Palmar Dermatoglyphic Patterns in Bronchial Asthma between Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian: A Comparative Study.

Background: Dermatoglyphics, the ridged skin covering our palms and sole, are not only found on human beings. All primates have ridged skin, and it can also be found on the paws of certain mammals and on the tails of some monkey species. Palmar creases develop during the 2nd and 3rd month of intrauterine life and are not influenced by movement of hand in utero. They are of considerable clinical interest because they are affected by certain abnormalities of early development including genetic disorders. Aim: The present study is carried out to correlate the dermatoglyphic patterns in patients of bronchial asthma. Methods: Dermatoglyphic prints were obtained from both hands of 100 patients of bronchial asthma among Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian. Hundred normal healthy individuals, without family history of bronchial asthma, were selected as control group. The qualitative parameters like whorls, loops and arches were studied in the above mentioned study groups. Results: Presence of whorls loops and arches showed significant difference, p<0.01in III and IV digits in Afro-Trinidadian group and only in III digit in Indo-Trinidadian group when compared to the controls. The intergroup comparisons also showed significant changes in the percentage of all the finger print patterns in the II & III digit in Afro-Trinidadian bronchial asthma patient when compared with Indo-Trinidadian bronchial asthma patients. Conclusion: Presence of whorls, loops and arches on both the III digit can be used as one of the diagnostic criterion for patients with bronchial asthma.

Transabdominal and Transrectal Sonographic Variation of the Prostate Volume and Dimensions: In Evaluation of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the non-malignant enlargement of the prostate. Estimation of Prostate volume and dimensions contribute significantly to the management of BPH. Correlations between the trans-abdominal and trans-rectal ultrasound methods in estimating prostate volume and dimensions were studied with variable results. Ninety-one consecutive patients of 50 years or older with were scanned by Trans abdominal and transrectal sonographs (TA&TRUS) at the same session after obtaining the consent. All the scans were performed on a single ultrasound machine. The volume and dimensions of the prostate obtained by both methods were compared and correlated using Pearson correlation coefficient. The data was analysed further in groups based on volumes and ethnicity. Twenty-four patients were also scanned by other consultant radiologist and the data was analysed to compare the interobserver variations. Results: The mean age of the patients was 66.03±10.41 years. The mean prostate volume for ninety one patients by TA & TRUS was 44.4±35.1 ml and 46.2±34.7 ml, respectively (r = 0.965, p<0.001). Among the total patients 42 were of East Indian (EI) origin, 45 were of Caribbean African (CA) origin and 4 were of mixed race. The mean prostate volume of EI race by TA & TRUS was 35.3±23.3 and 38.9±25.9 ml respectively(r = 0.950, p<0.001). The mean prostate volume of CA race by TA & TRUS was 50.8±39.4 and 51.0±38.5 ml, respectively (r = 0.967, p<0.001). The mean prostate volume of observer A and observer B by TA & TRUS was 43.5±28.8 and 45.8±25.9 ml (r = 0.953, P<0.001) and 46.6±39 and 46.9±27.4 ml (r = 0.877, p<0.001) respectively. Conclusion: Strong correlation between TA & TRUS estimation of prostate volume and dimensions for volumes up to 100ml found in our study offers TAUS as a cost effective, less invasive, quick and well tolerable alternative to TRUS. TRUS however may be a reasonable choice for accurate measurements in larger (>100 millilitres) prostates, this needs to be further investigated by a larger sample size.

Evaluation of telomerase expression in chronic periodontitis.

Background : Human telomerase is a multi subunit ribonucleoprotein enzyme concerned with telomeric lengthening and homeostasis in man. This enzyme has been found to be elevated in inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and silica injury lung. Since chronic periodontitis is also an inflammatory condition where immune cells and cytokines mediate tissue destruction, we set out to evaluate telomerase in gingival tissue samples from healthy subjects and chronic periodontitis patients by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Materials and Methods : Gingival biopsies were obtained from eight healthy subjects and eight chronic periodontitis patients. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) was carried out to evaluate telomerase gene expression in the samples. Results : None of the healthy gingival tissue samples expressed the telomerase gene while all the chronic periodontitis samples expressed it. The severe chronic periodontitis samples expressed the gene more intensely than the moderate chronic periodontitis samples. Conclusion : Various mechanisms have been explained to account for telomerase elevation in chronic periodontitis .This study helps us understand the role of telomerase in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. It could be concluded that telomerase could be used as a marker to assess the severity of inflammation in chronic periodontitis.

Immunolocalization of CD 34 positive progenitor cells in healthy human gingiva - a pilot study.

Background & objectives: The gingiva is a tissue with a high turnover rate of both epithelial and connective tissue cells. In an attempt to identify the possible source of cells which maintain the tissue turnover, we used CD 34, a well established marker of peripheral blood stem cell in healthy human gingiva to determine the origin of progenitor cells in healthy gingiva. Methods: Healthy human gingival samples (n=15) were collected from patients undergoing orthodontic extraction. Immunohistochemistry was done on 5 micron paraffi n fi xed section using the primary antibody CD34 and a universal secondary immunoperoxidase kit. The sections were examined for a golden brown stain indicative of a positive staining. Results: Of the 15 samples 12 demonstrated a positive staining for the endothelial cells. Of these 12 samples, 11 demonstrated positive staining for stromal and paravascular cells and 10 a positive staining for the basal epithelium layers. Interpretation & conclusions: The presence of CD 34 positive cells in gingiva in stromal, paravascular location, and basal layer of the gingival epithelium was demonstrated. We speculate that these could be fi broblastic progenitors originating from the peripheral blood stem cells and the positivity stained epithelial cells could be gingival epithelial stem cells.