Predominancyof Coping Styles in Patients with Type II Diabetes in Low Socio Economic Status Groups

Background: Coping style is a person抯 characteristic strategies used in response to life problems or traumas. Coping serves a protective function .This study aims to examine the impact of coping styles predominance in the training programme given to patients with type II diabetes of low socioeconomic status group.30 patients with type II diabetes of low socioeconomic status group were selected using purposive sampling from the diabetic clinic for the assessment of coping style. Coping style was assessed using 揅oping styles of adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes� by Karlsen and Bru (1998). Paired t-test was used to assess the effectiveness of coping styles enhancement training programme for patients with type II diabetes. The study revealed that there is significant increase in the level of coping styles of patients with type II diabetes due to coping styles enhancement training programme.Methods:?.Results:?.Conclusion:?.

Randomized controlled trial of once vs. twice daily gentamicin therapy in newborn.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of once daily gentamicin administration to the conventional twice daily dosage schedule by estimation of serum gentamicin concentrations (SGC) in neonates. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Medical college hospital. SUBJECTS: Seventy three neonates of gestational age>32 weeks at risk or with clinical features of sepsis. METHODS: The subjects were divided into preterm and term groups. Babies in each of these groups were randomized to receive a single daily dose (4 mg/kg) or a twice daily dose (2.5 mg/kg) of injection gentamicin intravenously. Trough and peak SGC were estimated half an hour prior and one hour after the second dose. Statistical analysis was done using the equivalence method. RESULTS: In preterm as well as term babies, the mean peak and trough gentamicin levels were comparable in the two regimens. There is statistically significant evidence to show that the effect of once daily and twice daily dosage is similar. CONCLUSION: Once daily gentamicin administration is as effective as twice daily therapy and would be more cost effective.

Effect of aspirin and sodium salicylate on cataract development in diabetic rats.

The role of acetylation in the antiglycating and anticataract effects of aspirin (ASA) is explored by comparing ASA's effects with that of sodium salicylate (SS), a nonacetyl analog of ASA, on cataract development in diabetic rats. Streptozocin diabetic rats were provided with either ASA or SS, orally, for 24 weeks. Appropriate drug controls, normal controls and diabetic controls were run in parallel. Periodic estimations of blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin and assessments of cataract progression were done. After 24 weeks lenses were removed, homogenised and separated into water soluble fraction and urea soluble fraction. The glycated lens proteins in each fraction was quantified. Results were analysed statistically and interpreted in relation to serum salicylate levels. Both ASA and SS did not influence blood glucose levels. In the untreated diabetic groups the onset and progression of cataract was quicker and complete within 16 weeks. Both ASA and SS delayed the onset and progression in diabetic rats, but ASA's effect was more pronounced than that of SS. The levels of glycated Hb and lens proteins in diabetic rats were significantly reduced by ASA and not by SS for the same serum salicylate levels. ASA's anticataract potential far exceeds that of SS and it is ASA, and not SS, that inhibits protein glycation. Thus the results favour the hypothesis that acetylation plays a major role in ASA's anticataract effect via inhibition of glycation.

Plasma fibrinogen--an independent risk factor for ischaemic heart disease.

Although several risk factors have been identified for ischaemic heart disease, yet their predictive value on an individual basis remains rather low. Hence there is a need to identify other variables that can be associated with ischaemic heart disease. Fibrinogen level has been associated as an independent risk factor in studies undertaken in the west. This study was done to find out whether fibrinogen level is a risk factor in Indian populations. Out of 131 consecutive male subjects undergoing coronary angiogram over a four-month period, 98 were found to have ischaemic heart disease based on angiogram. Fibrinogen levels (estimated using the Clauss method) were higher in patients with ischaemic heart disease when compared with controls (374 +/- 11.9 vs 268 +/- 14.9 p < 0.0001). In the multivariate analysis it was found that fibrinogen levels more than 300 mg percent had an odds ratio of 4.4 for ischaemic heart disease (confidence interval of 2.4 to 19). The only other variable associated with ischaemic heart disease other than fibrinogen, was low level of HDL. The fibrinogen levels were higher in patients with triple-vessel disease when compared with single or two-vessel disease. Our results are in agreement with the findings in the west that fibrinogen levels are a risk factor for ischaemic heart disease. This factor needs to be addressed seriously and steps taken to lower the fibrinogen level in clinical practice.

Comparison of HPLC & EMIT methods of cyclosporine assay in blood after bone marrow transplantation.

Cyclosporine (CsA) analysis in blood from patients who had undergone bone marrow transplantation for various haematological disorders was done both by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) and the results were compared. HPLC kit from Biorad Laboratories, USA, and EMIT kit from SYVA, UK, were used. The procedure for EMIT was slightly modified in-house to suit the Hitachi 704 discrete selective analyser. The CsA values obtained by these two methods correlated well within the therapeutic range (r value 0.96), HPLC method being most suitable outside the therapeutic range. Although HPLC is the ideal method for CsA, EMIT is quite suitable and can be adopted by any laboratory with an autoanalyser incorporating our modified procedure.

Immune response to purified chick embryo cell culture rabies vaccine (Rabipur) in dog-bite victims.

The immunogenic and protective efficacy of a new, killed and purified rabies virus vaccine prepared in chick embryo fibroblast cell culture, has been evaluated. Vaccine was administered on days 0, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 90 to 29 subjects who were bitten by dogs. Persons bitten on the face, neck or hand were also given rabies immunoglobulin. Virus neutralizing antibody was measured on serially collected sera. On day 14, all 26 subjects who were tested had developed protective levels of antibody. High levels of antibody were maintained through day 105. No adverse reactions to the vaccine was reported by the subjects.