of sudden death of a young female, wherein sarcoidosis with prominent cardiac involvement was diagnosed at autopsy. The other organs involved were lung and liver. Cardiac sarcoidosis should be considered in young patients with unexplained conduction disorders.